For the first time since 1982, UGA Football has finished SEC play unbeaten. This feat was officialized last Saturday, when the Bulldogs downed Tennessee, 41-17.
With league play out of the way, all that remains are meetings with Charleston Southern and Georgia Tech, respectively. And considering how well the Dawgs have looked so far, winning both of those should not be abundantly difficult.
Rather, what should be questioned is why Georgia has been doubted all this time, and are people now done doing so? The Volunteers are not the first opponent that many have expected UGA Football to struggle with, after all.
So far this season, the Bulldogs have faced: Clemson, Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, Florida and, most recently, Tennessee. Heading into all of those battles, folks were declaring that the Dawgs would come awfully close to losing, if not lose outright. So how did they actually look against all of those powers?
UGA Football Is Beyond Struggling
The closest that Georgia ever came to “struggling” was in their season opener against Clemson. With the final score sitting at a measly 10-3, it has been their narrowest victory by a longshot. However, it can be argued that the Bulldogs were visibly the better team that day. With that in mind, perhaps there wasn’t much of a struggle after all.
As for the games against the rest of the previously-mentioned opponents, there were certainly no close calls to be seen. Arkansas was in the top 10 at the time of their run-in with Georgia, but that didn’t make the matchup any more interesting. After four quarters, the Razorbacks had been completely and utterly disrespected, with the final score reading 37-0 in the Dawgs favor.
While none of the other big-name meetings were quite that lopsided, they still weren’t particularly flattering. Auburn fell to Georgia by 24, while Kentucky fell by 17 and Florida fell by 27. And lastly, the Vols lost by 24 as well, doing nothing more than adding another notch to UGA’s belt of beatdowns.
So yeah, to say that the Bulldogs are a little too good for “struggle wins” is a total understatement.
But Being Great Does Not Equal Being Perfect
It sits rather undisputed that the Bulldogs are clearly the best team in college football until further notice. But, that does not mean that they are perfect in every fathomable way. This is most namely in regards to the offense.
Now we have been no stranger to recognizing Georgia’s abilities on offense, and we still firmly believe that it is not quite as lackluster as some make it out to be. However, it does appear to have its limits, at least as far as quarterback play is concerned.
Over the course of this season, pundits have said that UGA Football is capable of success no matter who is orchestrating the offense. When just looking at weekly results, that is an accurate statement. Statistics tell a different story, though.
Both J.T. Daniels and, even more so, Stetson Bennett, have proven themselves as very talented kids throughout the first 10 games for UGA Football this year. But in that span, how many times have one of them broken 300 yards through the air? Once.
You read that right: both of those QBs have combined for just one passing performance that exceeded 300 yards. For reference, that one time was done by Daniels, who threw for 303 en route to a 40-13 win over South Carolina.
Now throwing for 300 yards is not some necessary stamp for certifying a quarterback’s worth. But, you’re going to need to know how to gunsling when duking it out against defenses like Alabama’s (or any other playoff-worthy team’s), and Georgia’s guys are yet to prove that they can do that.
Takeaway For UGA Football
If the passing game was the reason for people doubting the Dawgs, then there would be no issue. That just might be the only thing “wrong” with their team this season.
However, many are just anticipating them to blow a big game “like they always do.” But that logic fails to serve as true evidence of Georgia’s future. Not only that, but they have proven such skepticism wrong every week up to now. And with their next opponent being Charleston Southern of the FCS, I’d assume that they will do so at least one more time. After that, a visit to Atlanta to face the 3-win Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is all that will stand between them and a flawless regular-season slate.
At this rate, all UGA Football has to be prepared for is the SEC title game. If they can win that, they will be as ready for the playoff as ever.
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