Georgia Sports Blog

Shreveport Hotel Info

2009-12-07T19:13:00.003-05:00

The hotel situation in Shreveport is just like any other midsize southern city, with the notable exceptions of the riverboat casinos. All of the brand name, midscale business hotels have an outpost in Shreveport. If you're looking to gamble, the casinos are the best choice. They're nice and have built in dining and drinking. I know Sam's Town has a significant block of rooms reserved for Georgia fans at about $180 a night. Of course, you don't have to gamble, but you can.

Every hotel likely has some sort of I Bowl discount. Mention that you're coming in for the game and see if they offer a discount. The bowl website has a feature that allows you to book hotel rooms through it, presumably with a bowl discount.

Here are some other recommendations:

The Downtown Hilton - The nicest non-casino hotel in town. It's brand new and attached to the Shreveport Convention Center. It's where your wife wants to stay. I'm pretty sure it's the A&M team hotel.
The Best Western Chateau Suites - Another downtown option that I'd recommend over the Holiday Inn downtown (of which I do not have a good impression). There should be an I Bowl discount, but you'll have to contact them directly instead of going through the I Bowl hotel website.
The Clarion Hotel - This is the UGA team hotel, I think, but you shouldn't stay there. It's average at best.
Don't forget Bossier City. There are a couple of the national brands across the river from Shreveport. Additionally, the Horseshoe hotel is probably the best casino hotel. Boomtown casino has a nice hotel on the Bossier side of the Red River, too.

Don't be too intimidated by distance. Shreveport is easy to get around by car and has lots of interstate highway. It might take you twenty minutes to get somewhere at the other end of town. In Atlanta, it takes twenty minutes to get out of your driveway. I'll also say that downtown nightlife is fairly diffused. My recommended nightlife area isn't within walking distance of a hotel. Bring along cab fare if your want to get sloshy.

Quinton

Basketball Update

2009-12-07T17:30:00.001-05:00

UGA vs. St. John's at Madison Square Garden: Wed at 7:00 pm (ESPN2)

Couple of quick notes on the basketball team in no particular order:

Travis Leslie - After getting 0 points in the season opener against New Orleans, Leslie has really started to come on. Over the last six games, he's averaged 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and only 1.7 turnovers. I know we've played several tomato cans, but he put up 17 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in the 74-62 loss to Virginia Tech on Sunday in Blacksburg.

The trick with Leslie is designing offensive plays around his skill set. So much of his offense right now is coming from offensive rebounds and put backs. He's still incredibly raw offensively, but the upside is certainly there.
Dustin Ware - Ware has been wildly inconsistent when it comes to creating points for himself. He's doing a good job of distributing the ball, but his own scoring has been less impressive than last year. The good news is that his most productive offensive efforts came against the three best teams we've played so far VT, UAB and Saint Louis. The bad news is that we still lost 2 of those 3. Dustin needs to make his fair share of three pointers for Georgia to have any shot against the better teams on the schedule. Against Saint Louis last week, he looked very good.
Jeremy Price - While Travis Leslie is clearly the most improved player on the team so far this year, the comeback player of the early season is Price. He's averaging 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in only 18.5 minutes of action. Last year, he struggled with confidence and attitude problems and averaged almost half those stats while spending an enormous amount of time in the doghouse. As Price matures, he could become a steady 10 point and 7 rebound a night guy for the Bulldogs this season.
Trey Thompkins - Trey is having an odd season in some respects. His numbers are fine in spite of the bad shooting night at Virginia Tech, and he consistently shows flashes of greatness. He just needs to clean up a lot of the little things. For instance, I've never seen a player get called for traveling so much. He gets more moving violations than a UGA football player on a scooter. That said...the offense still needs to run through him every night.

Free Throw Shooting - Here's a shocker. Through Sunday Night, the Bulldogs are currently in third place in the SEC in free throw shooting. Other than the Wofford game where we couldn't buy a FT, we've actually shot the ball well from the line.

