Why Georgia Hasn't had a 1,000 Yard Rusher in the Past Few Years

Georgia's offense has excelled to new heights over the past few seasons. But one major change seems to have gone unnoticed

Since the turn of the decade, the Georgia Bulldogs have reached unimaginable heights. Multiple undefeated regular seasons, the first 4,000-yard passer in school history, and a pair of national championships have only begun what seems to be the start of a long-run of dominance from this program. But while Georgia has flourished in the past few years, one accolade has been missing from the team for quite some time. 

Georgia was synonymous with a strong running game led by a singular or duo of elite running backs for a long time. And while the Bulldogs' run game has been far from undependable, the running back room has gone through an interesting change over the past few seasons. 

From 2012-19, the Georgia Bulldogs' offense produced a total of nine 1,000-yard rushers and even had multiple 1,000-yard rushers in the same season (2017 & 2018). However, since the turn of this decade, the Dawgs have yet to have a back eclipse of the millennium mark on the ground. 

But what is the cause of this? A philosophy change? A reduction of talent? Something else? Dawgs Daily decided to take a look at the statistics to see what exactly might be the reason for the Bulldogs' lack of 1,000-yard rushers as of late.

Philosophy Change?

Former offensive coordinator Todd Monken's offensive philosophy was certainly more "pass friendly" than Bulldog teams of the past. But the new age of Georgia's offense did not take away from the Bulldogs' rushing attempts nearly as much as one may think. In fact, the Bulldogs' average rushing attempts have remained fairly consistent with their rushing attempts over the last 10 years.

*The 2020 season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Inadequate Talent?

So, if it isn’t a lack of rushing attempts, could it be a decline of talent in the running back room? Well, during the 2022 season, all four of Georgia’s leading rushers averaged at least 4.9 yards per carry, with Kendall Milton being the highest of the four with 7 yards a carry. For reference, during the 2019 season, leading rusher D’Andre Swift averaged 6.2 yards per carry. 

D’Andre Swift is the most recent Bulldog to surpass 1,000 rushing yards in a single season. He finished the 2019 season with 1,218 yards and seven touchdowns

The Reason.

Talent has never been an issue at Georgia under Kirby Smart and while the Bulldogs offense does have a new look to it, the team still has a healthy balance between running and passing. But the rushes have been more spread out over a larger group of backs. In 2022, the Bulldogs had four running backs carry the ball over 65 times in the season. That has never happened before under Kirby Smart. Stetson Bennett's additional mobility also took away from the running backs' total carries, as The Mailman himself toted the ball 57 times last season (the most by any Georgia quarterback under Kirby Smart). 

Stetson Bennett had a career-high 64 rushing yards during the 2022 season against Auburn

The Georgia Bulldogs have always had a robust rushing attack and the team's absence of a 1,000 rusher is no indictment on a lack of talent or a change in the way the team plays. Instead, it results from a more "run by committee" rather than solely relying on one or two backs during a season. 

The Bulldogs running back room is full of talented backs that will all get a healthy amount of touches this season. Does that mean that the Dawgs' chances of having a 1,000-yard rusher, as a result, will suffer? Possibly. But Georgia fans must ask themselves this. If the team continues to have the amount of success that it has had over the past two seasons, is not having a 1,000-yard rusher really that big of a deal?

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