Sure, you can focus on the running game, if you’d like.
Rocket science is not required for determining the most intriguing aspect to Saturday’s college football showdown between No. 8 Georgia and No. 13 Alabama inside Sanford Stadium.
The Bulldogs average 257.8 rushing yards a game and 6.87 yards per carry. The Crimson Tide allow 56.8 rushing yards per game and 2.0 yards per carry.
“It all starts up front, and they’ve got some big, strong guys,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “Their defense, as a whole, is a very veteran group. All their down linemen are returning starters, and they do a good job of freeing up the linebackers. They’re just very stout, strong people.”
Adding to the angle of the irresistible force vs. the immovable object is the fact Georgia super sophomore tailback Nick Chubb has 12 consecutive 100-yard rushing games and needs one more to tie the 13 straight Herschel Walker had during the 1980-81 seasons. Chubb rushed for 131 yards on 15 carries in last Saturday’s 48-6 defeat of Southern, including six rushes for 100 yards in the third quarter.
Alabama has allowed just 10 100-yard rushers in its 112 games under coach Nick Saban.
One of those was a freshman Todd Gurley in the SECCG. But I digress.
For my money, though, this game comes down to one big issue – will Georgia be mentally prepared? And on that front, your guess is as good as mine.
But it’s still Alabama, which carries a mystique matched by talent, making this one of the biggest games the Bulldogs have played in some time. It’s one that’s been circled since it was announced in the spring of 2014.
Now that it’s here, however, the Bulldogs are trying to keep an even keel.
“I don’t think we’ve gotta create motivation. I think we’ve gotta temper it,” head coach Mark Richt said on his radio show Monday night. “And when I say temper it, I mean make sure we channel it in the right way.”
Pyke’s comments were the furthest a Georgia player came to acknowledging the magnitude of the game. And even his comments above were a lead-in to discussing the challenge his offensive line has with Alabama’s defensive line.
Three years ago, when Georgia prepared to play South Carolina in a match-up of unbeaten, top-10 teams, players openly admitted it was the biggest game they’d been involved in. This time around more players are downplaying it.
“We’re gonna prepare the same way we prepare for all SEC schools,” senior receiver Malcolm Mitchell said. “I know everyone wants to see it as a big game but all games are big because anytime we lose it’s gonna be bad.”
True ‘dat.
Get The Picture 
I think they will be mentally prepared. Bama does not have that aura of invincibility anymore. We match well with them on talent, scheming, and conditioning. It should be an even game, which is why I’m worried about our special teams play more than anything else right now. Hopefully our home field advantage makes up for our mistakes.
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‘Bama’s special teams aren’t anything to write home about.
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Agreed. Theirs could lose it for them as well. The book has this one being close, so it may just come down to a field goal, or the ability to punt someone into deep field position late in the game.
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Mentally prepared? With all the storylines surrounding this game (e.g., Pruitt, 2012 SECCG, 2008 blackout, etc.), yes I think the coaches and players will come out ready to battle for four quarters.
However, and I don’t mean to add fodder for the trolls, is anyone else concerned about the bad weather projected this week in Athens and how that could impact practice and preparation? Will the fact that Bama has an IPF and won’t miss a beat practice wise cost the Dawgs? I recall reading something about the weather in Athens affecting practice time the week of the 2012 SECCG. Could this be a factor again??
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I would argue practicing in the rain is better preparation for this week. A wet ball is harder to catch, throw and kick requiring more focus on each. A wet field magnifies footwork and technique errors blocking, tackling and in pursuit. A week of heavy focus is just what they need before playing bama.
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I think your point is valid. My concern is more around them having to miss time entirely due to the weather or losing time by having to bus to Flowery Branch again for example.
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If it’s not lightning there is no reason to get on that bus. If it was 45 and raining for 3 days straight I understand avoiding 1/3 of the team getting sick.
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We are as well prepared as we could be given the changes at OC and QB. We’ll have to hit some short and intermediate passes to soften up the running lanes a bit. I think with Chubb, Michel and Marshall, we may be able to wear them down a bit late in the game.
