Written By: Austin Fackler
(Atlanta, GA) The Georgia Bulldogs are all ready for their National Championship matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Saturday was media day in Atlanta for both teams as they prepare for the National Championship game. As the game inches closer the excitement for the Bulldogs grows as they look to win their first National Championship game since 1980. Playing Alabama is no small task, but Head Coach Kirby Smart will not back down saying on Saturday, “I honestly believe the league is more equal than it has ever been, and that’s mainly because I think maybe Alabama’s not as unbeatable as they have been.”
Smart says that Georgia has been preparing for this game as they usually do, continuing to practice in Athens, “We planned this out long before the Rose Bowl game.” Kirby Smart adding in “It’s tough planning for two games when you haven’t won the first one yet but we had no way to do it without that, we thought it would be best to be in our normal setting which is to be in our meeting rooms and our training rooms and our recovery rooms.”
The Bulldogs are coming off an exhilarating win in the Rose Bowl where they beat Oklahoma in a double overtime thriller that will go down as one of the best Rose Bowl games ever played. During the game after Oklahoma had scored with 6 seconds remaining in the first half, they attempted a squib quick that the Bulldogs recovered on OU’S 47-yard line. After quick completion left 1 second on the clock Coach Kirby Smart called upon his kicker Rodrigo Blankenship to kick a Rose Bowl record 55-yard field goal which he nailed giving the Bulldogs some momentum heading to halftime.
Blankenship has a new-found fame from hitting the record holding kick and was asked if he has been recognized at school and if he has had to sneak into class to not be recognized “It’s not a matter of sneaking in, we have to be there early to check in with the class checkers when there’s a bunch of athletes in the class we always have a checker there.” When asked about how he prepared for the 55-yard field goal after missing a kick earlier in the game “One of the best traits a kicker or punter can have is a short-term memory” he added, “whether you make a kick or miss a kick you need to treat it the exact same way.”
The National Championship game kicks off at 8:00 pm Monday night from Atlanta.
Saturday was media day in Atlanta for both teams as they prepare for the National Championship game. As the game inches closer the excitement for the Bulldogs grows as they look to win their first National Championship game since 1980. Playing Alabama is no small task, but Head Coach Kirby Smart will not back down saying on Saturday, “I honestly believe the league is more equal than it has ever been, and that’s mainly because I think maybe Alabama’s not as unbeatable as they have been.”
Smart says that Georgia has been preparing for this game as they usually do, continuing to practice in Athens, “We planned this out long before the Rose Bowl game.” Kirby Smart adding in “It’s tough planning for two games when you haven’t won the first one yet but we had no way to do it without that, we thought it would be best to be in our normal setting which is to be in our meeting rooms and our training rooms and our recovery rooms.”
The Bulldogs are coming off an exhilarating win in the Rose Bowl where they beat Oklahoma in a double overtime thriller that will go down as one of the best Rose Bowl games ever played. During the game after Oklahoma had scored with 6 seconds remaining in the first half, they attempted a squib quick that the Bulldogs recovered on OU’S 47-yard line. After quick completion left 1 second on the clock Coach Kirby Smart called upon his kicker Rodrigo Blankenship to kick a Rose Bowl record 55-yard field goal which he nailed giving the Bulldogs some momentum heading to halftime.
Blankenship has a new-found fame from hitting the record holding kick and was asked if he has been recognized at school and if he has had to sneak into class to not be recognized “It’s not a matter of sneaking in, we have to be there early to check in with the class checkers when there’s a bunch of athletes in the class we always have a checker there.” When asked about how he prepared for the 55-yard field goal after missing a kick earlier in the game “One of the best traits a kicker or punter can have is a short-term memory” he added, “whether you make a kick or miss a kick you need to treat it the exact same way.”
The National Championship game kicks off at 8:00 pm Monday night from Atlanta.