Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Kirby Smart probably went into the Ole Miss game thinking, “Yeah we got this”. No, you don’t. See, Lane Kiffin came in with a plan and a goal; the revenge for the 52-17 blowout loss the Rebels faced against the Bulldogs last season. And let us tell you, this game was a spectacle. Everything Kirby Smart and Co. are known for, their defense and offense, everything fell short. Bulldogs lost 10-28 to Ole Miss. When was the last time you saw Kirby Smart and Co. struggle this much to run the football? And this loss isn’t something any Dawgs fan should take lightly cause it exposed a lot of fatal flaws in Smart’s system.
As David Pollack points out, “Lot of frustration when you watch Georgia and their offense this season. I don’t expect it to get fixed.” This is not the Bulldogs you are used to. Carson Beck went for 186 yards ONLY. This dude was averaging at least 300 yards per game with 1 touchdown. HE HAD NONE against Ole Miss. But threw a massive interception which came back to bite Dawgs. The worst part? Georgia went scoreless in 2 different quarters (2nd and 4th). The last time someone made the Dawgs sweat was Bama and their 21-0 lead in the first quarter. And all of these problems do point a finger at what Kirby Smart is going to do against the Vols.
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Pollack also warned Tennessee fans regarding one thing. “The game is different when you are at home. I don’t just all of a sudden go, ‘Tennessee’s guaranteed to win next week’,” Pollack mentioned. See, the Dawgs are hosting the Vols at Sanford Stadium. This is a home game and Smart should have a home advantage, but at the same time, will it amount to anything?
Carson Beck performed worse than a QB who was injured. If you didn’t know, Jaxson Dart was taken to the locker room because of his injury. He did make a return to the game and carried the rest of the showdown. Even with an injury, he managed to land 13 out of 22 passes with 199 yards and 1 touchdown.
This loss was so bad that the Dawgs are now in the 11th spot on the AP polls. Bama is up there at 9. The 2 losses Smart has faced have come from two Top 10 ranked teams. With Vols coming in next, if Kirby Smart loses this, the playoff dream is OVER.
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Kirby Smart better have a plan ready
The Vols have already managed to grab 8 wins. Their best game was against Bama, where they managed to edge past the Tide 24-17 in the fourth quarter. The question is, will they pull the same trick for Georgia as well? While HC Josh Heupel has mentioned that QB Nico Iamaleava will be up for the game despite the injury, we are yet to see any confirmation on the injury report.
Now if Iamaleava is limited or out, this leaves Gaston Moore to carry the Vols. If we go on a stat-to-stat basis, then Beck easily edges past Moore with flying colours. However, the lacklustre performance from the Dawgs QB in the recent games points towards a more worrying outcome.
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Another question is if Smart can bring out the peak performance of his team. See, against Ole Miss, the Dawgs had no shot. Kiffin had reached into the portal and recruited some of the best defensive linemen in the country. This allowed the team to build up a D-line strong enough to beat the Dawgs O-line and D-line. If Smart can reignite the same passion, then we might see an upset for Vols. And if he fails, then playoffs are pretty much out the window.
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