If Georgia wins all of its remaining games — Saturday against Vanderbilt, a yet-to-be rescheduled game against Missouri and a bowl game — the seniors will go down as the class with the most wins in the history of Georgia football, with 45 wins in their careers.
The players are well aware of that possibility. On Tuesday evening, senior linebacker Monty Rice and senior defensive end Malik Herring made it clear they know exactly what’s at stake down the stretch.
“It’s special,” Rice said. “You want to win every game regardless of who it is. We want to win as many as possible, and if we are able to achieve that, it will be great. Who knows, it’s something I can come back years later and say, ‘We did that.’ Our senior class, me, Malik, (Richard LeCounte). All of those guys. We were able to get that done.”
Added Herring: “We all have a goal, and we all are trying to just keep working and take it one game at a time. If we just win out, then we reach our goal, and that’s a blessing.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said he mentioned the possibility to his seniors Friday before they played South Carolina the next day. It may have been motivational as the Bulldogs won 45-16, for their largest margin of victory of the season.
“I just think it’s something that keeps you motivated, if that’s something that motivates you,” Smart said. “Legacy’s important, and that means something. Certainly been a lot of great senior classes. I told them we were just talking about this with last year’s class, that they had the opportunity to tie it.
“If this year had been a more traditional year with the extra games, this group probably could’ve shattered it. They could’ve beat it by two or three. With only the 10 games and the possibility of a bowl game, they’ve gotta win out to put themselves in that position. I know that it matters to a lot of them.”
Saturday’s Senior Day festivities won’t be quite the same as normal, given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Regardless, it will be a special moment for Georgia’s seniors. Both Herring and Rice said that their time as Bulldogs has flown by — a sentiment that will ring familiar to anyone who has attended college.
“It’s going to be amazing,” Herring said. “I feel like I just got here, and it just came so fast. I’m really just trying to soak it all in.”
“It’s a blessing,” Rice added. “The time here has flown by. I have appreciated it. It has been special from the beginning to the end.”
Unlike their three previous seasons, it’s highly unlikely that this season will end with a trip to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the SEC Championship game. Florida would have to lose twice, and the Gators’ final two games are against Tennessee and LSU, who are a combined 5-9.
But the seniors still have a chance to cement their legacy as the winningest class in school history, and it’s clear that they plan to do everything they can to reach that mark.
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