Through a Player's Eyes: Brandon Boykin

Friday misery, chapter 8: coming home cupcake

Hard to be too miserable when you're still a little happy hungover from the cocktail party. But I'll give it a shot.

Schedule snaFU
Are you kidding me? Two top 10 games in the SEC tomorrow and we'll have to watch both at the same time. This must be what Penn Wagers feels like trying to master the college football rule book while chewing gum at the same time.


BMFP* takes the field against a semi-cockless Spurrier at 7:15 in what is not only a matchup between two top ranked teams but also the only time this season ESPN will find two guys within their camera frame with bigger egos than the network itself. Then at 8:00 we've got Lester and Darth Saban in the greatest game ever in the history of games involving tackling and synthetic consumers.


I spent a day and a half looking for my cable splitter so that we can all watch both games in one room. Of course, it would've only taken 5 minutes to find it had I remembered the first rule of the Bernie Household...ask Mrs. Bernie. Water. Under. Bridge. Do they make a holster for remote controls?


PIG...HOG...SoooooooooooooooooiiEEEEEEEEEE!! Or is it, Woo!...Pig!...SoooooooooooooooooiiEEEEEEEEEE!! Hell, I don't know. Just remember to bring my Pig Hat Heath. (pictures to follow)




Tailback U DID WHAT?!?
Boo Malcome - I once decided to speed through a section of Athens that included a police station. This of course meant that the road always had plenty of police officers beginning their patrol. Bad timing, I was obviously pulled over. Then I decided I would challenge the officer as to the accuracy of his radar. (And you probably thought I was as dumb now as I was then. Pffft!) Little did I know that this required me getting frisked and being placed in the back of his cruiser so he could give me the tuning fork demonstration. Did I mention this was adjacent to a busy intersection on the East side of Athens? Where I had grown up? And hundreds of people drove by...about 35% of which not only knew me but also my parents' phone number. That my friends is not bad timing, that's Boo Malcome timing. From getting to Taco Stand in time for beer and burritos/significant amount of carries in a UGA Homecoming game...to...rumor central for East Athens/sledding with Coach T.

Isaiah Crowell - Or "Big Pred" as Nama likes to call him, a reference to Predator's dreads. I once decided to not skip a Spanish II class on a Friday afternoon, even though it was late March and the temperature was in the 70s finally. Turns out I was the only one to make this decision, other than the professor. The downside was that I had to spend the next 45 minutes in one on one español instruction instead of slugging beers overlooking Brumby Beach. The plus side was that I made an "A" on the test the following week. I hope Big Pred is studying.


Carlton Thomas - I haven't been that short since 4th grade, so it's hard to think that far back. But I guess you could lump him in with Boo. "Little Pred" as Nama likes to refer to him would've gone large in this game. Bad timing all around for #30. Those dive plays might have worked against NMSU.


Hope to see y'all in the Red Zone tomorrow! Then we'll go crown a King and Queen.


*Bobby Mother eFfin' Petrino is actually a phrase of pride in Fayetteville. My only Hog friend wore a BMFP shirt to Athens last season. The entire tailgate I thought it stood for Big Mother eFfin' Pig. Then he kindly explained it to me...about four hours before we got burnt by that wheel route. That was a BMFD.

LSU...Bama...a prediction from Joe

Joe put out quite a spread for us down in Jacksonville last Saturday. We'll have more about his food when Nama puts the finishing touches to the WLOCP tailgate video. But since Joe is a big Bama fan, we just had to get his take on the big game with LSU.

I've got to say I've been thinking LSU for awhile. But if anything could compel me to root for Alabama, it's Joe's BBQ with the signature sauce.

Countdown to Kickoff

Hannah Chalker previews the weekend's action.

SEC Today - 11/3/11

ESPN Analyst Desmond Howard talks with Hannah Chalker about this weekend's big matchup between LSU and Alabama.

Red Zone Event Update

Just wanted to update a previous post from this morning. Scott Woerner will be at the Red Zone Saturday before and after the Homecoming game against New Mexico State. Mike Moss has provided some additional details as well.

Movie and Television Stars, Linden Ashby and Susan Walters, will be participating in parts of the Scott Woerner & "1980 Dawgs"  film event, which will be held this Saturday, before and after the Bulldogs Homecoming Game.

Times: Before Game: 9:30 - 11:30am,  After Game: 4:00 - 6:00.  Location:  The Red Zone, 155 East Clayton Street, Athens, Ga.  *Note:  Currently,   Linden and Susan will be there early in the morning session only.

