Athens Experience

[njvols]

Nico played ok, but not great

I agree. Had great poise...the game wasn't too big for him. But, if you're going into Athens, if you're not superior w/ the roster, you're going to have to make some dynamic plays w/ QB/WR. Odd this has been such a void this year under JH. I think we got to winning games conservatively and then when we have had to go to the well, it hasn't been there. Some of this is on OL...though run blocking has been good, I think our pass protection (to give Nico time), though has gotten generally better over the season, has been an issue for us to run the type of offense JH likes to run w/ gash plays.

 

[SprocketRocket]

We made our first trip to Athens, and we had a good time. We didn't encounter any crap really. Just one kid said we sucked, and that was it. No 'Drunk Obnoxious Georgia Fans'. No barking, no problems. Everyone we talked to was very nice and friendly and was there to have fun.

I will say that I was not very impressed with Sanford Stadium. They have NOTHING on Neyland. The pregame was pretty lame, and the lightshow was meh. Nothing like Neyland at night. The sound was bad and the speakers were only at the jumbotron. It seemed old from every vantage point. I was pleasantly surprised at the legroom in the stands. All in all we had a pretty good trip. I wish we had played better.

On a brighter note, I got to meet my favorite Vol Saturday night. I met Al Wilson at a UT sponsored tailgate event. What a genuinely nice and gracious guy.

 

[rdk4121]

I want to say we gave up 4 or 5 sacks, and Peyton Lewis was directly responsible for 2 of them. I think from that point on Sampson was in on every 3rd down for pass pro.

 

[Volwonder1]

It was the rt call. It’s similar to a reverse as qb pitches the ball forward, as it’s considered a pass.

I wish the rule was changed to if the “pass” isn’t beyond the line of scrimmage it should be considered a fumble and until that play I honestly thought that was the rule. Go
Figure.

 

[TennesseeTarheel]

Good report. Thanks, VB.

 

[volbound1700]

We made our first trip to Athens, and we had a good time. We didn't encounter any crap really. Just one kid said we sucked, and that was it. No 'Drunk Obnoxious Georgia Fans'. No barking, no problems. Everyone we talked to was very nice and friendly and was there to have fun.

I will say that I was not very impressed with Sanford Stadium. They have NOTHING on Neyland. The pregame was pretty lame, and the lightshow was meh. Nothing like Neyland at night. The sound was bad and the speakers were only at the jumbotron. It seemed old from every vantage point. I was pleasantly surprised at the legroom in the stands. All in all we had a pretty good trip. I wish we had played better.

On a brighter note, I got to meet my favorite Vol Saturday night. I met Al Wilson at a UT sponsored tailgate event. What a genuinely nice and gracious guy.

I wonder if it was same kid. There was a few calling Tennessee fans "F.@.G.G.O.Ts" (mostly at half time). I laughed it off. One of the older brothers of one of the kids even apologized to me for it.

I had a few people bark at me and squawk but nothing serious. Overall, Georgia fans were great. They did talk a lot about 2022 and how great a game it was for them and said Tennessee was one of the "tougher" opponents they played. Most thought highly of Nico. Definitely not the Uncle Lou experience.

I sat basically around Georgia fans and they tend to have fun talking to us throughout the game. A lot spoke highly about the general state of Tennessee as well.

One positive with Sanford over Neyland was that it gave more of a small-time game day feel even with its size. You just had more accessibility to everything. I could go down even to the field behind hedges and walk around.

 

[DrTNT]

Just got back from Athens, here was the thought:

1. We were pretty close to the field, a lot of Tennessee fans showed up and atmosphere was great with both Georgia and Tennessee fans
2. I love how you can walk down almost onto the field around the hedges and go get concessions, watch game, etc. You are supposed to "keep moving" but Georgia was very liberal about it
3. UGA staff was great and they tend to like have visiting fans trying to please us and had notes about being respectful to opposing fans
4. UGA fan base wasn't that bad (the online fan base can be rough but when you get around real fans, they were cool). A few people squawked at half and after and will bark at you but most were alright.
5. Several Tennessee players came over and high fived or fist bumped before half time. You could see all the players very well from the field
6. Band and Cheerleaders interacted with us quite a bit. When you are the "away fanbase" it seemed you have more access to things
7. UGA felt less like a big time game atmosphere than I experienced and more accessible to the fans which I enjoyed
8. There are NOT a lot of food options in Athens. Stadium is in the middle of the campus and the town is slightly across the river
9. University Blvd between Athens and Atlanta was a backed up mess
10. We parked in an Event Parking Lot South of the Stadium and discovered it was free. There were also cards taking us to the car. Thought that was a nice touch.

Overall, glad I went and enjoyed the experience. First time I went to a football game in Athens and really enjoyed it. It felt more accessible to the fans than what you see at Neyland.

