Bill King has a good piece about 2021 expectations and the Georgia fan base, ultimately summarized like this:
“The playoff system has changed so much about college football and not all of it for the better,” Georgia fan Joel Provano said. “If you don’t win it all, you’ve had an unsuccessful season.”
So, simply put, how far do the Dawgs have to go this season for you to deem it a success? The SECCG? The CFP semis? The national championship game? A national title? After all, Georgia’s managed to check the first three boxes already under Smart. Is a rerun of 2017 going to be enough to satisfy the fan base?
Have at it in the comments.
Get The Picture 
With the success that this program has had under Kirby, ultimately this year will feel like a disappointment unless we at least win the SEC and get to the national championship game.
If we beat Alabama in the SEC Championship game, it will be successful enough, though.
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SEC East title as the floor.
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We have to get over the Bama hump, and if not this year, then when? Win the east and beat Bama in the SEC Championship and I will be happy no matter what else happens, though I suspect if we do those two things, our chances in the playoffs would be pretty good too.
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If we do those 2 things odd are we will play Oklahoma in the first semi and then the winner of bama clemson for a rematch if we get by the Sooners.
That’s the problem with getting over the Alabama hump – good chance we have to crest that hill twice to win it all
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If Ohio State is unbeaten or a once-beaten conference champion, there’s no way a 1-loss SEC runner-up gets in.
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Or Notre Dame is undefeated
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Or has only one loss to a top 100 team.
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If that one loss SEC CG loser is Alabama it is guaranteed to be in.
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I don’t agree. ESPN will demand a 1-loss B1G champion or an undefeated Notre Dame be in. Bama isn’t a media darling outside the South.
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I believe there is Bama fatigue within the media. They all remember 2017.
If UGA beats Bama to win the SEC I think the media would attempt to keep Bama out in 2021. They may get a 90% watch rating in Bama howeva nationally that’s not many eye balls.
The hard floor for me is win the East beating everyone on our SEC schedule. I would be greatly disappointed if we don’t beat Bama given the chance this season. I think it would be fair assuming injures are not part of the problem to ask if not now when.
I’m in the camp that believes Kirby will be the guy to beat St. Nick. When the dam breaks and UGA finally gets that NC under Kirby I predict a new golden age for UGA football. Given Kirby’s recruiting abilities add in being the hot school with a new NC. The amount of talent assembled will produce more NC’s.
All of that assumes what every NC has. Just a couple of breaks or calls by officials going your way. Along with key players staying healthy and eligible.
We are long over due a few of those good breaks going our way.
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Unless it’s Alabama!!
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Not sure of the nature of your comment, but the only reason Bama made it in 2017 was Ohio State had multiple losses while winning the B1G.
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Playoffs
The team is loaded and the East is weak, so making it to Atlanta isn’t enough.
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Nothing will satisfy this “fan base:.
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I’m pretty sure a National Championship will satisfy this “fan base”.
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For about a week.
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the only thing better than one time is two times.
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National Championship….don’t know, but going 15-0 is tops with me…along with sending clemmons back to clemmons city limits 0-1, cocks/commodores trash those two, pig souey, tigles and the cats, smoke those mutha’s…now comes FU, early burial is all that will be accepted, mizzu gotta’ watch out for, just throw more fuel (52-12) on that k-town dumpster fire….gimme some north avenue fuckin’ trade school ass whuppin’ now and next 5-12 years….seccg is a tester for sure…
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84,
That’s funny and to date true.
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Get to Atlanta and let the chips fall where they may. If we play well and lose (2018) to Bama, you tip your hat and keep chopping. If we play as we did in ‘19 against LSU, I’ll be disappointed (although we could all see that train wreck coming after how disappointing our offense was the 2nd half of the year).
The East is the floor and the national title is within reach. Frankly, I’ll never measure Kirby’s (or any other coach’s) performance by the ability to win a national title. If that makes me one who doesn’t demand excellence, I’m guilty.
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Beat florida
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Yep because most years we beat the Handbags, everything else takes care of itself.
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all roads to Atlanta go through JAX
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The influence of Saban on the “success” perspective is unrealistic. I look at Alabama like Bobby Bowden’s Miami. Once Miami’s dominance ended He won 2 titles and played for another. Spurrier won 4 SEC championships in a row but only won one national title ( and got curb stomped in his other shot at one).
I anticipate Kirby winning several at some point similar to Tom Osborne. By getting a real OC and backing off man ball schemes he’s in a great position to do so.
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Is Bowen’s Miami success like the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor LOL?
The Tom Osborne reference to Nebraska is a great point and good example of what can happen. I just hope we get there quicker than Tom did.
