One of the more enduring recurring scenes in the Georgia-Georgia Tech rivalry is the biennial display from Tech’s yellow-painted rip-off of the UGA Paint Line. This group of future engineers spends the entire game shouting obscenities at anyone on the field wearing Red and Black.

One might expect the Dawgs to be angry and confrontational with the cute little Jackets, but on the contrary, Kirby’s Dawgs are not taking the bait. Beginning in 2019 with Richard LeCounte, the victorious Bulldogs, instead pose in front of the Techsters with smiles from ear to ear, seemingly saying, “look at these fools.” Ignoring profane taunts takes discipline.

Discipline may be the characteristic of the 2021 Dawgs that has been most responsible for this undefeated season – given the requisite talent. No team comes out of an SEC season undefeated without a loaded roster, but it is not always the most talented team in the SEC Championship Game postgame confetti cloud.

One exciting thing about working games from the field is seeing the benches up close. Yesterday was no exception; Georgia’s bench was into the game from the opening whistle – as it is every game. Tech’s sideline began to tune out early. The back-benchers (those walk-ons and others unlikely to play) began to break discipline as the score mounted in the first quarter. The prevailing attitude seemed to be one characterized by “here we go again” inevitability. The Yellow Jacket bench sought to separate itself from the pending loss.

Now that I think about it, there is a similar buy-in on the Bulldogs’ sideline. The difference is that Kirby’s team sees “here we go again” as the path to victory. Each player doing his assigned job on each play is the ultimate key to success. Their absolute confidence that each teammate has internalized the same message is the glue that molded good players into a championship team.

Alabama looms in Saturday’s SEC Championship. The mighty Tide may have exhibited a few chinks in the armor, but they are highly talented and will arrive in Atlanta with upset on their minds. However, they will limp back across the Chattahoochee because this year’s Bulldogs are the most disciplined Georgia team I have ever seen. Ever!