Author: Randy Powers

 

 

 

The Georgia Bulldogs are fresh off another record setting performance at the NFL draft. How about we take a look at some rapid fire draft notes? The Bulldogs saw 10 players taking in the 2023 NFL draft that tied them for the most of any school in the country, that is the second most in NFL history behind only the record setting 15 players taken in the 2022 NFL draft.

Georgia’s 25 picks over the last two years, sets an NFL record for the most by any school over a two day span in the common draft era. Now, who was the previous record holder? That would be your Georgia Bulldogs and the two years before that. Now, if we include the 2021 draft, the Georgia Bulldogs have had a total of 34 players taken, which would best the previous record from Florida State, which had 29 players taken over a three year period.

Even if you start with the first draft after the Bulldogs National title in 2021. That previous three year record is in serious jeopardy. And talk about proof of concept. The Georgia Bulldogs have had 19 defensive players taken over the last three drafts, including every starter from that 2021 National championship defense.

Kirby Smart has had 55 players drafted in his first seven years at the University of Georgia. Including 15 first round draft picks. That’s more first round draft picks than the rest of the S E C East combined in that time period. That’s more first round picks than the Tennessee Vols have had since the Clinton administration and more first round draft picks than the legendary Bear Bryant had in 25 years as the head coach at the University of Alabama. That’s more overall draft picks in that timeframe than Nick Saban. Dabo Swinney, Pete Carroll, Lincoln Riley, Mark Richt, Steve Spurrier, Urban Meyer, and Mack Brown. Huge hat tip to Chris Marler for those gems. But wait. There’s more. From 2013 to 2021, the University of Georgia did not have a single defensive lineman taken in the NFL draft with Jalen Carter being taken number nine, overall, the Bulldogs now have had four defensive linemen taken in the first round in the last two years.

This is a fun one. Georgia is the only university to have a tied in drafted in each of the last five NFL drafts. The Pittsburgh Steelers made Broderick Jones the fourth Georgia offensive lineman to be taken in the first round and the 10th. Overall, since 2017, from 2003 to 2016, Georgia had 10 offensive linemen drafted, and only one of those was a first rounder.

You don’t have to be a football expert to know that what the Georgia Bulldogs are doing as far as turning out talent for the NFL draft is special. But when you have experts in the field out there saying things like this, It becomes simply a fact that no one can deny. The bottom line on the situation in Athens is this, there has been a loss of talent, there has been turnover on the coaching staff, yet all the George Bulldogs did is go out and replace 15 NFL draft picks four assistant coaches and go back to back winning their second consecutive national championship going away.

The simple fact is that no one has been as dominant. As the Georgia Bulldogs over the last two seasons going 29 and one in their last 30 games. If you think this was a fluke, if you think the process that made this success possible is going to change. If you believe that Kirby Smart has not built Georgia football to sustain success, you are simply in denial.

Go Dawgs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Who can beat the Georgia Bulldogs? That’s the question as we look ahead to the 2023 regular season schedule. How about ’em? Kirby? I told ’em “How ’bout them f*cking Dawgs!” That’s what I told ’em. The Georgia Bulldogs have won back-to-back national championships and have come 30 and won over the last two seasons in the process, including a perfect 15 and 0 season last year.

Now, of course, Georgia’s gonna lose a game at some point, but is that gonna be in 2023? , when you bring up the dog’s 2023 schedule, everybody’s gonna point to how easy it. On paper, but they’re always gonna conveniently leave out the fact that the Dawgs have aggressively scheduled non-conference opponents over the last few years.

And this season they had the Oklahoma Sooners on the road, no less scheduled for game two with Oklahoma and Texas coming into the league in 2024. The SEC told Georgia that they couldn’t play Oklahoma. . As a result, the 2023 season schedule shakes out like this on September 2nd. The Dawgs play UT Martin at home.

Then on September nine, they have Ball State. That’s the replacement game for the Oklahoma Sooners Road game that got kicked out by the SEC. The next week we get into League play on September 16th against the South Carolina Gamecocks. This is a game that people usually point to as one where Georgia could possibly trip up early in the year .

I know Spencer Rattler is coming back for the Gamecocks, and that was a big deal. Shane Beamer has that program moving in the right direction, but I don’t think they’re ready to compete with the Dawgs in Athens just yet. The next week, the Dawgs get UAB at home to close out the opening month of the season, which saw them have four home games.

Now that’s advantageous for the Dawgs because they are replacing their offensive coordinator with Mike Bobo and they’re gonna be breaking in a new quarterback, getting to do those things at home between the hedges, well, that has to be an advantage. In week five, the Dawgs go on the road for the first time to the plains to take on the Auburn Tigers in a continuation of the deep South’s oldest rivalry.

Now, this game can be a little tricky, but I don’t think even with a new head coach and new offensive coordinator, that the Tigers are gonna have things figured out just yet, and Georgia should be able to get that win on the road. Just know it could be a little dicey. As we move into October, the Dawgs continue league play welcoming in the Kentucky Wildcats between the hedges in Athens.

