Georgia goes on road with right mentality for success
ATHENS, Ga. — “On the road again. Just can’t wait to get on the road again.” Those are the famous words of Willie Nelson, but they may as well have come out of Kirby Smart’s mouth the last month. Georgia hits the highways for a third time in four games as the Bulldogs take to Lexington, Kentucky and Kroger Field for Saturday’s showdown against the Wildcats with the nation’s longest active road winning streak, currently sitting at 10 games.
The road warrior role is one that Georgia players have embraced. Running back Kenny McIntosh said it’s something that gets the team excited.
“It gives us another opportunity to go out there and showcase our talent and dominate an opponent … I get a lot of enjoyment out of it. I didn’t have this in high school playing in front of all these fans. Georgia fans, they travel wherever we go. It’s crazy. Hearing the other fans be quiet after we got out there and do what we do, that’s what gets me excited and brings our team together.”
Of course there are no guarantees that going on the road is going to result in a win. There are challenges that have to be overcome like crowd noise. Just ask Alabama and Tennessee. But for one reason or another, Georgia’s been able to handle business on the road just as well as they have at home, winning by an average of 30.1 points including eight games by 24 points or more on the current streak.
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“The best thing for us is the competition,” Georgia offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran said when asked what he enjoyed most about going on the road. “All odds are against you, everybody’s real loud, rah-rah, all that stuff and you get everybody’s best shot. For me, it’s being able to handle all that and still come out on top.”
“It requires great maturity, mental toughness, a good plan and understanding of your environment, understanding of what you can and can’t do on the road versus what you can and can’t do at home,” Kirby Smart added. “You can’t take for granted playing on the road in the SEC. You have to have experience doing it to understand that there’s some things you can and can’t do and knowing the difference in that. And your players have to handle it well. That’s the number one thing, the mental disposition of the players and what they’re getting into.”
Kickoff from Kroger Field on Saturday is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Georgia has won the last seven games in Lexington and 11 of the last 12. Overall the Bulldogs hold a 61-12-2 advantage over the Wildcats including a 30-8 record on the road.
