Dogs vs. Rebels - After the marvelous victory over Florida, Georgia must now refocus for Hotty Toddy

by Travis Ragsdale

Just when everyone thought Georgia’s hopes for another trip to Atlanta to compete in the SEC title game were dashed, a gift came from Steve Spurrier. With a couple of South Carolina losses, Georgia was handed back control of their own destiny. But a tough road lay ahead. Pundits and analysts said the Dawgs couldn’t beat the Gators, that they were too soft. This became a recurring theme throughout the week leading up to the game. But once the Dawgs got on the field they showed everyone in the nation just how “soft” they really are. Georgia now controls the East and is in prime position to get back to Atlanta. First things first though, they need to take care of Ole Miss like they are capable of. If not, then that hard fought win down in Jacksonville was all for naught.

Don’t get frozen
When Ole Miss announced last December that Hugh Freeze
was going to be taking over as head football coach in Oxford, not
much was made of it. First, because Ole Miss has struggled for so
many years and frankly, wasn’t relative in the SEC. And second because
nobody knew who in the heck Hugh Freeze was. Up until
that point, Freeze had been a head coach for a few years at a high school and then
at an NAIA school and finally one year as head coach at Arkansas State. Think about
that, before his hire, Freeze had one year of experience coaching at an FBS school.
Then he was named head coach at an SEC school? It’s easy to understand the cynicism
with which he was received upon his arrival. However, in just a short time with
the Rebels, he’s proven a lot of people wrong. They now stand at 5-3 on the year
with a couple of SEC victories. Granted, those two wins came against Auburn and
Arkansas, both of who have struggled mightily. But Freeze has made Ole Miss relevant
again. He’s done it by focusing almost all of his time and effort into putting a
high-powered, spread offense into place, much like he had at Arkansas State. As a result,
the defense has suffered a bit but the theory is that if you can’t keep up with
their offense, you can’t win.

Quit the jawing, play football.
Look, football is an emotional game. If it wasn’t for emotion, Georgia’s defense
probably wouldn’t have been able to come out with as much fire as they did against
Florida. Emotion is great, use it. But there is a fine line between playing with emotion
and being reckless. Look at Malcolm Mitchell as an example. In the fourth quarter
against Florida, he makes a solid catch for ten yards, hops up and gets in a Florida
defender’s face. Boom. 15-yard penalty and the play is negated. There is always going
to be trash talking but the players need to be smart enough to realize where to toe
the line and stop. At some point, it’s going to hurt you rather than help you. The
Dawgs realized this against Florida. There were numerous times during the game, this
past Saturday, that they shot themselves in the foot with stupid, unnecessary personal
fouls. This needs to be cleaned up by Saturday against Ole Miss. Georgia has
the clear edge in the talent department in this game. It’s not even close. The only
way that the Dawgs can get into trouble is if they start giving things away to the
Rebels. First and foremost that means penalties. They can’t have 14 penalties every
week and expect to win. Talk a little, play a lot.

Getting the offense back on track
Brutal honesty hurts sometimes. Aaron Murray had the worst game of his career
this past Saturday. Tavarres King had two uncharacteristic drops. Malcolm Mitchell
had another, so did Arthur Lynch. If it wasn’t for Todd Gurley, the offensive stat line
would have been one of the worst ever for Georgia. To their credit however, Florida
had one of the best defenses in the country coming into last week’s game statistically.
But it still is a bit puzzling considering Georgia started off the year so strong, scoring
40+ points in each of their first five contests. The shine of that high-flying offense
has worn off in recent weeks but Ole Miss may be the perfect team to get it
shining once again. Frankly, the Rebels defense isn’t good. Against Texas this year,
they allowed 66 points and over 700 total yards of offense. They come at a perfect
time for the Dawgs when the confidence especially Aaron Murray’s) isn’t high. Best
thing for Georgia to do Saturday is to get out there and sling it around like they did
at the beginning of the year and try to inject that same confidence they had earlier in
the year.

Intangibles
It goes without saying, but, be weary of the letdown. This has all the makings of
a trap game. Ole Miss coming off a hard fought win against an equally matched team
will work hard to improve this week knowing they are playing a better opponent in
Georgia. The Dawgs on the other hand, are coming off a game in which they weren’t
expected to win and are now playing a lesser opponent. The ingredients are there for
a classic letdown. How does Georgia combat this? Practice hard. Bacarri Rambo said
the week leading up to Florida was the best week of practice they’ve ever had as a
team. There needs to be that same sense of urgency this week. Good news for Georgia,
they return to Sanford Stadium after a month-long hiatus. It will be good for
them to get back between the hedges so that the bulldog nation can cheer them on
to another victory and move one step closer to that return trip to Atlanta.

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