Now that we are at the end of the regular season (I consider the SECCG a post season game) sitting at 10-2 and possibly ranked in the Top 10 when the new polls come out, I want to ask "What have you learned this year?". I'll go first. 1) I have learned that it doesn't matter what color shirt I wear, whether it's long sleeve or short sleeve. It doesn't matter if I wear a hat or visor. It doesn't matter if I wear my red pants with the little G's all over them or shorts or jeans. My wardrobe has NOTHING to do with how good or bad the Dawgs will play. I don't think I have worn the same shirt or pants combination for any game this year, where in years past I would wear a particular shirt or hat until we lost. 2) Mike Bobo is a good Offensive Coordinator. I don't know what happened after that first game whether it was the unfamiliarity with the new no huddle system or if Mark Richt got into his ear but the play calling since then has been really good. There have been a few head scratchers but for the most part I am pleased with how Bobo has deployed his assets and played to his strengths. 3)Aaron Murray will leave Georgia the owner of every QB record there is with the exception of most wins. He's not perfect but I will take a 65% completion percentage and 32 TD's every year. 4)The "Dream Team" is for real! Malcom Mitchell,Chris Connly, and Isaiah Crowell are going to be superstars barring injury and stupid decisions (I am looking at you IC). 5)I have confidence that even if the offense is off the defense will keep it close enough to win. 6)I hope that Mark Richt is our coach for another 11 years. Go Dawgs!!

It seems inevitable that we are moving toward 16 team "Super Conferences" with Texas A&M becoming the SEC's 13th team and Oklahoma moving to the Pac-12 (with little brother OK State). I don't see any scenario in which the SEC doesn't go to 16 teams especially if the Pac-12 looks like they will become the Pac-16. That being said, here is my proposal for dividing up the "New SEC" into 4 divisions with division winners playing a semi-final to get to the SEC Championship Game. Division A-LSU, TAMU, ARK, MIZZOU Division B-Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Miss St Division C-Clemson, Florida St, Tennessee, Kentucky Division D-Georgia, Florida, SC, Vandy Each division would play another division on a yearly rotating basis with one permanent opponent from the opposite divisions (i.e. for UGA it would be one permanent from A and one from B) to preserve traditional rivalries. Each team plays 9 conference games. An example of UGA's schedule Game 1-Cupcake U Game 2-vs SC Game 3-@ Clemson Game 4-vs Vandy Game 5-@ UT Game 6-vs Kentucky Game 7-@ UF Game 8-vs Auburn Game 9-@ FSU Game 10-vsCupcake U Game 11-@ LSU Game 12-vs Tech I am sure there are some holes in this that don't keep everyone happy. What are your thoughts on this type of a set up? (NOTE: I used Missouri, Clemson and FSU for comparison purposes)

Dear Coach Richt, First let me say that I have enourmous respect for you as a person and as a role model for our young men. I have defended you against your detractors and truly believed that you were going to turn it around this year. That being said I am not a happy Dawg fan. There were very few scenarios regarding tonight's game that would have me calling for your job in Week 1. I believed all summer that we were going to win this game, I bought all of the "happy talk" coming out of Athens about Strength and Conditioning, I listened when you said we were going to be more aggresive on offense. I could have handled a close loss, maybe a last second field goal or a touchdown after a closely fought game as long as our team showed signs of life. Unfortunately none of that happened tonight. The team that took the field looks like a less talented version of last year's team and played completely uninspired, undisciplined football. No changes have been made. We are still weak and out of shape on the Offensive line, our playcalling in unimaginative and predictable, and our Defense is unable to get a stop when we absolutely have to have one. In short, it is time for you and your staff to move on to other endevours. I appreciate everything that you did in 2001-2005. You brought our program back to relevance and won 2 SEC Championships with a program that hadn't sniffed one in 20 years. What I do not appreciate is the last 5 years of steady decline and malaise that has settled over everything. Sincerely, Rocketdawg Dawg Fan since 1978

