Georgia football won’t be on the field this Saturday, but Week 8 still has plenty of SEC movement to watch while the Bulldogs sit on an open date.
With 12 of the conference’s 16 teams carrying either one or two losses, the league is packed tight entering Oct. 24.
Georgia and Kentucky are tied for first at 4-1, while Ole Miss and Tennessee sit just behind them at 3-1. Eight other SEC teams already have two losses, and Alabama and Florida are both above .500 at 3-2.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart pointed to the broader balance across college football when talking about the landscape around his team.
“The world we live in now, everybody's got good players,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “Everybody's diversifying in terms of the amount of talent that spreads itself out because kids want to play, and kids want to get paid, and starters get paid, so more players go to more places, and there's just more parity.
I think you're going to see more of that. It's actually going to be who deals with it best?
Who can manage it and deal with this best?”
For Georgia, though, the immediate answer to the headline question is simple: no game today. The Bulldogs are off this week before returning next Saturday.
Their next matchup comes Saturday, Oct. 31 against Florida at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m., and ABC will carry the game.
If you want to spend the bye week watching some of Georgia’s future opponents, there are a few options on the Saturday slate. South Carolina hosts Tennessee at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN, Georgia Tech takes on Boston College at 3:30 p.m. on the ACC Network, and Ole Miss visits Texas at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
Florida is also on a bye this week, so both teams will head into the rivalry game rested.
In Other News...
Georgia Showed Fight At Clemson But One Late Problem Remains
Georgias first real test of the preseason brought plenty of signs that Mike Whites group can compete under pressure. The Bulldogs erased an 11-point second-half deficit to pull even with Clemson with 13 seconds left, leaning on a strong effort that included Kanon Catchings 19 points in an 82-80 exhibition loss at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Mike White had reason to like the fight Georgia showed, but the ending also highlighted how thin the margin can be against a quality opponent. Clemson finished it at the buzzer with a layup, leaving the Bulldogs with a close loss and a clear reminder that the late-game details still need work before the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Could Face A Surprising Playoff Rest Debate Soon
Georgias bye week comes at a useful moment in the regular season, but it may also be the start of a much bigger conversation about rest. Sitting at No. 5 in the AP Poll, the Bulldogs are positioned in a way that keeps both the SEC title path and the College Football Playoff picture very much alive, with the possibility of earning a first-round bye if they keep winning and claim the SEC Championship.
Georgia could also end up in a different kind of rest spot if it falls out of the SEC title game race, and thats where the debate gets interesting. A bye during conference championship weekend has historically been viewed by some as more favorable than waiting for a first-round playoff break, which means the Bulldogs may be staring at a scenario where the most valuable pause of the season is not the one that comes with the biggest reward. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Suddenly Has No Margin For Error Against Texas A&M
Alabamas October slide has shifted the tone around Kalen DeBoers team in a hurry, and Georgia has already seen enough to know the gap between a fast start and a safe one can vanish quickly. The Crimson Tide are dealing with a string of injuries to players such as Ryan Coleman-Williams, Racin Delgatty, Zabien Brown, EJ Crowell and Terrance Green, and DeBoer has already pointed to those setbacks while trying to steady a roster that has come back to the pack after losses to Georgia and Tennessee.
Now the pressure only rises with Texas A&M next on the schedule, because Alabama can no longer afford another misstep if it wants to keep its College Football Playoff path clear. The lingering question is whether any of those injured players can return soon enough to help, or whether this is simply the stretch where the Tide have to survive on what is left and find a sharper version of themselves before the season gets away from them. [Read more 🡒]