"Miracle on the Plains" to air tomorrow morning

You've been warned:

Awesome. Set your DVRs, 1996's "Miracle on the Plains" airs on SEC Network tomorrow morning at 4:30am. All Hail Bobo to Allen! #Dawgs
— Bernie (@BernieDawg) December 16, 2014

And if you're Robert Baker, hold onto your man parts. "That Uga'll bite you!"
— Bernie (@BernieDawg) December 16, 2014

Bauerle and UGA breathe sighs of relief

The gist is Bauerle found to have operated beyond his realm as a coach in providing and attempting to provide academic benefits for a student athlete and not "promoting an atmosphere of compliance". But the university doesn't suffer any probation as a result of the findings. Overall, that's a win-win as Bauerle keeps his job and UGA Swimming and Diving can continue to compete freely.

Although they will do so without Bauerle for the next nine meets during his suspension. Here's the link to the ruling and here's the ABH writeup by Fletcher Page.

Grantham. Tremendous.

I've decided to piggy back on Estes' work in combining all of the thought provoking quotes and summarize yesterday's UGA Media teleconference with Louisville's defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.

Put your thesaurus down folks. This should only take a sec.

Leaving Athens
"Tremendous decision on my part. Tremendous chance to unite with my brother, coach with a tremendous offensive mind, and pursue an ACC/National Title. Both of which we were tremendously close to this year. Well, at least one of them."

Facing Bobo
"Tremendous opportunity. Bobo is a tremendous offensive mind. Petrino, of course, is tremendouser. But still, Bobo is real good at doing what he's trying to do." 

"(whispers to himself)...carry the one, add the 2...Hey Mike, we winning?"
"Yeh Todd. We're winning."

Facing Bobo's players
"Houston Madsun is tremendously patient, waited his turn behind the other guy. Andrew Davidson is a tremendously tough center. Georgia is a tough, physical team. It's tough, really."

The Georgia players he stole took in
"Did a tremendous job for our scout team, which in turn helped them avoid pesky appointments to give urine samples to Coach Richt. Those things were a tremendous hindrance on my depth chart while at Georgia."

Stopping Chubb
"We won't. Not completely. He's real good at running the football, which is also something he wants to do when he gets the football. Have to avoid the long gains. It presents as a tremendous challenge."

On facing old faces
"I don't really give a shit about that. We had a tremendous season here. Other than Omarlo Wilson and Quincy Swann I don't even remember those guys' names."

On Pruitt
"He's a very good coach in what he's trying to do. I have no clue what the hell that means. And you probably don't either. But it sounds like I'm saying something nice when really it makes no sense whatsoever."

On possibility of giving the Georgia sideline the choke sign
"Nah. I knew I'm awesome. No reason to rub it in. I mean, my defense was tremendous in our time there. 8-1 against some rival teams I'm going to try and list for you in a second. I mean, nevermind it had more to do with the offense outscoring Florida, Auburn, Tennessee and Georgia Tech and Auburn and also Vanderbilt..oh wait... Again, Mike (Bobo) is a very tremendous coach in what he's trying to do."

Anything else?
"I like Belk belts. And also tater tots. You're welcome for the time this morning. You're welcome."

Chubb v Holliman, advantage #27

After leading the nation in interceptions this season and winning the Jim Thorpe Award last week, Louisville safety Gerod Holliman has declared for the 2015 NFL draft (h/t Macon Dawg). So sometime on the evening of December 30th, Nick Chubb breaks free into the Cardinals' second level with one man in his path...

Holliman has a split second to get into position, ready his body for impact, and secure the ball carrier to the ground.

Or, see the dollar signs, make a half-hearted effort, and protect his livelihood.

At the center of the matter

For kicks and giggles, heading into bowl practice Emerson takes an early look at the 2015 depth chart. Probably the biggest question of the off season for the offense will be replacing Boss Andrews. Center is such a key position, and Andrews was a legitimate Rimington Trophy candidate this season. Not to mention the offensive MVP.

Sure, the new starting quarterback battle will get plenty of ink and page hits between now and next August. But we know Ramsey is the heir apparent. Who snaps the ball to him is truly up in the air.

Emerson lists Isaiah Wynn, Josh Cardiello, Hunter Long, and Kolton Houston as the candidates. I would add Brandon Kublanow in there as well. Much will depend on how some of those newer faces develop and where the key pieces fit.

The good news is that regardless, Will Friend is looking at four returning starters. That makes a lot of Dawg fans smile.

"Where's your Christmas spirit? An eye for an eye!"

Don't let the tinsel distract you. Only five more days to get your entry into the bowl pool.

#Festivus4TheDawgNus
password = thehumanfund

And another fake charity was born onto this day...

Early look at potential Dawg draftees

All that's left of the 2014 season is a bowl game for Georgia. So with many looking at the 2015 NFL draft thought we'd take a moment as well. There was quite a bit of talent on the roster for the Bulldogs this year. Here’s a look at a few potential draftees.