---------------------------------------------
1.Mississippi State...  7     95   133  .714
Florida..............   8    115   161  .714
3.Georgia.............  6     88   124  .710
4.Tennessee...........  7    100   142  .704
5.LSU.................  6     82   117  .701
6.Alabama.............  8    117   169  .692
7.Vanderbilt..........  7    123   179  .687
8.Arkansas............  8    162   240  .675
9.South Carolina......  7    117   175  .669
10.Kentucky...........  8    141   212  .665
11.Ole Miss...........  8    111   168  .661
12.Auburn.............  8    113   176  .642

We just aren't getting to the line often enough. We're 11th in free throw attempts in the league. we've got to be more aggressive around the basket and penetrate more often.

The Bulldogs next big test is St. John's in Madison Square Garden on Wednesday Night at 7:00 pm on ESPN2. The game is part of the SEC/Big East Invitational. St. John's is 6-1 on the season with a good win vs. Temple and a competitive loss against Duke on the road. A win here would do wonders for the team's confidence.

This is a team that you have to watch while remembering this is a process. It's a team you grade on issues bigger than wins and losses. Do they look like they are improving over the course of the season? And Wednesday night is the first chance for a lot of folks to get an eye full.

PWD

So, we're playing the Aggies...

2009-12-07T00:01:00.002-05:00

Over the years, one of the names I've routinely heard UGA fans throw out in regards to future scheduling is Texas A&M. "Hey, we should play the Aggies." Well...take away the disappointment from the season, and we are playing a program many of us wanted to face at some point.

Personally, I'd much rather play Texas A&M than Wisconsin(again) or Northwestern. As for the venue, it's not like College Station, Blacksburg, State College or Norman are bustling venues of awesomeness. Yet, most of us would be excited to go there for a quality game.

Don't get me wrong. It's not New Orleans or Tampa, and this isn't an ideal situation. It's not remotely close to an ideal situation, but when you peel back the layers of feeling sorry for ourselves, bitterness about the bowl selection process, and embarrassment for the ribbing we're going to take because of the bowl...it's not quite as epic fail as it first appears.

Playing Iowa State or Louisiana Tech in this same scenario...that is epic fail. So is playing Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Classic, Tulsa in Boise or anybody in a baseball stadium.

As it is, I'll say a sentence I never anticipated saying..."I'll see you in Shreveport." I'll be there, and I encourage those who can affordably make the trip to attend. It'll still end up being fun.

PWD

See You In Shreveport, Farmers

2009-12-06T18:17:00.000-05:00

It's official. The Dawgs are heading to the Independence Bowl to face the Fightin' Texas Aggies. I know everyone is disappointed with the bowl selection, but I'm somewhat excited about the match up. A&M has had their struggles this year, but they looked like they had a potent offense against Texas Thanksgiving night. Jarrod Johnson is a big, mobile QB with a strong arm who should present our defense staff a big slew of pains. Oh wait, we don't have a defensive staff.

If you've never been to an A&M game, they are, um, unique. We'll attempt an explanation of Texas A&M in the coming days. That'll take a while. If you've never been to Shreveport, we'll have some tips on places to go as well.

Quinton

Raise a Glass Today

2009-12-04T13:19:00.001-05:00

Today marks the 76th Anniversary of the Repeal of the Prohibition Act. Don't mind if I do. Although, I don't have the liver to play the Tim Tebow Drinking Game on Saturday.

PWD

Stafford Mic'd Up

2009-12-03T12:00:00.002-05:00

If you missed this from a week or two ago, it's worth a listen. The NFL mic'd him when he lead the comeback by Detroit vs. the Browns a few weeks ago. Here's the NY Times on the mic'd up session with Stafford.

PWD

So who will we get?

2009-12-03T00:01:00.005-05:00

I haven't seen many credible rumors. What I've seen is a lot of theories based on people playing some sort of football version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with Sanford Stadium and Mark Richt alternating their roles as Kevin Bacon. Or just a random wish list of candidates.

So before I list who I want, I'd rather list what I want from a coach:

Let's talk about who I think we won't get or shouldn't pursue....