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Except that’s not the way CFB works anymore. You both are working on an outmoded form of football in reality and conceptually. You cannot look to the past for inspiration or for a blueprint on how to do things in the present in CFB more than any other sport. Not understanding that is in itself a failure, and was Kirby’s primary offensive failure his first five seasons a a head coach with his ridiculous idea of what an offense should be.
You can look to the near past. It took Dabo 8 years to win a national title as a head coach. It took Saban 10 years. It took Urban Meyer 6 years.
Kirby is on the clock, and it’s getting close to midnight.
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I had no idea you aren’t happy with Kirby as Georgia’s coach.
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Did I say that? No. I did not say that, and I haven’t said that anywhere.
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I took my daughter to the Troy /UGA game a few years back. It was as big an ass-whooping as it was expected to be. She saw something on tv about Troy a few days after that and said “We beat their butts!” or something to that effect. She didn’t understand that we were expected to win, or were supposed to win, she just knew the Dawgs won big and she was happy. Sometimes I wish I still had that innocence, to enjoy that moment and not fret over margin of victory or what the polls would think.
But to answer the question, I’d say winning the SEC/getting into the CFP would be a successful season. But we’ll inevitably need to get through Bama to do it, and if we can beat them, there’s no reason we can’t win the whole freakin’ thing.
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I think you are spot on that it is a matter of perspective. I was at UGA from 1990-1994. Pretty humiliating time to be a Dawg fan. I am truly grateful for every win but ymmv. That said I want I want to win the East every year and let the other chips fall where they may.
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Beat trailer trash from tuscaloosa for sec champ- flag firmly planted and uga is seen as some bad mofo’s
Beat trailer trash from tuscaloosa again but for national champ – super power status confirmed and all of a sudden kirby is an “elite” coach
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Won’t happen
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So, Kirby must win a natty and soon, but won’t beat ‘Bama.
Who’s UGA hiring as its next coach, then? Might as well get working on it, eh?
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I think someone has already been promoting The Pirate.
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If you dont understand he is the greatest football mind of all time, you don’t know anything about football.
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Do you know how smart you have to be to lose a game in which you scored 63 points?
I’m sold!
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Hard to say we “have” to accomplish anything that includes beating Bama, who does everything we do but just a little bit better. We should have a team capable of beating them without needing any sort of miracle. Certainly capable of going toe to toe with them without getting embarrassed. But failing to beat the best coach and program that has ever existed at any level of the sport, at his peak, does not suddenly mean we suck and should reevaluate our coach and program.
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Yeppers. Let’s just win us some football games. If you think anything less than a NC is an unsuccessful season, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment IMO.
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The prior 2 times we lost to them in the ATL all we needed was one defensive stand at the right time.
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Or, all we needed to do was score more points by sticking to what was working.
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That’s just being realistic.
Good post.
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Win the SEC but barring that, I would be fine with getting in to the semifinal.
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The thing that would disappoint me the most would be a fourth quarter collapse after leading the entire game in a late season “important” game. We’ve all seen that played out a time too many.
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According to the folks at 247 we have the most talented roster in college football. The expectations are pretty obvious. I will be disappointed with anything less than a NC, but realize that once you get to Atlanta, anything can happen. We essentially play 3 playoff games.
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Getting to the Benz at 11-1 or better is the floor, IMO. That’s not to say I think achieving that is a given, but if you look at the schedule and then pair it with what Georgia has on its roster, anything less than 11-1 in the regular season will be a major disappointment.
As for what needs to happen at the Benz and thereafter, a lot will depend on what Bama looks like this year. When it comes to Bama, the traditional downside every other team has when it loses so much production on and off of the field doesn’t apply. So, while I know it’s tempting to look at what Bama lost and assume they’ll slide, as crazy as it sounds, I need to see it before I’ll believe it. Plus, when/if UGA were to play Bama the Tide would have 12 games to figure it out, meaning the Bama team we see in week-14 will likely be several levels better than what we watch in weeks 2,7, and 10.
For 2021, I’m looking for dominance when available. So, when Georgia plays SoCar or Auburn or Tennessee or Missouri… they should look like a team head and shoulders better and the scoreboard should reflect that. I’m also looking for an offense that gets theirs no matter the opponent. If we lose to Clemson I’ll be bummed for sure, but we better not lose by only scoring 24 points.
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Unless Bama has a lot of injuries they will win it all as usual.
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I reckon you figure you’re some sort of genius, right?
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Well now that mentioned it, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.
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jfc
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Lawd yes. If I dont see Brock or Beck mid way through the 3rd with scores like 35-3 at that time in some of these games Imma seriously be pissed. I am so sick of turtling.
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At the very least, we need to make the Playoff.
Kirby needs to show some improvement, instead of the slow slide of getting worse every year since 2017.
