Friday Five: The Five Things You Need to Know For Georgia Bulldogs vs. Mississippi State
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ATHENS - Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs are getting set for the huge matchup with the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Here are our five things for Friday you need to know going into the weekend.
1. Georgia Gets Back on the Road
The Dawgs play a true road game for the first time since the first week in October. Georgia had to survive that game against Missouri. But for the most part - Georgia of late has been very good on the road. The win to start the season against South Carolina was a beating. The win over the Vols in 2021 was lopsided. The win at Auburn in 2021 was a solid win.
It is hard to picture State, a team that's really struggled in SEC play. State lost to LSU by 15; Kentucky by ten; Alabama by 24; and just beat Auburn by three in overtime. This is not a good team. Georgia might be playing on the road, but State winning is hard to process.
For all of the discussion about State's offense - the Bulldogs are No. 62 in total offense. They will be going up against the No. 5 total defense in the country. If Tennessee scored only one touchdown how many should we expect from State? The game won't be in Athens, but how pumped up is the State fanbase right now?
2a. What to watch for (UGA edition)
We are a week away from what was, statistically speaking, the biggest game in the history of Sanford Stadium. Is there going to be a hangover for these Dawgs in the first half of the game at State? That's probably the biggest question. Because as we saw in Middle Earth, slow starts can lead to unnecessarily tough endings - or losses.
That's from the Georgia perspective. The problem for State is that the Bulldogs just survived a very bad Auburn team; their head coach is saying some odd stuff (even for him); and Georgia is coming into town. It is hard to imagine a team as up and down as State would be able to stick with Georgia for an entire game.
I just don't see it.
2b. What to watch for (non-UGA edition)
What's going to happen this week with these teams: Tennessee, LSU, Alabama and Clemson. Two of those teams are all but out of the playoff - two are not. LSU is the only team listed that controls its own destiny. Even with two losses it is probably or likely the the Tigers get into the CFP. But that involves winning this week at Arkansas (+3), and winning from there - including a win over the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta.
Tennessee fell all the way to No. 5, and now has to deal with a Missouri defense that's pretty good. This is about style points now, and the Tigers will fight - we've seen that this year. Missouri has lost SEC games by 3 (Auburn), 4 (Georgia), 7 (Florida) and 4 (Kentucky). They also beat Vandy by three. Missouri's only non-crunch time game was a bizarre win over the Chickens in Cootlumbia.
Tennessee will win, but how will they play?
Alabama and Clemson, once the darlings of the College Football Playoff, might be headed to a showdown in the Orange Bowl... if neither eats another loss along the way. And both teams could certainly lose this weekend. Bama travels to Ole Miss; Clemson (-7) hosts suddenly hot Louisville.
It will be interesting to see how both teams react to their new reality. Clemson has a slight, if not impossible path to the playoff. Alabama doesn't have one to speak of. But this weekend is more than about 2022. This weekend, for both teams, is about the future. Both programs' futures have been questioned. Nick Saban's longevity is in question.
A loss for either team would be catastrophic. Alabama played in the National Championship Game a year ago. Clemson played in the Cheez-It Bowl. You figure out which one needs to close better this winter.
* Exclusive Event: UGA DB Kelee Ringo Autograph Signing *
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Sunday, November 20, 2022 || @ Red Zone in Athens
3. Quote of the week:
“I think the real changing of the guard in terms of the current standard bearer at this time is Georgia. Georgia still need to win some more championships and do this for another decade or so before we call them a dynasty. Georgia did what Alabama has built their reputation on doing - a challenger came into their place, and they put a Hobnail Boot in their face. They put them back in their place by Georiga standards. They dominated them physically.” - ESPN’s Rece Davis on Georgia’s 27-13 win over Tennessee.
4. Thursday Night Rundown:
We might need to put a stop to Thursday Night Football, y'all. The Panthers-Falcons' game was probably streamed by dozens of us. The rain. The Panthers' uniform. Bank of America Stadium's turf (you play in an outdoor stadium in North Carolina, not North Dakota - rethink the turf).
The good news is that my favorite network, the Pac 12 Network, is rolling with a ton of basketball these days. If you can't stay up and watch the Northern Arizona at Arizona State game... well, we aren't friends any more. And I'm not joking. This might be the best time of the year for sport.
Let's forget the looming disaster that will be the USMNT's performance in the World Cup, and focus on the fact that the NFL, college football, college basketball, the NBA and NHL are all rolling right now. If you can't find sports to watch at night it means you are probably on an antenna.
I've switched to watching Friends on mute - that's how good the games are tonight. We should all look as good as that group. Wow. We should all stay away from feeling like the way the Falcons' offense looked Thursday night. Marcus Mariota nearly threw a pick six from his back - that’s hard to do.
5. Lock of the week
Florida State seems to have stabilized themselves over this season. Their nutball win over LSU to start the season - basically on the road in New Orleans - is looking better and better. Syracuse, on the other hand, not great.
I like the Noles (-6.5) to cover on the road in what was once the Carrier Dome.
The Georgia Bulldogs WIN the 2021 NATIONAL TITLE!
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