Georgia hasn’t lost a game in 699 days. So how, exactly, do you beat the Dawgs?
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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
ATHENS, Georgia — Georgia hasn’t lost a football game in 699 days.
The Bulldogs haven’t been beaten in the regular season in 1,091 days. And they haven’t fallen at home in 1,483 days.
Heading into Saturday’s game against No. 12 Missouri at Sanford Stadium, two-time defending national champion Georgia has won 25 consecutive games. With a victory over the Tigers, Georgia would tie for the 14th-longest winning streak in the AP poll era (since 1936), matching Alabama (2015-16) and Nebraska (1994-1996).
Georgia’s last loss was a 41-24 defeat to Alabama in the SEC championship game Dec. 4, 2021. Its winning streak began when it beat Michigan 34-11 in a CFP semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve in 2021. In the next game, the Bulldogs finally took down the Crimson Tide with a 33-18 win in the CFP National Championship to win their first national title in 41 years.
The Bulldogs have been winning ever since.
Along with a school record 25 straight wins, they’ve captured 35 consecutive regular-season games, 24 straight SEC regular-season games and 23 in a row at home. They’re 41-1 in their past 42 games.
“Like I’ve said all the time, that’s going to come to an end,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “I’ve been part of a lot of streaks. That’s going to come to an end at some point, and when it does, we’ll worry about the next game. I don’t think you can be consumed with that thought process or think that way. You’ve got to think [about] what you can do to help your team win.”
So how do you beat the Bulldogs, who have been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll for 20 consecutive weeks, the third-longest streak ever and the longest in the SEC?
Make quarterback Carson Beck uncomfortable
One of the biggest questions about Georgia heading into the season was how Beck would hold up as a replacement for Stetson Bennett, a former walk-on, who guided the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships.
So far, so good. Beck is seventh among FBS quarterbacks with a 73% completion rate and 307.8 yards per game. He is 10th in total QBR (81.8) with 14 touchdowns and four interceptions. The junior has been sacked only five times in 283 dropbacks.
“Everybody talks about the quarterback, but he’s extremely composed and very accurate,” said one SEC head coach, whose team played Georgia this season. “Nobody has really been able to put the game on his shoulders, and I still think that’s what you’ve got to do to beat them because they don’t have what I’d call Georgia running backs. They’re good, but not in the way you would think of some of the great Georgia backs.”
In last week’s 43-20 victory over Florida, the Gators pressured Beck on just four of his 30 dropbacks (13%) and had just one sack, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Florida came into that game with a 42% pressure rate, which was third highest in the SEC and ninth best in the FBS.
Georgia’s offensive line has allowed only six sacks in eight games, which is tied for sixth fewest in the FBS. Beck is completing 78.7% of his passes when the pocket is clean, compared to only 50% when he is pressured.
Beck had his biggest moment in Georgia’s first road game, at Auburn on Sept. 30. After falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter, Georgia rallied to go ahead 20-17 in the fourth. The Tigers tied the game with a field goal, then Beck threw a 40-yard touchdown to tight end Brock Bowers with 2:52 to play. Beck completed 23 of 33 passes for 313 yards with one interception and one touchdown in the game.
“He may not be the runner that Bennett was when things break down, but you don’t get to him much, either,” an SEC assistant coach said. “In that Auburn game, when the game was on the line in a hostile environment, he looked very poised.”
Beat the Bulldogs on the road
It might be hard to believe that the Bulldogs lost three times at home during Smart’s first season as his alma mater’s coach in 2016.
Georgia fell to Tennessee 34-31 after Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs threw a 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown to Jauan Jennings. Special teams mistakes cost the Bulldogs in a 17-16 loss to Vanderbilt, which beat them for only the third time in the past 22 meetings. Then Georgia blew a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter of a 28-27 loss to Georgia Tech, which scored the winning touchdown with 30 seconds left.
Georgia has lost only once in 40 home games since the start of the 2017 season. That came against South Carolina in 2019, a 20-17 loss in double overtime, in which the Bulldogs had four turnovers and missed a 42-yard field goal in the second overtime. The Gamecocks, coached by current UGA co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, were 24½-point underdogs in the game.
Georgia has won 23 straight games at Sanford Stadium since then. It has defeated 11 straight opponents ranked in the Top 25 of the AP poll at home, winning by an average of 19.4 points. Only three of the 11 games were decided by fewer than 14 points.
Sanford Stadium can get loud, especially when there’s a ranked opponent in town. In Georgia’s 23-17 victory over Notre Dame in 2019, the Fighting Irish were whistled for six false-start penalties. Arkansas had false starts on its first two plays in a 37-0 loss at Georgia in 2021. Last season, No. 1 Tennessee had seven false starts in a 27-13 loss to the Bulldogs.
Don’t make mistakes
Last season, Missouri unexpectedly gave Georgia its biggest challenge in the regular season. After defeating each of their first four opponents by 17 points or more, the Bulldogs faced a pair of 13-point deficits in the first half and trailed by 10 going into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs lost two fumbles in the first half and went just 4-for-13 on third down in the game. Georgia rallied, however, and won 26-22 after scoring two touchdowns in the final two minutes.
