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Joel Klatt hails Georgia as SEC frontrunner: 'The SEC still goes through Athens'

Byington mugby: Alex Byington05/06/26_AlexByington

Plenty has been made over Georgia‘s back-to-back one-and-done quarterfinal exits from the last two College Football Playoffs. Even Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart acknowledges the specter of his last two Playoff appearances has created some pressure around the program, even if he denies its impact.

What’s not mentioned as frequently is Georgia’s reign as the new King of the SEC after back-to-back conference championships and three of the last four. The Bulldogs are also the league’s most recent national champion after winning back-to-back CFP titles in 2021-22.

And, according to FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt, don’t expect Georgia’s SEC dominance to end anytime soon. Klatt raved about the Bulldogs’ chances to three-peat as conference champions in 2026 during a recent episode of The Joel Klatt Show podcast to further cement UGA’s place atop the SEC.

“The SEC still goes through Athens,” Klatt said. “It’s easy to take Georgia for granted, isn’t it? They haven’t won the (national) title in three years, so we think, meh, you know, Georgia’s not what they used to be.

“But here’s the deal with Kirby Smart: he recruits his butt off. In three years, they’ve gone 36-6 and won two SEC titles. You know, the negative is they haven’t won a playoff game (in that span), but it’s like, they still have players. Georgia’s going to be a heck of a team (this upcoming season),” Klatt continued. “Gunner Stockton is back for Year 2 as a starter, they’ve got their running back, Nate Frazier, back. Drew Bobo up front (at) center. … I love KJ Bolden, he’s a guy (that could be taken) Top 10 next year in the NFL Draft. … So Georgia’s not going anywhere.

“And they run the SEC. If you want to win that conference, if you want to be considered the best team in the SEC, you’ve got to beat Georgia.”

Of course, that’s been a tall task for the rest of the league in recent years. In fact, outside of Ole Miss’ 2024 upset in Oxford, only one other SEC team has beaten the Bulldogs in the past five seasons — Alabama. The Crimson Tide has become Georgia’s SEC nemesis of sorts with a 4-2 record between 2021-25. Of course, several of those losses have occurred in Atlanta, with UGA boasting a run of 25 consecutive regular-season SEC victories until Kalen DeBoer’s 2024 upset in Athens in his first season at Alabama.

But with Stockton back as one of just a handful of the SEC’s returning starting quarterbacks, as well as a load of experience on both sides of the ball, Georgia is poised to continue its reign atop the SEC standings for another year. At least until someone else dethrones them.