On D, we have to rotate a lot on the line to stay fresh. If we can get a little penetration and make Henry hesitate, we can have success.
Should be a heck of a game.
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There is no question we can go toe to toe with Bama.Like others, I think the game is a toss up.
For me one of the keys is how Lambert reacts the first time he gets the ever loving shit knocked out of him by a Bama DE or linebacker. Is he going to hop right up with a smile on his face like Murray used to, or is he going to have an “oh shit” look on his face. He’s never been hit like he will on Sat. Time to man up.
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GL played against some real teams in the ACC. With UVA’s horrid O-line, I am sure he knows what it feels like to have the boogers knocked out of him. I hope he learned that it stinks and it is better to get the ball out to a player maker.
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Is a player maker like a baby daddy?
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🙂
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No. That’s a major at Georgia: Player Maker 101, 102, 201, 202, 301, 302, 303, 304 plus 440-450 and Graduate Study 600-800. The personalities jointly all got our PhD in that. We did our dissertation on “The Rise and Fall of TK Harty’s.” Other postgraduate research was done at Uncle Sam’s and Harrison’s on Peachtree. Except for Biggus Rickus who slept the whole time only waking up and emerging when we all turned 43. He majored in “football fan” as an alum.
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Gurka, you might review that Va/FSU game last year. Richt put a great deal of stock in Lambert’s performance while getting the crap knocked out of him in that game. It was the largest factor that Richt said he used to determine the leadership and poise that a QB needed for games like the one coming up.
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I didn’t see that game or hear CMR’s statement. I stand corrected.
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Time for the O line to step up and show that they are not only the best in the SEC but in the Country.
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Half of me says that this Bama team would be sitting at #1 or #2 in the country if not for 5 TO’s, a freak play for a TD that was one of the craziest I’ve ever seen, and another TD that should have been flagged against Ole Miss. Thus, Bama is the real deal and probably should be favored by 4-5 pts or so.
The other half of me sees a Bama team that isn’t as talented as previous ones, with limited O play making and an OL that isn’t the typical dominant Bama one. Thus, in this case I feel good about our chances.
Combine the two, and I too have no clue what to expect. Something keeps telling me that we win by 9-12, or we lose a heart breaker, in which we’re all playing the ‘what if’ game afterwards.
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So half you thinks that since bama made a bunch of bad football plays they should be #1. Because they screwed up they should be rewarded.
Do you happen to negotiate golden parachutes for a living, you might have missed your calling.
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Not you again. You read far, far too into things, over-analyze cursory remarks and/or misconstrue them in order to fit the narrative you already have painted in your head.
I swear, someone could say today, “the sky is an awesome blue color today from where I’m sitting,” and you’d come along and try to debate them on cloud cover, the sun’s effect of the Mesophere, Canada Geese, and so forth.
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Bama made a bunch of really boneheaded plays and lost. You think that shows that they should be #1. nice work.
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You may be an ok dude, but you come across here as a big arsehole…
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just not sure why people will bend over backwards to make excuses for other teams, but rarely cut the team they are a fan of any slack.
is this the part where I say you can’t handle the truth?
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It is not the subject matter of this thread that brought me to my conclusion re your personna..carry on.
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Poll rankings dont matter to me, who really doesnt think they are one of the ten best teams in America this week? But we can eliminate them on Saturday. Ole Miss caught a huge break, we will have to earn our win.
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^^This. Georgia will get Bama’s best shot just like everybody else always gives us. Nobody ever overlooks Georgia, least of all the best teams, because we can beat ’em and they know it.
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Right on, Mayor.
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You missed the part where 3rd wrote “Half of me”…
If you’re not approaching this weekend feeling just as conflicted – not about our team, but about how the game might go – I imagine you’re in the minority…and regardless, the original post was not meanspirited, why not respond in kind?
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Very well said. I just don’t think DawgPhan is all that happy of a guy, for whatever reason.
