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It was an expected formality prior to the game in Atlanta that really matters. And Saturday’s walkover of Georgia Tech was every bit of that for the Bulldogs.
Here’s how Georgia met the three keys to a win.
Keep emotions in check
Georgia has a lot of play for next week. Tech does not. In a bad year, this game becomes bigger for the team having a bad year, and that team is the Yellow Jackets. Don’t think for a second that Tech players would take great joy in instigating an on-field incident causing a Georgia player to miss part of the SEC title game...ala George Pickens.
Unlike FSU-Florida, this one was not marred by a massive near-brawl pre-game or otherwise. This Georgia team knows what’s at stake, and not doing anything to jeopardize that showed against the Yellow Jackets.
Play as expected
Georgia is the superior team, and it’s key here that Georgia not start off slugglishly, as a lackluster win is the last thing you need going into, let’s the honest, the biggest stage for the program since January 2018. The other tie-in, here is that if Georgia starts slow, it lets a Tech team think it has a chance. Georgia needs to avoid that.
Stetson Bennett put on a clinic in terms of ball distribution, and the biggest drama for the Georgia defense was on if it would post a shutout or not. Sure, the dropped pass early by AD Mitchell is something that’s more survivable this week than next, but for the most part Georgia did what it needed to do.
Avoid Injuries
This ties into a big-picture win. To be honest, this worry is not as bad with the triple-option no longer a thing on The Flats, but a successful day on Saturday for Georgia will be a day with few injuries, helping the team Dawgs be as close to full strength as possible.
Other than Kearis Jackson, injuries were avoided. On the other side of this front, getting Kendall Milton back on the field is huge for next week, as is George Pickens being back. If nothing else, Pickens gives Alabama something else to think about when game-planning.
Go Dawgs!