Another win over the Gators is in the books, and a classic battle between SEC East powers is on tap for next Saturday in Athens. This kind of game is why all those highly-rated prospects signed with the Dawgs. Coach Smart invites them to come to UGA to play for championships. The first championship challenge game of 2022 will kick off at 3:30 p.m. The nation will be watching.
Georgia fans turned out for the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in their usual numbers (Kirby’s teams consistently seem to outdraw the Gators in Jacksonville). The Dawgs gave them what they came to see – another notch in the win column for the historically dominant Bulldogs, who now lead the series by eleven games (55-44-2).
Disregarding the score, Kirby and his team were ready for everything that Florida and first-year Florida coach Billy Napier had prepared for their upset attempt. Some defensive lapses allowed Anthony Richardson to move the ball in the third quarter. Still, Georgia’s 28-3 halftime lead was enough to have won the game, notwithstanding Florida’s third-quarter comeback, which was primarily due to Dawg turnovers and coverage errors.
Turnovers kill! The easiest way to lose a football game is to give the other team the ball, and ball security has been a problem for Georgia several times this season. The Dawgs lost the turnover battle against Kent State (3-1) and Missouri (2-0). The long (77 yards) touchdown to Xzavier Henderson came just three plays after a Bennett interception. However, diving into the statistics can cause one to lose sight of the most crucial stat in any game, the score. The perfect game is a baseball event. The only stat that matters in football is the final score, which brings me back to Tennessee.
The newly powerful Vols will hit Athens as this month’s favorite of the national media, and their hair-on-fire. UT will bring nine super-seniors and 16 other seniors who will have the option to return in 2023. At first glance, those senior players would indicate an extremely experienced team (and it is), but many of those seniors are transfers playing for NFL draft positions. Georgia fans should remember that Tennessee is a quarterback-driven team – much like Florida. Stop the quarterback, and the Vols are dead in their tracks. Conversely, if he is allowed time to find his receivers, it could be a long day.
All of Sanford’s ghosts will be watching this Saturday. Trippi, Dooley, and all the others will look on with pride as Kirby Smart leads Georgia on another championship quest.