That includes a couple of scenarios:
Beat Bama. It needs to happen, and this may be the best possible year to do it within the next four years.
Win the SEC. See above.
Make the Playoff. See above, above.
Would simply making the Playoff be enough for me? I’d like to think so, at this point. At least it gets us pointing in the right direction again. Do I really want us to win a National Title? Of course. More than anything.
Here’s the honest truth: If Kirby can’t get this team to the Playoff this year, maybe we need to start asking questions on if he’s just an amazing recruiter and not that good of a game day coach, because if we don’t make the Playoff with this loaded team, it’s likely because he couldn’t or wouldn’t get it out of its way, most likely on offense.
This is a critical year.
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Clemson and Bama are just as loaded as UGA.
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We have to (likely) play the two best programs in CFB. I would think going 12-0 and then losing to Bama would get us into the playoff, but it’s not a given. So if we go 12-0, lose to Bama in the Benz, and miss out on the playoff the season is a failure? I think the “playoff or bust” mentality is dicey until we see how the season plays out.
The entire notion that we need to be in the playoff or else we have to ask some hard questions about Kirby is kind of insane to me, but it’s a byproduct of the playoff era. We’re in the unfortunate spot of having to deal with the best college coach of all time at his peak just to get to the playoff in most years. OU, Clemson, OSU… they don’t. So they get to the playoff and then get waxed… is that better than losing to Bama in the SEC title game? I don’t think it is, and I don’t think OU is looking to fire Riley anytime soon and he’s 0-4 in the playoff. Ryan Day is 1-2 and just had a top-10 NFL QB and lost by 25+.
Bama is the freak… they’re the outlier. No team is like them, but we have to deal with them almost every year.
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It’s not “Playoff or Bust.” It’s living up to the talent on the roster.
This team, as constructed, can win a national title.
I don’t think it’s unfair to say if the 2021 Georgia Bulldogs were coached by Nick Saban or Dabo Swinney, we would win a National Title.
So if this team has the talent to win a National Title, and doesn’t, we need to start asking the hard question as to why.
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Could we lose to West Virginia 70-33 without Dabo?
I doubt it.
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Your favorite logical fallacy to use in what you wrongly think is a coherent argument is reductio as absurdum, but the only person it makes look ridiculous is you.
How many years ago was that? Is it applicable to now? These are just two questions that expose your fallacy as dumb.
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Could we lose at Notre Dame when our starting qb is out injured and we have to play with a guy qb straight out of High School without Dabo?
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Could we beat Bama and win two National Titles with Dabo?
What you think is an argument is a fallacy. Do you bring anything else to this forum. it tiresome fallacies?
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What has Dabo done without Deshaun and Lawrence?
Other than lose at Notre Dame where Kirby didn’t?
Dabo and Kirby share one thing.
Neither has won a natty without one of those two playing qb for him.
I know you’re a Bruce Arians > Tom Brady guy tho so you won’t get “it”, in context.
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Aww, like I thought, your argument is completely and totally without merit, built like a house of cards that will blow away as soon as Dabo wins his next National Title and then you’ll have to add DJ Ukulele’s name to your list just so you can keep making that absurd argument.
The only time we speak here is because you just can’t stop writing to me, and I respond because I was raised to believe it rude not to speak to someone who is speaking to you. So how about you muster-up the self-control I use when it comes to the things you write? Are you able?
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It really is absurd to think that Deshaun and Watson should get credit for those natties when it was clearly all Dabo. Its like why is Tom Brady taking all the shine away from Bruce Arians? Did it matter who Tampa Bay’s qb was? Its absurd to think so.
Why the players have names and numbers on their jerseys and halls of fame to celebrate their careers I’ll never know. They’re just chess pieces on a board.
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Yep. More reductio ad absurdum. Because that’s what I said. Or, no, it’s not what I said. It’s a strawman you’ve created. It’s literally all you got. You’ve got nothing. Not one coherent argument. Just logical fallacies and strawmen.
Are you 12, because you argue like a 12-year old.
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You don’t argue.
You make declarations.
When they are tested you go into avoidance mode in the form of restating your prior declarations or sometimes just melting the fuck down.
I don’t have to respect Dabo any more than I respected Les Miles which was not at all. He’s gotten lucky with a couple of transcendent qbs. Good for him. That’s all I’m willing to give dabo.
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LOL. Okay, kid. Whatever you say.
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So here’s the problem… there aren’t a lot of Sabans and Dabos. So, yeah, Saban would likely win a national title with UGA, but he’s the best college coach of all time.
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So then what’s the point of it all? This is the big, esoteric question:
If we’re not even allowed to expect that Kirby can just get out of the way of the talent he so amazingly assembled, to expect Kirby to stop meddling in the offense and just copy what Saban has done in that area which is to say get the fuck out of the way, if we can’t expect just that…
… what are we even doing as fans? Are we allowed to have expectations for ANYTHING?
