Tag: georgia bulldogs news

George Pickens to miss first half of SEC Championship Game

Georgia freshman WR George Pickens will be suspended for the first half of next week’s SEC Championship Game against LSU in Atlanta. 

Following a less-than-civil confrontation in today’s beating of the Bees, Georgia freshman wide receiver George Pickens will be suspended for the first half of next week’s SEC Championship Game against Louisiana State in Atlanta.

Kirby Smart confirmed the suspension in his post-game press conference following a 45-point win at Georgia Tech.

Jim Coley’s offense will already be without the injured Lawrence Cager, who leads the team with 476 receiving yards in 2019.

Pickens is only 19 yards behind with one fewer reception (32) and one more touchdown (5) than Cager.

The freshman out of Hoover, Alabama was previously suspended for the first half of today’s game against Georgia Tech for a “team matter” upon which Kirby Smart would not elaborate.

Missing two of the biggest deep threats on the roster, the Bulldogs offense will need to get creative in the first half of the looming conference championship.

Injury Report: Devonte Wyatt out for Georgia vs. Georgia Tech

Junior defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt will not suit up for the Bulldogs in this year’s edition of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. 

As per Seth Emerson of The Athletic, junior defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt will not suit up for the Bulldogs in this year’s edition of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.

Wyatt, who hasn’t yet missed a game in 2019, has recorded 22 tackles and has been credited with 19 quarterback pressures on the year. In addition, he recovered a fumble in the first game of the season at Vanderbilt.

Though Georgia Tech hasn’t had much success rushing the ball under Geoff Collins, Wyatt’s ability to plug gaps and pressure signal callers is a large void that will need to be filled with heavy rotational play.

Missouri football head coach Barry Odom fired

According to multiple reports, Barry Odom is out after his fourth season as the Missouri Tigers’ head coach. 

According to multiple reports, Barry Odom is out after his fourth season as the Missouri Tigers’ head coach.

Odom, who tallied a 25-25 record coaching his alma mater, helped secure the Tigers a six-win season in yesterday’s win at Arkansas. His tenure produced a conference record of 13 wins and 19 losses, going winless against division foe Georgia.

The rumors of Odom’s firing have been circulating for the better part of 24 hours, but the news has since been confirmed by ESPN.

Why Georgia football cannot overlook Georgia Tech

If there’s one goal Georgia Tech has left for the 2019 regular season, it is to disrupt the 2019 postseason of their most hated rivals.

The stage is set for the SEC Championship Game. Regardless if either team loses in the final week of the regular season, Eastern Division champion Georgia will face Western Division champion Louisiana State on December 7th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

For undefeated LSU, there is a slight possibility that a single loss in a conference championship game could keep them in the final spot of the College Football Playoff given their tiebreaker with Alabama, which sits at No. 5 in the playoff picture.

The margin of error is much smaller for Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs, who suffered their lone loss in overtime against a South Carolina squad currently posting a record of four wins and seven losses.

A week before the Dawgs play the Tigers in Altanta, they’ll make a trip to Bobby Dodd Stadium, under two miles away from their next destination.

Georgia Tech hosts Georgia sporting three wins and eight losses. In their first season removed from Paul Johnson’s option-based flexbone offense, the Yellow Jackets have struggled to effectively utilize tight ends and single set backs under new head coach Geoff Collins.

Though the two teams have shared no common opponents this season, Georgia is currently favored at one of the highest margins of victory in the history of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.

Georgia Tech isn’t bowl eligible while Georgia needs to win out to appear in the College Football Playoff. If there’s one goal the Yellow Jackets have left for the 2019 regular season, it is to disrupt the 2019 postseason of their most hated rivals.

The Bulldogs cannot afford to look forward to LSU if they wish to keep their playoff hopes alive for one more week.

Georgia football greats Aaron Murray, Drew Butler discuss UGA vs Tech

Georgia football greats Aaron Murray and Drew Butler talk UGA vs Ga Tech.

