Welcome to Tuesday, Bulldog fans! We’re past Halloween weekend, and Jacksonville is now in the rear view mirror. That’s 5 straight against the Gators, 9 straight against the Vols, 9 straight against Auburn, and a chance to get 8 straight versus a suddenly vulnerable Georgia Tech defense. Not to mention 2 of these Axis of Evil teams are now in the midst of a coaching search, at a time when a lot of more attractive jobs will attract the better candidates. Then there’s a warming seat in Knoxville after a 3rd loss, and Brent Key’s agent has been taking lots of calls.
Keeping one’s head when all those about you are losing theirs seems to be somewhat rare these days. Georgia is a program where all living former head coaches reside in Athens, and the team itself has faced head coach “insecurity” for what, a total of 10 days in the last 25 years?? That should make you happy. Ladies & Gentlemen… The Rolling Stones!
Not everyone was happy about the Bulldog performance in Duval, so I’ll just leave the Red & Black position group grades here. I think they’re pretty fair, but there were glaring issues at individual times for every group. Thank goodness they’re weren’t all simultaneous, and that on some of the key final drives, the groups pulled together to make the plays necessary to get the lead, and to preserve the win.
Head ‘Dawg Kirby Smart appeared neither happy nor unhappy in his weekly Monday press conference. But that’s what you should expect, with the occasional surly and a brusque thrown in. His comments were measured per usual, but I admit I’m disappointed he didn’t throw some love on the camera operators in Jacksonville who couldn’t capture a meaningful camera angle at a particular moment. Moving on, he was pretty upbeat about the dings to Chris Cole and Demello Jones, but confirmed that Jordan Hall will miss some games.
What I’m not so happy about is that 2/3 of the current regular season is already in the books. Thankfully Georgia is eligible for some sort of postseason play, so we can almost certainly look forward to a 5th game beyond the 4 remaining scheduled contests. But what kind of game will that look like? Texas A&M and Alabama have the inside track to the SEC Championship Game and control their destiny. Yet it is still possible for UGA to play two consecutive games this year inside Mercedes-Benz; we’ll just need a good dose of chaos for that to happen.
The Bulldogs remain #5 in the AP poll. Enjoy that, because today is the last day the AP Poll is relevant for another 40-odd weeks.
Replacing that space in your brain for the next 10-11 weeks is the College Football Playoff committe rankings, the first 2025 edition which will be announced this evening on ESPN at 8:00 ET. There’s a decent chance UGA also takes up the 5 slot in the CFP this go-round. Indiana and Ohio State are very much looking the part of #1 and #2 in whatever order you want, and Texas A&M is the only remaining P4 undefeated team (outside of BYU with a weaker schedule). Of course Alabama has the September win over Georgia, and frankly played a little better with a little stronger of an October slate. Where the committee decides to put an ACC leading Virginia, an 8-1 Oregon or Texas Tech, and an Ole Miss squad that lost a close one in Athens is anyone’s guess. The only guarantee is that 90% of fans are going to argue with the rankings.
If you’re looking past this week for information on the Longhorn’s visit to Athens, then maybe this helps. Kickoff and broadcast network have been named for the November 15th tilt – one that could push Texas out of the CFP altogether, and one that could harm Georgia’s chances as well. So there’s a lot on the line, and ABC will carry it all starting at 7:30 pm ET. Is that Fowler and Herbie? Or is that Jess and Tess? I get them confused.
That should get your day started. Be happy that you root for a relevant football team, have an entrenched head coach, and don’t have social media blasting stats about how many consecutive losing seasons in the SEC you’re riding. Thanks for sticking around, and as always…
GO ‘DAWGS!!!
