UGA Football: Bulldogs Continue College Football Playoff Prep

ATHENS, Ga. – Bulldog student-athletes Travon Walker and Nolan Smith previewed the College Football Playoff/Orange Bowl matchup against Michigan on New Year’s Eve. The Bulldogs and Wolverines kick-off at 7:30 p.m. ET in Miami Gardens, Florida.

#44 | Travon Walker | Jr. | DL
On if he has noticed any changes in practices since the announcement of the new defensive coordinators…
“I mean it is all the same because the guys and the coaches we are all still bought in. We are still on the same mission that we were on at the beginning of the year which is to win a National Championship. Now we have Michigan in our way so there is no change, everything is still the same really, just got to keep moving forward.”

On if playing few four-quarter games affected their performance…
“I can say that some of the time that some of the guys probably did get a little winded and that did play a small part in the loss. But overall I think it is just things that we have to fix on our own.”

On making a statement against Michigan…
“We just have to go out there and play our ball, our type ball. That is just being the most physical team on the field and not wanting anybody to run all over us or do whatever they do. We just want to go out there and play our ball.”

#4 | Nolan Smith | Jr. |OLB
On the sentiment of the team going into the Orange Bowl…
“New life. I will say that, new life. Coach Smart has even said it, ‘it is a one game season.’ What we did before, congratulations and what we did before it is not that bad we can always learn from our mistakes. But it is new life, it is one game and you have to win to advance. I think a lot of guys are ready to work and we are happy that we have this opportunity. A lot of people watch Georgia football for a long time and a lot of people didn’t get this opportunity that we have had and now that we have it we have to seize it. I tell the guys every day, ‘let’s just come work. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other one.'”

On building back up after the SEC Championship…
“I mean it was the next day for me. To be honest I couldn’t sleep at night so stayed up watching film and watched the game as many times as I could. Just trying to see what we could do better, things that we did wrong, places that we could have been better. I mean third down, everyone knows that third down is ‘Money Down’ in the SEC kind of like the NFL and we did not do really well on third down. We did not rush the passer well and that is on me. It is just a lot of things that we could have done better.”

On watching Georgia in the Rose Bowl being able to play in the College Football Playoff…
“I mean yeah, when Lorenzo (Carter) blocked that field goal and we went into overtime and Tae (Crowder) did that thing at half-time, I watched the whole game. I watched the whole game and a lot of people counted us out but we came back. But, I am really excited and I am happy to be on this stage and part the Georgia team that made it to the College Football Playoffs. I will be able to tell this to my kids forever let alone.  but hopefully we can win it.”

UGA Football: Dawgs in the NFL

How the Bulldogs in the NFL fared in Week 15:

    Packers 31, Ravens 30
    Eric Stokes, DB: Stokes had seven tackles and broke up a pass to help the Packers clinch the NFC North title and become the first NFL team to claim a playoff berth. He stands first among rookies and eighth overall in the NFL with 13 passes defended.
    Ben Cleveland, OL: Cleveland earned his first career start at guard and helped the Ravens gain 354 total yards as he logged all 70 plays.
    Justin Houston, LB: Houston posted four tackles, including half a sack, for the Ravens. On Monday, he was added to Baltimore’s COVID-19 reserve list.
    Nick Moore, LS: Moore snapped on three extra points, one field goal, and one punt for Baltimore.

    Rams 20, Seahawks 10
    Leonard Floyd, OLB: Floyd had two tackles, including a sack, and defended a pass for the Rams.
    Sony Michel, RB: Michel rushed for 92 yards on 18 carries and caught two passes for 23 yards for Los Angeles.
    Matthew Stafford, QB: Stafford went 21-for-29 for 244 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams. He became the fastest man in NFL history to pass for 50,000 yards in combined regular-season and playoff games as he reached 50,159 yards in 182 contests. Stafford ranks second and third in the NFL with 35 touchdowns and 4,142 passing yards, respectively, this season.

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UGA Women’s Basketball: Staiti Sweeps SEC and National Honors

ATHENS, Ga. — Jenna Staiti, who has scored in double figures in four-straight games and in 42 of the last 49 contests overall, has been named the ESPN National Player of the Week and the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, it was announced Tuesday.

Steady Staiti has been sensational in her final season in Athens. She has led No. 12-ranked Georgia to an 11-1 record, averaging nearly a double-double of 14.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Last week, the Cumming, Ga., had dominant performance against one of the nation’s best players when she scored 21 points to go with 11 rebounds against No. 2-ranked NC State. Going against 2021 All-American and Preseason ACC Player of the Year Elissa Cunane, Staiti hit close to 60 percent from the field, nailed three 3-pointers and tied a season-high with six blocks. She played almost the entire way and helped Georgia to its first true road win against a top-2 team in program history.

Staiti followed that performance with 16 points against St. Francis and 17 versus South Alabama. She has hit 15-of-17 (88 percent) from the field over the last two games.

This is the latest honor of Staiti’s distinguished career. She was a 2021 All-SEC selection, made the SEC All-Tournament Team and was a 2021 WBCA All-America honorable mention honoree. Entering this year, Staiti landed on the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List for the nation’s best center and the Naismith National Player of the Year Watch List.

The Lady Bulldogs are off the rest of this week to celebrate the Christmas holiday. Georgia returns home to host No. 21-ranked LSU on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. ET.

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