2008 Season Preview-Game by Game
Note: Proj. 08 Rec = W-L record predicted by me; Preseason Rank = AP Rank; Difficulty Rank = where I rank game compared with rest of schedule in terms of difficulty with 1st being most difficult and 12th being least difficult.
8/30/08 Georgia Southern (I-AA; 07 Rec: 7-4; Proj. 08 Rec: NA)
Preseason Rank: NR
Difficulty Rank: 12th
Preview: I have to admit that I don’t know a lot about Southern this year. If I-AA Offensive Player of the Year QB Jayson Foster were still around I would be a bit concerned. Fortunately, he’s not, and neither is their top running back or second leading receiver from last season. They are made up largely of freshman and the starting QB has never played a down before. Last season the Eagles were one of only two teams to beat Appalachian State, who went on to win their 3rd consecutive FCS National Championship and—more famously—won at the Big House in the season opener over #5 Michigan. But again, that team which won at App St is largely gone now. And the recent news that 8 Eagles will be suspended for the game in Athens makes it harder to believe that they can be very competitive. Though I’m sure it serves a recruiting purpose, I don’t see the point in playing Southern. It’s a no-win situation. If Georgia blows GSU out, they were supposed to; if they win sloppily, it’s a black mark; if they lose—as App St and Mich proved is possible—it’s a disaster of legendary proportions.
History: The Dawgs will enter this season ranked #1 in the country. Their previous best preseason rank was #3 entering the 2004 season. They opened that year at home against Southern as well. They won by 20, 48-28, back in 04 and that was the last meeting between the two. The Dawgs are 3-0 all-time vs. Georgia Southern.
Notes and Numbers: Under Mark Richt the Dawgs are 7-0 in season openers; 6-0 in home openers; and 4-0 against FCS (I-AA) opponents, with an average margin of victory of around 31 points.
Bottom Line: With a number of players out due to suspension and a growing list of injuries, the Dawgs are fortunate to have such an easy (knock on wood) opening game. Still, as the consensus preseason #1, the Dawgs need to put up a good showing; something in the range of 45-12, 55-20, etc.
9/6/08 Central Michigan (07 Rec: 8-6; Proj. 08 Rec: 12-2)
Preseason Rank: NR
Difficulty Rank: 11th
Preview: I’m very tempted to rank this as a more difficult game than at home against Vandy or Tech. In fact, I think CM is a better team than GT or Vandy, but for other factors I think it’s a less difficult game. Tech is obviously a rivalry game that takes place at the end of the season. Vandy is used to playing SEC caliber teams and they can sneak up on a team that might be tempted to relax in between the harsh SEC schedule. I think the crowd gives the Dawgs a huge advantage over CM at home because Sanford Stadium is 3 times the size of Central’s home stadium. Still, I think CM is easily the best MAC team this year and I have them going undefeated in conference play. They have won the last two MAC championships, going 15-2 in conference play over the last two seasons. They nearly upset Purdue in last year’s Motor City Bowl, losing 51-48. CM is led by their super QB, Dan LeFevour, last year’s MAC Offensive Player of the Year. Defensively CM is not that stout, and that is where the Dawgs should be able to get over on them. Despite the 15-2 conference record, back to back MAC titles, a bowl win in 2006 and the 3 point loss last year, there are 2 scores I keep going back to for reassurance when I worry about the Dawgs running amok against the Chippewas: 52-7 and 70-14. CM lost their opener last season at Kansas, 52-7; later on in the year they lost 70-14 at Clemson.
History: This is the first meeting between the two teams.
Notes and Numbers: The Dawgs have won 22 straight home games against non-BCS teams, by an average of 26 points. Under Mark Richt the Dawgs are 15-0 vs. non-BCS teams. CM is 0-6 all-time vs. SEC.
Bottom Line: Again, the Dawgs are fortunate to have such a “light” opponent with all the suspensions and injuries and inexperience at line. Still, even with those issues and against a decent opponent, they need to put up a big point total against the MAC team; something like 48-17, 55-25, etc.
9/13/08 at South Carolina (07 Rec: 6-6; Proj. 08 Rec: 9-4)
Preseason Rank: #26
Difficulty Rank: 5th
Preview: I probably see this game as being more difficult than a lot of people. SC finished just outside the AP preseason top 25, finishing 26th in the voting, but they rank 14th in my Power 15. Luckily, the Dawgs will have their suspended players back and should be much healthier (unless things go wrong in the first two weeks of the season) by the time of their SEC opener.
History: The South Carolina-Georgia rivalry is a strange one. It’s clearly seen differently by each fan base. The Gamecock fans look at Georgia as their closest and biggest rival in the SEC; Bulldawg fans look at South Carolina as a pest. For me, the South Carolina game has always seemed more like a chore than anything else. It’s only a big deal when we lose. I think the days are gone when one can honestly boast “Georgia should never lose to South Carolina!” That may have been so in the middle 90’s when South Carolina first started to nip at Georgia’s heels, but Lou Holtz got them back on the map, and Steve Spurrier has kept them on that map, despite being unable to elevate them to that next level. Last year, SC looked to have reached that next level, when they won in Athens and went on to open the year 6-1 and rise to #6 in the country. They had a disastrous 5 game slide to end the season but don’t forget where they were. Gamecock fans know that in order to get to that next level, they must beat Georgia. For Bulldawg fans, beating South Carolina has meant little; losing has meant that they most likely aren’t going to do too well against the bigger boys in the conference either. But while the Dawgs have had the clear upper hand in the series since the two teams began playing each other every year in 1992 (Dawgs lead 11-5), the games have been closer than Georgia fans may want to admit. The Dawgs lost to South Carolina 14-9 in 2001 in Richt’s first SEC game, and at that point the series was 6-4 in favor of UGA after 10 years of annual play. But Richt restored order, as the Dawgs won the next 5 in a row, before losing last season, 16-12. During that 5 game win streak, the Dawgs had wins of 6 points, 4 points, and 2 points. 5 of the 7 games during Richt’s tenure have been decided by 6 points or less. The Dawgs have won 3 straight in Columbia, and surprisingly, the two blowouts during Richt’s 7 years have occurred at Williams Brice Stadium. Under Richt, the Dawgs are 5-2 vs. SC (and 5-2 in SEC openers) and 3-0 in Columbia. UGA has won those 3 in Columbia by an average of 9 points. The Dawgs are now 2-1 vs. the Spurrier-led Gamecocks.
