WATCH: Former Georgia star wins bet with Oregon NFL teammate
Georgia and Oregon are both well represented in the NFL. The Bulldogs had 15 players picked in the most recent NFL Draft and have 52 players on professional rosters. Meanwhile, the Ducks have 29 to their name. And on Monday morning, just less than 48 hours after the two teams kicked off the 2022 season against each other in Atlanta — a dominant 49-3 win for No. 3 Georgia over No. 11 Oregon — it was time for one of them to pay up on his bet.
Former Georgia star and Minnesota Vikings first round selection Lewis Cine posted to Twitter on Monday a video of Oregon alum Troy Dye decked out in red and black attire. Dye was a four-year starter at Oregon earning All-Pac-12 honors three different seasons. He led the team in tackles as a freshman, sophomore and junior, totaling 391 tackles including 41.5 for loss and 13.0 sacks in four seasons. Dye was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
As for Cine, who spent three seasons as Georgia and was drafted this past spring, he finished as the Bulldogs’ leading tackler with 73 stops on a National Championship winning team in 2021. He also had a team-high nine pass breakups and earned Defensive MVP honors in the College Football Playoff Championship Game win over Alabama with seven tackles including one for loss and a pass breakup. Another outstanding performance from Cine came in the season-opener against No. 3 Clemson when he led the team with nine stops and broke up two passes. He had eight tackles in a win over Florida as well as another eight, plus two pass breakups, on the road against Tennessee.
Cine started the final 27 games of his career at Georgia dating back to the end of his freshman season. Over that span, the Cedar Hill, Texas native developed into an All-American caliber player, an All-SEC selection by both the AP and coaches, a semifinalist for the 2021 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award and a first round draft pick. Cine was selected 32nd overall by the Minnesota Vikings who traded up to grab their guy.
In their first game without Cine, Georgia’s safeties were still the stars on the defensive side of the football. Freshman Malaki Starks had an interception, as did fifth-year senior Christopher Smith. Starks also finished as the team’s leading tackler.
Georgia returns back to Athens this week to take on FCS opponent Samford in its home-opener before opening SEC play the next week at South Carolina. Kickoff time this Saturday at Sanford Stadium is set for 4:00 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. As for Oregon, the Ducks take on Eastern Washington in Eugene before a ranked matchup against BYU.
