Jonesin' on the river card

I admit my respect for the Mad Hatter has grown a little this season. But he has a way to go if he wants to sit at the big boy table. Cuz while Miles is two cards short of a straight...

...Ben Jones is all in...

Let's just hope he's all in on Saturday. Fairley's a hell of a river card.

How can we possibly win this battle?

Can we make it five in a row? Yes...but...


Just like Florida was the best defense we'll face this season, Auburn is the best offense. We nearly pulled a win out against Mallett and the Razorbacks. But Newton and the Tigers are more balanced and more effective simply because they can run the ball so well.


I'll post separately on the offense and defense later, but here's a basic yet effective recipe for a deep South win:

Hell, Battle is his last name.

• First and foremost, protect the football. Georgia's TO margin on the year is a respectable +7. But take out the two patsies and it shrinks to +2. If they give the ball to us great. But we have to make sure we don't make this game any easier than it can be for them.
• Contain Cam. I don't know that he can be stopped, unless we can get to his pre-game meal. But we have to minimize the damage Newton can do. And that means covering targets and making them earn any yards they get downfield through the air. And then it means tackling...well. Newton will get his yards, but we don't have to get all Christmasy about it.
• Early success. Whether it's a big special teams play, a turnover or just a big hit, we have to be the one to set the tone. (Maybe Tra can be this week's guest speaker. We'll let Jason Campbell introduce him...) If we can shut their we're entitled cuz we were screwed in 2004 piehole early, we can create that seed of doubt in their minds and then fertilize it from there. Cuz...
• ...we'll put up points this Saturday. The hard part will be forcing kicks as opposed to endzone celebrations, being the more physical team and stopping them short of the sticks instead of giving up that extra yard. In short, we have to want this more than they do.
• Neutralize their pass rush. Let's face it, the method of operation against Georgia's offensive line this season is to blitz. And if Idaho State can force Murray into throws, Fairley and his other plainsmen will be able to as well. Waggles, rollouts, screens would be a great place for Bobo to start.

Mumme Poll - week ten

Shake it up! Woo hoo! Shake it up!

1. Oregon
2. Auburn
3. TCU
4. Boise State
5. Nebraska
6. Stanford
7. LSU
8. Wisconsin
9. Alabama
10. Ohio State

• Top three is the same. But I do think the gap was narrowed by TCU this week. These three have clearly separated themselves if you ask me.
• But then things get rather jumbled. Boise moves up on the heels of the Bama tumble. I still like Nebraska despite the fact that their loss to Texas becomes more and more perplexing.
• As usual the bottom five was a struggle, mostly in terms of where to put LSU after an impressive win over the defending champ. I ended up putting them after Stanford, who moves up based on their complete thrashing of Arizona.
• I somewhat reluctantly put OSU back in and didn't feel it was necessary to drop Bama completely out...yet
• Just off the porch - Michigan State and Utah

Congrats to Justin Houston

One of 16 semi-finalists for the Bednarik Award for top defensive player.

Three finalists will be announced on November 22nd. He's also a semi-finalist for the Butkus Award.


Official UGA release.

Monday's Meatloaf - Shivering on the Beach

I'd like to thank the student who let me borrow his seat Saturday. I was desperate to escape the reach of the voice of the girl behind me. For some reason she thought this year's special teams are far worse and wasn't afraid to share that opinion...out loud. I guess Jon Fabris has never directionally kicked her in the craphole.

Did anybody hear something?

But more than that, I was stuck in the cold shadow of a southern skybox and in desperate need of sunshine. Luckily, many students were still in Jacksonville evidently. Or at the library, I shouldn't sell them short. But suffice it to say there was plenty of aluminum to choose from over there so I grabbed a spot and thawed out.


Ironically, it was about the same time the offense thawed out...perhaps spurred along by Rambo's pick six. Or maybe from the sound of my voice from the other side of the stadium. That is, if my voice could be heard above the thousands of conversations going on around me. I guess I had forgotten (after all these decades) what it's like to sit among the students, especially for a game against a team we didn't know existed until last Monday...or Wednesday. Whenever.


Come to think of it, it's kind of like sitting on the beach. The ocean's the main attraction, but not everyone is paying attention to it. It enters into their frame of reference when something big happens, like AJ Green casting aside defenders like a wave does an empty beach chair. And then it's back to....so I told her I wasn't going with him anyway. Like whatever!


Don't read me wrong, I'm not upset about it. Not in the least. In some ways, that was me...you know, way back then. I only ask that I not be afforded the same opportunity to switch seats on November 27th. The ocean needs our full attention from here on out.




Today's Ingredients

• Murray Poole rewinds the win over the Bengals.
• I mentioned yesterday that one of my favorite parts of Saturday's game was the celebration over Figgins' TD. Well, Big Muddy has video of the TDs that were separated by three long years.
• True freshman Alec Ogletree isn't exactly cemented back there yet, but it sounds like the starting job opposite Rambo is his to lose. 
• Vineyarddawg has his weekly You're on notice, dawg!.
• Over at Bubba 'n Earl, AU Maverick isn't looking past Georgia in the least.
• Dr. Strangedawg wonders if there's more to the grass eating story than just a pinch between cheek and gum.
• Exile believes Mr. Hyde made an appearance in Nashville this weekend.
• Kim wonders what JoePa said at halftime to rally his Nittany Lions Saturday.
• Zach Mettenberger is down to two schools - LSU and Texas A&M, Jamie Newberg reports.
• Herschel Walker couldn't make it to Athens this weekend...because he's training for his second MMA bout, against Scott Carson on December 4th.
• Speaking of MMA, if you've followed Kyle Maynard's fight to enter the ring, you'll get to see fellow Collins Hill grad Takashi Dosher's documentary of him tonight on ESPN2.
• While we drawing on inspiration, here's a story by Dink NeSmith about a UGA marjorette surviving a horrible crash a couple weeks ago.
• Personally, the fact that I actually have a studio is nearly mystery enough.
• And lastly, he ain't heavy. He's just my brother. And if you're ever in the market for a portrait, you could do a lot worse than his artistic hand.

