For the second week in a row, the Georgia Bulldogs will be undeniable favorites in a non-conference game vs. a lesser opponent at home. The Dawgs took the rebuilding Marshall Thundering Herd to the woodshed last week in their 45-7 Week 1 blowout. While Austin Peay is a strong FCS program, the Governors are still a massive underdog at Georgia. They will be getting 48.5 points to play in Athens.
Barring something truly unforeseen, Georgia should improve to 2-0 with relative ease on Saturday afternoon. Yes, the national media understands what the Georgia football program is capable of and what it is about under head coach Kirby Smart. However, it remains to be seen when national pundits will finally hop on the bandwagon to realize this team is great! It might not happen until after Week 3.
Connor Riley of DawgNation did a great job of outlining one national pundit after another not having Georgia ranked ahead of the current flavor of the week in the LSU Tigers. Whether it was ESPN's Greg McElroy or CBS Sports' Chip Patterson and Tom Fornelli, they are all viewing Georgia through a lens of they need the Dawgs to prove it to them. Fortunately for everyone, it might happen vs. Tennessee.
Heading into Week 2, No. 4 Georgia is a seven-point road favorite over No. 22 Tennessee next week.
Georgia will not be able to fully prove itself until the Tennessee game
As was the case with Marshall, Georgia needs to look varying shades of dominant vs. Austin Peay. Anything less than a clear and decided victory will usher in concerns heading into conference play. While Georgia and Tennessee are starting new quarterbacks this season, the Dawgs have had the Vols' number throughout the Smart era. Josh Heupel has yet to get a win over his regional rival...
Right now, Georgia needs to focus on the task at hand today, just like Tennessee needs to do the same with its Week 2 opponent in East Tennessee State. These were both playoff teams out of the SEC a season ago. While most expect for Georgia to make it back, Tennessee needs to be able to navigate its relatively soft schedule and then some to make it back to the playoff this holiday season.
Ultimately, who really cares what the national media has to say about any of these teams right now? Conference play has yet to commence. Not until we see teams duke it out against their familiar foes will we really have a good feel on who could make the playoff. Clemson, Notre Dame and Texas all losing in Week 1 can be overcome. It remains to be seen if Alabama can do that after its bad loss...
Just because the national media will inevitably be late to the Georgia party does not mean we should.