Paul Finebaum evaluates the 2023 challengers to Georgia in the SEC
Paul Finebaum focused on Georgia’s challengers in the SEC for the 2023 season.
Georgia captured its 2nd consecutive national championship with a 65-7 win over TCU on Monday. In the College Football Playoff, Georgia did not face another SEC team after playing Ohio State and TCU. With Georgia’s dominance over the last 2 seasons, the rest of the SEC will need to work to catch up to Georgia in 2023.
While appearing on ESPN Radio’s Keyshawn, JWill and Max, Finebaum was asked about the teams in the SEC and around the countries that can challenge Georgia next season (Via ESPN College Football):
“I think LSU is the ascending program under Brian Kelly. Nationally, I’ll throw one more thing in there… I think Southern Cal is going to start crashing the party on a regular basis after Lincoln Riley’s first year.”
LSU faced Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and Southern California was 1 win away from reaching the Playoff in December. Finebaum also reminded the audience about 1 program that can return to the championship picture:
“I’m not ruling Alabama out… I think the window for Saban is so narrow now, and there is a difference between what Georgia is doing and Alabama’s doing — it’s not much by the way. Replacing Bryce Young is going to be a mystery to me, and I think that’s the biggest thing Nick Saban has to deal with.”
Alabama, LSU, and Southern California could rival Georgia in the 2023 Playoff race.
Disrespectful that they didn’t even include Tennessee in there.
LOL. Really? Why? Because they won 10 games this year after riding home crowds to barely beating Bama and Floriduh? Getting smacked around in the rain by the Dawgs and boat raced in Willy-B didn’t count? Or how about the fact that y’all are losing every single player that mattered this season and Joe Milton is still not very accurate? Or the fact that y’all don’t have the depth behind everything you’ve lost to replace any of those players in any respectable way?
Y’all won some games in a otherwise forgettable 10-win season. In a few years, no one but y’all Hillbillies will remember or care about this team.
Y’all are 2021’s Michigan State. Take a look at Michigan State from 2022. That’s y’all’s 2023.
Not reading this random BS.
And ofc he never responds lmao.
C
H
U
M
P
B I T C H.
Got you mad HAHA
You think I’m mad?
I’m just making a factual statement of what you are. Facts don’t have feelings, Hillbilly.
Seriously though, enjoy this 10-win season that didn’t matter. Just like nothing your team has done in 25 years has mattered. :-)
That is what I was thinking. Heck, Pawl is a UT alum even. I think UT will be about as good next year and UGA at Neyland Stadium will be one to watch for sure. Just ask Bama.
Might want to go back and look at what happened in 2021. They wore precious black-for-black sake unis for fake juice then, too. They were just wearing them for their own funerals.
The only thing that kept us from scoring 40+ on the Hillbillies for the 6th year in a row this year was the rain.
Excuses. If our defense is as bad as y’all think it is and if yall’s offense is that good you most definitely should’ve scored 50+.
But alas…
Umm, dude, do you know ANYTHING about football? Kirby took the ball out of Stetson’s hands. He had four passes the rest of the way once it started raining.
It wasn’t your defense dummy. Kirby didn’t fear your overrated offense. He knew y’all could score.
Seriously though, keep thinking y’all did anything this year.
Excuses…
@volfl, I don’t see any excuses in a 15-0 season (SECC & Natty)… seems you’re the one trying to project and make excuses. You know in your heart of hearts Kirby took his foot off the gas Nov 5. Just accept it, the Vols are good but not quite what you thought.
Most Vol fans on SDS are reasonable but yet you drag the whole lot down with your senseless dribble trying to troll articles of the “Back To Back” Champs. Give it a rest!
Why do you even want your team to be mentioned? Just rat poison.
Funny no mention of Tennessee in this conversation. I get we lost Hooker and Hyatt, but I don’t see much of a drop in offense for next year. Milton showed he can move the offense against a pretty stout Clemson D in the bowl game. I think the Defense does improve as in did from 21 to 22. Plus the schedule is favorable with only @ Bama and UGa in Knoxville. Both those games can be won
Right. Do people really believe the offense is going to fall off that hard?
Losing a 25 year old QB is going to hurt any program. I think people underestimate that with Stetson Bennett as well. We shall see.
