2021 Bulldogs are in rare company with 7-0 start

Georgia is over halfway done with its 128th regular season of football.

And given the number of years the Bulldogs have played this game, it may come as a shock that this is only the 11th time they have started a season 7-0.

Beginning a season with seven consecutive victories is obviously a great achievement for any team. But this sort of success doesn't guarantee the preferred end result by any means. In eight of the previous 10 times it started 7-0, Georgia wasn’t able to finish the year unbeaten. There is still plenty of football to play this year, especially in an era where a team can play 15 games if it reaches its conference championship and College Football Playoff.

Here’s a look back at the previous 10 times Georgia started 7-0 and how this year’s team compares.

In the first seven games of this particular year, the Bulldogs outscored opponents 202-13. Five of the wins were shutouts, with Georgia defeating Yale 14-10 and Auburn 33-3 in the other two games. The Bulldogs continued their dominance by eating Mercer 26-7 and Alabama 20-6 in the next two weeks. However, they lost the final game of the season to Georgia Tech 12-0.

Final record: 9-1

Points scored: 248

Points allowed: 38

The Bulldogs posted four shutouts in their first seven games while holding the other three teams to a combined 35 points. The offense wasn’t as good as the 1927 team as it totaled 135 points during those games. After the 7-0 start, the Bulldogs lost to Auburn 14-6 the week after. They defeated Georgia Tech 7-6 before losing to USC 31-0 in early December.

Final record: 8-2

Points scored: 148

Points allowed: 86

Much like the 1933 team, the 1942 squad held opposing programs to 13 points or less in each of the first seven games of the season. The offense was pretty good, too, outscoring teams 205-49 in that span. That number increased quite a bit in Georgia’s eighth game, as it blanked Florida 75-0.

After defeating Chattanooga 40-0 to move to 9-0, just about everything went wrong against Auburn in a 27-13 loss. It would be Georgia’s only blemish, with the program closing the season with a win over Georgia Tech and a victory over UCLA in the Rose Bowl. The majority of the polls crowned Georgia as the national champion, while the AP gave the nod to Ohio State.

Final record: 11-1

Points scored: 376

Points allowed: 76

This season marked the third time in program history that Georgia finished unbeaten. The first came in 1896 at 4-0. The second time was in 1920, when the Bulldogs finished 8-0-1. The lone tie that year, a scoreless one, came in the sixth game of the season against Virginia.

Through the first seven games in 1946, Georgia outscored teams 248-66. The Bulldog capped off the dream year with a win over North Carolina in the Sugar Bowl. Even though it was unblemished, Notre Dame was No. 1 in the AP poll and Army was ranked at the top of the majority of the other polls. Only the Williamson poll ranked Georgia No. 1 at the end of the year.

Final record: 11-0

Points scored: 392

Points allowed: 110

After allowing 25 points to Oregon State in the opener, the Bulldogs posted three shutouts against Clemson, Vanderbilt and Kentucky, while allowing only a touchdown each to Tulane, Mississippi State and Ole Miss. After starting 7-0, Georgia won two additional games against South Carolina and Florida before losing to Auburn. The defeat to the Tigers was the only one of the year.

Final record: 11-1

Points scored: 360

Points allowed: 115

This was Georgia’s first unbeaten squad since the 1946 season. It also happened to be the program's first-ever unanimous national championship team. In this season's first seven games, the Bulldogs outscored teams 208-55, which included three shutouts. To win the national title, Georgia defeated Notre Dame 17-10 in the Sugar Bowl.

Final record: 12-0

Points scored: 333

Points allowed: 137

This marked the only time in program history that Georgia started 7-0 in two seasons of a three-year span. In this year’s campaign, the Bulldogs outscored opponents 180-98 in their first seven games.

A 44-0 win over Florida got the team to 9-0, with Georgia taking care of Auburn 19-14 and Georgia Tech 38-18 in the following two weeks. However, the Bulldogs would lose to Penn State 27-23 in the Sugar Bowl in a national title matchup.

Final record: 11-1

Points scored: 338

Points allowed: 160

Georgia jumped out to its first 7-0 start since the 1982 season but lost to Florida 20-13 in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs then won the rest of their games, including a 26-13 victory over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. With Miami and Ohio State both going undefeated, the Bulldogs were unable to earn an entry into the BCS National Championship.

Final record: 12-1

Points scored: 450

Points allowed: 212

Just like in 2002, the Bulldogs were 7-0 going into the annual rivalry game against Florida. And as it was then, the Gators got the best of the Bulldogs. It didn’t help that quarterback D.J. Shockley was unable to play in that year's game.

In those first seven games, Georgia outscored teams 216-96. Although Georgia ended up winning the SEC this year, it also lost to Auburn and was defeated by West Virginia in a Sugar Bowl played in Atlanta due to Hurricane Katrina.

Final record: 10-3

Points scored: 384

Points allowed: 213

Georgia outscored opponents 263-74 in its first seven games of head coach Kirby Smart’s second season with the program. In the eighth game, the Bulldogs drummed Florida 42-7. To get a ninth win, Georgia defeated South Carolina 24-10.

However, the Bulldogs fell flat against Auburn and lost 40-17 a week later. Georgia still made the SEC Championship and defeated Auburn in a rematch. It then won an epic Rose Bowl over Oklahoma but lost in the most heartbreaking fashion to Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Final record: 13-2

Points scored: 531

Points allowed: 246

The Bulldogs’ defense has made each outing look a prior era. In seven games, opposing teams haven’t scored more than 13 points in a game. Both Vanderbilt and Arkansas suffered shutouts. Kentucky only managed to score 13 because of a late touchdown in garbage time.

Extrapolated over a best-case scenario 15-game season, Georgia is on pace to score 576 points while allowing only 99.

Current record: 7-0

Points scored to date: 269

Points allowed to date: 46