Linden Ashby's roles include:  Dr. Coop in TV show "Melrose Place",  Johnny Cage in the Movie "Mortal Combat", Morgan Earp in the Movie "Wyatt Earp"  and currently as Sheriff Stilinsky in the hit MTV TV series, "Teen Wolf".  For a More info:  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000798/

Susan Walters' roles include: Priscilla Presley in the movie "Elvis and Me", Mulva on the famous top 5 "Seinfeld" TV episode, Lorna on the daytime series "Loving", Diane Jenkins on "The Young and The Restless", and currently Mayor Lockwood, on the hit TV show, Vampire Diaries.  More info: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910376/

Linden and Susan are both huge Bulldog Football fans and were instrumental in the "1980 Dawgs" project.   According to Mike Moss, Executive Producer of "1980 Dawgs"   "Linden and Susan were both very helpful and supportive of  the 1980 Dawgs project .  There advice and insights from their experience in the  film and television industry were invaluable"

UGA Football Legend, Scott Woerner and "1980 Dawgs" Filmmaker, Lenny Daniel, will be talking with fans and signing autographs during the event.  Linden Ashby and Susan Walters will also be available for pictures and autographs early in the morning session only.

For more info about the film:  www.1980dawgs.com

More info about the event: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Red-Zone/115697561790630

LSU...Bama...a preview of 1 vs 2

I don't know about you, but after I get home form Athens Saturday I'll have two tvs side by side so that I can Call the Hogs and watch the greatest game of the century this year.

These type of games sometimes surprise people and turn out to be really high scoring. But I see fairly low scoring affair decided by less than a touchdown. I'm going with LSU because I think they can slow Richardson down enough...and I actually like their quarterback situation better.

Plus, ol' Lester has really grown on me. Ever since he was not so subtle in telling Herbstreit to Have a nice day!, I've come to enjoy the way he goes about his business down there in Baton Rouge.

Regardless, it should be a great evening of football.  

"Scott Woerner saved our butts"

1980 Dawgs has uploaded another small portion of their DVD to YouTube. Back in the late 70s and early 80s, whenever Georgia and Clemson met on the gridiron it was going to be a hard fought battle. The 1980 contest in Athens saw Scott Woerner beat the Tigers nearly single-handedly.

So, do you want to meet Scott Woerner? Saturday is your chance. Here's a special message from 1980 Dawgs Executive Producer Mike Moss:

University of Georgia Football Legend and former All American, Scott Woerner, will be signing autographs, promoting the new "1980 Dawgs" film,  and talking with fans in Athens before and after this weekend's UGA homecoming game.  Scott was one of the fan favorites on that 1980 Championship team.  His ability to make big plays and his winsome and outgoing personality endeared him to Georgia fans.

Times:  9:30am - 11:30am and 4:00pm - 6:00pm, this Saturday, Nov. 5th.  Location:   The Red Zone, 155 East Clayton Street, Athens Ga.

On the air - Coach Richt

Coach Richt talks suspensions, special teams and cheering for Arkansas.

SEC Today - 11/2/11

Hannah Chalker updates us on SEC action, including the upcoming South Carolina/Arkansas matchup.

Please! Surgery can't arm tackle DICK SAM 4!!

Richt and Samuel meet, again. I hear it went something like this:


Coach Richt hangs up the phone and has trouble bringing his eyes back up to meet his young player that sits across the desk from him. There's a long pause. It gets uncomfortable, then downright awkward.


DICK SAM 4 - Coach, are you okay?
Coach Richt - Son, that was Courson. They're going to have to do surgery. You're out until December at the earliest.
DICK SAM 4 - What? What're you saying Coach? I'm good man. I woulda scored if you'd've called that timeout.
Coach Richt - Is not that at all son. We're...(fighting back a throat lump)...we're going to have to put you down as "out"...
DICK SAM 4 - NO Coach!...I was "out" a whole season. I'm in, just like that endzone baby!
Coach Richt - ...unavailable...medically speaking Richard. It's science.
DICK SAM 4 - That's ridiculous! I'm ready. Now!
Coach Richt - I can't argue with science kid. It's done. We'll try and get to the Dome and if you work hard, rehab...
DICK SAM 4 - Whatever Coach. Put me back at linebacker...safety...I'll kick if you need me.
Coach Richt - No son, it's not like that this time. It's out of our hands.
DICK SAM 4 - Please man. That was two years ago. I haven't fumbled all season. No way those gators were gonna get that ball.
Coach Richt - No, I mean it's out of our hands as far as the decision...medically. It's not a question of...
DICK SAM 4 - I know what you're going to say Coach...not a question of the Dawg in the fight, but the fight in the Dawg. (Samuel stands and casts his enormous shadow over the head coach's desk) I'm ready. I'll be there Saturday for those Aggies. 


