Good, Clean, Old Fashioned Win

I'm going to venture about a half-step out on a limb and say I'm probably not the only member of the Dawg nation who thought the final four regular season quarters would ultimately result in a paraphrasing of our entire season. I went so far as to venture we may even lose by a ridiculous four plus touchdowns. Amazingly, and by what I can only assume was the grace of Erk, it didn't. In fact, it was far from anticipated blowout I had predicted in the early afternoon hours on Saturday. Had our fallen compatriot UGA VII made it to season's end, he would have assuredly gone to be with his brothers when the clock showed zeroes with our boys on top by 6. And if that didn't finish him off, the 300 plus rushing yards we managed to accumulate would have certainly done him in.

I for one can say there is no way in the world I could have ever seen the game turning out the way it did. A victory, while a bit far-fetched, wasn't completely out of the question, as it never is in a rivalry game of this magnitude. But that way it was done, not even Nostradamus could have foreseen. Had you shown me these stats:

Rushing Yards: 339 - 205
Passing Yards: 76 - 135
Turnovers: 1 - 2
T.O.P.: 30:03 - 29:57

I would have asked two questions. How in the world did we manage to rush for 200 yards, and how did we manage to keep the ball for half of the game? Then, had you told me our boys were the ones on the plus side of the possession and the ones with 300 yards rushing, I would have laughed, very obnoxiously. In fact, had I not seen it happen with my own two eyes there's a good chance I still wouldn't believe it to be true.

But as the old adage goes, I guess it's better late than never. Our preseason "best offensive line in the country" finally decided to make an appearance, albeit in the final regular season game. Throughout the game the hogmollies up front were forming holes wide enough UPS could deliver through and consistently pushing defenders five and ten yards off the ball. Throughout its entirety we saw the type of game we have become accustomed to seeing from our Red and Black clad boys.

For the first time this season we also seemed to stick with what was working on the offensive side of the ball. We didn't get fancy, but then again, we didn't need to. Bobo saw we could run it, so run it we did. Both backs set career highs on the ground by the second quarter, and Cox had the best quarter of his career in the first 15 minutes of the game. (*editors note: Cox didn't attempt a pass in the first quarter) It wasn't flashy, but it was effective.

Defensively, we played better than what was expected, though we did give up a few long pass plays due in no small part to missed tackles at or near the line of scrimmage. However, any time you can limit the leading rusher in a triple option system to 41 yards, you have to feel pretty good about your performance. Let's just hope one game doesn't make everyone forget the rest of the season. Also, not to be the naysayer, but you should remember Yech was still in a position to win the game in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, and very well could have if Reggie Ball, rather, Demaryius Thomas could catch the easy ball, and if CPJ didn't completely abandon the option that got him to that point.

All in all, it was a flat out good game. According to Chris Lowe and the boys at ESPN, it may have even been good enough to save us from the Toilet Bowl. The "experts" in the know have us back in ATL for the Chicken Bowl against VT, which would be a rematch of a few years back. Now it's just a waiting game.

Thankfully, all that bowl stuff can wait, and for GA fans, we get bragging rights for another 364 days. As Washaun's tape and Caleb's arms said, "We run this state". For one of the few times this year, it really is great to be a Georgia Bulldawg! Go Dawgs!

Halftime Adjustments?

Four turnovers. In the second half alone. That pretty much sums up our season in two quarters. A game destined to be dominated by our boys and send the seniors out with a final home win, we manage to completely blunder with four turnovers in the home half of the game. The last time I checked, halftime was a break given to both teams for a good rest and adjustments. Apparently we made adjustments, just not the right type.

Our boys dominated the game against the Cats, only to have the offense give it right back. Say what you will about Willie and his D, but when you give the opposition the ball inside your own 10 twice in a half, it's pretty hard to conceive there will be less than 10 points put on the board. It's been our achilles all year long, and it was once again this past Saturday. I'm not going to elaborate too much on what went wrong and what went right, because it's pretty obvious. Our inept offense once again proved it couldn't be trusted, and our D (which played an okay game), proved it cannot overcome the mistakes made by that unit. If nothing else, hopefully this game solidified the case for making changes at years end.

Our "leader" of a quarterback made two very costly throws, which included one on our final offensive drive that could have still won the game. Our true freshman RB showed his youth with a fumble on the one. And our coaching remained bland and unimaginative.

I won't be making a prediction regarding the GT game, as we all know how that one will likely turn out. Though I hope we emerge victorious, I pray we have done enough to this point to ensure both coordinators will be replaced this post season. I am deeply disturbed about the state of the program right now, as I'm sure most of the Red and Black faithful are.

