DawgNation’s “Cover 4” concept is a piece of news content on DawgNation.com. This edition continues a series of posts in which DawgNation staffers Brandon Adams, Mike Griffith, Connor Riley and Jeff Sentell addressed a number of key talking points regarding back-to-back national champions.
The DawgNation team has seen seven football games so far this year. We’ve already learned a lot about the 2023 Bulldogs and there will be more discoveries over the next four games of the season.
This leads this specific thought into a bye week edition of DawgNation “Cover 4.”
Seems like a good time to kick off this unique DawgNation Georgia Football “Coverage 4” topic around the horn. These takes are designed to come out faster than everyone wolfed down the food at the Mark Richt Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl last Wednesday night in Athens.
This topic “Cover 4” is:
What is the question you would like to have the real answer to over the past few seasons of Georgian football?
Brandon Adams: What would George Pickens have done if he was healthy?
Georgia wide receiver George Pickens prepares for a long win in the national championship victory over Alabama. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation) (Jeff Sentell/Dawgnation)
For what: “Pickens is arguably the most exciting UGA player of my lifetime, but injuries have limited his production at UGA. The Bulldogs still won a national championship without him playing much in 2021, but it’s hard not to think that we all would have been deprived of exciting highlights had he been fully healthy..”
Mike Griffith: Which member of the 2018 CFP committee lobbied Georgia the most to keep them out of the playoffs?
ATLANTA, GA – December 6: The National Championship trophy is on display before the College Football Playoff Semifinal head coaches press conference on December 6, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)/Dawgnation)
For what: “Was it Oklahoma AD, whose Sooners ended up getting fourth place (and lost 28-0 to Alabama in 16 minutes). Was it the Florida AD, whose school would have gotten a greater share of revenue if UGA had created the CFP? Or was it the former Georgia Tech AD?
Connor Riley: Why wasn’t the 2020 defense better?
Georgia defensive back Eric Stokes (27) during the Bulldogs’ game against Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. (Photo by Piper Hansen)/Dawgnation)
For what: “As far as we’re talking about those last two defenses, most of them were on that 2020 team. The one that gave up over 40 points in losses to Alabama and Florida. With a handful of players still in school, there were still 22 players drafted in this defense, including 8 first-round picks. Even if we talk about the offensive issues that season, it was the 2020 defense that proved to be an outlier.
Jeff Sentell: What was the whole A-Z behind Jamie Newman’s brief stint at UGA?
Georgia quarterback Jamie Newman (9) during Bulldogs practice in Athens, Ga., Monday, Aug. 8, 2020. (Photo by Chamberlain Smith)/Dawgnation)
For what: “Embarrassing. That’s the word to describe this saga. Why didn’t it work? What made him leave the program before the 2020 season? Was it linked to health concerns surrounding the pandemic? Georgia has gone from Newman to D’Wan Mathis to Stetson Bennett IV to JT Daniels at QB during this abbreviated season. How would things have gone if he had stuck around? Will we even see Bennett this fall? What did he see in young Carson Beck that he loved so much? What are his big regrets today after watching the ‘Dawgs go 44-3 with two national titles after leaving the program?’