Last Year: Georgia lost 12-16 at home. Spurrier tried to act like it was no big deal afterwards, remarking that, after all, Georgia had now lost 5 SEC East games in a row. But actually the Dawgs should have beaten SC for the 6th straight time. Georgia came in ranked 11th but they were just 3 point favorites. Still, the Dawgs outgained SC (341-314) and had only 1 less FD (20-21). The trouble was, the Dawgs couldn’t get in the end zone. UGA was just 19 for 45 with no TD and a pick passing and was sacked 3 times for -27 yards. The only real difference between this game and most any other against South Carolina was that the Dawgs couldn’t cash in on their scoring tries and SC did. The Dawgs missed a 48 yard FG on their opening drive. At the half, the Dawgs had a 138-124 yard advantage but trailed 10-3. In the second half, UGA went for it on 4th and 2 at the SC 33 and Stafford was sacked for a 13 yard loss. At the time, you definitely wanted the Dawgs to go for it, but in hindsight, if Coutu could have hit from 50 it would have been big. The two teams traded a pair of field goals, with SC going up 13-3 and then 16-6, before Coutu hit from 39 to make it 16-9 with 7:37 left in the game. That second field goal got the Dawgs within a TD. They got a 32 yd PR and then got a FD at the SC 11 and it looked like they were going to tie the game up for sure, but the drive stalled and they had to kick a 34 yarder to get points out of it and make it 16-12 with 4:42 to go. That meant they could win with a TD but they still needed a TD just to survive. And a tired defense had to stop the Cocks just to get it back. The Dawgs got it back with 1:20 left but in their own territory. They managed to get 2 FD’s and move the ball to the SC 46 but they needed a TD, and Stafford had to take chances with the clock running down and was picked at the 15 with 6 seconds left to end it.
Notes and Numbers: This will be Georgia’s road opener, and the Dawgs are a remarkable 7-0 in road openers under Richt.
Bottom Line: Once again South Carolina looms as that first hurdle; one that could trip the Dawgs up and have them flat on their face and hopelessly behind in the race; and one that, even if cleared, is only the first in a line of endless hurdles. Columbia will be pumped and the Dawgs must have their shit together by the time they get there. If the inexperience of the O-Line had anything to do with last season’s loss—which we know it did—there’s a chance the OL could struggle in this one as well and the defense and special teams will have to step it up. The Dawgs need to shutdown SC and hopefully come away with a hard fought win; something like 20-10 or 23-13.
9/20/08 at Arizona State (07 Rec: 10-3; Proj. 08 Rec: 9-4)
Preseason Rank: #15
Difficulty Rank: 6th
Preview: Again, a lot of people might be surprised that I don’t rank this game as more difficult than the game the week before. I think both games will be very tough but I ranked SC as more difficult simply because it will be the very first real test of the season. No doubt that the next week at ASU will be the second test. The Dawgs will be coming off the game at SC and a number of their key players will be going into just their second game. ASU will almost certainly be an easy 3-0 going into their 4th straight home game. For Georgia, this is a fairly historic contest. Other than games at Georgia Tech, this will be the Bulldawgs’ first non-conference road game since they opened the 2003 season at Clemson (winning 30-0). Excluding Georgia Tech, this certainly shapes up to be the toughest non-conference road game for the Dawgs since a bad UGA team got hammered by a good Clemson team on the road in 1990 (34-3). But regardless of the strength of the opponent, this is a rarity for Georgia. This will be the first non-conference road game for the Dawgs against a team other than Georgia Tech, Clemson, or a team currently in the SEC since they played at Houston on November 2nd of 1974! This will be the first time the Dawgs have played a team from the Pac-10 since the 1985 Sun Bowl when they tied Arizona, 13-13. It’s their first regular season matchup against a Pac-10 team since they opened the 1983 season and the post-Herschel Era with a 19-8 win over UCLA at home and in front of a nation wide television audience. The game began late in the evening because the networks wanted to get the West Coast audience and the Bulldawgs scored their final TD of the game after midnight. Anyway, you probably want to know the last time that Georgia played a regular season road game against the Pac-10. Well, they may as well never have. Technically they haven’t. The last time UGA played a road game against a team currently in the Pac-10 there was no Pac-10; there wasn’t even a Pac-8! On October 7th, 1960, the Dawgs played against USC at the Coliseum (on a Friday) and lost 10-3. At that time, USC, Cal, Washington, UCLA, and Stanford were part of a conference called the Athletic Association of Western Universities—commonly referred to as “The Big Five”—which was in its first year of existence! It wouldn’t even become the Pac-8 until 1968 and then finally in 1978 they became the Pac-10 that we know today. So this is a fairly significant game in UGA history. I must say, I am all for the strengthening of the non-conference schedule, it’s just to bad that the first year of venturing beyond the southeast has to be the season we’re ranked #1 and have fifteen other bowl teams on a our schedule.
History: This is the first meeting between the two teams.
Notes and Numbers: Under Mark Richt the Dawgs are 5-0 in non-conference road games and 30-2 overall against non-conference opponents.
Bottom Line: The Dawgs will likely have to play a good game to come away with a win in this one. Dennis Erickson will have the Sun Devils prepared. The Dawgs have to take care of the ball, and the key to the game will be getting by ASU’s weaker OL and getting after the QB Rudy Carpenter. I’m curious to see if the crowd will be a factor. With all factors considered, the Dawgs should still be able to win this one without it going down to the absolute wire; something like 28-17 or 31-20.
9/27/08 Alabama (07 Rec: 7-6; Proj. 08 Rec: 8-5)
Preseason Rank: #24
Difficulty Rank: 7th
Preview: After back to back tough road games, the Dawgs come home to play Bama, who comes in after a trip to Arkansas. Right now I think this game is a bit of an unknown. Bama should be stronger in Nick Saban’s second year but I’m not sure how much stronger. They have started strong and then faded in each of the last three years, in part due to injuries, and they’ll likely still have the man power to contend with Georgia in the final week of September. We should be much more able to judge how tough a game this will be after Bama plays Clemson on August 30th at the Dome.
History: The Georgia-Alabama rivalry is a weird one because all though they’ve both been SEC members for ages and they first played each other in the 19th century, they just don’t play that often. They’ve played 64 times in history but they played only twice in the 80’s and 3 times in the 90’s. Bama has had the upper hand in most football rivalries, and that includes their history against Georgia. The Dawgs are just 25-35-4 against Bama all-time; easily one of their worst records against a common opponent. From 1977-2001, UGA lost 5 of 6 meetings with the Tide. But like many things, since Richt has arrived in Athens, the tide has turned against Bama. The rivalry, has heated up. The Dawgs are 3-0 against Bama under Richt, winning 3 times since 2002, twice by a field goal or less. The last time they played Alabama at home was in 2003, when the Dawgs pounded the Tide, 37-23.
Last Year: Georgia won 23-20 in OT on the road. It was a very exciting game that the Dawgs could easily have lost, but one which they should never have let get that close. Against South Carolina it was the offense that couldn’t finish the job; in the Bama game it was the defense that uncharacteristically couldn’t close the deal. Not that the offense was all that much better at cashing in on scoring chances in this game either. The Dawgs went 70 yards for a TD on their opening drive and had the ball at midfield up 7-0 when Stafford was intercepted. The defense picked him up and stopped Bama on downs at the UGA 30, and the Dawgs got a 45 yard FG on the ensuing drive to make it 10-0. They had Bama shutout with less than 40 seconds in the half but the Tide went from their own 31 across midfield and kicked a 40 yarder on the final play of the 1H to get on the board. That was a sign of things to come. The offense continued to miss chances to open the game up in the 3rd quarter. They missed a 50 yd FG and then Stafford was picked inside Bama territory again and this one was returned to the UGA 37. Alabama quickly turned it into 6 points and tied the game 10-10. The Dawgs responded with a 73 yard TD drive in the face of the momentum and the crowd, and then Coutu banged home a 47 yd FG to give the Dawgs a 2 score advantage, up 20-10. You figured that the Dawg defense would be able to make a 10 point 4th quarter lead stand up. But Bama moved fairly easily on their next drive before the Dawgs tightened up and forced a short FG. That made it a 1 score game but they had to stop the Dawgs and then go all the way for a TD. Georgia was only able to get 1 FD but got a fantastic punt to pin Bama. However, UGA’s defense just never hunkered and the Tide went 88 yards in 10 plays and scored a TD to tie it at 20-20. In fact, they had met so little resistance they had actually left 1:09 on the clock. The Dawgs took advantage and moved the ball into scoring position. They set up for a 47 yard FG, but Coutu--who had been so clutch in his career going into this season—couldn’t put it through and time expired, sending the game to OT. Clearly, Bama had all the momentum and the crowd. The Dawgs played defense first in OT and held the Tide to a 42 yard FG. Coutu had missed from 48, 50, and 47 so far on the year, but he had still been money from anywhere closer. With that in mind, knowing they only needed 3 to tie and that 6 would win it, the Dawgs gambled and went for the win on their first play. Mikey Henderson ran a fly route to the left corner of the end zone and Stafford hit him for a game winning 25 yd TD, giving the Dawgs a 26-23 win in OT.
