At 3:00 today with an air temperature of 96 and a heat index over 100, the Dawgs open their defense of the last 2 years’ SEC championships between the hedges against the Tennessee State Tigers. We have waited 8 months to get the bad taste out of our mouths from the close loss in New Orleans to Ole Miss in the CFP quarterfinals. While the outcome of the game isn’t in doubt, there are a number of storylines from a UGA standpoint to watch in each phase of the game. Let’s get to the preview.
When Georgia has the ball
I know the focus is on the young group of wide receivers as the Dawgs use Saturday to prepare for the remainder of the season. The rumor mill has not been complimentary so far regarding receiver play as drops and failure to separate have been the in vogue words about this group. I have no idea what to expect today … all the way from superior athletes making plays against inferior DBs to OMG, we’re in trouble when we see a secondary with a pulse. I expect we are going to see Kaiden Prothro and Jaden Reddell introduced to the college football public this afternoon.
All of this makes me think we are going to see bully ball with the Georgia offensive line opening holes with Nate Frazier, Chauncey Bowens and company running through and past the Tigers’ defense. I don’t expect to see anyone with 100+ yards unless one of the running backs busts a long run or 2 before heading to the bench for a lot of Powerade. I expect that we are only going to show pass plays that have been on Georgia film for years.
If we don’t have 225+ yards rushing, my pucker factor is probably going to rise as a result.
When Tennessee State has the ball
I expect a lot vanilla looks from the Georgia defense today as probably the guys on our 3rd team defensive depth chart could likely handle anything the Tigers throw at them. TSU ran for under 90 yards and less than 3 yards per attempt against Jackson State last Saturday. Needless to say, there’s a step up for them facing a Georgia team built to stop the run (last year’s 4th best rush defense in FBS). Ellis Robinson is likely to be matched up against Jayden Guy (9 catches for 148 with a 45 yard reception) while Robinson is in the game.
Given TSU averaged a little over 6.5 yards per attempt last week, I am sure the Tigers are not going to expect their QBs to use 5 step drops and force the line to hold up for 4-6 seconds on every snap. Of course, that means in some corners, people will be complaining about the pass rush.
As I said earlier in the week, if the opposite side of the scoreboard has 2 digits on it, I will not be pleased.
What will happen
Dawgs roll but likely don’t cover the enormous number because I’m guessing Kirby wants to get in and take control and get out of the heat. I have a feeling the defense has a very bad taste in their mouths from the quality of game the last time we saw them and that permeates the depth chart. The first team offense scores with consistency before yielding to the young guys and things get sloppy.
Final Score: Georgia 45, Tennessee State 6
45-0 Dawgs
No injuries and keep it vanilla. Bet the under.
Offense could be sloppy especially once Gunner is out. I’m thinking final score of 34-13 and lots to discuss.
If they score 13 without a cheap score, our defensive talent and coaching isn’t what we think.
There’s always a cheap late TD vs our scrubs. Heat, vanilla play and turnovers by 2nd/3rd string offense gets them a couple of FGs. Kirby will love all of this to get them to not read social media hype.
It would be nice to see Gunner hit a few explosive plays early just to build up confidence for the entire offense. Just stay healthy while serving the vanilla on both side of the ball.
Go Dawgs!
Hope we don’t see Gunner run the ball even once. Would like to see him make some deep throw completions. Hope to get the backup QBs some snaps with the first offense.
Mostly I hope and pray that no one in the stands or on the field is harmed by the heat. It’s dangerous..if you’re there and you start feeling weird, or clammy or nauseous let someone know…get a cold wet towel on your head and neck and get into the shade quickly.
This is literally one of the worst teams in college football. If they can keep focus, there should be no trouble with a shutout. Keeping focus is always tough for college kids. I like that score prediction. I had 42-3.
Kirby cares not about style points. Offensive line work on schemes and RTDB will be an order of the day. I suspect we’ll get to know the running back depth chart and allow Pug and Montgomery fight for QB 2.
No injuries and I don’t care about the spread or seeing if we’ve got great receivers. I wonder if we’ll get to see our punter much today.