I have watched bits and pieces of some preseason NFL over the last few days (yeah I know but it's football!) and I had a thought about some former UGA QB's that didn't last very long in the NFL. David Greene who was the winningest QB in NCAA history (until Colt McCoy broke his record playing the Little Sisters of the Poor and Baylor) only lasted a few seasons with the Seahawks after being a 4th round pick and then bounced around the league for a couple of years before retiring. DJ Shockley was the #3 for the Falcons for a few years before getting cut in favor of Sarah Jessica John Parker Wilson and his Bama bangs and last time I checked was playing in the Arena League. After watching some truly horrible QB play in the NFL over the past few years (and especially the last few nights....Curtis Painter anyone?) my question to you is: Were Greene and Shockley not that good to begin with or did they not get a fair shot with their respective teams? My take on it is that Greene's arm strength and ability to throw the long ball or deep out was a limiting factor. I also think that somehow he got on Mike Holmgren's bad side at Seattle and was "black listed" so to speak around the league (every thing I have ever heard about Greene over the years says he is a hard worker and a good person so I can't imagine what he could have done to incur the wrath of Holmgren). I always thought of DJ as a poor man's Vince Young (but not batsh!t crazy). Maybe not quite as strong of an arm or as accurate as Young but a serviceable QB to say the least. I feel like he missed a golden opportunity in '08 when Vick was in prison and he blew out his ACL in Buffalo. Maybe it's the homer in me, but I just can't understand how two very successful QB's at a top program in a pro style offense aren't in the league in some sort of capacity now. Especially with guys like Curtis Painter, Tyler Thigpen, Tavaris Jackson, Charlie Whithearst, John Parker Wilson, the two no loads at Arizona that played last year, and Shaun Hill. Really? What say you Dawgsports?

I just heard on ESPN radio that TAMU, FSU, Clemson and Missouri will join the SEC. Obviously this is going to change how things work and make the league that much tougher. Adding Clemson and FSU to the East and TAMU and Missouri to the West will necessitate some schedule juggling in order to play everyone in your division and maintain natural rivalries. I don't see a way that this happens without going to 9 conference games a year (possibly 10) which as a fan I like. I understand McGarity's scheduling philosophy with the creampuff buffet in addition to our regularly scheduled soire with the Nerds every year, but as a season ticket holder I want to see good games on the field. Getting the Noles and Fort Hill Felines Between the Hedges every other year really excites me. I love the fact that the dominoes have started to fall and it will be interesting to see how it shapes the landscape of college football for the future.

1) We have depth issues along the offensive line 2) With the arrival of Jay Rome we have an embarassment of riches at the TE position. I wonder if Bobo and Friend have had any discussion about moving Artie Lynch from TE to OT? He is 6-5 272 and extremely quick and athletic. While I would hate to see anyone get "Tripped" (to borrow from the GTP lexicon), Lynch could possibly turn out to be an outstanding OT and make a boat load of money in the NFL instead of being 3rd (and possibly 4th) on the TE depth chart after fall camp. What say you Dawg Sports nation?

If you haven't had a chance to catch this on ESPN (or watch it on ITunes) then I highly recommend that you do so at your earliest convienience. I am not a huge fan of the WWL for the sheer reason that I think that they play "king maker" and meddle in sports entirely too much.

That being said the film was VERY well done combining interviews with the key figures in the scandal with actual TV footage and print articles from the period. I really enjoyed seeing how "business" was done in the old SWC back in the day. Even though SMU was the only school that got caught you can be certain that every other school in the conference was doing the same thing. I also found it interesting how blatant (and stupid) the boosters and administration who were in on the whole thing acted. One recruit received his payment in an SMU envelope and the accompanying letter was on SMU stationary!!

  What I think is lost in the middle of this whole thing is how good those '81-'83 SMU teams really were. I remember watching them play and thinking how cool it would be if they would play the Dawgs for the National Championship (of course that couldn't happen back then since the SWC was obligated to the Cotton Bowl and the SEC was obligated to the Sugar Bowl). There was a ton of talent of those teams other than Eric Dickerson and Craig James, especially on defense.

I also thought that it was interesting how the NCAA thought that SMU would recover from the Death Penalty in 5-7 years when in reality it has taken 30 (if you can call 8-5 and playing in the CUSA championship game being "back"). I don't think that they will ever levy the Death Penalty against another school unless it is an extremely egregious offense. Short of handing the players stacks of money as they run on the field I doubt that anything else would be as bad.

