Georgia or Ohio State? Analysts unified on preseason No. 1 entering summer
Georgia and Ohio State both have bright futures and high expectations as it pertains to the 2024 season. However, one team has the edge for the preseason No. 1 ranking heading into the summer.
Most analysts actually have the Buckeyes — a team that finished 11-2 last season and saw their starting quarterback transfer — as the No. 1 team at this point in the year. A lot of that has to do with what should be an elite defense and extensive work this offseason.
“The offseason Ohio State had and the roster they’re going to put on the field, to me, makes them No. 1 one,” said Joel Klatt during his latest episode of “The Joel Klatt Show.”
He went on to predict the Buckeye defense could potentially be on par to what Georgia put together during the Bulldog’s 2021 title season:
“The defense for Ohio State is what makes them the No. 1 team in the country because they will be the best defense in the country. I think that Ohio State is going to have as good of a defense that we’ve seen in a long time. Maybe as good as the 2021 Georgia team,” predicted Klatt. “This has draft picks littered all over it in the next 2 drafts.”
While Klatt has been bullish on Ohio State in the past, he is not alone in his assessment. Greg McElroy and Matt Barrie both share a similar view that the duo expressed on the latest “Always College Football” show.
While McElroy acknowledged Georgia’s close, Barrie sees a wide gap at the moment but says he expects the Bulldogs to reload in standard fashion under Kirby Smart.
“I have been outspoken in thinking (the No. 1 team) is Ohio State at the moment,” said McElroy. “I think Georgia’s close, but I still think Ohio State has a few more answers on both sides of the ball.”
“I’m telling you this: If the QB situation in Columbus figures itself out… With Chip Kelly calling ball plays and everything they have coming back, I think Ohio State is the biggest problem for the entire country,” Barrie claimed. “They are absolutely loaded. They don’t have a weakness…
“Georgia’s Georgia. They reload. That’s what they do, that’s what they’ve done, that’s what Kirby Smart has,” Barrie said. “He’s got the QB coming back. He did lose Ladd McConkey, he did lose Brock Bowers, but they’re always going to have talent.”
Challenges for Georgia
While the analysts have Ohio State as the top team coming out of the spring, Georgia still headlines the national championship odds entering 2024 at +320. Fans can use SDS’s DraftKings links to get in on the action ahead of training camp.
Georgia returns starting quarterback Carson Beck under center, and he’s expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy and a 1st-round pick in the 2025 Draft. However, the Bulldogs must replace some pieces on both sides of the ball.
During this year’s draft, 3 of the first 34 picks came from Georgia’s 2023 offense with TE Brock Bowers (No. 13 overall), OT Amarius Mims (No. 18) and WR Ladd McConkey (No. 34) heading to the NFL. Running backs Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards are also gone, but Georgia has the kind of depth and pedigree to replace that production.
Georgia also mined the transfer portal to find noteworthy replacements, landing former Stanford TE Benjamin Yurosek. Former Florida RB Trevor Etienne also joined the program as a key piece to the backfield while a trio of key receivers transferred to Athens.
Considering the Bulldogs are always among the elite recruiters under Kirby Smart, the talent level in Athens is unmatched, even by Ohio State’s wealth of talent in Columbus. Maintaining the experience of Beck is also important for 2024, and the culture of development at Georgia is among the best there is.
It’s understandable if Ohio State has captivated the offseason, but Georgia has the right pieces to return to the top of the college football mountain.
“I think that Ohio State is going to have as good of a defense that we’ve seen in a long time. Maybe as good as the 2021 Georgia team.”
Maybe I’m getting old but 3 years ago doesn’t feel like a long time…
You beat me to it. I thought the same thing, and that three years was stipulated only as a “maybe.”
Got a bad feeling about this year…SO MUCH RAT POISON…Kirby will deserve another huge raise if he can focus the guys thru all this smoke up their arses…
Leg. What you talking about?? Nobody can beat the unbeatable bulldogs. Just like last year :) :)
You’re right luvie. Pay off enough on field annd replay review officials and a nobody can indeed beat the pups. Nice 4th place CFP trophy btw, where’s Nick?
And of course you have proof of this? Thanks for the shoutout on the 4th place finish, where did the puppies finish in the playoffs? As far as Daddy, or Nick as you call him, he seems to be living his best life and it is well deserved! You’re really getting bad at this!
They got some kind of Orange filled trophy bowl and some pretty nice rings…oh, and a lot of comments that they should have been in the playoffs, especially the way y’all and Texas floundered…
Nick just called me. He is in you’re cranium. Said he needed some light. You need to move near a lamp.
You got a bad case of Bama Butthurt. Might need surgery on your @ss.
Keep trolling. Meanwhile the team you troll has 2 titles since your last and that one came against a 6 win team during a season you couldn’t fill the stands. Now your GOAT coach has been replaced by a PAC-12 guy.
Meanwhile the team we troll lost the SECCG to the team you’ve beat once in like 15 years! And don’t act like the puppies are all that, an OSU made FG and you’re looking at 1, heck I could say barring injury you’re still at 1 since 1980, lmao! Bama owns your azz, it will be alot better for you when you go ahead and accept it! Numbers don’t lie, little brother!
If Georgia fields a nasty D-Fence you have no worries. Granted their starting QB & #1 WR sat out, but if you can crate chaos in thier back field they will have no responce.
* but as MIZZOU showed…
Good. Last thing UGA needs is to be consensus no1 right now. Gotta find something to be disrespected about amiright?
