Georgia Football: Was the 2011 Season a Sucess for the Bulldogs?

There’s different ways to measure a team when their season comes to an end.

For LSU and Alabama, their season will be a success if they win the BCS National Championship.

For a team like Virginia, their season was a success despite losing the Chick-fil-A Bowl, because they have been out of postseason play since 2007 and they were one win away from going to the ACC Championship.

So where does that leave Georgia?

The Bulldogs went 10-4 and reached the SEC title game for the first time in six years. They also went to a January Bowl for the first time since reaching the Capital One Bowl in 2009.

This season was far better than the 6-7 performance the Bulldogs had in 2010. But based on what Alabama, Florida and LSU have done the last few years, the Bulldogs wanted to accomplish more, and the fans would have liked to see this team pull a couple more wins.

The Bulldogs had a chance to win 11, possibly 12 games if they would have limited the mistakes, especially in the South Carolina game and the Outback Bowl against Michigan State. The Bulldogs had both games won, but committed too many turnovers late in both games, which resulted in losses.

As far as Boise State and LSU go, they were better teams, but if Georgia would have been more aggressive in the Boise State game and played smarter in the LSU game, then they would have a chance to win both games instead of being blowout losses.  

The four losses were disappointing, but the Bulldogs did a lot of good in 2011.

The defense was outstanding, ranking in the top 10 in the country in yards allowed. Jarvis Jones was an All-American, and Bacarri Rambo was a consensus All-SEC player. John Jenkins came on strong in the second half of the season, as did Alec Ogletree and Sanders Commings. They will not lose too many players next year, so the Bulldogs should be a better defensive unit in 2012.

Also, they won 10 consecutive games in a season, which is something they haven’t done in over 30 years. Yes, the defeated teams that were having their share of issues, but the Bulldogs took care of business and did not have any letdowns during that stretch.

But I think the most interesting aspect of the 2011 season is how much Aaron Murray has grown as a quarterback. One could make an argument he was the team’s MVP because he took the Bulldogs as far as he could go. He was a touchdown machine this season, and even though he had his moments where he did not look too great, he will learn from his mistakes and will be more of a threat in 2012.

So was this a successful season for the Bulldogs? The answer would be no, but they did take a step forward towards where they want to be, and that is SEC champions, and have a chance to play in the BCS championship .

The losses to LSU and Michigan State to end the season hurt, and it will sting for a while,  but with the talent they have coming back, they will be a better team. The results will show on the field in starting in September.