Georgia still has much to prove after Florida win
USA TODAY
In the moments after a win against Florida, several Georgia fans took to Twitter — presumably before resuming their celebration over a 36-17 victory in the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” — to retweet an apparently irksome comment.
It was something I said last week on the “Paul Finebaum Show,” following the Bulldogs’ 20-point loss to LSU: “Maybe we overrated Georgia in the first part of the season a little bit based on last year.”
It seemed like a fairly innocuous comment; not quite milquetoast, not exactly strong. But when tweeted by the @finebaum account, it caused a fair amount of consternation from Georgia fans. Then Oct. 27, when Georgia’s 36-17 victory over Florida was complete, another round of retweeting occurred.
That’s fine — just part of the gig — even as it shows even a mild comment can be taken as a big insult.
But after the Bulldogs’ win over their biggest rival, to whom they were clearly superior, a clarification of that comment is in order. So here’s what we’d like to say now:
Maybe we overrated Georgia in the first part of the season a little bit based on last year.
Got that? Because in the bigger picture, nothing much changed in the Florida game.
The win put Georgia in control of its fate in the Southeastern Conference East. The Bulldogs (7-1 overall, 5-1 SEC) can clinch the division next week by beating Kentucky. The Wildcats, who have the same record, could do the same, but Georgia clearly looks like the East’s best.
Of course, that’s not the goal, except as a means to an end. There remains serious and legitimate doubt as to whether the Bulldogs are anywhere near good enough to contend for a Playoff berth, especially considering Alabama likely looms in the SEC championship game. Nothing so far suggests the Bulldogs can contend with the Tide.
That’s OK, by the way. At least for now.
It’s more important that the
5. (tie) Georgia (7-1)
Bulldogs rebounded after that discouraging performance in a 20-point loss at LSU. And just beating a rival is more than enough. Winning in Jacksonville is never a guarantee.
Florida-Georgia is a game that breeds goofiness and results that routinely do not reflect the teams’ actual ceilings or floors — see Georgia’s sixplay, zero-yard drive from the 1 that took 3:58 and ended in a field goal as one example — but the Bulldogs gradually pulled away.
The matchup in Jacksonville is always intense, regardless of external stakes. But with both teams ranked among the top 11
11. Washington State (7-1)
in the Amway Coaches Poll, it took on more importance. Georgia’s loss to LSU, coupled with Florida’s ahead-of-schedule rise under first-year coach Dan Mullen, contributed to the anticipation.
Instead, the Bulldogs did it with a familiar formula: a heavy dose of run game supplemented by a good performance from quarterback Jake Fromm, who snapped back nicely after a poor performance at LSU.
In the two weeks since then, there was plenty of speculation as to whether and how freshman quarterback Justin Field’s role might increase. Instead, he didn’t play at all, and Fromm
17. Houston (7-1)
produced one of his best games. He was 17 of 24 for 240 yards and three touchdowns, all coming on third downs, reminding people of the latter part of last season — and why coaches were so high on him going into this season.
Fromm picked on the vacancy left by Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson, who was injured during the game. At least as important, the Gators committed three turnovers; Georgia turned two into 10 points.
But it was a promising performance. And even if it wasn’t completely unexpected, it was good to see Georgia get back on track.
But in the bigger picture, there was not much to suggest Georgia is a Playoff-caliber team. No one should have buried the Bulldogs after the loss to LSU, and no one really did. There’s plenty of potential, and time will tell how much growth can occur. It’s likely they’ll get their shot to prove everyone wrong.
Still, let’s not overrate Georgia, even a little bit, based on the Florida win.
23. Fresno State (7-1)