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Joel Klatt paying respect to Georgia heading into 2026 season
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Joel Klatt paying respect to Georgia heading into 2026 college football season

By Andrew Kulha  |  Last updated May 6, 2026 11:47 PM ET
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It's easy to get caught up in the new landscape of college football, but let's not forget about the "old guard" just yet.

Yes, the Indiana Hoosiers are the reigning and defending national champions and that's going to take time to get used to. We've also seen the rise of programs like Vanderbilt, Texas Tech and Georgia Tech thanks to their ability to adapt to the NIL and transfer portal era.

Things have even changed in the SEC. Vandy is a good example of that, but the years of it being "Alabama and everyone else" are simply in the past.

Ole Miss and Missouri have both figured out how to compete in this era, and the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners have certainly shifted the SEC power dynamic.

Are we forgetting about a major member of the "old guard" that deserves a bit more respect, though? Joel Klatt of Fox Sports certainly thinks so, and his thoughts on Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs are clear as we look ahead to the 2026 college football season.

“The SEC still goes through Athens,” Klatt said on the newest episode of his podcast (h/t On3). “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."

Klatt thinks people are taking UGA for granted, because doing this at a high level is just what the Bulldogs do under Smart. They're almost under the radar in this new era of college football, but that's because they're incredibly consistent.

Who knows if Indiana will be able to stay near the top of the mountain under head coach Curt Cignetti? We know Smart and the Bulldogs will consistently be in the picture, though. Smart is still one of the best recruiters in college football. He also has a program that can speak for itself on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal.

He consistently brings in top talent, wins big games and then sends those players to the NFL.

Joel Klatt says the SEC runs through the Georgia Bulldogs 

It's a formula that works in college football, and Smart has it down to a science. Yes, the Bulldogs haven't won a College Football Playoff game since the 2022 season, but it's easy to forget that the last time they did notch a win in the CFP, they were hoisting the national championship for a second straight season.

That type of dominance just doesn't go away after a few seasons in which that goal wasn't met. Even in this "down" stretch, it's worth remembering that Smart has gone 36-6 with two SEC titles in the past three years.

That's why Klatt believes the Bulldogs aren't going anywhere in 2026.

"They run the SEC," he said. "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.”

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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