Georgia balancing practice, recovery, conditioning ahead of Auburn
There’s a fine line between too much practice and too little preparation, and it’s one that Georgia is being forced to walk at this point in the season. With so many Bulldogs banged up – Jalen Carter and AD Mitchell are the most notable among a long list of players battling some sort of nicks and bruises – Kirby Smart and his staff are having to find the balance between practicing players and letting them recover with important games left to be played. The good news is, Smart feels like he doesn’t have to be concerned about his team’s conditioning level. That work was put in long before game week.
“We lift, run, work out, we train all summer for this stretch run. I thought our guys were in really good shape in the fourth quarter,” Smart said on Monday when asked if conditioning gets to be a concern when he has to limit players in practice. “The conditioning is different than the physicality, right? There are bumps and bruises from contact and then there is conditioning. You certainly hope your team has the right conditioning level because you don’t fix that in-season. You got to have a good conditioning level to play in the fourth quarter, which I think we have. The physicality part you can tone down how much you hit, but you do that at the cost of not being as physical as you want to be.”
The good news, as Smart said, is that Georgia seems to be conditioned well. After the starters were out by the start of the fourth quarter in the first three games, the last two have seen the Bulldogs battling for a full 60 minutes. He’s been happy with the way they’ve handled that.
As for their next opponent Auburn, the Tigers have struggled in the second half of games. In 10 SEC contests under head coach Bryan Harsin, Auburn has scored more than seven points in the second half just twice. In their last eight contests against Power Five opponents, the Tigers are being outscored 104-21.
“It takes number one being in shape, physically in shape, mentally strong. Takes consistency and performance. You have to perform under great pressure repeatedly,” Smart said about finishing strong in the second half, like his team did on Saturday as it outscored Missouri 20-6 in the final two frames. “It’s really more about playing on the road and having a demeanor about you that you understand regardless of where you’re playing in our league, the road games are really hard. I don’t think that’s ever going to change. You got to be prepared for that. Momentum is a very powerful thing. We didn’t have that for a long time in that game.”
Georgia won’t be on the road this week but the Bulldogs’ depth will be tested. With Carter doubtful to go against Auburn, the defensive linemen around him are going to be forced to step up. The same goes for other positions, like wide receiver, where the Bulldogs are banged up and might be limited in one way or another. That’s Smart’s biggest concern this week – getting his team back on track from a health standpoint. Where he’s not concerned is conditioning.
“In this league, man, who’s not beat up? I promise you every team in the SEC going home tonight is beat up,” Smart said after the game. “It’s physical. It’s tough. It’s why you’ve got to have depth.”
Georgia and Auburn kickoff from Sanford Stadium on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. The Bulldogs enter as 29-point favorites in the 127th meeting of The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