That is what makes LSU dangerous this year. Daniles is not quite 25, but this will be his 5th season.
The difference is the Dawgs have the recruiting depth to cover for our losses. We had 4 sacks in the Natty by true freshman. We also have judiciously used the Portal to make our receiving corps so much better, and we got two of the best TE recruits in the nation and are still in for the very best in Duce Robinson.
Tennessee has none of that.
I don’t think anyone is underestimating the fall off after Stetson. No matter who starts for Georgia, barring a transfer, they will have 0 college starts. There’s going to be growing pains regardless.
Corch Irvin Meyers 2.0 That is exactly why we are recruiting so heavily on defense this year.
We have the depth on offense. Now we are just stacking up on defense.
Don’t forget that we are also using the portal for the same needs as you guys: to stack up recievers as well.
@Corch talking about the quarterback position. Regardless of the guys at other positions, UGA’s starter will have a whopping 0 starts this year. That is a humongous deal.
If TN plays a harder fought game in Athens they’re in the convo. But they didn’t, they got beat down and coulda got score 40+ on em if we didn’t throw the ball 4 times in the second half. I think the game in Knoxville will be a good close battle but I see why pawl says it’s not.
@Braves, if Milton develops the mental part of the game, YES. But too, Huepel has to develop the defense to be on equal footing.
The Vols will be the most significant challenger in the SECE but on the national stage, eh.
Not much substance to this article. Writer must have pulled it off the top of his head and spent 4 or 5 minutes composing the masterpiece.
I see more teams than the three mentioned that could possibly challenge Georgia next year, but the Dawgs are loaded. After the Spring practices we may have a better idea.
Finebaum joins the ranks of fools failing to recognize the impact Hypno-Mertz will have as he Mertzs all over the SEC, Mertzmerizing defenses with his psychedelic Mertzshroom passes! It’s going to be one long, bad trip for UGA as they enter the mad, mad realm of THE MAD Mertz!
My god. When does this dude NOT mention Mertz?
HAH!
LSU will definitely be a contender next year in my opinion. Bama too. For the Tennessee fans offended the Vols weren’t listed, I think it’s fair to be in a wait-and-see mode for next season given the offensive talent that is leaving. CJH’s system is dangerous… but it really requires the right talent in the right places to be so dangerous. The Vols should still be good, but will they be an actual contender? That’s what’s uncertain.
Not uncertain for me. Most or all of the portal pickups from last year are or will be leaving.That’s what happens when the coaching staff tries to circumvent the player development process by taking 20 or so players from other programs that most oftentimes can’t get on the field where they are.
Plus, many upperclassmen like those aforementioned transfers are not great candidates for being “developed”, so they are what they are.
Until Heupel gets off his ass and starts recruiting and developing blue-chip HS players, a process that may take a couple years, he will never seriously compete for a championship of any kind.
Until UT strings together 3 or 4 top 5 classes or better, they’ll be good but good doesn’t win NC’s and probably not SEC titles either.
The truth hurts.
It’s waaaayyy to early to start arguing with morons like corch. There is nothing and I mean nothing that will prevent him from spewing the same tired stuff he always does. Heck maybe we get lucky between now and summer and his trailer falls into a sink hole never to be heard from again.
Why would we care what Paul thinks anyway. But he’s right about socal, taking bama too lightly and lsu is 50/50. Don’t underestimate the freeze either.
I feel like i’m one of the only people on this site that gets him genuinely mad.
Bama and LSU, for sure. I’m done with the A&M Kool-Aid till I actually see it happen. Vols, maybe – Heup has a habit of regressing and there are a lot of holes to fill. Auburn could be a dark horse – you just can’t underestimate Freeze.
Not buying the USC shtick just yet. Tulane beat ‘em, FFS. Riley feasts on cupcakes and chokes on real meat. The PAC is Charmin-soft, too – even if they make the playoff, they likely get punched in the mouth.
Ohio State is definitely a threat. We’ll see who next year’s Cincinnati or TCU turns out to be. Or if there is one.
As much faith as I want to have in TN next season there are just a ton of question marks all over the field. They will have talent but they are losing so much from this past season. Another 10 win season is definitely possible.