Coach Richt can only shake his head. He opens his mouth to try and interject, but loses the words.


DICK SAM 4 - (casually lays his crutch on Richt's desk and as he walks out of the office...) You can tell em I'm coming. They'll need more than what they got to stop The Fourth!


Coach Richt again picks up the phone, still shaking his head..."Ron, this is Mark again..."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

What the heck, for old time's sake.

via MikesPrimeTickets

Empty backfield, Crowell et al suspended

The rumblings I was hearing were true, but worse than I feared.

Now we have Brandon Harton who did pretty well in the Spring, and...Wes Van Dyk....12 (twelve) total carries between them.


So bring your jerseys Saturday, but leave the sharpies behind. You'll need to wear them.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Bonus thought 

Hopefully Brandon Harton and Wes Van Dyk can summon their inner Jeremy Sulek, who held down the MLB position during injuries earlier this season. Walk ons can GATA too you know!

Credit where it is due

Had a chance to rewatch the game yesterday before the ghouls and goblins came out. It left me as giddy as I was Saturday night. Here's some extra commentary before we close the book on the WLOCP 2011.

• First off, I have to give some credit to John Brantley. He was battered like a load of catfish and still kept playing. Did he play well? No, he didn't. But when you can't put pressure on your foot enough to walk it's just as hard to plant it and throw a good ball. His coaches felt he was their best option and he gave all he possibly could.
• Now that that is out of the way, we have to give credit to Murray for something similar. He refused to leave the game. When he returned after being helped from the field he was definitely off. But he played through the pain and the incompletions and it paid dividends late.
• Like Tyler said, the sound we heard was Richt's balls clanking together on those 4th down calls. But Bobo's decision to go for the pass on 2nd and 9 as we tried to run out the clock was just as big. We knew we'd have at least one guy in 1 on 1 and he trusted his QB and a receiving corps that had delivered play after play the whole game. That did everything but seal the deal and put the gators back against their own endzone.
• Samuel took it from there with the help of the offensive line. Smash mouth. "We're going to run this down your throat so line up and try to stop us!!"
• Back to the defense. As honored as I was to watch that in person Saturday night, it was nearly as joyous on the television rewatch. If Jarvis Jones can get Nat'l PotW honors for 5 tackles, 4 sacks when he was being held every other play...I'm glad he feels he's not ready for the NFL.
• It was across the field from our end zone seats the other night and I thought it was a safety then. Now I'm just sure of it.

Most importantly, congrats to Kasyn Olividotti who is now in remission. It's one thing to knock out the month of October. Quite another to kick cancer's ass. 


Big hugs for Kasyn!

Bulldog Hotline redux, gators

Other than some moments in idiocy (see: Doug in Cumming and Steve in St. Simons), which likely could be contributed to brain freezes while on the line...or too many Trick or Treat Pixie Stix...not a whole lot on last night's call in show. Most callers wanted to congratulate Richt on the win, and deservedly so.


I did catch one thing that was interesting to me. Not a whole lot was known as to why Israel Troupe didn't make the trip to Jacksonville. On Saturday most of us were simply concerned that his, Wooten and especially Mitchell's absence made us uncomfortably thin at wide receiver.


Of course it played out just fine as the receivers were absolutely fantastic against the Gators. Bennett and King both grabbed clutch 4th down catches for touchdowns. Brown kept an early scoring drive alive with a 3rd down catch. Walk on Brett McGowan got us a first down with his second career catch. And when we knew we'd have single coverage wide and needed a big time play, Murray found Conley for a third time - all three of which went for first downs.


Big players make big plays. And those guys did it the Georgia way. 


Which leads me back to Troupe. The WLOCP is circled on the calendar each year by coaches, players and fans alike. A lot of the locker room cleansing in the off season helped contribute to that win. Hard to imagine last year's team overcoming that early 17-3 deficit. And now it seems Richt still isn't entertaining any Energy Vampires, not even a couple days before Halloween.

