Georgia Bulldogs: Road Warriors Strike Again On Rocky Top
By W. M. Lawson
The Georgia Bulldogs (5-0) did something Saturday that very few Georgia Football teams ever do. They absolutely whipped Tennessee at their place.
The mood of fans going into this past Saturday’s game between the undefeated Georgia Bulldogs and the (3-2) Tennessee Vols was the same, but for different reasons. Fans of both teams went into this game on tenterhooks. Holding their collective breaths for what might happen. Dawg fans were haunted by ghosts of letdowns past. Vols knew that they hadn’t looked good, and UGA had. Dawg fans breathed a sigh of relief by halftime, and Vol Nation couldn’t find enough pain relief in the building.
The absolute dismantling of this Tennessee team will go into the record books. First time they’ve been shutout at home since 1994. Largest loss in something like 50, 60, or 70 years. That wasn’t just a convincing win. “Vol Nation” won’t have the temerity to admit it, but this backside chappin’ they just took on national television was a statement. That statement was that UT looks like they are in trouble in the coming years.
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It wasn’t just that UGA beat them handily and consistently. They didn’t even have to bring their “A” game to do it. Now, the Defense most certainly did. One is getting the sense that that side of the ball will always bring it. Special Teams continues to go from a glaring weakness from the last 7 years to a strength and a valuable weapon.
But look at the offense. True Freshman Jake Fromm had a stat line that reads (7-15, 84 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT). He also had 20 yards rushing on 7 attempts and another rushing Touchdown. Georgia only threw the ball 17 times. Fromm completed half his passes. Georgia won 41-0.
This beat down means more than just that UGA is still undefeated, Top-5 nationally, in the SEC East hunt, and spanked a hated rival at their place. Although, it meant all of those things.
This loss exposed a barely hidden truth, if you had been paying attention. That these two programs are headed in opposite directions.
For Tennessee, their fans, for the most part, think they have the players to compete, but that they just need new coaches. This game argues differently. You can’t get beat 41-0 at home and it just be your coaches. Remember when Alabama came into Athens and did this same thing to UGA? Nick Chubb decided he was going to get his, regardless. He did, and they didn’t get skunked.
Tennessee doesn’t have anybody like that. That’s a problem. They have some dudes over there, but not enough to play 11 on 11 for 4 Quarters against a top shelf team.
And that brings us to the Georgia Bulldogs. A win like this means that they are forming into a top-shelf team. In year 2 of the Smart regime, they are starting to look like a team that brings the wood every week. Crazy thing is they clearly have much more to improve on. If this progression and improvement continues, it will be heady days in Athens for the next few years.
I still don’t think UGA can go undefeated this year. In fact, I still think the (10-2) mark is the most accurate. But it is also apparent that this team is much better than last year. They are much better than they were in Week 1 of this year. And they still have much to improve on.
That has to be a scary proposition for the Tennessee’s of the world.
Old school wrestling fans remember the Road Warriors. If you heard that intro music (Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man”) you knew you were going to see two things: Spiked shoulder pads and a butt whipping.
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UGA’s road warriors are doing the same thing.