Dawg Tracks: 15 thoughts heading into Georgia-Charlotte

Here is this week’s Dawg Tracks column with Georgia preparing to face Charlotte this Saturday.

1. For those rooting for Georgia to reach the SEC Championship, there are two paths. The first is for Alabama to lose to Auburn and Texas A&M to lose to Texas. Do folks trust Auburn to do this? Ha! The second path is for Texas, Alabama and Ole Miss to win their remaining SEC games. That gets Georgia in the conference title game based on SEC cumulative opponent winning percentage. 

2. Kirby Smart said he wants to win every game and therefore wants to be in the SEC Championship Game. Should he really want this though? With a 12-team playoff, the SEC Championship doesn’t matter nearly as much as it once did, which I know upsets some college football purists. But no one remembers a conference champion over a national champion. Hell, think back to 2021. Alabama won the SEC, Georgia won the natty. Which team do folks remember from that season? If you ain’t first you’re last. 

3. The primary reason to avoid the SEC Championship, especially if you’re going to either get a bye or a home game against are Group of 5 opponent, is to avoid injuries. Last year, Georgia lost Carson Beck for the College Football Playoff after he injured his elbow in the SEC Championship. If the Bulldogs reach the conference title game and suffer a significant injury, would it be worth it?

4. Another reason to avoid the SEC Championship is that the Bulldogs are currently positioned for the No. 4 seed. There is no conference champion requirement to earn a first-round bye anymore. If Georgia goes 11-1 but doesn’t reach the SEC Championship due to the head-to-head tiebreaker with Alabama, and Alabama loses, the Bulldogs very well could be a top-four seed. 

5. Quite frankly, with a 12-team playoff there is little reason for conference championship games to exist. The powers that be are discussing expanding the playoff too, which would further dilute the purpose of a conference championship game. As it stands, two teams per conference are at a disadvantage with additional wear and tear and exposing players to injuries other playoff teams don’t have to worry about. 

6. Speaking of injuries, Georgia avoided a major one with CJ Allen expected to return this year. With two games remaining in the regular season, it will be imperative for Allen to rest up to lead the defense in the postseason. 

7. Perhaps it’s premature but even with a loss to Georgia Tech it seems Georgia should reach the playoffs. The Bulldogs are playing for seeding over these next two weeks. 

8. Back to injuries, the No. 1 goal against Charlotte will be to get out of this game healthy. There is so much you can’t control with injuries in football. But the absolute worst thing that could happen would be for a key player to go down in a game Georgia should win comfortably. 

9. I don’t mean to be rude but I can’t think of the last time Georgia played an FBS team as bad as Charlotte. The 2021 Vanderbilt squad comes to mind but this Charlotte team may be worse. 

10. The two best teams Charlotte has played to date are South Florida and North Texas. The Bulls won 54-26 and the Mean Green won 54-20. Can Georgia get to 54 points too? 

11. All of that stated, Georgia has this wild tendency to play down in these types of games. But this feels like a much different Georgia team than what we saw in September. The defense is gelling and the offense is in sync. It would be a surprise for the Bulldogs to not take care of business handily. 

12. A lot of folks, including myself, want to see more of Elyiss Williams. It just hasn’t happened and a lot of that has to do with how well Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie have played. Against Charlotte, perhaps Williams gets a lot of playing time to show what the future holds at the tight end position. 

13. On Saturday, the Bulldogs would love nothing more than to get the backup running backs involved by early in the third quarter. If the Bulldogs rout the 49ers early, Bo Walker should see plenty of carries against the nation’s 132nd-ranked rushing defense. That could be fun to watch. 

14. The Gunner Stockton Heisman hype train is picking up steam.

15. The Georgia-Georgia Tech game could potentially be one of the most anticipated meetings in rivalry history. Both teams have only one loss and are vying for the playoffs. Stockton and Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King are Heisman hopefuls. This game is at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on the heels of last year’s eight-overtime thriller. Yes, Charlotte is up first. But it’s tough not to think of next week’s showdown with what’s at stake.

ICYMI

Georgia rises to No. 4 in the College Football Playiff rankings.

Demello Jones is out to make Kamari Lassiter proud.

Cash Jones explained how Georgia’s onside kick came together.

Across the Ball: Three key matchups for Georgia-Charlotte.