Ranking the 14 tremendous Georgia football wins by importance

The third most important victory for Georgia football was the one that came after the embarrassing loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. Georgia made the playoffs as the No.3 seed and took on the No.2 seed Michigan in the Orange Bowl, where the Dawgs defeated the Wolverines 34-11 to get a shot at redemption in the national title game.

This victory was crucial because it kept the goal of ending a 41-year-old drought alive, and it gave the Dawgs a chance to prove what happened in Atlanta was a one-time thing.

The Dawgs did what they needed to do in the regular season, so they made the playoffs even with a loss to Alabama. Some thought they shouldn’t have, but the way Georgia came out after the three-week break proved Michigan wasn’t ready for a team like the Bulldogs.

Michigan deserved to be in the playoffs, but they weren’t ready for Georgia. The Dawgs did a great job containing one of the best pass rushers in college football, and that defense reminded everyone they can put significant pressure on a quarterback. They got back to wreaking havoc with four sacks and 30 pressures. That Michigan quarterback stood no chance against this defense.

However, this game is so important in how Stetson Bennett handled himself after the loss. Georgia could have looked to JT Daniels to start for the playoffs, but instead, head coach Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Todd Monken trusted Bennett to get the job done, and he did.

Bennett put Georgia on his back and finally led the team to victory over the Wolverines. He proved that he could throw more than 20 times on one of the biggest stages and win. Bennett went 20-of-30 for 313 yards and three touchdowns.

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Georgia was creative with their play-calling, which resulted in a fabulous Kenny McIntosh touchdown pass to AD Mitchell. The Dawgs put together a great game plan on both sides of the ball. Defensively, they held Michigan to 91 rushing yards, containing Hassan Haskins to 39 yards.

While the SEC Championship game still feels like an anomaly, the Bulldogs demoralized Michigan so they could get another shot at the Tide. Losses either provide the wake-up call a team needs to get back on track, or it shows whoever got beat wasn’t as good as some suggested. Georgia got the punch in the mouth they needed to regroup and refocus.