Georgia Football: Expect Bulldogs to win SEC again in 2018

Don’t give up on Georgia football after the College Football Playoff National Championship Game loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. They’ll respond next year.

All the ups and downs that Georgia football went through in SEC play did not conclude until the very end of the year, and we mean the very end. The Dawgs nearly claimed the program’s first National Championship since legendary running back Herschel Walker took them there in 1980.

However, head coach Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide, had other ideas in the overtime win in the final game of the 2017-18 campaign. What was once a halftime lead for the Dawgs turned into a tight contest between two true freshman quarterbacks.

Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa took over in the second half for Saban, and did not disappoint. Tagovailoa’s more than 200 total yards, and three touchdowns, pushed the Tide past the Dawgs in overtime. But, do not expect head coach Kirby Smart and UGA to go away in the following season.

The Dawgs responded to quite a few tough test in 2017, including a loss to the Auburn Tigers, and a gritty road win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. UGA ended up defeating Auburn in the SEC Championship Game, after the Tigers defeated Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

Beating Auburn in the conference championship game was enough for the Dawgs to get into the College Football Playoff field. UGA took down the Oklahoma Sooners in the Rose Bowl, one of the Semifinal matchups. However, the Dawgs were not so fortunate against Alabama.

Under Saban, Smart learned the ropes of consistent success, at the highest-level, in the college football world. Moreover, UGA has a true freshman quarterback in Jake Fromm that will come back better and stronger to kick off the 2018 season. But, the promising aspect of UGA’s future is all the solid recruiting classes on the horizon.

UGA has the top class in the 2018 cycle locked up, at this moment. And, the SEC East does not look very strong for 2018. The Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers are both breaking in first-year head coaches.

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The Dawgs are the clear favorite to win the SEC East again. The momentum and motivation from this National Championship loss should be enough to carry UGA to back-to-back SEC Titles.