By Chris Marler
Season in a sentence
There’s no better proof that Georgia has reached the pinnacle of the college football world than them going 11-3 and it being considered “underachieving.”
Three Highs
- Winning the SEC Championship
Georgia went through an absolute gauntlet this season, playing seven Top 20 teams, with six of those seven being away from Athens. Just an insane level of difficulty that went unnoticed, yet they still won the SEC Title.
- Beating Texas—twice
It’s wild hearing Texas fans and national media talk about Texas being the class of the SEC this year. Sure they went 11-1—against the easiest schedule in the league I might add—but when they had to face Georgia they lost to them both times, once at home and once against a back-up quarterback.
- Undefeated in rivalry games—again
Georgia defeated Florida, Auburn, Tennessee, and Georgia Tech this season, winning each game by double digits—except for Georgia Tech, which they beat in eight overtimes.
Three Lows
- Losing to Alabama—again
The proverbial monkey is still firmly attached to Kirby’s back when it comes to beating Alabama. They made a game of it for sure, but to give you an idea of how bad the performance was, Jalen Milroe was projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in some mock drafts after the game. Yikes. The only thing that’s struggled against Alabama more than Georgia is social progress and education.
- Wide Receiver room
It made sense for the offense to potentially take a step back after losing Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey to the NFL. However, the receivers were arguably the worst position unit in the country and had more drops than a call from a car phone. Google it.
- Took a step back in the trenches
The most concerning part of this season was the lack of physicality from the offensive and defensive line, especially the offensive line. Georgia’s o-line gave up 25 sacks this year, which may not seem like a lot but is three more than they allowed in their previous two seasons combined.
The Offense
As someone who grew up in Georgia, it always made me laugh when Dawg fans bemoaned about Mike Bobo for at least a decade when he was previously their OC. However, this year it felt like it was deserved. The drop-off in both production and creativity from former offensive coordinator Todd Monken to the current coordinator is evident when watching this year’s team.
To be fair, they were still a very good unit, and it’s hard to grade them without a curve for a number of reasons. This felt like the first year in quite some time where Georgia really got bit by the injury bug. They didn’t have a single scholarship running back who was able to play in every game all season, with starter Trevor Etienne missing up to four games. Then, there was the offensive line who was without their leader and anchor Tate Ratledge for several games.
There was also the issue between the quarterbacks and receivers. It felt very seldom that they were both at their best at the same time. Carson Beck had three games with at least three interceptions and was throwing to a group that led the nation with 59 drops. Beck’s completion percentage was more than 7.5% lower than it should have been due to dropped passes, and Georgia’s offense lost more than 650 potential yards as a result. Both metrics led the nation.
It was very frustrating watching Bobo’s offense regress from what we’ve seen in Athens over the last few years. However, there is a bit of a curve with the grade I’ll give because few teams in the SEC had to deal with their level of injuries.
Offensive Grade: B-
The Defense
From 2019 to 2023, Georgia’s defense ranked first in the SEC in points allowed and yards allowed per game in four of five seasons. They allowed over 16 points per game and over 300 yards per game once in that span—both in 2020. The 2024 unit finished seventh in scoring and eighth in total defense in the conference.
The drop was more than noticeable and puzzling. Granted, you have to expect a natural drop off at some point because the aforementioned five year run was generational from a statistical and production standpoint. That 2021 defense is widely considered one of the greatest defenses of all-time.
Some drop off would definitely be expected. However, the surprise to many was just how much of a drop we saw at certain position units, specifically the secondary. Georgia’s corners were repeatedly picked on this season. The Dawg defense gave up over 300 yards passing four times this season. To put that in perspective, they’d allowed only two teams to do that in the previous two seasons combined and ten teams overall since Kirby Smart was hired in 2019.
In the past it took generationally talented offensive teams and/or players to do that to a Kirby Smart defense. I mean 2019 LSU, 2020 Alabama, Bryce Young, etc. Teams like that made it feel like an anomaly, whereas the 2024 season made it feel much more commonplace.
Defensive Grade: B-
Overall Grade
I think the offense took a step back from Bobo to Monken and they were a shell of their former selves, from a production standpoint. I think the defense took a much bigger and more concerning step back from what we’ve become accustomed to under Kirby Smart. That being said, I still think this may have been one of Kirby Smart’s best coaching jobs.
Georgia has become so elite and superior to the rest of college football we just don’t allow excuses for UGA anymore. Believe me, Kirby doesn’t want them either.
Regardless, playing with this many injuries and playing a schedule where half of your games were against Top 20 teams is usually a recipe for disaster. It’s at least a recipe for less than 11 wins in a season. Much less. Remember six of those seven games against ranked opponents came away from home. Georgia finished their season 4-1 against College Football Playoff teams. Their only loss was against Notre Dame, who’s about to play for the National Championship. That loss was with a backup quarterback, a day after a domestic terrorist attack on the city, and while Kirby Smart’s dad was in an ICU fighting for his life.
Kirby Smart and Georgia won’t make excuses for not winning a national title. I, however, will absolutely give some grace and perspective to the situation.
Overall Season Grade: A-
