With just one game remaining, the 2024 college football season has nearly reach its conclusion and for the second year in a row, the Georgia Bulldogs will not be crowned national champions as their title hopes were ended by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. But while the Dawgs’ 2024 season won’t end in the glory that they had hoped, there are still a ton of things to takeaway from this year. Here are a list of things that the 2024 season taught us about Georgia Football.
Winning in Conference Hasn’t Gotten Any Easier
Not only did adding powerhouse brands such as Oklahoma and Texas to the conference make winning games that much harder, but it felt like the playing field leveled out drastically in 2024. Components such as NIL and the transfer portal have allowed for once middling teams to become competitive against even the biggest of schools. Making winning in the SEC (and in general) that much harder.
You Can Stumble in the Regular Season
After completing three consecutive seasons without a regular season loss, the Bulldogs lost a staggering two games during their 2024 campaign. However, the losses did not doom the Dawgs playoff hopes, and the team was even able to earn a bid in the SEC Championship for the fourth consecutive season. The 12-team playoff may make reaching the national title more challenging, but the expanded format has provided teams with more second chances than ever before.
You Can’t Always “Reload” Superstars
While the Georgia Bulldogs “reload” talent better than most, the loss of bonafide superstars proved to be too much to overcome for the Dawgs this season. The absence of players such as Kamari Lassiter, Brock Bowers, and Ladd McConkey (who all completed historic rookie seasons in the NFL) was felt throughout the entire 2024 season and greatly hindered the Dawgs’ ability on the field. While Georgia will certainly reload it’s talent for the upcoming season, finding massive playmakers will be just as crucial for their success in 2025.
Poor Execution Trumps Everything Else
Strong coaching, elite talent, and good play calling are always supplemented by players’ abilities to execute on the field. But poor execution can make even the strongest of team’s abilities irrelevant. More than ever before, this year’s Georgia team routinely found a way to shoot itself in the foot and make winning games much harder than it needed to be. Poor execution lead to numerous close calls all year and is what doomed the Dawgs’ in their three losses this season, ultimately ending their title hopes. While Georgia will have a handful of things to work on this season, improving execution on the field will likely be primary number one.
Kirby Smart Teams Will Not Quit
Yes, the 2024 season was a disappointment for Georgia. But if there is one positive fans, coaches, and players can take away from this it all, it’s that Kirby Smart teams will always fight. Whether it was an eight overtime victory against an instate rival, erasing a 28-0 deficit on the road, defeating a top-10 team after being down 10 points, or winning a conference championship in overtime with a backup quarterback. The Georgia Bulldogs showcased time and time again that so long as Kirby Smart is the head coach, his team will never truly be out of the hunt.
