After the Georgia Bulldogs and a deafening Sanford Stadium crowd silenced the critics with a convincing win over Tennessee last Saturday, Georgia fans now prepare to watch their defending national champions travel to Starkville, Miss., this weekend.
Against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Georgia’s all-time record is 19-6; however, the last time the AP No. 1 Bulldogs traveled to Davis Wade Stadium was 2010, when Georgia lost that contest 24-12.
Kirby Smart’s team proved a lot of people wrong last weekend by defeating the then-No. 1 Volunteers, but he believes the opposing Bulldogs are not a team to overlook.
“It’s an extremely tough place to play. A place I’ve been many times. Their environment is electric. It’ll be at night, and their guys play really hard, and they’re really physical,” the Georgia head coach said.
Last Saturday, Georgia had multiple players across the defense step up in a big way. The Bulldogs held the Volunteers’ No. 1 scoring offense to just 13 points through four quarters and held one of the nation’s top quarterbacks, Hendon Hooker, to just 195 yards through the air. Kelee Ringo also picked Hooker off late in the first half, and the defense ended the game with a total of six sacks.
Even after having that much success against an elite offense, Smart acknowledged Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach’s squad is different, especially from the last time the Bulldogs saw them two years ago between the hedges.
“They know who they are, and they have answers for what they do. They’re usually one step ahead in their answer than you are, because you don’t play against them but once a year and they do it all the time,” Smart said. “So, they have exposure to everything every defense has tried on them, and, you know, their quarterback is very experienced.”
That quarterback is Will Rogers, a three-year starter who has thrown 26 touchdown passes on the year so far. He also leads the SEC in passing yards with 2,912, which is a little more than Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, who is right behind Rogers in second place.
Pair the experienced Rogers with Leach’s offensive schemes, and Smart believes the Bulldogs’ defense will have its hands full.
“[Rogers has] broken a lot of records. He’s very intelligent, and he doesn’t make mistakes. He uses Coach Leach’s offense to his strength, and they understand, very similar to last week, triple options,” Smart said. “I have a lot of respect for what [Leach] does. He’s evolved, too. He’s not stayed exactly the same. Their backs and their commitment to the run, the so-called ‘just air raid,’ and he’s brought that physicality, really, to the SEC in terms of what he does.”
The main difference between the two teams is that Georgia is No. 4 in total defense compared to Mississippi State at No. 47.
Against an experienced defense, offensive coordinator Todd Monken will look to exploit the opposing Bulldogs both through the air and on the ground.
Smart understands his team will have to stick to the game plan to weather the storm on the road.
“They’re aggressive, relentless, experienced. They’ve got, like, seven or eight starters back. Disruptive with the way they move and do things,” Smart said. “This is different, and it stands out. You better have a good plan because they can take what you do away from you quickly.”
To do so, Georgia is hoping to get back key players like AD Mitchell who Smart said is “hopeful for this weekend.”
Nolan Smith and other players being out due to illness wasn’t ideal a week ago, but the team saw a lot of young talent step up with guys like Chaz Chambliss, Javon Bulllard and Rian Davis all making big-time plays for the Bulldogs.
Ultimately, Smart doesn’t want the big Tennessee win to affect future games and hopes his team continues to stick to the process that has brought Georgia its recent success.
“No matter who you play, you have a process, and we’re not going to go do anything different today than when we played Vandy, Auburn, Kent State, Missouri or anybody else, because when you treat it differently, you make it different,” Smart said.
“That’s not what this program was built on. We do it week-to-week and we worry about the opponent that week, and it’s not what you want me to say, not what you want to write, but it’s true.”