Georgia football has plenty to gain from playing in a bowl game.
Since the invention of the College Football Playoff, some of the importance has been stripped away from the other bowl games. Even the New Years Six Bowls don’t get the respect they once did. The prestige of these bowls no longer holds a candle in comparison to a championship ring. That said, that doesn’t mean playing in a bowl cannot be valuable for Georgia football.
Bowl practice is where a lot of new recruits get their first introduction to the team. Early enrollees come in and are able to practice with the team for the first time. This allows them to be around the guys and build a comradery that will carry over through their time on campus. It also allows them to get a taste of what the coaches will expect from them on a day to day basis.
Having a guy like Brock Vandagriff come in and start building a repertoire with the receiving corps could be quite beneficial to Georgia football in 2021. The assumption is that JT Daniels will be the starter next season, but (knock on wood) if something were to happen to him it would be better for the team that Vandagriff already be comfortable with his receivers and in the scheme.
The major value of playing in a bowl game is being able to carry some momentum over into the next season. This season Georgia has only faced Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Missouri with a competent quarterback leading their offense. It would go a long way to show the committee that Georgia football is the real deal against some real competition.
Let’s not forget about Georgia football’s seniors who missed out on their Senior Day and could use a game where they get to be honored for everything they have done and sacrificed for this team. Georgia’s seniors deserve to be sent off the right way and not just fade into the background with everything else COVID 19 has stolen from us. They deserve a better end to the story than this, even if some of them choose not to participate in the game itself.
Of course, last, but surely not least, the fans deserve to see their Dawgs one last time. This year has stolen so much from so many people that it is only right that 2021 starts on the right foot, by watching Georgia football win a football game. This football team means more to the people of Athens than just football. For just a few hours they get to tune into their favorite football team and put all the stress of life aside as they cheer side by side for the men in red and black.
The seniors have earned it, the fans have earned it, and the recruits have earned it. There is absolutely no reason to deprive Dawgnation of one last hurrah with their Dawgs. After what 2020 has dumped on all of us we all deserve a few hours to forget about what is going on in the world right now and with a smile on our faces, root on the best team in college football while saying the best two words in college football, “GO DAWGS!!”