Georgia enters Orange Bowl with bitter taste of rare loss
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Georgia sent five players up to speak with media on the first day of Orange Bowl media availability. None of those five players have experienced more than two losses in a Bulldog uniform and three of them experienced their first defeat earlier this month.
Alabama ended an SEC-record-setting 29-game win streak on December 2, beating UGA 27-24 in the SEC Championship game. That win punched the Crimson Tide’s ticket to the College Football Playoff and knocked Georgia out of it. Now the Bulldogs are set to take on a Florida State team ranked No. 5 in the nation but decimated by opt outs.
All practices prior to arriving in Miami and the ones yet to come have had a different feeling than those before. More specifically, the bitter taste of defeat has lingered.
“Very bad taste,” sophomore linebacker Jalon Walker said. “Not very excited about that loss. Nobody really is, you know, but we always have to take care of business and do what we’ve got to do. Just go on, move to the next, and not just dwell on that loss and create a new image of ourselves on Saturday.”
Walker plus fellow sophomores Malaki Starks and Mykel Williams, all major contributors this season and during last year’s 15-0 National Championship campaign, had perfect records at Georgia prior to that loss in the league title game. They’ve been part of lackluster overall performances. They’ve walked off the field knowing they could have played better while still being happy with a win.
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The loss to Alabama was a completely new experience. All they’ve known since getting to Georgia was playing in meaningful games with a chance to win College Football’s biggest prize. With that no longer on the table, the Bulldogs have had to tap even harder into their core competitiveness.
Georgia had time to lick its wounds after the loss and the subsequent College Football Playoff selection show, one that ranked them No. 6 and left them out. While the Bulldogs still believe they are one of the four best teams in the country, it doesn’t do much for them at this point. All that’s left is an opportunity to harness that bad taste and go play their best ball in a New Year’s Six game on December 30.
“After the first week it was real tough,” Williams said. “It really didn’t hit me until like two days after we lost and then the CFP came out that Sunday. That Monday I was like, wow, damn, we’re not going to the playoffs. It’s over. I was kind of shocked and upset and it hit me from there. Ever since then, I’ve been grinding and preparing for this game, playing these guys.”