Who We Won't Get:

1. Tommy Tuberville

2. Will Muschamp

Who I don't want:

1. Jon Tenuta

Tenuta's stats at Notre Dame

Martinez's stats

in almost every category

dramatically tougher competition

2. Chuck Amato, Ron Zook or Sly Croom

Guys that intrigue me:

1. Kirby Smart

2. Kevin Steele

3. Bob Sanders

There are other names floating around, but none that I think are all that realistic for the Defensive Coordinator job. For the Fabris position, I would VERY much like to see us bring Travis Jones home. The former Dawg is the current DL coach for the New Orleans Saints, and he's doing a helluva job there. He worked with Saban at LSU as DL Coach and Recruiting Coordinator on the 2003 National Title team, and he followed him to Miami. He has coached all front seven positions from both the 3-4 and the 4-3.

Regardless of who we get, they have to be able to recruit. We have to keep upgrading the talent. The last two classes were directionally right, but we need more high end defensive studs.

As for Brian Van Gorder, I just don't see it happening.

PWD

More on the firings...

2009-12-02T22:25:00.006-05:00

If you want a complete look at Mark Richt's comments and those of Damon Evans about the terminations of Martinez, Fabris and Jancek, check David Hale's blog. If you're interested in more of a summary of the situation, I liked Chip Towers piece a lot.

Richt's most interesting comment is:

"It was definitely not a one-year, knee-jerk reaction to this season, I can promise you that. It was more of a decision that was made over the course of time -- more time than just one year."

All indications that I've heard points towards these absolutely being Mark Richt's calls. Not something he was forced to make. That's the most encouraging aspect of this entire thing.

Admit it...you wondered if he had it in him to make the tough call. I did. I've been worried about that for weeks. In Knoxville as we watched a completely inept Vol offense obliterate our defense, I said to a friend, "Either Mark Richt fires most of this defensive staff, or he'll be out of here in two years. This just can't continue."

I feel awful for the guys impacted by this decision and for their families, but Georgia Football is the flagship product of an $84 million business. It's not a family run shoe store. By doing the right thing with these 3 coaches, Richt protected the other six full-time coaches on staff and many more support personnel.

Months ago, I listed the Top 3 problems with the program.

We have the financial resources to put in place to have a meaningful conversation with a variety of elite candidates for all three positions. We just have to close the right guys.

As for the departed...
Don't be shocked to see Coach Jancek at Notre Dame working with linebackers next year if Coach Brian Kelly moves up there. Jancek worked with Kelly a combined 7 or 8 years at Grand Valley State and Central Michigan, and Kelly promoted him to Defensive Coordinator twice.

Martinez was an exceptional defensive backs coach for much of his time in Athens. The last two years were a complete train wreck, but the first 6 were so strong that he'll get another offer as a position coach very quickly. It wouldn't shock me to see him in Miami or at Michigan State should a position open up. I'm pretty sure that Mark Dantonio at MSU is a big fan of Willie's work.

Lastly, Fabris is very well networked from his travels. As a DE coach, he's pretty damn solid when he has something healthy to work with. It was his maddening strategic decisions on special teams that were his undoing...not his DE work. He'll land elsewhere and thrive.

Best of luck to them, and best of luck to Coach Richt in his search.

See Also:
-- A good man does the right thing - DawgSports

PWD

Bloody Wednesday

2009-12-02T16:07:00.003-05:00

Martinez, Fabris, and Janeck ... fired. Now what will we complain about?

The coaches are reportedly going to stay on through the bowl game, which appears to be in Shreveport. So, here we go. Will the defensive recruits stay on board? Who is next? Who should be next? Has Jimmy Johnson been spotted at the airport yet?

I admit I have defended Willie in the past, but there was just no arguing with a move at the coordinator level. It's very difficult to defend the simple math of the defense's steady decline. Just as difficult to defend is the inexplicable kickoff coverage of the past two years and the absurd quotes from Fabris about directional kickoffs. I'm sure these moves were painful for Coach Richt, both professionally and personally, but they had to be made. Again, it's hard to argue with math. Even if you say turnovers consistently put the defense in terrible spots, that's no excuse for the poor tackling and undisciplined play of our defense over the past several years.

