Bulldog unit named finalist for Joe Moore Award

ATHENS – For the third straight year, the University of Georgia’s offensive line has been named a finalist for the Joe Moore Award as one of the nation’s most outstanding units, The Foundation for Teamwork released Wednesday.

Georgia joins Washington, Oregon and LSU as the four finalists. The Foundation for Teamwork has presented the Joe Moore Award annually since 2015. The eventual winner will be recognized in late December during a surprise, on campus visit to the winning unit’s school (TBD as per the winning school’s schedule).

The offensive line has helped Georgia achieve the following this season:

*Rank ninth nationally is Scoring, averaging 38.4 points per game
*Rank eighth nationally in Total Offense at 482.9 yards per game including 7.1 yards per play
*Rank eighth nationally in Fewest Sacks Allowed at 0.92 per game
*Rank second nationally in 3rd Down Conversion Percentage at 55 percent
*Protect first-year starting quarterback Carson Beck who ranks sixth nationally with a 72.4 completion percentage
*Become the first SEC school to post three straight 8-0 seasons in league play
*Complete its third straight undefeated regular season, which had never been done before by any team in the Associated Press (AP) poll era that began 1936
*Set a school and SEC record 29-game winning streak along with a run of 24 consecutive weeks as the No. 1 ranked team in the AP top 25 poll
*Extend the nation’s longest active bowl streak to 27 consecutive years

Now in their eighth season under the direction of Kirby Smart, the sixth-ranked Bulldogs are 12-1 this year. They will face fifth-ranked Florida State (13-0) in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Dec. 30 at 4 p.m (ESPN). Stacy Searels serves as Georgia’s offensive line coach.