It will also be interesting to see if the whole Camgate/Auburn/Mississippi State fiasco follows a similar path. The similarities between the two situations are remarkable. You have two teams that have been fairly average the preceeding 3-5 seasons who suddenly get an influx of top shelf talent including the best recruit available (Dickerson/Newton) and become a dominate team overnight. It has been pointed out that the '81 recruiting class at SMU had MANY athletes suddenly change their commitments at the last second and sign with the Mustangs, coincidentally the 2010 Auburn class also had several athletes that had sudden changes of heart around Signing Day.  At the end of the day there may never be any smoking gun proof that Newton (and other players) were on a pay for play plan (but wouldn't it be great if there was an Auburn envelope/stationary floating around out there?), however I think any reasonable person can conclude that SOMETHING shady went down and somebody got paid. I wonder if we'll see and ESPN movie about the 2010 Auburn team in the future.

 

I was in the car and listening to the Scott Van Pelt show on ESPN radio and they were talking about how a couple of years ago when Auburn was hiring a new coach there was strong support for hiring Turner Gill instead of Gene Chizik. It got me to thinking that I honestly don't mind Chizik and I think he is a good coach, I know that there are also a lot of rival fanbases that think a lot of Mark Richt as well.  In the true Yin/Yang of good vs evil there have to be some coaches that are universally disliked as well. I rank them as follows from most disliked to least disliked (or most liked). The only rule is that you can't include your coach in the list.

1. Urban Meyer-aka Irwin Meyers, the Coarch-Ok I know that most of you are saying "of course you dislike him the most, he coaches your biggest rival, has two MNC's, etc". Honestly my bone of contention with the Coarch is how he treats people to include his own family. His retirement/unretirement last year, as well as his general disdain for anyone who says anything negative about his Gator program (section 37F must be getting kinda full these days) and his latest bunch of garbage in letting Chris (Time to die b--ch) Rainey back on the team just in time for the UGA game (which incidentaly coincides with a 3 game losing streak for UF). The man is a hypocrite, and a liar and I personally have no use for him.

2. Bobby Petrino-aka Slick Bobby-The man is slime, plain and simple. He would sell his own mother out if it meant that he could win a game. I can't understand after his exit from Atlanta how any parent could let their son play for the man. What kind of morals and priciples can the guy actually try and teach and keep a straight face?

3. Houston Nutt-aka The Nutt Case-Here is another one that would do just about anything to win a football game. I honestly believe that he would sign Osama Bin Laden if he could throw and run a 4.2 40yd dash. He is the reason that the SEC has a cap on how many players you can sign per year after his 35 man class in 2009. He has no scruples, no morals, and no integrity.

4. Nick Saban-aka The Armani Bear-I don't necessarily have a  strong dislike for Saban (it's hard to dislike someone who doesn't have a personality) but he ranks #4 on the list because of the use of the "medical disqualification" to cut players and the fact that he has yanked scholarships from players that weren't performing to bring in new players. I don't think he is quite the mercenary as #1-3 on the list, but I wouldn't put much past him either.

5. Steve Spurrier-aka Darth Visor, The Ol' Ball Coach-There was a time when the OBC would have been #1 on this list by a wide margin. I think that his time with the Redskins and being the Head Coach in Columbia has humbled him a bit. Even with South Carolina the odds on favorite to win the SEC East you don't hear him chirping nearly as much as in the past and I have to admit I miss it a little bit. His digs at the other coaches (especially the Great Pumpkin) were always a source of entertainment. Still I can never forgive him for the flea flicker in '95.

6. Dan Mullen-I don't really dislike the guy and I actually admire him a little for what he has done at Miss St. He has taken a program that has had little to no sucess and turned it into a competative team. I guess the what puts him here on the list is the potential for him to be a douche if Miss St keeps winning.

7. Gene Chizik-Again I really don't dislike the guy for any particular reason other than he coaches our oldest rival. I think he's a good coach.

8. Joker Phillips-How can you dislike a guy named Joker?

9. Les Miles-aka The Mad Hatter-I can't see where anyone can dislike Les Miles (unless you are an LSU fan and have almost had 3-4 heart attacks over the last few seasons). You can bet that with the Hat as one of the coaches you are in for an entertaining game. The guy is crazy as a spotted @ss ape!

10. Derek Dooley-aka Precious-World War II references not withstanding, I have a hard time disliking the guy. I actually feel really sorry for him to be honest. Having to teach your players to bathe and having an overbearing mother will do that to you.

11.  Robbie Caldwell-Wouldn't you like to have a beer with this guy just to hear what nutty thing he is going to say next? How many SEC coaches can talk about inseminating a turkey??

 

What say you Dawg Nation?

