Georgia experienced a three-hour time difference in its recent trip to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
The Bulldogs have been back in the Eastern time zone since Tuesday, when they returned following Monday's 54-48 win over Oklahoma in double overtime. Monday marked Georgia's first game in California since a 10-3 loss to Southern Cal in 1960, but second-year coach Kirby Smart prepped his players for the time change.
"We encouraged them while they were out there to kind of try to stay around Central time if they could," Smart said Tuesday afternoon on a teleconference. "If you can go to bed a little bit earlier and get up a little bit earlier, the transition coming back won't be that bad. Of course, a lot of our guys were getting tired early in the night, so they wanted to go to bed earlier, and their bodies were naturally getting up earlier.
"If you just let that flow happen and you remain a little bit neutral, it's not as big a transition when you get back."
Senior running back Sony Michel, who earned offensive MVP honors by rushing 11 times for 181 yards and three touchdowns, was already leaving Monday's performance behind when he returned Tuesday.
"There was a lot of excitement, but our ultimate goal was to get to the national championship, and I think that's everybody's focus," Michel said. "Everybody has shifted their focus onto that game, and I think everybody is prepared and ready to move on. I don't think any more energy was wasted on celebration.
"I think we celebrated enough, and we're kind of getting ready to move on to our next opponent."
The Bulldogs have been practicing this week in Athens, but those workouts have been closed. Tuesday's teleconference with Smart, Michel and junior inside linebacker Roquan Smith was the only media opportunity until Saturday morning in Atlanta, when all players and coaches from Georgia and Alabama will be available.
Series history
Georgia trails the series with Alabama 38-25-4, with the Bulldogs having lost the last three meetings after winning three in a row before that.
The programs first met in 1895, with the Bulldogs winning 30-6 in Columbus, Ga. They met annually from 1919 to 1930 and again from 1944 to 1965 but only eight times since the Southeastern Conference went to divisional play in 1992.
Alabama and Georgia collided in a memorable SEC title game following the 2012 season, with the Crimson Tide prevailing 32-28.
Odds and ends
One of the more remarkable stats this season, especially given that starting quarterback Jake Fromm is a freshman, is that the Bulldogs are 51-of-53 in red-zone opportunities with 38 touchdowns. ... Senior running back Nick Chubb has a career yards-per-carry average of 6.41, which ranks third in program history behind Todd Gurley (6.44) and Charley Trippi (6.42).
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.