Pound for Pound: These ‘Dogs have bite

Published 10:41 am Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Georgia Bulldogs got you down? Try the Georgia MILITARY COLLEGE Bulldogs on for size.

Actually, better put some respect on their name. That’s No. 2 junior college football team in the country, the Georgia Military College Bulldogs. With their 2024 regular season now complete at 10-1, head coach Rob Manchester and his boys are poised to clinch one of four NJCAA playoff berths. It’s not a completely done deal, but it is a high likelihood. From there they need just two wins to secure the program’s second-ever national championship, first since 2001.

I say “just two wins” like it’s a walk in the park. It’s not. The Bulldogs will have to beat two top-four teams, one possibly being an Iowa Western squad that handed GMC its only loss this season.

Regardless of what happens in the NJCAA semifinals, it’s already been a historic campaign for the ‘Dogs. This will be the first GMC team to make it into the four-team NJCAA Division I playoff. The league adopted the two-round semifinals-to-championship system in 2021. A poll determined championship contenders in the past when GMC football last made it to the finals in 2002, 2005, and 2013 under institutional icon Bert Williams.

Not only will this be the Bulldogs’ first foray into the playoff waters, there’s a strong chance they’ll get to host a semifinal, though there’s still time before that becomes official.

Can you imagine? A national semifinal right here in Milledgeville within the shadow of Georgia’s Old Capitol Building. Two teams duking it out with championship hopes on the line on what will hopefully be a greener Davenport Field than it is right now. The semifinal will be either Dec. 6 or 8, if it happens. Movement in the poll is still possible. No. 1 Iowa Western, No. 3 Hutchinson Community College, and No. 4 Northwest Mississippi CC all scheduled to play this weekend.

For those in town who may be jumping on the GMC bandwagon at the approaching crucial point this season, you may need an introduction. As far as size and speed of the players, the game will look very similar to what you see from your sofas and recliners while watching major college football on Saturdays. Used to be, the JuCo route was for athletes who either had problems with their grades or behavior coming out of high school. Junior college served as their second chance as they sought to earn an offer to a D-I program.

The landscape is very different today. The NCAA transfer portal has made JuCo a haven for qualifiers, or athletes who have the grades but saw their offers dry up. With more lax transfer rules, big schools began scouring the portal for guys who were already at the Football Bowl Subdivision level rather than taking someone out of high school.

The GMC Bulldogs own one of the top overall offenses, and the top rushing offense, in the country. Running back Keenan Phillips out of Bainbridge has the nation’s most rushing touchdowns at 18. The defense is top-10 in points allowed at 18 per game.

Yes, these Bulldogs are assuredly deserving of their impending playoff berth. Even more so, they should get the support of this community.