College Football News writes that Georgia could be in for disappointing 2020

Could Georgia football be in for a tough 2020? One college football analyst says it’s a possibility.

Georgia has been the top-Dawg in the SEC East for the past three seasons, making the SEC Championship every year since 2017.

For 2020, expectations remain the same for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs. A top-four finish, an SEC Championship appearance and a potential return to the College Football Playoff. Anything less is a disappointment.

With those expectations, a 10-2 regular season would be considered a disappointment. It would practically eliminate the Dawgs from Playoff contention, unless Georgia goes out and wins convincingly in Atlanta (if it can navigate its way there) and gets a lot of help from around the country.

So, when Pete Fiutak of College Football News picked Georgia as his potentially disappointing team from the SEC, he does not foresee an 8-4 season or anything like that. Instead, he made mention to how it’s all relative. Meaning that a 10-win season for 95% of FBS programs would be considered great, however, if Georgia wins 9 or 10, that’s a let-down by UGA standards.

From Fiutak:

It’s all relative.

No, 2020 Georgia isn’t going 8-4, or anything like that.

We predicted that Florida would be one of the top ten teams in college football before last year started – but would be a slight disappointment because it wouldn’t win the SEC East – and Georgia will begin this season in the top five, if not top three.

Georgia’s 2020 is going to be a difficult one. Aside from losing so much experience on offense and a few defensive leaders, that schedule is no joke.

[lawrence-related id=24991]

On the road at Alabama in week-three. An October game vs Auburn. The annual matchup vs Florida, this time on Halloween. If Georgia is undefeated heading into November, it’s the best team in the country and will be everybody’s pick to win the national title. But if Georgia comes out of that stretch with one or two losses, it’ll need a lot of things to fall into place in order to make it back to the playoff.

One regular season loss is fine, as long as Georgia wins the SEC Championship.

Two losses, and Georgia will need A LOT of help to make it back. A lot.

From Fiutak:

Georgia is going to keep coming into seasons as one of the five or six teams with a realistic shot at winning the national title. However, have a misfire like last year’s loss to South Carolina, finally be on the wrong end of the Florida showdown, lose to Alabama, or even have another season like the last two with an 11-1 regular season and a loss in the SEC Championship, and the CFP dreams are gone with two losses.

UGA AD Greg McGarity ‘planning as if a football season is going to happen’

UGA athletic director Greg McGarity says the school is ‘planning as if a football season is going to happen’ for Georgia football

Colleges across the country are starting to feel the significant financial burden on sports that comes with the coronavirus.

Prior to the cancellation of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, the NCAA was set to disperse $600 million to Division I schools. Now it will only be sending out $225 million, a 62% cut.

Now we all know that we will be without a college basketball postseason, as well as all other major professional sports for a while, but the question still remains; will we have football in 2020?

“Depending on football, obviously, that’s the big unknown now,” University of Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said in an interview with Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald.

“We’re planning as if a football season is going to happen. If that doesn’t happen, that’s a whole another environment.”

All universities spring football games have been cancelled but we are still a ways away from the regular season. McGarity’s statement is a good sign for Bulldog and all football fans, but schools are still starting to prepare for the worst.

Georgia sold $33.4 million in ticket sales for the 2019 season, and that’s just revenue from fans who go to the games. They also have a number of other major sources of football revenue that will be lost if football is not a reality for 2020.

“We’re hoping and praying that doesn’t happen,” McGarity said. “We also have to be realistic if football was not part of that what does that mean with our reserves, how much of the reserve can we utilize to make us somewhat whole. That’s why we have a reserve, thank goodness. We’re probably in better shape than a lot of institutions because of our financial stability.”

ESPN’s college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit is among those who have a more skeptical outlook on the upcoming 2020 CFB and NFL seasons.

“I’ll be shocked if we have NFL football this fall, if we have college football. I’ll be so surprised if that happens,” said Herbstreit on ESPN Radio.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on this matter, but Herbstreit brought up the point that vaccinations are estimated to take roughly a year or more to become available.

