EXCLUSIVE: Mike Smith backs Georgia to pull off championship three-peat: "They're head and shoulders above everybody in the country" 

The Georgia Bulldogs defended their national title with a historic 65-7 stomping of TCU in the College Football National Championship game on Monday night. The 58-point was the largest ever in a national championship game, surpassing Nebraska's 38-point win over Florida.

The Bulldogs also became only the second program to win back-to-back national titles in the 21st century, emulating Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide's feat (2011, 2012). Once the champagne dries, Georgia will begin the process of replacing the stars who made their back-to-back national title wins possible.

Defensive lineman Jalen Carter has already declared for the 2023 NFL draft, and other star players, including quarterback Stetson Bennett, are expected to follow suit.

The departure of their stars could hurt Georgia's pursuit of a third-straight national championship, however, former Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith is expecting them to be among the favorites to win it all in 2024.

While discussing the Bulldogs' odds of a three-peat during his weekly appearance on Sportskeeda's BallFather Podcast, Smith told host Reggie Roberts:

"(The Bulldogs) loaded. They're going to have another another NFL class that leaves, guys going out early into the NFL Draft. But they'll just reload. Yeah, Kirby and his staff. They own the state of Georgia. And really they they're head and shoulders above everybody in the country when it when it comes to recruiting right now. And when they get them (new recruits) on that campus, coach them up, they're hard to beat."

Watch the latest episode of the BallFather Podcast below:

Has any team won three straight College Football National Championships? Bulldogs looking to create history next season

2023 CFP National Championship - TCU v Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs are already in a rarefied air after winning two straight college football national championships. As mentioned above, Alabama is the only other team to achieve that feat since the turn of the century.

Since 1950, only five teams, including Georgia and Alabama, have won back-to-back national titles. Oklahoma (1955, 1956), Texas (1969, 1970), and Nebraska (1994, 1995) have also achieved the feat. However, none went on to win a third straight national title. That distinction belongs to only one team in college football history.

Minnesota won three straight titles from 1934 to 1936. 87 years on, they remain the last team to achieve this feat. Georgia will have the opportunity to achieve a once-in-a-century feat next season. Will head coach Kriby Smart manage to plug the holes left by the exodus of his star players and win a third straight national title? Only time will tell.