Let’s talk about Georgia
I’ve seen some people say that their schedule is soft and we are going to roll. Of course everyone has a right to their own opinion but I would say that is fan bravado. We beat OSU by being maniacally focused for that game and I think it will take a similar effort to beat the Bulldogs. They have more talent than we do so it will take another complete team effort to win this game. Fortunately we have 4 weeks to prepare. I’m not looking for score predictions but what gives you hope and what makes you concerned?
This is probably the most unexpected season I can ever remember so it’s all house money at this point, but I don’t see our team rolling over.
December 7th, 2021 at 10:44 AM ^
Tasty peaches, Georgia has.
December 7th, 2021 at 2:33 PM ^
I read somewhere that Female Georgia Bull dogs periods attract Wolverines. They can smell the menstruation.
December 7th, 2021 at 6:11 PM ^
Millions of peaches, peaches for MI.
December 7th, 2021 at 10:52 AM ^
2011's team was the last team to wildly over achieve. Let's hope this season is one that shocks the world and ends up with us upsetting Alabama and making Saban pull out the remaining strands of hair on his head while saying after the game, "that's the best team we have ever played."
December 7th, 2021 at 11:45 AM ^
What about 2015? It improved by more wins than the 2011 team did.
December 7th, 2021 at 12:24 PM ^
This team has not overachieved. Maybe from an expectations point of view, but if you paid attention this is not a fluke. This is a really good to great team. Just a couple calls from being 13-0.
2011 felt like a fluke all year. From the improbable last 2nd win under the lights to needing a stop to beat a not very good OSU team, to the way they beat Va Tech in the Sugar Bowl.
This seems sustainable. Like the beginning of something special.
December 7th, 2021 at 1:52 PM ^
Agreed. The 2011 squad benefited from the fact that Hoke basically ran the exact same offense as the previous year with tons of speed and athletes left over that RichRod recruited, bringing in a competent defensive coordinator in Greg Mattison while scrapping the stupid 3-3-5 scheme, and the fact that the Big Ten was weak af that year.
That Sugar Bowl win over Va Tech was also extremely ugly and flukey as well.
December 7th, 2021 at 2:20 PM ^
2011 win over OSU was not a fluke. They legit outplayed OSU. They only needed a stop because of *shocker* an egregious blunder by a replay official. Fitz was in and the replay official thought there was incontrovertible evidence that he wasn’t. Mike Perreria called the official out.
December 7th, 2021 at 10:53 AM ^
Northern Georgia....I like it. Savannah... I like it. The rest.... I do not like it.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:30 AM ^
Savannah is a very underrated vacation spot. Beautiful, great weather, tons of things for the family to do. Highly recommended.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:33 AM ^
Forsyth Park is one of my favorite places. Such a beautiful area.
December 7th, 2021 at 1:27 PM ^
My girlfriend and I stayed at the Forsyth Park Inn in late July. Fantastic location and room. Will definitely return
December 7th, 2021 at 12:33 PM ^
Savannah = Great city. Love cities that emphasize the finer points in life. Open containers and live music. Nothing beats bar hopping with a "roadie" and just checking out the sights and sounds.
December 7th, 2021 at 1:52 PM ^
Work took me to Savannah a bunch in the four months before COVID. I loved it. Nothing beats night out on the town post-work on the company dime. Wife and I are planning an extended weekend trip to there and Charleston.
Highly recommend The Olde Pink House if you're there for dinner. It was great. Very historical city.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:59 AM ^
Those are my favorites, but Augusta is nice along with the Columbus and Lagrange areas. Not much else left except small towns that people tend to avoid due to stereotypes.
As a side note, I'm a native Georgian who's father was a GT alum, so there was no red allowed in our household. Michigan better beat the tar out of jawja. Finally we have a mentally tough team, and if there's anything I've learned from a lifetime here, it's that the UGA teams are very prone to the same insecurities and confidence issues that have plagued us in the past. Punch those a-holes in the mouth hard and fast and watch them fall apart and shut up all the dawgs fans around here.
December 7th, 2021 at 12:48 PM ^
St. Simons Island is pretty good also.
