Georgia football takes on the Missouri Tigers this Saturday for what could be the SEC East title. This game is massive; I don’t have to tell you that. In many people’s opinion, Georgia has the upper hand in the game because of home-field advantage.
Since Kirby Smart has taken over the Georgia program, the Dawgs are 42-4 at home—one of the best records at home for any college since 2016. Since 2016, the Dawgs are 11-1 against ranked opponents as well. Kirby Smart believes that playing at home does have its advantages. It is also a point of emphasis for the Dawgs.
Smart said that championship teams do not lose at home, and if the team wants to achieve that goal, they should defend their home turf. In the past two seasons, Georgia has not lost a game at home. In those two seasons, the Dawgs brought home a national title. Furthermore, Georgia had several ranked teams come into Sanford Stadium only to have their dreams escape them.
Arkansas and Kentucky were ranked in the top 15 in 2021 going into Sanford Stadium, and Tennessee was the top-ranked team in college football in 2022 when they made a trip to Athens. All three teams lost “Between the Hedges.”
The last team to beat the Dawgs at home was the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2019. That Gamecocks team was led by Georgia’s current Co-Defensive Coordinator, Will Muschamp. What is eerie about that game, compared to this upcoming bout with Mizzou, is that the Gamecocks were coming off a bye week. The Tigers are coming off a bye week as well.
Smart has said that in the football facility, there is a message on the wall that echoes the importance of defending your home turf. Hopefully, the messages resonate with the team, and the Dawgs go out there and defend their home.
While the team on the field does their part, the fans need to do their part as well. Over the past few games, I have noticed that the fans have been pretty relaxed. I know the opponents Georgia has played have not been very good, and Georgia has dominated them, but Dawg fans need to be loud on Saturday. There is no excuse for Georgia fans not to be loud for this one. The entire season is on the line here.
I saw what Sanford Stadium could be when Tennessee came to Athens last year. That is the type of atmosphere we need to create on Saturday. We do not have a great home schedule, and this game is probably the second-best at home. So make it count if you are going to the game. If you are at home watching, be loud, too.