Lessons Learned from Georgia Football in the 2024 Season
With the 2024 college football season nearing its end, here’s what we learned about the Georgia Bulldogs.
As the season draws to a close, and with only one game remaining, the Bulldogs’ hopes for a national championship were dashed for the second consecutive year, as they were eliminated by Notre Dame in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. While the 2024 season didn’t end as they had hoped, there are still valuable lessons to take away. Here’s what this season taught us about Georgia Football.
Winning in the Conference is More Challenging Than Ever
The addition of powerhouses like Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC has only made winning more difficult. Furthermore, factors like NIL and the transfer portal have allowed once mediocre teams to become more competitive, raising the level of competition and making it harder to win in the SEC and college football overall.
A Stumble in the Regular Season Isn’t the End
After going three seasons without a regular-season loss, the Bulldogs dropped two games in 2024. Despite this, their playoff hopes remained intact, and they secured a spot in the SEC Championship for the fourth year in a row. While the 12-team playoff system may make reaching the national title more challenging, it has also provided more opportunities for teams to bounce back and keep their championship dreams alive.
Reloading Talent Doesn’t Always Solve Everything
Georgia’s ability to reload with top-tier talent is unmatched, but the absence of key players like Kamari Lassiter, Brock Bowers, and Ladd McConkey—who all made an impact in the NFL—was a significant setback this season. Their loss highlighted how difficult it can be to replace elite playmakers, and moving forward, finding new stars will be critical to the Bulldogs’ success in 2025.
Execution Is Key
While Georgia has elite coaching, talent, and playcalling, poor execution proved to be their downfall this season. Even the best teams are vulnerable if they don’t execute well, and the Bulldogs struggled with this, leading to multiple close games and contributing to their three losses. Fixing execution will be Georgia’s top priority as they look to bounce back next season.
Kirby Smart Teams Never Give Up
Despite the disappointment of the 2024 season, one thing became clear: Kirby Smart’s teams will always fight. From winning a marathon eight-overtime game against a rival to rallying from a 28-0 deficit on the road, to coming back to defeat a top-10 team after being down by 10 points, the Bulldogs showed time and again that as long as Kirby Smart is at the helm, they will never be out of the fight.
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