Undefeated.
The Georgia Bulldogs haven’t been able to lay claim to that accomplishment since Herschel Walker was a mere freshman pup.
It also happens to be the last time the Bulldogs have been able to call themselves national champions.
Way back in 1980, Vince Dooley’s 17th season as the University of Georgia head football coach, the Dawgs ran the table and finished the season without a blemish on their record, taking home the first national championship since 1942.
38 years between those two championships. 38 long, grueling years.
It’s been 34 years since that miraculous 1980 season. 34 long, grueling years.
There were two more seasons of Herschel, when the Bulldogs came oh-so-close. There have been UGA teams who fell just short…a loss to the Gators, tripping over themselves in Gamecock country, letting the dadburn Vols get the best of them. Frustrating, infuriating, blood-boiling teams.
But none of this is surprising. An undefeated college football season is one of the most difficult team accomplishments there is, and with that, a national championship can be equally elusive.
This is in no way meant to jinx the 2014 Bulldogs, or put the kibosh on any hopes of Mark Richt (entering his 14th season as head coach) finally proving all the naysayers wrong and bringing home the…well…whatever they’re calling that thing that used to be the crystal football, this is just speaking from the gut.
These guys have a chance. A real chance. Not only to win a national championship, but to end the season with a donut in the loss column.
Forget about the “ring team” and forget about all those 5-star prospects who either fizzled out or found greener pastures (or a dismissal form), this team has the ingredients to make a little UGA history.
Once you stop cursing at me for throwing this out there (or laughing at me), you can continue on reading the reasons why this is not just a hopeful wish from yet another exhausted fan.