I just don’t think that Mark Stoops can bring his Wildcats between the hedges and get that victory, six games in and halfway through the season. We’ve already pointed out a couple of places that could prove to be a little tricky for the Bulldogs in the 2023 regular season schedule, the home game against South Carolina and then the road game against the Auburn Tigers.

As we make our way through October, the Dawgs continually play taking on Vanderbilt on the 14th, and then they’ll close out the month after a bye week with the annual game in Jacksonville against the Gators. Now this game against Florida, you just never know what’s gonna happen. Florida appears to be a mess, but I’ve seen too many things go down in Jacksonville that I just can’t explain, so I’m never gonna count this game as a victory for the Dawgs until all zeroes are on the.

Thank you for being here. If you enjoy the kind of content we’re producing, please take a second and hit that thumbs up button. It really helps us get the video out to other dog fans just like you. As the calendar returns to November, we start to play the games that people will remember, the ones that will define the season and November in 2023 will be no different for the Dawgs.

They open the month on the fourth against Missouri. The Dawgs struggled on the road last year in Colombia before finally pulling out the win, but I don’t think Missouri’s gonna have the horses to get the job done in Athens this year. The next week, the Dawgs welcome in the Ole Miss Rebels. This is one game that could be a little tricky for the Dawgs because we don’t know exactly what Ole Miss is gonna be.

They’re gonna have a new quarterback, most likely. They definitely have a new defensive coordinator and they’ve brought in a bunch of transfers from the portal yet again. How Lane Kiffin stirs the pot down there in Mississippi and gets this team to gel is gonna determine what kind of challenge this is gonna be for Georgia here in November.

We’re just gonna have to wait and see. One thing’s for sure, though Mississippi should be talented enough to be on the Dawg’s radar as a possible threat. Next up comes the game that most people are gonna point to as the biggest threat to the Bulldogs pulling off another undefeated regular season. They have to go on the road to take on the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville.

Coming off great season in 2022, Tennessee is gonna have to replace some of the players that made that season so great as they head into 2023. Georgia has won six straight in the series, and they’re gonna look to continue that dominance on the road in Knoxville. To wrap up the season, the dogs head down to Atlanta to take on the Jackets in another bout of clean, old-fashioned hate.

The Dawgs should take care of business here and they could very well be playing for another 12 – 0 season when they get to Atlanta. So there you have it. A look at the 2023 regular season schedule for the Dawgs. Do you think they’re gonna go undefeated again? Be sure to drop me a comment below and let me know.

Let ’em know. Kirby, we will not be hunted at the University of Georgia. I can promise you that.

 

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Counting down my favorite Georgia games from the 2022 season, a campaign that ended with the Dawgs completing their quest for back-to-back national championships with a historic victory over the TCU Horned Frogs in the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

 

7.  Florida Gators

I’m a proud, card carrying member of Generation X that came of age in the 90s and saw the Steve Spurrier era at Florida up close and it was painful to behold. To me, Florida is without question Georgia’s top rival and a win over the Gators is mandatory for me to be truly happy with any given season. Any win will do, but believe me when I tell you the Dawgs can’t beat Florida bad enough. With that as the backdrop you can understand why I start every Georgia football season with the same list of goals for the team as a fan:  1. Beat Florida  2. Win the SEC East 3. Win the SEC

Now the wording on these goals will change a bit as the conference adds new members, but the bottom line will remain the same. It all starts with whipping the Gators. That is why the 42-20 win in the game in Jacksonville (most likely to soon move on campus) makes my list of favorite games of 2022.

6.  Oregon Ducks

Coming in to the 2022 season as the reigning national champions, everyone expected Georgia to be pretty good, but the splattering that happened to kick off the season in Atlanta against Oregon served to recalibrate even the most rabid Dawgs fan’s expectations for the 2023 season. Kirby’s Dawgs put the college football world on notice that a repeat as national champions was a very real possibility for Georgia, even with the losses sustained off the previous year’s national championship squad.

The Dawgs speed, precision, and power were on full display as they blistered the Ducks on their way to a 49-3 win. From the opening kickoff, Kirby Smart’s squad dominated the Ducks. Georgia could get whatever they wanted, any which way they wanted it, and provided a stark reality check for new Oregon head coach and former Georgia Defensive Coordinator Dan Lanning in his Ducks debut.

5.  LSU Tigers – SEC Championship game

Like I mentioned above, one of my annual goals for the team as a fan (shared by the team) is to compete for and win the SEC Championship and the Dawgs found themselves back in Atlanta to bookend the 2022 regular season with a chance to do just that. Much like their previous trip to Mercedes Benz Stadium to open the season against Oregon, Georgia was on fire against the Tigers and looked dominant en route to a 50-30 victory and the SEC title, Kirby Smart’s second as head coach of the Dawgs.

