When Georgia kicks off against Auburn at 7:21 p.m. on Saturday, it will have been 42 days since it last played a game at Sanford Stadium. It’s the longest stretch of away play since 2008, when the Bulldogs were also gone six weeks.
Not surprisingly, the Bulldogs are glad to be back between the hedges.
“It’s been way too long,” senior center David Andrew said. “Especially being a senior now, you know these moments are kind of dwindling down. Getting a chance to play in front of the home fans and having your friends and family be able to travel to this game, and what it means, I couldn’t think of a better way to play.”
Said noseguard Mike Thornton, a fifth-year senior: “It’s great to be back home. We’ve been on this journey on the road trying to take care of business. So it will be great to be in front of our home crowd. … It felt like too long. It’s the longest it’s been I’ve been here, and I’ve been here awhile.”
Georgia has unusually long stretches away from home in October and November periodically because it gives away a home game every year to play Florida in Jacksonville. The Gators face a similar stretch every other year.
Coach Mark Richt downplays the significance.
“I mean if you could have it ideally, would you spread it out a little differently? I think we would,” he said Tuesday. “But I say this same thing over and over, … just tell us what the schedule is and we’ll go play it. I didn’t think much about oh, this is going to be horrible or this is going to be bad or whatever. I was like, okay, ‘this is what the deal is, let’s go attack it the best we can and find a way to win every week.’ I didn’t think much of it really.”
Georgia went 3-1 during the stretch, which included an open date before the Florida game. That they endured it without star tailback Todd Gurley added to the challenge.