On Saturday at noon, Georgia and Georgia Tech will kickoff the 113th meeting of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.

The Bulldogs are 28.5 point favorites over the Yellow Jackets and have won 15 of the last 18 meetings.

This season, there’s plenty of reasons to think No. 4 Georgia (10-1) will cover the spread against Tech (3-8).

Simply, Georgia’s defense is just way too good. It has shut down just about everybody its played, and Tech’s offense will be one of the worst the Dawgs have faced this season.

This week, Georgia greats Aaron Murray and Drew Butler discussed the game known as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate on their show powered by CampusLore.

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UGA vs Tech: Has the hate died out? Tavarres King doesn’t think so

Georgia football great Tavarres King does not think Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate between UGA and Georgia Tech has died out.

Georgia has beaten Georgia Tech 15 out of the last 18 seasons, furthering its dominance in the rivalry game known as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. And by the way, Tech’s three wins over that stretch came by a combined 10 points.

This will be the 113th meeting between the two in-state programs and it’s looking like another Georgia win is on its way. The Jackets are 3-8, but for some reason incredibly confident right now after beating a 4-7 NC State team by two points.

Despite the history and the strong hatred between the rivals that still exists today, there are Georgia who would like to see the Bulldogs drop the Yellow Jackets from their schedule in exchange for a more challenging opponent.

Tavarres King, Georgia’s fourth all-time leading receiver with 2,602 yards, never had any trouble waking up for the Yellow Jackets during his time (2008-2012) with the Bulldogs and thinks this game means too much to be overlooked.

King, A Georgia boy from Mount Airy, played in four games versus Tech. For two of those games it would have been easy to overlook the rival due to the fact that the Dawgs had a date with the SEC Championship to look forward to the following weekend.

But he said that was never the case.

“No, we wanted to win them all,” King texted when asked if it was hard to wake up for the regular season finale vs Tech, especially in 2011 and 2012 when the Dawgs knew they had an SECCG to prepare for.

“Our goal was to ‘keep the main thing the main thing’ in the words of Mike Bobo. And that was winning ball games.”

This game may have no conference standing implications, but a Georgia loss would eliminate the Dawgs from the national title race not just this year, but probably every year. Additionally, understanding how big football in the state of Georgia is, the importance of holding bragging rights over your in-state rival is immeasurable.

That’s why King thinks the game has not lost its allure.

“Every game is BIG because we are playing, but this game is special because it’s for state bragging rights.”

Georgia has run the state for years, and that does not seem to be coming to an end any time soon. Coach Kirby Smart, a Georgia boy who played college ball at UGA, is one who understands the importance of this game as well. He recently told a story about how Tech beat his Bulldog team on Smart’s senior day and he wanted to make sure that none of his players ever feel the way he did.

King’s another one of those guys who grew up in the Peach State and is proud to have played for the red and black. Helping to keep Georgia as the top football school in the state was one of the reasons this game meant so much to him.

“It was big to me because of tradition,” King said. ”It’s a fight for who represents the Georgia name. When you hear ‘Georgia’ do you think Bulldawgs or Yellow Jackets?!”

King, who was taken in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos, has played for a number of teams as a pro – most recently the Minnesota Vikings. He was in Athens last weekend signing autographs with his friend and former Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno ahead of the Texas A&M game.

This weekend, King is thinking the Dawgs leave Atlanta with another win over Tech by a score 27-10.

“THE only real team in Georgia!”

Georgia vs Georgia Tech will kickoff at noon and air on ABC.

Message board encroachment: TAMU fans discuss upcoming Georgia game

I spent the week exploring various Texas A&M message boards to get a feel for how Aggie fanatics view their football team. As often as I spend Saturdays glued to a television, I figured that it’d be best to get a feel for Georgia’s next opponent …

I spent the week exploring various Texas A&M message boards to get a feel for how Aggie fanatics view their football team. As often as I spend Saturdays glued to a television, I figured that it’d be best to get a feel for Georgia’s next opponent through engaging with the people who watch all sixty minutes every Saturday.

