The Dawgs pulled through for an eight-overtime victory over Georgia Tech in this year’s playing of “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.” In the first half, the offense failed to put any points on the scoreboard while Tech grinded out 17 points. The second half displayed one of the most improbable wins in recent Georgia history. Some fans began to disperse as the win seemed more and more impossible. Georgia Tech had a 14 point lead with 5:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. Thankfully, the team never lost their fight or belief in the potential comeback. One play at a time, hope climbed. As the teams went back and forth on the two point conversions, it seemed like at any moment both sides would pull off the win. But as it became Saturday a.m. in Athens, Nate Frazier powered through for the conversion and win. While the offense continued to stall out time after time, the Junkyard Dawgs were resilient and kept stopping the Jackets from breaking the Bulldogs’ hearts. After the game, players across the board were visibly exhausted. While giving his post game interview, linebacker Chaz Chambliss was still working to catch his breath.
With this win, the Dawgs appear to have clinched their spot in the College Football Playoff. Had the Tech game gone the other way, the SEC Championship would have been a must win for a Playoff spot. Now, fans can relax a little bit on selection Sunday regardless of the outcome in the Benz. While it will certainly be ideal to have a bye into the second round, just having a spot in the Playoff is a huge accomplishment for this team. They had the most difficult schedule in the country by far and still managed to scratch out a ten-win season. A lot of credit goes to every single member of this program for keeping focus each day since the start of the season. However, there’s still a lot of work to do in order to bring home the third national title in the Kirby Smart era.
The Dawgs now prepare for a rematch with the Texas Longhorns, competing for a higher seed and a bye in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Steve Sarkisian’s squad rolls into Atlanta with a lot of confidence after defeating No. 20 Texas A&M at Kyle Field. You have to give Texas credit. They silenced the talk of their validity due to a weak schedule of no ranked wins with a convincing victory in one of the most hostile environments in all of sports. Now, they look to dethrone Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs as kings of the SEC in their inaugural year in the conference. As we’ve seen over the last few years, it is extremely difficult to beat a good team twice. So Smart and his staff have a lot of work to do ahead of this matchup with the highly-touted Longhorns. The team crowned champion will have the luxury of much-needed rest and a bye, while the loser will have to see where the Playoff Committee places them in the opening round. Although it will be fully up to the committee, it feels like both teams have at least earned a home playoff game, regardless of a loss in this matchup. But we’ve seen the committee shock the world before, so we’re not putting anything past them.
Hot Take of the Week:
The last time the Bulldogs and the Longhorns battled on the gridiron, junior linebacker Jalon Walker took the nation by storm with his breakout performance. With eight tackles and three sacks, he was a huge factor in Texas’ struggles offensively. Throughout this season, Walker has earned recognition from professionals and fans across the country, most notably from three-time pro bowler Micah Parsons. Our hot take this week is that Jalon Walker will have another game-altering performance against Ewers and the Longhorns. The team thrives off of big defensive plays, and we believe Walker can bring that to help defeat Texas for the second straight time this season.