“Just because from what everything I understand, people that I listen to, you’re 12 to 18 months away from a vaccine,” he added. “I don’t know how you let these guys go into locker rooms and let stadiums be filled up and how you can play ball. I just don’t know how you can do it with the optics of it.”

McGarity also mentioned that the athletic department will only be spending on essential operations and virus related issues until the pandemic is over. Georgia should be able to handle an economic dip like this and is preparing for the absolute worst, but hoping for the best.

There are still 162 days until Georgia is scheduled to kickoff the 2020 football season against Virginia. We will keep you up to date with the latest coronavirus news and the impact it will have on the 2020 football season.

Georgia football schedule: Bulldogs’ three toughest games in 2020

A look at the 2020 Georgia football schedule and a dive into the Bulldogs’ toughest games.

Whether or not there will even be a 2020 season is uncertain right now. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit actually said that he would be “shocked” if we had an NFL or college season at the rate things are going in regards to the coronavirus pandemic.

Right now, I think it’s way too early to throw such an idea out there. We still have 5+ months until college football is set to resume.

So, until there’s official word that college football will be played in the fall of 2020, we will all keep our fingers crossed, pray and hope for the best.

I mean, Georgia plays Alabama in week-three. Please do not take that away from not only Bulldog and Tide fans, but football fans across America.

Taking a look at Georgia’s 2020 schedule, there’s no doubt that that September 19th meeting between UGA and Bama in Tuscaloosa is the toughest game on Georgia’s schedule.

When the two powerhouses meet, it will likely be a top-five battle that will have huge implications on both the SEC and the NCAA.

We take a look at Georgia’s three toughest games on its 2020 schedule, with Alabama checking at No. 1.

1. Georgia at Alabama – September 19th

This will be the biggest regular season game of Kirby Smart’s career in Athens. Kirby will be back in Tuscaloosa playing in Nick Saban’s house, where Kirby’s coaching career really took off.

After spending nine years at Alabama, Kirby is yet to defeat the Tide as head coach of the Bulldogs. In two tries, he is 0-2, with both losses coming by a combined 10 points.

Both Alabama and Georgia will go into the 2020 season ranked in the top-five, and by the time they play each other, it’s expected that both will be undefeated.

Georgia’s first three games of 2020:

Virginia

East Tennessee State

Alabama

Alabama’s first three games of 2020:

Southern Cal

Georgia State

Georgia

Alabama will be tested opening week in Arlington, when it meets the Trojans. USC could very well open the season in the top-25, but I don’t think there’s anyone out there who believes the Trojans are going to take down the Tide.

Georgia and Alabama have not met since the 2018 SEC Championship Game, where UGA lost 35-28.

A lot has changed since then. Both teams have new quarterbacks, with Jake Fromm and Tua Tagovailoa leaving their schools for the NFL. There’s new coaching staffs, recruits, transfers, etc.

Players and coaches come and go, but the style remains the same. This will be a physical, defensive battle that will be won in the trenches.

If Georgia quarterback Jamie Newman can adjust to the atmosphere in Bryant-Denny Stadium, I like Georgia’s chances.

But honestly, it’s just way too early to make a prediction on this game, with both teams being so close in terms of talent level.

If there’s one thing I know for certain, though, it’s that Saban will want nothing more than to beat Kirby and the Bulldogs. This offseason, Kirby stole Saban’s longtime strength coach Scott Cochran by offering him the position of special teams coordinator in Athens.

This will be a thrilling fight between two of college football’s biggest names.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

SportingNews releases preseason CFB top-25: Where is Georgia football?

Where is Georgia football in SportingNews’ preseason college football top-25 rankings?

This week, SportingNews released its preseason college football top-25 for the 2020 season.

With no spring practices or scrimmages, it makes it that much tougher to assemble these preseason rankings.

But those who are still taking it upon themselves to create a top-25 are doing us all a favor, making the offseason slightly more entertaining.

In SportingNews’ preseason top-25, created by Bill Bender, the site had the Georgia Bulldogs ranked fourth in America.

