Athens, GA. Gameday.

Courtesy of Sonny Kennedy, this is impressive cinema.

h/t BassinDawg

GSU - what to look for

Early kickoff to this one. So let's get to it and then head towards Athens!

• Special teams. First thing we must do in special teams is protect well on each punt. One thing that could really complicate things today is giving up easy yards and/or points. Secondarily, and on a more global scale, it would be nice to continue to see progress in all areas of the kicking game. Morgan seems to have gotten a good rhythm and Barber is really getting a good foot into the ball. The only thing that didn't really take a step forward the last couple weeks is the return game. Would love to see McGowan take one to the house today.

Just don't try this eh?

• Line of scrimmage. The offensive line should be able to get some confidence today while the defensive line will have their hands full. Keeping them in long yardage situations is key and that starts with the defensive front.
• Rushing yardage. Can we keep up with them on the ground? I think that we can. I'm guessing the offensive game plan will be to run the ball...a lot! Keep the clock moving and pass enough to keep them honest.

Should be a beautiful day in Athens. Hope y'all have a great day!

Friday Misery - don't get Mambo Gook'd

(BTW...Gurshall just reeled off another 12 yard gain in Jordan-Hare. Bobo yawned.)

And now back to your regularly scheduled misery....

Tortured, uneasy feeling
Still uneasy about this game. The common expression this week has been something along the lines of "I hope we can avoid injuries." Yes, definitely. But isn't that a goal every week? Instead I wonder how focused we are and how prepared we are to face a team I would classify as a trojan horse cupcake. Usually when there is an FCS team on the schedule you can prepare for just a smaller, less athletic version of yourself.

Georgia Southern is a machine. And one that works in a different manner than most all of the others. Which makes them especially dangerous. Most of their players don't have all the "stars" that guys in the mighty SEC have, but they have more than enough "want to" and "hustle". And experience. No, they're not the same team that put a shit stain in Uncle Nicky's tightey whiteys last season. But they know as well as any team in America what it takes to win football games.

Holy shit Southern! Pass the goddamn ball. At least once...

I remember when we played these guys in 2000 when they had the original Adrian Peterson. We won by what appears to be a comfortable 29-7 margin, but that kid ran for what seemed like 780 yards. And that was just the first half. And the next week Quincy smoked a bowl, jumped up and down pregame and then threw 780 interceptions against South Carolina...in the first quarter.

But I digress....

These Eagles will put a scare into us. Take that to the bank. I'm predicting a tense halftime that eventually brings about an arduous third quarter that somehow relents to our depth and talent. But nearly a 40 point spread? Really? No, put away the sportsbook. The points are too much if you ask me.

Gap integrity
Defensively, tomorrow is about discipline and keeping the Eagles in long yardage. I summarily reject the notion that this is a "tune-up" game for some clean old fashioned hate next week. Seven days from now we will have spent two weeks preparing for this offensive scheme - the cut blocks, the option reads and the misdirection. As it stands right now we've only spent a handful. So tomorrow will require focus.

Or, in the man's own words:

The "Mambo Gook" story goes like this: A young Georgia Tech engineering graduate had been working in the oil fields of Saudi Arabia for around six months. He was about to go stark raving mad because the only women that he had seen in Arabia were those dressed in the long gowns with the veils covering their faces. The women were not very friendly at all. As a matter of fact, he hadn't spoken to one since he had been working there.

Frying fish..no time for talking to sheiks.

He had been used to the feminine pulchritude of Peachtree Street in Atlanta and missed that scenery and his feminine companionship more than anything else. As he was sitting in the little bar at the golf course there in Saudi Arabia, he happened to be seated next to one of the local sheiks.

This particular sheik had spent some time in the United States and conversed with the young engineer as best he could with the little English he could speak. As they sipped on their drinks the young engineer expressed to the sheik that he liked everything fine, except he really missed the feminine companionship that he once enjoyed back in Atlanta. The sheik could get enough out of the conversation to understand what the young man meant. He promised the engineer that he would have, from his harem, one of his wives waiting for him when he got off from work the following afternoon.

Well, the young engineer hustled and worked through the day. He could hardly wait until quitting time. As he approached his tent, he saw this woman standing out front with her long gowns and veil. He figured that she knew why she was there and he surely knew why she was there, so he wouldn't waste any time. He picked her up right there at the tent flap, rushed her inside, threw her down on the cot and commenced to making wild, passionate love to the woman. Immediately she began to shout, "Mambo Gook," "Mambo Gook." She repeated that over and over and over again. The young engineer figured this was an Arabian expression of ecstasy.

