Stats Crunch: CFP Championship vs. Alabama

For the second time under Kirby Smart, Georgia will be playing in the CFP Championship Game. Georgia has won the National Championship in 1927, 1942, 1946, 1968, and 1980, according to at least one poll. This season, Georgia has a chance to win 14 games in a season for the first time ever. The Bulldogs won 13 games in a season three times in their history.

Georgia has 546 points this season, which is a team record. Its 39 points per game is the second-highest average, only behind the 2014 team when The Dawgs averaged 41.3.

The 447.9 yards is currently the seventh-highest average all-time by Georgia.

The Bulldogs currently have 321 first downs. The team record is 331, set by the 2018 team.

Individually, Stetson Bennett put up some big numbers in the Orange Bowl win against Michigan. His 310 yards passing was the second highest of his career. The only game he had with more was the previous one against Alabama when he had 340. The 310 total was one of the highest all-time in bowl history by a Dawg.

The 310 gives him 2,638 for the season, and he needs just 222 more to move into the top ten in single-season pass yards by a Bulldog.

He also added three touchdown passes in the game, which gives him 27 on the season (he had just ten in his career entering 2021). He is now fourth all-time for most touchdown passes in a single season by a Georgia player. But check out those attempts.

Georgia had four touchdown passes in the Orange Bowl. Three were by Bennett, and the other was by running back Kenny McIntosh. He connected with AD Mitchell in the first quarter. He was the first non-quarterback for Georgia to throw a touchdown pass in a bowl game since wide receiver Terry Godwin connected with Malcolm Mitchell in the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl against Penn State. The touchdown pass also makes four different Georgia players who threw a touchdown pass this season. That is the most by a Georgia team in the 2000s.

Another running back, Zamir White, is closing in on a milestone. He needs 41 more yards rushing to become the 18th different Georgia player with 2,000 for his career. He did that with only two career games with more than 20 rush attempts. He has the most by any Bulldog this season with 18 in the Auburn game.

If you include Bennett, Georgia has six players with at least 200 yards rushing this season. The Dawgs are one of three teams in the SEC that have had at least six players reach that total in the 2000s. One of the teams was LSU in 2007. The Tigers won the National Championship that season.

Here is a look at Georgia’s top five running backs this season and how they did in each quarter this season.

James Cook had a great Orange Bowl. The senior from Miami had six rushes for 32 yards and added four receptions for 112 yards. It was his second career 100-yard receiving game, with the other being against Alabama in 2020. Cook finds himself at the top or near the top of the major receiving categories by Georgia running backs since 1990.

Eleven different Dawgs have caught touchdowns this season for Georgia. The 2011 team (with 12 different players) is the only Bulldog squad with more.

23 of 37 receiving touchdowns this season for Georgia have been courtesy of its freshmen. The 23 leads the nation and it is not close. Akron is second with 16 and LSU is second among SEC teams with 12.

Brock Bowers is the main receiver for Georgia. The tight end from Napa has been making opponents whine all season. His 12 touchdown receptions are the most by any player in a single season in Georgia history. The 12 also tied for the most by any tight end in the country (Isaiah Likely of Coastal Carolina). In terms of receiving yards, Bowers is third in the FBS and can move up to tie the second spot with 66 more yards. He is tied for eighth in receptions with 52. His 52 is also the most by any player under Kirby Smart. The 52 is also one of the highest all-time among Georgia freshmen.

Switching to defense, Georgia has four defenders with 59 to 68 tackles this season. Butkus Award winner Nakobe Dean currently leads with 68, followed by Lewis Cine’s 66 and then Quay Walker and Channing Tindall have 59 apiece. Since 1976, only four times has the season-tackling leader for Georgia had less than 80 (Richard Seymour in 1999, Shawn Williams in 2011, Richard LeCounte in 2018 and Dean last season).

Georgia’s rush defense has produced 45 sacks this season. The Bulldogs had zero against the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship. It was the only game the Dawgs had none. Georgia is currently tied for 4th in the nation in this category. The 45 is close to the top all-time by a Bulldog team.

Derion Kendrick came up big with two interceptions against Michigan. Kendrick leads the Dawgs’ defense with four INTs this season. The two were also tied for the most by a Georgia player in a bowl game. Here are those ball-hawking Bulldogs.

In the major team categories, Georgia leads the nation or is close. The Bulldogs have led in scoring defense twice before, back in 1968 and 2019. However, it is the 1981 class where Georgia has had its lowest since the 1940s, allowing 8.9 points per game. The Dawgs would have to allow 88 points to Alabama for them not to lead the nation at the end of the season.

Turning to Special Teams, Jake Camarda can break some records. His 47 yards per punt this season would make him second all-time behind Drew Butler’s 48.1 average in 2009. Camarda is already second and third on the single season list. Camarda also is averaging 45.8 yards for his career. Butler currently is the leader at 45.4.

Jack Podlesny became the seventh different Dawg to make at least 20 field goals in a season. One of the other players on that list is Rodrigo Blankenship. Specs currently kicks for the Indianapolis Colts and plays his home games at Lucas Oil Stadium – site of the 2022 CFP Championship game.