The SEC as a whole is going to be different IMO due to big time pieces graduation or going to the NFL. Georgia, Bama, TN, Florida and KY are all losing their starting QBs. Most of them were Heisman candidates at one point or another. Milton at TN is the only current backup that has any real amount of playing time. Bama and Georgia are also losing massive defensive talents too.
Georgia is losing 3-4 guys if Nolan decides to leave. Sure Kelee and Chris and carter are big losses but you saw that a lot of freshman and sophomores made bigger plays than the 3 veterans just named. I suspect Nolan comes back as you saw it hurt him to not be a part of the chip and he’ll want redemption. If he comes back he’ll be a dangerous man for sure
Dawgs losing 3 key players off of the defense. Offense is losing 5. On ‘D’ – UGA is really deep at all 3 positions (corner, safety and D-line), oh and Smith (lost after the UF game).
On offense, two are off the line, (Center and Right Tackle -both high round draft choices). Losing Washington (TE – high round draft choice), McIntosh and Bennett. QB room is deep. Line is deep. And TE room is ridiculous.
The biggest concerns are actually the Center (Van Pran – just a great leader and QB of the O-Line), and Bennett (another great leader). Smith and Carter we both very strong leaders on the defense.
Dawgs actually play/rotate a LOT of kids in each game. Case in point, the D-Line had 3 freshmen in during the last four downs against OSU and made key plays to stop the drive and force the FG.
It isn’t a talent issue at any of these positions. It is experience at QB and to a lesser degree CB. And then rotating to the Center position.
The biggest challenge. Replacing leadership. This time, more on the offensive side of the ball, where as the previous year, it was the defense.
Dawgs should actually be better on defense, and we’ll have to see on offense – depends on how QB1 performs, but the talent around him is deep.
I think LSU will be improved, so, yeah, I would include LSU. Alabama can never be ruled out. USC may crash the party, then promptly be kicked out of the party. No defense. It’s like Oklahoma v2. My dark horse is Texas A&M. Laugh if you want, but that was a very young team, and they ended the season on a high note.
If you put money on that today, that would be a massive payout to the point even Mattress Mack would be jealous.
i think ATM is still one more season away. they will still be very young for the 23 season.
Tennessee doesn’t belong on a list of teams who can really challenge Georgia next year. You need a better than good defense to challenge Georgia. Tennessee has a way to go before they have that defense.
Look at it this way. Georgia and Tennessee offense: is a draw.
Scoring defense: Georgia No.5 at 14.3 PPG. Tennessee No.36 at 22.8.
Hey at least we improved from last year’s defense by a full touchdown.
USC does not have a defense. They will not be relevant next season.
Disrespectful not including UT? Maybe? That was a much older group that faced Bama and UGA last year, with some very good pieces gotten out of the portal with the perfect QB.
You can look at UT two ways: Look what they did and they do not even have their own players in place. or
Look what they did with a veteran group that bought in with the perfect QB for that system, with nice pieces added.
Frankly – too early to tell either way, and with UT’s history over the last 15 years, you can understand why PAUL left them out – for now.
We’ll learn a lot about the Vols and their fan base this year. If they take a step back, it will be interesting to see if they have learned to be a little more patient or if the pitch forks will come out like they normally do.
No need to GATA….
Now it’s SATA (Stay After That Azzzzzz)
Dawgs On Top – Reloading
I’m 69 years old and a UGA alum/grad,Class of ’75. Georgia born and raised and an eternal DAWGS,FALCONS,BRAVES and HAWKS fan. I was in the upper nosebleed seats @ the Nawlins SuperDome to see my Herschel-led DAWGS win it all in ’80. I was watching on TV,but not present in ’95 and ’21 when my ATL Bravos won it all. I saw on TV my ATL Falcons lose 2 SuperBowl games. I’ve gloried in watching my beloved DAWGS 2-peat as 4 time college football CHAMPIONS. I may live to see my Falcons win a SuperBowl,but I doubt my ATL Hawks will ever win an NBA Title in my lifetime. IDRGAF where my DAWGS or other SEC teams or my Falcons, Braves or Hawks are ranked for 2023-24. I’m takin’ everything as it comes (my Jerry Jeff Walker theme every year)