On the bright side, it looks like we'll have Rambo and AJ back to face the Fuzz this upcoming week. I'll be back on later in the week and early next week to recap. I'm hoping for the best this week, but expecting the worst.

Blue (Gr)Ass Beat Down....Maybe

Well kids, I'm keeping it short and sweet this week. Partly due to the fact that it's two o'clock in the AM, and perhaps more to do with the fact that I've been drinking beer and playing poker for the past four hours. What do we need to know about the game Saturday?

First off, we know that Kentucky SHOULD be considered a "walk through", but for this years Dawgs, nothing can be taken for granted. Aiding in that assessment is the fact that the 'Cats best offensive weapon is most likely going to be out for the game. Randall Cobb, a "wide receiver", is the most prolific offensive threat that the Blue brings to the table, not only because he's a great catcher of the ball, but also because he can line up and play some QB. Having him out of the game, along with starting QB Mike Hartline could make the opposing offense quite anemic.

One thing the boys in blue do have going their way is their run defense. They are statistically ranked in the top tier of most SEC defensive categories. Their run D is above average, and if their is one thing we've had trouble doing this year, as we all know, it would be running the ball. However, I think we will be able to handle this weeks opposition with our ground attack, as we have been consistently improving in that particular area for the last four weeks. I look for another good outing from CKing as well as Ealey. Also, keep an eye on the Trouper from Tifton, GA. He was one of the most highly regarded prospects coming out of high school, and I believe he is now going to grab his 15 of fame.

I know that's a pretty bland run-down of what is to come, but come on guys, it's basically a dumber version of Vandy (or so I hope). I think we have another DECENT defensive showing, especially considering the injuries to the opposing offense. Somehow we find a way to put of a respectable amount of points against an above average defense.

Prediction: UGA 34 UK 17

A (Next) Season Changer

With the exception of a few key injuries Saturday, our boys had what I believe to be our best game of the season to this point. As most know by now, Rambo was concussed in the latter stages of the fourth quarter and AJ was sidelined with an arm injury, possibly for the season, after amassing only a couple of catches.

Even with those injuries, we were able to survive an early two touchdown deficit to grab a victory from the hands of defeat. Some have ventured so far as to say it was a must win game, and I would tend to agree. Though I feel confident we would have been able to become bowl eligible with a win against UK next week, it certainly feels nice knowing we can beat at least one first year head coach in an always tough SEC match-up.

Aside from being a win (a conference win at that), this game provided more of an off the record boost than most realize. Everyone knows the War Tigers hail from just across the border in Bama, and recruits from the area are often torn between the two schools. Heck, at this game alone UGA welcomed nearly 400 recruits, friends, and family. Losing this one could have been detrimental to our final class of 2010. Aside from beating Auburn on the field, we may have just beat them off the field in the recruiting ranks as well.

As far as on the field action was concerned, there were some highs and lows on both sides of the ball. For the first time this year in a game that actually mattered we were able to run the ball consistently for the duration of the game. Ealey looked like the back we thought he could look back, and C King showed flashes of his high school self. We finally managed to play an SEC opponent without turning the ball over, which if not for committing only four penalties would have been the biggest stat of the night.

Defensively, we looked pretty solid after the first twelve minutes. We actually played some solid coverage, pressured the QB, and forced some bad throws. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried, because I honestly thought the game was over before it had started. Amazingly, our defensive unit showed some stones and "manned up" for the remaining forty seven minutes.

As far as the aforementioned injuries are concerned, we know for a fact that both Rambo and AJ are gone for the Kensucky game, and maybe for the remainder of the season. Rambo has the best chance of returning before whatever bowl we wind up in, an amazing feat considering he lay unconscious on the field for nearly twelve minutes. Before being placed on the back-board he did have motion in all his extremities and was diagnosed with only a concussion. The verdict is still out on AJ, and the coaches are keeping mum on his situation to this point. All I've heard is he hurt his shoulder/arm and doesn't have full strength or range of motion and he won't return to the field until he does.

Check back often for updates, and I'll be back with my breakdown and prediction on Wednesday or Thursday, barring any technical difficulties. Go DAWGS!

SEC TV Schedule for Final Weekend

The SEC television lineup has been set for the final weekend of the regular season:

FRIDAY, NOV. 27

* Alabama at Auburn, 2:30 p.m. ET, CBS

SATURDAY, NOV. 28

* Clemson at South Carolina, noon ET, ESPN

* Ole Miss at Mississippi State, 12:21 p.m. ET, SEC Network/ESPN Regional

* Florida State at Florida, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS

* Tennessee at Kentucky, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU

* Arkansas at LSU, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

* Georgia at Georgia Tech, 8 p.m. ET, ABC

An Apology

To my loyal following:

I apologize for the lack of much anticipated updates over the past week. I have been experiencing some technical difficulties with blogspot's servers and haven't been able to provide the quality reading my faithful readers spend their days looking forward to. I can promise you I will have my full allotment of recaps, updates, and fearless prognostications in the week to come.

