Georgia football fans must embrace early kickoff and accept elite challenge

Georgia football has another top-10 matchup this week, and it’s one no one expected in Arkansas. However, after the Hogs beat Texas and Texas A&M last week, they sailed to No. 8 in the polls.

Instead of a game that everyone was automatically marking as a win, it could be one of the best games of the season. I  mean even ESPN’s College GameDay will be in town, that is how big this showdown is for the Dawgs and the Hogs.

On Saturday, after the Dawgs demolished Vanderbilt 62-0, head coach Kirby Smart didn’t use the 24-hour rule. Nope, instead, he challenged the fans.

So many people have labeled Georgia as elite. Well, Smart challenged the Dawg nation to be elite as well.

Even with a noon kickoff, Georgia fans need to be there early, wearing their best game day attire and showing Arkansas that it’ll be a battle no matter what time they play.

Smart said something along the lines of you want your team to be elite, the crowd needs to do the same and show up early on Saturday and bring the atmosphere Dawg nation usually brings in a night game.

Unfortunately, it looks like even though noon games are usually for the lower-tier games, the networks are trying to draw more ratings in by scheduling these heavy-hitting matchups earlier. As college football fans, we don’t like that at all because the No. 2 team in the country should play at prime time, but thanks, Disney.

So instead of complaining about having a noon game, embrace it. Who cares when Georgia kicks off as long as they continue to dominate and defeat teams like they have the first four weeks of the season.

After his initial challenge, the media folks took it and ran, coming up with an acronym for elite:

E is for early,

L is for loud,

I  is for intense,

T is for tough, and

E is for electric.

Even we all loath noon games, we must learn to embrace them and accept this challenge. The crowd at Sanford Stadium must be the 12th man. I  know that is a Texas A&M thing, but it works for Georgia too. The fans can be a game-changer, and we’ve heard Smart mention that before, so it’s time to suck it up, accept the noon kickoff, and do as our head coach wishes.

Georgia is on the verge of a memorable season, so the fans should be excited anyway, now do your job and be loud on Saturday — it matters.