10 offensive records Georgia could break in 2021
Georgia’s offense should be as prolific in 2021 as it has been in a long time.
Last year’s team spun its wheels for much of the season before receiving a jolt from JT Daniels’ appointment as starting quarterback. All he did in his first game was become the first Georgia quarterback to pass for 400 yards or more since Aaron Murray in 2011.
Need context? Kyle Trask and Mac Jones each had 5 400-plus yard games in 2020. Georgia, as a program, has 5 400-plus yard passing games in its history.
That speaks in part to the style of play it’s employed through the years — certainly since Kirby Smart arrived in Athens — but 2021 feels like all the tools are in place for it to showcase one of the most lethal offenses in program history.
I looked through Georgia’s media guide to find some offensive records that could fall. Some, like Herschel Walker’s 385 carries and 1,891 yards in 1981, are safe, and others, like a 108-point game against Alabama Presbyterian in 1913, have zero chance of being broken.
But I picked 10 specific ones that could fall in 2021. There are no guarantees that they will be broken, but you have to like Georgia’s chances of coming close.
Single-season receiving yards record: 1,004 (2002, Terrence Edwards)
It still amazes me that Edwards is the only Georgia wide receiver to reach the 1,000-yard mark. A.J. Green’s 963 yards in 2008 has been as close as anyone’s come since Edwards did it in 2002.
Daniels has a cadre of receivers that can stretch the field and rack up the yards, and some fine-tuning on his long ball should mean that this mark should fall by the wayside in 2021. George Pickens is the most likely candidate. Sorry, Terrence.
Single-season receiving touchdown record: 11 (2002, Terrence Edwards)
Terrence’s 11 touchdowns in 2002 also is the best output in school history, standing up even through the Aaron Murray era.
Pickens hauled in 6 touchdowns in 10 games in 2020 and might have broken Edwards’ mark in a normal season with Daniels as his full-time QB. That’s bound to happen in 2021, with Daniels and Pickens (if both remain healthy) set up to be one of the top quarterback-wide receiver tandems in the SEC and in the country.
Single-season passing touchdown record: 36 (2012, Aaron Murray)
Thirty-six touchdown passes in a season is a high but achievable mark. Joe Burrow threw 60 during his legendary 2019 season. Kyle Trask notched 43 in 2020; Mac Jones threw for 2 fewer, while his predecessor, Tua Tagovailoa, totaled 43 in his Heisman-runner-up year in 2018.
Only 2 Georgia quarterbacks have met or exceeded the 30-touchdown plateau in a season: Murray (in 2011 and 2012) and Jake Fromm (in 2018). Daniels has a strong shot at becoming No. 3 and taking down Murray’s nearly decade-old mark.
Single-season passing yardage record: 3,893 (2012, Aaron Murray)
Most passing yards in a single season is one of a number of program records that Murray holds, his total in 2012 just 3 yards outside the top 10 in SEC history behind Florida great Rex Grossman. But when considering the depth, speed and talent that the Dawgs have in the WR room, plus the fact that they could play 14 games at a minimum if things go as planned, Daniels could take his place at the top of the Georgia record book in this category, too.
Best completion percentage in a single season: 67.87% (2018)
Again, it’s all about chemistry and Daniels’ ability to hone his craft to read the field and not rely too heavily on the deep ball, although deep passes will certainly have their place in the 2021 offense. He completed 73.7% of his passes against Mississippi State and 68.4% against Cincinnati, and while he’ll be matched up against some difficult defenses next year, there are several where he can find some soft spots within and be able to feast on.
Single-game receiving yards: 205 (2011)
Who’s to say this can’t happen? Last year, Jermaine Burton (with 197 yards against Mississippi State) came oh-so-close to knocking off Tavarres King’s record set against Michigan State in the Outback Bowl.
I’ve already mentioned the ability of Georgia’s receivers to stretch the field, so seeing a new mark established here is far from out of the question. Pickens closed the season with back-to-back 120+ yard receiving games. His career-high is 175, set in his final game as a freshman.