Well, it didn't take too long for the young man to finish the first round and as soon as he relaxed his grasp, the woman still screaming, "Mambo Gook," ran through the tent flap and disappeared across the desert, continuing to scream, "Mambo Gook."

The next day the young engineer and the local sheik had made arrangements to play golf and the young engineer wanted a chance to thank the sheik for his courtesy of having the woman there. As they played the first hole, the sheik hit a magnificent shot, straight to the green, the ball hit, bounced and rolled right into the cup. It was a great golf shot and the young engineer wanted to express the greatness of that shot with something more than the usual, "Nice shot," or, "Great shot." The thought of the Arabian expression of ecstasy occurred to him, and he said, "Mambo Gook, sheik, Mambo Gook.".

The sheik turned to him, looked at him with amazement and said, "What do you mean, wrong hole?"

-  pages 50-51, from Erk: Football, Fans and Friends 

The message is...gap integrity should never be compromised: "If you think you're coming my way, that's the wrong hole brother, because you ain't gonna make nothin' here." That and the life of an engiNerd is lonely, then pathetic and then lonely again.

But the first message is what is crucial. Stand your ground Dawgs. Survive and advance, then let's ring the Chapel Bell! Once again in the words of the legend - "There ain't nothin' like being a Bulldog on Saturday night - - - after winning a football game!!"

GATA y'all!

SEC Kickoff with Vince Dooley

Coach Dooley recaps last week and prepares us this weekend's slate.

Playoff?!?! Talkin' bout playoffs?!?

Ok all you playoff geeks, Travis Haney has your crack pipe. Light er up.

(5) Georgia at (4) Alabama

Bell's line: Tide by 13

Turns out, we'd get the see the SEC title game after all -- except it would be played in Bryant-Denny instead of UGA's backyard.

Some, including ESPN colleague Christian Fauria, are calling for the Bulldogs to beat Bama in December. I just don't see it. Georgia did break through for the first top-10 win in years when it beat Florida, but another one would seem to be a stretch.

We thought Alabama was invincible about a month ago, but that was before the Tide's schedule really picked up. There are now swirling questions about T.J. Yeldon's ball security and the ability of the team's corners to cover and tackle. Generally, the shine is off the crimson helmets right now.

Still, in a big game, it's difficult to fancy Georgia as an equal. Shaking off the A&M loss, Alabama gets back to what it does: running and playing defense. It grinds out a victory.

Our pick: Alabama 24, Georgia 10

Happy?

"Gearing down" for Georgia Southern

Folks, this is a special game. To some it may not appear as such. And beginning with this post and carrying through tomorrow's Misery I will explain why. Because as it was pointed out to me by Ron and John, this is a week when the Dawgs have to get after it...hard. In short, it's a Mambo Gook kind of week:

"We had two weeks to prepare for the Yellow Britches, and we needed to prepare well...I even went back and pulled "Mambo Gook" out one more time. Usually, I just told it before the season began, but we needed something extra."

And we're going to need something extra as well. I'm going to divide this into two parts. Let's tackle the football side of things first.

1. I don't feel good about this game. There's no doubt in my mind that it is the tougher of the two remaining regular season games. It's a jolting experience to switch to first gear when you're cruising along in fifth. And that's what this feels like. Don't get me wrong, I think we win. But it's not going to be easy. Georgia Southern is a well coached team comprised of players that aren't used to losing. Fans look at this weekend on the schedule and think cupcake. But just ask any defensive player this week if it feels like they're gearing up for a birthday party. After a week of full pads it probably feels more like gearing down for a root canal. 
2. Then there's the Erk Russell meme. I feel as if the two fanbases are at odds over who loves the man more, when he's one of those rare personalities that can handle all of us. Georgia and Georgia Southern can't play each other without the man who brought the concept of Junkyard Dawgs to Athens and built the Eagle program from the ground up becoming central to the discussion. Hell, I look at it this way: Erk helped give us a taste of what true dominance (the play on the field and the overall mindset) could feel like, and then he went and built that very thing in Statesboro. The Eagles are to the FCS what the Dawgs want to be in the FBS...champions. Consistent champions.

There's no doubt in my mind that the grit and determination that the Georgia Southern program was built on came from the practice field at the University of Georgia. Eagle fans should be thankful for that (and they are...very much so). As for Georgia fans, we should appreciate that at a time when we turned our back on a founding father and one of our program's most beloved figures, another one saw fit to take him in.

