Georgia football takes on Oregon in less than 10 days, the offseason will finally be over, and the 2022 season will be here. For the first time in four decades, when the Dawgs get announced, it will say reigning national champions — that will be a peak moment for most fans.
With the season so close, questions surrounding the Dawgs have flooded social media. Television experts have predicted the Dawgs could get upset not once but multiple times.
Some experts believe that South Carolina and Tennessee could beat the Dawgs. Others think that Oregon could catch Georgia at a weak moment in Week 1.
Despite what some folks think, Georgia is much better than people want to give them credit. Did Georgia lose 15 guys to the NFL? Yes, but Georgia has 18 guys with 70-plus snaps and grades on PFF 70 or higher. Those grades may not mean much to some, but it is a great way to gauge what kind of team Georgia will have in 2022.
The Dawgs are young, and many players are inexperienced, but that doesn’t mean they cannot rise to the occasion.
Head coach Kirby Smart knows how to get a team ready, plus he has a staff around him that understand the game plan. They will have these guys ready for the 2022 season.
The bold predictions that will help Georgia football have a monumental season in 2022.
Georgia will be a strong team in 2022, and with that should come success on both sides of the ball. Yes, even that defense that lost so many will have great moments and be one of the best in the country. Smart has a system in place, and it is sustainable.
With the season a little over a week away, we put together 10 bold — five offensive and five defensive — predictions that were a little out of the box because, unlike some experts, we genuinely think the Dawgs could have another great season.
There is no reason Georgia cannot have another successful year. Those who doubt the Dawgs will likely regret their decision by the time December rolls around again.
Stetson Bennett goes off in 2022 — and we mean it.
Starting quarterback Stetson “The Mailman” “Stequavious” Bennett will have a monstrous season in 2022. Former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray explained why Bennett would be better this year which gave us our first prediction of the article.
In his final season as a Dawg, Bennett will record nearly 4,000 yards of total offense, where he rushes for 300 and throws for 3500. He will also improve his completion percentage to 65%, throw 35 touchdowns and run for at least three.
Before you close out this article on prediction No.1— hear us out.
Last year, Bennett went 185-of-287 for 2,862 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions, completed 64.46% of his passes, and held a 204.43 quarterback rating. Bennett also rushed 56 times on the ground for 274 yards and one score. Why not suggest he builds off that this year?
With the offensive weapons surrounding him just in Brock Bowers and AD Mitchell alone — this could finally be the year he earns that respect he desperately deserves.
The Georgia Football offensive line will win the Joe Moore award.
Georgia football has a stout offensive line that could be even better than in 2021. At times the Dawgs struggled to run when they needed to but still protected Bennett most of the season. They gave up just 16 sacks in 2021, which should improve this year.
We predict this unit will win the best offensive line award and only give up 10 sacks all season. It’s past time the Dawgs win the Joe Moore Award, and if this unit lives up to its potential, it will in 2022.
Georgia football will have two tight ends as the John Mackey Award finalists.
Brock Bowers, Arik Gilbert, and Darnell Washington could be up for the John Mackey Award in 2022. Bowers got snubbed by the Mackey Award committee in 2021 for being a “non-traditional” tight end and likely because he was a freshman.
Even though he was the best tight end in the country as a freshman, it’ll be his sophomore year he takes home the title. Gilbert will also test the waters and prove himself a worthy candidate for this trophy. Washington may even have his coming out party and insert his name into the hat.
All three made it on the preseason John Mackey Award watchlist, so nothing is off the table. This group makes up the best tight end room in the country, so one of them should win it. At least two of them will make the finalist list because they will be so productive it would be wrong to leave them off it.
Georgia football will set the program’s PPG record at 44.
Last season Georgia averaged 38.6 points a game, but in 2022 look for the Dawgs to score even more points. While some may find it hard to fathom the Dawgs scoring more, it’s possible.
This year will mark Todd Monken’s third season with the Dawgs, and he has an offense loaded down with weapons. There are so many options to score with, so putting up points should not be a problem.
Look for Georgia to prove themselves by pushing down that throttle and not letting off it until the final whistle ends the games. It could get ugly out there for opponents.
