Former Alabama QB might be projecting with bold take on Georgia

Greg McElroy is trying to look for imperfections in something that is already beautiful. The noted college football analyst for ESPN and former Alabama quarterback touched on the Georgia Bulldogs' roster on the Always College Football podcast ahead of their Week 1 game vs. the regional rival Clemson Tigers. Although he agrees Georgia should be a heavy favorite, he is looking for some flaws.

While he and I are on the same page that Georgia and Clemson will absolutely be contenders to make the expanded College Football Playoff out of their respective conferences, it really does seem like he is trying to poke the bear up in Athens with his comments about the Dawgs. Elite programs like Georgia lose great players to the NFL Draft all the time. What if he was talking about Alabama here?

McElroy questions if Georgia is as talented as people think, preferring Ohio State's roster a bit more.

“I think there are more questions on Georgia’s roster than people realize. Doesn’t mean that they’re not going to be really good. They’re going to be excellent. This is a team that is no worse than No. 2 in college football coming into the season. There is no team outside of Ohio State that has more capable bodies on their roster. They are legit.”

Although he had little to critique about the offense, he does have concerns about the UGA defense.

“There are some pieces that need to be replaced in the secondary but they’ve recruited so well at that position it’s just not a position I’m going to be losing a lot of sleep over."

Here is the entire episode of Always College Football where McElroy previewed Georgia vs. Clemson.

If Georgia is better in the trenches and in the back-end of its defense, then this team is winning it all.

Greg McElroy tries to poke holes in Georgia Bulldogs' loaded roster

Admittedly, I think this criticism is fair. I may be biased in that McElroy is trying to poke holes in my alma mater's juggernaut of a football team, but I get his critiques in some capacity. If Georgia is going to win its third national title in four years, they need a total disruptor along the defensive line like Jordan Davis or Jalen Carter, as well as a few dynamic playmakers in the defensive backfield, too.

The additions of K.J. Bolden and Ellis Robinson IV in the secondary will help the likes of Malaki Starks be even better this season. Of course, Georgia is really going to need to be locked and loaded in the defensive front seven if the Dawgs want their dynasty to continue to reign. The good news is I think they are about as close to complete on the offensive side of the ball. Carson Beck has the weapons.

Ultimately, I see Georgia as a playoff lock that is going to win around 11 or 12 games. In a worst-case scenario, the Dawgs should win around 10 games because of a much harder regular-season schedule than in years past. The good news is going 10-2 in the SEC or the Big Ten probably gets you into the expanded College Football Playoff as an at-large team in most seasons, I would think.

Once again, Kirby Smart has even more bulletin-board material to feed his team ahead of fall camp.