Missouri is one of only three teams since 2021 to lead the Bulldogs through three quarters, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Only Alabama managed to win in the 2021 SEC championship game. Each of those three opponents won the turnover battle through the first three quarters: Bama and Missouri were plus-2. Ohio State was plus-1 through three quarters of a CFP semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl last season.
Georgia turned it on in the fourth quarter of the two games it won. It outgained Missouri by 155 yards in the fourth quarter; it had 90 more yards than Ohio in a 42-41 victory.
The Bulldogs don’t make many mistakes. This season, they’re the least-penalized team in the SEC with 38.1 yards per game.
“I mean, when you don’t beat yourself, you’ve got a chance,” former Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “When you don’t turn it over, you’ve got a chance. And when you don’t have foolish penalties, you’ve got a chance. A lot of games are given away by just self-inflicted wounds and there hasn’t been a lot of that going on, obviously.”
Hit some big plays
Although Georgia’s defense might not have the star power of the previous two editions — there were a record five Bulldog defenders selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft and two more this year — it’s still pretty stingy. Georgia ranks seventh in the FBS in scoring defense (14.8 points), eighth in total defense (272.1 yards) and 12th in run defense (93.6 yards).
One area where the Bulldogs have excelled this season is third-down defense. Opponents have converted only 25% of 100 third-down plays. It’s going to be difficult to drive the ball down the field.
“Where they’re always dangerous on defense is getting you in bad down-and-distance situations,” an SEC head coach said. “It seems like when you play them, that’s always the case. If you can run the ball just a little bit against them, then it obviously gets a little easier. But how many people have been able to do that?
“I still think that’s the first thing you’ve got to do — stay patient, commit to running the ball and mix it up enough in the pass game to keep them honest. You’ve also got to make some explosive plays on them.”
Since the start of the 2021 season, only five opponents have held a halftime lead against Georgia (Alabama did it twice). The two teams that had 10 plays of 10 yards or more in the first half either defeated the Bulldogs or took them all the way down to the wire, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Ohio State had 11 such plays in the first half of last season’s CFP semifinal. The Crimson Tide had 15 in the first two quarters of their victory over Georgia in the 2021 SEC championship game.
This season, Georgia unexpectedly trailed South Carolina 14-3 at halftime at home. The Gamecocks hit nine plays of 10 yards or more in the first half but were shut out in the final two quarters.
“They’re not as good up front [defensively] as they were last year,” an SEC assistant said. “They’re still good, but don’t have as many pros up there as Kirby has had in the past. They don’t run NFL guys in and out like they used to. So that gives you a chance to have some success on offense if you can get the game to the second half.”
How long will Georgia’s winning streak last? It’s about to face one of its most difficult stretches of any of the past three regular seasons. After hosting the Tigers, the Bulldogs play No. 10 Ole Miss at home and No. 17 Tennessee and surging Georgia Tech to close the regular season.
“Listen, they’re still talented, probably as talented as anybody,” an SEC head coach said. “But I do think they’re beatable. I’m not saying they’ll get beat, but it wouldn’t surprise me like it would have a year ago.”
ESPN reporter Chris Low contributed to this report.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal judge has denied NASCAR’s motions to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed against the stock car series.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell of the Western District of North Carolina also denied NASCAR’s request that two teams — 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports — be ordered to post a bond to cover fees they would not be legally owed if they lose the case.
23XI Racing, a team co-owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports, which is owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, are suing NASCAR to compete with charter recognition throughout the 2025 season.
NASCAR and the teams that compete in the top Cup Series operate with a franchise system that was implemented in 2016 in which 36 cars have “charters” that guarantee them a spot in the field at every race and financial incentives. There are four “open” spots earmarked for the field each week.
The teams banded together in negotiations on an improved charter system in an often-contentious battle with NASCAR for nearly two years. In September, NASCAR finally had enough and presented the teams with a take-it-or-leave-it offer that had to be signed the same day – just 48 hours before the start of the playoffs.
23XI and Front Row were the only two teams out of 15 who refused to sign the new charter agreement. They then teamed together to sue NASCAR and chairman Jim France, arguing as the only stock car entity in the United States, NASCAR has a monopoly and the teams are not getting their fair share of the pie.
Both organizations maintained they would still compete as open cars, but convinced Bell last month to give them chartered status by arguing they would suffer irreparable harm as open cars. Among the claims was that 23XI driver Tyler Reddick, last year’s regular-season champion, would contractually become an immediate free agent if the team did not have him in a guaranteed chartered car.
NASCAR argued Wednesday that it needs that money earmarked because it would be redistributed to the chartered teams if 23XI and Front Row lose.
Jeffrey Kessler, considered the top antitrust lawyer in the country, argued that NASCAR has made no such promise to redistribute the funds to other teams. Kessler said NASCAR told teams it was up to NASCAR’s discretion how it would use the money and didn’t rule out spending some on its own legal fees.