Agree, plus I like the coaching staff at Georgia more. If everything is equal, I’ll take a proven Smart over a guy like Day who has folded in every big game he has coached.
42-41.
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Ohio State is always ranked 1 or 2 in the preseason the past few years, then after game 12, they drop out. Gotta be tough, physical and have a good coach. Also, OSU defense will never have a good as a defense as Michigan last year. Elite.
Connor Stallion says you are welcome…
LMAO! Couldn’t let it go, could you?
I tired but it was just too easy…I feel bad
^tried
Please.. that was all out the window when Michigan beat Penn State, Ohio State, Bama and won the Natty. Oh you’re welcome for Michigan making Saban retire, maybe you won’t choke in another SEC Championship game against them.
Good thing we did…made your path to the natty so much easier, yes?
Lot of smack given the results of our last meeting, wouldn’t you say?
PSU is overrated and beating them should not be considered an accomplishment for any serious team. Victory over OSU was good, but you all were lucky to beat Bama. You didn’t make Saban retire and you have no room to talk about choking seeing how well Michigan performed in the 2021 and 2022 playoffs. You are top-5 on SDS for bad takes.
Who cares about the last meeting two years ago? You lost to Bama. Michigan beat Bama. End of story. You want to win championships? Don’t choke in your conference championship. Talk a lot of smack for a team the underachieved this year after all the 3 peat talk.
Love hear chirping from the back row from fans of team that didn’t even make it to the playoff and still think they are the best team in the nation. “We would have killed Michigan like we did two years ago”. Yeah right, get humbled and embarrassed, you don’t deserve a chance. Leghumper, you are one to talk about bad takes. You must be Negan or Ron Mexico under a different name because you have the same sports IQ as them. Go back to living in your parent’s basement and take your medicine.
That’s the thing though, you can’t crow about teams choking when your team have a very real and recent history of choking. Not choking in one out of three playoffs isn’t quite the flex you think it is. By all means, be proud of and celebrate the NC. Just don’t let that draw you offsides by acting like Michigan hasn’t recently and repeatedly faceplanted, both on and off the field.
Hail, where did I talk about a bad take? Little salty, yes? You obviously have me confused with someone who gives a shht who you think reminds you of anyone else. How’s that for a bad take?
The promise of an improved defense and the prospect of what Chip Kelly can do on offense are what’s fueling the hype. However, CFB doesn’t typically see linear progressions — it is a very difficult sport to predict for a reason. It’s not uncommon for new OCs to require more than one year to fully get things rolling. And let’s see that defense against actually good offenses — something the B1G didn’t have a lot of last year. However, I fully support the idea of making UGA earn the no. 1 spot.
Spot on about the new Buckeye O needing time to jell. Not only do they have a new OC, they also have a new QB and Harrison Jr. is gone to the NFL.
That said, have you seen their ‘24 schedule? They play nobody until week 8, when they host Penn St. Then, get a couple more cupcakes before THE GAME at year’s end.
So, as long as their D is merely good, the Buckeyes will get 11 games to get their O ready for a Michigan D that won’t even be a shadow of themselves from last season. Then, it’s on to the inside track for the post season.
UGA’s road to the playoffs will be, ahem, a tad more challenging.
Jawga and the Bucknuts are unbeatable. I like that narrative headed into the season.
The similarities between Georgia and Ohio are uncanny:
– The largest city in both states is a S H I T H O L E.
– Both are full of W O K E Libs that voted for Biden.
– Both had their arses beat last time they faced Bama.
Eh….
– Atlanta and Columbus are both pretty decent cities. They’re not for everyone, but there are definitely much worse cities out there
– Not really. Just enough people who didn’t like the incumbent
– This is true, though. Good job. 1 out of 3.
OS is doing a good job of out bidding everybody and it will help. Michigan will likely take a step back, meaning OS wins the B1G by default. They may have a better regular season record than Georgia, with no home games at Bama and Texas and no Clemson, that’s likely a good bet.
In the end it won’t matter, OS can buy all the players, but they can’t develop them as good as Kirby… I’ll take Georgia’s defense over OS any year.
Still gotta go with the Dawgs. Ryan Day just cannot to get past Michigan.
Different Michigan without Harbaugh and 40 seniors.
You realize the whole DL is back and the best DB and TE in the nation are back. Don’t have to be elite to run the ball down people’s throats.
I and Kirby think that it is a great game plan…good luck
By my count, that’s 6 starters. What about the other 16, including the QB? What about the 22 backups who are one just one injury away from being starters?
You can’t lose that much experience and not get set back. Add to that a HC change and Michigan will be fortunate to make the playoffs this season.
I like Michigan – my fav team in the B1G. Buddy of mine went to business school in Ann Arbor and I’ve been to their campus once. It was great! Go Wolves!
Might be a toss up, but I will lean Ohio State right now. That Michigan game is everything, but they will face a strong Oregon team in October as well.
Georgia’s schedule is just as brutal with Clemson, Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss, Tennessee. They struggled with Auburn last season as well. So what’s going to happen this year? Lucky they do escape Missouri at least.
They weren’t very good last year and I doubt they’ll be any better this year. Day is turning into Jimbo 2.0.
Jimbo never won 11 games at aTm.
Are there any teams that have made the playoff with a first year transfer at qb? I can name a lot of teams that have made it with a second or third year qb but not first.
The bucknuts need to be concerned. Oregon may just be the best Big10 team.