2003.
You had the sense that this Georgia team was not as good as the SEC title team of the year before, but could, if some things fell into place, be pretty good itself.
That feeling accelerated with an undermanned Georgia team shutting out Clemson in the opener, but up and downs that year including a penalty-laden win over MTSU and a road loss to LSU gave the feeling of a team that could be pretty good, but not quite there as of early in a season.
This team needed another moment to prove itself on a big stage, and Oct.