If the Georgia Bulldogs hadn’t lost in double overtime to South Carolina earlier in the year, they likely would have locked up the No. 4 seed in the 2019-20 College Football Playoff. They went on to win the Sugar Bowl against Baylor, and not too long after that, the expected happened when offensive starters Jake Fromm (quarterback), D’Andre Swift (running back), Isaiah Wilson (right tackle), Solomon Kindley (left guard) and Andrew Thomas (left tackle) all declared for the 2020 NFL Draft.
It’s no secret that the Bulldogs' offense was inconsistent after their upset loss to South Carolina. The passing attack provided hope for a National Championship following their win over Notre Dame, but they couldn’t replicate it against top-tier competition any more than that. In seven of its 12 games against Power-5 competition, Georgia failed to generate positive EPA passing. With their losses, some expected their woes to continue into next year. That was until they landed transfer quarterback Jamie Newman from Wake Forest. Now, they sit with the fifth-best odds to win the College Football Playoff National Championship, via Caesars Sportsbook. Two SEC teams (Alabama and LSU) sit ahead of Georgia in those odds, but quite honestly, Georgia may be better than both next year, as they’ll now have the best quarterback in the conference.
Newman emerged onto the scene in 2018 when then-Wake Forest starter Sam Hartman was knocked out for the year following Week 10 of that season. Newman started the remaining four games, played good — not great — but then won over the starting job prior to the 2019 season and finished the year as one of the 15 best quarterbacks in both PFF’s wins above average and PFF grade. The start to Newman’s season was a hot one — through the first 11 weeks, he ranked behind only Joe Burrow and Justin Fields in PFF passing grade. The offensive line is something that bears watching, as they have multiple holes to fill, but Newman will make the Georgia offense far better next year than it was in 2019, and here are a few reasons why:
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