Somehow, we’re already a quarter of the way through the regular season. So, both because we have a little bit of reliable data and because the Dawgs are on a bye this weekend, this feels like a good moment to check in on how things are going so far for the 2025 edition of the Georgia Bulldogs.
Offense: Making Satisfactory Progress
Coming into the season, more questions surrounded the offense than the defense. Of course, that’s always going to be the case with a Kirby Smart-coached team thanks to the power of narrative. But there was legitimate uncertainty here after a disappointing 2024 campaign and with a new starter under center. And, if I had written this article a week ago, this team would’ve answered precisely zero of the concerns about the offense. I have promised my spiritual advisor (meaning the case of Miller High Life I keep in my basement fridge for football emergencies) never to discuss the Austin Peay goal line series again, and so I won’t.
But then the Tennessee game happened, and I think we all have to feel pretty good about where we are. The team racked up 502 yards of total offense, which is about 50 more than the best performance last year (459 against Mississippi State). More than that, Stockton seems to be developing chemistry with the receivers, and he showed excellent ability to go downfield into a tight window. Both the opening pass to Colbie Young and the touchdown to London Humpreys were perfectly targeted so that only his guy could get them. Overall, Stockton’s performance is the most pleasant surprise so far. He generally makes smart decisions (no interceptions with four passing TDs), his confidence in his downfield ability is improving, and he gives you another number in the run game (four rushing TDs).
The receivers are looking sharper and not dropping everything that comes near them. The short passing game is finally clicking thanks to Zachariah Branch, in whom the team seems to have found a receiver who can actually execute the WR screen play the coaches love calling. Tight end play could probably stand to improve a bit, but the passing game feels like it’s developing well overall.
That being said, as long as Mike Bobo is in Athens, we’re going to complain about him and his offense. In the text thread I have with my UGA friends, someone (me) suggested more than once that we should leave him in Knoxville at the end of the day. The offensive line remains what we might optimistically call a work in progress. The Dawgs racked up 198 yards on the ground against Tennessee, but that came on 55 carries for a mediocre 3.6 per play.
The line had a Jekyll/Hyde performance overall. On a Chauncey Bowens run early in the third quarter, they opened a gap big enough to march a war elephant through. But the nearly disastrous strip sack in the fourth quarter looked like Monroe Freeling missed the rusher, though Stockton didn’t sense the pressure until it was too late. Some of this is growing pains, and the injuries to Juan Gaston and Earnest Greene haven’t helped matters. Now that we’re moving into the meat of the schedule, though, we’re going to have to settle on a rotation that can consistently get a better push.
The offense isn’t perfect, and it’s going to need to keep growing. Still, it’s hard not to feel good about what’s working well, especially given that this was the bigger question mark preseason.
Defense: Needs Improvement
A lot of the analysis I listened to before the Tennessee game anticipated, not unreasonably, that the game would be a defensive struggle. Then all hell broke loose.
First, the good points. The defensive front looks to have the same ferocity we associate with Georgia defenses of yesteryear. Christen Miller looks like a potential gamebreaker, whose ability to generate interior disruption is crucial to what makes the defense tick. The linebacker tandem of CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson is already shaping up to continue the incredible tradition of linebacker play we’ve cultivated over the last decade. (As a side note, I simply do not understand how a human being could see Raylen Wilson running at them and not haul ass out of the stadium, if not the state.)
Of course, the plan for attacking Georgia’s defense has always been to try to take the top off and attack downfield. The secondary got beat up on Saturday, and there’s no doubt about that. And having to face one of the best receivers in college football in two weeks makes me feel the same way I do when my card gets declined at my local watering hole. I am certain the Alabama game plan involves getting Ryan Williams matched up with Ellis Robinson IV. (If Glenn Schumann is reading this, GET BACK TO WORK, but also, might I suggest trying to provide more safety help???)
I’m not here to sunshine pump, but let me offer some reasons for optimism about the situation. First, I would much rather the defense be behind the offense because I have incredible faith in Smart and the defensive coaches to fix these problems in-season. Secondly, not to take anything away from Chris Brazzell’s incredible game, but his two long touchdowns were both misplayed 50/50 balls where he beat an inexperienced defender. Defending the Heupel offense takes incredible corner discipline, and we didn’t always show it on Saturday.
I assume that if I can tell this while eating a medically inadvisable amount of Italian sausage, then our defensive staff will adjust too. After all, if you can’t just play man coverage and whip ass, you’re gonna have to try something else. And there’s enough talent — Daylen Everette, Joenel Aguero, and KJ Bolden, among others — to whip some ass.
Special Teams: Incomplete
Special teams are the kidneys of football: If you notice them, something is going badly wrong. To that end, this phase has been perfectly cromulent so far. Peyton Woodring continues the reliable kicking game that has marked the Smart administration, and Brett Thorson’s return is an excellent sign. Branch feels like he’s eventually going to break a kick return for a TD, which would be the first return score for UGA since Terry Godwin did it against South Carolina in 2016. Ideally, this continues to fly under the radar.
Vibes: Excellent
Only a crank of the highest order could possibly be dissatisfied with a season that ends in a conference championship, but watching last year’s team was seldom a particularly fun or exciting experience. The Kentucky game felt like getting dental surgery sans anesthetic. The Alabama game was the football equivalent of what happens to James Caan’s character in Misery. I have no memories of the Ole Miss game thanks to a successful neuralyzing. I spent the last half of the Sugar Bowl up on my roof, howling at the cruel and indifferent universe.
Even the wins over our myriad rivals were either forgettable (Auburn, Tennessee) or unnecessarily stressful (Florida, Tech). The Clemson game and the two wins over Texas are the only ones I look back on fondly. It felt like the team never really got out of second gear and spent a lot of time idling. Smart himself said last year was the hardest job he’s had coaching a team, and the grim vibes were palpable.
I may be overrating this because of the huge mood boost you get from stealing a game you should’ve lost from a rival, but the 2025 edition of the Dawgs feels like a much more joyous group. Fighting back after giving up 21 points in the first quarter is a testament to the team’s mettle. After getting off to the worst possible start, the defense settled down and forced the Vols to play our style of game long enough for the offense to get us back in it. Stockton didn’t let a horrifically timed turnover rattle him, and the defense held the line to save the game. They did all this in a stadium with more than 100,000 Tennessee fans exploding like someone just kicked over their moonshine still.
There’s still a lot of time, but the 2025 Dawgs showed exactly the kind of fight you want to see.
Looking Ahead
Very few of the remaining games on the schedule are gimmes. No matter how bad Alabama is, they’re always going to give us their full attention. I hate playing in Jordan-Hare. Tech believes they can beat us. Texas is probably going to improve. Florida…well, I’m not that worried about them right now.
Lots of challenges lie ahead, but I feel much more sanguine than I did a month ago. The seismic shifts of NIL, the transfer portal, and budding superconferences mean that an undefeated regular season is probably a thing of the past. But 10-2 is likely and 11-1 isn’t unrealistic. Good teams improve over the course of a season, and there’s enough to like to feel good about this team.