Notes and Numbers: This will be the Dawgs SEC home opener and they are just 4-3 in SEC home openers under Richt and have lost their last 2. The Dawgs are now 2-2 against Nick Saban led teams.
Bottom Line: Saban can do a lot with a little on defense but he shouldn’t be able to slow down the UGA attack. The Dawgs should be able to throw on Bama and the Tide shouldn’t be able to throw on UGA. It’ll be a tough game but the Dawgs should be able to win this one without having to pull it out of the fire; something like 21-10 or 24-13.
Bye Week
10/11/04 Tennessee (07 Rec: 10-4; Proj. 08 Rec: 10-3)
Preseason Rank: #18
Difficulty Rank: 4th
Preview: After 5 weeks of tough play, the Dawgs will get a much needed week off to start October before hosting the hated Orange People. This break in the schedule should be huge. Last season, the Dawgs had played for 5 straight weeks coming into the Tennessee game. UT, meanwhile, had played against Arkansas State at home and then had a bye week going into the game with Georgia. The Dawgs ran into a buzz saw. Tenn isn’t coming in with much fanfare this season but I believe they will be about as tough as always, and they are ranked 12th in my Power 15. This one will be in Athens, and I don’t know about any of my fellow Bulldawg brothers and sisters, but I’m looking forward to this one. The Vols will have what seems like a virtual bye at home against NIU the week before this year’s game, but prior to that they face Auburn and Florida. This year it should be the Dawgs who are rested and ready for blood and revenge.
History: Since the split of the SEC into divisions in 1992, the Tennessee-Georgia rivalry has become an intense and hateful grudge match. For the older generation of Dawg people, Tennessee may never be on the level of Florida, Auburn, and Georgia Tech as far as a rival, but for me the Vols are without question in that group. To me, the Tennessee game is as big a game as any game the Dawgs play annually. And this rivalry has really come about due to both teams being placed in the SEC East. Like the series with Bama, Georgia and Tennessee have met surprisingly few times considering that the first faced off in 1899. The two teams have met just 37 times, with the Dawgs going 15-20-2. Georgia won all 4 games between the two teams from 1973 to 1988 but they lost in Knoxville in 1989 in their final game against each other outside of SEC East play. For many years, Tennessee was as tough an opponent for the Dawgs as the Gators became in the expanded SEC. The Dawgs lost their first 8 games against Tennessee as a member of the SEC East from 1992-1999, extending their losing streak against the Vols to 9 games. Finally in 2000, the Dawgs won at home, 21-10, and tore down the goalposts at Sanford Stadium. It was their first win over the Vols since 1988. The next season was Richt’s first year at Georgia, 2001. While 2002 was that sweet season when Richt first led Georgia to greatness--winning the SEC Championship after all those years, the late TD pass against Auburn, the 51-7 win over Tech, and the Sugar Bowl victory—I don’t think many Dawg people would argue with me when I say that the Richt era truly got underway a year earlier in 2001. 26-24 in Knoxville with a hob nailed boot (“we just crushed their face!). That was the first signature moment. That win and that call by Munson brought back the memories of the previous two Georgia wins in at Neyland Stadium, in 73 (“My God! Georgia just beat Tennessee in Knoxville!”) and in 80 (“He’s running over people!”). All of the sudden the Tennessee people started to match the hate of the Georgia people and that’s when a rivalry really takes off. The Dawgs won 18-13 at home in 2002 and then laughed at loud on the way to a 41-14 rout of the Beagles in Knoxville in 2003 for their 4th straight win. Then in 2004, the Dawgs reached their peak (to this point at least) of talent and experience under Richt and began the season ranked #3. The Dawgs were 4-0 and coming off a 45-16 dismantling of the defending champion LSU Tigers as they went into their yearly matchup with the Vols, this one at Sanford Stadium. Meanwhile, Tennessee had just been thrashed at home by Auburn, 34-10, and came into Athens a 12 point dog. But that day nothing went as it was supposed to and the Dawgs fell 18-13. Georgia won again in Tennessee the next year to make it 4 out of 5. In 2006, the Dawgs were 5-0 but were underdogs at home against Tennessee. After jumping to a 24-7 lead, the Dawgs got throttled, being outscored 44-9 the rest of the way to lose 33-51. That started UGA on a rough slide. Last year the Dawgs went to Tennessee as slight favorites but the unranked Vols handed out a beating, 35-14. The Dawgs are now 5-11 against the Vols since the start of annual play in 1992 but they’ve still won 5 of the last 8, despite dropping the last 2. Strangely, the Dawgs have lost their last 2 games at home to Tennessee. The Dawgs are 4-3 against the Vols under Richt but just 1-2 at home.
Last Year: The Dawgs simply got beat down, losing 35-14 and being outgained 411-243. It was easily the most befuddling game of the year for Georgia; they never played another one anything like it all season. The score and yardage totals aren’t even as bad as they should be. Tennessee was off a bye and they came out firing on all cylinders; the Dawgs came in tired and flat and just got dominated. UT scored on TD’s on 4 of their first 5 possessions and led 28-0 at the half, with a 15-2 FD edge and a 291-59 yard edge. For one of the few times in the Richt era (perhaps the only time) it was completely over at half time. The Dawgs went 74 yards for a score to open the second half but Tennessee responded with a 65 yard TD drive to officially put the game on ice. The Dawgs had an 86 yard TD drive in the 4th to make it 35-14 but it was academic. Tennessee completed 18 of 23 passes and ran for 190 yards. Georgia managed just 69 yards rushing, as Thomas Brown came into the game hurt and left injured after only 6 carries, and Moreno was bottled up for 30 yards on 13 carries. Stafford was just 16 of 34 with a pick.
Notes and Numbers: Following their loss to Tennessee, the Dawgs went 7-0 to finish the season #2 in the country. The visiting team has won 4 of the last 5 in this series.
Bottom Line: Georgia and the Bulldawg Nation should be fired up for this one and the bye week should give the Dawgs a big boost. Thankfully, Eric Ainge’s days in college are over and the Dawgs should be able to contain Tennessee through the air. Stopping Arian Foster will be a chore but the Dawgs defense will be coming off a week’s rest. And this time UGA will unleash their running game that never got started in 2007 and they will run it down the Vols’ throats. It should be the Dawgs’ turn to hand out a Technical Knockout; something along the lines of 27-13 or 31-17.
