Gameday Finally Arrives for UGA Football in 2023
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ATHENS - It’s been 33 weeks since UGA Football has been on a competitive field against an opponent that wears different colors.
33 weeks since ascending into the rarified air of back-to-back championships. 33 weeks since Georgia fans chanted and cheered for what is arguably the best program in college football today. 33 weeks is a long time to wait in anticipation for what the 2023 version of the Georgia Bulldogs will look like. It’s a long time most use to ponder who the new stars of the team will be and what areas of the team may be most concerning.
Saturday’s game against UT-Martin might provide a short glimpse into what Georgia fans can expect from this Dawg squad. However, I am less concerned about that than most. I’m most excited about getting this season going by returning to Sanford Stadium under the lights (at some point that night) and doing what is inarguably my most favorite pastime…watching the Dawgs play. All of the preseason pontifications end Saturday when Georgia gets to hit someone other than themselves. And to be frank this is the best time of the year.
Preseason pontifications are just that….pontifications. They don’t mean anything. It’s filling airtime for a sport that is as emotionally connected as any other. I’ve watched the reactions of the ESPN College Gameday crew’s preseason predictions about who will win the College Football Playoff in its last season in current form. I’ve watched social media melt down, still, over last season’s outcomes with the insight of a fifth grader. But none of that matters. In the grand scheme of things, it never matters. It fills that empty space between the last whistle of last season to the first kickoff of the current season. It keeps us emotionally connected to something we truly love but can’t really do anything to affect the outcome of. Talking season is a masterful marketing creation that pays the bills of the very personalities fans deride for their “hot take”. Truly, how many of us pay for ESPN+ to read insider analysis? There you go.
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In what may be the most balanced seasons of the playoff era EVERY team has question marks. While Georgia may have the best current program with the longest current winning streak, they are not without areas of concern in all three game phases. The Tide, everyone’s favorite based an angry Nick Saban, won’t name a starting quarterback before the first game, and has players harkening back to a recent past as to why they believe they are still the standard. Nothing of substance, mind you, but empty words with no current evidence to back it up. Ohio State still can’t get over the Peach Bowl loss to the Dawgs. Just ask their coach. Or don’t, but he’ll still bring it up. Michigan might have the best returning roster but can’t seem to get out of their own way.
Bad losses in their two previous playoff appearances coupled with Jim Harbaugh’s suspension don’t exactly scream a lead pipe lock. USC still can’t play defense regardless of what Bear Alexander says. LSU has weapons but had concerning losses last season that bring about questions regarding grit and focus. Tennessee is replacing a quarterback with one who has lost the starting job twice at two different schools. The Vols still haven’t proven to be as physical as necessary to beat Georgia. If any of the aforementioned teams answer these questions in the affirmative as the season rolls along, some prognosticators will injure themselves in an effort to pat themselves on the back for being a soothsayer. Truth be told, none of us have any concrete idea what this season will bring. We have indications. We have hopes and dreams. Thoughts and prayers. But that’s really it.
Saturday night can’t get here soon enough. Hearing the first 14 notes of the “Battle Hymn” from a single trumpeter in the southwest corner of the stadium with almost 93,000 fans pointing in that direction evokes chills and tears from the Bulldawg faithful. The following video compilation narrated by Larry Munson piles on those emotions by showing Dawg greats, both past and present. Seeing the boys in red and black come out of the smoke in the west tunnel of Sanford Stadium brings a level of anticipation that is unmatched. And at that moment, none of the preseason drivel matters. It’s game on. Saturday can’t get here soon enough.
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