During, At the End, and After the Liberty Bowl
Pat’s Weekly Stat (you likely won’t see anywhere else): This week’s stat is actually three—and all are associated with Georgia’s 31-23 victory over TCU in the Liberty Bowl: a milestone reached during the game, an unlikely victory at the end of the game, and an announcement made shortly after the game.
DURING: With Sony Michel’s short touchdown run in the first quarter, the Bulldogs’ extended a remarkable bowl streak of having scored in every one of their postseason appearances—all 52 of them. The consecutive streak was a standalone NCAA record for, oh, a little over 24 hours before tied by Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. And, the Crimson Tide will very likely be the sole record-holder in eight days come the national title game on January 9. But, until then…
Longest Bowl Streaks Without Being Held Scoreless
* Represents every bowl game appearance in school's history. ** School still has a bowl game left to be played during 2016-17 season.
AT THE END: Georgia’s victory as a 3-point underdog over TCU marked the Bulldogs’ second consecutive win as an underdog (after Auburn), which followed an 0-3 start to the season when not considered the favorite (losses to Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Florida). Georgia’s two wins as an underdog this season was its most since Mark Richt’s first year as head coach in 2001, when the Bulldogs were 3-2 as an underdog.
Beginning with the Vince Dooley era in 1964, the percentage of each Bulldog head coach’s games his team was considered the underdog, and his record as an underdog:
UGA Head Coaches As An Underdog*
* Does not include Bryan McClendon, whose one game as head coach (2016 TaxSlayer Bowl) Georgia was not the underdog.
AFTER: Shortly after Georgia’s win over the Horned Frogs, junior Isaiah McKenzie announced he was declaring early for the NFL Draft, becoming the 35th Bulldog to do so since 1989 when the first collegiate players were allowed by the league to forego their senior seasons (if not previously drafted, and not counting any supplemental selections). Where will Isaiah go? Who knows? Still, here’s a breakdown of Georgia’s previous 34 early entrants according to which round in the draft they eventually would be selected:
UGA's Early Entrant Selection in the NFL Draft