Lastly, as difficult as these decisions must have been for Coach Richt, I hope they were Richt's decisions. I don't want Damon or anyone else forcing personel changes on the staff. We pay Richt a lot of cash to take responsibility for the program. The responsibility should be his.

Quinton

Bowl Chaos Update

2009-12-01T13:13:00.006-05:00

SEC and ACC Bowls are getting progressively more nuts and unpredictable by the minute. Here's the latest:

LSU to the Capital One - This is still pretty much a go.

Ole Miss to Cotton - Multiple reports including the Dallas Morning News are saying that Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma State is pretty much a done deal for the Cotton Bowl.

Auburn to Outback Bowl - The Outback Bowl may officially announce this afternoon that Auburn is invited to the Tampa bowl. Tennessee media outlets agree that AU is likely to get that invite instead of the Vols.

FSU to the Gator Bowl - The Gator gets the second pick of ACC teams, and the Tallahassee Democrat says the Gator will select FSU vs. West Virginia for Bowden's final game if/when the retirement is finalized. The Gator also selected UGA for Dooley's last game.

Virginia Tech to the Chick-Fil-A - The Chick-Fil-A Bowl should update their blog later today with their latest leanings, but 9-3 Va Tech looks like a distinct possibility. If the Chick-Fil-A takes VT, the loser of the ACC Title game could fall all the way to the Champ Sports Bowl. Update Per the Tallahassee Democrat:
According to the Gator Bowl's contract with the ACC, the team only has to invite the ACC title game loser once in four years, which it did with Georgia Tech in 2007. Without speculating on the matchup, Gator Bowl general chairman Dan Murphy told the Times-Union late Monday that it's the GBA's interpretation of the contract that the league's one-loss rule (a team cannot be passed for consideration by an ACC bowl partner for a team more than one loss behind in the conference standings) does not apply if the Gator Bowl decides not to invite the championship game loser. (emphasis added)
Georgia Tech attended the Chick-fil-A last year. Va Tech would be making their third trip to Atlanta in one season, and Clemson would be riding a two game losing streak at 8-5. All three ACC teams have hair on them.

UGA or UT in the Chick-Fil-A - The best thing for all bowl partners would be UGA in the Chick-Fil-A and UT in the Music City. That would sell the greatest number of total bowl tickets. However, UT vs. VT is an incredibly compelling regional game as is Georgia vs. Clemson, or Georgia Tech vs. Tennessee. The Atlanta Sports Council has a tough call on their hands.

UGA, UT or SC in the Music City? - The Nashville Bowl has a variety of incredibly compelling potential games as South Carolina, Tennessee or Georgia would all offer a great game against North Carolina in the Music City Bowl.

UGA to the Independence Bowl? - If UT goes to the Chick-Fil-A and SC faces UNC in the Music City, Georgia could fall all the way to the Independence Bowl. We are hearing that this is still a scenario that is very much on the table. The Liberty Bowl isn't in play as that bowl will not pass on Arkansas. Texas A&M is a strong candidate for the opponent in Shreveport.

PWD

Spurrier Joins a Different Top 10 plus a comparison

2009-12-01T09:00:00.002-05:00

With Al Groh's departure at Virginia, Steve Spurrier moves into a tie for 10th place on the list of "Longest Tenured Coaches without a BCS Bowl" at their current BCS school. The 2009 pre-season list is here.

Here's the latest Top 10:

Joined Big East

10.(T) Steve Spurrier (South Carolina) - 2005

Joined Big East

If Oregon State beats Oregon this week for the Pac-10 Championship, Spurrier will move into a tie for 9th place. Also, while we're on the topic of the Evil former Genius. How about a comparison to Ray Goff's tenure at UGA.

Spurrier through his first five seasons in Columbia:

Goff through his first five seasons in Athens:

*If you include the '89 UGA vs. SC game and 'the 91 Arkansas match-up in the Independence Bowl as SEC games, Ray was 19-20 against current SEC Members...which is a still better.