Bender’s top-five is as follows:

Clemson
Ohio State
Alabama
Georgia
LSU

Notable mentions include: #10 Florida, #11 Auburn, #17 Texas A&M and #23 Kentucky.

On Georgia, Bender wrote:

Jake Fromm is gone, as well as the vast majority of Georgia’s offensive line. The Bulldogs did pick up graduate transfer quarterback Jamie Newman from Wake Forest, and he will work with new offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Georgia also hired Alabama strength coach Scott Cochran. Kirby Smart has built with a string of top-five recruiting classes. Zamir White and James Cook will keep the ground game going, and George Pickens could emerge as the best receiver in the FBS. Rising redshirt-sophomore linebacker Azeez Ojulari could make the jump to All-American. The road trip to Alabama on Sept. 19 is the next chance to win the big game.

Georgia will look to cap its season with a fourth consecutive trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. That will not be as easy as in years past – not that it was ever easy. Before November, Georgia visits Alabama, hosts Auburn and will play a Florida team in Jacksonville that’s received a ton of offseason hype.

We’ll know just how far this Bulldog squad is capable of going by November 1.

With Georgia football spring practice postponed, who’s most affected?

In the college football world, it’s hard to imagine that any individual or team benefits from a delayed practice schedule.

It’s old news by now: earlier this month, the SEC cancelled all remaining spring competitions amid COVID-19 concerns. Outlined in an official announcement, the plans to halt play include abandoning spring football scrimmages, events that are open to the public and free to attend at most schools.

Spring football practices have been postponed indefinitely.

In the college football world, it’s hard to imagine that any individual or team benefits from a delayed practice schedule. Maybe a starter with a minor injury has enough extra time to be cleared for full participation, but that’s the only hypothetical that comes to mind.

Of all players, graduate transfers are the most negatively impacted. Finding themselves on new college campuses less than four months after the conclusion of the previous season, these players with only one remaining year of immediate eligibility have less time on the field to gel with their new teammates.

On the Georgia’s Bulldogs’ offense, this includes quarterback Jamie Newman and tight end Tre’ McKitty, grad transfers from Wake Forest and Florida State, respectively.

Pro Football Focus rates Newman as the top returning quarterback among all SEC teams. Though he’s already studying the Silver Britches’ playbook, the lack of face time with his new offensive line, tailbacks, receivers, and tight ends like McKitty prevents Jamie Newman from having the start he and the Bulldog Nation would prefer.

For the lauded dual-threat presupposed to be the Dawgs’ starting quarterback come September, practice limbo couldn’t have come at a worse time in his college career.

Tre’ McKitty has the opportunity to be the second tight end in as many years to lead the position group in receptions after having transferred. Eli Wolf did so last season and hauled in more passes than in his three years at Tennessee combined.

Following the departures of tight ends Wolf and Charlie Woerner, a proven commodity like McKitty can still pull it off, but it’ll be a great deal more difficult without the “head start” of starting on time.

They will practice under newly appointed offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Without witnessing drills firsthand, the postponement gives Monken (and all other coaches in their first seasons at a new program) significantly less time to develop game plans with their available personnel.

This is exceptionally more challenging when scheming with players who have no game film playing for Georgia.

Right now, any coordinator might have a pretty good idea of how a freshman, transfer, or graduate transfer fits into their team based upon film from their previous team (collegiate or high school), but that idea isn’t as good as it’d be if these players were on the field getting in some reps together.

USA TODAY Sports releases preseason CFB top-25: Where is Georgia football?

Where did Georgia football ranks in USA TODAY’s preseason CFB top-25?

Kirby Smart and the Georgia football program will once again head into the next season with hopes of bringing the national championship back home to Athens, Georgia.

Via elite recruiting of both high school prospects and collegiate transfer students, the Dawgs have positioned themselves well to be in this position every year.

Even with the departure of a Jake Fromm, D’Andre Swift, Lawrence Cager, practically its entire offensive line, a few defensive leaders and one of the greatest kickers in school history, Georgia still should find itself sitting in the top-five come next fall.

