I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year! Thanks for "uniting" with us in 2007 and we look forward to uniting more Dawgs in 2008. After that embarrassment in Knoxville, I don't think anyone thought 2007 would turn out the way it did for the Dawgs. 2008 looks very promising, and I can't wait to kick it all off with the Sugar Bowl on Tuesday.
Word on the street is there is a movement underway to turn New Orleans black on New Year's Day. I know what everyone is thinking - "That scoundrel Mayor Ray Nagin and his repulsive attempts to build a homogeneous city!" But, the villian is this experiment in eugenics is none other than Evil Mark Richt, and he just wants you to show up in your duds from the Auburn game. Apparently, the players get to keep the jerseys from the bowl game because of the Sugar Bowl patches that are sewn on. So, they'll get to keep the black jerseys this year.
Now that the BCS selection process is in the rearview mirror, I'm getting more and more excited about the Dawgs playing Hawaii. It makes for some interesting story lines, and only one bowl game counts for something anyway. It is much better than another matchup with Wisconsin and it's a chance to see my third-favorite former Falcons coach from the 1990s in action.
Who among us does not love the Run & Shoot?
This time of year, the biggest news in college football is the coaching merry-go-round. So far, the best news for Dawg fans broke yesterday, as Tennessee Offensive Coordinator David Cutcliffe was hired on to be the head coach for the Blue Devils of Duke University. He was an assistant at UT from 1982-1998 and 2006-2007. So, while he was at UT, Georgia went 1-10, with the one win in 1988 when Cutcliffe was just coaching the tight ends. In his absence, Georgia has gone 14-9-2, including 4-2 in the 1999-2005 stretch. Plus, the guy recruited and groomed Heath Shuler, Peyton Manning, and Eli Manning, and turned around Erik Ainge's career. So, all things considered, it's good to see him leave.
Sadly, Ed Orgeron was made redundant at Ole Miss and we will have to wish him well. Hopefully, he is still making commercials for car dealerships.
In roundball action, the team is taking a break after the beatdown they put on Wake Forest. They travel to none other than Hawaii for the Rainbow Classic, starting December 20. It will be fun to see if the basketball team ends up facing the Warriors right before the football team does it. The only other squad of note in the eight-team field is St. Johns. This is a good opportunity for the Dawgs to pick up some wins before facing Georgia Tech (who isn't very good this year) and conference opponents. In part due to the dismissals of Takais Brown and Mike Mercer, some talented young guys are seeing a lot of playing time. I still have my fingers crossed that Felton can salvage a decent season and continue building towards worldwide dominance. Perhaps a February Saturday would be a good time for a DOTWU convergence on Athens to catch the action in person.
No National Championship game, no Rose Bowl, no USC. Disappointment. Unabashed profanity directed at Herbie and ESPN. At least the AP (who has no integrity) had the integrity to understand the difference between reporting the news and creating the news, and quit participating in the BCS decision. Not so for the folks at the other "World Wide Leader in Sports," who have no shame in telling the pollsters how to vote.
C'est la vie. That's in the past now.
If one thing is certain, it's that the Dawgs can't depend on other teams to do their dirty work. We can all bellyache about how if South Carolina/Vandy/Kentucky had taken care of UT, we'd have mopped up the corndogs and be headed to the biggest game. That's in the past, and it is time to win 15 in a row, starting with the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii. This time next year, they'll be talking about how the Dawgs have won their last 20 games.
All we know about the opponent right now is that they are headed up by a former Falcons coach, their quarterback throws for something like 500 yards a game, and a win by the Dawgs will open up the Pacific Rim for recruiting.
I'm talkin' about these bad boys! On the O-Line!
So buck up, pardner. We've got a great shot at going 11-2 and finishing in the top five. That sets up great for next year. New Orleans is driving distance and is great for New Year's Eve. Plus, there should be plenty of tickets at cheap prices. Let's just hope the team watches the first half of that UGA-WV Sugar Bowl about 20 times between now and then and remembers what happens when you aren't fired up for the bowl opponent.
I'm just holding out hope for a possible Rose Bowl...AP and Coach's Poll are out and both have us at #4. Looks like we're off to a "No Win" bowl game against f'ing Hawaii.
Despite their best attempt to send a Big East Representative to the BCS Championship game, the officiating crew of the Pitt/West Virginia game couldn't overcome Wannstedt's mustache...It's got to be the stache!
All the talking heads seem to think that LSU will jump us in the BCS; who knows??? The BCS selection show is Sunday night at 8:00pm on Fox. College Football News (as of 11:50pm Sat. Night) has the following projection for the BCS National Championship Game:
As I type this, Sports Center is on in the background and no one is giving the Dawgs a shot in the Poll...the consensus seems to be LSU...What a crazy year!
Richt just came on Sports Center; made some good points lobbying for the Dawgs...We'll see what happens...
