ATHENS, Ga. — The preseason is over for the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Time to face some real competition on the football field.
The two-time reigning national champions carry a 19-game winning streak into their first Southeastern Conference date of 2023, hosting South Carolina on Saturday afternoon in a contest that should be more challenging than the first two weeks.
The Bulldogs (2-0) opened with a 48-7 rout of the University of Tennessee at Martin, which competes in the lower-tier Football Championship Subdivision, then put a similar 45-3 beating on Ball State, a Mid-American Conference program.
It was difficult to gauge from those ultimately one-sided performances if Kirby Smart’s team is the same dominant force that went 29-1 over the past two seasons. In fact, the coach noted he has been able to get a better read in certain phases during the week than on game days.
“It’s not been the caliber of guys we go against in practice,” Smart said. “Right now, the evaluation has been easy. It begins to get a lot harder this week.”