The Biggest Disappointments for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2014

The Georgia Bulldogs ended the regular season with a 9-3 mark, and while that is not bad by college football standards, it’s not where the Bulldogs wanted to be.

There was some adversity the Bulldogs had to overcome, and they became a better team because of it. But there were also some things that the Bulldogs could not overcome, which is why the Bulldogs are not playing in the SEC Championship Game and not part of the College Football Playoff picture.

Here are the biggest disappointments for the Bulldogs this season.

Run Defense

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The defense did make strides this season, as it ranked No. 6 in the conference in total defense and led the conference with a plus-15 turnover margin.

But the one area that was a weakness for it was the run game, as it averaged 175 yards per game, which ranked 10th in the conference.

One of the reasons the Bulldogs lost three games this season was the lack of run defense. In the game against South Carolina, the Bulldogs gave up 176 yards. In the game against Florida, the Bulldogs allowed Kelvin Taylor and Matt Jones to rush for nearly 200 yards each. And in the game against Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs allowed 399 yards on the ground.

It will be something defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt will address once he gets more of his players in the fold.

Wide Receiver Production

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The running game has been the focus of the offense all season long because players like Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb can’t be ignored. However, the expectations were high for the receiving corps, and it did not live up to it.

Chris Conley had a fine season with 577 yards and seven touchdowns, but the Bulldogs would have benefited from having a deep threat who could stretch the field and put pressure off the running game.

The fact that Malcolm Mitchell and Justin Scott-Wesley were still nursing injuries through the first half of the season did not help either. But the Bulldogs were able to score 500 points this season, so the lack of production for the receivers was not a big blow to the team.

Keith Marshall

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The plan was to have Gurley and Keith Marshall be back to what they were in 2012 and run past the competition.

Gurley (for the most part) was able to do that, but Marshall only played in three games because he suffered ankle and knee injuries in the Troy game.

Marshall was looking to bounce back after suffering an ACL injury in the Tennessee game last year, but because of the nagging injuries this season, he took a medical redshirt and will return in 2015.

The running game was fine without Marshall this season, but with Gurley likely going to the NFL next season, having a 100 percent Marshall will be huge for the offense and the entire team.

Todd Gurley

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And speaking of Gurley, it was not the season he envisioned because of various reasons.

Gurley started off the season strong, as he was leading the SEC in rushing yards, touchdowns, yards per carry and yards per game.

But the NCAA laid the hammer on him, as it suspended him for four games. When he came back for the Auburn game, he suffered a torn ACL, and it looks like his career in Athens has come to an end.

Gurley was a great player for the Bulldogs the last three seasons, but one has to wonder what could have been if he did not get caught receiving money for signing autographs and if he stayed healthy this year as well as in 2013.

Was 2014 a Disappointing Season?

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So all this leads to one question: Was the 2014 season a disappointing one for the Bulldogs?

There are two ways to look at it. They finished the season with a 9-3 record, they were one game out of the SEC East title, they lost to Florida, South Carolina and Georgia Tech in tough fashion and they will miss out on the College Football Playoff and possibly one of the CFB bowl games.

But the Bulldogs did beat Clemson at home to start the season, blew out Auburn to eliminate it from playoff contention, discovered what young players like Nick Chubb and Sony Michel can do and have a chance to win 10 games for the third time in four seasons.

So the 2014 season has not gone according to plan for the Bulldogs, but with one game left, there is still plenty to play for, and they can finish the season on a high note, which would carry into 2015.