This Georgia team is good, but is it any different than the good teams who have burned Bulldogs fans in the past?
After beating the Florida Gators 42-7 on Saturday, Georgia is 8-0 for the first time since 2002. That 2002 team finished 13-1, defeating LSU in the SEC title game and beating Florida St. in the Sugar Bowl. Their lone loss that year was to Florida. The last time Georgia beat Florida this bad they ended up in the national championship game back in 1982, but lost to Penn St. in Herschel Walker’s final game as a Bulldog.
Georgia fans know all too well how good Bulldogs teams usually end up losing games they shouldn’t lose as the season wears on and playing themselves right out of what was formally known as a BCS Bowl. So, is this 2017 team the exception or the rule?
Georgia has finished with a winning record for six consecutive years, including this year. They’ve also been ranked in the preseason top-20 all of those years. The problem is they’ve only finished the season ranked in three of those years.
2014 was a team with championship aspirations. Aaron Murray had just graduated, and his replacement Hutson Mason was more than capable of filling his shoes. Not to mention Nick Chubb, Todd Gurley and Sony Michel were in the backfield (until Gurley tore his ACL). On defense, they had Leonard Floyd, Ramik Wilson, Jordan Jenkins, Damian Swann and Dominick Sanders.
No reason that team shouldn’t have competed for an SEC title or a national championship, right? Well, they finished the season 10-3 with an atrocious loss to South Carolina, a loss to Florida and a loss to Georgia Tech. So what should have been a 12-1 season turned into a Belk Bowl appearance and finishing the season ranked 13.
This year’s Georgia team is by far the best they’ve had since the 2008 group that was ranked number one in the country to start the season. That team had six players that are currently active on NFL rosters including Matthew Stafford, A.J. Green, Justin Houston and Geno Atkins. That team finished the season 10-3 with a loss to Alabama in Nick Saban’s second year, a beatdown at the hands of Florida and, somehow, also a loss to Georgia Tech.
So, what makes this team different than the 2014 team or the 2008 team? For starters, this year’s Georgia squad wins by being a complete team. They have really good players, but no one superstar. Nick Chubb is one of the best running backs in the country, but Sony Michel is only 136 yards behind him on 46 fewer carries. Wide receiver Terry Godwin leads the country in yards per catch, but he only has 369 yards receiving on the entire year.
They’ve beaten good teams, too. There are only four undefeated teams remaining and Georgia has the best strength of schedule of those teams. The Bulldogs also have an overall opponent record of 35-28 which is one of the best in the country.
But the biggest difference between this Georgia team and all the other teams that failed in the past is the defense. Their top-three defense is probably the best they’ve had since the 2008 team. They were visibly upset they lost the shutout late in the fourth quarter against Florida and on the season they only give up 11.9 points per game, and their point differential is plus-210 — second best of all the undefeated teams remaining. If you ever want to check how good Georgia’s defense is, go watch film from the Notre Dame game. The Fighting Irish running game is crazy good, and Josh Adams is a Heisman contender. Georgia held Adams to 53 yards on 19 carries.
They also have a running game to back that defense. Georgia is the 10th best rushing team in the country. Michel is right on Chubb’s heels in rushing yards and as a team, they can basically cram it down your throat for 48 minutes. Georgia scored 42 points against Florida, and Jake Fromm only completed 4-of-7 passes. No, that’s not a typo. Jake Fromm completed four passes, and Georgia still scored 42 points. It’s because they ran for nearly 300 yards on the day, which is a common theme for this team. Georgia has had more games where they’ve rushed for 370-plus yards than they’ve had where they rushed for fewer than 200.
Next: Ranking The Top 25 College Football Dynasties Of All-Time
The only thing standing in Georgia’s way of winning the East and making the SEC Championship is themselves. They’re 5-0 in SEC play and their next opponent, South Carolina, is second at 4-2. If Georgia does their job and beats SCAR at home they’ll have a three-game lead with only two conference games remaining. One of those games being at Auburn.
It bears repeating: This is probably the best team Georgia has had since the 2008 team. They’re currently ranked second in the AP Poll, which is the highest they’ve been ranked since 2008 and it’s the first time the SEC has been ranked first and second since September 2012.
If things hold as they should then we’re headed for another Georgia-Alabama match-up in the SEC Championship. Last time that happened was in 2012, and Georgia fans, unfortunately, remember that one all too well.