Gary in Atlanta says Richt showed a lot of class by not rubbing it in at the end, unlike some former Florida coaches. Asks about Israel Troupe’s health and if Bogatay will get a chance on special teams at least as far as kickoffs. Richt – says Troupe just wasn’t 100%. Still getting over some injuries and they wanted people there who could go full speed and could “do things the Georgia way”. 

Maybe I'm reading between the lines. Maybe not. Regardless, the message is still crystal clear: you're on the bus, or you're not.

Gators' nuclear meltdown

Whether you're looking to bask in the glow of their continued 2011 failure or for an honest and forthright assessment of things in Muschamp's first season, you won't get much better than Spencer Hall's sixth grade science project gone bad.

But don't say this is all necessary. It's not. Meyer's struggles in his first year got him to nine wins. [NAME REDACTED] learned and unlearned basic arithmetic on the job and still won seven games. This team will lose to Vanderbilt. This team will lose to South Carolina. This team will lose to Florida State, and they will miss a bowl game for the first time since the pre-Spurrier era. That is not good coaching. That's failure, and boring, depressing failure at that. At least fight James Franklin at the fifty when you're done losing to Vandy, Will, and thus give us something to cheer about. Gut a reporter mid-question, or sleep in a tree stand on campus and when someone asks you what you're doing, whisper "hunting, son. Hunting."

Go mildly insane just to keep us all awake. Don't go pointing to a crack in the model and tell us it's a goddamn feature. That's bullshit, and there's enough of it on the field to feed us all for the next year or so with ease.

After watching Muschamp's charges fail to draw us offsides when they used a timeout in order to set it up...I hope he has a long and happy history in the swampland.

The Walking Dead in Oxford

Things may have hit a new low for Houston Nutt.

Players are one thing Giggety. But the cheerleaders too?!? Damn coach!

Mumme Poll - week nine

No time spent at all on slots one and two, for at least another week. But that being said, I will probably struggle some next week over how far to drop the loser of Saturday night's game of the century if the game is as close as expected. Is a one loss Bama or LSU on November 6th better than Boise? I'll probably think so.

It took a good amount of time to figure out where the other 8 teams factored in for me though. And this is the first week that I probably spent over 20 minutes deliberating. Not sure completely on the order of 3-10. But after I take stock of the teams I have just outside looking in - South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Houston, Kansas State and Michigan - I do feel comfortable with the ones I have in there.

SEC Today - 10/31/11

Teams that are not so special...WTF?

Eight games into the season and I'm still trying to wrap my head around our special teams. Blair Walsh is taking the brunt of it, but obviously there is evidence that the problems are much more widespread. And now it may have caught up to Drew Butler who had an average of 34 yards a punt against Florida.


What the hell is going on?

• Field goals. You have to try Bogatay, right? It's to the point that Walsh is doing more than hurting the team. His psyche seems as strong as his leg, but no one can withstand the pressure he has to be feeling at this point.
• Kickoffs. Again, you have to try Bogatay, right? I mean, this is what he was brought here to do. A dagger turns inside my heart every time we miss a field goal attempt, but a close second to that are the kickoffs that fail to reach the endzone. Walsh was putting them as deep as you needed on a consistent basis early in the season.
• Coverage. Saturday was awful. Bad enough that it nearly cost us the game. And as I remarked afterwards, this was after a bye week when we had the extra time to work on these things. Did our coverage team get fat and lazy when Walsh had seven touchbacks in a row against South Carolina? I don't know. But we're beyond looking for band-aids at this point. Use the Homecoming cupcake to try a different approach, new personnel, both...a sacrificial chicken...acupuncture........helium in the pigskin (ala Jackie Sherrill for you oldtimers).
• Returns. We're reactionary in our approach. Say what you want about Urban Meyer, but his special teams were top notch. They should've taken a step back this season, and I just didn't see it Saturday. Because we just go through the motions setting up and executing a return. Boykin is down to a very pedestrian 22 yards a return this season. He averaged 18 yards Saturday. We've gone from thunder and lightning to a light drizzle around the 20 yard line.

No one is functioning at an SEC level on special teams. And with Butler, Walsh and Boykin returning for the senior season it seemed this would be a special year to watch them. As Phil Dunphy would say, Why the face?

Monday's Meatloaf - taking the road less traveled

(Scene: a car along the interestates between here and there. The usual gloom and doom that travels with the car is noticeably absent.)

