The Georgia Bulldogs vs. The Bulldogs are coming off one of their most successful seasons in school history, posting a 13-2 record, claiming the SEC title and The Rose Bowl Game before falling in overtime to Alabama in the CFP National Championship game. In 2017, the Govs snapped a 29-game losing streak and went on to tie the program record for wins in a season by going 8-4. Season Openers The Bulldogs are 94-27-3 in season openers including winning 18 of their past 21. Georgia is 2-0 in season openers under. In 2016, Georgia defeated No. Last year, the Bulldogs cruised to a 31-10 victory in Athens over Appalachian State. The 2018 season marks the 125th year of Georgia football. The Bulldogs have an alltime record of 808-420-54. A Glance At The Govs Austin Peay, which is located in Clarksville, Tenn. They are coached by Will Healy who is in his third season. Georgia last opened a year against an FCS opponent in 2008 when it beat Georgia Southern 45-21 in Sanford Stadium. Sophomore dual-threat quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall returns to direct the Govs offense. Last year, he passed for 1,148 yards and seven touchdowns plus rushed for 549 yards and six touchdowns. Overall, the Govs led the OVC in rushing, averaging 259 yards a game and ranked second in scoring at 27 points a game. Replacing Record-Setting Tailback Tandem Sophomore QB returns to the Bulldog lineup after earning SEC Freshman of the Year honors last year. Georgia must replace tailbacks and. They completed their Bulldog career in 2017 as the top tandem in college football history, amassing 8,407 rushing yards and 77 rushing touchdowns. With the duo now playing in the NFL, Georgia looks to its next wave of talented tailbacks including sophomore and juniors and. Swift, an All-SEC Freshman Team selection, tallied 618 yards and three touchdowns last year. The players who received their undergraduate degrees include: DL Notre Dame , P Murray State and OL UGA. All of the SEC players who have achieved an undergraduate degree will be sporting the SEC Graduate patch on their uniforms. Head Coach Personal Full Name: Kirby Paul Smart Birthdate: December 23, 1975 Birthplace: Montgomery, Alabama Family: Wife: Mary Beth; Children: twins Weston and Julia Feb. Assistant 2004 LSU Defensive Backs 2005 Georgia Running Backs 2006 Miami Dolphins Safeties 2007 Alabama Asst. SEC 2016 8 5. The 2017 Associated Press SEC Coach of the Year has not disappointed. In his first year leading the Bulldogs in 2016, Georgia extended its school record to 20 consecutive bowl appearancesand posted five fourth-quarter comebacks including wins over No. He led UGA to an 8-5 final record, which included a victory over TCU in the Liberty Bowl. In 2017, Smart directed UGA to a 13-2 record, an SEC title, a win at The Rose Bowl Game during the CFP semifinal and a spot in the National Championship. Before 2017, the Bulldogs last SEC title was 2005. In addition to coaching, Smart oversees the Family Foundation, which is focusedon being champions in the community by supporting and giving back to needy children and families. Smart officially came home to Georgia on Dec. But he still had unfinished business at Alabama, which was chasing a national title. He juggled two jobs for a month until January 11, 2016, when the Tide won its fourth national championship in a seven-year span. Twelve hours later, he was at work in Athens. The complete list: Paul Chryst Wisconsin Pat Fitzgerald Northwestern Mike Gundy Oklahoma State Jim Harbaugh Michigan Cliff Kingsbury Texas Tech Barry Odom Missouri Mark Richt Miami David Shaw Stanford GEORGIA Top Ind. Single-Game Performances Under Smart Rushing Yards: 222, vs. Nicholls; 43-yd KOR for TD SC; Maurice Smith 34-yd INT return for TD vs. Florida 7 Victories When Tied Or Trailing Late Year Opponent Start of 4th Qtr. The Bulldogs tallied 67 touchdowns on the year. Returning PK led the team with 123 points, including a perfect 63-for-63 on PATs and 20-for-23 on field goals. The Bulldogs ranked fourth nationally in Red Zone Offense, going 53-for-55, including 39 touchdowns, last year. QB , the 2017 SEC Freshman of the Year, was 12-2 as a starter. He accounted for 27 touchdowns, one shy of the UGA record by a freshman set by Aaron Murray in 2010. For the third straight year, Georgia has a true freshman quarterback who could make an impact for the Bulldogs. Fromm became only the seventh true freshman Bulldog quarterback to start a game, including just the second to do it on the road in his first start. Fromm joined Eric Zeier 1991 as the only true freshmen to have their first career start on the road. Fromm has led his team to two comebacks when trailing at the half. Georgia trailed 45-38 with 3:22 remaining in the game before Fromm directed a gametying drive. Trailing 19-17 with 6:47 left in the contest, Fromm directed a nine play, 63- yard drive to set up the go-ahead field goal. He was 3-for-4 for 45 yards during the drive. UGA Career 2017 Att Cmp TD Int Yds Sk Eff. Thomas is joined by rising seniors C and G as well as redshirt sophomore G. Redshirt sophomore started seven games at right guard in 2017 and joins graduate student , sophomore , redshirt freshman and true freshmen and in the competition for playing time. Georgia established school records with 3,876 rushing yards and 42 rushing touchdowns in 2017. Array Of Targets The Bulldogs return six of their top seven receivers from last season, including