B.S. Report: Bill Shanks discusses the Georgia Bulldogs and the importance of beating Alabama

Macon, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Okay, Georgia Bulldog fans. Come back down to planet Earth. It’s fun to be drinking the Kool-Aid, but let’s get real for a minute.

Yes, your team is 4-0. That’s a great place to be. It beats the record several of your arch-rivals – specifically Georgia Tech and Auburn – have right now. Let’s remember one very important thing.

Georgia hasn’t played anyone yet.

Vanderbilt and South Carolina are also in the SEC East, but let’s be real. Vanderbilt is Vanderbilt, and South Carolina is just not very good. This is not to downplay Georgia’s perfect start. It’s what they needed to do, regardless of how many questions the team might have had one month ago. But this Saturday, the real season starts. Alabama comes to Athens for the start of a tough, three-game stretch. The Bulldogs go to Tennessee next Saturday and then host Missouri. These next three games will define Georgia’s season.

The biggest question we had about Georgia may have been answered. Greyson Lambert has gone from a player no one – perhaps even his head coach – had much confidence in to the quarterback with the second highest completion percentage in the country. Lambert started the game at Vanderbilt two weeks ago 0-for-7, but since then he’s completed 44 of 49 passes. We shouldn’t expect that to continue, but Lambert will be tested this week against Alabama. How will he do in the spotlight of a nationally-televised game against the Crimson Tide? Well, we just don’t know. But if he can simply be efficient and avoid turnovers – something he’s done so far – Georgia will likely be fine.

They should win this game. They look better than Alabama, at least on paper. Alabama’s question at quarterback has not been answered. It’s still a mess, with Jake Coker trying to do what Lambert has already done. Expect Alabama to put pressure on Lambert like he hasn’t seen all season, and that’s exactly what Georgia will do with Coker. This game Saturday could simply come down to which quarterback plays the best. Both teams will try to stop the other team’s running backs, and we all know they are very good. But if Lambert outplays Coker, how can Georgia lose? The lines of scrimmage will matter. The coaching will matter, and frankly, that’s where many Georgia fans are a bit worried. The last time Alabama came to Athens, they got up 31-0 on the Bulldogs. Remember, it was the black out? Every year Mark Richt has to prove his Bulldogs can win the big game. The SEC East looks winnable, but can Richt beat Nick Saban? Well, he better.

Georgia needs to take that next step and beating Alabama will certainly help.