Considering this will be the first ever conference matchup between Georgia and A&M since they joined the SEC in 2012, neither team’s fan base has a much of a point of reference of how these teams stack up outside of statistical information we have available. After all, the last time these two squads had to worry about one another was in preparation for the 2009 Independence Bowl.

Among the most shared sentiments were the following:

Their fans feel that the Aggies are a very balanced team with no overwhelming strengths and no glaring weaknesses.

Several fans did say that if one unit is better than the other, it’s the defense, but only slightly. One Ag pointed out that, between last season and this one, they’ve had to replace their most productive tailback and tight end in school history with a freshman and sophomore, respectively.

As the fan noted, “If we cannot get the ground game moving or get decent production from tight end, our offense will get crushed,” acknowledging Georgia’s “stout” 2019 defense.

Other fans believe the offensive onus will be placed squarely upon QB Kellen Mond in getting the ball moving. He’s a solid pocket passer and has thrown for the third most yards of any quarterback in the conference behind LSU’s Joe Burrow and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, the latter of whom won’t play again this season.

What sets him apart from other quarterbacks Georgia’s defense has seen thus far in 2019 is his ability to extend plays and throw while rolling out beyond the hash marks. The Dawgs saw a decent bit of that in the most recent win at Auburn and contained it well, setting the edge and keeping a spy linebacker focusing on the signal caller.

“The entire offense plays at the level [Mond] plays,” one fan said. “We don’t really have any game breakers that can do it themselves.”

Kellen Mond is faster on his feet and more experienced than Bo Nix, but a number of A&M fans agreed that if there is one position group of weakness, it would be their offensive line. The Aggies have given up 24 sacks on the year. Compare that to Auburn’s 16 allowed. Now compare that to Georgia’s six.

If Georgia’s front seven can adequately pressure Mond behind his pedestrian offensive line, Texas A&M fans expect doom and gloom.

Looking on the other side of the ball, the Internet’s Aggies don’t fear Georgia’s passing game nearly as much as they fear the rushing attack.

I’m sure you can imagine that I came across some toxic and blatantly non-factual posts disparaging Jake Fromm. After one poster declared everything aside from Fromm’s career completion percentage as “totally unimpressive,” several more rational A&M fans pointed out that the Dawgs don’t go long often simply because of the “monsters” the Bulldogs showcase in the backfield.

Georgia’s offense has long been based on controlling the clock with a run-first offense balanced between three or more top-self tailbacks. Any Texas A&M supporter who can recognize this has admittedly watched more Georgia football this season than I have watched Texas A&M football.

Georgia football in Dontae Manning’s top five

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top five schools for Dontae Manning. Manning is a 2020 four-star cornerback from Kansas City, Missouri. He plays for Raytown High School. Today, Manning announced his top five schools (Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon, …

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top five schools for Dontae Manning. Manning is a 2020 four-star cornerback from Kansas City, Missouri. He plays for Raytown High School.

Today, Manning announced his top five schools (Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon, Arizona State, and Texas A&M) via Twitter:

Georgia offered Manning this July. The four-star corner is expected to take an official visit to Athens the 13th of December. The early-signing period ends the 18th of December, so it’d be one of Manning’s last visits before that date.

With the class of 2020 signing day approaching soon, the Bulldogs are still in the hunt for several prospects. Georgia currently has sixteen commitments and is looking to add more talented recruits to the class of 2020.

Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs are also in the mix for five-star corner Kelee Ringo. Ringo is projected to pick UGA.

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Rodrigo Blankenship congratulates Georgia P Jake Camarda for winning SEC honor

Georgia football punter Jake Camarda’s earned himself SEC special teams player of the week honors and Rodrigo Blankenship was quick to congr

In Saturday’s win at Auburn, Georgia punter Jake Camarda’s performance earned him the honor of Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. Camarda isn’t the first recipient of the award to suit up for the Silver Britches this season.

