It’s no secret that Kirby Smart is a huge proponent of special teams. Still, the head coach’s dedicated commitment to the often-neglected third aspect of football really didn’t hit home with me until earlier this week: “Our kids are committed to special teams,” Smart emphasized. “I try to make it the most important thing of the game, because I really think it's a selfless part of the game where guys don't get a lot of credit.”

The coach’s comments compelled me to contemplate Georgia’s top special teams units of all time. Accordingly, I came up with a complex formula—one too puzzling and tiring to fully detail here—measuring all aspects of special teams, and I mean everything—kickoff return and kickoff coverage, punt return and punt coverage, placekicking, special teams scores, and blocked kicks—beginning with the 1978 season, or when Georgia’s opposing return yardage and opposing placekicking totals were first made available.

Based on my calculations, here is my opinion of the top five special teams units in Georgia football history (or, at least for the past 40 seasons):

#5—2005: Sophomore placekicker Brandon Coutu, who made 23 of 30 field goals including three of five from 50-plus yards, spearheaded a unit which also had a net punting average, due in large part to punter Gordon Ely-Kelso, of a respectable 38.7. Although Georgia’s average return on kickoffs was less than 20 yards, the Bulldogs’ opposing net kickoff average was under 43 yards. Thomas Flowers’ 13.7 punt return average remains the fourth highest at the school by an individual over the last 40 years. Also, whereas Georgia blocked two kicks and scored one touchdown via special teams, the Bulldogs didn’t yield any of the two during the season.

#4—1978: With freshman Lindsay Scott primarily returning kickoffs (26.5-yard average—8th-best in nation), and sophomore Scott “The Returner” Woerner toting back punts (12.0-yard average), Georgia’s return game was top-notch, yet so was its kick/punt coverage. The “Wonderdog” Bulldogs, which shockingly achieved a 9-1-1 regular-season mark, allowed only 4.8 yards per punt return, a lowly 18.3-yard average on a whopping 36 opposing kickoff returns, all while not yielding a special teams touchdown, yet scoring two themselves. Another underclassman, sophomore placekicker Rex Robinson, not only made all 29 of his extra-point attempts back when a successful PAT was not necessarily automatic (roughly 90 percent of PATs were made that season in major college football compared to around 97 percent last season), but missed only two field goals—both in the same game—of 17 attempts.

#3—2002: Although Georgia’s kickoff and punt return coverage were both below average, the Bulldogs’ return game was spectacular. During the team’s record-establishing 13-win season, Georgia’s opposition averaged just 42.5 net yards on kickoffs—and, due in large part to Damien Gary (13.5 average) and Sean Jones (16.0 average) returning punts, only a 28.2-yard net punting average (I don’t think I’ve seen as low over the past 30-40 years). Junior placekicker Billy Bennett connected on 26 of 33 field goals, and the team tallied four special teams scores while allowing none. Still, what might have been most impressive was whereas the Bulldogs blocked a school-record nine kickoffs/punts, including three by Boss Bailey, Georgia didn’t yield a single blocked kick.

#2—2017: Primary because of Mecole Hardman’s return skills (25.2 kickoff return average, 11.8 punt return average), Georgia’s overall return game just last season was one of the best in the entire country. By my estimation, the Bulldogs’ opposing 38.9 net kickoff average is a record low against a Georgia team. Placekicker Rodrigo Blankenship hardly missed a placekick (83 of 86 on PATs and field goals combined), while more than 70 percent of his kickoffs went for touchbacks. The unit’s, and probably the entire team’s, biggest surprise standout was Columbia transfer Cameron Nizialek, whose 42-yard net punting average set a single-season Bulldog record by an individual.

#1—1980: Utilizing most of the cast of characters from Georgia’s banner year of ‘78, the Bulldogs’ special teams two years later during the program’s best season ranks as the school’s top unit over the last four decades. The special teams unit in 1980 was hardly flawed. Scott Woerner averaged a nation’s best 15.7 yards per punt return and nearly 26 yards per kickoff return. Placekicker Rex Robinson was again perfect on PATs while making 16 of 22 field goals. Georgia blocked two kicks and scored two special teams touchdowns while not yielding any of the two during the season. Also, the opposition not only averaged a paltry 17.8 yards on 34 kickoff returns, but—and the following is a school record which will likely never be broken—Bulldog opponents incredibly averaged a scant half-yard per punt return, or a mere eight yards on 16 returns.

Just now realizing as much—and, again, my top five was derived from a calculation, not a simple assessment—four of the top five special teams units were part of SEC-winning squads (of the only six conference championships captured by Georgia during the 40-season period). And, the lone team of the five which didn’t win an SEC crown, the 1978 Bulldogs, went undefeated (5-0-1) in conference play.

Who says only defense wins championships?