Why winning mattered to Georgia football on a non-playoff stage in an era of opt-outs

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The 2023 Georgia football team ended its season by getting another trophy and for the second year in a row by annihilating an opponent by 60 or more points.

Running back Kendall Milton, in what’s expected to be his final game in a Georgia uniform, was having a blast afterwards lobbing oranges as game MVP, one by one into the crowd and to teammates after the 63-3 lashing of Florida State.

The Georgia players shared a postgame locker room together one final time, but something was notably missing from the last two years.

Cigar smoke.

Those were lit up after winning national titles in the 2021 and 2022 season.

Not for beating a decimated Florida State team in a non-playoff Orange Bowl.

More: Georgia football stomps undermanned Florida State in Orange Bowl to finish season 13-1

More: Did any part of Georgia football not get a high grade in Orange Bowl romp over Seminoles?

Sure, they played Queen’s “We Are The Champions,” after it was over but this wasn’t what Georgia wanted, of course.

That was almost an afterthought after boat racing previously unbeaten Florida State to finish the season 13-1.

Yes, Georgia will finish with a top 5 finish for the fourth time in the last five years and a top 8 finish for the seventh straight season.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was at the game, but Hard Rock Stadium seemed to be roughly about 75 percent full.

At least 28 Florida State players opted out, were injured or transferred.

Even the SEC Network gave short shrift to the game on its Friday night preview/wrap-up show with so much of the focus on Alabama playing in the Rose Bowl national semifinal game Monday.

It seemed to certainly matter for Georgia as it goes into the offseason with momentum. Music was blaring in the locker room and when it was shut off, senior center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger yelled to put it back…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-winning-mattered-georgia-football-031855930.html

Author : Athens Banner-Herald

Publish date : 2023-12-31 03:18:55

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