In the 90s we had our best coach in program history and good talent but FSU had their best coach in program history and better talent and Bowden went 8-5-1 against Spurrier. That’s faring better than we have against Smart but they still beat us more than we beat them.
What makes you think that, besides wishful thinking? Sort of like Dawg fans thinking about us during the SOS and Meyer eras? Smart: 79-15 (.840) Saban: 79-17 (.823) - 2007-2013 Whether you acknowledge it or not, Kirby is on a roll, and we are mediocre by comparison. Billy needs to rebuild our brand.
No, you sound a little homerish. Wake up. We're a middle-of-the-pack SEC team, and Georgia is on top.
You’re quite passionate in your love for the Georgia bulldogs. Enjoy your run - we are working hard on a program to derail you
In the early 90s, we did not have a championship (national championship) identity. UGA just re-established theirs last season. They have Bennett who has been an inspirational leader for them, but he is gone after this year. Very rarely will you see a team that can replace a Heisman finalist seamlessly. Alabama can and Clemson can because they have had YEARS of championship competition. Most of UGA's run has been under Bennett. I am not sure who takes the mantle for them but given our commitments. I'd venture to guess that at least at the most important position on the field, we are equal with them or will surpass them in the next year. i can't imagine a more solid running back corp. than Johnson, Etienne, and Webb. If UGA's running backs are better than those three, then they are gearing up for a dynasty. I just don't buy into that notion. We were competitive with this super-talented team you view them as for three quarters this year with a defense that was in the bottom quintile of 130 teams. Perhaps you think that will continue. Based upon the commitments that Napier is bringing in I beg to differ. Georgia has a small window to shine in my opinion. We went back to back in basketball and have not been to a Final since (almost 15 years).
What is scary about UGA is they are making this run with a qb like Bennett, just a normal, slightly above average qb who will never play a down in the nfl. Imagine if they got true QB that translated to the college game. I guess that is the beauty of bennett, he doesn't lose games for them like previous qbs etc. he just wins.
Bennett isn't really doing anything Jake Frohm wasn't doing before him. For various reasons they have just been able to win that one extra game per season that Frohm's teams couldn't. UGA passing 2022: 24 TD 6 INT 2021: 39 TD 12 INT 2020: 19 TD 11 INT 2019: 26 TD 6 INT 2018: 34 TD 6 INT 2017: 24 TD 9 INT Kirby Smart isn't Will Muschamp. He's been able to have pretty consistently solid offenses. Todd Monken is one of the better OC's in the SEC. They've been able to find QB's. And this isn't even considering that they got Justin Fields on campus for a year.
IMHO UF might never catch up if this is true. I just don’t see UF getting this level of money together. I don’t see many schools matching this. This is basically the NFL with no salary cap and unlimited free agency. I fear that only the schools whose identity is their football program (IMHO UF is not one of those) will raise this level of money. Ohio State missed out 5-star recruit as college football NIL arms race heats up: report | College Football HQ
If you look at the Gator QB stats (touchdowns and interceptions) over the same period and throw out 2020 and 2019, UGA is plus 38 on touchdown passes and has 10 fewer interceptions. Needless to say, the Trask years of 2020 and 2019 were aberrations in the trend. We threw 46 touchdown passes in 2020. Georgia only threw 19. Other than those two Trask years, Georgia has averaged 8 more touchdown passes and 2.5 fewer interceptions than we have. I am not even factoring in QB sacks and fumbles which probably are heavily skewed in their favor over the same measuring period. Can a new QB come in and keep an 8-touchdown pass margin over us as a transfer, scholarship returnee (Beck or Vandergriff), or walk-on? Is Smart going to roll the dice on a 5-star in Vandergriff who couldn't beat a walk-on for the starting position or a 4-star in Beck who couldn't either? I think having Miller, Engel, and Brown (with Rashada and Lagway) coming is a much brighter future at QB than Georgia currently has. They have NO ONE in their 2023 class, and if they bring in a transfer, either Beck or Vandergriff will probably transfer. Why would a 5-star sit on the bench for two-three years? One yes. But that was this year. If Vandergriff does not grade out as first string in the Spring, look for him to get out of Athens. The same is the case for Beck. So that leaves UGA with whatever transfer they bring in if they do or hoping they can pull another rabbit out of the hat with a walk-on (not likely). No transfer is looking to come to a new program and sit for two years. Smart was not very Smart in putting all of his eggs in Doordash Bennett. If he loses in the playoffs this year, watch how precipitously the Georgia program falls on that issue alone. They rode a miracle and sacrificed traditional 4 and 5-star talent in the process. It would serve them right. I am pulling for them in the playoffs because they are an SEC school, but I will have no problems watching them get drubbed by OSU, TCU, or Michigan.
Doordash Bennett is an aberration. Almost what Trask was for us except Trask was much more skilled. Bennett has the benefit of playing in a program where all of the starters were top 30 in HS at their positions, and so he is riding the wave of talent and making amazing plays in the process. I don't know how that will work going up against OSU where Georgia will be going up against equal if not better talent (certainly at QB and WR), or Michigan whose program is rabid to get back to the promised land, but this is why they play the game. This playoff is a MUST for Smart. If he loses, or worse does not even get into the finals, watch his sphere of influence in the SEC dwindle substantially. They have no QB in the 2023 class and their rb coming in is 13th at the position, and ours is 20th at the position. Our WRs are 16th and 19th at the position nationwide, and theirs are 14th, 24th, 35th, and 37th. So their top two WRs average 19th in the nation out of HS. Ours average 17.5. I think you see where this is going. We are not even going to talk about Tennessee's class and Kentucky's class. It is now or never for Smart. He realizes this more than anyone else on the planet. Florida, Tennessee, and Kentucky will be happy to make it deep into the 12-team playoff competition. Georgia is a bust if they simply get to the playoffs. There is much more pressure on Smart.
"Neglected" Is a relative term. "Neglected" compared to the other championship level programs? Absolutely. "Neglected" compared to other Florida sports or even the Florida Football team from the 90s? Not even close. It's not like the football program is treated poorly, just not quite the "kings on campus" to the extent of Bama, Georgia, or LSU.
