A funny thing happened on the way from the football game…

If ever there was a victory that had ‘Dawgraded’ written all over it, it was last Saturday’s crushing of UAB — you know, the team that’s won its mid-major conference a couple of times recently and came in with a significant defensive presence (top fifteen in defensive SP+, for example).  I fully expected to see the Blazers emerge from the rout with a severely diminished reputation in hindsight and Georgia’s win summarily dismissed accordingly.

Instead, Bill Connelly ($$) posted,

Georgia’s 56-7 win against a UAB that had — past tense — a top-15 defense was a massive Week 2 statement…

And here’s The Athletic’s Austin Mock ($$):

… This past week, Georgia was a huge beneficiary as they smoked a solid UAB team and saw its title odds increase from 13.9% to 25.5%. It’s early in the season, but it really seems like it’s a two-horse race between Alabama and Georgia.

Now, two pundits’ opinions doth not a trend make, but I’m still a bit shocked to see anyone take the win straight up like that.  Although, these are stat guys more than simply opinion writers, so maybe they’re both a little more grounded.  That being said, it’s refreshing to see something more nuanced than a reflexive brush off.  Who knows?  Maybe it really is the start of a trend.

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