On the first full Saturday of the 2017 college football season, two prominent Deep South quarterbacks - Florida State's Deondre Francois and Georgia's Jacob Eason - were sidelined by injuries.
Florida State went into a tailspin that resulted in a 6-6 regular season before Wednesday's win over Southern Mississippi in the Independence Bowl. The Bulldogs, however, flourished with true freshman backup Jake Fromm, earning their first Southeastern Conference championship in 12 seasons and a date in Monday afternoon's Rose Bowl national semifinal against No. 2 Oklahoma (12-1).
Why such a disparity?
"I don't have the answers to those questions," Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said Thursday in a Rose Bowl news conference. "Sometimes you're just luckier than you are good."
The No. 3 Bulldogs (12-1) have been far more good than lucky in Chaney's second season calling the plays for head coach Kirby Smart's offense. Fromm is among the top 10 quarterbacks nationally in efficiency, and the senior tailback tandem of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel have combined for a robust 2,123 rushing yards.
Even the third-string tailback, true freshman D'Andre Swift, has amassed 597 yards and averaged 8.2 yards per carry for a unit averaging 34.9 points per game. Last season's team averaged a pedestrian 24.5.
"Last year didn't meet anybody's expectations," Chaney said. "It was a difficult year for everybody. I was lucky enough that the pieces I had to go to work with just kind of fell into a beautiful puzzle, and it's just been a pleasure to be a part of.
"I've always said that familiarity has a lot to do with success. Our staff stayed together, and those two running backs choosing to stay with us had a hell of a lot to do with it."
Though Chaney did have the luxury of eight returning offensive starters, he lost one of them eight snaps into the opener against Appalachian State when Eason went down with a knee sprain. Fromm filled in admirably against the Mountaineers and then helped defeat Notre Dame in what Chaney described as the most conservative game he called all season.
Having a true freshman take the reins certainly resulted in headlines across the Peach State, but Chaney didn't view it as a sizable jolt.
"We kind of mainstreamed all these kids," he said. "We put a system in, and Jacob and Jake both had a good understanding of what we needed to do. We weren't really having to tilt the scale heavily one way or the other.
"They're both drop-back guys who like to throw the football."
Chaney said Thursday that he hates Eason got hurt, calling him "the most special kid in the world." He then turned to Fromm and pointed out much of the success the Bulldogs have enjoyed is the result of how he handled the most important position in the sport.
Fromm has completed 145 of 230 passes (63.0) percent for 2,173 yards with 21 touchdowns and only five interceptions.
"He's a talented young man," Chaney said, "and after a while, our guys were like, 'We'll be all right.'"
Georgia has averaged 433.6 yards per game and 6.8 yards per play after averaging 384.7 and 5.4 a year ago. There was much more big-play punch at receiver this season, with Terry Godwin averaging 18.6 yards per reception after averaging 10.4 a year ago and Javon Wims improving his average from 11.2 to 16.6.
Chaney was quick to credit senior Isaiah Wynn moving out to left tackle and true freshman Andrew Thomas assuming the right tackle spot on a line he believes will continue to grow.
All in all, there has been much for Chaney to like in his second season with the Bulldogs.
"They understand our plays, and they understand our temperaments," he said. "They know who we are. We all know one another a lot better now, and we know the objectives. At the end of the day, we believe in what we're doing, and we're playing hard.
"Are we the most super-talented offense out there in the history of the world? I would argue probably not, but our goal is to be the hardest-playing team that we can be."
TV experience
The Rose Bowl will provide yet another massive audience for Fromm, whose Warner Robins, Ga., baseball team made it all the way to the Little League World Series in 2011.
"I remember the last game we played in," Fromm said Thursday. "It was in front of a Pennsylvania hometown crowd, and there were a lot of folks that day. Playing on ESPN as a young kid has definitely helped me."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.