BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Georgia coach Jim Donnan has heard the buzz surrounding his football team, but he doesn't seem to have paid much attention to it.

"I do believe we're making strides in our program," Donnan said. "But you've gotta do it on the field."

There are two big reasons for his caution: Florida and Tennessee. The Bulldogs are favored by many to win the SEC East this season, and perhaps claim their first league crown in 18 years. But they've only won once in their last 19 meetings against the division's two kingpins.

"I'm sure Tennessee and Florida don't like the fact that a team that hasn't beaten them is picked above them," Donnan said.

Quincy Carter is one big reason why expectations are so high in Athens. The junior quarterback spurned playing baseball in the Chicago Cubs' organization this summer to focus on football.

	Quincy Carter likes the idea of being the favorite

Carter knows Georgia fans expect big things this season, and unlike his coach, he embraces the lofty expectations.

"They do, and yeah, I like it," says Carter, an All-SEC pick last season who's thrown for more yards in his first two seasons as a starter than Peyton Manning and Eric Zeier.

"I like competing and I like expectations. We've been picked to win the SEC East, but we haven't done it yet."

He said the Bulldogs have put too much pressure on themselves in recent years against Florida and Tennessee.

"We've got to put those two games back in perspective before we go out on the field," Carter said. "It's not the Super Bowl when we play those two games. It's just two regular season games. As long as we approach it that way, the results will be a lot better."

He has plenty of targets, with last season's top four receivers back. Damien Gary, who suffered a season-ending injury early last season, also returns. Durell Robinson, a 1998 Parade All-American who sat out last season as a partial qualifier, joins the mix.

The Bulldogs have won 27 games the past three seasons and have 19 starters back, including kickers. They beat Purdue 28-25 in the Outback Bowl last season, rallying from a 25-0 deficit for the biggest comeback in bowl history.

Donnan wasn't satisfied with a defense that yielded 51 points in an overtime loss to Georgia Tech in the season finale. He demoted defensive coordinator Kevin Ramsey and hired former Oklahoma head coach Gary Gibbs. Ramsey later resigned.

Gibbs has plenty of talent to work with, including tackles Richard Seymour and Marcus Stroud and a top-notch linebacking corps.

It all adds up to a promising season. But Donnan is still preaching patience.

"There's people who say if Georgia doesn't do it this year, they'll never do it," he said. "I really believe we'll do it eventually."

All that experience guarantees nothing, he said.

"I heard a story about a kamikaze pilot who flew 50 missions. He had a heck of a lot of experience, but he couldn't kill himself," Donnan said.

Seymour thinks it's time Georgia had a successful mission against the two Bulldog killers.

"I like our chances this year," he said.