Week five of the 2017 Georgia football season is here and the Bulldogs again has one of the biggest games of the weekend.
Finally, Georgia football isn’t playing at night which means fans can actually watch some of those major night games that we’ve missed out on. And this weekend has a major top-25 match-up that Georgia fans should check out as soon as our game is over.
Thursday
8:00 – Texas at Iowa State – ESPN
The weekend begins with a game Texas should win, but I can’t put it past them to lose. For Thursday, it’s your only option. But I guess there are several teams less interesting than Texas.
Friday
7:00 – no. 14 Miami at Duke – ESPN
If you aren’t at your local high school watching football, there’s a very interesting game to watch on TV. The no. 14 Hurricanes travel to Durham to play a Duke squad that has grown accustomed to winning some big games each year.
10:30 – no. 5 Southern California at no. 16 Washington State – ESPN
After Miami and Duke, we get to watch a pair of top-20 teams square off as the Trojans meet Washington State. History is not in the Cougars favor, they trail USC 58-9-4, but they did beat them in 2013.
A win by Washington State would certainly help Georgia move up in the polls. With a big enough win, the Bulldogs might even crack the top-five.
Saturday
12:00 – Vanderbilt at no. 21 Florida – ESPN
Vanderbilt came out and disappointed last week, but they aren’t playing Alabama this week. The Gators are still a 2-1 team with a great defense. However, Florida’s offense is pretty mediocre and Vandy’s defense won’t leave receivers uncovered twice. Vanderbilt versus Alabama should have been close. Vanderbilt versus Florida will be close.
3:30 – no. 7 Georgia at Tennessee – CBS
Finally we get a non-night game and wouldn’t you know, it’s at 3:30 on CBS; the SEC Game of the Week. Tennessee and Butch Jones’ career are already on the ropes and Georgia will be looking for a knock out shot early.
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This is the game where we find out how great of a coach Kirby Smart can be. The Bulldogs are coming off a major victory and their second major win in three games. If Smart can keep the Dawgs focused on the goal to win in the fashion they should, expectations will sky-rocket.
6:00 – no. 24 Mississippi State at no. 13 Auburn – ESPN
Last week we expected more from Mississippi State. The dog fight was the most hyped game of the night, but Georgia brushed off Mississippi State easily. Georgia’s defense proved to be the biggest difference in that game.
Now Auburn’s great defense meets Nick Fitzgerald and Mississippi State. Can the other Bulldogs play much better offense this week? And will Jarrett Stidham lead Auburn’s struggling offense past a pretty good Mississippi State defense?
This dynamic makes this game the most intriguing SEC game of the week. That and the fact that they’re playing for second fiddle in the SEC West behind Alabama. The loser may be eliminated from contention for the SEC West Championship.
8:00 – no. 2 Clemson at no. 12 Virginia Tech – ABC
And finally comes the biggest game of the week, the top-15 ACC meeting. The only thing that could make this game bigger is if they were in the same division. Here’s where we find out what Justin Fuente is made of.
Virginia Tech is trying to get back to the height’s they enjoyed in the early-2000’s. A win over the defending national champions bring them very close to accomplishing that goal.
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Clemson on the other hand are working towards defending their championship and they probably feel a little disrespected by the media not having high expectations of them in the preseason. A big win for the Tigers will show that they are still contending for the national title.