10/18/08 Vanderbilt (07 Rec: 5-7; Proj. Rec: 3-9)
Preseason Rank: NR
Difficulty Rank: 10th
Preview: As they so often do, Georgia has scheduled homecoming for the weekend of the Vandy game following their battle at home with the Vols. It could be tough to fight off feelings of letting up after just playing Tennessee and with games against LSU and Florida coming up next. The Dawgs should have learned over the last two years that there can be no letup in the SEC, even against Vanderbilt. With that brutal back to back @ LSU/vs. Fla coming up, the Dawgs would benefit from putting the game away early against the Dores but it hasn’t been easy against Vandy for the last 3 years now. However after winning at least 4 games in each of the last 3 seasons, Vanderbilt should have a season more reminiscent of the first half of the decade, when they won just 11 games over 5 years. This group is short on talent and very short on experience.
History: Like most SEC teams, Georgia has dominated its series with Vanderbilt. Since 1963, the Dawgs are 39-4-1 against the Dores, and they had won 11 straight before their shocking loss at home in 2006. The Dawgs won last year (barley) to avoid losing back to back games to Vandy for the first time since losing 3 straight from 56-58. Strangely, the Dawgs’ last two losses to Vandy have come at home (94 and 06). They had won 15 straight at home before their loss in Athens in 1994 that was their first home defeat to Vandy since 1961. The Dawgs are 6-1 against Vandy under Mark Richt (2-1 at home).
Last Year: I understand fan optimism as much as anyone and I it’s easy to see how the way we finished last season has so many people thinking very, very big going into this year. However, I only have to go back to the game that started last year’s big run to remember how fine the line is between reaching the peak and reaching the pit. I was there in 2006 when the Dawgs lost at home to Vandy and I was more worried last year. I mean, lets be honest people: Vandy gave that game away. In 2006, the Dawgs outgained Vandy 373-291 and had a 21-17 edge in FD, and they led for most of the game, but because of a bad turnover and horrible kicking by Andy Bailey they ended up losing. Last year Georgia outgained Vandy 368-310 and had a 17-14 FD edge but they trailed for most of the game and somehow ended up winning. In 2006, UGA had a 270-76 yard edge at half but only led 13-7. The Dawgs fumbled on the second play of the 3rd quarter and Vandy went in from the 25 and got the 2 pt to go up 14-13. They drove the field and got picked in the end zone but then drove again and scored to make it 21-13 going to the 4th. The Dawgs kicked a FG but trailed 21-16 with 10 minutes left. The Dawgs couldn’t stop Vandy but suddenly Vandy Vandied the game back to them. The Dawgs returned a pick for a TD to go ahead 22-21. But Georgia didn’t convert the 2 point. Still, they led 22-21 in the 4th quarter and it appeared Vandy would give it away like always, as they gave the ball back to the Dawgs at their own 33 after a horrible punt. It looked like the Dawgs were finally going to secure the win but they couldn’t put it in the end zone and Bailey choked on a 38 yarder to keep it a 2 point game with 5 minutes left. Vandy saw their opportunity and deliberately milked the clock while moving the ball down the field without any real attempt to score a touch down. They moved 65 yards on 15 plays and kicked a 33 yard FG with 2 seconds left to clinch the upset. Last year Georgia started out blowing chances like they had the year before, missing a 49 yard field goal early on. But Vandy fumbled and the Dawgs scored on a long pass on the next play. Vandy put together a long drive and kicked a FG and then drove 80 yards in 7 plays and went in to go up 10-7. They shredded the Dawg defense again late in the 2nd quarter, going 50 yards on 5 plays and getting in the end zone to go up by 10 points, 17-7. At the half, Vandy had outgained the Dawgs 212-151. Georgia opened the second half with a long TD drive to calm some fears but they still trailed 17-14 at the start of the 4th quarter. The final period was nearly half over when the Dawgs finally got in field goal range and Coutu kicked a 31 yarder to tie it up 17-17. Georgia had largely shutdown Vanderbilt in the second half but suddenly the Dores began to move, just as they had a year before, and just as Bama had against the Dawgs defense earlier in the season. They went 67 yards in 6 plays and again they were in no hurry. They were in an even better position to run down the clock this time, as the game was tied. The clock was melting just as it had the year before and it looked like Vandy had the game. It was out of Georgia’s hands. But on 3rd and 4 from the UGA 7, Vandy fumbled and the Dawgs fell on it to save themselves momentarily. With Vandy stunned, the Dawgs went 73 yards in 10 plays and ran the clock all the way down and then Coutu banged one in from 37 on the final play of the game to give the Dawgs a 20-17, season saving win. After losing to Vandy and Kentucky in the 4 loss 2006 season, and then losing to South Carolina and getting plastered by Tennessee in this season, another loss to Vandy would have just been too much. And yet they needed a miracle to avoid such a loss. Certainly the Dawgs made a big play to force the fumble and recover it, and they did seize the moment and march down the field and then convert a clutch kick. But it was out of their hands and Vandy Vandied it back to them. The only real difference this time was that Coutu was there to make medium range field goals. When Coutu’s kick went through, the Dawgs converged on Vandy’s logo and jumped on it the way that Vanderbilt had done on the G at Sanford the year before. Richt reacted by rushing into the middle of the celebration and physically putting an end to it. That ended up drawing way more attention to the situation than there would have been otherwise. You can definitely understand both sides: Richt wanted his team to be “better than that”; while the players were just happy and relieved to win a game they thought was lost at a point where they thought the season was lost. People criticized Georgia players for jumping on the logo, saying they were showing bad sportsmanship, showing up and disrespecting the opposition, being classless, etc. But I think many misunderstood what Richt had objected to. I believe he did object some to the taunting but it was more that he saw the team celebrating a lucky, last second win over Vandy like it was a signature win. He didn’t like the state the program had fallen to. This wasn’t the same as that win in Knoxville in 2001 when the players jumped on the T at Neyland. It wasn’t all about bad behavior. Sure, Richt wants the team to win with class but it was more about him wanting them to act like they’ve been there before. Sportsmanship is a nice side goal but that’s really more for Vanderbilt. It was more about seeing the season go down the drain for a second year in a row, and then having it spared, and seeing the celebration when Richt was feeling very discouraged by the way the team played. The whole situation ended up being a turning point. The survival in Nashville kept the team goals intact and the Dawgs headed into the bye week with a tremendous sense of relief: at least they had not lost to Vandy for a second year in a row. And then in some strange way, Richt’s reaction to his players celebrating, and the criticism Georgia took for the whole incident, brought about a change in the way Richt was going about motivating the team. Energy; spirit; swagger; personality; fun; these were all things that would be emphasized over the next few weeks as part of the game plan. In the process, the 2007 team would find its identity, and in the end, nobody in Bulldawg country cared what anybody else thought about it.
Notes and Numbers: During their 11 game win streak over Vandy, the Dawgs won by at least 10 points each year.
Bottom Line: The Dawgs should trample Vandy and after the last two seasons (really the last 3), the crowd in Athens should be fired up for good old blowout of the Dores. Georgia needs to pour it on Vandy early and often and then rest the horses in the 4th quarter. This one should be very one-sided; something like 45-17 or 38-10.
