Georgia Bulldogs: A Pivotal Moment in 2024

In every great story there is a seminal moment of character development, a changing of circumstance, or revelation of unforeseen truths. These are the pivotal moments that define a work and its storyteller. These are the plot twists. In literature, you have Bronte’s Jane Eyre with the voice in the castle, Dickens’ Great Expectations with Magwich, and Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart and the thumping sound. In cinema, you have Kaiser Sose, Rosebud, “I see dead people, “Soylent Green is people”, and “No. I am your Father.” With each of these moments, the story was changed irrevocably. And like those moments in literature and film, the Georgia Bulldogs face a pivotal moment in 2024 this Saturday.

The Dawgs march into Austin, Texas this weekend for a matchup with number 1 ranked Texas in what is the unanimous game of the week. It is the first time since 2021 that UGA goes into a game as the underdog (+3.5). It is also the first time that UGA has played at Darrell K Royal- Texas Memorial Stadium in my lifetime. This is the type of game that has had advertisers lathered up since Texas and Oklahoma announced they were joining the SEC.

The Georgia Bulldogs came into this season as the number 1 team in the rankings and had national championship or bust type of hype. They still have those expectations. But reality doesn’t always match hype. Just because you’re dancing, it doesn’t mean you’re hitting the beat. Frankly, while Georgia is sitting at (5-1) on the season, and has had spurts of quality football, they have struggled and looked out of sync most of the time. They can’t find a rhythm. It’s like trying to watch Mitt Romney break dance.

The Texas Longhorns, on the other hand, while admittedly facing an arguably easier schedule thus far, have looked the part of a championship team. They are the SEC’s only undefeated team and have won every game by double digits. That includes beating the brakes off of Michigan and Oklahoma. That ain’t nothing.

That’s it. That’s the stage. What is at stake in this matchup Saturday is everything. The winner of this game will assuredly make it to the college football playoff and, most likely, will have an inside track to play for an SEC Championship. There is not a bigger regular season game in 2024 than this one. There will be others that are huge, but not bigger.

And that gets me to a larger point about Kirby Smart. Coach Smart is the greatest Georgia Bulldog of all time. As a player and coach, he has accomplished more than any other. This is not up for debate. It is not a question. It is a declarative statement with a period.

However, one gets the feeling that this game is a legacy making type of game for Coach Kirby Smart. Having won back-to-back national championships, and with the retiring of his mentor and nemesis, Coach Saban, it was natural to assume that Kirby Smart was on the verge of breaking off another run at multiple championships. After all, Coach Saban is literally the only coach to have beaten him since 2020. That was until the torment in Tuscaloosa a few weeks ago, of course.

That assumption, dear reader, clearly was a false one, apparently. Much to the chagrin of Dawg Nation, this 2024 team does not look like a championship team. At all. Words like choppy, sloppy, undisciplined, confused, and clunky can be used.

If Georgia loses Saturday in Austin, and consequently has a 2nd loss of the season in October, making the playoff is not a comfortable bet. If Georgia misses the playoff, or even flames out looking bad, the conversations will begin about whether Smart is more Dabo Swinney than Nick Saban. That he is more Urban Meyer than Nick Saban. Both are Hall of Fame coaches, to be sure. But, not legends. Kirby Smart, many thought, could be on the precipice of a legendary run. It has not looked like that so far this year.

However, Coach Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs can provide a massive plot twist to this season on Saturday. A win in Austin would not only erase that terrible first half in Tuscaloosa, vaulting UGA back to an inside track for playoff contention, it would also continue to solidify what was recently thought a legendary career in the making in Kirby Smart.

A Georgia win in Texas changes everything for 2024. It would be the ultimate plot twist. A Texas win solidifies them as the best team in the country and the new big kid in the SEC. When Luke Skywalker found out that Darth Vader was his father in The Empire Strikes Back, it changed everything. The winner of this game will be asking a similar question, but in a different tone, “Who’s your daddy?”