It felt like one of those days. You know the ones I’m talking about, where nothing goes right and calamity ensues on the Sanford Stadium gridiron.
The ones where we know Georgia is far superior to its opposition, so no one is too worried while tailgating or moseying into the stadium. But it’s noon, and we’re still sleepy. Or it’s raining, and we’d rather be inside. And we’re usually playing South Carolina.
One of those days. And so it was, at least through a half against the Gamecocks last Saturday. Heading into the locker room, the Dawgs trailed 14-3. The defense was shredded by Spencer Rattler, who completed 16-of-18 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown in the first half. The offense couldn’t finish drives in the red zone, and left points on the board with a missed field goal. Dawg fans the world over had hands hovered over the big, red “Fire Bobo” button.
But then came the second half, and with it a stark reminder of how good this team can be if it plays to its potential. Carson Beck marched the offense down the field in less than three minutes to bring the score to 14-10 with a touchdown by the returning Daijun Edwards. Boom. The defense responded by forcing its first three-and-out of the day. Boom. Beck went back out again and drove down the field, with Dillon Bell scoring this time to take a 17-14 lead we wouldn’t relinquish, eventually winning 24-14. Boom.
“I’m thrilled that when I came in the locker room [at halftime], they were committed to each other talking about what we have to do better,” Kirby Smart said. “Offense was over here, defense was over there, nobody was bickering. We were in complete control, calm amongst the storm. They responded.”
It is reassuring to know this team has the ability to turn on the boosters and make things happen when in a pinch. It would be more reassuring if we didn’t get ourselves in those pinches to begin with. At some point, you have to assert yourself and dominate the teams that you are clearly better than. If Georgia continues to play like it has for much of this young season, it won’t win another national title.
We were saying all these things after the Missouri game last year, too, though. And we all know how that turned out.
Luckily, this team has some things going for it that last year’s Dawgs had as well. Namely, they are blessed with a long runway. We finish our early-season run of home games next week with UAB. Then it’s on to Auburn, which is undefeated and projecting upward under Hugh Freeze, but still less talented. Kentucky’s at home. Florida looks more stout after beating the brakes off Tennessee last weekend. Conversely, Tennessee looks more like a pushover.
The three-game stretch of Missouri, Ole Miss and Tennessee in November should be the toughest of the season. By that time, hopefully we’ve availed ourselves of that long runway, and Beck has continued his steady improvement, while the defense solidifies and coheres into the kind of shutdown unit we’ve come to expect from that side of the ball. I’d say it’s wishful thinking if I hadn’t seen it happen before.
Like last year, this team is also blessed by the field around it. Three weeks into the season, you’ve got to ask the question: Is anyone good?
We know the relative struggles the Dawgs have had, and we’re the top team in the nation. Alabama already lost to Texas, then almost lost to USF. Texas is Texas, and they’re just as likely to shoot themselves in the foot as make the College Football Playoff. Michigan ain’t played nobody. Ditto Ohio State (they get Notre Dame next week). Clemson lost to Duke. Florida State looks poised to take a step back up to the top of the sport, but, like Texas, I’ll believe it when I see it. There is no Death Star this year. There is no 2019 LSU or 2020 Alabama or 2021 Georgia, teams that looked from the opening kickoff of the season like they were destined to be champions.
So if no one’s gonna come take the crown, we may as well hold onto it another year.
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