What are we even doing here? It has become so incredibly hard to keep this thing called life on the tracks of late, but here we are... The latest example of us losing our minds a little bit all the time comes from Matt Hayes of USA TODAY Sports. He was tasked to pick where all 39 undefeated college football teams will conceivably lose their first game. For Georgia, he actually picked Florida... What?!
Georgia does have one tough game after another coming up on their schedule, but what has anyone seen out of Florida over the first three weeks of the season that leads us to believe they will beat the Dawgs down in Jacksonville? This is a heated rivalry, but there is a chance Billy Napier is not even coaching in this game. There is also a possibility that he has won his final game as their head coach!
This blurb from Hayes stands out because nothing he wrote inside of it makes even a lick of sense.
"Nov. 1 vs. Florida. But for an injury to QB DJ Lagway, the Gators would’ve beaten Georgia last year. An elite Florida defense will be the difference this time in a bitter rivalry."
Lagway just threw five picks on the road vs. LSU. The Gators looked like they actively quit on Napier in real time. If things go south vs. Miami this weekend, what are the chances Lagway goes into self-preservation mode and decides to take a redshirt? Not saying that he will, but Georgia is not beating Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss, only to then lose to Florida... This is not going to happen!
If Georgia falls to the Tide, Tigers or Rebels, then there is a chance the Dawgs may lose to the Gators.
Georgia is not going to be losing its first game of the season to Florida
While crow may be served later on down the road for writing this, but picking Florida to hand Georgia its first loss of the season after what everyone has seen through the first three weeks of the season is laughable. To be quite frank, Georgia could lose its first game of the season next week at home vs. Alabama, and nobody would bat an eye. Auburn is much improved and Ole Miss looks to be legit, too.
The big thing to keep in mind is Florida has to play three more top-10 teams in the country before drawing the Dawgs down in Jacksonville the day after Halloween. They may get lucky and take one of these games, but at Miami, home vs. Texas and at Texas A&M all feel like Gators losses heading into what might be their most important game of the year. What if they fell at home to Mississippi State?
This is Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin's former employer. The Bulldogs may not win a ton of games this year, but they are 3-0 already and play super hard for their head coach in Jeff Lebby. If the Gators stumble vs. Mississippi State to be something like 1-5 or 2-4 heading into the bye before The Cocktail Party, are we sure Napier gets to coach in that game? By that point, Florida might be cooked!
While Hayes' praise of Lagway could be merited at some point down the line, this is not the season...