Receiving touchdowns in a single game: 3 (multiple times, most recently in 2008)
Mohamed Massaquoi is the most recent Georgia player to make 3 scoring catches in a single game, doing so in 2008’s edition of Clean, Old Fashioned Hate against Georgia Tech.
Like the single-game receiving yardage record, seeing a Dawg go for 4 for the first time in program history shouldn’t be counted as an impossibility. Pickens’ career-high is 2 TD catches in a game.
Most catches in a season: 76 (1993)
The Eric Zeier to Brice Hunter connection was a sturdy one in 1993 as Hunter hauled in a school-record 76 catches. I’m not saying that DeVonta Smith’s tally of 117 catches from last year will be matched, but getting someone to at least 70 — a mark no Georgia receiver outside of Hunter has met — shouldn’t be a stretch if Daniels and his receiving corps are clicking and can stay off the injury list.
Total yardage in a season: 6,547 (2012)
With an air attack and ground game projected to be the best the Dawgs have had in a while, don’t be surprised if the team yardage record set nearly 10 years ago comes under assault. They came close in 2017 thanks in part to Jake Fromm throwing for 2,615 yards and Nick Chubb and Sony Michel combining for 2,572 rushing yards.
Tough, but not impossible — especially if the Dawgs play in 15 games in 2021 (hint, hint) and can lean on a 2-back set to roll up the yards on the ground while Daniels does his work behind center.
Average points per game: 41.3 (2014)
Go figure that the greatest offense in program history was led by a trio of future NFL running backs.
In 2014, the Dawgs set program records for most points in a season (537) and highest scoring average (41.3).
Nick Chubb ran for 1,537 yards. Todd Gurley had 911 in a 6-game season marred by a suspension and injury. Sony Michel added 410 yards, and the trio combined for 28 rushing TDs.
The 2021 offense figures to be much more explosive through the air, but it also might have the best running back room in the SEC.
It would be an upset if Georgia doesn’t average 40 points per game this season.
To be honest, it doesn’t surprise me that much that Edwards record still holds. UGA has had very few really good receivers much less great (and a roller coaster of average to Joe Cox level college QB’s). AJ Green was a great one but was suspended for four games the year he surely would’ve broken that record (his pace was for 1,100+).
Georgia’s depth will make it harder for single-player records to fall. Overall production will, hopefully, increase significantly, though.
Just keep counting those chickens. Nobody and I sincerely mean nobody, does it better.
Bamalicious, will you say the same when the same kind of article comes out about the 2021 Bama offense?
Nobody should do an article about the possibilities of your No.1 ranked QB recruit. Is that your point?
No, I think his point is
…UGA sets records and wins national championships every offseason. Bama sets records and wins national titles during the season. Daniels played against weak and already defeated teams towards the end of the season and certainly did not light up the Cincy Bearcats. But somehow he has been annointed the savior of all things UGA already. He and the talented UGA receivers may set records, but lets see them put up big numbers and beat Ckemson first. Then you and UGA fans can rightfully talk records and possibly winning it all in 2021.
I honestly think thats a pretty fair statement.Go Dawgs!
@Nature Gator……..I honestly think that’s a pretty BULL$HIT KISS ALABAMA A$$ comment!!! Florida did NOTHING!!! Absolutely nothing!!!
You didn’t play Georgia. So no way you beat them!!!
You had an impressive second half against 70% of the UGA B TEAM!!! That wasn’t our starters on that defense! And that wasn’t our starters on the offense either!!!
Take 70% of any teams starters. That goes for ALABAMA, CLEMSON OR FLORIDA OR ANYBODY ELSE!!!!
Take away 70% of their best most important starters and EVERYONE GETS BEATEN BY AN AVERAGE FLORIDA TEAM!!! I tell it like it is. Florida was very average!!! Florida had a nice passing game. BUT ZERO RUN GAME!!!!!
AND PROBABLY THE WORST DEFENSE IVE EVER SEEN AN SEC BIG NAME TEAM HAVE!!! Florida still has a BIG NAME for now. ESPECIALLY AFTER GETTING SO LUCKY LAST SEASON. THE MEDIA IS SO STUPID. THEY SAID KYLE TRASK SHREDDED THAT GEORGIA DEFENSE!!!
