The new Personal Foul rule

This is the biggest call in college football right now because it's going to happen mostly on 2nd or 3rd and long. It's going to be the biggest and most violent hits that are flagged whether they are legal or not.

A first down for a penalty in that situation could be game changing.

Shouldn't that penalty be eligible for instant replay? At least until refs get a better feel for what is and isn't a penalty?

PWD

Georgia: Gatekeeper to the Big Time?

In boxing, there is a type of fighter called a "gatekeeper".  He's capable and has skill.  He might have contended for championships during his career.  But, each such fighter has serious flaws that will always keep him from a title shot.  Instead, when promising young fighters come along, the gatekeepers welcome them to serious fights.  If the promising youngster beats the gatekeeper, he continues to close in on a title shot.  If not, he looks for work down at the docks.

Is this not exactly what Georgia has been the past five years?  A team that the up and coming play to gauge their progress toward the elite?  Boise State failed in 2005.  West Virginia passed.  The Pokes failed in 2007 and so did Hawai'i.  Alabama passed with flying colors last year.  Maybe Okie State passed last Saturday. 

Maybe it is just the oddities of our new scheduling philosophy, but it seems that we play a lot of teams about to emerge on the national stage.  If they beat us, then they are roundly hailed by the national media.  If they lose, they are forgotten.  West Virginia went on to top ten finishes in 2005-2007 and got as close to the national championship as we did in 2007.  Bama went on to a BCS bowl last year and look like they are on track for a similar result this year.  Time will tell about Okie State, but the breaks are falling their way so far this season (Bradford, Gresham). 

Quinton

Back from the Ledge

It could be worse. Tanneyhill could be our QB

David Ching suggests that it's time to climb back from the ledge and take a deep breath. I happen to agree. Things are never as good or bad as they seem.

Ask yourself this...after the 2007 UT game, did you think we'd go 11-2? After the 2006 UK game, did you think we'd finish the season with 9 wins including wins over three ranked teams including the #5 team in the nation?

Do I think this group is going 11-2? No. Am I annoyed by the sheer fubar nature of Saturday. Obviously. But I don't think this is freak out time yet. We just lost on the road to a team that is now ranked #5 in the nation. I still think we can go 9-3 regular season plus a win over an 8 or 9 win ACC team in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl.

If we lose this week...then it's freak out time. For me at least. Because this is looks like the least talented Gamecock squad since 1999's 0-11 unit. But right now, we're a team that played poorly offensively on the road vs. a quality opponent (and like it or not Oklahoma State was a quality team). The freaking out is a week early.

Everyone will feel better after the upcoming three game winning streak. If not...I'll be near the front of the panic line.

See Also:
-- Tickets: Georgia vs. South Carolina
-- Spurrier needs to show patience against UGA - Barnhart
-- Finding our identity - Zeier
-- Big issues on offense - Tucker
-- Confident in Cox - Hale
-- Hard to swallow - Robinson
-- Practice Notes - Hale

PWD

Bobo needs to watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Cameron: "The 1961 Ferrari 250GT California. Less than a hundred were made. My father spent three years restoring this car. It is his love, it is his passion."

Ferris: "It is his fault he didn't lock the garage."

Cameron: "He never drives it. He just rubs it with a diaper."

Most people watch that movie and have an immediate disdain for Cameron's dad. Bobo apparently sees Mr. Frye as an epic hero on a journey to protect his most precious asset from danger.

If you have a Ferrari, don't leave it in the Garage. If you're struggling to see where this is going, A.J. Green is the Ferrari. He has to see the ball more than four times per game for us to win.

Beyond that, the best line I heard on the game came from my friend Mike who said, "Bobo committed the cardinal sin of play calling. Don't stop doing what works until the other guy stops it."

Well...that about sums it up for me. Why we looked so good on that first drive and abandoned most of those plays for the rest of the game baffles me. Quinton's write up below is longer and better, but that's the long and short of what I felt about the game.

What to fix for South Carolina?

1. Let AJ be AJ.

2. When plays work on offense, run them again. Those are the good ones.

3. Find a way to punt without relying on the Wynn Kopp Signature 30-40 Yard Roll(TM).

4. Cover a kickoff. Running up to the returner and falling down isn't the ideal way to earn a scholarship.

5. Learn to jump over the chalk on the field. Those yard markers shouldn't have multiple tackles per game.

There is a great deal from this game that's fixable. Not the least of which is Bobo's play calling. The fact that the defense played so well is very encouraging. If we get our turnovers under control and address the kickoff situation, we can get back on track. If not, this will be a frustrating season.

PWD

Defeat

Let me start with the good. For those of you who didn't go to Stillwater, I have nothing but good things to say about OSU and their fans. I had heard Stillwater was the Starkville of the Big 12, but I found that was not remotely true. They had ample bars serving watered down beer and every Dawg I saw before the game was enjoying himself.

