2019 Georgia Bulldogs football team


The 2019 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the University of Georgia in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. They were led by fourth-year head coach Kirby Smart.
Georgia began the year ranked third in the AP Poll, and were considered the favorite to represent the East Division in the SEC Championship Game for a third consecutive year. On September 21, the team secured a win over then-No. 7 Notre Dame, 23–17. They suffered their first loss of the year when they were upset by unranked South Carolina at home. Georgia rebounded with wins over highly ranked rivals No. 6 Florida and No. 12 Auburn, and ended the regular season atop the East Division with an 11–1 record, 7–1 in SEC play, and ranked fourth in the College Football Playoff rankings. In the SEC Championship Game, Georgia fell to West Division champion and eventual national champion LSU, 37–10. Georgia fell out of contention for the Playoff and received a bid to the Sugar Bowl to play Big 12 Conference runner-up Baylor, which Georgia won 26–14. The Bulldogs were ranked fourth in the season's final polls.
Georgia led FBS in scoring defense, but was 49th in scoring offense. Safety J. R. Reed and offensive tackle Andrew Thomas were named consensus All-Americans. Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship was the recipient of the Lou Groza Award as the nation's best placekicker. Quarterback Jake Fromm led the team in passing with 2,860 yards and 24 touchdowns. Running back D'Andre Swift led the team in rushing with 1,218 yards.

Preseason

SEC Media Days

The 2019 SEC Media Days were held July 15–18 in Birmingham, Alabama. In the preseason media poll, Georgia was projected to repeat as East Division Champion and SEC runner-up.
Media poll

Media poll

Preseason All-SEC teams

The Bulldogs had eleven players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.
Offense
1st team
D'Andre Swift – RB
Andrew Thomas – OL
2nd team
Jake Fromm – QB
Solomon Kindley – OL
Isaiah Wilson – OL
3rd team
Charlie Woerner – TE
Ben Cleveland – OL
Defense
1st team
J. R. Reed – DB
3rd team
Tyler Clark – DL
Richard LeCounte – DB
Specialists
1st team
Rodrigo Blankenship – K

Schedule

Georgia announced its 2019 football schedule on September 18, 2018. The 2019 schedule consists of 7 home and 4 away games in the regular season along with a neutral site game.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Vanderbilt

57–20–28–2Oct. 6, 2018W, 41–13

Week 2: vs. Murray State

Week 3: vs. Arkansas State

2–0Sept. 1, 2001W, 45–17

Week 4: vs. #7 Notre Dame

2–0Sept. 9, 2017W, 20–19

Week 6: at Tennessee

23–23–27–3Sept. 29, 2018W, 38–12

South Carolina

51–18–26–4Sept. 8, 2018W, 41–17

Kentucky

58–12–29–1Nov. 3, 2018W, 34–17

vs. Florida

51–43–25–5Oct. 27, 2018W, 36–17

Missouri

7–1Sept. 22, 2018W, 43–29

at Auburn

59–56–87–3Nov. 10, 2018W, 27–10

Texas A&M

2–32009 Independence BowlW, 44–20

at Georgia Tech

67–41–58–2Nov. 24, 2018W, 45–21

vs. LSU (SEC Championship)

13–17–12018L, 16–36

Statistics
StatisticsGeorgiaLSU
First downs2026
Total yards286481
Rushes–yards25–6136–132
Passing yards225349
Passing: Comp–Att–Int20–43–228–38–0
Time of possession26:2233:38

vs. Baylor (Sugar Bowl)

4–0Sept. 16, 1989W, 15–3

Rankings

Players drafted into the NFL

RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Club
14Andrew ThomasOTNew York Giants
129Isaiah WilsonOTTennessee Titans
235D'Andre SwiftRBDetroit Lions
4111Solomon KindleyOGMiami Dolphins
5167Jake FrommQBBuffalo Bills
6190Charlie WoernerTESan Francisco 49ers
7255Tae CrowderLBNew York Giants