December 7th, 2021 at 1:42 PM ^
I stay in a place called the Partridge Inn in Augusta whenever stay down there, and a couple years ago (late August, early September) they had the flags of all the SEC teams hanging from the porch awning, and notably out of place among them was a maize and blue Block-M flag.
I'll take it as a sign.
December 7th, 2021 at 10:55 AM ^
Personally, I think this is the worst possible CFP matchup/location for M. I believe Georgia will come out pissing fire, wanting a rematch with 'Bama. No one is sitting out, and it's in their (relative) backyard.
Bama could not run between the tackles on GA - they have a mobile QB who creates plays out of the pocket and just bombed the Bulldogs secondary. If Bama can't run on GA, I don't hold out great hope of success in the ground n pound aspect of our offensive DNA (with apologies to our entire OL who has gashed great DLs this season). I think we need some more wrinkles on offense.
Could be a D slugfest, but our recent success of outphysicalling our opposition doesn't sound promising at first glance. Georgia is still S+P #1 for a reason, and were the runaway #1 all year long outside of last week's (what I will call an) aberration.
That said, this Michigan team is on a mission. We will have a fully weaponized excellent game plan (unfortunately so will they, as it takes the SEC a month to do so - I'd rather play them this weekend), and we'll somehow come out on top 20-17ish. Gotta believe. Already nervous. 24.4 days away.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:02 AM ^
For what it's worth, Alabama fans have wanted to fire Doug Marrone into the sun because the OL has been pretty awful by their standards.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:05 AM ^
Believe me, that is not GA's back yard. It's a fur piece for most Georgians, drive time 11-12 hours from Atlanta, for example, and Michigan grads will be there in force.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:10 AM ^
Relative backyard? That's like saying Athens is in our (relative) backyard? Athens is closer to us as the bird flies than Athens is to Miami. Fans that want to drive have a very long drive ahead of them even if they are coming from Georgia.
December 7th, 2021 at 12:16 PM ^
Wow, science! I did not know that.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:12 AM ^
Bama's RB corp is also in shambles. Brian Robinson has had hamstring issues and was questionable for the SEC game, but played anyway and looked like he was struggling. Their #2 got hurt in mid November and is out for the rest of the season. Their #3 is rushing for 22 yards/game.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:12 AM ^
Sitting out? Do you think any player from any team would ever sit out a playoff game?
I am pretty sure that no NFL teams would ever draft (at least in the first 3 rounds) a player that skipped a playoff game.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:35 AM ^
Didn't the younger Bosa brother sit out most of his final year?
December 7th, 2021 at 12:14 PM ^
He did, after an injury. I'm also pretty sure OSU didn't make the playoffs that year, I want to say they played Washington in the Rose Bowl? I could be remembering wrong.
I don't think it would hurt draft stock of any of the top players, but as I can currently recall, there have been no major sit outs from any school that were not "existing injury" related in the playoffs.
December 7th, 2021 at 12:05 PM ^
I am pretty sure that no NFL teams would ever draft (at least in the first 3 rounds) a player that skipped a playoff game.
You are wrong. If any of the Heisman finalists decided not to play, I promise you their draft stock would not change.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:15 AM ^
FWIW, Athens is a 12 hour drive from Miami. Most folks will be flying in so 1.5 hour flight vs 3 hour flight doesn't make that much difference.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
12 hours? On a camel? Back in the day (in an era of tighter speed limits) I made it from Ann Arbor to just north of Miami in a little over 18. Anyway, the WWW says 10-something and even that seems a little liberal.
On-topic, I agree with the OP's take. Georgia has been recruiting at an elite level. We'll need some intangibles to beat them.
December 7th, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
I just consulted a bunch of sources and saw everything from '9 hours, 45 minutes without stops or traffic jams' to 12-plus. Sorry, but ten is still not any Georgian's backyard. To most Southerners Miami isn't even in the South.
December 7th, 2021 at 2:22 PM ^
Miami is not considered a driveable distance for a weekend. Orlando is about as far as most Georgians will go.
December 7th, 2021 at 2:21 PM ^
12 hours because they stop 5 times at roadside stands for boiled peanuts.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:17 AM ^
I think the location is neutral. Fans from both schools will be there, it's Ross's backyard, etc.