With coronavirus causing so much uncertainty in the world of sports, whether or not there will even be a 2020 college football season is a mystery right now. However, that did not stop USA TODAY Sports from releasing its post-spring preseason top-25 for the 2020 season.

Paul Myerberg went ahead and compiled his rankings, with Georgia sitting at No. 3 in America.

Here is the top-five:

1. Clemson

2. Ohio State

3. Georgia

4. Oregon

5. Alabama

A few notable mentions include: #7 Florida, #9 LSU, #12 Auburn, #13 Texas A&M.

On Georgia, Myerberg wrote:

Georgia takes a big step forward in the post-spring rankings after cementing its quarterback position with Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman. If replacing Jake Fromm’s experience and reliability may be difficult, Newman’s arm and athleticism should provide a different look to an offense run by a new coordinator in Todd Monken.

Georgia will look to cap off its season with a fourth consecutive trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. That won’t be as easy as in years past – not that it was ever easy. All before November, Georgia visits Alabama, hosts Auburn and will play a Florida team in Jacksonville that’s received a ton of offseason hype.

We’ll know how elite this Bulldog squad is by November 1st.

Bleacher Report releases NBA mock draft: Where does Anthony Edwards go?

Bleacher Report released its latest NBA mock draft….where does Georgia basketball star Anthony Edwards go.

Georgia basketball sensation Anthony Edwards has a chance to become the university’s first No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick.

Whenever the draft may be, it’s a lock that Edwards will go within the first three picks, but most expect him to be taken at that No. 1 position, which could very well be held by the Golden State Warriors.

On Tuesday, Bleacher Report released its NBA mock draft and had Edwards taken No. 1 by the Warriors, followed by Memphis center James Wiseman to Cleveland and LaMelo Ball to Minnesota.

On Edwards, BR wrote:

Although the Bulldogs struggled this season, the 18-year-old had an impressive showing. He started all 32 of their games, averaging 19.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest. He shot 40.2 percent from the field and was strong from the free-throw line, where he shot 77.2 percent.

Last year, it was clear that Duke forward Zion Williamson was the consensus top player in the draft class. Edwards’ case isn’t quite as strong, but he’s an exciting prospect who could continue to get better with time and likely has a high ceiling.

And if it’s Golden State that selects Edwards, he will be learning from veteran guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, two of the best in the game.

If a star player like Edwards can come into Georgia’s historically average basketball program and maintain his projected draft position while packing Stegeman Coliseum to the brim, it shows young local talent that they can do the same and receive that fanfare and adoration similar to Edwards’.

Edwards going No. 1 overall could prove huge for the future of Georgia of basketball.

NCAA releases way-too-early top 25 for 2020 CFB season

NCAA.com releases their 2020 preseason college football top 25 list in the midst of the world’s largest sports drought due to COVID-19.

Amongst the current sports absence taking place in the world, many are longing for sports action of any sorts. March Madness, all NCAA spring sports and professional sports have come to a halt in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

No one knows when the sports world will resume to normal. All college football teams have stopped spring practices and cancelled their spring games, this includes Georgia’s G-Day.

Although spring sports and spring football activities are shut down, preseason camp is almost 5 months from now and none of the 2020 game schedules have shifted yet.

NCAA.com released its preseason college football top 25.

Top 10:

10. Auburn

9. Florida

8. Penn State

7. Oklahoma

6. Oregon

Pages: 12

Top returning CFB WRs: Where is George Pickens?

Georgia football WR George Pickens is ranked in the top 10 of ESPN’s latest returning college receiver rankings for the 2020 football season

Georgia’s sophomore wide receiver George Pickens made a splash in the college football world last season, leading the Bulldogs in receptions (49), yards (727), and touchdowns (8) as a freshman.

Pickens lived up to all the hype that was surrounding him and is now in the talks of being one of the best receivers in the NCAA next year.

On Friday, ESPN released who they believe are the top returning receivers for the 2020 college football season.