This game was highlighted by a couple of plays that will live forever in Georgia lore. The first came early in the game when Junior Nasir Stackhouse blocked a 32-yard field goal attempt and Chris Smith patiently waited for the right moment before picking the ball up and returning it 96 yards for a touchdown to give the Dawgs a 7-0 lead. Georgia would go to the half leading 35-10 tying the mark for the most points in an SEC Championship Game first half. Later, Georgia standout defensive lineman wrapped up LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels and lifted him in the air for the sack as he raised one finger, instantly becoming one of the most iconic images in Georgia football history.

4. Missouri Tigers

Wait. What? That’s right. The mid-season struggle trip to middle earth checks in at number 4 on my favorite games list for 2022. Admittedly, this game was not pretty, not another sparkling example of the Dawgs dominance in what would eventually become another national championship season, but I argue that if this game had not played out the way it did the Dawgs don’t win their second consecutive national title.

This was the game the Dawgs learned a lot about exactly who they were and showed the nation they could overcome adversity and win in spite not playing their best game. There was a lot working against Georgia that night. A team that was banged up, playing on the road in the road in the toughest conference in the nation, on a cold night with a fan base that was invested and created one of the toughest atmospheres the Dawgs would play in all season.

A couple things leap to mind about this game that absolutely land it on my list of favorite games for the 2022 season.

The Dawgs young defense really came of age that night in Colombia, repeatedly forcing field goal attempts to keep Georgia in the game. The play that exemplifies this gritty effort for me came in the 2nd quarter when Malaki Starks walked down Missouri’s Cody Schrader, tackling him on the one yard line after a 63 yard gain. The Dawgs would force one of five Harrison Mevis field goals in the game. In a game Georgia would go on to win by just 4 points, the play made by the Freshman All-America proved to be gigantic.

The other key to the game that night and to Georgia’s season was how the team’s leaders stepped up and handled adversity. At one point after the half, Darnell Washington went to the coaches and straight told them to run the ball behind him. That he was going to make some room. Washington also had a couple of big catches that led to scores for the Dawgs. Another leader that stepped up was a banged up Kenny McIntosh, who was dealing with a deep thigh bruise suffered in the Kent State game a week earlier. Down 10 in the 4th quarter, it was McIntosh ripping off big runs and punishing defenders as Georgia battled back to win the game 26-22 and remain undefeated.

3. TCU Horned Frogs

Sitting at 14-0 after a victory over Ohio State in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Eve, Georgia rolled into the national championship game against TCU and absolutely obliterated the Big 12’s first representative in the title game, defeating the Horned Frogs 65-7 to go 15-0 and claim their second consecutive national championship becoming the first team in the College Football Playoff era to win back-to-back national titles. To say the Dawgs dominated does not effectively capture what happened on the field that night. Georgia’s victory was truly historic. The Dawgs 58-point blowout victory in the College Football Playoff finale marked the largest margin of victory in bowl game history. It was more than just a victory or another championship, it was a statement that Georgia is king of the college football world until further notice. HBTFD!

2. Tennessee Volunteers

Number 2 on my countdown of my favorite games of the 2022 season are the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols rolled into the Athens as the story of the season, a media darling, and ranked number one in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. Georgia was ranked number one in the AP poll at the time setting up an here-to-fore unheard of number one vs number one match up. College Game Day was in town and the atmosphere was absolutely electric and the Dawgs proved they were more than up to the challenge. For the second time in 2022, Georgia showed the world that they possessed the ultra-rare ability to flip the switch and find another gear in the biggest games.  The Dawgs dominated Tennessee.  The 27-13 final score was not indicative of physical beat down Georgia administered between the hedges that day. Tennessee was lucky the rains came in because based on what we saw in the first half, the Dawgs could have named their score. Feeling disrespected coming into the game, Georgia left no doubt afterwards that they were the class of college football and forced the national media to acknowledge as much.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes

The College Football Playoff, New Year’s Eve, and a match-up the college football world had been waiting to see for two years … Ohio State taking on Georgia … and this one would live up to the hype.

This was a heavyweight bout with the combatants trading punches throughout, but when the money was on the table at winning time, the Georgia Bulldogs showed themselves to be the better team. The Dawgs made play after play, dominating the 4th quarter, outscoring the Buckeyes 18-3. For the game, Georgia had more rushing yards on fewer attempts, 50 more passing yards on the same number of completions and attempts, more total yards on fewer plays, and made enough defensive stops to win the game proving once again what they had demonstrated throughout the season. The Dawgs were the best team that night, the most complete team in the sport, and the best team in college football in 2022.

So there you have it. My favorite games from the 2022 season for the back-to-back and reigning national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

Go Dawgs!

 

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This is A Damn Beast Media, a multimedia Georgia Bulldogs football website producing exclusive multimedia Georgia football content. Built on the foundation of the perspective earned over 25 years as a sports journalist for a global media network, we are dedicated to covering Georgia football, the Southeastern Conference, and college football with a point of view that only that type of experience can provide. ADB Media is also the exclusive home to the HBTFDAWGSCAST, a Georgia Bulldogs football podcast. 

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