Sanford Stadium atmosphere on point for big Georgia Bulldogs win
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s crowd was challenged to be at its best Saturday night as the Bulldogs took on Tennessee, and that it was. Between an early arrival to a well coordinated blackout effort, high noise levels and more, the atmosphere at Sanford Stadium was electric to say the least, and in UGA’s first time between the hedges in over a month, it helped the Dawgs come out on top in an important one over the Volunteers.
“I’ll start with obviously the fans like I do every single time. I thought that the energy was electric. It helped us and inspired our kids and players. I thought it affected them,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said after the 31-17 win Saturday night. “Once again, a team that’s on the road and played in that kind of night environment, it’s really hard. It’s really tough to play in that and I thought it impacted them.”
“I’d also like to give credit to Emily Deitz and her staff,” he continued. “They did a tremendous job with game management in terms of the energy, keeping people engaged. I guess there were some fireworks, I don’t know. Someone told me there was, but that wasn’t what I was worried about.”
Smart’s fireworks comment was met with a chuckle as it would’ve been hard to not notice the addition of the pyrotechnics to the gameday environment. Fireworks were shot off during the national anthem, as Georgia took the field and after each time the Bulldogs scored. Good news for Deitz and those that put the effort in to make it happen, Georgia’s offense did its part in making sure those fireworks went to good use.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck described the atmosphere as one he’ll never forget. A fifth-year senior, his class hasn’t lost at home in their time at UGA. The Bulldogs have won 29 straight at Sanford Stadium, the nation’s longest home winning streak, and made it an emphasis to keep it alive during the week.
“Yeah, I mean it felt really good. I think up to this point, still my class and down hasn’t lost at home. We put that up on the board going into this week and I mean that means something, you know, you got to protect your house,” Beck told reporters. “I thought the fans really showed up today. I mean the blackout was super cool, to play at night, College GameDay. I mean crazy atmospheres. It’s definitely going to be one that you know, you remember for the rest of your life.”
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When Beck was on the field, things were quieter. It was far from quiet though for the Georgia defense as the Dawgs shut Tennessee out in the second half.
“They were lit. They were piping,” senior linebacker Smael Mondon said. “To see them turnt like that, we really feed off their energy. They started getting loud, they starting rockin’ and helping us and (Tennessee) had a couple of false starts. It played a big role.”
“After the game I ran over to the Spike Squad and the student section to give them praise,” fellow linebacker Jalon Walker added. “They did a great job just getting the crowd volume in the stadium and creating that environment of the blackout the whole week leading up to the game. They come out and support us no matter what.”
Georgia fans won’t have to wait long for their next chance to see the Bulldogs in action in Athens. UGA is right back at Sanford Stadium on Saturday to host UMass (12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network) in the penultimate game of the regular season. Less than a week later it’s the finale versus in-state rival Georgia Tech on Black Friday also at home.
