Greg McElroy Names What “Would Keep Me Up At Night If I Was Kirby Smart”

Former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy has two big concerns for the Georgia Bulldogs ahead of the 2024 college football season. McElroy, who is a college football analyst for ESPN, outlined his top reasons to worry about the Georgia on her podcast: “Always college football with Greg McElroy.”

McElroy ranks Georgia as his top team in the SEC, but he cares about Georgia as much as any other SEC team. “What would keep me up at night if I was Kirby Smart would be the top seven defensively, but I think they should improve at that position,” McElroy said.

Georgia’s run defense finished the 2023 season ranked as the 18th-ranked run defense in the country. The Bulldogs have allowed 13 rushing touchdowns and 113.6 rushing yards per game, which is not up to Georgia’s high defensive standard in the Kirby Smart Era. Georgia’s defensive line is already primed to enter fall camp, which is very concerning ahead of the Bulldogs’ Aug. 31 season opener against Clemson.

“The other thing that would keep me updated would be the calendar. You have six home games, two neutral sites, okay, then you have four true road games,” McElroy continued. “How about these road games? Okay, Kentucky, perennial bowl team, at Alabama, perennial playoff contender, at Texas, last year’s playoff team (and) probably a playoff contender in the near future, at Ole Miss … So four very tough road games.”

“It’s a very difficult schedule. Extremely difficult and I think they’ll be able to navigate it, but I’m not sure they’ll be able to get through it unscathed,” McElroy said.

Fortunately for Georgia, in the expanded college football playoff era, the Bulldogs have more margin for error. There is no doubt that Georgia plays against one of the most challenging schedules in the country, but that should help make this Georgia season a memorable one.

This article originally appeared on Bulldogs Wire: Greg McElroy Names What “Would Keep Me Up At Night If I Was Kirby Smart”