Maria Taylor saw some good Georgia football teams when she attended the school from 2005-09. But the current ESPN and SEC Network analyst may be most impressed with this current era of Bulldogs football.

Taylor is back at Georgia’s campus this weekend for ESPN’s College GameDay, which is airing live Saturday from Athens, Ga., with a big matchup between Georgia and Notre Dame set to take place. Before that, Taylor shared with 960 The Ref on Friday what’s impressed her recently about the Bulldogs, and particularly head coach Kirby Smart.

“I think Kirby Smart has an amazing template, obviously, and game plan that is going to build a huge legacy here at Georgia,” Taylor said. “You can see it just in the way the players are on the sidelines, how in tune they are into the game the entire time. The level of expectations has gone up, and I’m not talking just for the players, it’s for the strength and conditioning staff, it’s for every single person who’s on his staff or touches the Georgia football program is being held to a completely different standard.

“And so now that that’s the norm, obviously it’s an expectation to be in the playoff or be vying for a national championship. And he has just laid an amazing foundation. I still can’t believe what he’s been able to do in such a short period of time. But to me, it feels like a completely different Georgia football program.”

Smart owns a 35-8 record since he took over at Georgia prior to the 2016 season. The Bulldogs made it to the College Football Playoff in Smart’s second season in 2017, winning the Rose Bowl before falling to Alabama in the National Championship Game.

Nonetheless, Georgia is one of the top programs in the country again this year, and it will likely be contending for a College Football Playoff berth for much of the season.

No. 3 Georgia and No. 7 Notre Dame are set to kick off on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.