10/25/08 at LSU (07 Rec: 12-2; Proj. 08 Rec: 9-4)
Preseason Rank: #7
Difficulty Rank: 3rd
Preview: With so many pieces from the National Championship team gone, LSU will no doubt drop off a bit, but they should still be very strong. I rank them 11th in my Power 15. LSU is always tougher to beat at Tiger Stadium, where they’re 38-4 since 2002. One thing working in the Dawgs’ favor could be that the Tigers will be coming off games at Florida and at South Carolina, while the Dawgs will be coming off home games against Tennessee and Vandy. It will no doubt be a raucous atmosphere in Baton Rouge and almost certainly the Dawgs’ toughest road environment in 2008.
History: The LSU-UGA rivalry is another one that has really only sprung up in recent times. The two teams first met in 1928 and yet they have played a total of just 26 games against each other. They only played 8 times from 1978-1999 but then from 2003-2005 they played 4 times over 3 seasons, twice in the SEC Championship Game, and once at each team’s stadium. LSU won the first 2, winning at home over the Dawgs, 17-10, in early 2003, and then embarrassing Georgia 34-13 in that year’s SEC Championship Game. The Dawgs would get their revenge however, destroying the Tigers at home, 45-16, the next year, and then crushing them 34-14 in the 2005 SEC Championship Game. That was the last meeting between the two teams. Georgia has not won in Baton Rouge since a 28-27 win on October 3rd of 1998 when both teams were highly ranked and had high expectations for the season. The Dawgs are 2-2 vs. LSU under Richt and 0-1 at Tiger Stadium.
Notes and Numbers: The Dawgs are 1-0 vs. the Les Miles-led Bayou Bengals. The Dawgs’ loss at Tiger Stadium in 2003 was the first road loss for the Dawgs under Mark Richt, and one of only 4 in his 7 seasons at the helm. After the Tigers won the National Title in 2003, the Dawgs beat them 45-16 in 2004. After the Gators won the title in 2006, the Dawgs beat them 42-30 last year.
Bottom Line: The Dawgs offensive line will have a very difficult task, taking on the stout Tiger D-Line, amidst the 92,400 rowdy Cajuns. With this in mind, the Dawgs have to take care of the ball and they must take advantage of any scoring opportunities. LSU has played a lot of high scoring games in the last couple of years but the Dawgs should be able to hold the Tigers offense down. This one should be a hard hitting affair that the Dawgs will have to gut out and hang on to win; something like 20-17 or 23-20.
11/1/08 Florida at Jacksonville (07 Rec: 9-4; Proj. 08 Rec: 13-1)
Preseason Rank: #5
Difficulty Rank: 1st
Preview: With 16 starters returning, including the Heisman Trophy winner, their top 5 rushers, 2 of their top 3 receivers, and 5 of their top 6 tacklers, the Gators are loaded with talent and experience and I have them ranked #1 in my Power 15. Last year, the Dawgs were coming off a bye week, while the Gators had played at home against a solid Kentucky team. Tim Tebow’s shoulder was injured and thus they did not use him as a runner and this greatly hindered the offense. I know it may seem blasphemous and some Georgia fans may not be able to understand how I could say this, but I still don’t think we beat Florida if Tebow is 100% for that game. This year, the Dawgs will be coming off 3 weeks of play, concluding in the game at LSU the week before, while Florida will be coming off a bye and a home game against a much tamer Kentucky Wildcats team. This game could very well have a direct impact on the BCS National Title Game and will almost certainly have a direct impact on the SEC Championship Game.
History: These two teams first squared off in 1906 and since then have met 86 times. Georgia still holds the all-time lead in the series by quite a bit, going 47-37-2 against Florida all-time. Florida has dominated the series recently in a way that seems hard to believe even for those who have witnessed it, but that’s really standard for the way things have gone between these two rivals in their history. Control of this rivalry has swung drastically in favor of each team at different points over the years. Georgia won the first 7 meetings, and then after going 0-2-1 against the Gators over a brief 3 year period, the Dawgs won 17 of 20 from 1938 to 1951. Through 51, the Dawgs were 24-5-4 against the Gators in 33 games. But then from 1952 to 1963 the Gators won 10 of 12. From 64 to 70 the series evened out, with the teams going 3-3-1 against each other over 7 years. From 1952 to 1970, the Dawgs went just 5-13-1 against the Gators. But then the Dawgs ruled the 70’s and 80’s. From 1971 to 1989 the Dawgs went 15-4 against Florida. That made Georgia 44-22-2 against Florida in 68 games all-time heading into the 90’s. Enter Spurrier. The Gators won the first 7 of the 90’s before the Dawgs finally stopped the streak with a win in 1997. But that wasn’t the end of it. The Dawgs lost 4 more times to Spurrier and then lost to Florida in the first two seasons of Ron Zook’s tenure, losing 6 straight from 1998 to 2003. Finally Georgia beat Zook in 2004 to snap the skid and give Richt his first win over Florida. Meyer took over in 2005 and the Dawgs lost their first two games against the Gators under Meyer but then won last year. The Dawgs have gone 2-2 against the Gators over the last 4 years which seems really, really good compared with the previous 14 years. From 1990 to 2003, the Dawgs went a stunning 1-13 against Florida. They are just 3-15 vs. the Gators in the last 18 meetings. The Dawgs are 2-5 again the Gators under Richt. Aside from everything else, the Dawgs will be attempting to do something in 2008 that they have been unable to do since Vince Dooley retired as head coach, and that is win 2 straight against the Gators. Georgia last accomplished that feat when they won 3 in a row over Florida from 87-89. Since then they have won just 4 times, and never in back to back years.
