Are the Georgia Bulldogs for Real? Yes!

If you looked at the SEC in the golden era when they went to win national championship after national championship (i.e. 2006-2012) and you really had an argument of even before that with a few teams before that time period, you are reminded of Florida with Tebow, LSU, even Tennessee and then the last part being Alabama and Auburn. Heck, even the years after you saw Ole Miss and Mississippi State being up to the forefront. One team really has been left out of the mix through the run and even before: the Georgia Bulldogs.

The irony is from 2001 through 2015 (all in the Mark Richt era) the Bulldogs had been pretty consistent throughout and probably the most consistent SEC team in that run. All the SEC schools I mentioned (save maybe for LSU) had their down moments and dark times. Georgia never really had that as they were always bowl eligible and ranked. But the thing was, nobody in the national scope or even in the SEC has taken Georgia very seriously for a national threat. In fact, Georgia has only claimed 2 conference titles in the last 35 years (though still 2nd to only Alabama in the SEC in overall conference championships).

There are plenty of things that you probably have to wonder about Georgia and why they don't get the same love as the likes of Alabama, Auburn, and LSU (and to a lesser extent Florida and Tennessee) is that perhaps fans of the Bulldogs and the local media for Georgia has talked a great game over the years with the football team. And the fans/local media alike love to think they have the best players at every position on the football field. I think that rubs the other fan bases and media even in the Southeast the wrong way what may be perceived as an unfounded arrogance. And it gets worse when the Bulldogs have taken the field.

There have been numerous times that Georgia has come so close yet so far from being one of the SEC teams to continue the national championship dynasty. We can think of 2002 where the Bulldogs ranked 2nd in the nation by season's end, but many will remember the Florida game as their black eye moment when Terrence Edwards dropped a key pass in the end zone that would have netted a win and a possible national championship game that year. 2007 had two games where Georgia scuffled against Tennessee in Neyland Stadium and at home against South Carolina. Had they won either of those games, they probably win the SEC Championship against LSU and faced (and probably beat) Ohio State with Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno leading the way. In 2012 they were 5 yards away from winning against Alabama in the SEC Championship after a questionable call by the offense that ended the game.

And then came the big game woes for the Bulldogs. Florida, and to a lesser extent, Alabama has been their major woes in the past (Alabama since 2008) for Georgia as they always had or have tried to stack up against the SEC's proverbial powers. And even if the Gators are bad and Georgia is better, the Bulldogs have often lost those games in Jacksonville. SEC Championship games? Alabama and LSU had their number at the Georgia Dome. And there were those games where it was a typical "shoot yourself in the foot" game when Georgia loses to a team they are not supposed to lose to (Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Colorado, etc.).

After seeing the Bulldogs for years, the one vibe that has really come out was that it was a possible attitude issue. Georgia has always been near the top of the recruiting world with Alabama, Ohio State, and Florida State, but have not managed anywhere near the success. Some of it many point out is that the players who are 4-5 star studs normally believe they are given the starting spots at Georgia under Richt and never played like their job was ever in jeopardy. Whether that is true or not I am not sure, but it seems like that Georgia had always relied on their talent that would net them past the weaker teams and give them a fighting chance against stronger teams.

A probable glaring example was in 2015 when Alabama came to Georgia. Georgia was amped up of having the SEC's powerhouse come in and wanted to make a statement that they could hang with the Tide in part because they were as talented as Alabama. Instead, Alabama showed that executing, and having a mentality to dominate every aspect of the game was far more important and Georgia was beaten physically and mentally. It may not have mattered if Richt and Georgia won the rest of the games as the Alabama game showed what kind of team the Bulldogs were under him.

Enter Kirby Smart. I was not fond of the hire as Smart had no head coaching experience ever but Bulldog fans believed they had Nick Saban 2.0 now. After 1 season fans weren't thrilled as Georgia scuttled to a 7-5 record and while Smart tried to handle things similar to what Saban has at Alabama it was a rude awakening for the players (no player is safe in Smart's eyes) and the fans (Smart was somewhat similar with his press conferences to Saban where it rubs people the wrong way). He was determined to change the landscape.

This year Smart has. He has really instilled a mentality of winning those trench battles on both sides of the ball. You win control of the line, you win the game. And it has showed. And there is a possibility that Smart is going to consider Jake Fromm as the starter over highly touted 5-star quarterback Jacob Eason when Eason returns from injury as it shows that no job is safe.

So far this year, Georgia has shown they are a legit defensive squad after how they played at Notre Dame. It was a huge win for the Bulldogs program that has historically fallen on those big prime-time games. And honestly, they dominated that game. And that win propelled Georgia 2 weeks later to obliterate a Mississippi State team that looked to be a contender in the SEC West to Alabama. And they are doing it with with defense, discipline, and a commitment to the run. The latter two have been an issue over the years despite Georgia being Running Back U. And this year, with Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, and D'Andre Swift while you have Elijah Holyfield and Brian Herrian who could all start at most schools. And that defense with Roquan Smith and Lorenzo Carter leading the way is absolutely sick.

There is a confidence, not a cockiness that Georgia plays now. They aren't acting like they are happy and celebrating after every big play a la the Gators game 2007 when the whole team ran onto the field to celebrate the first touchdown of the game or get too happy with themselves when they squeak by beating Kentucky or Vanderbilt. They're becoming a team that is going "hey, we gotta get better to achieve our ultimate goal." And that has been the ultimate factor this year at Georgia.

And that is why it is a different year compared to other years in the Mark Richt Era.

-Fan in the Obstructed Seat

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