 

Much to the dismay of my lovely wife I have decided to grow a Victory Beard (or in other words....I am not shaving until the Bulldogs win). Who will join me?  Other than having "relations" with large women I know of no other time tested technique to bust a slump than the growth of facial hair. If for some reason the Red and Black are not victorious this weekend against the Hillbillys I will post pictures of the facial growth.

I was just watching SportsCenter and they had Robert Smith (noted UGA hater after we spanked him and tOSU in the Citrus Bowl) on talking about this weeks games. In on breath he talks about how Arky and S Carolina are much improved teams and could be SEC contenders DUE TO THEIR VICTORIES OVER GEORGIA, but then goes on to basically say we suck and will be lucky to win this weekend, Mark Richt on the hot seat, etc, etc, meow, meow, woof woof.

 

So which is it ESPN? Are we the measuring stick for up and coming programs to aim for, or do we suck and should be demoted from the SEC to the Sun Belt? Either those are good wins for S Carolina and Arky over a good team or we stink and they SHOULD win those games which doesn't prove anything.

 

I hate the WWL. I wish there was some alternative form of sports entertainment......

With a little over a week to go until kickoff of the 2010 football season I have had some stuff that I have been thinking about and was curious to see what everyone else's opinion was on these topics. Kyle you have rubbed off on me seeing as I go from" Happy Optimistic Rocketdawg" to" Sad We Are Probably Going To Be 1-2 by Week Three Rocketdawg" at the drop of a hat. So here is what has been running through my head the past few days:

 

1) Is Mark Richt being extra hard on Aaron Murray so he doesn't get complacent or is he really making more than an acceptable level of "bonehead" plays?

2) Is it possible that even though we are transitioning to a new scheme, the defense will be significantly better than the last 2-3 years?

3) Will the O-line perform as advertised or will it take until mid season to find the right combination ?

4) Is the coaching staff already preparing our team for the trip to Columbia? Shouldn't we be able to beat ULL with base defense and vanilla play calling?

5) Can our guys survive 3 straight 12 noon kickoff's? It is likely to be a million degrees in Columbia in Week 2 do we have enough depth to substitute freely and keep our guys fresh into the 4th quarter?

6) Does anyone have a time machine so we can make next Saturday get here faster!!!!

This post stems from a discussion that I recently had with a couple of coworkers regarding former SEC (or in the case of our discussion Big Ten) players in the NFL and if they are from a rival school do you root for them or hope that they fail miserably?

My personal opinion is that once they graduate (or leave early) to go to the NFL I have no problem with rooting for them. Peyton Manning is my favorite NFL player although I wouldn't necessarily say I am a Colts fan, I actually pick who I am going to root for in based on which team has the most former Dawgs on their roster (for the longest time that was the Steelers). This whole thing started over whether me as a lifelong Dawg fan could ever root for Tim Tebow in Denver or do I want to see him fail horribly. Quite honestly I am rooting for the kid to do well, by all accounts he is a good person and it is obvious he is working his tail off in camp to improve as a player. I can see the contrary argument where you want all other schools players to fail so you can go out on the recruiting trail and say "we can get you to the NFL where School X players always fail".

So what do ya'll think about this?

I am not a huge NFL guy, I much prefer college over the pro game any day. That being said football is football and I love watching the game anytime it is on TV.  I have some observations on Rounds 1-5 of the Draft that I think shed some light on what has been going on in Athens (especially on Defense) the past few years.

David Hale wrote a column sometime ago and there was a great discussion on here regarding our personnel on the Defensive side of the ball. The question was raised as to whether our defensive decline was a result of a drop off in talent, poor coaching or a combination of the two. I think what has happend so far in the first 5 rounds of the draft certainly supports both points. In past years we have had the following defensive players drafted in the first few rounds:

2009-3rd Round-Asher Allen CB, Corvey Irvin DT

2008-5th Round-Marcus Howard DE/OLB

2007-3rd Round-Quentin Moses DE, Charles Johnson DE, Paul Oliver CB (supplimental draft)

2006-2nd Round-TIm Jennings CB

2005-1st Round-Thomas Davis S, David Pollack DE/OLB

2004-2nd Round-Sean Jones S, 4th Round-Robert Geathers DT, Bruce Thornton CB

2003-1st Round-Jonathan Sullivan DT, 2nd Round-Boss Bailey LB

 

This year so far we have had the following players drafted

3rd Round-Rennie Curran LB

4th Round-Geno Atkins DT

5th Round-Reshad Jones S

Remaining Players: Jeff Owens DT, Kade Weston DT, Mike  Moore WR

 

I think what you can see from the last few years is that we aren't bringing in the talent that we had in the early 2000's and evidently our D lineman aren't being "coached up" either (which is a bit disturbing since Rodney Garner is the only hold over from the last coaching staff).

