Georgia is going to the SEC Championship game with an 11-1 record and the possibility of a national championship still on the table after Saturday’s 38-7 win over Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium. What was the most important moment of this regular season? That’s easy. I’ll post my column on the game shortly, but until then here are three quick observations on the Bulldogs.
1. Georgia's biggest win of season wasn't a game: On Dec. 15 of last year, less than three weeks following the 28-27 loss to Tech that ended a disappointing regular season with a thud, four players announced they would bypass the NFL draft and return for the 2017 season: Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter. The Bulldogs' national-title hopes were born in that moment. Jake Fromm (or Jacob Eason) weren't going to be good enough this season to carry Georgia to this moment without the rushing attack that Chubb and Michel would bring (the two combined for 25 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns against Tech). The Dogs' defense was expected to be good even before Bellamy and Carter decided they would come back, elevating the pass-rush. If Georgia wins the SEC championship next week, Dec. 15 should be declared some kind of holiday in Athens.
2. Fromm looks more than good enough: When the Bulldogs were drilled by Auburn 40-17 on Nov. 11 and showed an inability to run the ball. the narrative of, "Georgia can't throw the ball," got new life. Is freshman Jake Fromm a quarterback who's going to throw for 300-plus yards per game? No. But he made some big throws against Tech, including: 1) a 12-yard back-shoulder toss to Javon Wims at the Tech 1 to set up the Bulldogs' first touchdown; 2) a 21-yard dart to Wims for the second touchdown; 3) a 39-yarder to Mecole Hardman over the middle that Hardman leaped high in front of a defender to get; 3) a 78-yard touchdown pass to Ahkil Crumpton in the fourth quarter to bury Tech 38-7. Tech's defense obviously isn't as good as the one Georgia will go against in the SEC Championship game. And, yes, obviously Georgia still needs a running game to win games. But how many teams don't? Fromm has taken the team this far, so there's no reason to believe that can't continue.
3. Some defensive hiccups: Georgia's defense, solid for most of the season with the exception of the Auburn game, showed some early lapses against Tech. The Yellow Jackets converted seven of 10 third-down situations in the first half. The worst of those came when, on third-and-goal from the Georgia 10, Tech quarterback TaQuon Marshall threw to a wide-open Ricky Jeune in the corner of the end zone. It was a great play call by Tech coach Paul Johnson, who called consecutive timeouts before the snap, but how was the Jackets' best receiver left so open? Bulldogs' defensive backs Malkolm Parrish and Deandre Baker looked at each other after the play, as if to suggest Jeune was the other one's responsibility. That's not good foreshadowing going into the SEC title game.
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