| Year: | 2021 |
| Team: | Georgia Bulldogs |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Southeastern Conference |
| Division: | Eastern Division |
| Short Conf: | SEC |
| Coachrank: | 1 |
| Aprank: | 1 |
| Record: | 14–1 |
| Conf Record: | 8–0 |
| Head Coach: | Kirby Smart |
| Hc Year: | 6th |
| Off Coach: | Todd Monken |
| Oc Year: | 2nd |
| Off Scheme: | Pro spread |
| Codef Coach1: | Dan Lanning |
| Codc1 Year: | 3rd |
| Codef Coach2: | Glenn Schumann |
| Codc2 Year: | 3rd |
| Def Scheme: | 3–4 |
| Stadium: | Sanford Stadium |
| Champion: | Consensus national champion SEC Eastern Division champion Orange Bowl champion |
| Conf Champ: | SEC Championship Game |
| Conf Champ Result: | L 24–41 vs. Alabama |
| Bowl: | Orange Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
| Bowl Result: | W 34–11 vs. Michigan CFP National Championship, W 33–18 vs. Alabama |
The 2021 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the University of Georgia in the 2021 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 (SEC). They were led by sixth-year head coach Kirby Smart. They finished the season with 14 wins and 1 loss (14–1 overall, 8–0 in the SEC). Georgia won the National Championship and was the consensus No. 1 team at the conclusion of the season. The 14 games won by the Bulldogs also set the record for the most wins in a single season in school history until it was broken the following season, where Georgia finished with a 15–0 record.[1]
This season is one of two back-to-back Georgia seasons that won a national championship. In the 2021 season, Georgia won 33–18 against Alabama, and in the 2022 season, Georgia won 65–7 against TCU.
The Bulldogs made it to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2017. After defeating Michigan in the semifinals, they defeated Alabama to win their first national championship since 1980. This was the first time a No. 3 team has won the CFP National Championship. It also marked the first time in the history of college football, since the Associated Press poll began in 1936, that a college football team had won an AP National Championship after losing their respective conference championship game in the same season.
Some experts have viewed the 2021 Bulldogs as having one of the greatest defenses in college football history.[2] [3]
| Media poll (East Division) | |||
| 1 | Georgia | 923 (124) | |
| 2 | Florida | 784 (7) | |
| 3 | Kentucky | 624 (2) | |
| 4 | Missouri | 555 | |
| 5 | Tennessee | 362 | |
| 6 | South Carolina | 355 (1) | |
| 7 | Vanderbilt | 149 | |
| Media poll (SEC Championship) | ||
| 1 | Alabama | 84 |
| 2 | Georgia | 45 |
| 3 | Ole Miss | 1 |
| 4 | Texas A&M | 1 |
| Florida | 1 | |
| Kentucky | 1 | |
| South Carolina | 1 | |
The Bulldogs had eleven players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.
Offense
2nd team
JT Daniels – QB
Zamir White - RB
George Pickens - WR
Jamaree Salyer – OL
3rd team
Jermaine Burton – WR
Defense
1st team
Jordan Davis – DL
3rd team
Travon Walker – DL
Nakobe Dean – LB
Lewis Cine - DB
Specialists
1st team
Jake Camarda – P
3rd team
Kearis Jackson - RS
Outgoing
The Bulldogs lost 13 players via transfer from the 2020 season. They gained 3 players for the 2021 season.