The Pokes were, without exception, courteous and good natured. Even after the game, they were respectful and gracious. The only knock I have on them, and I'm straining, is that they did the Orange Power cheer while Trinton Sturdivant laid on the turf with a season-ending (possibly career-ending) knee injury. The campus was surprisingly nice. Overall, OSU acquitted itself very well this weekend, both on and off the field. (Image: Athens Banner-Herald, Tricia Spaulding)

Now, let's get to the game. Considering the positions they were put in and the quality of the offense they were facing, the defense played well. They gave up only one score in drives of over thirty-two yards. Dez Bryant was held to only three receptions. His first TD catch was as good a play as you will see a receiver make all year. No shame in a great player making a fantastic catch to score. OSU ran the no huddle exclusively and, for the most part, the D held up well. The only complaint was that we dropped at least three balls that could have been picked off. Wasn't creating turnovers a emphasis in fall camp? We desperately needed one of those turnovers because after our first drive ...

The offense stunk. Turnovers. Sacks. Sacks with a turnover. Drops. Bad passes. No running lanes. We had it all. There's plenty of blame to go around. Cox didn't throw many good balls downfield and when he did, we dropped them. There was no apparent game plan. The offense tried several things, some of which succeeded, but stuck to nothing. Richard Samuel is a big, fast back, but he seems to find tackles rather than dodge or break them. I don't know if Caleb King is any better.

I do know that OSU was one of the worst defenses we'll face this year. The offense has to get much, much better. One thing that might help is to get the ball to our only playmaker more often. A.J. Green had four touches in Stillwater. If no other receiver is going to make opposing defenses play honest and take some coverage off of A.J., then give him some reverses and screens. He's the only real offensive threat, so build the offense around him.

Special teams were the usual mix of decent and terrible. Blair Walsh hit a career long FG, but kickoff coverage cost us seven points. Why we're returning kickoffs that are seven yards deep in the end zone is baffling. Even more baffling is that Okie State's kicker can kick it seven yards into the end zone and The University of Georgia can't find someone who can kick it there, despite three scholarship kickers.

While I'm complaining, the roughness penalty was absolute garbage. I doubt that it would have changed the outcome, but it was still a horrible call. The receiver had touched the ball and Reshad led with his shoulder into the receiver's chest. There was no helmet-to-helmet contact. It's a hard, clean hit. What was he supposed to do? Let the receiver go? (By the way, every official on the field thought that was illegal.)

I wasn't optimistic after last year, but over the summer I had managed to convince myself that the Dawgs would be competitive this year. I think I did too good a job of persuading myself. Every game on our schedule, except Tennessee Tech, is a potential loss.

I would have believed almost any final score, but I would have never believed that UGA would only score ten points on the Pokes. Nor would I believe that OSU would win comfortably after compiling a UGA-esque 15 penalties for 106 yards. Richt, Bobo, and Cox have a lot of work to do.

Quinton

P.S. Does every Big 12 school shoot off some sort of ordnance during their games? Piston Pete was firing off shotgun blasts at key points in the game. One of those came during game action as Cox rolled out on a play fake. I strongly urge Hairy Dawg to begin blasting a shotgun at our opponents during key plays. That might help restore an intimidating atmosphere in Sanford Stadium.

Also, I don't know when Paul will turn comments back on. (PWD: I just cut the comments back on. I stayed away from the internet after the game. Just remember if you are commenter, I'm deleting personal attacks on players and coaches, and I'm deleting excessive profanity. If you need to go that direction to express your feelings, try a message board.)

Reading for the Plane and a Few Notes

If you're heading out to Stillwater or just want to do a little cramming before Saturday's game, here's a few resources you should check out.

• The UGA Game Notes are here in convenient .pdf format. Page two is a handy, one-page depth chart for both teams. Print it out and there's your free, single page program. The rest of the file is made up of handy facts for the season and the Okie State game specifically.
• Here are OSU's game notes.
• The Poke athletic department has also put together this Gameday Guide that has some useful info on Stillwater and Oklahoma in general.
• If you haven't read Chris Brown's technical breakdown of Oklahoma State's speed option, you should read it before the game. It is his usual fantastic stuff.

A few other notes:

• The pregame handshakes went well last night. If you saw them on TV, it was just each player shaking hands with an opposing player, not a little league style high five line. The postgame handshakes didn't go so smoothly.
• UGA alum John Isner advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open and will face Andy Roddick Saturday. Last time we played Oklahoma State, Isner faced Federer in the third round during part of the game. That didn't go well for Isner, but did go well for the Dawgs. Coincidence?
  