Last Year: The Dawgs were coming off a bye and the Gators had played Kentucky at home the week before and Tebow was banged up. As a result, the running part of Tebow’s game and the Florida’s offense was scrapped. This obviously hindered their passing attack as well, as the Dawgs could tee off on Tebow. In the first 7 games of the season the Gators allowed only 5 sacks; the Dawgs sacked Tebow 6 times for a loss of 40 yards. Even without the sacks, Tebow only got 25 yards on 7 carries. The next week against Vandy he only carried 6 times for 35 yards. With Tebow’s running shelved, the Gators tried to use Percy Harvin as more of a running back. In the 4 games prior to the game against Georgia, Harvin carried a total of 17 times; he carried 10 times against the Dawgs and 11 times the next week against Vandy. Harvin was no doubt an effective runner but obviously the threat of Harvin did not open up the play action passing game the way Tebow does. And with Harvin focusing more on running, he had just 2 catches against the Dawgs. The Dawgs got the first break when the Gators fumbled on the 7th play of the game, and they immediately cashed in, going in from the 39 on 9 plays, capped off by Knowshon Moreno’s dive over the goal line. When Knowshon scored, the Dawgs began celebrating wildly as one would expect, then suddenly a huge portion of the rest of the Georgia team that was on the sidelines came running onto the field and headed towards the end zone to join in the celebration. They weren’t on the field for that long but it was long enough to draw a pair of 15 yard penalties (I still don’t see how that can happen; you can’t assess 30 yards just because a foul seems more egregious than normal) and cause a stir. The entire Florida bench—including Myers—began pumping themselves up and trying to get their fans pumped up, as if to say “Ok, if that’s how it’s going to be, let’s go.” That sort of attitude. As a result of the penalties, Georgia had to kick off from their own goal line practically, and Florida got the ball at the 37, in great field position. It then seemed that calls started going against the Dawgs. Florida scored on 3 plays to tie the game. I have to admit that I was annoyed at the celebration stunt at this point. From a purely practical standpoint, it was a bad decision because it resulted in 30 yards of penalties, meaning the Gators got great field position, and it gift wrapped their first TD. You could make a case that the celebration in effect negated the TD scored by Knowshon, at least on the scoreboard; because it made it very likely that Florida would immediately score to tie the game. From a less tangible standpoint, I’m just not a big fan of doing anything that could consciously or unconsciously turn the officiating against you. Calling attention to yourself is going to result in the refs paying more attention to you. I’m also not a fan of doing things that will rile up an opponent, at least in football. Of course it was unclear at the time what exactly had happened. It seemed certain that more than a few players on the sidelines had determined at some point that they were going to run into the end zone if they scored a touch down. It didn’t seem spontaneous and you thought that it had to have been planed, and if so, it had to have come down from the coaches. Richt would say that he had told the team that they had better get a penalty for excessive celebration when they scored their first touchdown, and that he wanted the whole team down there. According to Richt, he meant that he wanted all the offensive players to be in the end zone. He felt that the emotional and psychological lift would be worth the 15 yard penalty. I can understand this entire theory perfectly (especially nowadays when the kickoff is so far back anyway that you’re almost as well off taking the penalty and squibbing it) and people who believed Richt were quick to say that there’s no way that Richt would have really wanted the whole team to go on the field, because it was a risk of a brawl, ejections, injuries, etc. But I’m not sure Richt new it would turn out the way it did. I don’t think he pictured a running play at the goal line and the entire defensive team still standing there and then all of the sudden all those players coming into the end zone with the Gators players standing in it. Maybe he wanted the whole team to come on the field and welcome the offensive team off the field but not go all the way into the end zone. Either way, I don’t think he envisioned that there could be a chance of a brawl or ejections, and I don’t think he thought they would get a 30 yard penalty. I believe afterwards he realized that it had been different than he thought and he would apologize basically at half time, after the game, and in the days and weeks to come. But I seriously doubt that the idea of every offensive player running into the end zone to celebrate could somehow be misunderstood by the entire team to mean everyone suited up for the game come onto the field and celebrate in the end zone. Richt decided to take a risk to get his team motivated and send a psychological message to his own players and Florida’s players, that Georgia was not intimidated and was confident and was planning on winning the Cocktail Party this year. I like all that; I like it a lot, as long as it works. Luckily for everyone it did. But with the score tied 7-7 it wasn’t clear whether it was going to be good or not. But the Dawgs responded to Florida’s answer with an 84 yard bomb from Stafford to Massaquoi that put the Dawgs up 7 again. I thought that was a huge play, as it got the Dawgs back on top again, after their celebration had turned things against them. UGA would continue to get screwed by calls. Eventually Florida pinned the Dawgs at their own 1 and Stafford made a mistake and threw a pick 6 that tied it 14-14. The Dawgs missed a 56 yard field goal try and Florida kicked a FG to go up for the first time in the game. The Dawgs got going again after that, with Moreno going in on a beautiful 10 yard run to give the Dawgs a 21-17 lead heading into half time. Georgia had a 50 yard edge on Florida in the 1st half, and they began the 2nd half by getting in the end zone again to make it a 28-17 game. Florida went for it on 4th down at their own 43 and converted and that led to a TD scoring drive that cut the deficit to 28-24. The offenses stalled at that point, but eventually Florida made its way into Bulldawg territory. Trailing by 4, the Gators decided to go for it on 4th down and the Dawgs held and took over on downs at their own 28. Moments later, Stafford completed another bomb, this one to Mikey Henderson for 53 yards and a TD that gave Georgia a 35-24 lead. But Florida used a great kick return to start their next drive and it took only 4 plays for them to score. The Dawgs made a huge play on defense then, stopping a 2 point conversion try to keep it a 5 point game, at 35-30. On the ensuing drive, UGA converted a 3rd and 12 with a 22 yard pass to Sean Bailey and went on to score another TD to put Georgia up by 12 points, 42-30, with just 3:54 remaining. Victory was at hand for the Dawgs, but Florida marched quickly towards the UGA goal line again. Within a minute and a half the Gators were inside the 20, but the Dawgs recovered a fumble at their own 15 yard line with 2:23 left to put the game on ice.
Notes and Numbers: From 1997 to 2005, the Dawgs went into the Florida game with 1 loss or no losses 9 straight times, winning 2 of those 7 games. The Dawgs have had 2 losses going into the Florida game in each of the last two years.
Bottom Line: If Tebow is at full strength for this season’s game, it will be much more difficult for the Dawgs, particularly coming off the game at LSU. The Dawgs will have to take very good care of the ball and force some turnovers. And the Dawgs will have to do what they did last year on offense: get a spectacular day from Moreno and connect on a number of deep balls. If the Dawgs are to win it will be in a shootout, similar to last season, but closer; something like 37-33 or 38-34.
11/8/08 at Kentucky (07 Rec: 8-5; Proj. 08 Rec: 7-6)
Preseason Rank: NR
Difficulty Rank: 8th
Preview: Obviously this will be another situation where the Dawgs will have to fight against the possibility of a sleepwalk. Against an inferior opponent, in front of what may not be a very energetic crowd, after the LSU and Florida games, right before the game at Auburn. Fortunately, Kentucky no longer has Andre Woodson, or Rafael Little, or 3 of their top 4 receivers, or their best defensive player, Wesley Woodyard. Kentucky will have played 6 straight weeks and will be coming off a game at Mississippi State.
History: The Dawgs kind of get to deal out the same kind of punishment on Kentucky in football that they receive in basketball. In 61 all-time meetings, Georgia is 48-11-2 against the Wild Cats. From 1978 to 1987, the Dawgs won 10 straight over Kentucky. They lost in Lexington in 1988, won at home in 1989, and then lost in Lexington again in 1990. From 91-95 they won 5 straight before they lost in Lexington in 1996 to end that streak. From 1997 to 2005, Georgia won 9 straight over the Cats but then they lost in Lexington in 2006. Last year the Dawgs won at home to get back on track. They have won 26 of 30 against the Cats since 1978 and all 4 of their losses have come in Lexington. The Dawgs are 6-1 against Kentucky under Richt; 2-1 on the road.
Last Year: Last year Georgia had to sweat out a win over Vandy to get back on track against the Dores; it was a little easier getting back to winning against Kentucky, although the Cats were a solid team. The game started inauspiciously, as Asher Allen returned the opening kick to the 18, but on 1st and goal at the 5 Moreno fumbled, and the Cats recovered for a TB and then went 80 yards the other way for a TD to go up 7-0. That’s called a 14 point swing. Then Stafford was picked off in Kentucky territory and the Cats turned it into 3 points to go up 10-0 and the Dawgs trailed by 10 at the end of the 1st quarter. Stafford then got picked off again but the Dawgs got the ball back and went 80 yards for a score to end the half within 3 points at 10-7. Georgia blocked a punt and recovered at the 19 and punched it in for a TD to take a 14-10 lead in the 3rd quarter. The Dawgs scored a third unanswered TD to make it a 21-10 game. The Cats got a FG off the crossbar and through to get within 1 score and then the Dawgs turned it over again in Wildcat territory. But this time the Cats missed a 51 yard field goal and the Dawgs answered with a 46 yarder to make it a two score game with a little over 2 minutes to play. The Dawgs stopped the Kentucky drive at their own 20 with 38 tics left to put it in the books.
