An ESPN writer predicted that Georgia football will play in the national title game
ESPN writer Max Olson, known for covering transfer portal news on X, predicted the Georgia Bulldogs will play the Oregon Ducks in the College Football Playoff national championship. Unfortunately, in Olson’s prediction, the Bulldogs lose to the Ducks 34-27.
Olson is part of the ESPN staff that wrote an article on their CFP bracket predictions.
Writer Chris Low was the highest on Georgia amongst the group. He predicted the Bulldogs winning the national title game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Four of the twelve writers predicted Georgia losing the championship to Oregon.
Interestingly enough, every other writer, including SP+ writer Bill Connelly, has Georgia losing in the Sugar Bowl to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Georgia loses a transfer, who’s the son of an NFL coach, to the Michigan Wolverines
Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Troy Bowles committed to the Michigan Wolverines out of the transfer portal on Saturday. Bowles was a four-star recruit and the No. 6 linebacker in the class of 2023. Bowles is the son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles.
Bowles played sparingly as a reserve with the Georgia Bulldogs. He appeared in seven games: five in 2023 and two in 2024. In 2023, he recorded five tackles, including three against UT Martin.
In the wake of C.J. Allen’s emergence as an every down linebacker, along with Chris Cole and Raylen Wilson getting more playing time, Bowles announced his decision to transfer on Dec. 13.
He joins a group of SEC transfers committing to the maize and blue. Brothers TJ and Tevis Metcalf join the Wolverines from Arkansas, and Belleville, Michigan, native Damon Payne transferred from Alabama.
Bowles will have three more years of eligibility for the Wolverines. Given his father’s expertise, he has a great football background.
Six Georgia defenders have entered the portal since the window opened. Of those, three have not announced a new destination. Cornerback Julian Humphrey transferred to Texas A&M, and Jamaal Jarrett committed to transfer to USC, following the Bear Alexander route.
The Diego Pavia ruling could impact Georgia Bulldogs senior receiver Colbie Young.
On Dec. 18, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that gave Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia another year of college eligibility.
Pavia sued the NCAA last month, claiming his junior college experience (he played two years at a junior college in New Mexico) shouldn’t count toward his overall years of eligibility. He claimed it was a violation of antitrust law that unfairly limited his ability to make money from his name, image and likeness.
This ruling could have massive implications on college athletics. Now players can contest having junior college years count toward their eligibility totals, as Pavia did, if the NCAA even bothers trying to enforce that rule any longer.
Georgia’s Colbie Young is one of those players. Similar to Pavia, Young transferred to Georgia with one year of eligibility remaining. However, he started his collegiate career with one year at Lackawanna College, a junior college. He played two seasons for the Miami Hurricanes before transferring to Georgia.
Considering Georgia is on the hunt for wide receivers in the transfer portal, getting Young back for another year could be beneficial. Young could also transfer to another receiver-needy team.
Young is one of many players in Georgia’s history who attended junior college before becoming a Bulldog. Devonte Wyatt started at Hutchinson CC before playing with the Bulldogs and becoming a first-round NFL draft selection. Javon Wims is another UGA player who attended a JUCO and was drafted in the NFL.
Of course, Stetson Bennett, who left Georgia in 2017, spent a year at community college in 2018 before returning to the Bulldogs in 2019 and leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles. If this ruling were a few years earlier, he could’ve had another year of eligibility at Georgia and potentially led the Bulldogs to a three-peat in 2023.
Georgia football players have confidence in quarterback Gunner Stockton.
There is a lot of pressure on Georgia Bulldogs starting quarterback Gunner Stockton. After Thursday’s diagnosis that Carson Beck will miss the Sugar Bowl, all eyes turn to Gunner Stockton to keep the Bulldogs afloat in the College Football Playoff.
Stockton’s Georgia Bulldogs teammate Jalon Walker, one of the heart-and-soul players on the team, has confidence in Stockton to deliver for Georgia. He expressed this on “The Paul Finebaum Show” on Thursday.