About game itself:

1. I felt like Nico played a great game. He was in charge and confident
2. Georgia's offensive line held up very well. Not sure if our D-line just didn't play well or couldn't adjust to their system
3. Offense looks impressive at times but is challenge to put up points
4. Carson Beck played his best game. Part of what work was UGA did quick passes (less than 2 seconds). UGA's WRs and TE were IMPRESSIVE with their speed. On one pass to the Tight End, he was already 15-20 yards down field in less than 2 seconds. Based on this, I am wondering where this play-calling/game play was all year long for Georgia (frankly their fans should be more angry than Tennessee. Tennessee doesn't have that speed).
5. The stadium got loud. Just like in 2022, Tennessee was UGA's only meaningful home game so the fanbase zeroed in on it. Georgia's other 3 major matchups (Alabama, Texas, and Ole Miss) were all on the road.
6. UGA had a ton of recruits there and does a great job bringing back former players (Tennessee does as well)
7. UGA's blitzes really took advantage of Sampson. If you go back and watch, Sampson was the blocker and he is too small to block some of those DL/LBs that Georgia was bringing and could not hold leading to Nico sack.
8. Defensive play calling was too timid. They got more aggressive in 4th quarter but it was too late by then.
9. Secondary had some busts but wasn't our main problem. The lack of pressure was the issue. Very little pressure was put on Beck.

I've been to Athens once, my experience was it was a dump.

 

[VolsFan-TX]

Last time I attended a game there (1988), I got into a car accident and had to drive back to Knoxville with a smashed passenger door. I have had no desire to return.

Do the UGA fans bark from a distance or in your face?? I don't recall that being a thing in 1988 and I do not react well with people getting in my face and acting stupid.

 

[volbound1700]

Last time I attended a game there (1988), I got into a car accident and had to drive back to Knoxville with a smashed passenger door. I have had no desire to return.

Do the UGA fans bark from a distance or in your face?? I don't recall that being a thing in 1988 and I do not react well with people getting in my face and acting stupid.

It was a "very tiny" group that did it. Ironically, most were female lol. Some were just laughing/teasing about it. As stated, I didn't feel bullied in anyway. UGA's fan base, was for the most part, pretty fun to be around. Generally, the turds of the fanbases are really mosty bandwagon fans that don't go to games anyways (like Uncle Lou). Typically, you get the better crop of the fanbase when you are actually at a game day event.

 

[Volhoops]

EDIT: I did not see many issues with the ref. There was a pass that they called incomplete that the camera angles were terrible and you could not tell watching it. It didn't matter as we scored on that drive later anyways.

The fumble had me scratching my head. It was an odd looking "forward" pass. It looked like a pitch to me.

Did we see the same game? I saw plenty of questionable calls that all went to GA. No single one was a game changer but the total of it all did affect the game. The was a pass interference call missed on a Squirrel target after we dropped a sure first down. Defender made contact before the ball got there and nothing. Replay showed it clearly.

 

[kckempf]

Just got back from Athens, here was the thought:

1. We were pretty close to the field, a lot of Tennessee fans showed up and atmosphere was great with both Georgia and Tennessee fans
2. I love how you can walk down almost onto the field around the hedges and go get concessions, watch game, etc. You are supposed to "keep moving" but Georgia was very liberal about it
3. UGA staff was great and they tend to like have visiting fans trying to please us and had notes about being respectful to opposing fans
4. UGA fan base wasn't that bad (the online fan base can be rough but when you get around real fans, they were cool). A few people squawked at half and after and will bark at you but most were alright.
5. Several Tennessee players came over and high fived or fist bumped before half time. You could see all the players very well from the field
6. Band and Cheerleaders interacted with us quite a bit. When you are the "away fanbase" it seemed you have more access to things
7. UGA felt less like a big time game atmosphere than I experienced and more accessible to the fans which I enjoyed
8. There are NOT a lot of food options in Athens. Stadium is in the middle of the campus and the town is slightly across the river
9. University Blvd between Athens and Atlanta was a backed up mess
10. We parked in an Event Parking Lot South of the Stadium and discovered it was free. There were also cards taking us to the car. Thought that was a nice touch.

Overall, glad I went and enjoyed the experience. First time I went to a football game in Athens and really enjoyed it. It felt more accessible to the fans than what you see at Neyland.

