Musa Smith
The 2003 season shares many similarities with the 2013 season. Injuries busted up the offense. The team followed one that almost won a National Championship. And both were missing players who left early. In the case of 2003, The Bulldogs dearly missed running back Musa Smith.
Georgia’s four main backs that year combined to rush for 1,840 yards. Michael Cooper had the most with 673, Kregg Lumpkin trailed with 523. In 2002, Musa Smith rushed for over two thirds of that total. He trampled defenses for 1,324 yards with eight touchdowns.
Without Smith, Georgia’s offense was stagnant. Injuries to Lumpkin, Fred Gibson and D.J. Shockley didn’t help matters either. But, Georgia averaged 26.5 points per game in 2003, down a whole touchdown from 2002. In losses, the average fell to 12 points per game. And the Bulldogs offense settled for field goals on 31 of their 37 scoring drives.
The defense and special teams did their part that year. They only allowed an average of 14.5 points per game. They even scored four touchdowns for the Dawgs that year. It’s clear something was missing from the 2003 team and that was a solid running game.
Smith could have been the boost the 2003 offense needed to outscore LSU and Florida in the regular season. Georgia lost 17-10 to the Tigers in Baton Rouge early that season, and 16-13 to the Gators later on. They could have gone undefeated and played Ole Miss for the SEC Championship instead of LSU. Imagine how college football would be different today if Musa Smith had stayed.