For comparison purposes here is the breakdown of our SEC foes from this draft. (Defense only)

Florida-Joe Haden CB (1st Round), Brandon Spikes LB (2nd Round), Carlos Dunlap DE (2nd Round),

Alabama-Rolando McClain LB (1st Round), Javier Arenas CB (2nd Round), Mt Cody NT (2nd Round),

Tennessee-Eric Berry S (1st Round), Dan Williams DT (2nd Round)

Thoughts from the peanut gallery?

I just read a story where the SEC is going back and moving some games around to accomodate Nick Satan and Bammy.  Evidently they were supposed to have 6 of 8 SEC games where their opponent is coming off a bye week so the league office is "addressing this now so we don't have to do it again down the road...". Really? So the entire month away from Athens for the Dawgs every other year is just tough sh*t, but poor little Nicky can go whine to the league office about how unfair it is for his team to play 6 of its 8 league opponents off a bye and they completely rework the 2010 schedule to appease him?

What a freaking load of crap!

would someone please explain to me the "Ed Orgeron is a great recruiter" theme that we have been hearing for years now? I mean honestly if he showed up at YOUR door to recruit YOUR son would you let him in the door? Does he have a translator accompany him on recruiting trips (for the life of me I can't understand half of what the guy says). Even at Ole Miss he has always come across as an arrogant sleeze ball, but maybe that is just me.

Well THAT didn't take long.....I wonder why a) they want him back and b) what is going on at UT. Curious things indeed. Ok let's recap....Urban Meyer is taking a leave of absence/resigning, Kiffykins is gone back to the Left Coast and Spurrier is old....if we don't win the East next year then something is seriously wrong!!

Come on CMR let's find our man for DC and get on with returning to the Dome!!

I regularly spend entirely too much of my time each day surfing the various Dawg Blogs and message boards (I should seriously get another hobby) and I find some of the comments disturbing to say the least. Not to beat the proverbial dead horse but I do think that CMR's past performance has earned him the right to have a down season every once in awhile (having said that I honestly believe that we will end up 9-3 or 8-4 if you consider that a down year). We as fans have unrealistic expectations for our teams that need to be tempered with a bit of rationality. Last year we were hyped as preseason #1 and were supposed to roll all the way to Miami.

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I just read an interesting tid bit over on David Hale's blog and wondered why this point was never raised in the whole "Let's move the WLOCP out of Jax to Atlanta or Dubuque or wherever as long as it's not in Florida" debate. 12 out of the last 15 years Florida has had an open date prior to our game, the one year when we had an open date an they did not (2007) we all know what happened. In other years when both teams have played the week prior we have split with them (1-1). So.....why is Damon not on the phone to the SEC offices and raising hell about the fact that we get an open date (or the option to have an open date) prior to the WLOCP once every 5 years or so and UF gets an open date practically every year with some exceptions. Either both teams should play a league game the week prior or both teams should have an open date with each schools respective AD making the call on whether to schedule a non conference game the week prior. When you have two teams of basically the same talent level and one team gets an extra week to get healthy and prepare then you can't expect to have a good result against them.  FYI we have an open date this year and then not again until 2013.

 

My second question is this: Would you rather beat UF or win the SEC? In 2002, 2003, 2005 we did not beat the Turds but either won or played for the SEC Title. In 2004 and 2007 when we won we ended up not playing for the SEC title.

between Texas '09 and Georgia '08? There has to be something I am missing here so I am hoping someone can help me out.

 

Last year as I understand things, we didn't get to play for the National Championship because we didn't win our conference or our division out right.....

This year Texas won't be BIg XII champs and won't win their division out right or represent their division in the Big XII title game.....

 

What is the difference? None as I see it.

So how come we have ESPN talking heads discussing how Texas could sneak into the MNC Championship Game?

 

Discuss....

get a public @sswhipping on National TV. I feel bad for Texas Tech and I think Mike Leach (for all his quirks) is a pretty decent coach, but it was nice to see another "Top Ranked Team" get a big ole swirly and take the mantle of "Biggest Egg Laid on National TV" away from the Dawgs.

