Georgia Football: five takeaways from Missouri victory

Kirby Smart will expect a lot better vs Tennessee

Despite all of the previous four points, this is not supposed to be a ‘doom and gloom’ article. The Dawgs went into a rivals house and beat them by 14 points. They did so despite facing real adversity due to injuries, poor discipline, some suspect officiating at times and surprisingly poor play from usually reliable players.

You have to be a damn good team to win in those circumstances. However, Kirby’s message this season has been consistent. This team needs to focus on themselves every week and play to their potential. When they do that, they are one of the best teams in the entire country. It’s going to be up to them to play like that every week and not get sloppy like happened at times yesterday.

This week UGA takes on a Tennessee team that is struggling. They have only played two power 5 teams and have been hammered in both games. They take on the Bulldogs just a week after being blown out by Florida last week. That’s the same Florida that was beaten by Kentucky a week before that.

Tennessee is not very good but UGA needs to perform. They can’t go into this game expecting to win or walk over a rival that will be pumped up by Jeremy Pruitt. The Vols could go 5-7 this season but if they beat the Dawgs, they’ll count the year as a success. This is the biggest game of Pruitt’s tenure and so there is no doubt that every single Vol will treat this like the Superbowl.

Kirby Smart will use the Missouri game as a teaching moment for his young team. He will also expect that they take on the lessons that came from this week and do not repeat them going forward. In short, I expect a lot better from the Dawgs next week after this display and what will likely be a very aggressive week of practice. I almost feel sorry for the Vols actually…