If you're traveling to Stillwater, be safe and be loud. Otherwise, have a good Labor Day weekend.

PWD Update 2: ESPN and UGASports.com are both reporting that Joe Cox has the flu, but he's expected to play. One way or the other, looks like The Grayhound is playing.

Quinton

Georgia knows how to "bite back on the road"

From the TulsaWorld article about inviting UGA to this particular grand opening:

Boone Pickens Stadium figures to roar like never before, as the Bulldogs’ arrival not only makes for a marquee matchup, but also a potential OSU springboard to a special season. Advantage Cowboys?

"We’re not going out there and just playing anybody,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy.

Indeed, not.

The article goes on to say that Georgia’s road record includes a 10-2 mark against ranked teams – 3-1 versus the top 10. I knew the road record was good, but I didn't realize it was THAT good. Other headlines include:

-- Bad news rocks OSU - TulsaWorld
-- Scouting Georgia - TulsaWorld
-- T. Boone Stadium Tour - TulsaWorld
-- AJ not competing with Dez - ABH
-- Questions abound for both teams - ABH
-- Reasons to dismiss the Big 12 - ABH
-- Phil Steel sez - Get the Picture
-- Gundy worried about pre-game brawl - WTF?
-- Over/Under and Pre-Game - DawgSports
-- AJ is smarter, healthier and better - AJC

PWD

The Controversy of a Handshake

In a laudable attempt to promote sportsmanship the American Football Coaches Association has encouraged all teams playing this weekend to shake hands on the field before kickoff.  I'm not sure when the handshakes are to take place, but I'd bet it is supposed to be in close proximity to kickoff so the TV cameras and fans will readily notice it.  The AFCA is not requiring the pregame handshake, but merely suggesting it to promote the more gentile genteel aspects of amateur athletics.  For all the hype and trash talk that get thrown around, this is, after all, a game played by college students who have no true ill will toward one another, but who are simply fighting as hard as possible for the same goal in a zero sum game.  

Such a suggestion seems reasonable, even obvious, to the sportsman.  But not to Mike Gundy, who is still mulling the pregame handshake over.  Coach Richt, as should be expected, is wholeheartedly behind the idea.  

So, why the resistance from Gundy?  His stated concern is that a brawl may ensue and security could not contain it.  Really?  I can't recall the last pregame brawl I saw that was anything that the refs couldn't control, much less the Oklahoma state patrol.  This isn't the blind hate mongering of Florida-Florida State or Clemson-South Carolina.  It's two teams who have faced each other a couple of times and only once in the past few decades.  Two teams who have said nothing publicly other than how much each respects the other and how the game will be a significant challenge.  We aren't rivals.  We rarely even recruit against one another.  Is Gundy serious?  

This resistance is the very reason the AFCA is justly promoting the idea.  The idea is sportsmanship.  If we're concerned that an act promoting sportsmanship will descend into a brawl, well, then that proves it is needed.  

Mike Gundy, be a man and get your team out on the field and shake our hands. 

Quinton

Weather Forecast for UGA vs. Ok State

The Stillwater, Oklahoma weather forecast for Sept. 5th looks to be coming around nicely. Accuweather, Weather.com and Wunderground all have the game high temperature at around 80-82 degrees with decent cloud cover and a chance of scattered thunderstorms more likely after the game is over.

The risk with the temps in Stillwater isn't the atmospheric temperature...it's the temperature on the synthetic turf at T. Boone Pickens Stadium.

Wunderground suggests that the temps in the 4th quarter will be in the 75 degree range. Basically, it could be our most comfortable season opener from a temperature standpoint in an extremely long time.

See Also:
-- Tickets: Georgia vs. Oklahoma St.

PWD

Okie State MLB Tears ACL

Scout.com is reporting that Okie State starting middle linebacker Orie Lemon tore his ACL today in practice and will miss the 2009 season.  That's got to suck pretty bad to tear your knee up in your senior year and only a couple of days before a huge home opener.  Their backup MLB better have gotten some reps in fall camp.

All our best to Orie Lemon.  May his recovery be swift and complete.  We Dawgs, especially Jeff Owens, sympathize.

Quinton

Pulpwood Smith on Oklahoma State

Pulpwood comes out of hibernation to address the situation in Stillwater. As always the language is not safe for work. Pulpwood is fairly colorful that way. Remember, he ain't got time for this b.s. He's got kids to raise.

See Also:
-- Pulpwood Smith Archive - Anti-Orange Page
-- Who is Pulpwood Smith (the real Pulpwood anyway) - DawgRant

PWD

The Ties That Bind

Saturday's game is being hailed as an early barometer on the relative strength of the nation's two most powerful conferences.  It's going to be cattle versus cotton, cowpokes versus rednecks, beer versus bourbon.  In the conference wars, the Dawgs and the Pokes is this week's marquee game.  (Bama and Virginia Tech is appealing, but I'm not sure anyone is seriously comparing the relative strengths of those two conferences.)  After looking through Okie State's staff, though, their coaching staff sure does have a southern flavor. 

