The Georgia football team is halfway through its season, sitting at 5-1 through six games. The Bulldogs started the season ranked No. 1 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches’ polls and many expected them to contend for a national championship. But because of their loss to Alabama, the Bulldogs are now ranked 10th and ninth in those polls, respectively.Georgia is no longer in prime position to win a national championship, as Texas and Penn State are two of the undefeated teams that would have to lose a game in order for the Bulldogs to merit consideration. Also, USC and Oklahoma are two of the one-loss teams ahead of Georgia.
One player for Georgia that has exceeded expectations is freshman placekicker Blair Walsh. Walsh has connected on 10 of 12 field goals this season, with his only two misses being from beyond 50 yards. “It’s a goal for me to be consistent from 50 in,” Walsh said after the Bulldogs’ win over Tennessee last Saturday. “Those are the kicks that you should make.”
Head coach Mark Richt also loved Walsh’s kickoff work during the game. “It was probably his best game by far kicking off,” Richt said.
Going into the season, the Bulldogs had arguably the toughest schedule in the country and their second-half slate is imposing as well. No one expected Saturday’s game with Vanderbilt to be a matchup of Top 25 teams, but the No. 22 Commodores have an identical record as Georgia and have wins over South Carolina, Ole Miss and Auburn. After this Saturday’s game, matchups with top-25 teams LSU and Florida loom. Auburn has been disappointing, but a trip there will not be easy, and Kentucky has played nearly as well as it did last season despite losing quarterback Andre Woodson. The Wildcats beat Georgia in the Bulldogs’ last trip to Lexington.
By the time the regular season finale rolls around with Georgia Tech, it might be a top-25 matchup as well as the Yellow Jackets are currently 5-1. Georgia is not out of the national championship picture and an undefeated run through an impressive schedule topped with a potential win over Alabama in the SEC Championship Game will certainly help. But the Bulldogs have no margin for error and must hope to get help from other teams. Still, a one-loss season for any program should not be looked at as failing to meet expectations.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
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