Because half of y’all here are making that argument, beating around the bush when you’re doing it, but that’s what you’re doing. You’re saying, “Well, Saban’s at Bama so no, we shouldn’t ever expect to win a National Title, even when the talent at Georgia is better than Bama in key areas, because Saban is Saban.”
Well, Dabo Swinney beat Saban twice, and some here like Derek think he’s an idiot who can’t coach because he lost by 40 points to WVU 10 years ago.
So please tell me, and I’m asking this sincerely: What are we allowed to expect as Georgia fans?
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If you think Saban’s success is based on getting the fuck out of the way of any area under his supervision, I don’t know what to say.
Does he micromanage playcalling? Of course not, but neither does Smart. There’s no way a control freak like him says to an OC, “run whatever you want, I don’t have time for that shit”, though.
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I look at certain situations on offense over the last five years, including last year, for Kirby and compare them to the kinds of adjustments that Saban made, even when Kirby was still on staff, that Kirby has still not made.
Saban doesn’t step-in and stop his offense from trying to score. It doesn’t happen. He doesn’t shut down his offense. When Saban has the two’s go into the game, he has them run the offense. He doesn’t just have his back-up QB hand-off over and over to try to run clock. He gets his back-up QB and WRs work in the offense in meaningful minutes so they’re prepared when their time comes. This is why a Mac Jones can step in and do well.
That’s what I mean by, “Get the fuck out of the way.” You spend all that effort every day of the year to collect the kind of talent you’ve collected, and then, in a game against Mizzou or Tennessee when you bring that talent into the game, the only guys getting any real work are the RBs and OL? Or you’re in the National Championship game and you have only a 10-point lead, and instead of continuing to do everything you can to build on the lead you shut down your offense and try to run clock? That’s bad coaching.
There is great talent on this team. Get out of its way. When the team is up 20 in the fourth quarter, keep running your offense. Never stop yourself if the other team can’t. Saban understands that. So does Dabo. So did Corch. So did effing Spurrier.
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Uh hunh. That would explain why Bryce Young had a whopping 22 pass attempts in 9 games this season.
The reason Mac Jones was up to speed in 2020 was because he had to step in when Tua got hurt in 2019.
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You’re allowed to expect the ability to regale us daily (hourly?) with all of your genius insights you pull out of your own ass about how Kirby has fucked it all up all the while not mentioning that he was the one that built the team that had the chances you say he blew.
You’re not allowed to expect the rest of us to believe that you have a clue.
Fair?
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I’m not saying you shouldn’t expect to compete for titles. I think that’s fair. I think saying, “if we don’t make the playoffs we’re going to have to ask some hard questions about Kirby” is absurd. I think that’s beyond absurd, actually. It took Dabo 5 or so years to win a national title at Clemson and he has the ACC to deal with. Lincoln Riley is an offensive genius and he’s been non-competitive in 3/4 playoff games.
Winning a national title is so damn hard. I can’t say for certain Kirby is going to win one, but I do feel certain he’s going to have UGA in a position to compete for one, and that’s what matters to me. This was the first year we didn’t make what I would call the quarterfinals in 4 years. So we made the final, quarters, quarters, before this year, which was a disappointment. No doubt. But it also had a slew of caveats that came with it.
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I agree that winning a title is difficult, which is why I said what I said. This team has the talent to win it all. In the hands of other coaches, it could win it all. So given that, if Kirby can’t just get this team into the Playoff, I don’t believe it’s absurd at all to say we need to start asking some tough questions about if Kirby is just a great recruiter and that’s all he’ll be. I didn’t say fire him. I said ask some tough questions.
Like, are we okay with this being “it.” Are we okay with never beating Bama? Are we okay with perennially being “almost”? Those are the kinds of questions that led us to fire Mark Richt and replace him with Kirby. While Kirby is a far better coach than Richt from a recruiting standpoint, I don’t see that much difference in their game day management of the team. If he can’t take THIS team to the playoff, if he can’t improve his coaching acumen and learn from his mistakes after six years, it’s fair to ask questions. Asking questions should never be wrong.
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Why should we accept that the 2021 team is a championship caliber team before we’ve even seen them play?
Simply because you’ve declared it so?
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Yes, because I’ve declared it so and no one else in the entire world has declared it so. It’s just me, you ridiculous pre-teen.
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Time to dial the personal insults back, boys.
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You mean the same sports media geniuses that declared us No. 1 in the 2008 preseason? Why am I not surprised that y’all agree with each other?
