Georgia prepares for 'once in a lifetime opportunity'

The word “big” seemed to be repeated hundreds of times at Georgia’s media availability Monday, as if to emphasize the magnitude of the already-daunting College Football Playoff semifinal game on Jan. 1.

Pastor Troy, a rapper and frontman for the group D.S.G.B., walked around holding a stack of Georgia-themed buttons and asked players what songs would be on their pre-Rose Bowl playlists. The number of TV cameras and reporters present doubled. In the midst of it all, Georgia's players acknowledged the scale of what they will soon play for: an appearance in the national championship game.

“You have to have it in your mind that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” senior running back Nick Chubb said. “You can't take it for granted. The young guys have to realize this opportunity is special. You have to play hard and practice hard for it.”

The last time Georgia played in the Rose Bowl, the year was 1943. The United States was in the midst of World War II. Fears of the West Coast’s vulnerability to attack had forced the game to be played in Durham, North Carolina, the year before. Georgia won, 9-0, against UCLA. Charley Trippi ran for 115 yards that day. He recently turned 96 years old.

So it has been multiple generations since the Bulldogs played in the Rose Bowl. In more recent history, they haven’t played in a premier bowl game in a decade. The other three playoff teams this season — Alabama, Clemson and Oklahoma — have all appeared in the playoff at least once in its three-year history. Meanwhile, Georgia’s bowl destinations the past three seasons have been pedestrian: the Belk Bowl, the TaxSlayer Bowl and the Liberty Bowl.

“It's a little hard to believe, but the guys that were here, we realized how far we've come,” senior outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter said. “It gives us the motivation to come out and work. We have chances to play for a championship and not just the Liberty Bowl.”

This time last year, few, if any, outside of Athens cared about the 7-5 Bulldogs heading to the Liberty Bowl. The only thing at stake was adding to the win column. A loss really didn’t matter. Georgia’s players went to Memphis, Tennessee, to have fun, eat ribs and play a football game. It was more of a vacation than a business trip.

That’s not the case this year, not with what can still be achieved.

“We're there for one mission and for one mission only,” senior running back Sony Michel said. “That's to win a football game and get back to the East Coast.”

This story was originally published December 18, 2017 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Georgia prepares for 'once in a lifetime opportunity'."