The odds may not be in Georgia's favor to win this year's College Football Playoff, but good luck trying to tell that to their face... Kirby Smart has one of his most disciplined and well-coached teams of his career leading his alma mater. Georgia may not be dripping with First-Team All-SEC performers, but the greater collective he has is far better than what most competitors could ever hope to offer.
While coming across an article written by Bill Connelly over at ESPN, it is only natural that his advanced analytics do not favor Georgia in really any capacity. His SP+ rankings are only giving Georgia a 9.8-percent chance of winning the national championship. ESPN's Football Power Index is only giving the Dawgs just a slightly better shot at it at 11.6 percent. So what is ESPN missing here?
When explaining why Georgia can win the College Football Playoff, Connelly cited "They're Mean Again". As far as why they will not, he believes a lack of big plays will do them in. What if there is a chance that a lack of big-time play-making ability is not actually a weakness, but a strength for the Georgia offense? Could it mean that they are more in control of their personnel than anyone left?
With Georgia having a better sense of who it is than anyone in the playoff, let's be all in on UGA here!
Georgia's lack of big-time plays offensively reveals something greater
While citing a lack of big-time play-making ability is certainly justifiable, far more than saying a kicker is going to redeem himself in the Fiesta Bowl for why Georgia loses to Ohio State, maybe Georgia does not need to have explosive plays to win games? It is a testament to how well-oiled of a machine Mike Bobo's offense has been with first-year starting quarterback Gunner Stockton at the helm of it.
Watching Stockton matriculate the football down the field would make the late, great Hank Stram so proud. When the field shrinks, his game kicks into a higher gear. Stockton knows that he has more offensive weapons than the opposing defense could ever handle. Whether he throws it to one of his receivers or tight ends, hands it off to one of his running backs, or takes it in himself, he is in control.
In short, Georgia may not be built to have the explosive play on offense. How it is built is to dominate time of possession and break the opposing defense's will to compete. It may not knock off everyone in the College Football Playoff field, but few teams in the country are as deep as Georgia is. So in a way, Georgia does not need the explosive play to win games. The Bulldogs will win in the short game.
Ever since the Ole Miss game, one where recently promoted head coach Pete Golding could not force Georgia to punt even one time, the Dawgs have been a buzzsaw at times offensively. Even when Bobo and his staff decide to show the opposition nothing vs. Charlotte and Georgia Tech, Glenn Schumann's defense has come to play. Besides, Georgia already knows how to play from behind...
Ultimately, the only way Georgia does not win multiple playoff games this year is if the Bulldogs turn the football over and cannot move the sticks with any conviction offensively. This defense is much improved from the first half of the season. Outside of maybe Ohio State, there is not a team in the country that can go man-for-man with Georgia. It is why who wins the Fiesta Bowl may win in Miami.
Georgia's newfound sense of who it is as a football team does not have to fit into any box you offer.