No, they need to be laser focused on Kentucky. We can speculate as fans, and that’s fine, but it would be a mistake for the team to get distracted by Georgia until they put Kentucky away. Kentucky is one we should win big, but that only happens when they have prepared correctly for that specific team.
The staff and players need to be on the same page about what they need to do, what matchups are favorable, the tendencies and plays that their opponents have used and are likely to use, and what personnel they used for them.
We might have a bad week of preparation, come in, and beat them anyway, but we might also lose altogether. How many times in not so distant years did we have a clear talent advantage and went into a game we should dominate only to end up in a dogfight that we at times didn’t win?
Some: Kentucky 2020, Georgia State 2019, Vanderbilt 2018, Kentucky 2017, Vanderbilt 2017, Vanderbilt 2016, South Alabama 2013*, Vanderbilt 2013, Troy 2012*, Vanderbilt 2012, Kentucky 2011, Vanderbilt 2011*, and Wyoming 2008 are some examples.
The games with an asterisk we won, but were much tougher than they should have been. Some of those Vanderbilt loss games maybe James Franklin had them performing above what you would normally see from Vanderbilt but we still had a massive talent advantage. Notice how many times Kentucky is on that list. Prior to this stretch the last time they beat us was 1984.
Along with the previous question, what are we going to do to stop Georgia from Blitzing on every play on our offense? Last year we did not do much to counter the blitz, so they kept coming! Screen pass or modified draw play?
Back to your question, though, since we don’t have to be laser focused like the team does, we can talk Georgia to our heart’s content. I think getting to Hooker is one of the ways that a team could definitely give us problems. So far though no one has been able to do it. If we can’t stop their blitz we are in trouble, but we have stopped it all year.
The offensive line is much better this year than last year. So far we have stopped Pitt, Florida, LSU, and Alabama from being able to blitz us effectively. They are much better in protection this year.
Hendon Hooker is also better. He recognizes what they are doing, and knows where to throw or run based on what they leave open. The receivers are on the same page and able to get open and run the right routes. They have been effective against elite pass rushers all season, making them pay for it consistently.
In addition, Georgia is near the bottom of the FBS in sacks and tackles for loss. They’ve gotten some pressure but aren’t bringing people down. This was actually a big surprise for me. They are ranked lower than 100 in the country in both categories. Maybe they will be the ones to be able to get to our QB but I feel like Alabama or LSU had better chances than they do.
