NOTE: All Statistics are from ESPN’s website under individual player profiles.

I have been a UGA fan ever since I was little, and I can thank my dad for that. Except for the terrible Joe Cox season the Dawgs had a couple years back, I don’t think there has been a worse season for the Dawgs in the past decade! So, in light of this tumultuous run of 12 games in college football, here are my final thoughts for UGA both in this season and going forward:

Jacob Eason NEEDS to man up:

Jacob Eason, the highly ranked quarterback recruit out of Washington, lived up to some of his expectations. His arm strength is next-to-none, and he constantly improved over the course of the season. Coaches and fans alike love nothing more than when a player improves week-to-week. He also boasted an average, or barely below average, completion to interception (24:1) ratio and touchdown to interception (1.75:1) ratio among SEC quarterbacks--something that is relatively unsurprising for a true freshman. BUT, he failed miserably in one very important category: he wouldn’t take a hit. When it came down to situations where he could slide and not get the first down or put down his shoulder, take a hit, and probably pick up that extra yard, he chose to slide. He also had an aversion to diving into piles for loose balls. This cannot continue--and if it does, he needs to get benched.

The Offensive Coordinator (Jim Chaney) Ruined Key Games for UGA:

There was no reason to call a sweep at 4th-and-1 in the Vanderbilt game! Come on! All year, Jim Chaney has been neglecting running key players and avoiding utilizing quarterback sneaks. Like in the Vanderbilt game, a quarterback sneak would have been a more fan-preferred, and probably more successful, play call during that 4th-and-1 to keep the game going. In the four conference losses UGA suffered this year, the top two running backs, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, were given less than 30 combined attempts. The stats run as follow: 23 combined attempts in the loss against Ole Miss, 17 combined attempts in the loss against Tennessee, 29 combined attempts in the loss against Vandy, and 12 combined attempts in the loss against Florida. Now, before I read the next set of statistics, keep in mind that Sony Michel did not play vs UNC so I am using Brian Herrien is my #2 running back in that calculation, and vs Nicholls State, Sony Michel had no significant amount of carries but, I did add his 3 carries in with Herrien’s and Chubb’s because he was the one switching off with Chubb when it mattered. In games where UGA handed the ball off to the two main backs less than 30 times, they were 2-4. The two wins were against Mizzou and ULL. I’m not quite convinced they deserved to win that Mizzou game, so my mind reads that as 1-4. In games when the top 2 backs, with the exceptions mentioned above, were run more than 30 times, UGA was 5-1. That sole loss was to Georgia Tech, a game that UGA should have won, but they gave up on. There was no reason for Jim Chaney to be as pass-heavy as he was this season.

Isaiah McKenzie deserves an award:

Is there anything he can’t do? He takes WR sweeps for TD’s, he takes punts back to the house, and he’s a phenomenal receiver. Isaiah McKenzie was arguably the MVP of UGA’s team this year. Final stats: 530 receiving yards and 7 receiving TDs, 131 rushing yards (7.3 yards per carry average) and 2 rushing touchdowns, and 244 punt return yards and 1 punt return TD. MVP! MVP! MVP!

The Defensive Backs Have a Lot of Work to Do:

I will say, the defense got better over the course of the year. However, there was one glaring flaw that all UGA fans hate to see: an inability or refusal to turn and look for the ball! This was most obvious in UGA’s game versus Ole Miss. The defensive backs would consistently be covering the wide receivers perfectly and be in positions to make the play but, they would refuse to turn around and look for the ball! This ignorance cost UGA many scores this season and is unacceptable. Either train these guys or recruit new ones!

Kirby Smart Should NOT Be Fired (Yet):

It’s been a single season with an overhauled staff and lots of young talent, cut the man some slack. Was it a good season? Not at all. However, rebuilding years do occur. Give Kirby at least 1-2 more years before deciding whether or not he’s a bad coach.