Georgia Football: 5 takeaways from Bulldogs’ 2018 season
5. Late collapse wasn’t sign of things to come
Sure, Georgia made a boneheaded decision to call a fake punt on fourth-and-11 in the SEC Championship Game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Dawgs lost by seven points and a win could’ve served as a slingshot to put them in the College Football Playoff over eventual No. 4 seed Oklahoma.
Then the Dawgs lost to the Texas Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl. Revisionist history would tell you that Smart’s team was blown out by the ‘Horns but in reality it was just another seven-point loss for Georgia.
The two game skid is far from a sign that the Bulldogs won’t be a national title contender in 2019. Georgia returns too much talent, and is signing too many more blue chip prospects, to not reload for next season. Georgia might have lost Jim Chaney from the offensive staff but James Coley is still there and he’s the one signing big names like Justin Fields and four-star pro style quarterback Dwan Mathis.
Georgia lost one 1,000-yard rusher but returns D’Andre Swift. They also return star quarterback Jake Fromm who has already tossed 54 touchdowns with only 13 interceptions in two short years behind center.
Georgia has an interesting schedule in 2019. While they don’t play Alabama or LSU in the regular season they will face Notre Dame at home and play a three game stretch of being on the road at Auburn, before hosting Texas A&M and ending the season away from Athens to face rival Georgia Tech.