Georgia’s first road game saw it go 48 minutes and 39 seconds without a lead. Its first six possessions went punt, punt, punt, field goal, end of half, field goal; its final two possessions went punt, punt. It mustered one touchdown against a team coming off a 30-6 home loss to South Carolina. It was outgained by a team quarterbacked by Brock Vandagriff, former Bulldog.
On the plus side, Georgia did win. At last check, winning is preferable to losing. Still, Georgia’s first road game – at least on paper – seemed the easiest of its four SEC stops. If a date in Lexington ends with a one-point victory, what will happen in Tuscaloosa, or Austin, or Oxford?
In the immediate aftermath, Kirby Smart mentioned to an ABC interviewer that Georgia’s first SEC road game has lately been difficult. He mentioned Missouri in 2022, technically the Bulldogs’ second road game. He mentioned Auburn last year, indeed their first road game. He had a point.
Georgia has won 42 consecutive regular-season games. It has won 28 SEC games in succession, which is a record. The Bulldogs’ three closest calls – Mizzou in ‘22, Auburn last year, Kentucky on Saturday – came on the road against unranked opposition. In each case, the team that held a second-half lead against top-ranked Georgia had already incurred a double-digit loss.
In the first two instances, the Bulldogs took their narrow escape and rolled merrily along. The 2022 team finished as unbeaten national champ. The 2023 bunch would have finished as unbeaten national champ had it not lost to Alabama in the SEC title game. But here we note what the Bulldogs of the past three seasons – the 2021 group was a one-loss national champ – didn’t do.
They did not beat – because they did not face – a Top 10 opponent in a true road game.
These Bulldogs could face three such games. Texas tops this week’s AP poll, having dislodged Georgia. Alabama is No. 4, Ole Miss No. 5. (Tennessee is No. 6. The Volunteers come to Sanford Stadium on Nov. 16.)
It would be silly to suggest that any Georgia game is unwinnable. Since Nov. 7, 2020, the Bulldogs are 45-2; their only losses came against Nick Saban, now working elsewhere. That said, Georgia hasn’t faced a schedule like this. It’s likely the Bulldogs will lose once. What if they lose twice?
No two-loss team made the four-team playoff. A two-loss team will make the first 12-team field. Should the Bulldogs finish the regular season 10-2 with losses, they’d still have a resume including wins against Clemson plus two SEC teams of top 10 worth. For CFP purposes, that would suffice.
A question, though: Is Georgia still Georgia? In two games against Power 4 competition, the Bulldogs haven’t scored a first-half touchdown. They overwhelmed Clemson in the second half; at no point did they overwhelm Kentucky. The Wildcats had five drives of 32 or more yards; Georgia had two. After nosing ahead with 12:20 remaining, the Bulldogs still couldn’t ice it.
Through three games, Georgia ranks 68th nationally in total offense. It’s 84th in rushing. Carson Beck is 23rd in passing efficiency. Five SEC quarterbacks are rated higher. The defense looks fine – hasn’t yielded a touchdown – though Kentucky didn’t score a touchdown against South Carolina, either.
No one of sound mind would suggest that Georgia is in clear decline. Three games do not a season make, and the Bulldogs won their first two by the aggregate score of 84-6. They’ll be primed for Alabama in a way they weren’t for Kentucky, and that’s not a knock on Smart. That’s an acknowledgement of human nature.
If anything, Smart left Lexington with exactly what he wanted – two weeks to prep his team for a night in Bryant-Denny Stadium by using the Bluegrass escape as a goad. Georgia is past due to lose a regular-season game, but I’d be surprised if it happens in Tuscaloosa.
Maybe in Austin. Maybe, I said.
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