I’m not saying we won’t be. But we have to rebuild a defensive backfield and an offensive line. Those are important and stuff. I’d like to see how they play vs. Clemson before anointing them with expectations of a natty. And then being disappointed that kirby ain’t quite as smart and qualified at football as I am.
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Okay, kid.
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The main reason UGA would win a natty with Saban as the head coach is because he wouldn’t be the head coach at Alabama.
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In this scenario, he’s the coach at both.
If Saban coached against Saban, one at Bama and one at Georgia, he could win with this team. If Dabo coached this team against Saban at Bama, he could win with this team. I believe that.
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If Dabo had UGAs 2020 team (with Bennett at QB) do you think he’d have beaten Bama or Florida?
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I believe there’s no way in hell Dabo starts Bennett against Kentucky. He starts Daniels in that game. And then Daniels starts against and beats Floriduh. Which means we win the East. Which means we get to the SEC Title Game. And there I give Dabo the 50-50 chance of beating Saban that he’s earned.
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Fair point on not starting Daniels. But if you think Dabo would have had a 50/50 shot at beating the 2020 Bama team with UGA I think you likely don’t have a high opinion of Kirby and that’s coloring your viewpoint, because Dabo got his ass worked by OSU with a generational QB.
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One is not the same as the other. This year’s Clemson team was not as good as the previous two for many reasons, in the same way that the 2019 Georgia team we all expected to be so good wound up being not so good compared to expectations. Also, Floriduh put up how many points against Bama in the SEC Title Game?
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Florida’s offense was legit awesome. I hate to give them credit for anything, but it was badass. Not sure what that has to do with Dabo being able to beat the 2020 Bama team with the 2020 UGA roster, though.
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But does Dabo take a 14-0 lead against florida with stetson or beat UF after his starter (whoever that is) goes down with 10 to play in the first quarter?
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LOL. Okay, kid.
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So you know for sure JT was ready to go health wise for Kentucky?
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I know we keep forgetting this, but he said he was. He said he was ready to go earlier than that, and it was the coach’s decision not to play him. And then that same night as Daniels gave that quote, Kirby Smart backed it up by stating it was their decision to start Bennett and go with Mathis second because they believed they were the two best QBs to, “Help the run game.”
Not that they were the two best QBs or knew the offense best or who could take advantage of the talent at WR and TE. No, they were the two QBs Kirby though could most help the run game.
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I can’t believe what I read on here these days.
Bama beats Richt in 2015 – “We’ve plateaued! Got to rebuild the program from scratch and bring in someone here to beat Bama!”
Bama beats Kirby 3 times in 4 years – “Well, what can ya do? He’s the GOAT coach. We just have to wait until (Spurrier , Meyer) retires. Keep choppin!!
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That was the impetus about my, “What are we allowed to expect?” question.
The goal posts on our expectations keep moving to where they’re always just out of reach it seems, with some fans.
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If you’re saying that the 2015 game looked like the match ups since you should change your name to Blind Boy.
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Doesn’t matter what they looked like, unless you’re into moral victories.
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Or you want a competitive football team.
You know who resists moral victories and makes changes to ensure they stop!
Tennessee.
They could use a fan.
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It’s not a “what can you do” scenario. It’s a realization that right now this Bama program is light years ahead of the one that embarrassed UGA in Athens in 2015. Bama hit the overdrive in the last 3 years. We’re a much better program now than we were 6 years ago. The problem is Bama is, too.
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I disagree, but YMMV
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You disagree about what, exactly? That Bama isn’t significantly better now than in 2015? Or that we’re not?
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That Bama is that much better today than they were in 08. They revamped their offense for sure, but those teams back then were strong.
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I said 2015. Who is talking about 2008? (though if you want to, we can debate which Bama is better, but the answer is almost undoubtedly 2020)
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When Bama beat Richt in 2015, what I saw was a well oiled fine tuned machine on the road with all parts in sync, everyone knew their role, fully dedicated, non stop, no complaining, to push every button, flip every switch, do everything possible in the game of football to give us their absolute best game possible. When I saw GAs cleaning cleats and wiping down guys, i was in shock.
On the other side of the field, we looked lost in the wilderness, unable to process how we were getting the ever living shit kicked out of us in our own stadium. We didn’t come close to the 7 ps – proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance. We just somehow magically expected to win because it was our year or moment to win.
We forgot the enemy gets a vote. It wasn’t just losing, it wasn’t even just getting our ass kicked, it was the absolute stark difference of dedication and preparation. Saban took that game 100% serious and he got every single one of those coaches, staff, and players to do the same.
