2018 - Passing Stats Breakdown and Review

The 2018 season came to an end earlier this month. Overall, the Dawgs put up some pretty impressive numbers (while some were not as-fan friendly). But there are always more numbers to crunch. This, then, is the beginning of a five-part series offering statistics you may not have known. Let's begin by breaking down the Georgia passing game of 2019. And to get a better read on that, let's step back and see how the numbers have run over the past decade.

This season, the team was second in the SEC to Alabama in completion percentage. The Dawgs were eighth in the conference in passing yards per game (mostly since the Dawgs ran a lot, especially in games that ended in a rout.

The Dawgs were also second behind the Tide in touchdown passes in the SEC. They were one of six conference teams that threw six or fewer interceptions this season.

Georgia's 67.8 completion percentage as a team set a school record, and the total of 34 combined touchdown passes was tied for third in school history. The 1.68 interceptions percentage was the fourth best (in this case lowest) ever by a Bulldog team.

Individually it was Jake Fromm who was climbing many of the season and career Georgia Bulldog charts. Fromm was 207-of-307 (67.4) for 2,761 yards for 30 touchdowns and six interceptions. Let's zoom in for a deeper look at his numbers.

Fromm had three touchdown passes in the Sugar Bowl. It was the eighth time in his career that he has thrown for three or more in a game. His 30 on the season was just the third time ever that a Georgia quarterback has thrown 30 or more touchdown passes in a season. He finished tied for tenth in the nation in that category. Here's a look at the top five Georgia performances in this category, and how many pass attempts they had in that season.

In terms of a career, Fromm passed Stafford and now sits alone in fourth place for the most all-time for a Bulldog quarterback. Here's how he stands and where the others were after their first two seasons as comparison.

His 2,761 passing yards were the third most by a Georgia sophomore behind Aaron Murray and David Greene.

As for yards passing in a career, Fromm is a little farther back. He stands in seventh place. Here's his spot and once again I showed where the others are after their first two seasons.

As for passing yards per attempt, Fromm was ninth in the nation at 8.99. He had 8.99 passing yards per attempt last season as well.

As for completion percentage, Fromm’s 67.426 (207-of-307) finished just behind Hutson Mason’s 67.870 (188-of-277) from 2014. Fromm’s 64.883 trails only Mason once again. The former quarterback completed 64.977 in his passes during his career with the red and black.

Check out his stats by down as well as other stat comparisons for this season by Fromm this season.

Speaking of ranked vs. non-ranked, I decided to look at some of the other quarterbacks in the nation and see how they fared in touchdowns and interceptions this season. Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa was 14 TD/6 INT vs. ranked and 29 TD/0 INT vs. unranked. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence was 8 TD/1 INT vs. ranked and 22 TD/3 INT vs. unranked. Finally, the Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma, Kyler Murray, was 12 TD/2 INT vs. ranked and 30 TD/5 INT vs. unranked.

Other players threw passes for the Dawgs last season…

Justin Fields: 69.2 comp pct (27/39) 328 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT

Matthew Downing: 80.0 comp pct (8/10) 88 yards

Rodrigo Blankenship: 0/1 passing

Of his 39 passing attempts last season, only two of Fields’ pass attempts came against ranked teams, and only one was complete (8-yard pass to Trey Blount against South Carolina).

Thirty-seven of Fields’ pass attempts were also at home. All four of his touchdown passes came against out-of-conference opponents.

Three times in 2018, Fields threw for a season-high eight pass attempts. His high of seven completions came against Austin Peay and his longest pass was a 57-yard gem to Mecole Hardman for a score against Massachusetts.

Fields did something that hasn’t been done since Aaron Murray in the 2012 Outback Bowl. He became the first Georgia quarterback to throw and catch his own pass (both went for negative yards). There will be more on this in the receiving article in this series.

Downing threw passes in four games. Eight of the ten attempts came against non-conference games with the other two coming against Vanderbilt. His longest pass was a 24-yard completion to James Cook against Middle Tennessee.