 

In all seriousness their game last night was not unlike our 1st half against Bama or 2nd Half (really all game) against UF. While Oklahoma is a good team I don't think that they are 40+ points better than Texas Tech, just like I still don't think that Bama or UF are 30-40+ points better than we are. It was just a perfect storm of turnovers, penalties and really good defense by the opponent.

Historically the loser of a conference championship game has not received a BCS berth, yet pundits across the board are using Florida and Alabama interchageably in the BCS Championship Game and Sugar Bowl. One of those teams will lose in Atlanta.

 

For example last year Missouri went into the Big 12 Championship game ranked #1 and with one loss. After losing to Oklahoma for a second time the Tigers (still ranked in the Top 5) were shipped off to the Cotton Bowl in favor of Kansas going to the Orange Bowl. How is our scenario this year any different other than the fact that the networks are lining up to gush over Urban Meyer and Nick Saban?

I posted most of this in the comments section of the Game Day thread, but I wanted to stimulate some discussion on what seems to be the problem with our Big Game preparation. Twice this year we have had huge games and twice we have fallen flat on our faces, I don't think that it is a matter of talent. I also don't think that it is a matter of preparation (i.e. we practice well, rep our plays etc), so what is it? Psychological? Physical? Animal? Mineral?

Just off the top of my head I can't remember us winning a truly BIG game in years.

2002-Big Game vs UF-We were undefeated for the first time since 1982, had playmakers all over the field, and were playing some of the best football I had ever seen at UGA. What happened: We go in and go 0-for11 on 3rd down conversions, and Terrence Edwards has the worst drop of his career. Result: Some would say it cost us a shot at the MNC, but with an undefeated OhioSt and Miami ahead of us, we would have probably been the poster child for blowing up the BCS instead of Auburn '04.

2003-Big Game vs LSU-Undefeated going into Death Valley to play LSU. What happened: Billy Bennett  misses 3 FG's and we lose 17-10. Result:  Go on to win the SEC East and get pasted by LSU in the SECCG.

Big Game #2 vs UF- Once again we go into WLOCP with the more talented team expecting to win for the first time since 1997. What happened: I refer to this  game as "Death by Bubble Screen". Rex Grossman had to have thrown that pass at least 20 times and we never adjusted to it. Result:  Luckly UF sucked so bad that year that we STILL  managed to represent the East in Atlanta.

Big Game #3 vs LSU SECCG- The Dawg Nation was primed for a rematch with LSU after our defeat in Death Valley. What happened: Justin Vincent left, Justin Vincent right,  Justin Vincent up the middle. Gashed, gashed and gashed. Evidently LSU got better and we didn't. Result: Capitol One Bowl..meh.

2004 Big Game v LSU- LSU came into Athens for a rematch of the previous years SECCG. Dawgs were locked and loaded and primed for revenge. What happened: The most complete performance of the Mark Richt era. It was 24-0 after the first quarter, David Greene threw 5 TD passes and the Defense dismantled LSU's offense. Result: The one bright shining moment on this list...too bad it was followed the next week by.....

Big Game #2 vs UT-Tennessee came into Athens having struggled early in the season and rotating 2 true Freshman QB's. What happened:  Hangover from the LSU game, poor execution, and some questionable penalties result in a loss that cost us the SEC East. Result: Much like in '07 a very average UT team manages to hold on the rest of the year and win the East, only to get pasted by Auburn in the SECCG.

2005- The two Big Games of this season were UF and Auburn, with DJ Shockley healthy we win in Jacksonville easily, and the Auburn game was just a great game where one team unfortunately had to lose.

2006 Big Game vs. UT- Tenessee came into Athens to face the 5-0 Dawgs. JT III was back at QB after leaving the USC game with an injury. What happened: After coming out and playing a great first half and going in to the half up 24-10, the team has one of the worst second half meltdown's  in UGA history. Between turnovers and special teams break downs the Vowels drop 51 on the Dawgs. Result: This game started the downward spiral that was the 2006 season.

Big Game #2 vs Auburn-The Dawgs rolled into the Plains with their season on the brink, a loss here almost guaranteed a trip to Shreveport in December. What happened: I can't really say since I was in the woods doing an adventure race and didn't watch the game. Evidently we played well and Tra Battle picked Brandon Cox off 3 times. Result: This win salvaged the season and layed the groundwork for a sucessful 2007.

