Good one, YD!
Judging by the article below, from Olin Buchanan at Rivals, some people out there think all of us on this board ARE a bunch of "April Fools" for believing in our team this year:
"If Georgia survives Boise State, South Carolina and Florida next fall (and I truly believe the Bulldogs can beat all three of those teams), looking at the rest of the teams on the schedule, I think Georgia could be in the national championship game. What do you think?
Douglas
Jacksonville
Whoa ... slow down there, Uga.
On the rebound
Since the AP poll was introduced in 1936, here's a list of national champions that had the poorest performances in the previous season.
Year National champion Previous season record
1940 Stanford 1-7-1
1960 Minnesota 2-7-1
1962 USC 4-5-1
1939 Texas A&M 4-4-1
1938 TCU 4-4-2
1958 LSU 5-5
1964 Arkansas 5-5
1980 Georgia 6-5
1981 Clemson 6-5
1972 USC 6-4-1
Georgia finished with a losing record and was in a three-way tie for third place in the SEC last season. Winning the East is a much more reasonable goal.
The last team to win a national championship the year after a losing season was USC in 1962. That's almost 50 years ago. And that was when championships were won by a vote, not by playing another team that's directly vying for a national title.
Still, I admit I thought Auburn would finish no higher than third in the SEC West last season, so I guess anything is possible. But Auburn was coming off an eight-win season in 2009. Georgia managed only six wins and even lost to woeful Colorado.
In addition, Auburn last season was returning the nucleus of a strong team. Georgia is losing its best players from 2010 - wide receiver A.J. Green, linebacker Justin Houston, linebacker Akeem Dent and offensive lineman Clint Boling.
This season, Georgia may rely heavily on freshmen. That wasn't an issue for the Bulldogs in 1980 with Herschel Walker, but can a phenomenon like that be counted on more than once a lifetime?
If Georgia can beat Boise State, South Carolina and Florida (and that's a colossal "if"), the Bulldogs obviously would rank high in the national polls and likely would be favored in their remaining games.
But it cannot be taken for granted that Georgia also would beat Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee or Georgia Tech. And even if Georgia did go unbeaten in the regular season, it still would have to play in the SEC championship game, where Alabama or LSU likely would be looming.
Your optimism is respected, but I cannot share it."
Thoughts anyone? <cringe, cringe>