Coaching hotseat odds - UPDATED

Considering I'm someone who will be more interested in the 2013 Super Bowl prop bets than the actual game, take these for what they're worth before actually wagering. I'm no handicapper, but here's what I think happens in:

via Bassindawg

• Auburn. Chizik hasn't coached his last game on the plains, but he's nearing the end of his final season. And given that at best the Iron Bowl will be his last game on the sideline for the Tigers, he should consider this weekend's match as his swan song. This bet would be considered "off the board". 100% guarantee. I would venture a guess as to who they get as a replacement, but let's face it...they went to Iowa and hired this guy. The sky is the limit, regardless of the amount of money they would owe the current coaches once they're canned. But just for kicks and giggles - Petrino at 5%.
• Knoxville. Dooley will be gone. It's as good as a slam dunk. Once Vanderbilt beats the Vols we can officially rename James Franklin as the "Coach Killer", having beaten Joker Phillips, Gene Chizik and Derek Dooley on their way out the door. (Keep in mind this moniker could be given to a number of coaches to face and beat all three, but when Vandy does it that is news folks!). 99% assured...which is ninety-nine percentage points more than the chance that Gruden takes over for Dooley. And even though they're flirting with Petrino, don't bet on that either.
• N. Avenue. They keep frying fish. PJ stays...99% sure. Which leaves a 1% chance the AJC buys out the remainder of Johnson's contract and makes him their chief spokesperson. Having an interim AD helps some, but being in the thick of the ever competitive ACC Coastal division championship also helps. If the engiNerds can get by perennial power Duke this weekend, they may just give he guy an extension. Al Groh who?
• Lexington. As the rumors of Petrino die down, I think they pick up just as quickly the last week of November. But in the end I think they go with the Falcons OC, Dirk Koetter. Or possibly someone like Gus Malzahn. For the sake of argument let's say Koetter at 25%, while I would put Petrino at 3%. (I still think Petrino will need a solid year with no train bike wrecks while performing well as a coordinator in the NFL or the head coach at a program in a smaller conference before landing an SEC gig. Just a thought.)
• Fayetteville. Latest news has Bo Pelini as a possibility. I'm not so sure the Arkansas job is more attractive than Nebraska (especially considering that Nebraska may end up in the BIG 12 B1G Championship in a couple weeks), but perhaps the lure of coaching in the SEC is that strong. <...cue Jim Delaney tears...> Still I like a splashy hire here. I would've put my money on Patterson, but with all the MaryJane trafficking problems in Fort Worth he's nearly as sketchy a hire as Petrino was and is.

Meanwhile Coach Richt will just sit back and smile, before deciding which recruits to allow back into his good graces.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

UPDATE: a local Krystal's (and given the fact that it's a Krystal's, almost assuredly is owned by a Bama fan) kicks Chizik while he's down.

via War Eagle Reader

Good weekend for shopping?

Black Friday is still more than a week away, but this Saturday might be a good time to get a head start on shopping, Christmas tree trimming, other decorating prep (careful on those ladders y'all!), and maybe even yardwork.

Egads!

When the most interesting game in the SEC involves whether Vanderbilt can beat Tennessee...it's bad. Granted, the game between Arkansas and Missy State is more interesting than fighting crowds at the mall. And watching LSU-Ole Miss in the 3:30 CBS time slot is better than stringing lights on the rooftop. But if you have to do that stuff on a Saturday, this might be a good one to do it.

Jarvis is grumpy

(meant to post this earlier this morning and it somehow slipped out of the queue...)

And I don't feel so good myself.

via

Focus...but with one eye on the scoreboard

I read the headline to this story by Paschall on the players looking at the teams ahead of them in the BCS and prepared for my blood pressure to start to rise. The last thing the Dawgs need is to get ahead of themselves in thinking about greener pastures when difficult and tenacious opponents are 'tween the hedges the next two weekends.

"We got out of the locker room after the Ole Miss game, and we were all just sitting there," linebacker Christian Robinson said Tuesday. "No one left because we were all watching Notre Dame [top Pittsburgh in triple overtime]. Everybody in the nation knows we're cheering for other teams, because at this point it's the only way we would have a chance of getting in."

They're kids/young men and are attempting to garner more of the national spotlight. That's kind of exciting...as long as the focus only shifts after the game. Or like Aaron Murray says:

"I'm definitely going to be watching the Kansas State, Oregon and Notre Dame matchups the next three weeks to see if two of them will lose," Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Murray said. "It definitely excites our guys. There is nothing wrong with thinking big and dreaming big as long as we make sure we focus on the next two weeks and finish the regular season strong."

Yes, finish strong and the stakes rise significantly. Especially if that scoreboard watching provides us with a couple upsets. Then the SEC Championship game could be the play-in game that Georgia and Alabama are hoping for on December 1st.