The Georgia Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns are set to square off Saturday for the second time this season. Is beating the Longhorns the biggest hurdle remaining between the Dawgs and a potential playoff run?
Beating a team twice is already exceptionally difficult, but beating a team as talented as Texas twice would be an unbelievable accomplishment for the Bulldogs. ">According to ESPN's Mark Schlabach, the Dawgs could end up playing the Longhorns an incredible three separate times.
Schlabach joined The Steakhouse to discuss.
"I think beating a team twice is hard, let alone if they have to somehow win this game [on Saturday] and then play again," Steak asked. "There are a lot of percentages that do not favor Georgia at some point, [right?]."
But worrying about matchups in the College Football Playoff should be farthest from the minds of the Dawgs, says Mark.
"The biggest thing for Kirby Smart and Georgia is to win Saturday and have the ability to take three weeks off and try to get healthy because this is a banged up football team," Schlabach told The Steakhouse. "Georgia's had so many injuries at running back and on the offensive line that figuring out how to get it done at Mercedes Benz is probably the best path try to win a national championship."
The running back room, in particular, has been a tough spot for the Dawgs this season. Rodrick Robinson has missed the entire season while Trevor Etienne has been nicked up for the full 12 games, too. As a result, the rushing attack has suffered and it has put tremendous pressure on the rest of the offense to exceed expectations.
If they were to get those extra weeks of rest, it could do wonders for the prospects of the Bulldogs come postseason play. Lose on Saturday, and Georgia will be tasked with an extra game to play with one fewer week of rest.
Schlabach said, "The big thing is just beat [Texas] Saturday and then worry about having to play them again come the Playoff."
