What the hell am I thinking?

I don't know.  It just keeps popping up in my head.

55-10

I can't escape it.

55-10

There's no logical reason to believe that we will walk into Death Valley tomorrow, and walk out with a landslide victory.  Even the most chest-thumping of SEC fans have to agree that Clemson has enough offensive firepower to put that kind of talk to rest.  Even those who fall in the "Richt can do no wrong" camp have to question the ridiculousness of that score prediction.  There simply is no way we can dominate Clemson like that.

55-10

Still, it rings in my head.  Unending.  I've looked at the stats, at the personnel returning, the personnel departing.  I've read countless blogs going back and forth about who has what and will have learned what from whom...and the paper match up keeps returning fairly even.  And yet, there it is.

55-10

It's absolutely insane to think that we could do that to them.  I mean, score 55?  Possibly.  This is a team that gave up 99 points in a 3-game stretch last season (FSU 37, BC 31, GT 31).  Our offense IS better than those three.  But hold them to 10?  There's just no way that could happen.  I mean, only three teams kept Clemson under 30 points scored last season.  Those teams were South Carolina, LSU, and Auburn.

Wait a minute.  Auburn?  Auburn?  Auburn who gave up 26 points to Clemson, then gave up 28 points to ULM a week later, Auburn?

Still, just because the only SEC defenses Clemson faced last year all held the Tigers to under 30 points doesn't mean their offense isn't as awesome as everyone seems to believe it is.  There's just no way.   We have too many untested, unproven names on Defense.  We can't possibly stop them like that.

And besides, LAST YEAR is LAST YEAR.
Georgia's motto: "New Year.  New Team.  One Dream."

That holds true for our opponents as well.  They're not the same team anymore.  They could be much, much better than they were.  That's the goal of every program, right?  Get better every year.  Win a championship.  Georgia's thinking it.  Clemson must be thinking it.

What in the hell am I thinking?

55-10

go dawgs

About that "Big Game" nonsense

I was reading a blog this morning.  The blogger was going over reasons why the Dawgs would/wouldn't win the Title this year, and one of the primary why nots was Murray's inability to come through in big games.  This blogger pointed to the 4-10 record the Dawgs post in the Murray era.  So, let's break that down, shall we?

I don't think anyone would pretend that our team in the 2010 season was one worthy of any kind of national ranking.  You lose 7 games out of 13, and you're just plain sub-par as a football team.  That's all there is to it.  We faced 4 ranked teams that year, and lost to all 4...including #25 UCF in the bowl game.  (A low point in modern UGA football history).  Murray was a freshman who couldn't lead his offense to paydirt against South Carolina, and who couldn't keep up the pace when eventual National Champion Cam Newton Auburn came roaring back to beat the Dawgs.

So, you take the crappiest year of UGA football out of the equation, and you're looking at a 4-6 record against Ranked Opponents.

So, then what?

2011 - The Boise Debacle in which Connor Norman (walk-on soph) had to try to hold up in coverage against one of the nation's better passing attacks due to suspensions/injuries in our secondary.  Follow that up with a SC game that featured A punt-fake-td, and a shower of points-by-mistake by the Cocks.  We also notched two Top 25 wins in 2012 over Auburn and at GT.  Then, after playing the best defensive half in SECCG history, the levee broke and our defense got railroaded by LSU.  The Michigan State Game?  Damnit.  Just Damnit.

So here we are, going into the 2012 season looking at 2 more wins, and 2 more losses.

One loss was horrible.  It was the worst game of football I can remember watching UGA play in quite some time.  The Dawgs simply were firing on ZERO cylinders as South Carolina ran us out of the building.  The other loss, though...it was 5 yards and 6 seconds from being the victory that finally put Georgia over the hump.  

So, to put it simply...when you're summing up how Georgia "can't win the big one" with Murray at the helm, you need to look at the past and see that he went

0-4  (0%)

Then

2-4  (33%)

Then

2-2  (50%)

And very nearly 3-1 (75%).


The first month of the season will give Murray and the Dawgs three shots at Top 25 teams.  There's a fourth in November against Florida.  It's possible that Vandy will be ranked in the Top 25 by the time we play them.  And, if the Dawgs win the East, they'll be facing Top-25ers in the SECCG and any Bowl game we reach (Nat'l Title or otherwise).

So at the end of the day, 7 out of our possible 14 games this season could be against Top 25 teams.  Or in other words, if you don't think Murray and Company can "win the big ones" against T25s, we're screwed.


As for me, I think we go 14-0...but hey, don't I always say that?

Go Dawgs.

It's Finally Game Week, Y'all!

This was my best offseason ever.  I sat idly by while a number of stories (Houston's reinstatement, the 2014 SEC Schedule, Harvey-Clemons' suspension, Secondary injuries, Manziel's Shenanigans) permeated the fanbase.  I didn't speak up. I didn't admonish bloggers for writing about these in the offseason.  I didn't whine about the worthless of conjecture nor the lack of any real FOOTBALL to talk about.

I simply sat down, and shut up.

But, as football season approaches once more, I find myself unable to contain my mirth.  In six short days, we will once again see our boys strap on their white jerseys and their red helmets and go play this fabulous game against a team that many have seen as an 'up and comer' for nigh on a decade.  I'm tired of the hype, I'm tired of the guesswork and the analysis and the x's and o's.  I'm ready to see some damned football already.

I'm ready to see Theus drop someone on his ass.

I'm ready to see Gurley hit a hole harder than John Holmes.

I'm ready to see Mitchell outrun the wind.

I'm ready to see Artie plow a SS into the ground as he scores on a skinny post.

I'm ready to see the Windmill!

I'm ready to see Jenkins start his own march into Georgia Lore.

I'm ready to see Swanny haul in balls like his namesake.

I'm ready to see the Reverend instill the fear of God into some hapless runningback.


I'm Ready.

Go Dawgs.