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Sure seems that way.
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you guys give me plenty to be happy about.
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Did not mean to pile on – I always thought you were a pretty easygoing cat… :p
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Steeeady, DawgPhan. ……….Don’t flush the covey.
Good Dawg!
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A lot of those can be corrected. -5 TO with two freak TDs against them….so yeah….that’s why Bama is still #1 in F+ rankings….but don’t let that get in the way of your narrative.
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Bama was -5 in TO margin. -5 will net you a loss. a loss should drop you in the polls. no one debates this.
-5 will not happen ever game. 2 freak tds will not happen every game. UGa fans in this comment thread are not banking on a team like Alabama to make that many egregious mistakes, again.
that said, they still barely lost. they are a good team and it took a lot of TOs and a little bit of luck to beat them.
If we get a +5 TO margin and two gift TDs, sure, we will win. However, if we don’t, it will be a close game with against a very, very strong team.
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The first three words of this post gave me quite a chuckle.
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I’ll lie in bed tonight worring about the “canada geese” remark.
There is a sub-species called ” Canada Goose”. The plural is not “Canadian Geese”, but “Canada Goose geese”. But “canada geese”/?That blows my mind. Shouldn’t it be “canadian geese”? We can’t focus on this game until we get this goose shit correct.
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Put emphasis on the “na” part of Canada. Now, it doesn’t sound like a goose owned by a bunch’a people in the Great White North. And “Canadian” only bastardizes( pardon moi; don’t let it bother you, North States friends). it further what with all the Francophiles and Separatists thingys.
It’s really going to be a hoot when I tell my Canadian friends they have to drop Snow Geese as they call them and refer to them correctly as Snow Goose geese. Guaranteed. And the Snow Hare (Snow Hare hares) and .. … .
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We’ve beaten Bama before, and we’ve beaten Saban before, even when they were together. Bama certainly deserves the praise they’ve gotten, but there’s no reason we don’t match up with them. Play our game and we should be happy Saturday night.
I remember Bear bringing a couple of monster teams into Athens and it didn’t work out too well for them. Let’s do the same this Saturday.
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Was it 1976 that Bama came to Athens undefeated and the Dawgs beat them 21-0?
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Yep, sure was. We just shut them down, and then the police shut down Milledge Ave for the subsequent party.
I know people are worried about a repeat of 2008, but 2012 is the more representative game in my mind. We matched up with them pretty well on starters but lacked a little depth. I think we have a better attitude now and certainly more quality depth on both sides of the ball, while I’m not sure Bama is quite as settled at QB or receiver. Plus there are a few players from that 2012 game that know they can play with Bama (unlike the 2008 game when they were all in middle school at the most).
We can certainly get beat, but we can also do the beating. I’m cautiously expecting us to do the beating.
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I expect Pyke, Kublanow, and Wynn v. their interior line and their OTs v. Jenkins, Floyd, and Carter to determine the winner.
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I’m worried because I’m not worried. Hell the more i think about it we might have a chance, that’s crazy talk! This ain’t one of those games where Vegas has lost their damn mind in setting the spread (south Carolina this year) or i KNOW FOR FACT we ain’t got a snow bal’s chance in hell because game day showed up (lsu 13) or the fact that Aaron Murray couldn’t beat ranked teams (Florida 2012) & one could retire a rich man by betting against Georgia and the spread. Which can only mean one thing. …….THIS IS THE FACE PLANT, YE BEEN WARNED! !!!! You think USC 2012 was bad, you think Tennessee 06 was bad? You think the last blackout was bad? Well we ain’t seen nothing yet. We’re gonna be down 42 to negative 7 at halftime. Nick Chubb is gonna have negative 24 yards, Lambert ‘sgonna have completed more passes to white shirts than red and Jeremy Pruitt is going to be asking for his old job back. We are doomed! !!! There i feel better. Go dawgs!
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“I’m worried because I’m not worried.” That, sir, is a great line.