WHAT DEFENSE??? YOU MEAN OUR RESERVES??? AND OUR TRUE FRESHMEN??? MANY OF THEM WERE!!!!
Florida didn’t shred anything or anyone!!!! OUR BACKUPS SIMPLY GOT TIRED!!!! Because Stetson Midget kept turning the ball over! He couldn’t get it over the line of scrimmage!!! THE WHOLE FLORIDA GAME PLAN WAS ” PUT YOUR HANDS UP!”
Because you weren’t getting any real push. Except for times that Stetson Midget held the ball WAY TOO LONG!!!! Florida saw in that first half. That UGA does in fact develop great QBs! BECAUSE OUR RIGHTFUL 5TH STRING QB WAS LIGHTING Y’ALL UP!!!! JUST LIKE HE DID WITH ALABAMA IN THE FIRST HALF!!!!
He is the equivalent of JG at Tennessee! In fact he out played JG! And JG is a multi-year starter! Not a 5th string emergency QB!!! UGA had JT Daniels, Carson Beck, Mathis and Stetson Midget. And the great UGA NFL DRAFT GUY. The JAMIE (OPT OUT) NEWMAN!!! We’re putting a guy in the NFL DRAFT that never played a down!!! So don’t say UGA can’t develop QBs!!!
It’s a shame that Mathis couldn’t get past the head injury! The second the Arkansas guy HIT HIM HIGH AROUND HIS HEAD. THAT WAS IT!!! I told people but nobody listened. I said he might need more time!!!!
Sure he was lighting it up running and throwing in PRACTICE! For a very good reason. UGA DOESN’T TACKLE THEIR QBS IN PRACTICE!!!! One day he will be good. But it was too early!!! Mathis knew nobody would hit him in practice. That can make any skilled player a H TROPHY CANDIDATE IN PRACTICE!!!
I still believe that standing nearly 6 foot 6 and 230 of pretty decent mobility. And absolute elite arm strength and accuracy. CARSON BECK should have been the man we turned to, for the Florida game!!! I mean if JT Daniels wasn’t going to play!!!
Kirby did what he thought was the safest thing for JT Daniels. I’m going to be honest. HE KNEW THAT FLORIDA IS A VERY DIRTY TEAM. WITH A VERY DIRTY COACH!!!!!
Mullen is all smiles and laughs with the media WHEN HE WINS! But watch him when he LOSES!!! And it being GEORGIA. Mullen would probably have taken out A BOUNTY ON HURTING ANY QB. THAT WAS HURTING HIS TEAM!!!! JT Daniels would have been first game back. His legs are not the biggest! His lack of muscle around the knees probably scared Kirby and I don’t blame him!!!
Florida blitzes nearly all the time. And in that game. Y’all were hitting Stetson Bennett high and low when he held the ball too long! But still he wasn’t injured!!! He wasn’t freshly back from injury!!! Kirby Smart actually does CARE ABOUT HIS PLAYERS!!!!
I guarantee you neither Mathis nor Stetson Bennett beat out either Beck or Daniels. Personally I think Kirby believed he could win most of the games with Mathis or Bennett. HE WAS RIGHT!!!!
Yet still being an extremely young coach. He got himself into a little pickle come cocktail party time! I GUARANTEE YOU. HE WAS AFRAID FOR JT DANIELS SAFETY!!!! BECK IS BIG AND TALENTED. BUT THAT WON’T PREVENT A DIRTY HIT!!!!
Honestly I think he wanted to try to survive with Mathis and Bennett. AND PREVENT HIS YOUNG TALENTED PLAYERS FROM ANY DELIBERATE DIRTY HITS THAT COULD HAVE COST THEM THEIR CAREERS!!!
HE WENT WITH THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM OF. YOU DANCE WITH THE ONE THAT BROUGHT YOU!!! WHO KNOWS IF 70% OF THE STARTERS HADN’T BEEN OUT INJURED. MAYBE BENNETT COULD HAVE WON IT!!!