“He’s played big time football because he’s seen it everyday,” Walker said. “He does a great job preparing himself mentally and physically. Including for what he has to do for the game. I think he’ll be fine.”
He sent a final message to Georgia fans who doubt Stockton becoming a leader for the Bulldogs if they lose.
“I feel like our team will have Gunner’s back, no matter what happens,” Walker declared.
Stockton’s insane high-school reel and pedigree (he was the state’s 11th prospect overall) earned him an offer from Georgia in 2021, which led to this point.
Former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray makes his championship prediction. What does he predict for UGA?
Former Georgia Bulldog Aaron Murray submitted his playoff bracket predictions on Instagram. He predicted the Ohio State Buckeyes to take home the national championship by beating the Georgia Bulldogs.
Ohio State is the No. 8 seed in the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes have a 65.3% chance to beat Tennessee according to ESPN’s matchup predictor. If Ohio State beats Tennessee, it would have to play No. 1 Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl, a rematch of a Week 7 game that Ohio State lost.
Murray has the Buckeyes playing the Texas Longhorns in the semifinal, and, of course, he has Ohio State playing against his former team.
Murray was one of several people from the Players Lounge to post their predictions, including former Bulldog Keith Marshall, former Tennessee Volunteer Josh Dobbs and former Clemson Tiger Darien Rencher.
Marshall, along with content creator Jack Wright, predicted the Bulldogs to win the championship. Clemson sideline reporter Mare d’Entremont was the lowest of the bunch on the Georgia Bulldogs, predicting Notre Dame to beat them in the Sugar Bowl.
Georgia Bulldogs football DT Jamaal Jarrett announces transfer portal destination
Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Jamaal “Jah” Jarrett is transferring to Southern California to play for the USC Trojans he announced via social media.
Jarrett, a former four-star prospect from the 2023 recruiting class, will bring multiple years of eligibility to his new team. He played in 11 games for the Georgia Bulldogs during the 2024 season, finishing with three tackles. He competed for a starting role but had been limited throughout his career because of injuries. Jarrett is primarily a run stopping force.
He is replacing Bear Alexander, another former Bulldog, in the middle of the line. With Alexander gone to Oregon, Jarrett has the opportunity to become the anchor the Trojans’ run defense.
Jarrett will have three years of eligibility remaining. He becomes the second Bulldog to find a new home for next season. Julian Humphrey announced this month that he will join SEC foe Texas A&M.
Georgia football couldn’t land UCLA transfer standout WR
The Georgia Bulldogs are aggressively pursuing wide receiver transfer targets, particularly bigger-body receivers. J. Michael Sturdivant was one of those Georgia was interested in.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were unable to land the former UCLA standout. According to On3, Sturdivant committed to the Florida Gators.
Sturdivant was a four-star recruit when he committed to the California Golden Bears in 2021. However, he transferred to UCLA after two seasons with Cal. Through three seasons with both Cal and UCLA, Sturdivant caught 123 passes for 1,667 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Sturdivant will be on the other side of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Week 10 of 2025. He is not the first Georgia transfer target that will end up playing the Bulldogs in 2025 and he probably will not be the last.
The final score is a little deceiving: Notre Dame dominated the entire game against Indiana. The Fighting Irish scored their first points off of a 98-yard Jeremiah Love rushing touchdown to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Then in the beginning of the second quarter, Notre Dame marched 83 yards to score again, making it 14-0.
Indiana and Notre Dame each kicked field goals to end the half. In the second half, both teams punted on their first drives, but Indiana’s punt was at their own 3, so they only punted it to their own 43. Notre Dame used the short field to kick a 33-yard field goal.
Indiana showed some life blocking Notre Dame’s 37-yard field goal attempt to start the fourth quarter, but Notre Dame drove 78 yards down the field on the next drive and scored to make it 27-3. Indiana’s offense woke up too late, scoring a touchdown, getting the two-point conversion, recovering an onside kick, and then scoring another touchdown to reach the final score of 27-17.
