This article is sure to draw the ire of certain Georgia blogs, of which I visit often and have great admiration and respect for, but as I often do in life, I will speak my mind when the occasion calls for it. 

Kyle King over at Dawg Sports has taken a certain mainstream writer to task on several occasions, as well as calling out any person who calls in question the legitimacy of the Georgia Bulldogs as a, “so called,” National Power.

While I agree that Georgia is certainly a national power, I equate their national power rating due to circumstances that have occurred outside the boundaries of the field, more than the results that have occurred upon it.  I will do my best to explain this rationale without offending Dawg Nation, for Head Coach Mark Richt is one of my favorite coaches that I enjoy watching, and I have tried to emulate his demeanor as much as possible when performing my own coaching duty assignments. 

So without further ado, here are the main reasons why I think people across the country, specifically those outside the Southeast corridor, think of Florida, LSU and Tennessee  (and even Auburn) as THE POWER schools inside the mighty SEC Conference, and why the average fan outside the SEC might overlook a very deserving Bulldog program.

The Georgia Bulldogs

                                       

If you google the Georgia Bulldogs football history, one of the first links that will jump to your attention is Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

According to Wikipedia, Georgia has an all-time record of 713-381-34, for an all-time winning percentage of (.647).  If you look at the grey side bar to the right of this very article, you will also notice that Georgia has a 97-30 record, which is tops in the SEC, throughout the BCS era.

So why is it when people around the country (outside of the SEC) think of the juggernaut of all conferences, they immediately think of Florida, LSU or Tennessee, and not necessarily (much to the chagrin of Dawg Nation) the mighty Bulldogs? 

Their all-time record is certainly worthy, as is their two consensus national championships, as well as the 12 SEC Conference championship trophies located comfortably at home in the Athens Hall of Champions

When you analyze the Quality Opponent Factor rating scale that I have developed, once again, the Dawgs jump to the head of the Pack. 

However, an overall record of 19-20 (.487 winning percentage) isn’t exactly lighting up the college football Christmas tree of power now is it, for this is one reason why the Florida, LSU and Tennessee bulbs on the tree standout a little clearer among the many lights which make up the tree.  

Suddenly we begin to see some chinks in Georgia’s armor, as well as the ubiquitous sugar daddy flavor of the SEC.  Before you jump to conclusions, give me a little latitude for I am just getting started.

What is quite shocking for the entire conference is that there is not one team, among, what is regarded annually as the best conference in the world, THE SEC, that has a winning record during the BCS era when running up against programs who go on to win 9 games, essentially attaining that parochial ELITE standard.

Most people who have a very limited knowledge of college football would simply conclude that a team who is 97-30 within the last decade, and 8-2 in bowl games for that matter, certainly must be elite. 

From a limited viewpoint, I would certainly agree, the record is flabbergastingly OUTSTANDING...until you recognize how they got that pretty record and how they have performed against other programs who are on equal footing within their own scale of excellence and abundance.

The venue, Sanford Stadium, is certainly top-shelf with a game day capacity of 92,746 loud and lavishly passionate die-hard Dawg Fans, who EXPECT to win every game on the schedule.  The simple fact of the matter is that Georgia hasn’t won the games on their schedule that truly matter in the eyes of many.  This may sound outlandish, but consider the following.  This past season (2007) was a prime example, losing to an average Tennessee team, and what turned out to be a woeful South Carolina club.

If you look a little farther down the grey column on the right side of this article, you will find that Georgia is 49-27 (Tops in the SEC within the BCS era) when matched against programs with winning records (any team with 7 plus wins in a season), which would kind of contradict my own statements above, wouldn’t you agree?

But then again, would you agree that there is a major difference between Clemson, Fresno State, Oklahoma State and Arkansas this past season, compared to West Virginia, USC, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, or even Oregon?

The definition for teams with winning records as I have defined would be seven or eight win programs (which define Fresno, Clemson and Arkansas), which differs from the elite nine, ten, eleven or more win teams (which define Oregon, Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio State or USC), and Georgia is certainly holding their own against this tier of competition (7 - to - eight win programs), and even more so against programs who have gone on to end their season with a losing record, as Georgia is 48-3, equating to a (.941) sterling winning percentage.

However, this lofty record against non-winning programs still trails Florida, Auburn and Tennessee.  But, as I alluded to earlier, in the thunderous games that truly matter in the eyes of the nation, Georgia is a bit under the radar.

Perhaps the easiest way to grasp to gravity of what I am trying to say is simply looking at Georgia’s record against the programs in the SEC, and more to the point, one in particular - The Florida Gators!

Florida is the only team in the SEC, throughout the decade known as the BCS, that actually has a winning record against the Bulldogs, but it pretty much sums up the scenario for the average fan who resides outside this region as most of the fans across the country DO NOT equate Georgia’s excellence in this era to be equal to Florida’s.

Simply put, the Gators have DOMINATED the Dawgs, winning 8 out of the last ten “Cocktail Parties,” and have essentially stolen the Dawgs thunder.  A word to the wise here!  Dawg Nation had better quit licking their chops in anticipation of that much awaited national championship season they are expecting in 2008, because the Florida Gators will be able to match their depth and experience this coming season, and if history is any indicator, my money is on Gator Nation, especially considering the outlandish acts of the Georgia team during last years outdoor social.