I think Kirby didn’t want to risk a dirty hit. At this point in Daniels or Beck’s career!!! HE WAS PROBABLY RIGHT!!!!
MULLEN WOULD HAVE CALLED ALL HIS TIMEOUTS. JUST CREATING A PLAN TO INJURE BECK IF HE HAD COME IN. MULLEN HATES BECK!!!! We all know why!!!
PS. KIRBY SMART IS JUST GOING TO HAVE TO GET BACK TO THAT KILLER MINDSET. THE ONE THAT SAYS. EVEN TRY TO HURT MY QB. AND TRASK WILL BE CARTED OUT!!!!!! SOMETIMES IT BECOMES NECESSARY!!! TO LET PEOPLE KNOW. YOU DON’T TRY THAT GARBAGE!!!! It’s in Kirby but he needs to FIND IT AGAIN!!!!!!
Negan
AS FOR MY BRYCE YOUNG GUMP & FLORIDA PREDICTIONS…
Avery talented young QB that followed JT Daniels at the same school. But let me remind y’all who praise him and trash JT Daniels.
Don’t forget that JT Daniels put up slightly BETTER NUMBERS at the same team. Only JT Daniels had played at that high level since he was a freshman! Bryce Young actually TRANSFERRED IN!!! Meaning a bunch of his numbers were against weaker talent!!!! ITS JUST A FACT!
BUT THERE IS A BIGGER BETTER FACT……
Like I said. JT Daniels had at least 1 more TD pass than BRYCE YOUNG!!! But most forget something important.
BRYCE YOUNG DID IT IN 4 FULL SEASONS!!!
JT DANIELS OUT DID HIM IN JUST 3 SEASONS!!!!! Remember he RECLASSIFIED????
Another important fact. BRYCE YOUNG barely played a down and all in garbage time. While JT DANIELS STARTED A WHOLE SEASON AT POWER 5 POWER USC! USC AKA QBU!!! JT DANIELS BEAT OUT EVERY ELITE QB THEY HAD TO START. BEHIND THE WORST O LINE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL HISTORY! Okay, that might be an exaggeration. But not much of one!!! The UCS O LINE was lampooned the entire season in the media!!!
Even the O linemen themselves said. Yes, we have to ALL work together the entire off season to get better. We’re not near good enough!!! And JT Daniels wide receivers were talented but all YOUNG!!! The best was a TRUE FRESHMEN!!! Absolutely ZERO running game!!!! NONE!!!! AS BAD OR WORSE THAN FLORIDA!!!!
Yet he still had a halfway decent season there as a TRUE FRESHMEN. THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR!!!! He made some really big throws. Played his best game against probably his best competition!!! That was against Notre dame!!!
Then in year 2 when the O line got a lot better as did all the young players. Again he went through spring and fall camp. AND HE WON A LEGIT QB COMPETITION AGAIN! Again at QBU he won the starting job!!!
NOBODY HAS EVER BEATEN THIS KID OUT!!!! NOT EVER!!!! Not in high school as a TRUE FRESHMEN and not ANYWHERE EVER!!!!
Everybody knows that Jaime Newman opted out because even injured. JT Daniels was beating him out. And it was only a matter of time!!!! It wasn’t Mathis that made him opt out.
IT WAS THROWING AGAINST JT DANIELS!!!!! NOW THAT IS THE FACTS!!!
MATHIS WHEN NOT WORRIED ABOUT BEING HIT WAS GREAT. BUT JT WAS BETTER!!!!!!
Nobody was better than Carson Beck or JT Daniels. Beck is just YOUNG!!!! BRYCE YOUNG IS GREAT BUT JT DANIELS HAS ALWAYS BEEN GREATER!!! DIFFERENT SYSTEM AT UGA SO WE JUST NEED TO STOP PUTTING EXPECTATIONS ON EVERYONE!!! JUST LET THEM GO PLAY!!!
But no sorry. When it comes crunch time. I don’t believe a red shirt freshman with barely any experience. Is going to play better than a guy that out played him at the same school BY A TON!!! Who basically has 3 seasons in the big leagues and more experience in the SEC!!!
