Head vs. heart in Baton Rouge

Yeah, this is one of those games.  As the advanced stats show, Georgia is the better team today.  My head looks at the numbers, considers how ridiculously fast and athletic this team has shown itself to be all season long, remembers that Georgia took control of its last game and rested its starters for a quarter while LSU was involved in a slug fest against Florida and concludes that the Dawgs cover.

My heart, though.  It’s a conference road game, in one of the toughest venues in the country.  It’s probably LSU’s season at this point, at least in terms of maintaining the one-punch hope of overtaking Alabama somehow in the West.  It’s also against the most talented team Georgia has faced to date.  All that adds up to making my inner Munson quite nervous.

I figure both teams are going to try to do what everyone expects of them:  establish the run on offense and stop the run on defense.  Strangely enough — I say that in the sense that it still takes some getting used to — it’s Georgia that has the advantage in the trenches.  If the Dawgs are more successful on both fronts, it will be a long day for the home team.

I haven’t been overly impressed with Joe Burrow, but up until last weekend, he certainly hasn’t been a liability for LSU.  His receivers haven’t given him the best support, a trend that I would welcome continuing against the Dawgs, but he’s got the ability to do some damage with a little tuck and running.  Contain hasn’t always been a strength for Georgia’s defense, so, yeah, that’s one area of concern.

That being said, Georgia has been a far more explosive offense this season.  That, combined with the defense’s proven ability to play bend but not break ball, is what has me thinking it’ll wind up being Georgia’s day.  (My usual caveat about turnovers applies, of course.)

I’m heading out the door for Baton Rouge soon.  Consider this the usual invite for your game day observations in the comments section.