The tastes of victory

Bernie (smiling): I'd forgotten what this feels like. No endless hangover. The leftover taste of the cigar and a few empty bourbon bottles sure. But no regret and abject despair to go with it. 


Later, Bernie arrives home and greets his family.


7yo: Daddy, we beat Florida!
Bernie: I know Honey! They just couldn't score on our Dawgs!
9yo: Daddy we saw you on tv. You were wearing your red shirt!
Bernie (thinking to himself): Gosh, I hope the mic wasn't too close. 


Our Dawg fan then leans over to kiss the wife, smiles...and reflects on the road. Both the one in the rear view and the one ahead. For once, the one ahead is even better lit and has fewer potholes than the one behind.


Today's Ingredients

• You know I thought there was a costume change with about 4 minutes left. ecdawg has the pics to prove floriDuh fans changed into empty seats.
• The last time Georgia beat Florida and Tennessee in the same season, 1988. 
• And The Senator found another stat from not so ancient history.
• I couldn't care less about any argument on the level of the competition or the schedule. I'll take headlines like this any day. Georgia is back. 
• Coach Richt isn't looking to make any switch from Walsh to Bogatay after another game in which we struggled with field goals.
• Hamp guarantees something Muschamp should have predicted: second half offensive absolute futility.
• Martin Van Dawgin catches us up on a new fad that is taking a knee all across the world. Even little boys in the Phillipines...
• Any talk of a job saving win for CMR should be saved for December. But after giving up a 70+ yard pass on the opening play, the defense shut down the Gators' hobbled offense. 
• So perhaps Richt's first Christmas card should go to Grantham. Thanks for the "decided schematic advantage" in Jax Coach. GATA"
• The winning formula has never been just Nama and myself. So shout-outs to Cord and Fisk for chaperoning. It turned out to not be a thankless job afterall.

Trick or treat Johnny? Either way,
you going down.

College football can be cyclical enough to make you either giddy or sick. It turns and rotates and sometimes you just have to hold on and close your eyes for a while. Florida has had a couple down years since <quote>college football was invented in 1990<unquote>. But they are grasping a little more today than they were in 2002 and 2005, the last years they were rebuilding with a new coach.


Muschamp guaranteed something his sideline antics couldn't produce. It's one thing to throw tantrums when you're winning games in September. Going ofer in October exposes them for what they are. And tomorrow is November. The Gaturds will be trying to salvage a season and earn a bowl berth. 


Meanwhile Mark Richt emerges in the heat of the SEC East race. Suddenly his seat isn't nearly as hot as his game. But it's no time to sit down to test the exact temperature. His team didn't sit down when they were down 17-3. And the fans didn't sit down either. When you're taking the road that leads to a December Saturday in Atlanta, you let your feet do the walking and the talking. Little William might learn that one day. Right now he's having a hard enough time getting through grade school. He promised a fanbase drunk on success a shining diploma. And now a GED seems out of reach.


Have a great Halloween Reader. If you're dressed as Jarvis, try not to scare the kids too bad. Unless they're lil Brantleys. Some things are inevitable.


Bernie

Happy Dawgsoween!!

Or is it DawgsoWIN!

h/t crob

WLOCP Highlights

Jarvis' sack

Conley's grab



Samuel TD



King TD

Sundays Thoughts - HBTD!!!

It feels so nice to be on the winning end of this thing for once. The whole experience is different. You get to look down on their fans as they head for the exits. And this morning we can continue to look down on them in the SEC East standings.

- Terrific game. Really proud of the guys in red and black. HOW BOUT THEM DAWGS!!!
- To overcome the special team blunders and erase a 17-3 deficit is really something to be proud of.
- The defense played even better than I expected. I think Grantham has had this game circled for a year. They played lights out.
- The one long kickoff return they had definitely came after a fair catch signal. But still is no excuse for providing such a wide lane for the return.
- And then the defense held them to a field goal. Made lemonade out of lemons.
- Great call by Bobo to let Murray throw late to help seal the deal. Great throw and great grab by Conley.
- Awesome to see Samuel running downhill into the endzone. That was a big statement. Offense just decided it would happen and made it so.
- Another great statement I thought was when they were determined to draw us offsides on that fourth down at midfield. We didn't flinch. And Muschamp's squad blinked first.
- Welcome back to the cocktail party Will. It's not a party for fake juice.

Safe travels everyone. See y'all in Athens!