Five takeaways from Pollack, Barnhart and Schlabach’s 2025 college football predictions at Red & Black’s “Countdown to Kickoff” | Georgia Sports

David Pollack aired out his grievances about the state of NIL in college football, Mark Schlabach provided insight on the contention surrounding Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and Tony Barnhart gave his “dark horse” candidate for the 2025 college football season at The Red & Black’s “Countdown to Kickoff” event at Athentic Brewing Co. on Thursday.

The panel of Georgia sports greats was moderated by DawgNation Daily host Brandon Adams, and attendees were encouraged to ask questions to the Georgia alumni at the end. Here are the five biggest takeaways from their comments.

Teams to keep an eye on for 2025 season

All three panelists have decades of experience covering college football, so the audience’s interest was piqued when Adams asked them to name a team that could be a surprise contender in the 2025 season.

Barnhart, who covered college football for both CBS Sports and ESPN, led off by singling out LSU as a team that people are “not talking about enough.”

“They are loaded on the offensive side of the ball,” Barnhart said. “I talked to [LSU head coach] Brian Kelly, and he looked at me and said, ‘This is my best roster.’”

Pollack, a former All-American defensive end at Georgia and ESPN analyst, followed him up by picking Texas A&M, who he said “has a chance to be really good,” especially because of its star running back, Le’Veon Moss.

Schlabach, a senior reporter for ESPN, chose Missouri as a team that could sneak into the College Football Playoff because of its relatively easy away schedule.

Bobo not the issue

A heated point of contention among the Georgia fanbase is whether Bobo is the correct man for the offensive coordinator position. Many fans cite Bobo’s situational playcalling and poor in-game adjustments as things that have held the team back, but all three of the panelists vehemently disagreed with that viewpoint.

Barnhart referenced the consistent, long-term success of Bobo’s offenses, dating back to the Mark Richt era at Georgia, calling the criticism against Bobo “patently unfair,” adding that “Bobo didn’t cause the team to drop 36 passes.”

Schlabach pointed out the inconsistency of the players on the offense both on and off the field as a critical reason why the unit had a down year. He also emphasized the absurdity of the criticism against Bobo.

“I’ll say one thing about Mike Bobo,” Schlabach said. “If Mike Bobo was bad at his job, Kirby Smart would’ve fired him.”

The Wild West of NIL

A major talking point throughout the event was the need for change at the administrative levels of college football. The panelists emphasized that the college football world needs federal regulations on NIL and revenue sharing to create a more level playing field for all teams.

Pollack also strongly advocated for players having agents to help with NIL negotiations, while Barnhart stressed the need for a collective bargaining agreement and a college football commissioner to oversee everything.

“If you want to change things, a lot of these rules keep getting instituted without players’ input,” Pollack said. “Until there’s player involvement and player representation, we’re not going to get true change.”

“I think we’ve needed [a commissioner],” Barnhart said. “I’ve been calling for this for about 10 years — you need somebody whose job is to look out for the good of college football across the board. We haven’t had that.”

Confidence in Stockton

One of the hottest topics surrounding Georgia football this offseason has been new starting quarterback Gunner Stockton, the replacement for Carson Beck, who transferred to Miami.

Many notable national media members have expressed doubt in Stockton’s ability to lead a Georgia offense that struggled in several big games, but Pollack, Schlabach and Barnhart all praised the redshirt junior signal-caller’s grit and character.

“At halftime of the Texas game, one of the starters on Georgia’s offense walked up to Gunner and was like, ‘If you believe in yourself as much as we believe in you, we’re gonna go out and win this game and be just fine,’ Pollack said. “He’s got everybody’s ears and everybody’s belief.”

Pollack added that the players surrounding Stockton must perform better than last season, quipping that Georgia had “more dropped passes than dropped classes on campus.”

Breakout players on Georgia defense

After the floor was opened to questions from the audience, a fan asked the panelists to choose which Georgia defensive players could step into key roles this season.

Pollack began with freshman defensive tackle Elijah Griffin, expressing how impressed he was with Griffin’s physical ability and well-mannered personality.

“I think Elijah Griffin is gonna be an absolute animal,” Pollack said. “I met that young man not too long ago when he was practicing, and I was like, ‘Holy cow.’ He’s 6-foot-5, 315 [pounds], but more importantly, he shook my hand, looked me in my eyes, very articulate.”

Schlabach said he was concerned about Georgia’s defensive line, but believes that junior edge rushers Gabe Harris Jr. and Elo Modozie could have big seasons, along with junior defensive tackles Christen Miller and Jordan Hall.

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