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
For years, teammates have asked Devin Williams to teach them his changeup, a pitch so unusual and dominant it has its own nickname. Williams always helps. They just never get “The Airbender” right.
“I haven’t seen anyone replicate it,” Williams said.
Powered by The Airbender, Williams has established himself as one of the premier relievers in baseball since breaking into the majors in 2019. He has been so good that the Milwaukee Brewers, keeping with their frugal roster-building tactics, traded Williams to the New York Yankees last month for left-hander Nestor Cortes and prospect Caleb Durbin before he inevitably would become too expensive in free agency next winter.
So, for one season, at least, Williams will follow in the footsteps of another Yankees closer who perplexed hitters with one pitch: Mariano Rivera.
“Those are big shoes to fill,” Williams said of Rivera, whose signature cutter helped him become the first player voted unanimously to the Hall of Fame. “I feel he kind of ruined it for everybody else. I mean, after him, it’s hard to live up to those expectations. But at the end of the day, I can only be me.”
Being himself has been more than good enough for the 30-year-old Williams. The right-hander won the 2020 National League Rookie of the Year Award with a 0.33 ERA in 22 games as the Brewers’ primary setup man during the COVID-shortened campaign. He was an All-Star in 2022 and 2023, his first full season as a closer.
Last season, after missing the first four months with stress fractures in his back, he posted a 1.25 ERA with 14 saves in 15 opportunities across 22 appearances. His 40.8% strikeout rate since 2020 ranks second in the majors among relievers. His 1.70 ERA is also second. His .144 batting average against ranks first.
“Obviously, he’s one of the best in the league, if not the best,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said.
For Williams, it all starts with The Airbender. Williams grips it like a changeup and its 84-mph average velocity plays off his fastball like a changeup. But it’s a changeup with an exceptionally high spin rate that breaks to his arm side — opposite from the typical changeup — making it resemble a screwball or a left-hander’s sweeping slider. It is without precedent.
“It’s not anything to do with the grip,” Williams said. “The grip is nothing special. That’s why I think it’s funny when people are like, ‘Oh, don’t give it away.’ This is the most basic changeup grip they teach you when you’re 8 years old.”
Williams said his changeup is so different for two reasons: His elite extension, which ranked in the 98th percentile in 2024, and a singular ability to pronate his wrist.
“It’s the way my wrist works, the way I’m able to manipulate the ball is something unique, uniquely me,” Williams said. “It allows me to throw my changeup the way I throw it. I’m a really good pronator, not supinator. That’s why my slider sucked. You need to get on the other side of the ball. I’m not good at that. I’m good at turning it over.”
Williams did, however, modify his changeup grip to unearth the weapon. Entering 2019, Williams was a struggling minor league starter with a solid changeup, two years removed from Tommy John surgery. He was one year from reaching free agency, from perhaps seeing his career come to an end and going to college to play soccer.
That spring, seeking more movement, he altered his changeup grip from a two-seam to a four-seam, circle change grip. He first threw it during a live batting practice session to Trent Grisham, then a Brewers prospect. Grisham, now with the Yankees, told Williams the spin difference was noticeable. Williams stuck with it.
A starter through spring training, Williams was sent to Double-A as a reliever to begin the season. The demotion sparked desperation, and Williams decided to throw harder than ever, reaching back to lift his fastball into the high 90s. He was in the majors by August. But it wasn’t until the COVID shutdown in 2020 — when he realized spinning the ball more and dropping the velocity from high-80s to mid-80s created more movement — that his changeup reached another level.
“I took that into the season and at summer camp I’m facing my own teammates,” Williams said. “And Jedd Gyorko, I threw him one, and he swung and missed and he was just like, What is that? I’ve never seen [anything] like that. That gave me confidence and we just ran with it. And I literally started throwing it all the time.”
Coincidentally, Williams said the closest changeup he’s seen to his belongs to Luke Weaver, whose emergence as a shutdown reliever in 2024 was crucial in the Yankees reaching the World Series. Williams happened to be in New York when the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers played in the Fall Classic. He was on his annual autumn vacation after the Brewers were eliminated from the postseason. Past trips have taken him all over Europe: London, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, Munich, Dortmund, with a soccer game invariably on his itinerary.
This time, he was in New York. He explored the city for 10 days. Instead of soccer, he watched the World Series from a bar. He shopped. He ate good food. He absorbed the city’s energy.
“I’m a city guy,” Williams said. “I love to explore cities. I like to immerse myself in the culture. I want to be like a normal, everyday person. You guys like bacon, egg and cheese? All right, I’m getting a bacon, egg and cheese.”
Less than two months later, as part of a series of moves executed in their pivot from Juan Soto‘s decision to sign with the crosstown Mets, the Yankees added Williams. On Thursday, Williams settled for $8.6 million to avoid arbitration.
He’ll partner with Weaver to create one of the best bullpen back ends in baseball — in hopes of helping the Yankees win their first championship since Rivera was dominating hitters with his cutter.
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