The Georgia football five-year trend: Bulldogs due for another great year

The trend brings championships to Athens

The biggest year of this trend is by far the 2002 season. Since 1997, Georgia hung just under 10 wins with a 9-3 season in 1998 and 8-4 campaigns from 1999-to-2001. But in 2002, Georgia won their first SEC title in 20 years.

That team, headlined by sophomores David Greene and David Pollack, and seniors Terrence Edwards and Boss Bailey, finished 13-1 and no. 3 nationally. They crushed Arkansas 30-3 in Atlanta and ran all over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl.

Georgia would go to two more SEC Championship games in the three years that followed. But the team regressed with a true freshman Matthew Stafford at quarterback in 2006.

But the trend doesn’t care whether or not Georgia is coming off a disappointing season. Because in 2007, Georgia once again finished no. 3 and as Sugar Bowl Champions. That team should have won a BCS National Championship if it wasn’t for the BCS changing their prerequisites for making the title game for one season.

Stafford looked like a completely different quarterback and Knowshon Moreno emerged as one of the best backs in America. That team started 4-2 and ended 6-0 as the hottest teams in college football.

However, Georgia declined after that year. Despite starting as preseason no. 1, Georgia lost three games and watched as Florida won their second National Championship in three years. 2009 and 2010 were even worse. But Georgia probably saved Mark Richt’s career in 2011 by going 10-4. And the trend would bring Georgia their best team in recent memory.

The 2012 Bulldogs went on a run to the national title. A heavy hiccup against South Carolina in the middle of the season couldn’t slow that team down. They won the SEC East for the second consecutive year, were 11-1 and ranked no. 3. All they needed was a win over Alabama in Atlanta.

That win didn’t come, and the Tide’s blowout win over Notre Dame only reasserted how great Georgia really was in 2012.

Next: Devonte Wyatt still coming to Georgia

Future of the trend

I’m sure by now you can tell why this is relevant. It’s been five years since Georgia last won the SEC East. That must mean Georgia is due for a great year in 2017. The pieces are in place. The Bulldogs should have their best defense since the early 2000’s. Plus the most dynamic duo; no the most dynamic stable of backs resides in Athens.

The schedule is manageable and the East is still the weaker division. Now it looks like history is on our side as well.