There’s a big missed opportunity for The University of Georgia in not attracting a corporate sponsor that involves selling blood pressure medications, because the amount being sought after the last two Saturdays likely peaked, as Georgia won another stress-inducer, this time 43-35 over Ole Miss. At this point, some health care system in this great state is going to have a patient testimonial about someone who suffered a heart attack during the first half of a 2025 Georgia football game.
Here are some thoughts, takes, and observations from another thriller Between The Hedges.
1. Remember that Letter to Larry Munson video that UGA did in 2013, when Loran Smith said that Munson would love this team’s heart, if they could just keep from breaking it?“
If that’s not this time personified, I don’t know what is, and nothing summed all of that up more than Saturday against Ole Miss.
An offense that’ll move up and down the field only to have a penalty or gadget play undo a red-zone scoring chance.
A defense that most of the game couldn’t close a pin-sized leak witha gallon of Flex Seal.
Knuckleheaded penalties.
All of that will drive you bat-crazy, but this team somehow, someway believes that it can and will find a way. There’s only one way to describe the Georgia football experience these days – a roller coaster.
The only thing to do is enjoy the ride and enjoy telling stories around it later on.
2. You almost feel sorry for Gunner Stockton. Remember in the off-season when hot-take season gave us blind guesses that the offense would be a liability of this team given Stockton being perceived as unproven? If you had any doubts about what Stockton can do, those concerns vanished on Saturday. This almost feels like a Hutson Mason timeline, where points upon points are put up, and the concern on this roster is on the other side of the ball.
It’s also of note that during Saturday’s post-game remarks that Kirby Smart indicated there was concern of whether or not Stockton would be well enough to play on Saturday. If that was a banged-up Stockton, as a runner and passer…look out.
The difference between Stockton and Carson Beck could not be any more opposite.
3. With the future scheduling rotation in place, it’s known that Georgia and Ole Miss playing will be fairly common. As long as Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart are the opposing coaches, that means fun on both sides. This series right now is every bit of a friendly rivalry, almost like Georgia-Auburn from the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, where there was a dislike and will to win, but also an element of feeling like you knew each other so well, and that it made the going back and forth fun. The fact that both coaches can make good-natured jabs about the other’s health and wellness and not make it personal says all you need to know about Smart and Kiffin, two guys who coached together and have fond memories of that time and genuinely seem to enjoy the chess match against each other.
4. Oh yes, the stripe out. This does not apply to all readers of this space, but there’s a segment of Georgia’s fan base that is a lot like your typical First Methodist Church in a one-high school town. It’s done the same thing for years, and to ask to do otherwise is like pulling teeth. There’s an element of Georgia fans used to doing the same thing every Saturday, and to latch onto a social media campaign less than three days before kickoff asking fans to stripe out for their color choice, is a miscoordination waiting to happen. If you are going to ask fans to do this, that’s fine and well. At the least, say on Monday of game week that you will do it. To ask 90,000-plus to do so on a few day’s notice? You are asking for a lack of execution.
5. A defensive back is in a position of the thankless. You’re on an island with no help, and when you mess up, it’s usually bad and the odds are low for someone to cover for you…especially if it’s a blown coverage. In the case of Ellis Robinson, it also was the drawing of two straight penalty flags on Saturday, albeit one was questionable. Yes, Robinson can be a liability to a degree at times, but he also has enough measurables that make him the best option in spite of those shortcomings.
6. Few things instill confidence in a player than being saddled with the load to carry amid a platoon situation. That’s Nate Frazier to a tee. It’s very well-documented of his fumble issues, but Georgia’s coaches saw enough from Frazier to put the ball in his hands on Saturday, and it paid off. It was absolutely good to see Frazier pull himself up off the mat after some rough earlier times this season, and if there’s a time to get over a hump of adversity, midseason is it.
7. Colbie Young’s exit from Saturday’s game ended up being as bad as feared, as it looks like he may be done for a while, if not the season. It’s a tough loss for Georgia, which was starting to build a lot of big-play potential on the outer boundaries. It’s a big loss…but when you consider the emergence of Noah Thomas and that of Zachariah and Zion Branch, you do feel better about the ability to absorb that loss.
8. Needless to say, there was a lot of criticism of Glenn Schumann from seven of the past eight quarters of football. Yes, this performance needs to be evaluated, but is that really the right target? Remember when Kirby was at Alabama, one comment was, ‘yeah, but that’s Saban’s defense..‘ In Athens…do you really think Kirby Smart does not have a functioning headset and has no idea what the play calls and rotations into the game are? Could it be that the issue is not the coaching, but the scheme itself?
9. Nothing will ever replace the home viewing experience many of us grew up with – the TV turned down and the stereo system blaring Larry Munson on the play-by-play. But if you can’t be at the stadium and there is an ESPN network broadcast, then the Sky Cast may be the best option. Being able to not hear TV talking heads is a huge plus, and if it’s a home game, hearing all of the Sanford Stadium aesthetics in the background, most specifically Brook Whitmire, is the closest thing to being there…in addition to in-stadium audio just before and after kickoff with the Redcoats closing things out.
10. Get ready to party like its 2004, because Florida made a coaching change with one possible unintended goal of trying to wreck Georgia’s season in Jacksonville. UF did similar in 2004 with Ron Zook, though that time he was allowed to finish the season.
The Gators will be out to prove that they, despite Billy Napier’s time running out, are a good team, one that got on a roll late last season. So far this season, interim coaches have fared well – UCLA and UAB have staged big upsets after coach firings, and Arkansas under Bobby Petrino has been a tough act to handle as well.
Florida will have an extra week to redo everything. Georgia…well, let’s hope that the first half actually looks like anything was actually accomplished during an open date this time.
Go Dawgs!