Ray was mocked mercilessly by Spurrier for his mediocrity. I'd love to see how the '94 version of Steve Spurrier would react to seeing how pedestrian the '09 version of himself looks.

PWD

Photos: UGA vs GT - The Premature Gatorade Bath

2009-11-30T22:46:00.001-05:00

The look on Bryan Evans face after he dropped the Gatorade on Richt is priceless. All images by Jim Hipple.

All images by Jim Hipple.

I'm locking the comments for this because some of you guys acting like total horses asses on this thread.

PWD

Basketball Scheduling News

2009-11-30T18:00:00.002-05:00

Georgia has been invited to play in the 2010 Old Spice Classic played Thanksgiving Weekend at Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex.

The event will feature 12 games through three days, Nov. 25, 26 and 28, 2010. The tourney guarantees each team three games, and it features:

The tournament is owned by ESPN, and it appears that all games will be televised by ESPNU or ESPN2. This is a good event for Coach Fox. Now, we just need some zone busting wings.

See Also:
-- 2009 Old Spice Classic

Photos: UGA vs Georgia Tech - The Defense

2009-11-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

What an effort by the defense. All images by Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge.

UGA's Justin Houston stops GT's Jonathan Dwyer

Fumble! Geno Atkins recovers the Yellow Jacket fumble.

Reshad Jones intercepts a pass from one of "Johnson's hand picked recruits."

The Bulldog defense gang tackling GT's Dwyer.

All images by Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge. Click on the "Photos" tag below for archived images from UGA games.

PWD

The unavoidable question: What If?

2009-11-30T01:00:00.000-05:00

Russ at work (Image: Hipple)

So that was a bit unexpected huh? Raise your hand if you thought our tailbacks would rush for 340+ yards and average 9.2 yards per carry. I'm thrilled for the seniors and the entire team to get the stink of losing to Tech off them.

A game like that makes you ask yourself..."What if?" What if we had ran the ball like that all year? What if we had played defense like that all season? What if we don't turn the ball over +17 times on the season? What if we could've made it through 10 of our games with 5 or fewer penalties like we did Saturday?

Some of those are legit questions. Some aren't completely fair. It's important to remember:

Caleb King and Washaun Ealey - King and Ealey missed almost the entire Fall camp due to injuries. King didn't return until Week 3, and he broke his jaw against LSU in Week 5. Ealey didn't debut until Week 5 from his injuries and lost practice time. Maybe Ealey could've arrived a week earlier, but he was legitimately behind. Our top running backs from the first two games haven't gotten a carry since Tennessee Tech.
The Offensive Line - Josh Davis is a guy that I had little optimism for when he was signed. I believe it was one his HS coaches that disparaged the kid's upside so that wasn't a good sign. The past few weeks, he's played really well and shored up the revolving door at one of the tackle positions since Sturdivant went down. However, he's not the only reason the OL looked so much better. In the early season, the running backs couldn't find a 10 foot wide cut-back lane with the help of Garmin, Mapquest and Sacajawea. The vision, patience and aggressiveness was a total mess. The OL looked better versus GT because they are playing better, yes. But also because their holes weren't missed.
Offensive Play Calling - This has been a puzzler for most of the year. As Blutarsky has said many times this year, we faced a crisis of confidence as a program. The play calling suggested that Richt and Bobo didn't believe our kids could make certain plays. In fairness, I didn't either. And the stats suggested that maybe we couldn't. But here's a stat to put your head around (borrowed and enhanced from a commenter on DawgPost.com)...We averaged 27.7 points per game this season. That's with a kid at QB whose only other scholarship offer was Duke. A kid that wouldn't be starting at Duke now. Yet, Bobo's guys in '09 averaged more points than the 2003 unit that won the SEC East and within 0.2 points from our loaded 2004 squad. It's possible that Bobo doesn't need to be run off...he needs a damn hug for working a miracle with the talent gap at QB, late blooming RBs and inconsistent OL. As for the turnovers, I point back towards the early season issues at Running Back as the QB situation.
The Defense - John Wooden said that there's no such thing as "overachieving." If you do something, that's the level for which you can consistently achieve. In other words, it's physically impossible to do more than you can do. What we saw on Saturday defensively was what the UGA defense can do. It's what the UGA defense should've done all year. The DTs played to their ability. The LBs took the violence to the ball carriers instead of absorbing collisions, and Reshad Jones continued what was quietly a nice season. I realize Justin Houston didn't arrive until the Arkansas game, but that doesn't explain all the issues at DL this season. It doesn't explain why Rambo sat while Evans struggled, and it doesn't explain why so much talent took so long to come together. That's the reason Richt is off soul searching right now. And answering that question of himself and his coaches is the key to the future of the program.

