Georgia Football: Are the Bulldogs Getting Ready to Party Like It's 2007?

2007 will be remembered by UGA fans as one of their favorite seasons since 1980. The Georgia Bulldogs finished 11-2 with a Sugar Bowl blowout of Hawaii and a no. 2 national ranking. However, the 2007 season did not start off well. The Dawgs dropped their second game of the season to the South Carolina Gamecocks at home. Just a few games later they were dismantled by the University of Tennessee. The next game they needed a last second field goal to defeat the lowly Vanderbilt Commodores.

Georgia would experience an amazing turnaround after their win against the Commodores. They would not lose another game, and in their closest game they won by 10 points. During that streak they would defeat the Florida Gators by 12, no. 19-ranked Auburn by 25, no. 25 Kentucky by 11 and no. 10 Hawaii by 31.

What was the difference between the first half of the season and the second half? It was the addition of freshman running back Knowshon Moreno to the starting lineup. Georgia had been led by a highly-touted sophomore quarterback named Matthew Stafford.

Despite the talent that Stafford had, the UGA backfield did not have the wow factor until Moreno became the starter. The freshman running back helped release some of the pressure off of Stafford.

UGA did not lose a game in 2007 after Moreno became the starter.

Fast forward four seasons and UGA is looking at a similar situation. They are now led by another highly-regarded sophomore quarterback in Aaron Murray, and after their second loss of the season they elevated another freshman running back as the starter. The result so far has been positive.

Isaiah Crowell is not the next Hershel Walker, but he could very well be the next Knowshon Moreno, and will certainly be the first Isaiah Crowell. He has the wow factor to not only break long runs, but also turn screen passes into six points.

I am not saying that this team is going to finish no. 2 in the nation. However, when you look at the remaining schedule, the sky is the limit. They will be favored in every game leading up to the world’s largest cocktail party—I am aware they changed the name. After that game they have New Mexico, Auburn, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech.

Could this team finish 11-2? It is certainly a possibility.