Before the season began, I made my game-by-game predictions for how I thought it would play out.
Call me an optimist, but I predicted 10-2.
I was off, but really not by as much as I would've thought. I wrote earlier this week that if just three plays go the other direction, I might've been dead on if not for just a handful of plays.
Flip the results of the Hail Mary against Tennessee, the fourth down against Vanderbilt and the interception against Georgia Tech, and it's completely reasonable to think the Dogs would be 10-2.
Heck, they would've won the SEC East if that had been the case.
So, without further ado, let's check out how each game went, and I'll grade myself along the way.
SEPT 3, GEORGIA VS. NORTH CAROLINA (GEORGIA DOME)
WHAT I PREDICTED: Nick Chubb gets a few carries, we get introduced to Jacob Eason, and the defense makes enough plays for a 27-21 victory in the Georgia Dome.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Chubb got a lot of carries, and gashed the Tarheels for 222 yards and two touchdowns as Georgia pulled away 33-24.
GRADE: C+. I was pretty close on the score. Totally whiffed on Chubb's impact. Correctly guessed that Eason would play, but Greyson Lambert would start. I give it a pass.
SEPT 10, GEORGIA VS. NICHOLLS STATE
WHAT I PREDICTED: The game would kickoff at noon. Georgia would work out the kinks from the North Carolina game, and cruise to a 45-3 victory.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: None of that. (Except the noon kickoff.) Eason took over as the starter, and the Bulldogs struggled mightily in a 26-24 victory, which required Lambert to return to action to bleed out the final few minutes of clock.
GRADE: F. Really got nothing right when it came to the game itself, which showed all of the weaknesses that would become the team's undoing throughout the rest of the season. The offensive line failed to establish the run. The defense showed some holes, and Georgia failed to put an opponent away.
SEPT 17, GEORGIA AT MISSOURI
WHAT I PREDICTED: Chubb returns to full health, and proves to be the difference in a 17-10 defensive slugfest.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Eason threw the ball 55 times (because Chubb had nowhere to run), including a heart-stopping game-winner on fourth down to Isaiah McKenzie. The Dogs left with a 28-27 victory. Georgia's defense forced five turnovers in the second half to preserve the win.
GRADE: D. I was right that it would go down to the wire. I was wrong to think Chubb would be the difference. I also underestimated the Tigers' offense, which turned into one of the SEC's best by season's end.
SEPT 24, GEORGIA AT OLE MISS
WHAT I PREDICTED: Eason gets rattled, and the Rebels pounce for a 28-17 triumph in Oxford.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Georgia fell behind 45-0 by the third quarter, and got utterly dominated in all facets of the game. They tacked on two meaningless touchdowns in the fourth quarter in a 45-14 loss.
GRADE: D-. I was right that the Dogs would lose handily, but I never expected it to be that handily. It was Georgia's worst loss since a 49-10 beatdown at the hands of Florida in 2008.
OCT 1, GEORGIA VS. TENNESSEE
WHAT I PREDICTED: Eason takes over as the starter for good, and out-duels Josh Dobbs in a 31-28 thriller in Athens.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: If not for that #$%@ing Hail Mary, I would've been dead on with this score. Instead, Georgia lost 34-31 thanks to another spectacular failure by the defense.
GRADE: B+. Again, I was pretty accurate with what I said about these teams. I should've had the final score, and accurately predicted that the Vols would not be as good as advertised. They finished 8-4, and gave up 45 points to Vanderbilt. LOL. Still, I was almost exactly right on this game.
OCT 8, GEORGIA VS. SOUTH CAROLINA
WHAT I PREDICTED: The game would be moved back a day thanks to Hurricane Matthew. Georgia's running game wears down a depleted South Carolina defense, and pulls away in a clunker, 27-10.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Just about exactly what I said. The running game found some footing, with both Chubb and Sony Michel topping the century mark (and Brian Herrien coming pretty darn close), and the Bulldogs won 28-14, though they pulled away with an onside kick returned for a touchdown by Terry Godwin at the end.
GRADE: A. Pretty solidly predicted how Georgia would notch its first win in Columbia since 2008.
OCT 15, GEORGIA VS. VANDERBILT
WHAT I PREDICTED: The Commodores, behind yet another stout defense, would keep the game close into the third quarter, at which point Chubb/Michel would start wearing them down as Georgia pulled away 38-14.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: It sure enough was close into the third quarter, as Vanderbilt pulled ahead late to win it 17-16, getting the final stop on McKenzie on a fourth-and-one toss sweep.
GRADE: D-. I was close in a few things, but missed the game result, so it's not really a passing grade, but not a failing one either.
OCT 29, GEORGIA VS. FLORIDA (JACKSONVILLE)
WHAT I PREDICTED: It would be the same ol' same ol' in Jacksonville, with Florida spoiling yet another trip to the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Georgia was going to fall flat on its face, like always. Gators win 24-14.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: History has a habit of repeating itself. Florida won 24-10.
GRADE: A. I cheated on this one, since I'd seen the movie at least 20 times before I watched it this year.
NOV 5, GEORGIA AT KENTUCKY
WHAT I PREDICTED: The Wildcats always keep it interesting in Lexington, and this game would go into the fourth quarter, before the Bulldog running backs took over in a 34-24 victory.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: It went into the fourth quarter, but it took Eason's passing abilities and Rodrigo Blankenship's foot to provide the difference in score, with a last-second field goal providing the difference, 27-24.
GRADE: B. Pretty close on the score, and not far off from how the game would play out.
NOV 12, GEORGIA VS AUBURN
WHAT I PREDICTED: I said the Tigers would be good if they found a quarterback. They did, and they were. I also said this game would have more division title implications for Auburn than Georgia. It did. I predicted a 27-24 win for the red and black.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: The Bulldogs scored no offensive touchdowns, and won anyway, 13-7, holding the Tigers without a first down in the entire second half. The dominance continued.
GRADE: C-. I was right on some things (division title race, etc.) but not how the game might play out, which is most important. Thanks, Mo Smith.
NOV 19, GEORGIA VS. UL LAFAYETTE
WHAT I PREDICTED: Georgia starts slow, reveling in the Auburn win and looking ahead to Tech. but pulls away in the second half, 48-10.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: The Bulldogs started fast, building a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and eventually pulling ahead 35-0 midway through the fourth before the Ragin' Cajuns tacked on three late touchdowns to make it look closer than it was, 35-21.
GRADE: F. I pretty much got none of this right, other than the fact Georgia would win, which isn't much of a prediction.
NOV 26, GEORGIA VS. GEORGIA TECH
WHAT I PREDICTED: Kirby Smart would struggle with the option offense, but Georgia would overcome it with its own running game, winning 35-31 with a late push.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Smart struggled to defend the Yellow Jackets, and squandered a 13-point lead over the final nine minutes, losing 28-27.
GRADE: D. I was right that Smart would struggle and that it would be close. Again, I was too optimistic with how the Dogs would do.
OVERALL
WHAT I PREDICTED: A 10-2 season highlighted with a strong running game, and a few big wins over Tennessee, Auburn and Georgia Tech. There was a good chance of an SEC East crown.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Heart break, with close losses to Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech. No sniff of an SEC East crown, and a whole lot of pessimism heading forward. Smart's tenure will be defined over the next couple seasons, and how the team responds moving forward.
GRADE: D. I maintain that I wasn't that far off, but predicting 10-2 and 7-5 is what it is. As they say. You are what your record says you are. And my record was three games off.
