When school soccer opponents have had the Georgia Bulldogs’ full consideration this 12 months, it hasn’t gone nice. From the opener towards Oregon to the SEC title sport towards LSU and the Tennessee sport in between, each time we expect there’s a touch of vulnerability, the Dawgs come out and trample squads to the purpose of disfigurement.
You might ask, “Well what happened against Ohio State?” And I’d let you know that Georgia didn’t actually take them critically. How might they? Kirby Smart’s group destroyed Michigan final CFP, and U-M has dominated Ohio the previous two years, so the transitive property argument — and the unfold — allowed Georgia to chill out.
That’s why the Dawgs’ focus is what I’ve been attempting to gauge all this week. They’re favored by practically two touchdowns, and the compulsory “How Stetson Bennett went from walk-on to legend” items have been written for the umpteenth time. They’re an SEC group, too, so there’s no scarcity of smoke billowing up their asses.
Yet, they spent most of New Year’s Eve enjoying catchup towards C.J. Stroud and Co., and led for lower than two minutes complete in the whole sport. But, yeah, let’s crown them. Which I wish to do, as a result of it’s really easy. Georgia hasn’t performed back-to-back awful video games prior to now two seasons, and precisely predicting outcomes is the forex that buys the belief of readers.
So who’s going to win?
That brings me to my subsequent thought, and that’s fuck it. Fuck it. The Horned Frogs have wanted 3 million issues to go proper this 12 months to get the place they’re, and only a few of these breaks had been handed to them. Granted, Jim Harbaugh spent the primary half trying incredulously on the scoreboard whereas the Wolverines did not execute his shitty playcalls, and the Horned Frogs nonetheless needed to win that semifinal a number of occasions within the second half.
Down to the backup working again who predictably fumbles? No drawback. Crucial late-game stops after letting Michigan again in it? Here’s three of them, and a punt return to the 16 for an insurance coverage discipline purpose.
So, yeah, give me the small, resilient, non-public Christian college on this David versus Goliath matchup, and hopefully a heaping pile of miracles to go together with it, as a result of blind religion and an help from the large man is what it’ll take for TCU to hoist the trophy.
Keys to a TCU upset
Max Duggan, Sonny Dykes, Quentin Johnston, and that Hypnotoad passing sport should no less than be assured they’ll discover holes within the Georgia secondary. Two separate Buckeyes broke the 100-yard mark, and I’m aware of how related I sound to a TCU apologist.
Let me have this, although. Positive considering is the one factor I’ve to lean on. Well, that, and the truth that UGA has given up a complete of 850 yards within the air and 7 passing scores prior to now two video games.
With Frog main rusher Kendre Miller questionable after struggling a knee harm Saturday, it’ll be on Duggan and Emari Demercado to run the ball, or on the very least preserve Georgia sincere. The Dawgs haven’t allowed a 100-yard sport to any working or quarterback all 12 months, and have solely given up greater than 100 yards on the bottom 4 totally different occasions this season.
The final thing TCU can afford to do is get behind early. Don’t let Bennett get snug, and hopefully that’ll preserve Brock Bowers and people tight ends from gashing the Frogs with play-action. I’ve seen a variety of comparisons of Smart to Nick Saban, and I’ll no less than admit this: When every coaches’ respective group senses a weak point, you’ve already misplaced.
College soccer followers have spent the vast majority of this season ready for normalcy to return to a sport bereft of parity. Tennessee misplaced to Georgia after which South Carolina, and other people exhaled. Then Caleb Williams bought damage, USC fell to Utah once more, the Trojans dropped out of the playoff, a well-known Big Ten group appeared destined to make the title sport towards an SEC foe, and all was no less than predictable within the universe.
All the whereas, the almost definitely candidate to succumb to actuality saved profitable, and, nicely, we’re nonetheless ready for our beliefs to be validated. That’ll almost definitely occur Monday, but when there was ever a season for the ceiling to be the ground, it’s 2022.
Let’s see if TCU can shock the world yet another time, and put a purple and silver bow on a 12 months that’s been outlined by surprises. A late discipline provides TCU the sting, 41-38.