Overall, it was an awesome effort, and I was proud of the kids. They looked like they had a great time. I know I enjoyed watching them.

PWD

Bowl Projections for UGA

2009-11-30T00:01:00.001-05:00

As of tonight, Chris Low, Mark Schlabach and Bruce Feldman all think we're going to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl likely vs. Virginia Tech. Sportsline thinks we're still heading to Birmingham, but I just can't see that happening. Mark Bradley is waffling, but leaning towards Nashville.

The ESPN folks who think we're coming to Atlanta are basing that on the idea that Ole Miss and Tennessee are going to some combination of the Outback and the Cotton Bowls. That is likely the best case for UGA from a bowl prestige standpoint.

Here are some of the complicating factors that could make our destination murky until the final hour:

Cotton Bowl + SWC Relationships: It's not unreasonable for the Cotton Bowl to pass on Ole Miss making a return visit. They are allowed to slip down a notch and pick up a team like Arkansas. The Hawgs went to Dallas after the 2007 and 2001 seasons, and the bowl committee likes having the Hawgs. An Arkansas vs. Oklahoma State match-up would sell a ton of tickets. If they take the Razorbacks, the Outback would take Ole Miss. At that point, the Chick-Fil-A has to choose between UGA, SC and UT. Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee would be a very compelling game, and that could slip us to the Music City or lower.
Outback Bowl + UK Relationships: The founder of Outback Steakhouse is a UK Alum, and he was instrumental in developing the Outback Bowl into what it is today. He was also the key factor in bringing the 1998 Wildcat team to Tampa despite their 7-4 record, despite coming off a 59-21 blowout loss to Tennessee and despite UGA having a better record at 8-3 and a head to head win. A much easier case could be made for bringing UK in 2009 back to Tampa. They've gone the longest between visits to Tampa compared to UGA, UT and SC, and they would be fairly excited about the trip. If UK goes here and Ole Miss is in the Cotton Bowl, we're back to the Chick-Fil-A bowl choosing between UGA and UT. This could also send us to the Music City or lower. I see this as a remote possibility.

All we do know at this point is:

The only bad scenarios to me are playing Northwestern in the Outback or Boston College in the Music City Bowl. Facing VT in the Chick-Fil-A, UNC or FSU in the Music City or Wisconsin in the Outback works for me.

Where do you think we end up?

PWD

Photos: UGA vs Georgia Tech - Rubbing it in

2009-11-29T22:55:00.004-05:00

All images by Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge. Caption the first one in the comments. It's a gem.

"Tech Man" showing his class. Jeff Owens takes the high road. (Or caption it yourself)

It's our stadium anyway. The flag was really just a formality.

All images by Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge. Click on the "Photos" tag below for archived images from UGA games. More coming.

PWD

Photos: UGA vs Georgia Tech - Running Backs

2009-11-29T22:42:00.005-05:00

All images by Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge.

Washaun Ealey on the carry vs. the Yellow Jackets

Caleb King takes one to the house against GT

Caleb King makes his move

All images by Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge. Click on the "Photos" tag below for archived images from UGA games. Thanks for the pic this season!

PWD

Is the ACC Championship even a real thing?

