UGA-OSU Preview....GAME TIME, KIDDIES!

Hey Dawgfans!

After many many long months of waiting, speculation and beer-hall arguments, FOOTBALL SEASON IS FINALLY BACK!

I just read something that's really stirring my butter. Apparently there is a consensus among SEC Head Coaches that Georgia's TALENT LEVEL has slipped.

WHAT?!?!?!

We've never had a better wideout than AJ Green. Our lines are the strongest they've been in years. Our quarterback was a very highly touted recruit, who has NEVER LOST A GAME IN HIS CAREER (31-0 in HS, 1-0 in College). Our linebacking corps is led by the SEC's top tackler. The speed on this team is ridiculous. Where is this talent drop off?

Apparently, whoever wrote that (Ivan Maisel) is either a) not a big fan of Georgia, b) not a big fan of the SEC coaches, or C) succombing to the media backlash against the Dawgs for making them look foolish last year when they picked Georgia to be all-everything. Well, I'm gonna go with C. Georgia has been very much forgotten about in the past 12 weeks or so, leading up to the season.

THAT ALL ENDS TOMORROW!

The Oklahoma State Cowboys - a sexy pick to be the "surprise team" in the National Title hunt this year. They boast a win over a Texas Tech...and that suddenly makes them amazing? The Cowboys were 1-4 against Ranked Teams last year. They had amazing scoring proficiency...against crap teams. Much is being made of the Cowboys' 40.8ppg average last season...but when you take a closer look at that, you'll find that the Cowboys averaged closer to 24 ppg against big-time foes with winning records and 55ppg+ against those with losing records. In case you didn't know...UGA is a team with a winning record. I simply don't envision the Pokes getting into the endzone all that often.

So many people have been downplaying the ability of Georgia to have a decent year this year...but after tomorrow's thorough pasting of Oklahoma State, that will change. Don't be surprised to wake up Sunday Morning and find the Dawgs in the top 10. Why? Because the question marks are as follows:

Can Georgia replace Knowshon Moreno?

Can Joe Cox lead the Dawgs' offense?

Can anyone cover Dez Bryant?

Will the Dawgs find a receiver to replace Mohamed Massaguoi?

Will the Dawgs' defense improve from its abysmal finish last season?


In short order,

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. AND OH MY GOD HELL TO THE YES.

This Georgia defense has something to prove, and how better to come out and deliver a statement, than to absolutely GROUND the high-flying cowboys offense? I'm not saying OSU has never seen athletes like they'll see tomorrow...they certainly have. They play DO play OU and TX. Still, the STYLE of defense played in the Big-12 is a bit different...not quite so smash-mouth as it is in the SEC. Texas is where they've seen the difference...where Wil Muschamp, an SEC boy, is the DC. To my recollection, OSU didn't fare too well against Texas. They pulled within 4 in the fourth quarter, but rarely saw the ball again, and had an extra score shoved down their throats for good measure.

Our defense was ravaged by injury last season, and as a result, fell apart as the season wore on. Tomorrow, a healthy, strong defense will trot out onto that field. There is a great deal of veteran leadership on this defense, a great deal of young talent as well. I expect to see some great things from them!

On the offensive side of the ball, there's really not much I can say that I haven't said in previous blogs.

Joe Cox is a winner. You'll see.

Richard Samuel - he excites me! A big, powerful back who wants to run over people? I like it!

AJ Green - Scary Good.

The O-Line- Deep, Experienced, Talented, HEALTHY.

TEs - The return of the Hybrid! I love it! We finally have some athletes out there akin to Ben Watson. I played with Ben...that guy was an absolute FREAK. Physically, Mentally, Motivationally...he just GOT it. Now we have some more guys in that vein. They're true pass-catching athletes. When a defense has to cover AJ Green, Mike Moore, Marlon Brown and THEN account for the likes of Aron White, Orson Charles or Arthur Lynch....where is the matchup?

You already know I'm going to say we're going to score more than OSU...but I dare say we're going to beat them in EVERY PHASE OF THE GAME.

I haven't seen anything in the OSU defense that makes me think they're going to be able to stop our offense. Nothing. And I've seen plenty out of our defense that makes me think they're not going to fare too well. Many fans have a memory of about 6 games. I have one that is SEASONS long. I remember what Jeff Owens and Geno Atkins did when they were together last. I remember what our running game looked like behind a solid line. I remember what Mark Richt and Mike Bobo can do with a 5th year senior at QB. The whole playbook is wide open, y'all! This is going to be a looser, more exciting bunch to watch than what Athens served up last year.

Get ready, ABC....the Athens Bulldogs are Comin!

Dawgs Roll - 42-10.
GO DAWGS!