Crazy week should mean big changes, right? Here’s the link for this week’s ballot.
Daily Archives: November 6, 2022
Rat poison, turned to 11
As you might expect, the national media is singing a different tune about Georgia today. Not that Kirby Smart will be happy about it.
For example, here’s an honest moment of self-reflection from The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach ($$):
One of the most popular storylines of the season so far, perpetuated by many including yours truly, has been the lack of ultra-dominant teams at the top of the sport. Anticipation surrounding the release of the first College Football Playoff rankings felt higher than usual because three teams had legitimate cases for No. 1.
About that. The defending national champions reminded us that despite losing 15 players to the NFL in one history-making draft class, they are still really good at this whole football thing. Georgia’s defense was tough, physical and dominant, shutting down the nation’s most prolific offense in a 27-13 win against Tennessee.
… The top four won’t be set for another month, but it certainly feels safe to pencil the Bulldogs into the bracket. Actually, you can write them in with pen.
And here’s something from her cohort Stewart Mandel ($$):
I did not think Georgia’s defense possibly could remain dominant after losing eight starters from last year’s top-ranked unit to the NFL. That quickly proved wrong. And then I didn’t think the Bulldogs possibly could shut down Tennessee after losing top pass rusher Nolan Smith to a season-ending injury last week. Wrong again. I’ve learned my lesson and will now accept that Georgia truly is the new Alabama. This is just what the Bulldogs do now — they bludgeon people.
Similar thoughts from Dennis Dodd:
It was way more Dawg Nation damnation Saturday than a Rocky Flop. It was more Georgia reign than the annoying second-half rain. The Dawgs were too good — for the Vols, probably for the SEC, and perhaps for the entire country. More to the point, whether Smart will admit it, this looks like the beginning of what Saban built 270 miles down the road in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
That is a dynasty that competes for championships every year. It might be too early to make such assertions at Georgia, but it sure looks to be headed in that direction. It is the reigning national champion that could be better than last season.
That’s less of a discussion point than the bigger picture. Saturday might have been the defining answer to that narrative. We are (possibly) witnessing history because no team has ever lost 15 draft picks — a recipe for a rebuild…
And Dan Wolken:
The more important takeaway Saturday is that there is still a large gulf between Georgia and everybody else, including the shiny new object that came to Athens with an aura of unstoppability. Instead, Tennessee left with an offensive line that got overwhelmed, a quarterback who looked rattled for the first time all year and a defense that didn’t really feel like it had much of a chance.
But that’s what Georgia has done to everyone since last the beginning of last season. College football fairy tales come and go, but the teams with the best players and the best coaches will always be there in the end. Tennessee may be ascending, but Georgia hasn’t come down even an inch.
Good luck trying to catch them.
This is heady stuff, to say the least. “Georgia is the new Alabama” exists in some truly rarefied air. How prepared is this team to accept an onslaught of national ass kissing without losing their edge?
We’ll soon find out.
Filed under Georgia Football, Media Punditry/Foibles
Welcome back, Carter.
Yesterday’s work: four tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
Yeah, he was missed alright.
Filed under Georgia Football
The Displacer™ strikes again.
He doesn’t even look like he was trying hard here.
The best part of that is watching McClendon — “hey, I’ve got that guy… oh”.
Filed under Georgia Football
Lulu and Junior: the next generation
Meet the new icons, same as the old icons.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
Looking for new assholes to conquer
I guess Danny Kanell has decided to move on from shit talking the SEC.
Weak sauce, my dude. Very weak sauce.
Filed under ACC Football, Big Ten Football, Media Punditry/Foibles
You know you’ve had a bad day when…
… you get trolled by the likes of Kansas.
Well played, Jayhawks. Act like you’ve been there.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
The ultimate compliment
I notice that some of y’all caught this quote from Jalin Hyatt.
Sure, that’s unfiltered Dawg porn for us, so just imagine what that is for Kirby Smart.
Filed under Georgia Football
TFW all your game prep pays off, in spades
Bennett completed just 17 passes (and one run that offered an answer to a few hundred prank callers). There were no 100-yard receivers, no 100-yard rushers, no pick-sixes or long kick returns. Between rain-soaked hedges, Georgia was simply better at all the little things, and it forced Tennessee to play by that same blueprint, a plan foreign to the high-flying Vols. Tennessee climbed to the No. 1 ranking by outflanking all comers, by seeing how the magic trick was done, then plowing through the smoke and crashing through the mirrors. But Georgia offered none of that. The Dawgs just lined up, mano-a-mano, and won.
Nothing Georgia did Saturday was remarkable in a micro sense, but to view the win from a macro level was utterly breathtaking. This is what championships are built upon — not fireworks and drama, but 11 guys doing the right thing at the same time, one play after another, again and again. This is what Georgia does better than anyone else can.
Georgia is 9-0 and has two wins over top-eight opponents by a combined score of 76-16, not because of a treasure trove of highlights and otherworldly performances, but because they’re just repeatedly, relentlessly better.
What more needs to be said?
Filed under Georgia Football
Get The Picture 
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