Truth be told, it may not matter in the end. However, there is something that should be snagging in the back of one's mind when it comes to the Georgia Bulldogs' sneaky-tough road game at the Mississippi State Bulldogs. For as much hoopla as there has been around Mississippi State's chances of upsetting Georgia, the point spread and recent football history both beg to differ. There is also this.
While we all know about who Georgia has to play the rest of the way (at Mississippi State, vs. Texas, vs. Charlotte and vs. Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium), that is still a much easier road for our Bulldogs to navigate than what the other SEC Bulldogs must traverse. They improved to 5-4 overall and 1-4 SEC play with a close win over rival Arkansas last weekend. No, it does not get any easier...
Mississippi State's three remaining opponents are all top 25 teams after the first College Football Playoff rankings. Georgia comes in at No. 5, Missouri is No. 22, and arch rival Ole Miss is No. 6. Mississippi State will have to play those Tigers on the road in CoMo in between UGA and Ole Miss. Mizzou may not be ranked this time next week if they lose to Texas A&M, but it is a 6-2 football team.
With a shot at bowl eligibility within reach, Mississippi State could play tight, or maybe even careless...
Georgia can make Mississippi State play right into their hand on Saturday
Truth be told, it could go in either direction in the negative for Mississippi State vs. Georgia. If they were to play tight, it may cost them a serious shot at the upset bid. Mississippi State has fine players, but nothing on the level that Georgia has. Should they play a bit careless or even reckless, that is how things can snowball in a bad way for Mississippi State. Think about what happens to Florida vs. UGA...
While it is more in Mississippi State's nature to play conservative as a means to keep it close for as long as it can, just like Kentucky almost always seems to play under Mark Stoops' watch, Mississippi State does have that home upset win over Arizona State in the back of its mind. No, Georgia is not going to play Cover 0 when the game is on the line in that spot but it is something to keep an eye on.
In the end, Mississippi State is going to have to walk the narrow tightrope between conservative and reckless to keep this one interesting vs. Georgia. To be quite frank, it will be more of Georgia giving Mississippi State the game than Mississippi State actually beating the Dawgs fair and square. While they could upset Missouri, or maybe even Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, Georgia should prevail Saturday.
There are multiple ways for Georgia to win this game, but really only two for Mississippi State to do it.