College Game Day Counts Out Georgia: Now What?
Haven’t you heard? Bama has already won the National Championship. The talking heads have licked Saban’s excuses off his boots like good pets and have decided that Bama will be “out for blood” this season. They have a Heisman winner at quarterback and the “best player in football” Will Anderson. Last year was a fluke, and the only reason Bama lost to Georgia was because they lost two wide receivers who…are in the NFL now. Huh. The only thing standing between Bama and its apparent destiny is THE Ohio State University, which also has a Heisman candidate QB returning and lost a star wideout to the NFL. Ohio State’s defense was abysmal last year, but hey, that doesn’t matter. Bama-Ohio State is destiny. They’re motivated!
Even Georgia alumnus David Pollack, who famously predicted the Dawgs’ Natty win before the end of last season, doesn’t believe Georgia will even make the playoff. Back on the list you go, David.
Desmond Howard is so butthurt from the Dawgs spanking his Wolverines that he went full crack cocaine on his playoff picks and was one of the first to put an asterisk on Georgia’s 15-point Natty win.
So the Dawgs aren’t as motivated as Alabama? Everyone is trying to asterisk the National Championship win with pathetic excuses. Time to win another and leave no doubt. I took the Dawgs +500 to win the Natty last year after having never bet on Georgia in my life out of pure superstition, and I took them again at +400 this year. Am I as confident as I was last season? Not yet, but only because we haven’t played a game yet. I think the Dawgs are extremely undervalued this year because the media eats up Bama’s excuses like chow chow. While I’m no analyst who’s going to break down every dude on this roster, I can tell you this—I have extreme confidence in Georgia to make the playoff again.
The narrative on Georgia is that we lost SO much to the NFL that there’s no way we can reload to a level that catches up to Bama or Ohio State or even everyone on our schedule. Off the top of my head, I can name several returners on defense at key positions who can almost replicate what Georgia did on defense last season: Robert Beal & Nolan Smith at EDGE, Jalen Carter at DT, Chris Smith at FS, Kelee Ringo at CB, and Dan Jackson at SS. That doesn’t even count guys who flashed in limited action during the season. There is definitely sufficient star power on this roster to win it all, although I was disappointed to see Georgia didn’t get any sure thing transfer CBs to go opposite Ringo. Either they couldn’t find one, or they have faith in the guys on the roster. Part of me thinks it’s the former, but last year Georgia proved QB pressure makes up for deficiencies in the secondary.
Listening to Todd Monken interviews this offseason, he seems to believe his team was capable of scoring more than its 39 ppg, but his priority is winning, not scoring. Georgia has certainly adapted to the changes in college football in terms of having an explosive offense, but it hasn’t really been put in a situation where it needed to win in a shootout. Can Monken’s offense put up 40+ points against a ranked opponent with Stetson Bennett at QB? I think the question is, “Why haven’t they?” Complimentary football, probably. Georgia still doesn’t play for style points like the dominant Bama, Ohio State, and Clemson teams the media loves, all of whom would go for 42-10 wins instead of Georgia-style 30-3 wins. But the roster is certainly capable of doing so, and should, in my opinion. Always want to have the CFP committee, AP voters, and TV schedulers prioritizing you? Play sexy.
Georgia brings back Stets with talented backups Beck and Vandagriff, with returning pass catchers Bowers, AD Mitchell, McConkey, and Kearis Jackson. Arian Smith might not be back until the end of the season, if at all, but Dom (Blaylock) is back and now we have Arik Gilbert opposite Bowers, as well as Darnell Washington and Oscar Delp. By the way, Nick Saban, AD Mitchell and McConkey were three star backups put into action due to injuries to Pickens, Arian Smith, Dominick Blaylock, and Kearis Jackson. But please, tell me about how two wide receiver injuries put an asterisk on Georgia’s Natty win. I bet you wouldn’t even make the playoff playing with your backup receivers out there all season.
Anyways, Georgia is very solid at QB, loaded at pass catcher, and has great RBs in Milton, McIntosh, and Edwards. Our offensive line should be healthier and just as solid, possibly better. This offense is star-studded—Georgia just doesn’t have the reputation of lighting up the scoreboard, especially with Stetson Bennett being 5 and a half feet tall and 25 years old. He just doesn’t get NFL fans excited about drafting him, which is what I think national football media types think college football fans care about. And maybe they do just care about who will be drafted by their NFL team. Who knows? As a Georgia loyalist and fan of college football, specifically, I can’t identify.
Anyways, let’s also not forget about the coaching staff. If you are still a Kirby doubter, you can’t argue with what Todd Monken accomplished last season with a dynamic QB situation and roster, nor can you argue that having one of the most successful DCs in history, Will Muschamp, co-DC-ing with Glenn Schumann (and, frankly, Kirby Smart as well). This staff and this roster are 100% capable of winning a National Championship, so a 2021 Bama-style season, or better, is not an unrealistic expectation.
The talking heads have their biases and marching orders. Georgia is perfectly capable of repeating. If we can go undefeated during the regular season, that would be a great start. Get excited and HBTFD?