Overall, Notre Dame dominated Indiana with their running game. ND running backs ran for 193 yards and two touchdowns on just 35 carries, good for an insane 5.5 yards per attempt against the best run defense in the country. The Fighting Irish will now travel to Sugar Bowl and look to win against the Georgia Bulldogs for the first time in the Kirby Smart era.
The Hoosiers, meanwhile, end their magical season with a dud. Sure, Indiana only played two ranked opponents all year, losing by a combined score of 65-32, but Curt Cignetti should be lauded for turning a team that went 9-27 in the last three years to a playoff contender. The Hoosiers will be tested more next year, with road matchups against Oregon and Penn State, two teams in the CFP, on their schedule next year.
Alexander started with the Georgia Bulldogs in 2022, playing in 12 games and racking up nine tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks, including a sack in Georgia’s 65-7 national championship game win over TCU.
Alexander transferred to USC in 2023, and he produced improved numbers: 27 tackles, seven tackles for loss and two sacks in 13 games for a weak USC defense. This year, on Sept. 25, he voluntarily redshirted the rest of his second season with the Trojans. He transferred out of USC on Dec. 9.
Alexander sent mixed signals about his preferred destination for almost the entire transfer portal window. When Georgia played Texas in the SEC championship, he posted on his social media, “Winner takes all.” On his visit to Penn State, he flexed the “G” tattoo he got after winning the national championship with Georgia.
Alexander is one of the most talented players in the portal. He is ranked as the No. 3 defensive lineman and the No. 26 overall player in the portal, according to 247Sports.
He goes to an Oregon Ducks team that has been predicted by several sources, including ESPN and Joel Klatt, to win the 2024 national championship. Alexander will not be eligible to play for Oregon this season, but he should join a very good team led by Dan Lanning, one of Georgia’s former assistants.
Georgia Bulldogs quaterback Carson Beck can either stay for another college football season or declare for the 2025 NFL draft.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck has seen his 2025 NFL draft stock fall down significantly since the beginning of the 2024 college football season. In August, some media pundits considered him to be the best quarterback and the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Unfortunately, Beck struggled once SEC play began, throwing as many interceptions as touchdowns against the SEC (12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions). When it looked like he seemed to finally turn a corner,he suffered an elbow injury in the SEC championship.
It remains to be seen whether he can play another game for Georgia, but he technically still has another year of eligibility if he doesn’t want to declare for the 2025 NFL draft.
What are the pros and cons of each draft decision for Beck.
If Carson Beck declares for the NFL draft
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
So far, there aren’t any major drafting sites that have Carson Beck selected in the first round. With his turnover issues and injury rehab, it could be considered a risk for teams to draft him that early.
Tankathon has the Cleveland Browns selecting him in the third round with the 69th pick. On the NFL mock draft database, he is the fifth-ranked quarterback prospect.
Then again, the draft stock of quarterbacks usually rises as the draft gets closer. Quarterbacks are always in high demand, and there are almost always teams that are willing to overdraft a quarterback to lead their offense. Plus, there are many that believe the 2025 quarterback class is weak.
If Carson Beck stays at Georgia
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
Carson Beck could benefit from staying another year at Georgia. With an extra year, he could put this down year behind him with a great 2025. He could further improve his skills, develop chemistry with his wide receivers, and show more in both the stats and the eye test.
Of course, it could backfire for some. Take Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers. In October 2023, Ewers was mocked to go as high as No. 11 in the 2024 NFL draft. However, he decided to stay another year at Texas so that he could improve his draft stock even further.
Unfortunately, with injuries and ineffectiveness in 2024, his draft stock slipped to the point where Tankathon predicts him going in the late second round. Ewers should still have a chance to improve his draft stock in the playoffs, but his draft stock is far from where it was in 2023.
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That’s not to mention that the 2026 quarterback class could be stronger than 2025. Arch Manning, Nico Iamaleava, Drew Allar, LaNorris Sellers, and Garrett Nussmeier are all players that could declare for the 2026 NFL draft. Nussmeier and Allar also could’ve declared for the 2025 NFL draft, but they both decided to stay put for another season.
Beck would earn a significant amount in Name, Image and Likeness money if he returns to Georgia.