His teammate, kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, is no stranger to the award and was among the first to congratulate Camarda this afternoon.

This is the fourth time this season that a Georgia Bulldog has been named the SEC’s Special Teamer of the week. The other three were awarded to Camarda’s hype man Blankenship.

Camarda was called to punt 11 times for the Dawgs against the Tigers, averaging 50.7 yards per attempt including an early 67 yard bomb that stuck Auburn at their own goal line.

Blankenship recently called for Camarda to be recognized as game MVP in the Bulldogs’ win on The Plains.

In a defensive struggle that 1) was heavily reliant on field position and 2) resulted in a division-clinching win for Georgia, it’s hard to argue with Hot Rod. Jake Camarda came up big.

What we learned from Georgia football’s win at Auburn

Defense again stole the show for Georgia on Saturday as the Dawgs picked up their SEC East-clinching win in a trip to Auburn.

Defense again stole the show for Georgia on Saturday as the Dawgs picked up their SEC East-clinching win in a trip to Auburn. The offense sputtered, but came through when needed. What did we learn?

Georgia’s defense is historically great, but has its flaws.

Oh no, Georgia gave up its first rushing touchdown of the season. It took ten games for any team to accomplish that against the Bulldogs.

What really hurt Georgia over the course of the game? Slant routes. Auburn simply abused Bulldog cornerbacks with quick 10 yard gains early on in drives, and while Georgia’s defense eventually stepped it up and forced several midfield punts and fourth down attempts, the Tigers’ offense out-gained and out-possessed Georgia’s offense on the day largely due to their quick chunk plays.

LSU still needs one more win to clinch the SEC West, but regardless of whether Georgia will meet Heisman hopeful Joe Burrow or an Alabama squad who recently lost its star quarterback, the Dawgs’ secondary will have to tighten things up in Atlanta when facing either one of two Western Division powerhouses that are ranked within the top ten nationally in total offense.

Switching to a soft zone defense late in the game when your defense has dominated all day may not be a good idea.

Georgia had all the momentum going into the fourth quarter. With a 21-0 lead, Georgia’s defense switched from their smothering man defense to a soft zone, presumably so as to not give up any home run plays.

However, Auburn then scored two touchdowns within the span of three minutes and found themselves driving to level the score in the game’s waning minutes.

All’s well that ends well, but switching to zone and nearly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory likely shaved some time off Georgia fans’ lifespans.

In a defensive battle, Jake Camarda can be the difference.

The Bulldogs’ punter has had a good season, not a great one. Yesterday on The Plains, however, Jake Camarda looked NFL-caliber. A certain special teams specialist even called him the game’s most valuable player.

He averaged just north of 50 yards per punt against the Tigers, including a booming 67 yarder that pinned Auburn at its own two yard line. In a matchup which your offense requires you to punt 11 times (including NINE three-and-outs), consistency is key in allowing your defense to control the pace of the game.

Georgia’s offense revolves around the offensive line.

Okay, maybe we knew this much earlier on. That being said, they looked stout against an Auburn front seven who came into the game averaging two and a half sacks per contest. Georgia allowed just one sack, which became only the sixth sack they’ve allowed all season.

Jake Fromm didn’t look as crisp as he’s looked in the past, but his pass protection provided by the Great Wall of Georgia allowed him all day to throw. Perfect blocking and a perfect throw gave Georgia a first quarter lead it would never relinquish.

Fromm would later toss two additional beautiful touch passes to Brian Herrien and Eli Wolf. D’Andre Swift recorded yet another 100 yard rushing performance. The offensive line continues to stand tall, literally and figuratively.

D’Andre Swift is not a human, he’s a tornado.

We’ve seen Swift with some mean tackle-avoiding spin moves before, but his latest is absurd. How quickly he managed to turn that full 360 degrees blows my mind, and with a hand in his face and a tackler closing in, he casually trotted for a first down.

Overall, what did we learn? Them Dawgs is hell.