Allow me a little space here to settle an argument. My friends, bless their hearts, can be misguided and at times even deluded. Our last Supper Club was one such occasion.

It was a chili cook off and the stakes were low, but the trash talk was reminiscent of a Coach PaJammies' instructed chop block. (I can type that because the Mirandas were on a bye week.) 

Cord inexplicably used ShaNeQua's drive thru special at Wendy's, so it was really down to my superior product, Chili Willi(s) and Nama's Last Minute Pot Squat. With only eight eligible voters, I'm not sure how the poll results got so out of hand. But clearly my Big Bad Boss half-pot was the runaway winner.


Yet for some reason my dominance was still called into question. As if a pot of chili inspired by both UGAs mascot and one of it's greatest players of all time could possibly be defeated by something that cost 99 pennies at a local drive thru window.

Luckily, now the kind folks at Bulldawg Illustrated have verified those results, as you can see here in their Dawgs to the End issue. So if you're keeping count at home, that's one wine tasting victory, a beer tasting triumph and a chili cook-off for the clean sweep.


Enjoy your Monday Reader. Don't let my victory dance get in your way.

Bernie

Sunday Thoughts, like a potato cupcake

The best parts of yesterday's game:

• Seeing the former players come home. How can you not appreciate Cliff C. Kimsey? Georgia's oldest living legend. Or the 1980 Nat'l Championship team returning to their field of Glory, Glory.
• And seeing the players sprint to Bruce Figgins and maul him after his TD catch. That was just great to watch.

Other than that the game went about as expected. I wasn't surprised that we came out a little flat after last week. And I wasn't shocked at the final score, of course. It would've been nice to see the backups put up some more points, but some miscues and dropped passes prevented that. Whatevs.

So now we ready our selves for the plain men. Cash in hand? Dictionaries ready?

Abuurn...where Spleling is a Mnior.

Famous Potato - Tavoy Moore

I wasn't going to post anything as far as scouting a team as bad as Idaho State. But I found this video of Tavoy Moore last night and just had to.


I don't think Justin Houston allows a TD on his watch. But if ISU is to reach the endzone, I think it comes on the feet of #10 by way of a punt/kick return.


Cue it up to about 1:05...

Hard to tell if that's legit SEC speed given the competition, but those are serious sick skills regardless.

Trailer for Mystery on the Mountain

First, a little context. The trip to Boulder wasn't just a kick in the ass. Something happened while we were there. Events unfolded. There was underwear on a railing. Bernie was a cornhole machine. King fumbled.

It was as if the Earth was off its axis while we painted the Rocky Mountains red.

Some of you are familiar with Nama's work with our tailgates. To address the mystery on the mountain, he's put together what may be his finest work to date. After all, it's not easy to deal with David going commando, Bernie at a loss for oxygenated air and a homeless guy who's H-O-R-S-E's version of Kobe Bryant.

So, this is the trailer...just to wet your appetite, and pique your curiosity.

Coming soon to a blawg near you.

Friday Headlines, from Nesbitt to Newton

Some famous potato'd headlines for your Friday.

• Nesbitt won't play Georgia until next year at the earliest. Surprise! I'm an idiot. Nesbitt's a senior, I thought he was a junior. So...Nesbitt is out for his last game against the Dawgs. That may sound like good news for Dawg fans, but the kid behind him nearly rallied his engiNerds to victory last night in Blacksburg in front of a raucous Lane Stadium crowd.
• Kris Durham recounts the play that caused his injury last Saturday. What's a little blood between friends?
• Akeem Hebron's career summed up in one Paschall piece. And another great piece on a Georgia LB, Page wonders if Akeem Dent's injury in August was actually divine ($$).
• Exile's Five Questions for tomorrow.
• Terrific post by Rex in regards to his 1980 team's evolution into brotherhood.
• Yesterday I laid some blame for the gator loss cautiously at Murray's feet. Meanwhile Lucid Idiocy was developing pictorial proof that it's not all his fault.
• And suddenly the spotlight is mighty hot in Auburn, Alabama. I don't expect CamGate to affect AwwBarn's QB depth chart in the least heading into our game next Saturday. I mean, if they've played him all season knowing of this issue why would that change going forward? If anything, I think we can expect Newton's best game to date.

I have tried all week to find something compelling about tomorrow's game to write about. I'm going because I love Georgia and love the Dawgs. I want to see Hutson Mason play some a lot and I want to see the 1980 Junkyards with gray hair.

But as for this ISU team, there ain't much compelling. However, if you just gotta go somewhere to get ready for them I did find a Bengal Blog. In fact, that's what it's called - The Bengal Blog!. Enjoy.

BREAKING: Cam Newton likes the cash dollar

Here's former MSU QB John Bond's full statement, per Kyle Veazey.

“During the 2009 football season, I was contacted by a former football teammate, who represented to me that he was speaking for the Newton camp.  He told me that Cam Newton wanted to play at Mississippi State, but that a specified payment would have to be made.  I reported the conversation to the Mississippi State Athletic Department.  I was told by the Athletic Department that Mississippi State would not respond to the overture that was made to me, and that Mississippi State would continue to recruit Cam Newton as it does any other football recruit.”

Also, here's a recap by Forde, Low and Schlabach.