Paul Finebaum: Georgia will be 'fine,' benefits from bye week before Alabama game
Georgia was far from at its best on Saturday against Kentucky, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. The Bulldogs managed only 262 yards of offense in an ugly 13-12 win over the Wildcats.
Despite the poor showing, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum isn’t worried about Georgia moving forward. Finebaum appeared on SportsCenter Monday afternoon and shared that he expects Kirby Smart and company to get back on track after their bye this week.
As Finebaum pointed out, Georgia has struggled with lesser opponents in years past under Smart and still went on to have great years.
“I think history would indicate they are fine,” Finebaum said. “Happened two years ago against Mizzou, last year against Auburn. This year they were even helped by a couple of boneheaded decisions by Mark Stoops late in the game, by punting instead of going for it down 1.”
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If Finebaum does have one concern, it’s the fact that the Bulldogs are banged up, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
He feels that the bye week comes at a good time for Smart’s club and expects Georgia to be at its best Sept. 28 against Alabama.
“Georgia’s biggest problem right now is health,” Finebaum said. “Their defensive line is in rough shape because of injury. They will need a break, and that’s exactly what they’ll get before Alabama in two weeks.”
Danny Kanell reacts to Texas toppling Georgia as No. 1 team in AP Poll
Texas overtook Georgia on Sunday as the new No. 1 team in the AP Poll. That’s bad news for the rest of college football, according to Danny Kanell.
Kanell gave his opinion of the flip of the Longhorns and Bulldogs at No. 1 and No. 2 in the latest poll in a tweet Sunday afternoon. He says it’s exactly the motivation that Kirby Smart can use to get a point across to his team.
“Kirby Smart should send every single AP voter who voted Texas #1 some flowers,” tweeted Kanell. “Exactly what he needs to create that chip on the shoulder…”
Texas had slightly jumped to No. 2 last week over Ohio State with four first-place votes to give them a total of 1,492 points. That was still well behind the 54 first-place votes for Georgia with their point total of 1,566.
However, that flipped this week. The Longhorns received 35 first-place votes over the 23 for the Bulldogs. That gave Texas a total of 1,540 points to create another small margin of 22 points between them and Georgia at 1,518 to give them the top spot in the AP Poll.
It now represents the highest ranking for the Longhorns in the poll since 2008.