Leonard Floyd

Most mock drafts seem to be sold on Leonard Floyd to be the first Georgia player off the board, should he decide to declare early. He might not go very high, but he is a pretty talented player who could play either defensive end or outside linebacker at the next level. He probably will not be taken until the 2nd half of the 1st round at the earliest, but he is a very talented pass rusher.

Todd Gurley

The trend in the last few years has been to wait for a running back in the NFL draft. Despite his recent knee injury and subsequent surgery, Gurley could be one of those rare guys who goes in the 1st round as a very dynamic running back in 2015. He has a chance to be a fantasy football superstar, and that is enough of an incentive for a playoff team to take him near the end of the 1st round. There is a chance he slips to the 2nd, but if rehab goes well, he is still the most dynamic running back in the draft.

Ramik Wilson

A lot of different teams in the NFL need help at inside linebacker, so Wilson will be talked about as early as the middle of the 2nd round. At this stage in the game, he is probably going to go somewhere in the range of middle of the 2nd to middle of the 3rd. He is a very solid player who has good discipline at his position. Expect him to earn playing time right away.

Jordan Jenkins

Yet another pass rusher that is draft eligible, Jenkins is obviously a step below Floyd right now in the draft gurus' eyes. He is going to find a spot in the NFL though, whether it's in 2015 or following his senior season in Athens. And if its sooner rather than later, he could sneak into the last part of the 2nd round if he works out well. More than likely, he will fall into the 3rd round and provide decent value for any team willing to give him a look.

We'll continue to look at some more of the draft eligible Dawgs in the coming weeks to see where they may land to continue their playing careers.

Hey Toddles, the truth is in the statisticals man.

When writing about an upcoming matchup, I'm one that usually falls back on statistics to find some angle or glean some other curiosity. And that's what Brad did here when comparing Grantham's run defense to Bobo's rush offense.

Here's the crux of his findings:

Georgia, of course, did much of their work while many of its stable of running backs missed several games for a number of reasons.  So it would seem that while the numbers look even going in, that the Bulldogs do have a decided advantage in the rush game vs. the Louisville defense.

Just like when Grantham was here in Athens, a lot of smoke and mirrors.

And ol' Todd has been blowing a lot of smoke about his defense. To his credit, they have been impressive in his first season. But Brad's right that the truth is in the numbers. At least right up until kickoff. A large part of why Georgia's rushing attack was so consistently dominant, despite the state of flux at the running back position, was due to the offensive line having such a great season.

The Bobo vs Grantham angle will continue to be the more intriguing story leading up to the bowl game, and most certainly during it as well. But Georgia's offensive coordinator is going to need those hosses up front o have a game more like Auburn than Georgia Tech if the Dawgs are going to get to that 10th win.

Hawkinsville's own Charles Johnson

Always love to hear of people giving back to their community. Down in Hawkinsville, a former Dawg great is helping to rebuild his former school.

In recent years, the Lumpkin Street School in Hawkinsville, Georgia, one of 500 Georgia equalization schools built for African-American students during segregation, has fallen into disrepair. The town’s Deacons and Stewards Association wants to turn the space into a community center and museum, and a former Georgia football player is helping to make that happen.

Charles Johnson (M ’08), through the Charles Johnson Foundation (CJF), has issued a $25,000 challenge grant to renovate the school. The challenge, which states that CFJ will donate $25,000 to match the $25,000 that the Deacons and Stewards Association raises, has been instrumental in gaining donations for the project from other organizations.

This isn’t the first time Charles Johnson has helped out his hometown. The captain for the Carolina Panthers has donated funds to support Parent Cafes for single mothers, sponsored women to attend the Pulaski Tomorrowprogram, donated to other middle Georgia foundations, and has provided scholarships to Pulaski County students during his organization’s annualCommunity Weekend in Hawkinsville.

Thanks to Katherine of the ALumni Assoc. for sharing this story. And keep up the great work Mr. Johnson!

Bowl practices are on a rigid diet

Something I just can't get my head around is Georgia only having nine practices leading up its bowl game against Louisville. Casually mentioned it yesterday, then listened to Emerson and Estes talk some about it on their podcast. So I looked, but can't seem to find anything from Louisville on what their schedule will be like.

Usually there's about a week of practices before travel/Holiday break time, then about a normal week of practices before the bowl. Once school is out the coaches aren't limited by NCAA restrictions on time. However, the academic calendar coupled with the earlier bowl slot on December 30th is cutting into the practices on the front end, the ones in Athens where coaches can get back down to fundamentals.

For what it's worth, Louisville's exams end one day before UGA's. From my glances through the Cardinals' local media it doesn't appear that they're practicing right now (exams started yesterday). I guess on one hand I'm concerned that the preparation may not be equal for the Belk Bowl. On the other, it'd be nice for some of the younger players to get more reps than they'll get in Athens late next week.

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UPDATE - Weiszer shared that at the Belk Bowl press conference yesterday Petrino said Louisville would start bowl practices Friday and then go daily on campus beginning next Wednesday. So it sounds like they will get at least a couple more practices in than Georgia.