Georgia takes on Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday at high noon between the hedges, the Bulldogs aiming to push their record to 7-4 and extend the November surge.
A last second Rodrigo Blankenship field goal delivered a 27-24 victory at Kentucky, and the Bulldogs this past Saturday followed that up with a pulse-pounding 13-7 victory over Auburn before an electric Sanford Stadium crowd. A double-digit underdog at home for the first time since Peyton Manning’s Tennessee Volunteers visited Athens in Jim Donnan’s first season as the Bulldogs head coach in 1996, the victory over the Tigers was Georgia’s ninth in the last 11 meetings between these two ancient rivals and extended the all-time series lead 57-55-8 in the favor of the red and black.
Then there is that magic number six, apropos in the six point victory. Georgia clinched the Southeastern Conference championship with a win at Auburn in 1966. The Bulldogs clinched the SEC title with a win at Auburn in 1976. Georgia won between the hoses on Steve Boswell’s game-saving interception as a heavy underdog at Auburn in 1986. In 1996, the Bulldogs won on the plains 56-49 in quadruple overtime. As a heavy underdog at fifth-ranked Auburn in 2006, the Bulldogs prevailed 37-15.
That’s a six point win for a sixth straight win over Auburn in a year that ends in the number six.
Though this is game with Lafayette is one win, nothing is taken for granted and first year coach Kirby Smart will be quick to remind his team just how scary things got the last time Georgia played a non-Southeastern Conference contest. The Bulldogs survived a 26-24 scare against 50-point underdog Nicholls State back on September 10. Throw in that the Ragin’ Cajuns catch Georgia at a good time, both on the clock and calendar.
A high noon kickoff doesn’t exactly give the home fan base the chance to get charged up, and this one falls between the thrilling victory over Auburn and the upcoming showdown with Tech, which blitzed Virginia Tech, between the hedges.
Louisiana-Lafayette also has a few extra days to heal up and get ready, as the Cajuns make a second straight trip to the Peach State. Last Thursday, Louisiana-Lafayette beat Georgia Southern 33-26 in Statesboro.
Sanford Stadium was on fire this past Saturday. There are great days forecasted for Georgia in the Kirby Smart era, and this win was a massive boost for the program. Now is the time to handle success and keep the train churning forward.