National championship expectations soar for Georgia football

The first leg of Georgia football’s championship road trip is in the rearview mirror and memorable wins dot the glovebox Rand McNally.

Georgia football fans can take a breather during the bye week and look back through the iPhone camera roll at snapshots from the journey like Christopher Smith’s pick-six in the Queen City, Stetson Bennett’s record-setting (and foretelling) performance against UAB in the home opener, enjoying a plate of Kirby Fried Chicken in the SEC opening win over South Carolina, taking in the coming out concert in Music City for everyone’s new favorite group Ladd & Bowers with red BIC lighters aflame, a midday pig pickin’ at Sanford that ushered in the era of the 12th Dawg Between the Hedges,  another chapter written in the Dawgs ongoing domination in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, and the bluegAss whippin’ that closed out the season’s first half.

They can smile at the memory of College GameDay spending so much time on Myers Quad that the accounting office in Bristol might get a bill from the Athens-Clarke County Assessor’s Office.

Georgia fans can try to untangle the pretzel their brains are in from hearing nothing but glowing praise for their beloved Bulldogs from the national media, even perceived Dawgs curmudgeons like Kirk Herbstreit and Gary Danielson.

King Murphy and his singular ruling law’s oppressive 40-year reign over Dawgnation has the Georgia faithful feeling tepid about jumping into the pool of hope with two feet. Most are at least dipping a toe in the water though.

That’s what being the consensus No. 1 ranked team in all of college football will do for even the leeriest of fanbases.

And it’s not just college coaches and AP voters that believe this Georgia football team is on a championship path. The folks in the desert also have their longing gaze fixed upon the Bulldogs.

Georgia Football being tapped by oddsmakers as a heavy favorite to win the national title

According to WynnBet, it’s currently Georgia, then everyone else in the list of favorites to win the College Football Playoff. The Dawgs are an even-money bet, +100 (bet $100 to win $100), to hoist the championship hardware in Indianapolis.

Georgia fans may still be skeptical, but those odds sit where they currently do for a reason, and the bulk of it can be attributed to a Dawgs defense shutting people down in a suffocating manner.

Max Olson of The Athletic released an article illustrating the “stop rate” metrics for every team in college football at the midpoint of the season, which lays out the top defenses in the country at getting stops.

To the surprise of no one, Georgia tops the list, with a stop rate of 90.4%, a full 6% better than San Diego State, the second-ranked school on the list. Maybe more eye-popping? The Dawgs are only allowing  0.47 points per drive. Less than half a point! Clemson, which gave Georgia’s offense fits in the opener in Charlotte, comes in at second on the list, allowing 0.89 points per drive.

None of us can predict what will happen in the second half of the Georgia football season, but at least revel in the magic that’s undoubtedly been in the air thus far. Rejoice in this dominant defense and  a few Saturdays in Athens that this fanbase will always remember fondly. And be joyful during this two-week stretch leading into the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party knowing that your Georgia Bulldogs are about to hop back on the bus to add some more memories to an already epic road trip.