Something clearly is amiss with Georgia, and it’s not just coach Kirby Smart bizarrely shoving Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren on the sideline Saturday or taking to task the Bulldogs fan base for its lack of ardor the previous Saturday.
Passes are getting dropped on offense. The defense is blowing assignments. On both sides, penalty flags are flying. Effort, discipline and execution – habits that have defined Smart’s supremely successful tenure – have been found wanting.
think that you’ve been beat up on the offensive line,” Georgia great David Pollack and college football analyst told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think that’s been an issue. Defensively, I think I’ve seen, last week in particular, too many busts, too many guys that were a little confused.”
As the No. 5 Bulldogs prepare for their historic visit to Austin, Texas, to face No. 1 Texas, the Georgia fan base is braced for the seemingly unthinkable – a second loss to fall to 5-2.
Aiyee!
“I think as a fan, you kind of sit back and you want more,” said Pollack, a former ESPN talking head who now shares his opinions on his “David Pollack College Football” YouTube channel. “You’ve seen so much dominance over the years that you’ve kind of been spoiled.”
It’s a point of context that might Georgia fans might mull over – a lot of teams would be over the moon at 5-2. Archrival Georgia Tech, for instance, last started a season 5-2 in 2014. And that year, arguably, was Tech’s best since its 1990 national championship season.
But the Bulldogs have picked a fine year to be less than their best. In nearly any season before this one, a second regular-season loss would virtually disqualify the Bulldogs from national-championship contention. But losing to Texas on Saturday, while not ideal, would not quell Georgia’s highest aspirations.
In the inaugural season of the 12-team College Football Playoff, the Bulldogs will remain in the mix even with a loss to the Longhorns. If Georgia can make it to the end of the regular season at 10-2, the Bulldogs would figure to make the field. During the 10-year era of the four-team CFP, not counting the shortened 2020 season, no fewer than three teams made the top 11 of final CFP rankings each year with at least two regular-season losses. (Top 11 because the 12-team playoff reserves a berth for the five highest-ranking conference champions, meaning a league champion could finish outside the top 12 and still make the field.)
And, with the possible exception of Texas, whom would Georgia have to fear?
“Who’s the team that you go, ‘Man, they’re unbeatable,’” Pollack said. “I don’t see it. The transfer portal and NIL have created more parity than we’ve ever seen – ever – in college football. I think this thing’s going to be won by who gets hot. Like, last in the season, you see teams, they just click. They get it together, they figure it out and you don’t want to play them late.”
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