Web posted September 22, 1997

By Marc Lancaster
Morris News Service

ATHENS, Ga. -- The Georgia Bulldogs are good, but how good are they?

That's a question that will be asked more than once as the unbeaten Bulldogs head into the meat of their schedule, which actually begins with a bye week before Georgia plays host to Mississippi State on Oct. 4, then travels to Tennessee the following weekend.

Georgia is 3-0, the best start since the 1988 season.

Though proud of the way his team has responded and executed in its first three games, Bulldogs coach Jim Donnan backpedaled a bit Sunday, reminding observers once again that there is plenty of football left this fall.

``We're just a team trying to get better, and I think everybody including sportswriters, fans, coaches have got to be real careful about giving us too much credit here until we actually do it on a consistent basis, although we have done pretty well these first three games in the total package,'' Donnan said.

``But we're going to get ready to be tested here. Everybody we play from now on, week in and week out, is going to be good.''

That excess praise Donnan referred to has plenty to do with the two major college football polls. After entering The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN rankings at No. 25 last week, the Bulldogs shot up to No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the coaches' poll Sunday.

So, while the 31-15 win over South Carolina two weeks ago was certainly inspiring, Donnan appears ready to batten down the hatches in preparation for what should be a good test against the Bulldogs from Starkville, Miss., in two weeks.

Georgia will practice as usual at least for the early part of this week, though Donnan said he may give the players time off next weekend, as he did during the bye week before the South Carolina game.

Still, there are plenty of reasons for the Bulldogs to be optimistic at this point, aside from their 3-0 record. With so much attention seemingly focused on the offense early on, Donnan points out that the other two units - defense and special teams - have been crucial to Georgia's unbeaten start.

``I think that each week's a different challenge, and we had to prove that we could come out and do what we needed to in these first three,'' he said. ``I would say we're excited about the fact that we have made some dramatic improvements. We've won with really good defense and kicking, and our offense is starting to jell.''

The dominance of Georgia's defense has brought the Bulldogs near the top of the NCAA's statistical rankings, as well. Georgia is fourth in total defense, behind Michigan, North Carolina and Florida State, giving up just 216.7 yards per game. The Bulldogs are also fourth in scoring defense, allowing 8.3 points per game, and seventh in rushing defense, at 55 yards per game.

While Georgia will have to wait a couple of weeks before it attempts to improve on those numbers against Mississippi State, one thing is clear to Donnan through three games:

``We're definitely a better program right now than we were a year ago at this time.''