Georgia Bulldogs
The More Things Change….
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As we approach the middle of the college football season and the Big 10 and PAC-12 look to start their schedules, I want to take a minute and look back at a few things that have stuck out up to this point.
To begin with, the Top 25 rankings have about as much relevancy as the Art Appreciation class you took second semester your Junior year. I get it’s only fair to rank the teams that have actually played, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a bit misleading.
Trying to do this without including teams from two of the major conferences is like listing the best Adam Sandler movies, but only including those that have gone straight to Netflix; North Carolina is a perfect example.
If this were any other year the Tarheels would be a fringe Top 20 team, but instead they were ranked 5th before losing to Florida State- they were basically Hubie Halloween.
Secondly, the SEC has dropped all pretense about trying to give off the perception they are a defense first league.
The conference has been trending this way for a few years now, but even those stalwarts who hung their arguments about the defense on the lone 12-9 game every year can’t really argue at this point.
That’s not to say the SEC is the Big 12 where recruiting a defensive player is akin to begrudgingly drafting a player in the youth league because their dad volunteered to coach.
The SEC still has a plethora of talent on that side of the ball, it’s just the level of talent they’re seeing on the offensive side of the ball has grown exponentially.
It’s no surprise though, when you look at some of the coaches the conference has brought in recently; many of whom are offensive-minded.
I give the coaches and athletic directors a lot of credit for changing with the times; it’s one of the reasons the conference has been as dominant as it has been recently.
And finally, Alabama and Clemson are The Andy Griffith Show. When I was 8 years old, I woke up Christmas morning to find a color tv in our living room.
The first show that was on when I turned the power on was Andy Griffith. Being eight and not realizing that the show was filmed in black and white, I thought the tv was broken and automatically became upset until my parents changed the channel.
Point being, we all came into this season expecting to see something different, but Clemson continues to dominate a less than impressive ACC, and the one team I thought might be able to defeat Alabama, Georgia, could only hang for a half. (For what it’s worth, I think Georgia is closer to Alabama than the final score showed, but they’re not there, yet,)
We’re basically in the middle of a five-year tv marathon starring Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney, and we’re not in a position to just be able to change the channel.
It’s easy to look at these things I’ve mentioned and think they’ll change once everyone starts playing, but I don’t believe they will.
The Top 25 will still be difficult to rank based on the disparity of games played, you’ll continue to see high scoring games in the SEC, and in the end it will all come down to Alabama and Clemson. Even Barney Fife knows that.
Georgia Bulldogs v. Auburn Tigers Preview
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Georgia Bulldog’s season got off to a bummy but ultimately successful start on Saturday with a 37-1 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Auburn Tigers took care of business by beating the Kentucky Wildcats 29-13 to open the SEC football season.
Now the Bulldogs and Tigers will renew one of the oldest rivalries in the SEC on Saturday in Athens.
The top 10 matchup provides a steep test for both teams and plenty of questions after the season opener.
Georgia opens as a 7-point favorite.
There is no question who will be the starting quarterback for Auburn.
Since he arrived on campus, as a star-studded true freshman, Bo Nix has been the starter for the Tigers.
To kick off his second season as Auburn’s leader under center, Nix completed 16-27 for 233 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Nix will need a similarly stellar showing this Saturday at #4 Georgia if the Tigers are going to have a chance to beat the Bulldogs.
Saturday’s season opener provided little clarity in Georgia’s quarterback situation.
Redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis got the start but he struggled early and was benched for junior Stetson Bennett IV.
Bennett played well in relief completing 20-29 passes for 211 and 2 touchdowns. Bennett showed an understanding of the offense and delivered the ball to his playmakers.
Georgia doesn’t have a quarterback controversy right now. It is more like a quarterback muddle with prize transfer JT Daniels being cleared to play this Saturday.
Daniels, a five-star transfer from USC who was granted immediate eligibility, will throw his helmet into the ring.
Once Kirby Smart made the announcement on Monday, the reaction of Georgia fans was ”We have a new starter!”
Auburn’s Offense vs Georgia’s Defense: The Tigers had their struggles moving the ball against a stout Kentucky defense on Saturday.
Auburn’s weapons on the offensive side of the ball are receivers Seth Williams, Eli Stove and Anthony Schwartz.
But Georgia has the best secondary in the country with Richard LeCounte, Eric Stokes, Lewis Cine and Tyson Campbell.
Players to watch: Anthony Schwartz vs Tyson Campbell (former high school teammates).
Georgia’s offense vs Auburn’s Defense: The Bulldogs must get the ball in the hands of George Pickens. Pickens is the Bulldogs’ most explosive weapon on offense.
Last Saturday, he was targeted just six times with four catches and one touchdown.
Rewatching the game, Pickens had separation on a number of plays but the quarterback could not get him the ball.
My biggest concern for the Bulldogs is the players on their offensive line.
The line got little to no push against an undersized Arkansas defensive line and Trey Hill, All-SEC center, struggled with his snapping. Auburn’s defensive line is nursing some injuries with Big Kat Bryant playing just a couple plays in the second half, Jay Hardy and Dre Butler did not dress due to injuries.
Players to watch: Whoever Georgia runs out at quarterback vs Roger McCreary.
Georgia has won the past three meetings, dating back to Auburn’s regular season win in 2017 and has won eight of the past 10 meetings.
A sold-out limited capacity crowd of some 23,000 on hand, so I can throw home field out the window.
This game comes down to quarterback play. Can Bo Nix handle the Georgia defense? Can Georgia get a full game of quality quarterback play?
Georgia will get game management quarterback play out of Bennett and the JUNKYARD DAWGS DEFENSE will smother Bo Nix! Georgia 31 Auburn 13
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