Kirby hasn’t quite got all the people and pieces on 100 just yet (rose bowl we did) but he certainly is pushing. He fired the worst OC in Georgia history after one season. He got the best OC in the country that was available. Hes probably recruiting right now. He pushed a major stadium revamp to help recruits. He went and got the best DB coach in the nation when our DB situation stunk. He stole Bama’s favorite hype man and STs were pretty darn good. Hes hired fantastic analysts. We’ve had very minimal scooter and exiting alley incidents. Our S&C is the best it’s ever been in Georgia history.
So – don’t tell me its an unfair comparison to say that Richt getting destroyed at a cellular level, his soul ripped from his body, standing there in the very apropos rain, lost like a figure in the old testament, is anything like getting beat by one play in OT in the NC against Bama.
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Practically poetic, chuck dawg.
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If we beat Bama in the season and lose to them in ATL, I wouldn’t expect anymore consideration from the Committee than they gave to ND last year when they beat Clemson in the season (with Lawrence out) and got curb stomped in the ACC CG.
All that’s asking for is consistency.
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Good grief – are you serious?
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Dude, you bitch even when we win, seen it too many times on here. It’s either we didn’t win by enough or how we looked doing it.
pretty sure Kirby and the Dawgs could do nothing to ever make you happy. but somebody gotta do it, might as well be you….hey?
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LOL. Sure. Whatever you say, Greg.
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UGA must win a National Championship and soon. Period. end of story
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But can’t even beat Auburn… Sad.
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must or what? like, we quit football? lousy take.
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I don’t know, but I do have a room in Indianapolis.
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No more than one loss and winning the east is the minimum. Not winning the east again is a failure. Winning the SEC and/or making the playoff is a success. Much also depends on how we play and circumstances.
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I don’t see it. We barely got past Cincinnati and everyone all of a sudden thinks this team is heading for the playoff? Not even going to consider titles, etc. I am more worried about continuing decline TBH. Don’t bogart that joint my friends….
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In your mind, what would have been the appropriate margin of victory in the bowl game to improve your assessment for 2021?
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To get me thinking playoff run? I don’t know. Maybe had we dominated them physically, overwhelmed them with our speed, and had put them away by early in the 3rd quarter? Question for you. Would we be talking about the playoff next year had we lost to Cincinnati?
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I can’t speak for anyone else, but if Podlesny had whiffed on the FG, yes, I’d still be talking about the 2021 CFP as a destination for UGA.
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Fair enough.
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FWIW, 2020 is too much of an outlier for me to read too much into it as a whole (except for Alabama’s dominance, obviously). Beyond that, I don’t think Cincinnati was that bad an opponent.
Bottom line, UGA has too much talent not to be considered a playoff contender.
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Yea, I said early in 2020 season, if someone wins a NC, sure, they can claim it, but i dont care much. The all SEC schedule was the best thing of it all.
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Everyone knows that when Alabama lost to Utah by 14 in the 2010 Sugar Bowl that they had no chance to do anything the following season.
Your description of how college football works is a demonstrably accurate hypothesis when tested against the historical record. No team that lost or barely won a bowl in a prior season won anything the following season.
Had we bothered to qualify for a bowl in 1979, we would have destroyed any and everyone in that bowl game which we did not qualify for.
You get the elusive “it.”
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The fact that Bama had won a NC two years before that gave them some benefit of the doubt, wouldn’t you say?
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If that were true. Its not. The year following the Utah bowl loss was the first of Saban’s natties and the first for Alabama since 1992.
They had won the Independence Bowl in Shreveport two years prior so that had to be taken into account for sure.
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Um, what?
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/alabama/2009-schedule.html
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Uh, yeah:
Utah beat Alabama on January 2, 2009 by 14.
Alabama beat Texas for the national title on January 7, 2010.
As dude says: no way that could happen…
But it did.
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You are correct. I missed that one.
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In fairness I had the bowl loss in the wrong year initially. I knew it was the year before they beat texas but I had the wrong year.
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How many players opted out for Cincy? zero. They had like 7 starting seniors on defense. We also stoned them 2nd half minus Cine forgetting he was an LB on one play. Bowls werent a predictor of anything – and thats before this new era of sitting out and people not caring in general. And Cincy was a good team.
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Every season we don’t win it all is unsuccessful? This meme that georgia fans are just unrealistic and can’t be satisfied is bullshit. Hell let’s start with actually MAKING the playoffs more than once in program history, or PLAYING for a national championship more than once in the last 35+ years and yes a 40 year national title drought is frankly embarrassing if we want to think of our program as national power. We’ve won the sec once in the last 15 years. Forget Alabama, in that time, florida, lsu, and Auburn have won more sec titles than we have. Oh and we haven’t beaten alabama since the bush administration and have lost 6 in a row and counting. We have a looooong way to go if we want to win a national title or another sec title.