Ja’Marr Chase, LSU
DeVonta Smith, Alabama
Rashod Bateman, Minnesota
Jaylen Waddle, Alabama
Rondale Moore, Purdue
Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State
Justyn Ross, Clemson
Tutu Atwell, Louisville
George Pickens, Georgia
Chris Olave, Ohio State

Pickens was ranked as #9 on the list. He helped the Dawgs secure the Sugar Bowl last year over Baylor, having 11 catches in one half, 175 receiving yards and a touchdown.

His catch radius was incredible and he had the third most catchable targets without a drop, making him one of the 20 most valuable receivers in college football at the end of the 2019 season.

Experts and fans expect even bigger things from Pickens for his sophomore season. He will have a new quarterback throwing his balls which should be interesting and fun to see how the two mesh.

Which Georgia football alumni are most affected by pro day cancellation

For several recently departed Bulldogs, it’s going to be a bit more difficult finding opportunities to prove what they want to prove.

This week, the SEC cancelled all remaining spring competitions amid COVID-19 concerns. In their official announcement, the plans to halt play include abandoning spring football scrimmages and each school’s pro day.

Pro days are the last setting in which college football standouts perform drills before a plethora of NFL coaches and scouts prior to the NFL Draft.

If a player wasn’t invited to the NFL scouting combine or performed less-than-ideally at the combine, this is typically their last chance to turn heads and earn a drafted rookie contract instead of going undrafted and having a lower-dollar contract with far fewer guarantees.

For several recently departed Georgia Bulldogs, it’s going to be a bit more difficult finding opportunities to prove what they want to prove.

Tyler Clark, defensive tackle:

Clark has been projected as a late-round pick on some of the many mock drafts floating around the internet. The recent graduate out of Americus considered declaring for last year’s NFL draft but chose to return to Athens following a lower-than-preferred draft grade. In his senior season, he recorded a career high in tackles for loss and tied his career high in sacks.

Former Georgia defensive tackle and NFL veteran Toby Johnson took to twitter to voice his displeasure over Clark’s omission from the NFL Combine.

Tyler Clark will certainly show up on a professional roster at some point before the ensuing NFL season, but the cancellation of pro day isn’t doing his career any long-term favors.

Jake Fromm, quarterback:

Georgia’s golden boy is one of three quarterbacks to go undefeated against Florida in more than three starts (including John Rauch, Buck Belue), but many Georgia faithful were surprised he chose not to go for a perfect 4-0 record against the reptiles. Fromm delved into what went behind that decision in the days preceding his performance the NFL Combine.

The problem for Fromm was that the aforementioned performance ended up being pedestrian.

Taking reps after former teammate Jacob Eason, an eventual Washington transfer for whom he took over in the 2017 season opener following an Eason leg injury, Fromm was decidedly the less impressive quarterback (at least in that specific day’s drills) between the two.

Fromm’s last season in Athens was the least productive of his three total campaigns. The judgment to declare early made sense as his draft stock has still been high and it’s easy to see his final collegiate season as a statistical outlier under a new quarterbacks coach.

Looking forward to a league that places value on quarterbacks ahead of almost every other positions, the cerebral Jake Fromm is sure to end up on a roster and still projects as draft pick. If he had received the opportunity to participate in a pro day, however, he could solidify himself as a second-day pick (draft rounds two through four) as opposed to a third-day selection (rounds five through seven) or even as an undrafted free agent.

Tae Crowder, inside linebacker:

Tae Crowder’s path to the University of Georgia was a meandering one.

Crowder was a last-minute addition to the Dawgs’ 2015 signing class, receiving his scholarship offer the morning before National Signing Day. He hadn’t taken an official visit. He spent no time in personal meetings with Georgia coaches. Yet he committed on the spot.

“It was always my dream to play at the University of Georgia,” Crowder told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2015.

As Harris County’s offensive player of the year during his senior season, Crowder came to Athens as a dual receiver and running back.

He was quickly moved to inside linebacker, and, after redshirting his first year in Athens, spent another year fine-tuning his linebacking skills before spending three years starting, recording 122 tackles, and grabbing two takeaways along the way(s).

Considering his history of position changes and a lack of invitation to the NFL Combine, Crowder loses a lot of face time prior to the draft.