Hard to believe the season, which feels like it just started, is already halfway done.
One of the very first posts here on Glory Glory was a game-by-game prediction of how the season would play out Between The Hedges.
I said the Dawgs would go 9-3 on the season, most likely missing out on a shot at the SEC Championship.
So far, it's been hit and miss for my prognostications. I've nailed a few games right on the head ... and completely whiffed on some others.
Let's go game by game, and take a look.
UL MONROE
WHAT I PREDICTED: A 41-10 Georgia victory, where the offense kept its cards close to the vest. RB Nick Chubb would control the clock and the defense would overwhelm the Warhawks.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: The Bulldogs won 51-14 in a game shortened by lightning midway through the fourth quarter. Sure enough, the offense smelled of rich vanilla, and Chubb cranked out 120 yards and two scores.
CONCLUSION: I was pretty close on the score, and dead-on when it came to how the game would actually play out.
GRADE: A-
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VANDERBILT
WHAT I PREDICTED: Georgia would win 31-14 in a game where the Dawgs would do enough to win, but not dazzle us. Again the offense would be pretty vanilla.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: (See above.)
CONCLUSION: Not only did I nail the final score, I also guessed exactly how this game was going to play out. Sure enough, Georgia won the game 31-14, doing anything but dazzling us in Nashville.
GRADE: A+
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SOUTH CAROLINA
WHAT I PREDICTED: Steve Spurrier would be Steve Spurrier, and somehow find a way to let his Gamecocks pull out a victory, 28-24.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Greyson Lambert said "no." The UVA transfer completed 24 out of 25 passes to lead Georgia to a 52-20 domination in Athens. I guess I'm mortal after all.
CONCLUSION: I really wasn't even close, except for being in the neighborhood when it came to the Gamecocks' final score. I certainly didn't expect Lambert to light the fire he did, and figured Carolina would have plenty of tricks in the bag to use at our expense.
GRADE: D-
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SOUTHERN U
WHAT I PREDICTED: Georgia, using its running game, would blowout the Jaguars 52-7, and pad its stats with backups through the second half. I figured Georgia would start slow (following what I thought would be a loss to South Carolina), but pull away in the second half.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: The Bulldogs rolled over a VERY overmatched opponent 48-6, but had to pull away after leading just 20-6 at the break. The UGA running backs combined for 269 yards and four touchdowns on 32 carries.
CONCLUSION: I was pretty close to the final score, and pretty much spot on with how it would play out. It was sluggish for two reasons, I figure. First, everyone was already thinking about Alabama. Second, it was rainy/yucky that day.
GRADE: A
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ALABAMA
WHAT I PREDICTED: The team would unite and crank up the energy for a showdown with the Crimson Tide. The Bulldogs would find a way to pull out a 27-21 victory.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Nothing remotely close to what I guessed. Alabama dominated in all phases of the game en route to a 38-10 beatdown of the Bulldogs on a rainy, soggy day in Athens. At least Chubb ran for a hundred yards, to give the fans some sort of faint silver lining.
CONCLUSION: It seemed like a good idea at the time.
GRADE: F
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TENNESSEE
WHAT I PREDICTED: Tennessee gets a needed win to hang tight in the SEC East race, taking advantage of Georgia's over-confidence with a 31-20 win in Knoxville. The crowd noise rattles our QB (who I didn't know who would be Lambert when I predicted this), forcing a few too many turnovers.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Chubb injured his knee on the very first play from scrimmage, and is gone for the year. A few big plays kept the Bulldogs in a game that likely would have been a blowout otherwise. The Volunteers gashed the defense for more than 500 yards, and overcame a 24-3 defecit to win it 38-31.
CONCLUSION: I didn't nail down how the game would play out, and I was at least somewhere in the ballpark of the final score. I also correctly predicted the loss (though I was certainly hoping to eat my words).
GRADE: B-
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OVERALL
WHAT I PREDICTED: I predicted the Dawgs would be 4-2 by this point, with losses to South Carolina and Tennessee, likely shaping up for another blown chance at the SEC East crown.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Georgia started the year 4-2, though it blew out the Gamecocks, got blown out by Alabama and fell to the Volunteers by seven. It is, as it stands, not shaping up for a good shot at the Dome.
CONCLUSION: I wasn't dead on, but I was close. The Bulldogs won a game I thought they would lose, lost a game I thought they would win and lost a game I thought they would lose. I'm 4-2 as far as my predictions go, correctly predicting three of the wins and one of the losses. As for the rest of the season, I predicted Georgia would finish with only one more loss (to Florida) for a 9-3 record. We'll see how that goes.
GRADE: B+
