Three Questions Going Into UGA - Mississippi State

Will there be a Starkville hangover for the Dawgs after last week’s big win against Tennessee? We’ll find out Saturday night. Whether it's the venue, the idiocy of the SEC allowing cowbells, or some kind of mental edge, Starkvegas, as it's called, can be a tough place to play, even for good teams.

Georgia takes on that challenge Saturday night.

Will Georgia set a season-high for rushing yards?

Four times this year, Georgia has rushed for more than 200 yards a game. Against Auburn, that number was 292. The Bizzaro Dogs are not within the top 70 in the fewest rushing yards allowed. Obviously, there’s an opportunity for Georgia to easily take the game over on the ground. The question is, how many yards the Dawgs will rush for?

Will Georgia have the same edge as last week?

It’s funny. We made jokes about Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban in recent years of playing the ‘they disrespect us’ trope. And while nobody from within the locker room in Athens externally claims anyone doubted them, it’s hard to doubt the fact that Georgia not being No. 1 last week did not sit well in the locker room. In other words, Georgia against Tennessee had a chip on its shoulder and played like it. Now, all of a sudden, Georgia has drawn strong odds of repeating as national champ, a week after someone else in its division was a trendy pick. One big thing to watch this week? How much of last week was taking Tennessee personally as opposed to other times this year it has sleepwalked to wins against lesser opponents.

Can Georgia put this away early?

Look, State can put up points. Any Mike Leach team, even if inconsistent, will put up yards and points off and on as the game goes on. It’s partially due to the Air Raid doing things as a scheme you don’t see a lot (Georgia’s DBs are likely tired of hearing the word, ‘mesh’).

Because of that, leads are not quite as safe as compared to say, Florida which cannot stretch the field as well. For that reason, Georgia needs to take control against what figures to be a buzzing atmosphere on Saturday night in Starkville.

Go Dawgs!