Going for 100!
If Georgia defeats Baylor on Wednesday, it will be the 100th win this decade (seasons during the 2010s). It will be the first time the Bulldogs have ever had 100 wins in a decade. The highest total they have ever reached prior was 98 a decade earlier in the 2000s. The third highest was the 1980s, when the Dawgs won 89.
This is the 12th time in school history that Georgia has won 11 games in a season, and only four times have the Dawgs reached 12 (1980, 2002, 2012 and 2017). In 2002 and 2017, they reached 13.
Speaking of 11, this will also be Georgia’s 11th time playing in the Sugar Bowl. It's the bowl the Bulldogs have played in the most. This is just the second time that Georgia has played back-to-back seasons in the Sugar Bowl. Georgia did it three straight seasons from 1980 to 1982.
Georgia counts the Rose Bowl and the CFP Championship following the 2017 as two separate bowl games. This means the Bulldogs will be playing in their 56th bowl game, which is tied for second (with Texas) and behind just Alabama. Georgia is third in the nation in bowl wins with 31.
This is the 23rd straight season in which Georgia played in a bowl game, which is the second longest streak behind Virginia Tech’s 27. Oklahoma is third on that list with 21, and LSU is fourth win 20. Florida State’s record streak of 36 seasons ended last season.
In terms of coaching, Georgia is 2-2 in bowl games led by Kirby Smart (2-1 as a player). Here is a breakdown of each of the head coaches who have led the Dawgs to bowl games.
This will be the 27th time that Georgia will play on January 1st.
Here is how the Bulldogs have fared in their bowl games following playing in the SEC Championship.
This will be the first time Georgia will face Baylor in a bowl game. This is the fifth time the two have met, and three of the previous four were season-openers (1972, 1978, and 1989). The Bulldogs are a perfect 4-0 against the Bears. They are just one of seven teams that Georgia has a perfect record (no losses AND no ties) against, playing a minimum of four games and one of 15 with a minimum of three games played.
As for the players themselves, the defense is still the strength of this team, and it has allowed 12.5 points per game, which is currently second behind Clemson’s 11.5. Currently, the Bulldogs are setting a school record for fewest points per game in a season of 12 or more games. The 2003 team has the record at 14.5, and if Georgia allows fewer than 41 points, this team will have the record. Baylor averages just over 35 points per game this season.
The defense is also allowing just 75.7 yards per game on the ground. Since 1950, that is the second-fewest rush yards per game allowed by the Dawgs in a season.
The Dawgs have allowed just one touchdown run this season, and it was by Auburn’s quarterback Bo Nix. The last running back to have a score from the ground against the Bulldogs was Josh Jacobs in the 2018 SEC Championship, or 281 consecutive carries. Baylor has 34 rushing touchdowns this season, and 18 have come from running backs.
On offense, we will see which Jake Fromm shows up. It is well known he has struggled as late, as he has had less than a 50 percent completion percentage in each of his last five games. He had just three games like this in his first 37 games as a Bulldog.
He's near the top in many of Georgia’s statistical categories, as you can see.
Fromm is one of three Georgia quarterbacks to have at least three seasons with 2,500 yards passing (David Greene and Aaron Murray).
Backup Stetson Bennett has an excellent completion percentage at 74.1 percent (20-for-27), but has just one attempt against a ranked team. That pass came in the SEC Championship game against LSU.
In terms of receiving the ball, here is where the Bulldog passes are going.
George Pickens leads the Dawgs with 39 receptions this season. The last time a Georgia player led the team with less than 40 receptions in a season was in 2007 when Sean Bailey led the Bulldogs.
The 39 is the fourth most by a Bulldog freshman all-time. Check out this impressive list:
Pickens also leads the team with seven touchdown receptions. Not only does that lead the team, it's tied for the most touchdown receptions in the nation by true freshmen (David Bell and Ahmarean Brown).
It's not clear if D’Andre Swift will play in the Sugar Bowl game or not, but if he does play on Wednesday, he will try to climb up the Georgia season rushing charts.
He is also 117 yards rushing away from 3,000 for his career, and 134 yards rushing shy of tying Lars Tate for sixth place on Georgia’s career list.
Brian Herrien ended his Bulldog career with 1,413 yards rushing, averaging 5.1 yards per attempt.
With many of Georgia’s other running backs expected to play a role in the Sugar Bowl, here is a deeper look at their rushing attempts this season.
As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging 189.3 yards rushing, which would be their lowest since 2013.
On special teams, Lou Groza winner Rodrigo Blankenship will be playing in his last game as a Bulldog. He currently has 25 field goals this season, the third most by a Georgia player in a single season. He is one shy of Billy Bennett’s total in 2002 and six shy of Bennett’s total in 2003.
Blankenship has a field goal in 40 career games. That is the fourth highest total by a Bulldog all-time.
His 78 total is second all-time on Georgia’s career list behind Bennett’s 87.
His 82.1 field goal percentage is the highest percentage by a Georgia kicker. Brandon Coutu is second all-time at 80.3 percent.
He is also two extra points made short of 200.