That reminds me of the time during The Masters a few years back, in which they were discussing Sergio Garcia’s rather odd personality. They then interviewed his swing coach and asked why Sergio always seems so grumpy, and he replied, “well, you have to understand, the only time Sergio is happy…is when he’s unhappy.”
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I think Sergio must follow the Dawgs and post here on occasion.
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Dawgphan, perhaps?
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With the way he lags, I can’t imagine how long it’d take him to make a comment. I can just picture Sergio, channeling his thoughts thru the keyboard, and then going to hit ENTER, pausing, re-reading and considering his thought again, starting towards ENTER again, pausing, taking a sip of his coffee, reading a plaque on the wall next to his desk, going to hit ENTER again but pausing yet again, checking the text message he just received, responding to the text message, finishing a round of bikini bash jewel smasher on his iphone, going back, re-reading his comment again, starting towards ENTER one last time and… pause. “Honey, did you take my dry cleaning?” “Yes dear!” He starts back towards ENTER and pauses again, wondering if it was 2012 or 2011 we played Alabama in the SEC championship, Googling it, confirming it, then back to his comment, changing a “there” to “they’re”, adding a few extra commas, capitalize “Richt”, erase “Tiger” annnnnnnnnnd ENTER.
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Outstanding, I’m not sure anyone else gets it though, lol.
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That was good. The only thing missing was a Boo Weekley reference—something to do with him sabotaging his computer in which the the letters/keys all are scrambled/reprogrammed.
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After he hits enter, he has to yell at his kids for making noise during his stroke.
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My simple thoughts about this game. Bama’s front 7 is very good, but not as talented as what they had in the dome when Gurley had his +100 day. Our O-line is much better than we had that day and Chubb and Gurley are interchangeable. I think we run well and Chubb gets his +100 and ties 34. I do worry about stopping Bama’s rush, but they haven’t been the traditional ground and pound offense of the past, at least from what i’ve seen. I think we’ll be better prepared for Bama this week than anytime in our recent history. It’ll be close but i think we win by 3.
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This may be ‘Alabama week’, but it is the ‘Lane Kiffin big tent carnival show’. Lil’ Kiffin is a professional…………………liar, poser, user, cheater man-pouch. Which makes me think that at least some of the rumors about his entitled pubescent behavior are true. If so, that may be an interesting confounding variable in predicting this weekend’s outcome. If the little shit shows up with crossed black eyes and a hand tremor we will know Layla (wifey) was using his face as a meat mallet and his cowlick to sweep the stairs. In that case, Kirby may be calling both defense and offense and Derrick Henry will be played out by the second quarter.
This inflamed pile should be coaching in a place that appreciates his level of commitment to crime: Auburn.
http://deadspin.com/where-did-those-crazy-lane-kiffin-rumors-come-from-1732881082
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Hey Senator, who was it that Munson kept referring to, the Dline being Big Monsters, “Those huge, big monsters” was it Clemson with the Perry brothers? Wonder, what he’d think of Bama’s. Man,I tell ya They are just too big, guys there’s no way we can block them! Scott Howard, we’re gonna be in a war ALL DAY!
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My version of what Munson would say:
“What are we gonna do with those big, humongous guys they got across that defensive line? And they just keep bringing them in fresh. The must have a thousand 6’7″ 340 pound guys that call all run like deer and hit like Mack trucks. How can we block ’em? And keep blocking them? Coach Sale has got his work cut out for him today.
They say Chubb breaks Herschel Walker’s record if he gets a hundred today. I look at that Alabama defense and wonder how we can get 100 yards of total offense in this game. I just don’t know how we can do it!
We’re just gonna have to hunker it down all day long and hope Lady Luck smiles on us along the way.
Big, huge challenge for the dogs today if they wanna stay undefeated and remain in the discussion for all those big games at the end of the year. Are we good enough? I guess we’ll see today.
Get the picture…”
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Has anyone else thought about the fact that, at the current rate, UGA will not play Bama again until 2021…sigh…
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Yes. I have thought about that. And it will be in Tuscaloosa.
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