2007 Big Game vs UT-After being embarrassed at home the year before, the Dawgs were looking for a little payback. Unfortunately someone forgot to tell the team when the bus left because none of them got on in Athens and certainly didn't get off in Knoxville. What happened: After it was 28-0 we woke up and decided to play some football, but it was too little, too late. Result:  Just like 2004 a very average UT team managed to hold on and represent the East in the SECCG while the Dawgs rose to #2 in the polls but had no shot at the MNC.

Big Game #2 vs UF-We were looking for something, anything to change the mojo of this series and we got it in "The Celebration". Admittedly the UF defense was pathetic, but this is what happens when you get a good team ready to play. What happened:  Knowshon left , Knowshon right, Knowshon up the middle, our line grew up and we played some good old fashioned Georgia football. Result: We built a wave of momentum that carried us the rest of the season.

Big Game #3 vs Auburn-The first "Blackout" game. Riding the wave of emotion from the UF game, the Dawgs were ready to play and the stadium was crazy. What happened: After a relatively close first half, the Dawgs turned it on after half time and pummled the Warchickenplainsmentigers. Result:  Continued the climb up the polls.

2008 Big Game vs Alabama- Blackout game #3 in less than a year. The fans were ready but the team was not. What happened: Nothing went right, the defense couldn't stop the Tide, untimely penalties that extended drives for UA or killed our drives, O line couldn't protect or open holes. Result: The 41-30 score is deceptive, this was never a game.

Big Game #2 vs UF- SEC East championship game, Gators still pissed about the celebration. What happened: Despite playing a relatively even first half we find ourselves down 14-3 due to 2 missed FG's and boneheaded play calls in the Red Zone, the onside kick didn't help either. The second half was a complete and total team implosion. 3 picks and a fumble all lead to UF points. What happened: Yet to be determined. Do we come out and play the rest of the season and finish 10-2 and go and play some crappy Big 10 team in a crappy Florida bowl or do we lay down and quit and end up in Shreveport or Memphis? Do any heads roll because of this one?

 

Looking back over the period of '02-08 our record in Big Games is 4-9. In two of those wins we needed some sort of "gimmick" to get up for the game. My questions to you Dawg fans are:

1) What is the problem in your opinion? Coaching? Preparation? A team of head cases? Is there a talent gap that we don't see through our Red and Black colored glasses?

2) What can we do to rectify the situation? Do heads need to roll on the coaching staff? Do we need to change the culture of our program?

Looking forward to hearing all of your thoughts.

Go Dawgs!

 

....that Stewie Mandel is the biggest tool of a sportswriter out there? Thank goodness that they don't use the AP poll as part of the BCS formula anymore, because this moron would have us out of the Top 10 if we were undefeated. If you don't know what I am talking about, then go and read his Mailbag feature from this week. He basically bashes UGA fans for "whining" about the polls and even goes as far as saying "you haven't beaten anyone yet" . I find that statement particularly hilarious as he rockets USC up the rankings for beating a tough Pac 10 foe ASU 28-0...hmmm Stewie wasn't that the same team that WE beat a few weeks ago? In their stadium...by a very similar score?

What a TOOL!

I consider myself a pretty informed football fan, I watch games other than UGA to get a sense of how other teams are playing. I am severely critical of the Dawgs even when we win (my wife tells me that I could have found fault with the Immaculate Conception, but whatever), so I am still trying to figure out how I missed so badly on Saturday. I have watched Alabama play a couple of times (Clemson and Alabama) and they looked good in both games, but not world beaters by any means. Their line play was good, but I didn't really notice them being head and shoulders above anyone else I had seen play. Other than Julio Jones, I wasn't impressed by their skill players either.

That all being said I have either attended or watched every game the Dawgs have played this season and while the lack of pass rush by the front four and the propensity of our young O line to miss blocks or get beat was a concern, I didn't think that it was that bad.  My defensive gameplan would have been the same as Willie, take away the run and make Sarah Jessica Parker Wilson beat you, historically this has been a good bet.

My prediction was 31-17 Dawgs, and I am usually pretty close on these. I NEVER in a million years saw 31-0 at halftime and 41 total points on our D.  So did I underestimate Bama? or overestimate the Dawgs? or somewhere in between?

First of all I am pretty unimpressed with this game so far, it's basically '08 with updated rosters. One of the things I was all excited about was the opportunity to put the Dawgs in the Black jerseys, only to find when I click on uniform options that it isn't available. Anyone know if you have to have some sort of cheat code to get the black uni's available? I am on a PS2 by the way...

 

Thanks!