MEMPHIS — After a few days apart, the staff and players of the Georgia football team met back up here on Sunday night, ready for one last week of a topsy-turvy season.
Kirby Smart dictated that they report on Christmas night partly to send a message about the importance of this week and this game. They practiced early (literally in the morning) and often back in Athens, and will get in as much time as possible in Memphis. But it was partly also because the schedule dictated it.
The Liberty Bowl is Friday at noon ET. Smart and the staff wanted something close to a normal game week, and since making everyone come on Christmas morning or Eve would have been a bit Scrooge-ish, Sunday evening would have to do.
The work then begins in earnest. Here is Georgia’s schedule in Memphis as it gets ready for TCU (all times Eastern):
- MONDAY: 10:55 a.m.: Practice at Rhodes College. Smart and players will then meet the media at the team hotel a few hours later.
- TUESDAY: 11:50 a.m.: Practice at Rhodes College. 3 p.m.: Smart and players visit St. Jude Hospital. 3:15 p.m.: Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker and four defensive players hold a press conference, along with their TCU counterparts.
- WEDNESDAY: 10 a.m.: Practice at Rhodes College. 2:45 p.m.: Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and four offensive players hold a press conference, along with their TCU counterparts.
- THURSDAY: 2 p.m.: Smart and TCU head coach Gary Patterson appear at a joint press conference.
- FRIDAY: Noon: Kickoff of the Liberty Bowl.
