Georgia football is the No. 1 topic every day on DawgNation Daily — the daily podcast for fans of the national champion Georgia Bulldogs. Catch up on everything happening with UGA athletics with host Brandon Adams and the DawgNation experts as they break down the latest Georgia football recruiting news and discuss coach Kirby Smart’s quest to keep the Bulldogs on top of the college football world. On episode No. 1,763 (Aug. 24, 2022) of the podcast, Georgia fans can hear a discussion about why a surprisingly bad defensive stat for the Bulldogs last season could actually be a good indication for UGA.

Georgia football podcast: A bad stat that’s actually good for UGA

Beginning of the show: There weren’t many defensive stats a season ago in which Georgia wasn’t stellar. However, one of the few rare examples in which it was might also demonstrate how the Bulldogs leveraged one of its key strengths along the way toward a national championship.

UGA gave up a lot of long pass plays in 2021, but the surprisingly high total barely registered with most fans. Why? The Bulldogs provided such a relentless pass rush it mitigated against any issues on the backend of the defense.

Furthermore, I’ll explain on today’s show why the willingness to tolerate allowing the occasional big play as a tradeoff for creating more havoc-wreaking defensive plays represents an important philosophical evolution for the Bulldogs.

15-minute mark: I share evidence why UGA is in a stronger position as a program now than it was year ago.

20-minute mark: DawgNation’s Mike Griffith joins the show.

35-minute mark: I take a look at other SEC headlines including a raise and contract extension for Alabama coach Nick Saban.

40-minute mark: I share some audio from UGA offensive lineman Tate Ratledge about his return from injury.

End of show: I award a Golden Shoe winner and share the Gator Hater Updater and the Gator Hater Countdown.