Georgia Bulldogs named most overrated team of last decade
The Big Lead has named the Georgia Bulldogs the most overrated college football program of the last decade. Now, under a new head coach, will the Bulldogs finally meet expectations this season?
Brace yourself, Georgia Bulldogs fans. On Thursday, July 21, Jason Lisk of The Big Lead ranked the most overrated college football programs of the last decade. It was none other than the Georgia Bulldogs that took first place, in front of the USC Trojans, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Oklahoma Sooners. Two other SEC teams made the list, with the Florida Gators ranked No. 9 and the LSU Tigers at No. 7.
When we take a look back over the past ten years, there is no doubt that there have consistently been major expectations for the Bulldogs, yet they have not been able to meet them. However, that was all under former head coach Mark Richt.
According to Lisk, “Mark Richt has moved on to Miami, and there is a chance that program garners its first preseason ranking in the top 25 since 2010 (let that sink in). But, recent Richt history is not kind to that optimism. The Bulldogs were perennially ranked, and rarely matched expectations.”
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How did Lisk and The Big Lead come to these conclusions?
VIA Jason Lisk of The Big Lead:
"“To answer this question, I took an objective approach by comparing the preseason AP Top 25 to the end of season poll after the bowl games, for every year since 2006. (all info from http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/.)For programs not ranked at the end of the season, I assigned an end-of-year ranking of “30” for uniformity (though certainly some seasons are worse than others). That way, a team ranked 25th would still get a penalty, but it wouldn’t be the same as the fifth overall team finishing unranked (and more in line with the fifth overall team finishing 10th).To get on this list, a team generally had to be pretty good, and have some high expectations. Teams with no expectations cannot be overrated, since no one is rating them in the first place. Programs on this list won four national championships in the last decade, so don’t weep for them too much. Check back tomorrow for the most underrated programs of the last decade using the same method, and here you go with the top 10 (well, eleven, since there was a tie)."
Now the question becomes, since the Kirby Smart era has begun, will the Bulldogs finally be able to deliver? The presence of Kirby Smart has already brought a great deal of change for the Georgia Bulldogs, not only in terms of recruiting, but in the behavior of players and coaches as well.
In the past, there seemed to be a certain understanding amongst players that just because you’re a Georgia Bulldog, you have a sense of entitlement. It appears with Coach Smart that nothing is given…instead, everything has to be earned.
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Or, will the Georgia Bulldogs be back to the same hype? Being a first year head coach from a program that wins national championships, will there be even more pressure for the Bulldogs to perform? While no one is expecting a national championship anytime soon, even an SEC championship in the near future would be a nice change.