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If we lose to Clemson to open the season then win all of the other regular season games we’ll be headed back to Atlanta for a shot at the SEC title. But let’s say we lose there too, and then go on to beat a quality opponent in a New Years Six bowl game. That would put our overall record at 12-2 (feel free to check my math) but “only” winning the SEC East. I’d probably wish we’d gone all the way (like I do every year), but I wouldn’t consider that an abject failure.
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First, we have to beat Florida. We do not need to let them get series momentum which Kirby has taken over. Second, we need to beat either Clemson or Alabama, while not losing any other regular season game.
That may put us in postseason. That makes me feel like we had a good year.
To have a very good year we need to beat Bama in SECCG which would put us in playoff, and would get us over the hump for the future regardless of playoff outcome..
Any win after that would be a great year.
Winning it all would be the best year ever and would make us truly elite. Could lead to some sort of “team of the decade” run.
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Success? It has to come sequentially. Start with beating Clemson comfortably. Make a statement about the coming season rather than an entire Fall of “Oh well, we still have all our goals in front of us.” Then win the rest to win the East..less than this is surely a failure of schedule and potential. Finally, win the SECCG. Losing to Bama by 50 or even 1 in triple OT will feel like a season of lost potential. Making the playoffs is “Success” at that point, win or lose.
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Beat Clemson comfortably?
Shit, give me a one-point win on a disputed officiating call (preferably a OPI non-call) and I’ll be effing thrilled.
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POTD.
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Big openers are really unpredictable. Don’t bet on that game.
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My tiers of happiness are:
beat all of our rivals, especially Florida, Auburn and Tech
Win SEC East
Win SEC
Go to CFP
Win CFP
I am honestly happy if we do the first 2, elated with those 2 and Number 3, and extremely contented/ excited with either 3 or 4.
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That’s the ticket, Siskey. Kicking our rivals ass even when they’re down is very important to my happiness. Then you don’t have to listen to shit like the call I got from Bob the gaytard on Jan 1, 2003, “Ranger Russbo, congratulations on that undefeated season. Oooooh that’s riiiiiiight. Almost forgot about that loss to the Zooker. Maybe next year!”
Stomp a bloodhole in their ass first and the rest of the season will take care of itself.
Fuck those motherfuckers.
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Football rings are very very often winning when others are down. This idea that you play everyone at their best week after week is a myth.
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Kirby screwed up an undefeated year in 2019, but he has been hell on our rivals. go back not that long and I tell you “we beat UT, UF, AU, GT” all in the same year.
And of course winning the SEC – its the only thing in your control. Its more legit than the NC. If you are Bama, you can not win the SEC nor your division and be the NC. thats stupid.
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after Clemson, we esentially get cruise control all fall due to the 6 prograns with new or 2ND yr HCs, plus 3 cupcakes, so we honestly have all the time in the world to prep & tune for Fla, then Bama SEC, & another 30 days to prep for CFP Ohio State/Oklahoma, etc…
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Kirby was hired to win championships. That may not be fair but it’s the bar that was set for him. Georgia was winning pretty consistently, We won the east and made it to the SEC game a few times. Kirby was brought in to ‘get us to the next level.’ That means at least winning the SEC. The opportunities available to the SEC champion are beyond our control. But the hard truth is, these days there are very few years where a team can win the SEC without beating Ala-Damn-Bama. Even if Kirby wins a natty or two without beating Bama, people will probably still say ‘but he couldn’t beat Alabama.’ Not fair, but I think that’s the reality.
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Peyton won an SEC Title at Tennessee, but he never beat Floriduh.
Yep. It is what it is.
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I disagree. The wheels were fully off the Richt bus. The awful hires, terrible roster management. Schotty. Florida with our back up back up. If richt stayed around a few more years it would be “we hired X bc the program was in disarray.” Well, it was in disarray. Losing to Florida dang near endlessly had as much to do with it as anything. Thanks to myth and memory, Richts first years somehow get transposed onto his last. He needed to go bc football and the work required had left him.
Also, terrible, horrible, awful, roster management.
And schotty – who got 1M and was Richts first choice. And Pruitt, who was Richts decision and was paid a ton also to burn things down.
Its really simple: You own a business. You give richt a ton of money to do what he wants, full freedom of movement. He hires Shitty and Pruitt, at like $1.9M a year, and one guy is the worst OC and doesnt understand college and the other guy goes bat nuts. You also play your back up back up and lose to Florida. You keeping that cat around? no.
We changed coaches to stitch the wound that was on its way to gangrene, and hopefully do better. 10 years without an SEC while everyone passed us by was long enough.
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Richt made his fair share of mistakes but my understanding was that Shotty was forced upon him. Pruitt I believe was his call. Playing Bauta? I’m not sure even he understands why he did that. I loved Richt, but that may qualify as the worst decision he ever made.
