It’s year two of the Kirby Smart era in Athens and the Georgia Bulldogs are in a weird place. They’ve gone 4 straight years without a divisional title in a really weak era of the SEC East and they’ve only had 1 really great season out of their past 8 campaigns.

Still, as always the Dawgs seem just one off-season away from regrouping and becoming a national power. Will 2017 be the year?

GEORGIA

2016 Record: 8-5
2016 S&P Rank: 68
Offense Returning Production Rank: 35
Defense Returning Production Rank: 5

High to Low

People are starting to freak out about Georgia’s 2018 recruiting class currently ranked 64th in the country with 3 commits, including a kicker and a couple of modest 3-stars. Things were a lot more chill this past February when Georgia quietly signed the 3rd best class in the nation, though.

The question for Notre Dame fans is who from this elite class could make an impact in game two of the season? The answer is probably not many. Quarterback Jake Fromm (No. 3 pro-style) enrolled early and impressed enough that he’s apparently secured the backup job and challenged rising sophomore Jacob Eason at least a little bit during the spring.

Thompson Coming Back

You can see above with the returning production why freshmen are unlikely to do much for Georgia in 2017. That’s especially true on defense where virtually everyone returns from last fall. There was only one senior among the Dawgs top 15 tacklers last year, and both of the senior defenders went undrafted a few weeks ago.

One cause for concern was the future of defensive tackle Trenton Thompson who left the football program (but remained enrolled) while dealing with some injury and personal issues. Smart recently updated that Thompson would be coming back to the team in June. The rising junior and former top recruit in the country was damn impressive last year with 56 tackles, 9.5 TFL, and 5 sacks.

Inside & Outside

Georgia’s offense sucked last year. They weren’t explosive (96th IsoPPP) nor efficient (82nd success rate). They couldn’t finish drives (120th points per trip inside 40) and couldn’t bread their butter in the run game (82nd S&P+ rushing attack & 113th power success rate).

The Dawgs don’t lack for talent which isn’t a great look for OC Jim Chaney who left Pittsburgh after 2015 with the Panthers getting immediately better in his wake.

Improvements on the offensive line and wide receiver have been the big off-season projects. Georgia returns all starters from last fall but has been rotated guys all spring and has only likely solidified 3 spots up front heading into August camp. Leading receiver Isaiah McKenzie (remember him?) was the only Dawg drafted and leaves a hole in the slot. The offense is desperately looking for size and playmaking at receiver to open up the passing game after Eason’s 6.6 yards-per-attempt was 2nd worse in the SEC last year.

Summer Spread: Georgia Favored by 2.5 Points

You could make the case to buy stock on the Irish winning this game. Georgia will be completely out of their comfort zone playing far north, their offense could still be a mess, and they open with a typically frisky Appalachian State the week prior.

However, when we’re looking at things strictly right now in the summer I’m sure Vegas would have the Dawgs as slight road favorites. Recently, the Sporting News put together a composite ranking of late spring pre-season rankings and Georgia finished 14th between Stanford and LSU. They were Top 20 in all 6 major news publication polls.

The Irish, coming off a 4-8 season, were nowhere to be found.

Buy or Sell: Georgia Winning the SEC East

I’m smelling a situation where we beat Georgia and they win the SEC East or they beat us and can’t win their division. Mostly everyone has Georgia as the pre-season leaders to take the divisional crown but Florida and Tennessee aren’t too far behind. I’ll buy Georgia winning it, they really probably should with a stout defense and potential on offense.

Know a Player: TE Isaac Nuata

This may be the only team all season to have a better tight end than Notre Dame. Nuata was the country’s top recruit at his position last year and insanely high #12 overall player for 2016, too. He didn’t catch a pass in Georgia’s first two games and went on to finish with 29 receptions, 361 yards, and 3 touchdowns. All three of those categories ranked third among all Dawgs pass catchers.

Outfitter: Nike

Georgia has been with Nike forever and their deal was set to expire this June prior to the school extending their contract with the Swoosh through June 2024. On an average annual payout Georgia isn’t getting top money, though. Their current deal is worth roughly $3.8 million per season, just 6th best in the SEC and outside the Top 20 nationally.

Most Important Game: Florida

I mean, right? Georgia has beaten Florida 6 times since 1997 which isn’t the greatest track record. But when they do, good things tend to happen. In 5 of those seasons the Dawgs went on to finish in the Top 10. They’ll get a bye week and a pretty decent run-up (at Vandy, Missouri) prior to the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.