About game itself:

1. I felt like Nico played a great game. He was in charge and confident
2. Georgia's offensive line held up very well. Not sure if our D-line just didn't play well or couldn't adjust to their system
3. Offense looks impressive at times but is challenge to put up points
4. Carson Beck played his best game. Part of what work was UGA did quick passes (less than 2 seconds). UGA's WRs and TE were IMPRESSIVE with their speed. On one pass to the Tight End, he was already 15-20 yards down field in less than 2 seconds. Based on this, I am wondering where this play-calling/game play was all year long for Georgia (frankly their fans should be more angry than Tennessee. Tennessee doesn't have that speed).
5. The stadium got loud. Just like in 2022, Tennessee was UGA's only meaningful home game so the fanbase zeroed in on it. Georgia's other 3 major matchups (Alabama, Texas, and Ole Miss) were all on the road.
6. UGA had a ton of recruits there and does a great job bringing back former players (Tennessee does as well)
7. UGA's blitzes really took advantage of Sampson. If you go back and watch, Sampson was the blocker and he is too small to block some of those DL/LBs that Georgia was bringing and could not hold leading to Nico sack.
8. Defensive play calling was too timid. They got more aggressive in 4th quarter but it was too late by then.
9. Secondary had some busts but wasn't our main problem. The lack of pressure was the issue. Very little pressure was put on Beck.

They kept the pressure at bay with constant alignment changes, formation changes, and pre-snap motion. They also use tempo changes and frequently went quickly from the huddle to the snap when they did huddle — you can see they knew which looks would require us to flip the field or adjust and would line up quickly enough that we could not finish adjusting. It was a game plan that was laser focused on our defense, making me wonder how much time they spent game planning on us that they didn’t spend preparing for Ole Miss.

 

[feathersax]

Thanks for being there & for your insights, OP. Georgia put it all together for this game against the Vols & the years of recruiting really showed up. Tennessee will be back SOON. We know it, They know it. I was afraid that the Dawgs would bring the house & the talent for the Vols, & that was the case. Let the whiners & the BVS crowd wail...it was what it was . Live to fight another day.

 

[volbound1700]

They kept the pressure at bay with constant alignment changes, formation changes, and pre-snap motion. They also use tempo changes and frequently went quickly from the huddle to the snap when they did huddle — you can see they knew which looks would require us to flip the field or adjust and would line up quickly enough that we could not finish adjusting. It was a game plan that was laser focused on our defense, making me wonder how much time they spent game planning on us that they didn’t spend preparing for Ole Miss.

Agree.

 

[SamuraiVol74]

I have been there several times. Aside from the incessant barking, I have always had a great time there. UGA fans are as passionate about the Dawgs as we are the Vols. I am ok with that. If incessant barking triggers a person, that person will be in for a bad time there without a doubt. And totally agree about dining options!

Glad you went and had a good time!

 

[VolsFan-TX]

It was a "very tiny" group that did it. Ironically, most were female lol. Some were just laughing/teasing about it. As stated, I didn't feel bullied in anyway. UGA's fan base, was for the most part, pretty fun to be around. Generally, the turds of the fanbases are really mosty bandwagon fans that don't go to games anyways (like Uncle Lou). Typically, you get the better crop of the fanbase when you are actually at a game day event.

My daughter has Texas friends at UGA, and she was surprised that her female friends did a lot of barking. The barking seems strange to me, but I don't mind as long as they are not in my face with it.

 

[volbound1700]

I have been there several times. Aside from the incessant barking, I have always had a great time there. UGA fans are as passionate about the Dawgs as we are the Vols. I am ok with that. If incessant barking triggers a person, that person will be in for a bad time there without a doubt. And totally agree about dining options!

Glad you went and had a good time!

To be fair on the dining options, we came in from the wrong side of the stadium (south). You need to be in the city of Athens to get the restaurants. We came in via the campus and were on UGA campus the entire time. The win was that we got free parking where we were at. (It was marked event parking and we expected to pay for it but pulled in and discovered it was free).

 

[GVF]

Our defense was not very good last night. No pressure in the QB Killed us. UGA was just the better coached team and Bobo had a great night with the play calling.

Quite possibly the best and most successful game start to finish I've seen him call in a minute. He got everything right, at the right time. Overall though, he's a pretty solid OC IMO. And he has always been a good rep for UGA as a player and coach. Being less than an hour from Athens any direction most of my life, gotta respect him alot.

 

[GVF]

I've been to Athens once, my experience was it was a dump.

It's a nice place that has never really been updated as one would think with all the success they've had with Richt & Smart. Stadium location has some to do with it, but just upgrades to what they do have are needed.

 

[Frivolous]

Glad you had a good time and were treated well.

Ive been to Athens once, and the experience made me hate Georgia more than Florida and Bama combined. Worst fans ever. Of course, that was in 2000 when they snapped a nine game losing streak against us.

I do remember being jealous of how pretty the campus was.

 

[LT21]

But did they have troughs?

 

[Vol_in_NC_1999]

My daughter has Texas friends at UGA, and she was surprised that her female friends did a lot of barking. The barking seems strange to me, but I don't mind as long as they are not in my face with it.

Reminds of the "Coming to America" scene where Eddie Murphy orders his soon-to-be bride to bark like a dog.