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Schotty was not forced on him. Thats absolute bunk.
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You may know more about it than me. But I saw it written more than a few times in more than a few places. However, I’m smart enough to know that the fact you see something on the internet doesn’t make it true. To the original point, I believe Kirby gets judged on championships. That’s not fair but I believe that’s the standard he’s being held to.
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sounds like people making excuses. no one said “YOU GET SHOTTY! OR ELSE!” Schotty isnt that bad at play designing and calling, but he is a horrible college coach.
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And even if he was forced on him, what would that say about him and his grip on the program? Can you imagine someone trying to force a coach on Saban? That’s the kind of crap that happens at Auburn and Tennessee.
I love the guy, but it was time to move on from CMR. I didn’t feel that way when it happened, but in FACT…CKS HAS taken Georgia to the next level and was an inept officiating crew away from kicking down the door to the penthouse.
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I don’t buy the “must win it all” to be a successful year…those that do are doomed to be miserable.
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yep…..under that scenario the fan bases of 129 of the 130 D1 schools would be miserable.
What is more interesting to me is why average to below average schools pay so much $$$ to their head coach to have poor records. It seems the more prudent decision would be to hire young up-and-coming guys inexpensively (recognizing they may leave if successful).
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40 years. New coach and promises of championships. I’d be happy with an SEC title. Happier to be in the Natty game, but totally satisfied. Nope.
For complete satisfaction I want the bumber sticker. After all I live in Alabama
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2021 should look, feel, and sound more like a normal season. Sanford might not be at full capacity, but hopefully it’ll be close. Plus, we get a full spring with Monken and (fingers crossed) no surprise QB departures. PLUS, I’m planning on making it to a home game for the first time in the Smart era. Point being, I’m too excited for football to come back to fret about records just yet.
That being said, If JT stays healthy, and we don’t get eaten alive by the injury bug, I like our chances. Either we’re undefeated or have one close Clemson loss going into Atlanta. Also, there’s no way we’re not turning up the heat on Dopey Dan’s hot seat after we bludgeon the Gators next fall.
September can’t get here soon enough.
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201 days….
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I have my hotel in Charlotte for the opener with the Greater Anderson Cow College Tiggers.
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game should be in athens. ugh
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Actually it would be in Clemson. Last game with them was in Athens.
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even better for it to be in athens then.
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I am doing everything in my power for JAX this year. I dont know if i eat tix i cant afford or just go get some on the street game day. I just dont want sorry seats for a once in a lifetime thing. But $500 seats – this is why i have a 65″ Sony 930e
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Even if we win it all, people will still complain.
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There should be an expectation of a five year buffer after a championship season, with the caveat that the bottom doesn’t drop out from under the team like at Auburn in 2012. As long as that doesn’t happen, a coach gets a five year buffer. That’s only fair.
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So KIrby would be under a buffer umbrella if on just that one play, Tyler Simmons hadn’t jumped off sides?(S)
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Losing that game was a culmination of many different things, but even with the bad reffing we should’ve won the game if our head coach didn’t shut down the offense for fourth quarter. It should have never gotten to overtime, and it wouldn’t have, if Kirby played to win instead of playing not to lose.
So if Kirby had made a different bunch of decisions and played to win the game instead of not to lose, and we won, yep, he’d be insulated from hot seat talk for five years.
That doesn’t mean he or any coach would or should be immune from criticism, because I’m sorry if you think that’s the way it should be, that just ain’t how the world works. But immune from the kind of hard questions I’m saying we’re going to need to start asking? You bet. Immune from complaining that we didn’t immediately win a second title? For sure.
If you win a national title, there should be no specific complaining for five years if we don’t win another one or hot seat talk if we don’t. Again, that’s not the same as saying he would or should be immune from criticism, but it’s an insulation.
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What credit does Kirby deserve for being tied or in the lead vs. alabama for all but 64 seconds over 120 minutes of football in two championship games?
I’m no expert but I’ve heard that Alabama is pretty good at football.
I’m thinking you’d have to know something about football to do that. Probably a whole lot. If you didn’t know much about football you might well get your ass whipped twice instead of having a chance to win.
It would seem to me to require far more knowledge than I have to have built and prepared a team to be that competitive in those two games.
Then again, let me tell you where Saban went wrong vs. Trevor Lawrence a couple years ago. You see against Trevor you needed to disguise your coverages and mix and match zone and man, but Nick is all the time fucking shit up. Especially in the big games. Maybe one day he’ll know as much as I do about football.
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Just my 2 cents but given our roster and schedule I’d say SEC Championship.
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Georgia people want the whole enchilada, anything less is an unsuccessful season in the eye’s of collegiate football historians, myself and many others. Now, message board junkies unite!
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