Final Feelings: SEC East on the Line in Lexington
Dylan's Final Feelings
I know there is a lot of - what’s the word? Suspicion, maybe - about how well Georgia is going to do in Lexington this weekend.
Well that has not been the feeling around Athens or on campus, at least from my perspective. There was a lot of chatter about the Florida game, but not nearly as much as this week for Kentucky. Maybe just because it’s an away game seven hours from Athens, but I think the general student population is confident in the Dawgs this weekend. They were not nearly as much for Florida.
I’m one among that group. I think this will be a close game up until about midway through the third quarter, maybe towards the end of it. Kentucky will give UGA some trouble in the run game, no doubt. Benny Snell is reallyyyyyy good and will get his yards. But there are some things you can’t unsee. One of those things is a statline 3-of-9 for 18 yards from UK quarterback Terry Wilson. I doubt he’ll have another game like that, but if he even plays remotely close to that, which this Georgia secondary can force him to do, Georgia will be able to handle business. Give me the Dawgs 31-17.
Texas football update:
What’d I tell you about the Horns? THEY WERE BOUND TO THROW ONE IF NOT TWO MORE AWAY. They play West Virginia this week and I’m betting they will win that game. It will be very good, but I think Texas can somehow pullout another top-15 win. BUT, I bet they will lose to Tech (the actual Tech) the following week. Lubbock is an awful place. You cannot doubt the Red Raider fan base though to go bonkers. I’m not sure if you’ve heard anything about them, but the school has had a huge issue with students sneaking in tortillas and throwing them on the field. The school now searches students stuff for tortillas, yet they still make it into the stadium every single Saturday. Why? Who knows. Probably because it’s Texas Tech and they just want chaos anywhere they go.
As for my week - Halloween was an interesting time. We had a little shindig at our place in Athens. We didn’t think any kids lived remotely close to us so we didn’t buy any candy for them. Around 7:30 someone knocked on our door and I thought it was just someone showing up way to early to the party. I opened the door to a loud “trick or treat!” Wow, I about shit my pants. I was not prepared to break the hearts of a poor little ninja and Elsa from Frozen (are we really still in this phase?). In a moment of panic, I decided to say “Go let me look,” risking getting their hopes up even more. I ran around my house dressed as Elliott from ET looking for anything to give them. I was about to just give them cash to before my friend came to the rescue with full-size candy bars.
Quickly went from being the lamest house of the night and the coolest house of the night on the block.
Matt’s Final Feelings
After another beatdown of the Gators in Jacksonville, the Bulldogs head to Kentucky for the SEC East crown.
But before all that, we need to talk about that win over Florida. I love the neutral site game, but Jacksonville really sucks. I stayed in a nicer part of the area compared to the downtown, but there’s still not much I can say about the place that’s nice. The weather was fine, but that’s about it.
The game itself might have been the best Georgia played all year. The 7 plays from the one-yard line was bad. The run defense at times was bad. That being said, Georgia still played well. They forced turnovers on defense, got great QB play out of Fromm, and wore down the Gators with the run game in the 2nd half. Beating the Gators is always a big deal, but beating them by 19 points makes it even sweeter.
The Florida fans didn’t show up until the game started, and they didn’t stay long into the 4th quarter. That is one spoiled fan base.
Anyway, now it’s Kentucky’s turn to try and beat the Dawgs. Good luck to the Cats, because it’s not going to happen. Yes, Benny Snell is a hell of a back. Yes, their defense is probably as good as advertised. In the big picture, a one-demential team isn’t going to beat Georgia. They won't pass for over 100 yards, and Snell can’t beat Georgia by himself. He will get his yards and come close to 100, but that won’t be near enough.
Georgia needs to come out fast and get some points early. They need to remind Kentucky of who they really are and get this one over as soon as possible. If Kentucky ever feels like they have to throw the ball to keep up the game is over. A touchdown or two early on will put the crowd away and force Kentucky to try and pick up yards in the air, which isn’t going to happen.
If Fromm plays the way he did against the Gators this game will be over by the 4th quarter. Like every game, they’ve got to establish the run. This is a tough Kentucky defense, but Swift and Holyfield can get the job done. Georgia will win this game 30-13.
As for the other games, Alabama will beat up on LSU. Do you really think a night game at LSU is going to be a factor? These two teams can play at any time of day and any location in the world and Alabama will win by at least 21 points. Yes, LSU is a tough place to play in, but it won’t matter on Saturday night. The Tide will roll in Baton Rouge 44-17.
Auburn is a bad football team, but part of me thinks they will pull the upset on the Aggies this weekend. A&M is the better team, but my gut tells me the Tigers find some way to get it done. Their offense is in shambles, but that defense is still playing hard. Auburn wins this one at home 20-17.
Gators bounce back and beat Missouri in a ugly, low-scoring 17-14 snooze-fest.
West Virginia puts Texas back in their place and gets the win in Austin.
Penn State goes into Michigan and beats the Wolverines. It will be another low-scoring battle, but the Nittany Lions will muster up enough points to get the job done. I’m almost on the Michigan train, but I’m not there just yet.
So back to Lexington. The Dawg Post crew will be back together after doing our own thing in Jacksonville. We stopped by Lexington on the way to Chicago last year and had a fun night out. Not sure what the plan is on Friday night, but we will make a good time out of it.
Dean’s Final Feelings
A big one in Lexington - something you don’t say all of the time in November - but both UGA and Kentucky have earned this moment. I’ve got a lot fo Kentucky buddies, and this is the biggest Kentucky football game in their lifetimes.
I’m not sure if that is good or bad for the Cats. We see something similar to this in Cootlumbia every other year… and it seems like it worked out in 2012, but that’s about it. More than anything, Georgia has such an advantage in talent and experience in this rhelm it is hard to know how Kentucky gets past them. I’ve watched the Cats play a ton this year, and they have won some ugly games. Their best chance, and they certainly have a chance in my book, is to make this game go by fast, and to make it as ugly as possible.
The Kentucky defense is one of the best ones in Lexington in some time. Benny Snell is the top running back in the league - even if he might be banged up, and get get too fired up sometimes. Josh Allen, the defensive star for the Cats, might be the overall best player on the field Saturday.
But Kentucky has struggled in the kicking game. They don’t clear the ball on kickoffs - that’s not ideal with Mecole Hardman hanging out back there. Will Georgia’s offensive line be better after Ben Cleveland’s return to the lineup? Where in the world did Jordan Davis come from? He’s emerging as a future star for the program.
I see UGA winning this game. I think both teams are physical, but Georgia has depth that the Cats don’t have. Georgia is also solid is the kicking game. Is the UGA punter starting to pick it up? It feels like it after Jacksonville.
For the second week in a row the entire season is on the line for Georgia. This time a hated rival is not across the line of scrimmage, but a new foe in the form of a very good Kentucky program. These Cats have certainly whipped past South Carolina as a program - I’m having a hard time knowing how many folks saw that coming.
Halloween was its usual disaster. Ugh. I’m afraid Witch Sara has been retired, which is sad. The good new is that the kids went over to someone’s house and came back with very little candy, which means I only have so much to tempt me until Thanksgiving.
I also did accomplish the french fry challenge. I can’t remember the exact date in August when I committed to not eat french fries, but I didn’t ever digest one. I accidentally chewed one at one point, until I realized what I was doing. I dislodged the fry from my pallet. I’ve not eaten any fries since completing the challenge.
Nonetheless, we move on in this college football season. I’ve got the Dawgs winning, but I have noticed that the line continues to move against Georgia. It is at UGA -8.5, which gives the Dawgs a 75% chance of winning outright. I’d take those odds.