A daunting upcoming schedule will be the ultimate test for the 2024 Georgia Bulldogs

One month into the 2024 college football season, Georgia is sitting undefeated at 3-0. It's familiar territory for the Bulldogs, who have won 42 straight regular-season games.

Their season-opening No. 1 ranking in the AP poll, however, has vanished. Despite the team's record, this has not been the dominant Georgia squad we are used to.

I attended Week 3's Georgia-Kentucky game in which the then-top-ranked Bulldogs survived a one-point scare on the road. It was a continuous wait for them to pile it on as the college football powerhouse we are accustomed to.

But they never did.

And you could make a case that without a questionable punt decision by Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops late in the fourth quarter, Kentucky should have won the game — a 13-12 nail-biter.

Mark Stoops defends his decision to punt the ball with 3 minutes to play. pic.twitter.com/ARjrbS9f3R

— KSR (@KSRonX) September 15, 2024

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck was outplayed by his once backup Brock Vandagriff in that contest. It was the lowest-graded outing of Beck's career (59.1) and his fewest passing yards in a game as a starter (160). It took a couple of games for Beck to get going last season, so that could be the case again in 2024. But Beck has still just been average through three outings in 2024, with his PFF stats being down across the board.

Carson Beck's Production Through First Three Games | 2023 and 2024

The onus isn't completely on Beck, though, and he has a great chance to be successful at the next level as PFF's top-ranked quarterback prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Georgia roster in its entirety is not as elite as it was the past three years. Let’s break down a few of the other units that are not living up to expectations.

Wide Receivers

Georgia ranks 72nd in the FBS in PFF receiving grade (66.8). The team has also experienced some off-field issues that have hurt the receiver room's depth, and the next players in line haven't stepped up quite yet.

Dominic Lovett has been the Bulldogs' best wideout, leading the team in PFF receiving grade (72.8) with 155 yards on the year. Lovett is a solid player who has always been dependable, but he is not a dynamic threat who the offense can run its entire game plan through. Tight ends Oscar Delp and Benjamin Yurosek have underwhelmed, with PFF grades in the 40.0s on only a few combined catches. Wide receiver Dillon Bell was supposed to take a huge step in this offense but has yet to eclipse 100 receiving yards.

Defensive Line

Georgia’s calling card for the past few years has been winning the trench battle and stopping the run behind an NFL-level defensive line. That dominant front-seven is missing thus far in 2024.

The Bulldogs are especially reeling without injured star Mykel Williams — the 10th-ranked player on PFF's 2025 NFL Draft big board. Edge defender Chaz Chambliss has done his best to step up in the pass-rush game, currently ranking as their highest-graded defender (84.3). But not a single player on Georgia's defense has more than one sack through three games, which just doesn’t seem right for such a notorious unit.

What has been working

Georgia's run game has remained a strength through the first three games, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. The team sports an 83.0 PFF rushing grade, which ranks 23rd in the nation. Trevor Etienne didn’t even play in Week 1 against Clemson and is still leading the team in rushing yards (157) and yards after contact (105).

It’s not a stretch to say that Etienne and Branson Robinson were the main reasons the Bulldogs beat Kentucky while Georgia's passing attack floundered. True freshman Nate Frazier has also made an early impact on the ground, leading the team in PFF rushing grade (82.2) and first-down gains (six).

Despite a shoulder injury earlier in the game, Trevor Etienne’s toughness won Georgia the game this weekend on this incredible drive late in the game: pic.twitter.com/jfeNEO8M0N

— Travis May (@FF_TravisM) September 16, 2024

It helps to have one of the nation’s best offensive lines year in and year out, but the loss of star right guard Tate Ratledge for a few weeks will certainly affect the unit.

Etienne will get the bulk of carries going forward as the 12th-ranked running back on PFF's 2025 NFL Draft big board, and it will be vital for him to carry the load while the rest of Georgia’s offense gets back into a groove.

What lies ahead

It’s unfathomable to imagine Georgia missing out on a 12-team College Football Playoff. (I predicted them in the preseason to be the No. 1 seed and win the SEC.) The team's upcoming schedule is going to test that notion, though.

The Bulldogs have upcoming games against the Nos. 2, 3, 8 and 11 teams in PFF's College Football Power Rankings, with three being on the road. That is a daunting roadmap in the quest to secure a playoff spot. It would be difficult for any team to get through that gauntlet with fewer than two losses, but Kirby Smart is the best coach in college football with Nick Saban now retired, and he is capable of navigating the schedule.

Georgia has not lost a regular-season game since Nov. 7, 2020. The team can likely slip up once and still be in a position to win the SEC Championship, but two losses could muddy the waters.

It might take the best coaching effort yet out of Smart and his staff to get this Georgia team rolling again. And it begins with a contest against Alabama in Week 5, the most anticipated matchup of the 2024 college football season so far. The Crimson Tide are the only team to beat Georgia in the past three seasons. Will it happen again? Or are this year's Bulldogs capable of upholding the program's recent regular-season dominance?