Notes and Numbers: In 2006, both the 11 game win streak the Dawgs had going against Vandy and the 9 game win streak they had going against Kentucky were broken. The Dawgs lost to Vandy and Kentucky in the same season for the first time since 1973 and just the 3rd time in their history.
Bottom Line: The Dawgs should be able to defeat Kentucky handedly. The Cats are starting over offensively and they aren’t too good on defense either. The Dawgs should roll to an easy victory; something along the lines of 38-10 or 41-13.
11/15/08 at Auburn (07 Rec: 9-4; Proj. 08 Rec: 11-3)
Preseason Rank: #10
Difficulty Rank: 2nd
Preview: Auburn does better when they fly under the radar, and while a top ten rank in the preseason poll means they aren’t exactly going unnoticed, they aren’t one of the buzz teams heading into 2008. But they are going to be good. I rank them 7th in my Power 15. They should be the strongest team in the West and this should again be one of the toughest games of the season for the Dawgs. Georgia will be coming into this one having played 5 straight weeks, while the Tigers roll in having hosted Tennessee-Martin (I-AA) the week before. Last season, the Dawgs had had a bye week, then played Florida, and then hosted Troy before Auburn came to town. The Tigers had played Tennessee Tech (I-AA) at home the week before but they had played 10 weeks in a row without a bye!
History: The South’s Oldest Rivalry has been played 111 times since 1892. The Dawgs are 50-53-8 all-time vs. Auburn. That’s a pretty ridiculously even rivalry. To me, Auburn is different than all the other rivals. I see Auburn and Georgia as cousins that respect each other but always want to beat each other. They’ve been in a really long fight over something. They started fighting before the last Civil War veterans were dead and they’ve continued fighting into a new millennium. No one really knows what they’re fighting about but they know that each year the fight must be renewed. The score is now 1730 to 1685 in favor of the Dawgs, but the Tigers have won 3 more battles. 42% of the 111 brawls have been decided by 7 points or less. Towards the end of Vince Dooley’s time as head coach, Auburn started to take the upper hand in the rivalry. The Dawgs lost 4 straight from 1987-1990. There were some memorable battles fought in the 90’s, with Georgia coming away 4-5-1 against Auburn from 1991 to 2000. Since 2001, the Dawgs are 4-3 against the Tigers. They’re now 8-12-1 in 21 games against Auburn since 1987. Under Mark Richt, the Dawgs are 4-3 against Auburn, 2-1 on the road. There’s another funny thing about this series that shows again how competitive it has been. The game was played at a neutral site, but since it has gone to a home and away format, homefield advantage has meant less than nothing. Georgia is actually 13-9-2 at Jordan Hare Stadium. The visiting team is 11-4-1 in the last 16 meetings. So, the last 2 years have gone the Dawgs’ way. This year they will be attempting to beat Auburn for a third consecutive season for the first time since they won 3 straight over the Tigers from 1980-1982, in the glory days of Herschel. The Dawgs have won back to back games over the Tigers a couple of times since then. They won in 1991 and 1992 but lost 42-28 at home in 1993. They won in 2002 and 2003, and then got hammered at Auburn, 24-6 in 2004.
Last Year: Well, all those Georgia-Auburn games run together over the years, but certainly last season’s contest will stand out in the minds of Dawg people for years to come. It was the continuation of what had started in the win over Florida: energy, enthusiasm, attitude, fun, winning. All of those things. It seemed like Richt had pulled another motivational gem out of his hat on the heels of his risky call for excessive celebration that seemed to have electrified the team in some way in Jacksonville. Actually, Richt and the seniors had had the black jersey idea planned for months, but he did know just when to pull it out. Sanford Stadium was dressed up like a house of death. The Dawgs warmed up in their usual red jerseys but fans figured they might do something like that and then switch to black when they went back in. But when the captains emerged with red jerseys still on, there was an audible groan emitted by the crowd. But then the Dawgs busted onto the field to the sound of Back in Black and they were clad in midnight after all. The place was electric. Early on the momentum helped carry the Dawgs. Georgia intercepted a pass early and went ahead 3-0. The game was tied 3-3 when Stafford hit Massaquoi with a deep ball good for a 58 yard TD to put the Dawgs up 10-3. After Georgia marched 68 yards for another score to make it 17-3 the place was going berserk and it looked like the Dawgs might blow the Tigers out. But Auburn would not fold. They responded with a touchdown scoring drive to make it 17-10 as the game went to the half. Georgia had a 160-127 edge in yards at halftime. The second half didn’t start well. The Dawgs got the kickoff to start the half and you hoped that they would score to make it a two score game again, but Stafford threw a pick on the second play. Auburn took over at the 27 and it only took them 4 plays to get into the end zone for a game tying TD. At this point, with the evening getting on and the lead evaporated, a lot of that energy was gone and thus the Dawgs were no longer able to feed so much off the crowd. The Dawgs offense continued to stall and Auburn moved into scoring position again. The UGA defense held and forced Auburn to settle for a 33 yard FG. Still, Auburn had scored 17 unanswered and taken the first lead of the game, 20-17. While the teams and many of the factors were very different, I could not help but be reminded of the loss at home to Tennessee a year earlier. There had been a lot of energy that night and the Dawgs had gotten off to a great start and made a number of explosive plays, and jumped out to a 24-7 lead. UT had cut it to 24-14 at half time, but Dominique Wilkins was honored in half time ceremony and the mood was euphoric as the second half began. But the Dawgs couldn’t add on and they bogged down offensively and UT just kept coming and coming. There was a point where the Dawgs were still in the game, hanging on, up 27-24 at the start of the 4th quarter. But the Dawgs couldn’t hang on, and things fell apart rapidly. In the middle of the 3rd quarter against Auburn, I had the feeling that the Dawgs were just trying to hang on, and that if they didn’t get something going offensively soon they wouldn’t be able to hold Auburn off. They were already down a field goal. But then the Dawgs connected on a lengthy pass play, their first in a long while, and that was the spark that they needed to get rolling. The Dawgs went 68 yards in just 4 plays, getting in the end zone to go back on top, 24-20, after Auburn had scored the last 17 points. The Dawgs then intercepted and got the ball across midfield. They went 48 yards for a TD to make it 31-20. All of that energy; all of that attitude; all of that electricity was back in that big black house. The Dawgs had an 11 point lead as the game entered the 4th quarter. There was a point in the second half—I believe before a kick off—when the Dawgs had taken control of the game, and the “Soulja Boy”—or what have you—music began playing on the loud speakers. The jumbotron showed Knowshon and Tommy Brown dancing on top of the Bulldawg bench and the crowd responded and the noise rose rapidly until the sound was so loud that the stadium began to tremble. I wasn’t at the LSU game in 2004 or the Auburn game in 2005 and I have heard that the crowd noise was intense at each of those games. But the “Soulja Boy” dance moment late in the Auburn game is the loudest I have ever heard it at Sanford Stadium. Leading 31-20 in the 4th, the Dawgs got the ball back and scored again quickly, going 65 yards on just 3 plays to put the game away. They intercepted another pass and then went 59 yards for another TD to make it 45-20. It had turned into a blowout after all. Late in the 4th, the Dawgs stopped an Auburn drive on 4th down at the UGA 29 and also intercepted another pass at the goal line to hold the score and complete the masterful win. Back in Black played on the speakers again as the game ended. Richt had come up with another way to help give his team an extra boost in a huge game. He had gambled again. Had Georgia lost, the black jersey stunt would have been criticized universally by all of the running mouths. But the gamble had paid off again and a good season had become a special season.