With love,

Herschel Walk the Walker

High School Memories

David Ching of the Athens Banner-Herald had a great article Sunday on the importance of this past weekends meeting with the out-classed Tennessee Vocational High School. I found several points in the article that I agreed on, but some I didn't.

Ching said we were in need of a good showing regardless of the opponent, which I completely agree with. We needed a confidence boost in any shape or form, and hopefully our high school opponent gave that to us. Ching also said we were in need of a game that we could get some of our inexperienced freshman some valuable game time and the opportunity to make big plays. That was accomplished, and hopefully we can look for more of the same in the games to come. Ealey had his first two career rushing TD's and looked pretty impressive although against an inferior defense. B Smith lined up in the WildDawg and took off for a lenghty run that resulted in a TD. I liked it, but also wondered why we would wait until now to use it. Does anyone besides me think we might have been able to use that spark against the Gaytors last week, or maybe against one of our other SEC opponents who put a whoopin' on us?

Ching also makes mention of the fact that our coaches were also in need of a spark. This I couldn't disagree with more. Coaches shouldn't need a spark to reiterate the fact that what they are doing is working or not working. All this game proved for our coaches is that they obviously aren't up to snuff with the rest of the staffs in the SEC, though they might be world beaters in DII.

There's really not much else to talk about from the weekend. We beat a team we should've beaten by a margin we should have won by. What else is there to say? We looked okay, they looked like an inferior opponent. We should know a lot more about how much our confidence was boosted when the War Tigers come a calling Saturday night.

I'll be back tomorrow or Wednesday with a breakdown, and if possible, I'll get another position by position from Scouts, Inc. Also, if you haven't heard already, the Kentucky kickoff has been set for 7:45 and will either be aired by ESPN/2. Another night game on a national stage in Sanford. WOO.

Black Britches Beatdown

For the first time since November of 1998, the Dawgs came out of the tunnel rocking some snazzy black trousers, the only difference being 11 years ago they were led out by a soon to be professional wrestler with a bald head. The result, however, was pretty close to the same thing. A wood shed whooping, with the high point of the game coming on the very first play when Walsh managed to kick one through the back of the endzone for a touchback.

Florida linebacker Ryan stamper said it best when he stated all the uniforms provided were "fake juice". Though I happen to like the black helmets, they apparently don't have enough "juice" inside them to get a Drama inspired "Victory!".

I for one have a theory on what would get a team "juiced" enough to be victorious, and that's a crazy little thing called preparation. Given a year to fume over the two timeouts with less than a minute remaining, and the 39 point embarassment handed out last year, one might think our boys would come out with a chip on their shoulder. That didn't happen. Maybe it was because CMR refuses to let anyone believe that this is anything other than "just another game". Regardless of how good and/or bad either team may be any given year, UF treats this game as it were a mid-season bowl, hence the reason they've won 85% of the games played in the last two decades. Maybe it's about time we started doing the same.

It honestly befuddles me to think how we can come out flat year after year in what is generally our biggest regular season matchup without some sort of gimmicky BS to get our fans and players fired up. It really is quite sad.

If we use the matchup against the Gaytors as a litmus test as to where our team should be (as we normally do), it's pretty dang clear we have quite a ways to go. Florida again pinned us like animal control without doing anything flashy.

Hopefully this game will further prove to our oblivious coaching staff that changes must be made. Bozo yet again had the imagination of a can of primer and WM only strenghtened his case for demotion. I really don't know what else I can say without sounding like a broken record, so I'll just let the firing talk be, with one exception.

I have long been a proponent of HCMR, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that he is unwilling to make the necessary changes on his staff. If it continues, I don't see him being around the UGA program very far into the future. I still believe he is a great coach. However, if he won't make the changes to turn the program around something will have to be done, and if it involves him moving on, then so be it. In a year destined for mediocrity, I would have loved to have seen a true freshman QB getting some action under center to better prepare for the year to come. Obviously that isn't going to happen, and if it does at this point, well, that's just blatant stupidity.

I'm taking tomorrow off to finish licking my wounds, but I'll be back on Tuesday to update any pertinant happenings. Word on the street is we'll know by then if we have a new face under center, just don't expect anything drastic.