Georgia makes winning boring like Alabama used to do

It’s not pretty, but great defense and running the ball is working out for the Georgia Bulldogs, as they are playing boring Alabama Crimson Tide football.

It was another rainy game in Athens on a Saturday afternoon this college football season. So no, it was not going to be a pretty game for the Georgia Bulldogs, but the result was still the same. Georgia defeated the Texas A&M Aggies by playing great defense, leaning on its special teams and running the damn ball.

Outside of the field-goal kicking, which Georgia is excellent at thanks to Rodrigo Blankenship, this is the same winning recipe of the earlier years of Nick Saban Alabama Crimson Tide football. It’s boring, but it is certainly effective. Georgia improves to 10-1 (7-1) on the year and will play its next two games in Atlanta: at the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and in the SEC Championship Game.

Winning with the ground game and smothering defense worked out wonderfully for Saban during his first eight or so years at Alabama, and it’s doing pretty well for Georgia right now. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was Saban’s longtime defensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa before taking over his alma mater’s program in 2019.

In the last three seasons, Georgia has won at least 10 games, won the SEC East each year and will likely play for a trip to the College Football Playoff in a few weeks, assuming the unthinkable doesn’t happen down on The Flats vs. the Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech.

The Dawgs aren’t lighting it up in the passing game, but doing enough with Jake Fromm at quarterback to keep winning. Because of this, Fromm is more likely than not to return to Athens for his senior season. He is maybe at best the fifth-best quarterback prospect that could enter the 2020 NFL Draft. Once a lock to be in the first round now has more of a second-round feel to him.

That would be great for Georgia, as the Dawgs have the field general signal-caller to keep winning and by this time next year, he may really have the Georgia passing game humming. Fromm did lose his five best receiving targets last season, most of them to the NFL. This may not have been Fromm’s last game Between the Hedges.

Even though they aren’t blowing teams out right now, this recipe for success could keep the Dawgs around long enough to pull off an upset victory over presumably the LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship Game. Georgia can run on LSU, but the Bayou Bengals have a Heisman Trophy frontrunner at quarterback in Joe Burrow who could move the sticks on them.

It shouldn’t matter that it’s not pretty, but as long as the Dawgs keep winning, they will control their destiny towards the College Football Playoff. Two more games standing in their way: a certain cakewalk vs. the Yellow Jackets in Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate and potentially the best game of the season vs. very likely LSU in the SEC Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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