Georgia Football: Early-Season Hype Could Be Stumbling Block for Dawgs

Georgia fans weren't the only ones to take note of the Bulldogs' convincing victory over the Clemson Tigers in Week 1.  

The message that Mark Richt's squad sent was heard loud and clear by experts around the country, and they reacted accordingly, voting Georgia higher in major polls and including the Dawgs in playoff projections.

This early-season hype, merited as it may be, could be a stumbling block for Georgia.

National Rise

This time last week, Georgia had as many unknowns as knowns.  Hutson Mason was still a relatively new starter at quarterback, the offensive line was still looking to replace several longtime starters and the entire defense was in the midst of renovation.  To be sure, the talent level in Athens was obvious and optimism surrounded the coaching staff.  

But there were a lot of question marks heading into the 2014 campaign.

A strong game—and a stellar second half in particular—against Clemson was more than enough to address concerns, at least as far as national pundits were concerned.

After opening the season ranked 12th by both the AP Poll and the Amway Coaches Poll, the Bulldogs climbed to the sixth and eighth spots, respectively, after their big season-opening victory.

Individual playoff prognostications were equally fond of Georgia's big win, as a host of analysts moved the Dawgs into their projected four-team playoff bracket.

Analyst	Media Outlet	Playoff Projection for Georgia
Kirk Herbstreit	ESPN	No. 1 Seed
Mark May	ESPN	No. 1 Seed
USA Today Staff	USA Today	No. 2 Seed
Jason Kirk	SBNation	No. 2 Seed

Even Bleacher Report's own Adam Kramer put the Bulldogs in the playoff as the fourth seed.

Trouble with the Top

Richt and his coaching staff have been disciplined in tempering expectations for his team this week.  

Earlier this week, the head coach told Tim Tucker of the Albany Herald: "I'm not going to get too excited yet.  We've got a long way to go."  He added that the team probably looked better in the win than it actually is at this point in the season.

Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo was equally unimpressed by the newfound spotlight on the program and playoff projections.  "You've just got to ignore the noise and continue to work," he told Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald.

Defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt was also unenthused by the national attention his team received this week.  "We've still got a long ways to go," he told Seth Emerson of The Telegraph.  "I mean, basically all we've done is guarantee that we can go 1-11.  That's all we've done."

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

Though the coaches have been coy to an extent that almost seems scripted, there's sound reasoning behind the downplaying of accomplishments.  The sample size for this Georgia team—and the opponent the Dawgs dismantled in Clemson for that matter—is extremely small.  And, the only thing worse for a developing team than hearing praise all week is hearing praise for two weeks.  In that regard, the off week may have yielded too much down time for players.

But Georgia knows, all too well, the perils of early-season hype.

In 2008, the Bulldogs entered the year as the top-ranked team in both the AP and Coaches Poll.  A slow decline (despite winning) was accelerated by a September loss to Alabama that sent the Dawgs falling down the ranks.  The team finished the season raked 15th in the BCS standings.

In 2012, a hot five-game winning streak against five unranked opponents propelled Georgia to the fifth spot in both the AP and Coaches Poll before an embarrassing 28-point loss to South Carolina sent the Dawgs tumbling.

As recently as last season, when a rash of untimely injuries struck down a formidable Bulldogs team, Georgia reached the No. 6 spot in the AP Poll by Week 6 of the season, only to disappear from contention after a slew of losses.

Avoiding the Letdown

Perhaps the most important thing for Georgia players and fans to remember at this juncture is that the Bulldogs haven't accomplished anything yet.  Pruitt alluded to this with his 1-11 comment, but even more tangibly: Georgia is no closer to winning the SEC East than it was before the season began.

While it's not remotely realistic to think the Dawgs will go 0-8 in conference play this year, it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility for Georgia to lose on the road to South Carolina next week.  And a loss to the Gamecocks puts Georgia behind the curve in the SEC East. 

From there, the trickle-down effect is significant.  Failing to win the SEC East, after all, eliminates Georgia from SEC Championship contention and most likely makes the playoff dream a fantasy.

In that regard, the win over Clemson truly was nothing more than a nice start.  But that beautiful beginning could be negated as soon as next Saturday if Georgia doesn't remain focused on the task at hand.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.