Georgia Football are your Orange Bowl Champions. The Dawgs break their record tonight, winning by the biggest margin in Bowl game history. The previous record was set by the Dawgs last year when they beat TCU 65-7. They now have set the record by beating the Noles 63-3.
It was not much of a game, and most of us expected that. The Noles had a ton of opt-outs and were deflated because of their playoff snub. While that is all true, getting 60 points hung on you is terrible, no matter how many guys you have out. Those are Division One Power 5 football players out there, and they should have played better.
Before we get into the highlights and stats of the game, I would like to get something off my chest. The Dawgs should have been one of the four teams in the playoffs. Watching that game made it evident that Georgia is one of the best teams in the country.
The CFP committee needs to explain why the Dawgs went from #1 to #6, why the Dawgs were ranked behind FSU in the final CFP rankings, and why the Dawgs were left out. They won't, and ESPN will point to this as the reason for FSU being left out, but it should anger people more that Georgia is not competing for another title.
Back to the game, that was barely a game; I left in the 4th quarter to pick up Panda Express (no free ads; that is how bad this Orange Bowl was! The Dawgs had 673 total yards of offense. They had almost 700 yards against the #5 team in the country! Crazy. The Dawgs could run the ball on the Noles early and often. Georgia ran for 372 yards, and Kendall Milton ran for 104 yards on nine carries. Milton also had two touchdowns on the night.
Carson Beck had another great game. Beck was 13 of 18, throwing for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Dillion Bell had a career game catching balls from Beck. Bell had five catches for 86 yards. While Bell was the Dawgs' leading receiver for the game, he had some of the greatest catches a Georgia wideout has had in a game.
Defensively, Georgia shut down the FSU offense and forced the Noles to 4 turnovers. Brock Glenn, who said that the SEC was over-hyped, learned what playing real SEC teams is all about. The Dawgs smothered the Noles, and there was only one time that the Noles threatened to score points. It was one of the best performances the Dawgs' defense has had all year.
Overall, it was a good game for the Dawgs, but I cannot help but feel sad. This team is good enough to win a national championship, and because of college football politics, the Dawgs will have to watch Alabama win another title.
Hopefully, the Dawgs can replicate the results in 2024 like they did in 2023. But I am proud of how these seniors and the team played, and they played the right way. This will be the winningest senior class in Georgia football history. To them, I say thank you, and y’all are some Damn Good Dawgs!
While this game still stings a little because I believe this team could have a national title, it is crazy to think that after winning the Orange Bowl in blow-out fashion and back-to-back national title seasons, I am upset. f you had told me that ten years ago, I would take that deal and cry because of how great it is. But with success comes higher expectations that were not met this year. Hopefully, in 2024, those expectations will not only happen but will be raised even more.