Notes and Numbers: The Florida/Auburn gauntlet at the end of the year has been a tough one for the Bulldawgs to get through in the post Herschel years. Losing to Kentucky and Vandy in the same year in 2006 was disastrous and an unfortunate black mark for those Dawgs, but the ones who were around in 2007 achieved something positive that they will always be remembered for, and that is being the first Georgia team since 1982 to beat both Florida and Auburn in the same season.
Bottom Line: It’s really hard to predict this one. It should be a very tight, competitive game. If the Dawgs are able to win this one it will likely be in a low scoring, defensive struggle. They should be able to give themselves a shot at a close win with a score late in the game; something like 20-17.
Bye Week
11/29/08 Georgia Tech (07 Rec: 7-6; Proj. 08 Rec: 4-8)
Preseason Rank: NR
Difficulty Rank: 9th
Preview: You have to expect GT to struggle this year, but then again they’ve been at or above the mediocre line for so long. Of all the years, this would seem to be the season that the Dawgs should feel the most confident about being able to get past their arch rivals, but I just can’t help but worry. In recent times I’ve heard people remark that GT has become an afterthought in terms of Georgia’s rivals and most important games. Nay, my Friends. Say that when they’re hanging around in the second half and waving their little yellow pom-poms, and singing Budweiser theme songs, and cheering and smiling, and doing all of this in a yellowish white sweater, with a tie on underneath, and kaki pants and loafers. Honestly, I fear the Tech game more than any other game each year, and by a wide margin. No matter what happens the rest of the year, if we don’t beat Tech, it’s a bad season. Occasionally over the last few years I have heard people make comments to the effect that if they were given the choice of winning the SEC Championship but losing to Tech or beating Tech but not making the SEC Championship Game, they’d rather win the SEC Championship and lose to Tech. To me that is beyond comprehension. Beating Tech is goal number 1, primary main objective, first and foremost responsibility of every Georgia team. All else is second. “Clean Old Fashioned Hate” is really an apt title for the GT-UGA rivalry, because while the two camps may criticize each other for different things at times, almost every fan of either team is friends with someone from the other side, but there’s nothing they enjoy more than watching the other side lose. One thing that the dastardly BCS has imposed upon fans is having to root for their rivals to have a good season so that they’ll look good on the schedule. It’s pretty brutal. This year the Dawgs don’t have to worry about having another tough game at the end of the schedule; it’s plenty hard enough without Tech being decent. Personally I’m hoping Tech has a god awful season and that the Dawgs put the finishing touches on Tech’s painful year by humiliating them in the season finale. The Dawgs will be coming off a much needed bye week, while Tech will have played at home against Miami 9 days earlier. Last year Georgia came in having played Florida, Troy, Auburn, and Kentucky in the last 4 weeks. Tech has gone into the game vs. UGA the last two years having played UNC and Duke in the previous 2 weeks. This year they won’t have that advantage.
History: The teams have now met 100 times since 1893, and the Dawgs have a 59-36-5 record all-time vs. their in-state rivals. In the first 55 meetings, the Dawgs were 25-25-5 against the Jackets. Since 1964, the Dawgs are 34-11 against GT in the last 45 meetings. Georgia took control of the rivalry under Dooley. From 1964 to 1977 the Dawgs went 10-4 against Tech. They then won 6 straight over their rivals from 1978 to 1983 during the Junkyard Dawg and Herschel years. They lost back to back games to Tech in 1984 and 1985, then won 3 straight from 86-88, then lost back to back games to the Jackets again in 89 and 90 as Ray Goff took over for Dools. While Georgia was getting beat down by a number of their rivals from 1991 to 1997, they won 7 straight over the Jackets, their longest streak ever against GT. In 1998 and 1999, the Dawgs lost back to back games to Tech by 3 points a piece, and had instant replay been implemented at the time the Dawgs would ABSOLUTELY have won both games. In 2000, the Jim Donnan era reached rock bottom as Tech came into Athens and beat Georgia soundly, 27-15. Thankfully, Richt restored order when he took over in 2001. Since that time the Dawgs have won 7 straight vs. Tech to match their longest win streak all-time against the Jackets. A win in 2008 will give them 8 straight and that will match the longest win streak of the series by either team, as Tech won 8 in a row over the Dawgs from 49 to 56. The Dawgs have now won 14 of the last 17 against Tech, and that’s actually misleading. It should be 16 of 17, but the incorrect fumble calls in 1998 and 1999 took wins away from Georgia. 2000 is the lone legitimate win for Tech against the Dawgs in the last 17 years. Actually, to be technical about it, the Dawgs have actually won 17 straight, because the NCAA ruled that due to serious violations committed by the Jackets in the years 1998-2000, the Jackets had to forfeit all of their wins and their ACC Championship from those years. The Dawgs are 7-0 against GT under Richt and 3-0 at home.
Last Year: This was a strange game in which all sorts of scrums for fumbles took place and GT wasn’t able to capitalize on sloppy play by the Dawgs. The game was scoreless for a while until the Dawgs kicked a FG on their 3rd possession. Early in the 2nd quarter Tech put together a touchdown scoring drive to take a 7-3 lead. The Dawgs responded with a TD drive of their own to go up 10-7. GT answered with another TD to retake the lead, 14-10. Late in the half the Dawgs marched 77 yards for a score to take the lead but they missed the extra point making it 16-14. Tech attempted a 62 yard FG at the end of the half but missed. GT opened the second half with a long drive but the Dawgs came up with a pick at their own 11. Late in the 3rd, Sean Bailey hauled in a 55 yard pass from Stafford and took the ball to the 3, and the Dawgs scored on the next play to give Georgia a 23-14 advantage. The Jackets kicked a field goal to get within 6, and you prayed that the extra point miss wouldn’t come back to haunt. The Dawgs took care of those fears; going 71 yards for 6 points and converting the 2 point try to make it 31-17, essentially putting Tech away. GT got the ball back and went for it on their own 20 and the Dawgs shut them down. The Dawgs ran some clock and gave the ball back. They sacked Tech on 4th and 16 at midfield to squelch the Jackets’ final drive.
Notes and Numbers: After losing 3 years in a row to Tech from 98 to 00, the Dawgs won 31-17 in 2001 and then won 51-7 over Tech in 2002. From 2004 to 2006, the Dawgs won games over Tech by 6, 7, and 3 points respectively. Last year they won 31-17. Hopefully this year they’ll win 51-7 again.
Bottom Line: Tech is starting over on Paul Johnson and they don’t have much talent or experience. The Dawgs should demolish their instate rivals. This should be a rout; something along the lines of 41-10 or 48-7.
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