ATHENS — Not that the Georgia Bulldogs required any real shock therapy before entering a more interesting phase of their championship defense. Nonetheless, the Braves just maybe attached electrodes to some sensitive areas and sent a jolt of perspective this way Saturday while making their own ugly, inglorious exit.
On the same afternoon that defending champion Georgia met the obligation of smashing Vanderbilt’s atoms – that’s 55-0 on Saturday, a composite 117-0 the past two years, and a shutout that extends to before the pandemic, seeing how the Commodores begged out of the 2020 game – the defending champion Braves were blown out of the MLB playoffs by Philadelphia.
A season ago, the Braves and Bulldogs staged a great harmonic convergence, two teams in the same state making overdue returns to glory within months of each other. There’s so much overlap in the Venn diagram of these two fan bases, and as a result, there was so much joy to be shared last fall and winter.
They don’t play the same sport. They don’t play at the same level (although the new NIL college rules blur that distinction). Yet the Braves and Bulldogs felt somehow part of the same celebration quilt even as they went on separate title runs. And both returned with real aspirations of repeating.
So when the Braves made their big divisional playoff thud in Philly on Saturday, did the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs feel it, too?
Is that a valuable message to the collegians about just how easy it is for yesterday’s defending champion to be today’s roadkill?
“It is,” Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett said.
And he defined the challenge ahead for the team that’s still playing: “Are we going to cash our chips in after just so many games? Or are we going to keep going, knowing this isn’t over until it’s over. Take it game by game, do our job that week, and all of a sudden it’s time to do our job the next week.”
The Braves’ 2021 World Series victory provided a small measure of inspiration to the Bulldogs as they headed to their first title in 40 years. And Braves fans occupy some of the highest levels of the Georgia program. One of them, coach Kirby Smart, sounded as if he needed no examples of how that winning feeling can pass as quickly as a truck-stop-burrito belch.
“Hey, look, they had a hell of a year,” said Smart, carving out a little of his Vandy postgame comments for the Braves. “They won a lot of games. They overcame a massive lead (to win the National League East), did a tremendous job. Each year is individual of the other; they’d be the first to tell you that.
“There’s only one team that wins it at the end of the year. It’s not normally the same team. We’ll focus on us, getting better. We got a long way to go to be the team we need to be.”
No one will argue with that. After a couple of too-close contests, the Bulldogs enjoyed their most leisurely victory of the season going into the usual off-week before the Florida game. But this was Vanderbilt, and in the fraternity of the SEC, Vandy is the awkward legacy, the shy rules-follower with an alcohol allergy who really doesn’t belong. But the Commodores raise the collective GPA, so they’re tolerated.
OK, they’ve contributed Dansby Swanson, Kyle Wright, six Nobel Laureates and several thousand skilled physicians. That’s great for those few in the South who believe a university’s mission should extend beyond football.
It’s going to get way tougher in November, with – as of Saturday afternoon – three ranked teams on the docket (Tennessee, Mississippi State and Kentucky). To pick out just a few, here are a couple of imperatives for the Bulldogs going forward, lest they share the Braves fate:
» The Bulldogs need to get healthy.
They dearly miss Jalen Carter along the defensive line and receiver Adonai Mitchell out wide, stretching the field. There are other gaps in the offensive backfield and at linebacker.
The off-week falls mercifully for the sake of Georgia’s health, but Smart is careful not to promise any Lourdes-like cures.
“There’s nothing about an off-week where you magically get everybody back,” Smart said. “We have to see how they progress, how much pain tolerance they have. Some players handle injuries better than others. It’s not realistic to think all these kids are going to be back by Florida week. I’m not sure we’ll ever be completely healthy.”
» Bennett needs to build off his performance Saturday.
After going three games without throwing a touchdown, last season’s College Football Championship game MVP tossed two against Vanderbilt. His completion percentage was way up while throwing nothing fancy (24-of-30 passing for 289 yards). A good jumping-off place for him for a reset during the off-week.
» This offense needs to show more explosive capabilities.
This is what Georgia is now, as demonstrated against Vandy: Six scoring drives of nine plays or more; holding the ball forever, and enjoying an advantage of 39 minutes to 21 minutes in time of possession. Seven games in, the quarterback and tight end Brock Bowers are the only players with rushes over 36 yards long. Bowers is the only receiver with a catch of over 38 yards.
Some day, against better competition, someone will need to go boom.
» The defense needs to exert more pressure.
Against Vandy, the Bulldogs had a lone sack and no quarterback hits (the Commodores had two sacks). Against a Tennessee team that leads the SEC in scoring and a Mississippi State team that throws the ball while getting off the bus – to mention only two – there will need to be more resistance than that.
No, this defense isn’t in the class of the 2021 version, but it needs to serve up a few more reminders than this.
“We can get better at everything,” linebacker Rian Davis said. “Communicate better. Tackle better. Get the ball out better. Stuff that we hold each other accountable for in practice, we got to take that to the game field and maximize it.”
“I’m gonna dig, chew, claw to get every player on our roster better because one of those guys will be counted on to make a play in a tough game,” Smart promised.
Such a vow seemed to have a little more edge on a day when one good neighbor fell out of the championship chase. It’s now all on the Bulldogs – and Chase Elliott, for those into local motor skills – to hold up big hopes.
