Georgia Bulldogs: Margin Of Victory Over SC Not The Story

The Georgia Bulldogs (9-0) are undefeated and are the #1 team in all of college football as of this writing. The margin of victory over South Carolina should be ignored completely.

The sign and mark of a fan base that is in the throes of a massive winning season is the chin-rubbing and navel gazing from fans after not covering the spread after a conference win. See: Bulldawg Nation after the Georgia Bulldogs dispatched South Carolina Saturday by two TDs. Those fans are wrong to focus on that locus.

If you, dear reader, are at all familiar with recent SC/UGA history, you know this is a tight series. In fact, before this game, the last 10 had gone 5-5. Much to the bewilderment of UGA fans, the Cocks found a way many times to baffle and best the Dawgs. Fans wanted a blowout win, because those aren’t a usual occurrence in this series, and 2017 has been a woodshed type year for Georgia beating their rivals.

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But those fans are missing the point. Kirby Smart and staff have yet to be losing to South Carolina during their time in Athens. Think about that. They’ve never been behind Carolina in a game. Now, remember that 5-5 stat. Like Tennessee and Florida, they changed the arch of this rivalry. It is no longer a bemusement of mistakes and near losses. It is a steady drum beat of we are better than you.

In addition, all we heard all week was that this was the “perfect trap game”. And you know what? That was right. If you gave me a scenario, just a few years ago, where UGA would be named the Number 1 team in all of college football, that they would play South Carolina sandwiched between Florida and Auburn, and that they would carry a 24 point cover going into that game, I’d say they lose. Because I know this program.

But they didn’t. They never trailed in the game. They won Time of Possession. They won the Turnover battle. They won yardage. They won by 14 points.

As much as the Tennessee and Florida scores signified a culture change in Athens, this South Carolina result did, too. Championship level teams don’t always win in blowouts, but they rarely leave any doubt.

Next: Georgia Bulldogs: Number 1 Ranking Comes With Weight

There was never any doubt which team was better “Between The Hedges” on that day. The game has changed.