| Name | No. | Pos. | Height | Weight | Hometown | Year | New school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demetris Robertson |
| WR | 6’0 | 190 | Sophomore | Auburn | |
| DB | 6’2 | 175 | Freshman | LSU | ||
| Tommy Bush |
| WR | 6’5 | 195 | Sophomore | North Texas | |
| John Seter |
| QB | 6’3 | 180 | Junior | SMU | |
| Tyrique Stevenson |
| CB | 6’0 | 202 | Senior | Miami | |
| Matt Landers |
| WR | 6’5 | 200 | Junior | Toledo | |
| Prather Hudson |
| DB | 5’11 | 200 | Senior | Illinois | |
| DL | 6’5 | 262 | Senior | Florida State | ||
| Netori Johnson |
| DL | 6'4 | 325 | Junior | Middle Tennessee | |
| Makiya Tongue |
| WR | 6’2 | 223 | Junior | Oregon State | |
| Trey Blount |
| WR | 6’2 | 211 | Junior | Old Dominion | |
| QB | 6’1 | 235 | Freshman | Temple | ||
| Kolby Wyatt |
| TE | 6’4 | 240 | Senior | Hawaii | |
Incoming
| Name | No. | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Prev. school | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | 5'10" | 198 | Junior | West Virginia | |||
| 11 | CB | 6'0" | 190 | Sophomore | Clemson | |||
| 14 | TE | 6'5" | 248 | Sophomore | LSU |
The Bulldogs held the Georgia football spring game, "G-Day", on April 17. The Red Team beat the Black Team 28–23.[4] Due to COVID-19 the games capacity was limited to just over 20,000 fans.
Georgia announced its 2021 schedule on January 27, 2021. It consisted of six home games, four away games, and two neutral site games. The Bulldogs hosted SEC foes Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and South Carolina. The Bulldogs traveled to face Auburn, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. Georgia played Florida in Jacksonville, Florida.
Georgia's out of conference opponents represented the ACC, C-USA and Big South. The Bulldogs played four non-conference games which were against UAB from the Conference USA, Charleston Southern from the Big South, Georgia Tech from the ACC, and Clemson from the ACC in Charlotte, North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Classic.[5]
| Name | Position | Consecutive season at Georgia in current position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | ||||
| Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach | 2nd | |||
| Associate head coach / Offensive line coach | 2nd | |||
| Special teams coordinator | 2nd | |||
| Defensive coordinator/outside linebackers coach | 3rd | |||
| Co-defensive coordinator/Inside linebackers coach | 3rd | |||
| Cortez Hankton | Pass game coordinator/Wide receivers coach | 4th | ||
| Run game coordinator/Running backs coach | 3rd | |||
| Tight ends coach | 3rd | |||
| Jahmile Addae | Defensive backs coach | 1st | ||
| 5th | ||||
| Reference:[6] | ||||
See also: 2021 Clemson Tigers football team, Duke's Mayo Classic and Clemson–Georgia football rivalry.
See also: 2021 UAB Blazers football team.
See also: 2021 South Carolina Gamecocks football team and Georgia–South Carolina football rivalry.
See also: 2021 Vanderbilt Commodores football team.
See also: 2021 Arkansas Razorbacks football team.
See also: 2021 Auburn Tigers football team and Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.
See also: 2021 Kentucky Wildcats football team.
See also: 2021 Florida Gators football team and Florida–Georgia football rivalry.
See also: 2021 Missouri Tigers football team.
See also: 2021 Tennessee Volunteers football team and Georgia–Tennessee football rivalry.
See also: 2021 Charleston Southern Buccaneers football team.
See also: 2021 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team and Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.
See also: 2021 Alabama Crimson Tide football team, 2021 SEC Championship Game and Alabama–Georgia football rivalry.
See also: 2021 Michigan Wolverines football team and 2021 Orange Bowl (December). .
See also: 2021 Alabama Crimson Tide football team and 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship.
| All opponents | 0 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 28 | |
| Georgia | 73 | 69 | 38 | 21 | 201 |
| SEC opponents | 25 | 37 | 14 | 49 | 125 | |
| Georgia | 90 | 126 | 78 | 84 | 378 |
| All opponents | 25 | 40 | 21 | 67 | 153 | |
| Georgia | 163 | 195 | 116 | 105 | 579 |
TE- Brock Bowers
DT- Jordan Davis
LB- Nakobe Dean
OL- Jamaree Salyer
OL- Justin Shaffer
DT- Devonte Wyatt (AP: 2, Coaches: 1)
DT- Jalen Carter
LB- Channing Tindall
DB- Lewis Cine (AP: 1, Coaches: 2)
DB- Derion Kendrick
P- Jake Camarda (AP: 2, Coaches: 1)
See also: 2022 NFL draft.
Fifteen Bulldogs were selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, setting a new record for draft picks from a single school in the seven-round draft era (1994–present).[7]