Georgia Football: Best Program in Recent History* (video)

By Nick Schwarzmann | Jul 2, 2015

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Nov 15, 2014; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt coaches on the sideline during their game against the Auburn Tigers at Sanford Stadium. Georgia won 34-7. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

2002: Mark Richt’s 2nd and most successful as Georgia’s head coach was the 2002 season. The Dawgs were 8-0 heading into the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, and a win would not only clinch the SEC East title for the Dawgs, but further catapult them into the discussion of the nation’s best teams.

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Georgia was ranked #5. Florida was ranked #22. Georgia had lost four straight to the Gators, but things were different this year. Steve Spurrier was no longer the Florida coach, Ron Zook was. Georgia was playing at a level that hadn’t been played at in Athens since the early 80s. Florida was having a somewhat disappointing season to that point. This was a game Georgia could win. This was a game Georgia should win.

But alas, they didn’t. And they certainly had their chances. Neither team played their best. Turnovers were bountiful. The typical sure-handed Terrence Edwards dropped a wide open pass with around two minutes left in the game. But at the end of the 60 minutes in Jacksonville, the Gators chomped a 7-point victory out of the Bulldogs’ hands, and with it, ended the Dawgs’ title hopes.

The Dawgs would go on to win out though, and while an 11-1 SEC Champion would surely be included in today’s College Football Playoff, the BCS was in place back then, and there were two other undefeated powerhouses that year in the form of Miami and Ohio State. It’s not a guarantee that the Dawgs would’ve been playing for a title that year had they been undefeated, but there certainly would have been controversy if they were left out.

Next: The Most Outrageous Hypothetical National Championship

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