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Which game on Georgia’s schedule could have the biggest ripple effect?

David Barnes/AJC
Cy Brown
Cy Brown

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Ripple in still water

Over on the r/CFB subreddit, u/FungoGolf posited an interesting question: ‘Which win on your schedule this season could have the greatest ripple effect?‘ Basically, in which game would a win have the biggest influence on the rest of the season? It’s an interesting little question, so I thought I’d take a shot at it for Georgia and came up with these three candidates:

Notre Dame

Regardless of how good Notre Dame is in a given season, the Fighting Irish always have tons of hype surrounding them. That may be a little limited this season after the 4-8 debacle that was last year, but all eyes will be on the Irish, as always. Georgia, also has a fair bit of hype heading into next season, mainly because there is no other obvious candidate to come out of the SEC East. So, if Georgia beats Notre Dame in Week 2 next season, it’ll be the perfect mixture for a perfect storm and send the hype around the Dawgs into the stratosphere. If you like hearing about Georgia from ESPN and other national outlets, the hype is probably a good thing. If you want the Dawgs to fly under the radar, that’ll be impossible with a win against Notre Dame.

Tennessee

The first SEC  East game of the season is always an important one, if only because a loss can cast a team in an early hole that is difficult to dig out of, as well as put said team on the losing end of at least one potential tiebreaker. The game with the Vols will have that riding on it but also the added edge of the revenge factor. Georgia should have won that game last season and it still stings every fan that the Bulldogs didn’t. A win in Neyland, especially a decisive one, to open the SEC East slate would send the signal that the Dawgs aren’t to be trifled with and would probably give the team a nice confidence boost as it moves into the heart of the schedule. And after playing so poorly at Neyland in recent years, a win there would give a clear sense that there is something different about this team from UGA squads of the past half-decade.

Florida

The margins are always small in the SEC, so every game is the most important game. It’s just that Florida is more most important than the rest. And this isn’t just from a rivalry perspective. Florida is likely to be Georgia’s biggest competition for the East crown and a win against the Gators would likely put the Dawgs at the front of the pack to claim it. There’s also the emotional boost of beating Florida. There is no doubt Georgia fans and players are more confident after a Florida win. With South Carolina, Auburn, Kentucky and Georgia Tech rounding out the schedule after the trip to Jacksonville, the Dawgs will need all the confidence they can get.

Chase Kalisz sets 400-yard IM record

Georgia men’s swimming and diving competed in the NCAA National Swimming and Diving Championships in Indianapolis this past weekend and finished eighth overall. But Georgia did receive a spectacular individual performance from Olympian Chase Kalisz. The senior capped off his UGA career with a blistering 3:33.42 in the 400-yard IM, good enough for school, NCAA and American records.

Georgia equestrian wins SEC

The weekend brought another SEC championship for the Georgia Bulldogs; this time in equestrian. The Bulldogs defeated Auburn, 10-9, in the title contest on Saturday to win their second title since the SEC officially sanctioned equestrian in 2013.

“This is very exciting,” coach Meghan Boenig said. “It’s starting to sink in. Everyone is so excited, so thrilled and so joyous. What a fight and an incredible team effort. I am so proud of these ladies, especially the reindeers who had the tough job of closing out the events and giving everything they had for their rides. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Next up for Georgia is a trip to Waco, Texas, in a few weeks to compete for the NCEA National Championship, a title UGA equestrian has held six times in its history.

Diamond Dogs take one of three vs. Auburn

This weekend was better than last weekend for Georgia baseball, but that doesn’t mean it was good. The Bulldogs finished their SEC-home-opening weekend 1-2 against Auburn, losing the first game 2-1, winning the second 4-1, then dropping the third 4-1. The results move Georgia to 10-15 on the season, with a dismal 1-5 SEC record.

ICYMI

Good dog

Do they get a bedtime story, too?

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