Georgia football is the Sugar Bowl champions after beating Baylor in New Orleans.
Georgia is undefeated in the new decade.
The Dawgs moved to 12-2 on the season and 1-0 in 2020 after defeating No. 7 Baylor 26-14 in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
Things were just clicking on Wednesday night against a Bears defense that is one of the best in the country.
But with 10+ key players sitting out the game, Georgia still came to play. After an embarrassing defeat last year, Kirby Smart made sure that the players who actually wanted to be there were ready for it.
Despite the fact that this was essentially an exhibition game, the win leaves Georgia fans with a nice feeling about things to come.
Recruiting is not over, and I’m sure Georgia targets were impressed by how the Dawgs played.
Speaking of recruiting, the Dawgs have a few big ones coming up this week. 5-stars Zach Evans (RB) and Darnell Washington (TE) will be making their announcements live during the the Under Armour All-American Game on Thursday. Coverage will begin at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
Looking to next year, we saw a few players who are sure to make a big impact in 2020.
Zamir White took 18 carries for 92 yards. Kenny McIntosh, a freshman, took six carries and looked good as well. It will be interesting to see how they are used next year when Kendall Milton and possibly Evans come to town.
And then there was George Pickens, who was named MVP of the game. Pickens, a true freshman, hauled in 12 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown.
When interviewed, Pickens said “my offensive line is amazing. My quarterback is amazing.”
He then continued to praise his team.
“Put the camera on all these guys. I love them to death.”
Let’s talk about junior safety Richard LeCounte for a second. He receives a decent amount of unwarranted criticism on Twitter, but #2 is an absolute baller. His jersey number matched the amount of interceptions he had on Wednesday night. His NFL decision is unknown at this point, but we will have an answer on that shortly I’d assume.
As for Jake Fromm, the junior threw 30 passes, completing 20 of them for 250 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. When asked about what his future holds after the game, Fromm did not hint at whether or not he’s staying at Georgia. Instead, he praised God and his teammates. We will have to wait on that one.
D’Andre Swift is viewed as the No. 1 running back in this draft class by ESPN’s Todd McShay. We do not know what he’s going to do, but everyone expects Swift to turn pro. But what he did do was make the trip to New Orleans with his teammates. He was nursing a shoulder injury, but played through as much as he could.
After the game, Kirby praised the junior tailback for his dedication and for what he does off the field.
Kirby was clearly emotional about this win. Following the game, passion was pouring out of the former Bulldog as he hoisted the Sugar Bowl trophy with confetti flying.
Kirby called a great, aggressive game. He was aggressive on defense, pulled out some trickery on a flea flicker and a fake field goal.
James Coley was also on his game. He was willing to adapt, call outside run plays and get his best available players into a spot where they were able to succeed.
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With the 2019 season officially over for Georgia, we look ahead to a 2020 that will see the Dawgs open with Virginia in Atlanta.
In week three, UGA travels to Tuscaloosa in what will surely be the game of the season at that point.
And Auburn, which complained about its schedule enough that the SEC finally did something, will be coming to Athens in early October rather than November.
Georgia vs Florida will be played on Halloween night in Jacksonville.
The South Carolina and Tennessee games will both be played in November, which will be an odd change of pace. Those games are typically in the first half of the year.
I predict 11-1, with the only loss coming to Alabama.
Dawgs vs Bama in the SEC Championship.
We’ll see….