I guess you might technically be right, in that I'd prefer Michigan's matchup with Cincinnati or Notre Dame or Oklahoma State, which are all worse teams than Georgia. And I think Georgia is probably a better team...
But the game Georgia likes to play is the game that Michigan is good at playing. A low-amplitude slugfest, and our guys can slug pretty hard. One thing we cannot say about this Michigan team is that they have not played quality defenses, because we absolutely have. Georgia's defense is better. They've got athletes everywhere. But Michigan has played strong defenses, and Michigan has enough experience with stuff on offense not working perfectly to not get flustered if Georgia shuts the offense down on a couple of drives.
This is not the sort of thing where Michigan is completely outclassed, the way I imagined us to be against the firepower of Ohio State. At least, not on the surface. I'll wait to form a firmer opinion until I see the deeper work of guys like Alex and Ian, but I am cautiously hopeful.
And, really, this is free money anyway.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:27 AM ^
Well said..
I think Georgia comes out with shock and awe hoping to outathlete us. I'm just happy to be in the game hope we do well!
December 7th, 2021 at 12:10 PM ^
Good take. I highly doubt that Georgia comes out and slugs Michigan in the mouth and we spend the game cowering. And--while I have only watched Georgia twice--I have not seen as supple a squad as our when I did. We really have operationalized the whole field, while they are more intent on a kind of bully ball. Without resorting too much to stereotype, because I think that they're a more than respectable outfit, I am content that our braintrust will match theirs and more in its planning.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:21 AM ^
I believe Georgia will come out pissing fire, wanting a rematch with 'Bama.
Which is why they will lose, since they are playing UofM.
Caught looking backward and forward at the same time.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:42 AM ^
This is exactly my feelings. The SEC is in love with themselves ad believes there is no way at this point that it will NOT be a SEC only National Championship game. One thing that gives me some hope is Georgia ended their season @Florida, vs Missouri, @Tennessee, vs Charleston So., @Georgia Tech, vs Alabama. By the time they played an awful and down-spiraling Florida team, they pretty much knew they were going to be in the SEC Championship game and more than likely playing Alabama. One would have to assume that they were preparing for that SEC championship game and versing Alabama. After watching the game vs Alabama, I am not sure they are the best at preparing for good teams based off that performance. I would also say Michigan cannot be an easy team to prepare for. We rotate our Qbs with great affect, we have 3 very dynamic running backs, and you will not be able to sit in the pocket for more than 3 seconds with our DEs crashing in. Georgia is a very good football team with talent everywhere, but I like our coaching matchup versus their coaching based solely off how each team has prepared their respective teams in the latter half of the season. Go Blue!
December 7th, 2021 at 12:03 PM ^
This. How in the hell Georgia did not plan for Bama. They got no pressure and got beat over the top over and over again. They did not make adjustments or it didn't matter. Bryce Young is special. How did Smart did not try to take away what he is good at. Damn.
December 7th, 2021 at 12:56 PM ^
Georgia also had less incentive to play killer ball.
They knew they were in either way. While I'm sure they would have loved to take Bama out, it's a different mindset when everything is on the line.
December 7th, 2021 at 1:11 PM ^
I have to disagree. You are telling me they had no incentive when they played against Bama in SEC championship game? That would stupid on Smart's part.
December 7th, 2021 at 2:42 PM ^
Why on earth would they not give 'Bama their best shot and knock them out of contention right then and there? And that's totally independent of Georgia suffering the same sort of "can't beat rival, can't win conference" narrative that Harbaugh has been dealing with.
Beating Alabama is a monkey they want off their back, and I can't imagine they'd lay flat in an opportunity to do that.
December 7th, 2021 at 12:35 PM ^
LOTS of Michigan fans in Florida though. I don't think that will make much of a difference.
December 7th, 2021 at 12:56 PM ^
Bama has struggled to run all year. They've averaged 5 or more ypc every year since 2016. This year, it was 4.1. Their lowest since 2007.
I don't know if that's because they're putting more of a focus on the passing attack or what.