senior and junior. Godwin was second on the team with 38 catches for 639 yards and six scores while Hardman snagged 25 catches for 418 yards and four touchdowns, including an 80-yard touchdown versus Alabama in the 2018 CFP National Championship Game. Georgia will be looking to replace its leading receiver in Chicago Bears pick , who finished 2017 with 45 receptions for 720 yards and seven scores. Two of their top six returning receivers are tight ends. Junior started nine games in 2017 and led the corps with nine catches for 114 yards and a pair of touchdowns while junior hauled in nine receptions for 100 yards in his second season. There has been a spirited competition to join Godwin and Hardman at the top of the receiving ranks. Junior snagged 14 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns, including a team-best six catches for 82 yards versus Alabama in the National Championship Game, and is aiming for a starting role. Senior , senior , junior and redshirt sophomore newcomer have also been lining up and competing for playing time for the Bulldogs this preseason camp at receiver. Robertson, a native of Savannah, Ga. Bio 6-0, 190, Savannah, Ga. Georgia added WRs on the offensive side of the ball and OLBs on the defensive side. DL begins his second year with the Bulldogs. Looking For Leaders At LB Georgia is looking to replace a trio of starting linebackers, including one of the best defenders in school history. ILB , who the Bears selected eighth overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, led a seasoned linebacker lineup last season as he was named the Butkus Award winner and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year after recording a 137 tackles, including 14 tackles for loss and 6. He was joined by outside linebackers and , who combined for 95 stops and 9. Carter was selected by the N. Giants during the draft while Bellamy signed a free agent deal with the Houston Texans. Also losing to graduation, the Bulldogs will turn to senior , sophomore , junior and senior at ILB. With the loss of Carter and Bellamy, senior OLB , who played in all 15 games on defense and special teams and finished with 40 tackles, 13. In addition, sophomore also played in 13 games last year and finished with nine stops, including 2. Sophomore , who has been cross-training on the outside and on the defensive line, and redshirt freshman Robert Beal will add depth to the position. A couple freshmen linebackers also competing for playing time are and. Returning Starters Headline Defensive Line Group Veterans and anchor a defensive line that lost 2017 senior and junior. Atkins was signed as a free agent by the New England Patriots. Clark led the front in the Rose Bowl Game win over 2 Oklahoma with five stops, including a sack and two tackles for loss. Clark was tops among all interior linemen with 41 stops. Ledbetter was next on the list with 38 tackles. Other returning lettermen expected to contribute on the line are seniors , , juniors , , and sophomore. Sophomore will also be in the mix after spending his freshman season at Hutchinson CC. Another immediate option is graduate transfer. Hayes arrived in Athens during the summer after graduating from Notre Dame. Georgia also welcomes back junior , a 2017 All- SEC Second Team selection. He ranked second on the team with 79 tackles, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. One of the veterans also expected to make a difference is junior. McGhee has been sidelined with a foot injury. The Bulldogs must replace the senior trio of , and. Sanders finished his career as the school record holder for interceptions 16 and was second in the SEC with career INT return yards 381. The candidates in the secondary who have been getting reps in the preseason include: senior , sophomores , , , , , redshirt freshman , freshmen , and. Blankenship set a Rose Bowl Game record by drilling a career- long 55-yard field goal during the 2OT win over 2 Oklahoma. His performance included a 38-yard FG in overtime. He was a 2017 Groza Award semifinalist. Last year, 67 of his kickoffs were touchbacks, which was a new school record. The old mark was by Kevin Butler 51 in 1981. Career Highs For Blankenship Points: 17 MU17; 4FG, 5PAT PATs: 6 VU17, UF17, OU18 FG Att: 5 LA16 FG Made: 4 UK16, MU17 FG Long: 55 OU18 KO: 10 MU17 KO Yards: 635 MU17 Blankenship Kicking Stats Year PAT FG LG TP 2016 26×26 14-18 49 68 2017 63×63 20-23 55 123 Total 89×89 34-41 55 191 Field Goal Breakdown Year 1-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-99 2016 0-0 7-7 3-4 4-6 0-1 2017 0-0 8-8 6-6 4-7 2-2 Total 0-0 15-15 9-10 8-13 2-3 The Bulldogs also had a solid punter last season in graduate transfer. Georgia finished third in the league in Net Punting at 41. This year, another graduate transfer, , and a true freshman, , are battling for the spot. Stratton comes to the Bulldogs from Murray State, where he averaged 41. Teams are now allowed to have a 10th full-time assistant coach and the Bulldogs turned to someone who worked as a special teams analyst with the team last year. Also, Hardman was second in the SEC in kickoff returns with a 25. Georgia has two other receivers who have experience with punt returns with seniors and. He had career highs of six kick returns and 116 kick return yards as well as a career-long kick return of 39 yards at Oregon State in a contest in which he finished with a career-best 145 all-purpose yards.
