Georgia Football: Ranking the Top 5 Plays of the Bulldogs' Regular Season

The 2015 regular season for the Georgia Bulldogs was one that fans wished would have gone better. The Bulldogs did win nine games, including four consecutive games to close out the year. However, they lost their three biggest games, which led to head coach Mark Richt being let go and the hiring of Kirby Smart.

Even though the Bulldogs did not meet their expectations, there were some good plays that should give fans hope for a better 2016 season. Here are the top five plays of the Bulldogs' regular season.

5. Sony Michel Shrugs off Southern

Everyone knew the Bulldogs were going to run over Southern, but it would be Sony Michel, not Nick Chubb, who would stand out in the 48-6 victory.

In Michel’s final carry of the game, he cut upfield, broke a few tackles, threw off a Southern player who was on his shoulders and took it to the house for a 58-yard touchdown run.

Michel would finish the game with 75 rushing yards and two touchdowns on six carries. It was the start of a productive regular season, as he finished with 1,076 yards and seven touchdowns.

4. Leonard Floyd’s 96-Yard TD at Rocky Top

The Bulldogs may have lost to the Tennessee Volunteers in dramatic fashion, but the game did include one of the biggest defensive plays of the year for Georgia.

Midway through the first quarter, Leonard Floyd recovered a fumble that was forced by Davin Bellamy. Floyd snatched the ball out of the air and returned it 96 yards for the touchdown. The score gave the Bulldogs the 7-0 lead, but the Vols ended up winning the game 38-31.

3. Dominick Sanders Saves the Day in Nashville

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Dominick Sanders had an excellent season, as he led the Bulldogs and the SEC with five interceptions. But his biggest pick came early in the season in the Bulldogs' first road game of the year.

The Bulldogs were going up against Vanderbilt, and the Commodores were driving late in the fourth quarter only down by 10. But Sanders was able to pick off a Johnny McCrary pass and returned it 88 yards for the touchdown. It was the first interception returned for a touchdown in Sanders’ career, and the Bulldogs would go on to win 31-14.

2. Isaiah McKenzie Comes Up Big in Auburn

The Georgia-Auburn game was deadlocked at 10 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs needed a big play on special teams to take control of the game.

So Richt turned to Isaiah McKenzie, who already had a punt return for a touchdown earlier in the season. He was able to get his second of the year when he returned a 53-yard punt for the go-ahead score.

That was McKenzie’s second score of the game. He also scored on a four-yard run late in the third quarter to tie the game at 10. McKenzie now has four special teams touchdowns in two seasons.

1. Sony Michel Walks off on Senior Night

Michel is not a senior, but he wanted to give the senior class and Bulldog Nation a treat in the final home game of the season.

The Bulldogs were going up against Georgia Southern, and the game was tied at 17 at the end of regulation. The Bulldogs defense got a stop on Georgia Southern in overtime, so all Georgia needed to do was kick a field goal to win the game.

But the Bulldogs didn’t even need to do that, as Michel scored on a 25-yard run for the walk-off win on Senior Night.

Michel finished with 132 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries. It was by far the best play of the season because of the significance of the Bulldogs closing out the home schedule with a win, and it also was the final home game for Richt.

“Once I saw daylight, the first thing that came to my mind was the seniors,” Michel said to Nicole Saavedra of the Athens Banner-Herald. “We stressed all week just to help those seniors go out with a bang this home game and that’s all my mind was on once I broke through the hole. It was kind of crazy, once I scored a touchdown everybody was going to be happy.”