No. 7 Georgia still has plenty to prove
The way Jonathan Ledbetter sees it, there’s really only one question that No. 7 Georgia needs to answer when the Bulldogs and No. 9 Florida meet Saturday afternoon at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.
How will Georgia (6-1, 4-1) respond after getting thumped two weeks ago in Baton Rouge?
“Most definitely. Everybody’s kind of comparing it to the Auburn game last year. It’s different but it is kind of similar as a wakeup call. You need things like that sometimes to humble you and keep things in perspective and show you how much more you have to work,” Ledbetter said.
“You might have thought you were playing pretty well and doing things the right way, but there’s always room for improvement.”
The Bulldogs learned that the hard way in their 36-16 loss to the Tigers.
Not a lot went right for Georgia on either side of the football, including the defense which saw LSU amass 475 yards of total offense, including 275 on the ground.
Head coach Kirby Smart was asked how he felt his players would respond.
“I think kids are a lot more resilient than you give them credit for,” Smart said.
“It’s the leaders of the program and the organization and the coaches that have to get over it. We’re the ones that deal with a loss sometimes harder than the players. I think the players are resilient; they’re back out to work. We had really good-spirited work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday working on ourselves, just trying to get better for us.”
Left tackle Andrew Thomas said the offense has a particular goal in mind — start faster, something that hasn’t always happened through the team’s first seven games — but will be a necessity against the Gators (6-1, 4-1).
“It’s very crucial as an offense starting off fast and getting our momentum going,” Thomas said. “It’s all about better execution, just making sure we all know our assignments. We have great communication on the offensive line and the run game. We just need to be physical.”
The same can be said for Georgia’s defense.
After starting the season as one of the SEC’s best teams against the run, Georgia has dropped to eighth in rush defense, allowing 136.3 yards per game.
Florida — led by Lamical Perine (69 carries for 376 yards), Jordan Scarlett (70-381) and Dameon Pierce (35-295) — is the conference’s seventh-best rushing team averaging 197.2 yards per game.
“We’ve really got to stop the run, that’s the most important thing. Georgia always stops the run first, and we pride ourselves on that,” Ledbetter said. “We’ve been saying that week in and week out, but we have to make that happen this week.”
But can they?
“SEC football is mano-a-mano, big on big, good on good every week so everyone has talent, everyone has physical ability and speed, toughness, so it literally is that mental factor that puts you over the top and helps you win football games,” he said.
“If you impose your will on someone they can’t do anything about it because you’re that much more mentally prepared and more confident. That confidence, that edge is actually what helps you win the game of football.”
Ledbetter said the team is anxious to prove it still can.
“We are treating this as every other game,” Ledbetter said. “But it’s a game we’re taking upon ourselves to prove to yourselves that this is who we are, that we aren’t going anywhere.”
