Three Must-Win Games For Georgia This Fall

Okay, I know it’s a little redundant. Every game in a college football season in a must-win ball game if your team has championship aspirations. The Georgia Bulldogs always have big expectations seemingly every season. Dawg Nation is hungry for a title, it’s going on 35 years since Herschel Walker first played Between the Hedges. While you never want to lose a conference game, here are the three that Georgia cannot afford to lose in 2015.

October 10th @ Tennessee

Going into 2015, the Vols are a sexy pick to come out of the East. Most pundits feel that UGA and Mizzou are the favorites but Tennessee is more than a dark horse. HC Butch Jones got the Vols back to a bowl game for the first time since 2009. Jones has recruited like a mad man since arriving in Knoxville and might be on the verge of getting UT back to SEC prominence. The next step Jones needs to make is to start beating up on SEC rivals that aren’t Kentucky or Vanderbilt. Georgia has defeated Tennessee each of the last five seasons. I don’t think the Vols have beaten Alabama in almost a decade. You can sense that UT is close and they’re hungry for relevance.

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Neyland Stadium is one of the loudest stadiums in the country when Tennessee is even remotely competitive. Now imagine if Tennessee is 5-0 when UGA comes to town. That would mean UT would have beaten Oklahoma, Florida, and Arkansas. While that’s a tall order, it would prove that the Vols were a legitimate threat to win the East roughly halfway through the season. Most of the recent contests have been very close until Georgia pulls it out in the end. But if it’s close and Neyland is in full Rocky Top Mode, UT could beat Georgia and seize control of the SEC East.

While I want UGA to come away from the banks of the Tennessee River with a victory, I would rather see our players to leave Neyland with their ACLs still intact if I had to pick one or the other. Seriously, UT has the scariest turf on Earth. Georgia and Tennessee will play six common opponents this fall. I expect both teams to play well in 2015. And UGA would hate to lose the East to Tennessee with a 6-2 conference record because UT holds the tiebreaker over the Dawgs.

Oct 11, 2014; Columbia, MO, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb (27) scores a touchdown as Missouri Tigers linebacker Darvin Ruise (12) and safety Braylon Webb (9) make the tackle during the second half at Faurot Field. Georgia won 34-0. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

October 17th Vs. Missouri

Believe me, I’m still bitter that Mizzou won the East last year. We clobbered the Tigers in Columbia last fall but the Dawgs couldn’t beat USC or Florida to win the Eastern crown with a 6-2 record. Mizzou was just a little better at 7-1. This series between Eastern foes has had no home field advantage as the road team has won all three games. Georgia has to win against Mizzou at home to prevent the Dawgs’ biggest challenger from three-peating the East. The thought of the Missouri Tigers winning three straight SEC East Titles makes my skin crawl.

This divisional game will not only be UGA’s fifth conference game but it’s also homecoming. Missouri will play three easy non-conference games, UK, USC, and UF before coming to Athens. There’s a great chance Mizzou could be undefeated on October 17th. If UGA is 5-1 (Bama’s coming to town…) or better entering Week 7, I don’t see how College Gameday isn’t in Athens. The Dawgs can’t afford to drop a game at home to Mizzou if they want to dethrone the Tigers in the East this fall. Georgia would have to win all three remaining conference games against Florida, Kentucky, and Auburn just to keep pace with Missouri. You really don’t want to lose the tiebreaker to a talented Missouri team that doesn’t lose away from home for some reason.

Nov 1, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Florida Gators linebacker Jarrad Davis (40) tackles Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie (16) during the first half at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

October 31st (Halloween) Vs. Florida (WLOCP)

Okay, you never want to lose this game, period. Last year’s loss to Florida shattered the Dawgs’ National Title hopes. It was the annual Mark Richt Letdown Game last year for sure. Treon Harris threw the ball just five times and our front seven had no idea how to stop a HB Cutback. I still have nightmares about that game. How did Will Muschamp beat us, honestly?

I really don’t know how good Florida will be in Year One under Jim McElwain. While he served under Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa and made Colorado State a ranked team in Fort Collins, will McElwain experience growing pains as a first-year SEC head coach? Florida got crushed in recruitment this last signing day due to Muschamp’s job security and later firing. While Georgia should beat Florida in 2015 on paper, paper means nothing in this unfriendly rivalry. These two teams absolutely hate each other. There’s no two ways about it. Both schools measure their season’s success on whether they won in Jacksonville or not. Coach Richt and his boys can’t lose to Florida two years in a row. With just two conference games remaining after Georgia-Florida, the Dawgs’ backs will really be against the wall if they don’t control their own destiny after this game.

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