PS. Honestly I think Bryce Young probably gets replaced again early in the season. If Alabama has anyone worth a crap! Otherwise y’all could lose a few early on! And Florida can just FORGET ABOUT IT!!!! I PREDICT 2017 ALL OVER AGAIN FOR FLORIDA. IF NOT WORSE!!!!
FLORIDA WILL HAVE AN EPICALLY BAD 2021 SEASON!!!
Negan
Ok…? Anything else or are you already bored from celebrating your teams’ success?
What a weird thing to write on a UGA article about next season. Are you a troll or just a hater?
You’d think with all the success they have, there wouldn’t be so much insecure trolling. But here we are…
Bamaqueef
Just keep assuming that 69-70 year Potentate Saban is going to be in Alabamastan forever.
Let’s see, who all has coached at Bama since that drunken mumbler in the cheap hat was forced to retire
Perkins, Dubose, Price, Schula, Price, Franchoine….
did I leave out any other flops???
Its funny because Dubose has as many SEC championships as Kirby.
An article exploring team records that could be broken in 2021 is “counting chickens”? You know, if you’re not sure the meaning of a word or phrase there’s always the internet to help you learn stuff.
UT tries… But even the biggest UT fan has resigned that UT sucks now. Wait til UT play a soft EOY schedule again and they’ll be pointing to next year again.
Pickens should easily get over 11 touchdowns with Daniels as his QB. If he doesn’t he’s no hype.
Considering how well Daniels played in new offense and despite not having the benefit of a normal Spring practice. This should be a much improved offense. There is no reason to doubt.
GA gonna break offensive records? LOL. Even JG had a 400 yard plus game here and there. Gonna really have to click for JT fast for this to happen. Good luck Dawgs!
JT had over 400 yds passing in his first game with UGA, I’d say that it clicked for him pretty fast.
Really weird thing to say considering his numbers in 4 games, projected over 12 he would have…broken yardage and touchdown records. But whatever. Lol.
Who the heck is JG??!?
With some of the QB’s that UGA has had, I’m surprised that some of the passing and receiving numbers are as low as they are. I think this offense has the ability to break several of these marks.
How many passing, receiving and scoring records did LSU break in 2019?
Not saying 2021 will be as big a sesmic event for UGA but there are parallels.
Yes there are. But LSU did it already. UGA fans still talking as about it. Just do it. Then talk. Like Bama fans. They have repeatedly earned the right to…TALK.
With the state of the east and georgias schedule they should break a lot of records assuming their QB woes are now resolved, which they appear to be. To me its not that hard to fathom they havent broken many passing records. They have had a number of outstanding RB’s but not that many outstanding qb/receiver combos. Pickens should really have a big year if he can keep from peeing on opposing players:)
Edwards huge pass drop in Jax in 2002 kept UGA out of the Natl Championship game that year vs tOSU or Miami.
I agree that UGA is loaded this year but I noticed that the columnist also covered MLS, the U.S. men’s national soccer team and professional tennis. If he covered mostly SEC football.
It would be nice if he covered SEC Football full time. Or at least between Bass fishing and curling.
Smart coaching staffs get there best players off the field as soon as they can to reduce injury risk.
Right. Most of them were out of uniform by the 2nd Qtr against Mizzou,
Or the same 10 they could not break. That is a bunch of sad records for sure.
I would hate to be counting on a QB that could not cut it in the PAC12. And a coach that is performing just like his predecessor who got fired
Good luck Dawgs. Hope you have a great year.
Technically Coach O is performing like his predecessor, taking a small sample size of a few years you’re more likely to see similar numbers. The richt era and smart era will be measured by their whole tenure with the school. Hopefully Kirby doesn’t trace the fall off Richt had.
UGA beat writers are starting to sound like UT fans after finishing the season against the bottom of the barrel competition. Looking at next year like it will be so much better than last. Then then the season kicks off and they find out nothing has changed and even if the players are great, the coach is still no better than Mark Richt or Phillip Fulmer.