Georgia football explodes the record books with 1 WR and 1 TE recording 1,000 yards.
Yes, you read that correctly — we predict in 2022, Georgia football will have not one but two receivers record 1,000 yards.
Bowers was close as a freshman, and there is no reason to think he couldn’t build off that this year. As for the receiver, AD Mitchell will be the guy who breaks the receiver drought and records 1,000 yards.
The way Georgia’s offense sets up in 2022, they will look to score often, and these are two players that Bennett can rely on to make plays. This prediction is probably the boldest of all 10 on this list, but with Bennett’s forecast, it’s not crazy to think it could happen.
Georgia finally silences the haters that suggest the Dawgs cannot have receivers that can record 1,000 yards.
Now onto the bold defensive predictions — we’re just getting started, folks.
Georgia football will have a top-10 scoring and total defense.
The Dawgs have always found ways to replace talent, and 2022 is no different. Despite losing eight starters on defense last year, Georgia will still find a way to finish inside the top 10 in both total and scoring defense. There is no reason to suggest they wouldn’t.
Since Smart took over the program, Georgia has only finished outside the top 20 nationally in scoring defense once, which was his first year — they finished No.32. The Dawgs have even finished No.1 in scoring defense twice — in 2021 and 2019.
As for total defense, the Dawgs finished inside the top 20 all six years, with three years being inside the top 10, and two of those were inside the top 3.
Why would 2022 be any different? Georgia replaces talent every year and still finds ways to be elite.
Georgia football will score six defensive touchdowns in 2022.
Whew, this prediction was bold to put down, but why not? There are just a few days until Georgia football takes on Oregon, and we feel spicy. The Dawgs recorded four pick-sixes in 2021. Remember that 74-yarder from Kelee Ringo to win a national championship? Ahh, good memories.
They blocked a punt and fell on it in the endzone — why not predict they will score eight defensive touchdowns in 2022?
That forecast doubles what they did last year, so it’s a solid place to start. Georgia will look to increase their interceptions, find ways to force fumbles and return those for touchdowns. Havoc is the name, and Georgia will find a way to make it a point to score on defense.
Georgia football will eclipse 55 sacks, and 300 quarterback hurries in 2022.
Georgia will be in the backfield a lot this season, and with the speed that is on this 2022 defense, quarterbacks will feel like they are in the depths of hell. The Dawgs will record at least 50 sacks this upcoming season, and honestly, that seems like an easy prediction because, in 2021, they recorded 49.
Smart wants this defense to get to the quarterback, and to spice up this prediction, the Dawgs recorded 263 quarterback hurries last year, so in 2022, they will hit that big 3-0-0 number. He wants them to be weapons, and under Glenn Schumann and the rest of the defensive staff, these predictions are obtainable.
Kelee Ringo has an All-American season and will win the Jim Thorpe Award.
After a solid first full season in 2021, Georgia football cornerback Kelee Ringo will become the Dawgs’ second-ever Jim Thorpe Award winner. He will finish the season as one of the best corners in college football.
Last year Ringo finished with 34 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, two interceptions and eight pass breakups. Look for those numbers to increase significantly in 2022 because this is his year to shine. He will be someone opponents try and avoid throwing to because Ringo will dominate the receiver.
Ringo will do big things in 2022 before he leaves for the NFL and goes in the first round.
Mykel Williams will record at least five sacks as a freshman.
The hype that Georgia football freshman Mykel Williams has gotten since arriving on campus should excite the entire fanbase. He is another future first-rounder who will make an impact from the very beginning of his career. Williams may not start against Oregon, but by the end of the 2022 season, he will be in that starting lineup.
With his work ethic and how he carries himself, predicting five sacks doesn’t seem wild. He could be one of the biggest forces of nature on this 2022 defense, so that would include him getting in the backfield and causing problems. Georgia needs someone to do that with Travon Walker now in the NFL, and Williams has the talent and potential to be even better than that.
Georgia football will have a successful 2022 season, and regardless if they go back-to-back or not, it’s going to be a year we all enjoy. It isn’t every day that a team gets to be reigning national champs, so Dawg Nation might as well enjoy it this season because there is a sneaky suspicion it won’t be the last time, but that first time always has a different feeling to it.