Easy, Peasy...
Easy, peasy… Is Georgia’s 2018 football schedule really all that measly?
Looking ahead to next season, one glance at the Bulldogs’ slate for 2018 will make most Georgia enthusiasts grimace. The campaign opens with Austin Peay, an FCS program, followed by non-conference foes Middle Tennessee State on 9/15 and Massachusetts on 11/17—both of which were also part of the FCS/Division I-AA not too terribly long ago—and, finally on 11/24, of course, Georgia Tech. As far as conference foes, the Bulldogs do travel to LSU in mid-October, and September road dates at South Carolina and Missouri won’t be any picnic. However, the lone team Georgia faces which has consistently appeared in the top 15 or so of the “way-to-early” preseason rankings which are beginning to surface—Auburn—will be hosted in Athens.
I’m reminded of six years ago prior to the 2012 season, when Georgia was to face seemingly lowly non-conference foes Buffalo, Florida Atlantic, and Georgia Southern, while avoiding having to play the SEC West’s LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas—all preseason ranked in the AP’s top 10. At the time, a member of the national media asserted that the Bulldogs had the "easiest schedule in the history of the SEC." However, when all was said and done, having faced four opponents who totaled double-digit wins for their regular seasons, Georgia’s 2012 schedule was more so average—and far, far from the easiest in conference history.
Use of the phrase “easy schedule” should generally be reserved until the end of the season—while the tag “easiest schedule in the history of the SEC,” or at least for the last 20 years, should be restricted for the likes of Kentucky in 2010, whose non-conference schedule was made up of Louisville, Akron, Western Kentucky, and FCS Charleston Southern, and eight of its 12 regular-season opponents finished their respective regular seasons with non-winning records. In 2004, Alabama’s non-conference schedule consisted of Utah State, Western Carolina, and Southern Mississippi, and none of its first seven opponents achieved better than a 6-5 regular season. Yet, the SEC’s easiest schedule over the last couple of decades arguably belongs to Ole Miss in 2001, when its non-conference opposition was Murray State, Arkansas State, and Middle Tennessee State, and the Rebels faced only one nationally ranked foe—and just barely ranked (No. 23 Georgia) at that.
This isn’t to say the Bulldogs have never had it easy sledding, so to speak. In descending order, below is my opinion of the five easiest schedules/seasons (plus an honorable mention) in the modern era of Georgia football. If you were outwardly discouraged upon observing the 2018 schedule, perhaps get ready to grimace again at the sight of one or more of these slates—and beginning just a few years ago:
No. 5—2015: From 2002, when most teams started playing a 12-game regular-season schedule, to the present, there have been 249 instances where a school from a top-5/Power 5 conference won 10+ games—only two of which did not rank in the final AP Poll despite their double-digit-win efforts: 10-3 Cincinnati (Big East) in 2012, and 10-3 Georgia in 2015. A primary reason the Bulldogs finished unranked was that they often appeared unimpressive against a soft schedule, a slate which included just two ranked foes—the fewest games against ranked opposition for Georgia the last 31 seasons—while 12 of 13 opponents ended the campaign with at least four losses.
No. 4—1992: Led by skilled players Eric Zeier, Garrison Hearst and Andre Hastings, and a stingy bend-but-don’t-break defense, the Bulldogs from a quarter-century ago were an excellent team, yet a favorable schedule assuredly assisted in it obtaining such excellence. It is one of the few Georgia teams the last 60 years to be favored in every one of its games, including by at least 5½ points for all regular-season contests, and by an average of 14 points (not including vs. Georgia Southern when no point spread was determined). Seven of the Bulldogs’ 11 I-A opponents ended the ’92 campaign with non-winning records.
No. 3—1950: Featuring standout linemen Marion Campbell and Rocco Principe on a unit which allowed less than six points and 210 total yards per game, Georgia’s defense of 1950 is considered perhaps the best group of defenders in the school’s football history. With that being said though, the Bulldog defensive unit benefitted from, on the whole, rather weak opposition. Georgia’s foes that season, including Texas A&M in a bowl, averaged an overall mark of merely 4-6-1. Of the Bulldogs’ 12 opponents, just three finished with winning records, including only one ranked in the final AP Poll.
No. 2—1988: Despite exhibiting Vince Dooley’s second-worst defense in his 25 seasons at Georgia, according to the head coach, the Bulldogs displayed a potent ground game with backs Tim Worley, Rodney Hampton, and Keith Henderson, and a relatively simple schedule certainly didn’t hurt, en route to a 9-3 campaign in 1988. Of Georgia’s 10 I-A regular-season opponents, only three ended up above .500, including just one ranked in the final AP Poll. Even when the Bulldogs went bowling to the distinguished Gator Bowl, they were matched with a near-.500 opponent (Michigan State, 6-4-1).
No. 1—1943: The war-torn ’43 team is one of my favorite Georgia squads of all time. Consisting of nearly all 17-year-olds too young for the draft of WWII, these Bulldogs were asked by their own head coach, hard-nosed Wally Butts, the day prior to the season opener if they wanted to join the majority of the SEC and sit the season out. Instead, Georgia persevered, eventually finishing the year with a winning 6-4 record and was even nationally ranked at one point during the season. Yet, it nearly pains me to point out that when the Bulldogs decided to play on during the war, there wasn’t much leftover to oppose them. The Georgia team which has thus far faced the easiest schedule during the modern era—and it’s not even close—was one of only four SEC teams remaining from the 12 common members. After having faced one or two “Small College” teams annually in seasons leading up to 1943, the Bulldogs opposed five—Presbyterian, Tennessee Tech, Daniel Field, Howard College, and Presbyterian again—besides opposing the Virginia Military Institute, as well.
Honorable Mention—1980: Throughout Georgia's 1980 national championship season, the Bulldogs' schedule, in earning little respect, had literally been ridiculed. Not having to oppose Alabama, Mississippi State, or LSU, the six SEC foes Georgia did play finished in the bottom six of the conference standings. Its five regular-season non-conference opponents averaged only four victories each for the year. In addition, no regular-season opponent ended with a record better than 8-4, while not a single foe finished ranked in the final AP Poll.
Even the Bulldogs' Sugar Bowl opponent, Notre Dame, had received a premature invite and slumped into New Orleans having suffered both a loss and a tie, and was ranked only seventh in the nation. After the 17-10 victory over the Fighting Irish, despite being the only undefeated team in major college football, Georgia was ranked in the final computer poll of The New York Times—rankings which heavily weighed strength of schedule—a lowly No. 7 with five teams which had each lost two games ranking higher.
A side story (and a lesson presented): Still, upon completion of the 1980 season, there was little debate amongst the major polls, and the people who mattered most, regarding who was No. 1. Following the Sugar Bowl, a member of the national media attempted to debate the issue, questioning Georgia offensive guard Tim Morrison if there was any doubt the Bulldogs were the best team in the nation. Morrison so eloquently responded:
"Hell, no! We’re going to get respect now. We’re the only 12-0 team in the country, and by God, we’re No. 1!"