How Georgia will try to avoid complacency against season opener Austin Peay

When Georgia heads to Sanford Stadium to host Austin Peay Saturday, it will be reminded of its last encounter with a Football Championship Subdivision team two years ago.

Nicholls State was the featured mid-major team for the Bulldogs in the early weeks of head coach Kirby Smart’s first year at the helm. It didn’t go well for Georgia. In fact, it was almost one of those never-forgotten upsets as Smart squeezed out a 26-24 win.

“I don’t feel like Georgia’s going to let that happen again,” Georgia defensive tackle Julian Rochester said.

That moment served as a shock to Georgia but also a learning experience. In Smart’s third season and after a National Championship game appearance, the Governors (who will drive back to Clarkesville, Tennessee, with a $500,000 paycheck) will be the Bulldogs’ only hurdle before a pivotal SEC road game at South Carolina on Sept. 8.

Since the last encounter with an FCS opponent, Georgia’s culture and buy-in has taken a drastic step. Smart has set what he calls a “standard” and expects equal effort, regardless of the opponent.

“It doesn’t matter whether we’re playing Florida, Austin Peay, South Carolina; our standard is to go out and dominate the opponent … physically, mentally and wear them down,” said Smart, who likened Austin Peay to Appalachian State, Georgia’s season-opening opponent from a season ago. “We’re trying to be the best team in the country so that we can dominate people physically and not really worry about the scoreboard or who we’re playing.”

Smart’s mentality starts at practice, which a number of players last season claimed to be harder than the game itself. He expects aggressiveness and focus from his players, and if they demonstrate lessened intensity, it’ll be quickly addressed.

“START IT OVER,” Rochester recalled Smart yelling when practice effort was off-kilter.

An ideal Georgia practice, due to the heat and humidity, involves a fast-paced approach where the players finish their reps and quickly return to an air-conditioned locker room. But for the coaches, there’s no hesitancy to delay.

During Monday’s viewing period, Smart’s watchful eye and aggressive instruction didn’t dwindle. Neither did the efforts of those set to take their first snaps of the season Saturday.

“He’s not going to let us be relaxed at practice,” Rochester said. “It’s either hear him and get yelled at, or go out and handle business like a pro and do it the right way.”

For Austin Peay, the Georgia game becomes its prime opportunity for recognition. As the cliche goes, it’s a Super Bowl-like game for a team that rarely sees national television. This contest, however, is the centerpiece with a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.

The Governors are excited for the exposure, too. With a young head coach in 33-year-old Will Healy, Austin Peay is on the rise with an 8-4 campaign in 2017 that followed an 0-11 mark from the season prior.

Austin Peay is the No. 22 team in the FCS coaches’ poll entering the season.

“We scheduled games like this to put Austin Peay on the map,” Healy said on the Ohio Valley Conference coaches’ teleconference Tuesday. “Everyone wants to talk about the University of Georgia, and that’s good for us too. Our kids are excited to see if they can go toe-to-toe with some of the best athletes in the country.”

Regardless of the opponent or what lies ahead, a raucous, capacity crowd at Sanford Stadium removes any semblance of complacency.

“If you aren’t motivated for the first game of the season, then I don’t know what to say,” Georgia senior linebacker Juwan Taylor said.