2009-11-29T19:12:00.003-05:00

Exiting Bobby Dodd Stadium at Mark Richt Field, I couldn't help but wonder if the ACC Championship is even real. It's beginning to feel like a marketing ploy on par with New Coke, Amway or Suffrage*.

Seriously, if no one goes to the game and no one watches on TV doesn't that put the entire tree falling in the woods theory to the test? Have you ever seen the ACC Championship fooball trophy? Have you ever met anyone who has attended the event?

Me either.

Being King of the Dipshits means you're still a dipshit. If there were ever a less purposeful gathering of overhyped fail than you'll find in Tampa this coming weekend, I can't name it.

PWD

*I kid.

The Road to Tampa Bay ...

2009-11-28T23:59:00.002-05:00

is traveled by two teams who would finish fourth in the SEC East. Helluva win, Dawgs. More later.

Quinton

'Russ' to fill in for Uga VII

2009-11-27T18:48:00.005-05:00

AJC reports "Russ" will replace Uga VII for the Tech game and possibly the bowl game. Russ is a five year-old half-brother to Uga VII. I'm looking forward to seeing how he fills out the jersey. GATA, Russ!

Elsewhere, Orson introduces "robodawg," per PETA's suggestion that Uga VIII should be a robot.

A Modest Proposal for Damon Evans

2009-11-27T11:42:00.013-05:00

Regardless of the outcome of Saturday's game, I have a modest proposal for Damon Evans to consider that would alter the Georgia schedule with respect to Georgia Tech. Put simply, this game is not really a rivalry and Georgia would benefit from not playing it every year. Yeah, I know, Tech won last year. And if they win tomorrow, it still wouldn't change a thing. This series is a bore and typically irrelevant on the national scene. A victory over Tech delivers all the satisfaction of a win over Vanderbilt. Some UGA fans say Tech is our rival, but that tells me they are either very, very old, or are confusing the burning shame of losing to an inferior program with a "rivalry." (Ask yourself when was the last time you celebrated a win over Tech) Losing to Tech is like getting beat up by ~~a retarded kid~~ your kid brother, but that doesn't make the kid your rival. It just makes you lame for losing.

The precedent for not playing an in-state Div. 1 team every year has already been set by the Penn State/Pitt series. I think the Penn State/Pitt series is a good model for us to follow because (i) though dominated by Pitt/Tech in the era preceding the face mask and forward pass, it is now heavily lop-sided in favor of Penn State/UGA; (ii) the schools play in different conferences so they don't have to play each other; (iii) in most years during the BCS-era, Pitt/Tech drags down Penn State/UGA's strength of schedule; (iv) and Pitt/Tech plays in a stadium substantially smaller than Penn State/UGA so fans who would otherwise attend the game can't attend.

Despite sporadic victories in the last twenty years (some of which were cheating-assisted), the series hasn't been competitive in many of our lifetimes. UGA leads the overall series by an overwhelming 59-37-5 advantage. But consider more than twenty of Tech's wins came prior to 1957. The last time Tech won by more than two touchdowns, you were allowed to smoke on an airplane. Now look at these results by decade:

1960s: 6-4 UGA
1970s: 7-3 UGA
1980s: 7-3 UGA
1990s: 7-3 UGA
2000s: 7-2 UGA

The Penn State/Pitt rivalry went dormant when Pitt rejected a 2-1 series that would require Pitt to play in State College twice for a return trip by Penn State. That kind of model would work for UGA. A 2-1 would be better for our fans who can't squeeze into the Joke by the Coke. Tech would probably veto that idea (just as Pitt did), so playing a few times a decade could be a fall back position.

Predictably, Tech backers would squall about what a terrible idea this is (just like Pitt backers did), but I don't think most UGA fans would really care if this game wasn't played every year. Despite Tech's win last year, this game has become an afterthought for many UGA fans. It remains the case that when Tech wins this game, it means there are serious problems with the UGA football program. As the recent decades results above demonstrate, Tech wins are as rare as hen's teeth. That's not the kind of competitiveness that constitutes a rivalry.

