The number one ranked Dawgs continued preparations for their upcoming Southeastern Conference
clash with South Carolina by conducting a two-hour workout in full pads
Wednesday.
The Dawgs (8-0, 5-0 SEC)
face South Carolina (6-2, 4-2 SEC) Saturday in Athens. During Wednesday’s SEC
Coaches weekly media teleconference, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said the
Dawgs are excited to be playing at home again following last week’s victory
over Florida in Jacksonville.
“We’ve got a great team
coming in to play against, I think a lot of Coach Muschamp and his staff; I’ve
worked with a lot of those guys over the years,” said Smart. “I think he
(Muschamp) has got a lot of energy at South Carolina and brought a lot of
energy to their program. We’re looking forward to a great college environment
on Saturday.”
Smart was asked if the number
one ranking in the initial College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings is a
compliment to the work his team and coaching staff has put in this season.
“It’s really nothing more
than a distraction more than anything, and our kids realize that, and they
acknowledge that,” said Smart. “They understand that’s the way of the world,
the system we live in, and it’s really built to generate ratings and generate
publicity for our sport, but our focus and attention is on South Carolina.”
And on a follow-up question
regarding how Georgia has handled playing as a highly-ranked team this year,
Smart reiterated that the Dawgs just concentrate on their opponent each
week.
“I keep repeating that, but I
guess nobody believes us,” Smart added. “I think everybody thinks that maybe
we’re just saying that, and we all sit around and just pat ourselves on the
back. That’s not what’s going on here. Our kids have been made aware, and it’s
been a very common theme for us throughout the year.”
Following Wednesday’s
workout, selected Dawgs met with the media and discussed their play, facing
the Gamecocks Saturday and the initial College Football Playoff rankings released
Tuesday night that had Georgia in the top spot.
“It’s business as usual, I
didn’t hear much about that (the rankings),” said senior running back Nick
Chubb. ”We’re keeping focused and need to keep playing the way we’ve been
playing. That’s what we came back for. Everybody is doing a good job of taking
care of each other.”
“We’re looking forward to
playing at home again because there’s nothing like playing Between the Hedges,”
said junior tight end Jackson Harris. “We’re working on our fundamentals and
just getting ready for Saturday.”
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