Let me pre-empt the techsters who will no doubt flame this post. [sidebar: isn't it pitiful that tech fans read this blog to get the validation of a provoked response? I would have to google a tech blog, assuming there are any] The Georgia-Florida series is currently lop-sided, but (a) Georgia leads the all-time series, and (b) it is a Southeastern conference game, so it isn't analogous.

I also add that superduperoffensivegeeeeeeen-ius Paul Johnson agrees that this is just another game. I give him credit for seeing how pathetic it is that Tech defines their existence through the prism of this game. Johnson knows he has his work cut out for him (until he leaves for Nebraska): "They're in the state. I understand all that. But it's not going to define our year if we beat Georgia. I'm trying to build a football program here."

So to Damon I say: Give CPJ a few years to "build a program" and we can decide if it's worth our time to play them regularly again.

Editor Note: Dawgnoxious wrote this. In the near 20 years that I've know him, this is an opinion he's held vocally and consistently. It's not an opinion related to last year's game. -- PWD

Indiscriminate Tech Hate, With a Lonely Exception

2009-11-27T00:00:00.003-05:00

Georgia Tech is a haven for terrorists, drug dealers, cheaters, and dorks (do I really need a link?). Also, they have no women. Even if they had women, they still wouldn't stop playing Witches & Warcraft long enough to swab down with an Oxy Pad and ask one out for a date to the Star Trek convention.

With that said, if you see a member of the Tech baseball team collecting money for Chance Veazey Saturday, shake the kid's hand and say "thank you." That's a class move from Danny Hall and their team.

Quinton

The Bowl Picture

2009-11-25T12:20:00.001-05:00

Since every Georgia fan I know is either indifferent to the Tech game, conceding defeat, or actively cheering for Tech to score in economy size bunches so the defensive staff can be lit ablaze at midfield after the game, I'm going to take a glance at the bowl picture. If I assume death by a thousand stings Saturday, it looks like the possibilities are Memphis, Shreveport, or Birmingham. Nashville could be a possibility, but only if we beat Tech. Assuming South Carolina and Auburn lose this weekend, I think they are our primary competition.

Here's how the top bowls shake out: BCS - Gators and Tide, Capital One - Ole Miss, Cotton - winner of LSU and Arkansas, Outback - winner of UK and UT, Peach - loser of LSU and Arkansas, Music City - loser of UT and UK. That leaves Auburn, the Dawgs, and the Cocks to fight it out for the lower bowls.

If I'm the Liberty Bowl, I can select a team with a new coach, a relatively energized fanbase, and a team with the closest geographic proximity (but still requires a hotel stay) in Auburn. I'd get a Gus Malzahn's offense against Houston, a potential offensive explosion, to draw a TV crowd. Imagine our secondary against the Cougars. I think I'd take Auburn in that game before I'd select Georgia, despite the head-to-head win.

Which leaves the Indy Bowl with the next pick. If it's between us and Carolina, my guess is that we'd get the edge. We beat them in September, they're going to likely be riding a four game losing streak, and they have been to Shreveport recently. Plus, look at the Big 12 candidates the Indy Bowl might select. A UGA-Oklahoma game would draw a nice TV audience, even though both teams have fallen on hard times. I'd think a Georgia-A&M game would draw as well, just based on the name value of the two teams. Those Big 12 teams should bring a crowd and offset the attendence problems created by the distance factor for Georgia fans.

The only real threat to this is if Oklahoma State ends up in the BCS. Then Iowa State likely comes into play for Shreveport. An Auburn vs. Iowa State game would have serious appeal because of Gene Chizick. Maybe the SEC and the Liberty allow that game and Georgia goes to Memphis instead of Auburn.

So, is a match up with Oklahoma or Texas A&M exciting enough to get you to buy a ticket?

Quinton

Beep, Boop, Woof, Woof

2009-11-24T18:25:00.000-05:00

Seriously, PETA? Won't the drool cause electrical shorts? I'm in full support, however, if it is of a size and demeanor matching Truckasaurs.

And LSU thinks it has a intimidating mascot? Wait until we crane in Robodawg to opposing stadiums.

Quinton