Mike Gundy is one of only fourteen FBS coaches to ascend to the head coaching job at their alma mater.  Gundy also has two other Okie State alums on his staff, DC Bill Young and tight ends coach Doug Meacham.  Of the remainder of the OSU staff, all either graduated from an SEC school (Robert Gillespie - UF '05, Jason Jones - Bama '01,  Robert Matthews - UGA '98, and Joe Wickline - UF '83) or was a southern native and played in the South (Gunter Brewer - Wake Forest, Joe DeForest - ULL, and Glenn Spencer - Georgia Tech).  Co-offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer is the son of former Ole Miss coach Billy Brewer.  Those are some pretty deep southern ties for a Big 12 team.

Mike Bobo should know his opposing QB coach pretty well.  OSU coach Robert Matthews was his backup teammate at UGA for a couple of years under coach Donnan.  Matthews was also a former Georgia high school coach at Shiloh and North Gwinnett. 

So when the Pokes start talking bad about us parochial southern hicks who marry our cousins and can't read, you might mention that we're from the same places their coaches are from.

Quinton

It feels like the pressure is all on them....

The AJC writes another in a series of articles from around the country about the OMG BIGGEST GAME IN STILLWATER EVAH!1!1!!!1! (Update - the ABH has one too)

Leaving aside the total sadness associated with the #13 team coming to your house and that being the biggest game ever (or at least biggest home opener), I'm still left struck that ALL the pressure is on the Cowboys. Maybe the players don't feel it, but you can bet your last windmill or oil well that $286 million of T. Boone's money comes with certain expectations and Coach Gundy feels it. Sleeping on top of a pile of money is fun. Sleeping underneath it; not so much.

As long as we're healthy and don't go turnover crazy, I *really* like our chances in this game. But I digress....here are some headlines from the Cowboy Village (it's not a "nation" yet).

• Learning to Finish - the Cowboys were 1-4 against ranked teams last year. I'm pretty sure that they are 1-All the Rest vs. Ranked teams in the four years Gundy has been there. Many of the big games complete with epic fail collapses. Even if Georgia gets down in the 4th quarter, the pressure will still be on OSU to stop the nearly inevitable comeback.
  
  
• Starting TE Leaves the Team - The Cowboys look unlikely to suspend their starting CB who was arrested on a suspended license charge, and I can't blame them for that. I don't think we suspend kids for getting pinched on glorified DMV charges (as long as they are sober at the time). But the TE (Moseley) is a different story. He's out. Last year, Pettigrew was an enormous part of Cowboy attack at TE, and he's gone. Georgia has had mixed success chasing down athletic TEs like Moseley so I'm not disappointed to avoid him. Who will be Robinson's pressure release valve now?

See Also:

-- What UGA Fans Need to Know about Stillwater - AJC
-- Prepping for Battle - SI.com
-- Single Game Tickets Available from UGA - Georgiadogs

PWD

Last Time

John Isner took a set off Roger Federer, Appy State beat Michigan, and Knowshon Moreno saw his first action in a college game.

Quinton

Get to Know: Oklahoma State

The UGA at Oklahoma State game is predictably a measuring stick for this year's edition of the Big 12 vs. SEC debate. That's certainly the way ESPN is playing it. Personally, all I think the game will show is whether or not Georgia is better than the Cowboys.

Regardless, here are some profile pieces on the Cowboys from their local papers:

• Zac Robinson: Ladies Man - NewsOk.com
  
• Des Bryant: Move over Randy Moss - NewsOk.com
  
• Andre Sexton (LB): Move Over Michael Jordan - NewsOK.com
  
• Kendall Hunter: Size Doesn't Matter - NewsOk.com
  
• Russell Okung (OT): 34 consecutive starts - Tulsa World
  
• The Trifecta a winning Ticket? - Ft. Worth Star Telegram
  
• T. Boone: Funding the Dream - Dallas Morning News

At the end of the day, I think the Pokes have about 4-5 guys that would definitely start for Georgia. Okung, Bryant, Hunter, Robinson are the obvious choices. We may have more overall talent, but the match-ups cause considerable concern. But we'll know soon enough who had the horses.

See Also:
-- Tickets for UGA at OSU starting at Face Value* -- Stubhub
-- Road Tested Bulldogs -- Tulsa World
-- Richt Discusses OSU - Tulsa World
-- Big Time Opener for Ok State - Tulsa World

PWD

*As of the time of this posting.

Oklahoma City Newspaper on the Dawg Fans...

The (link fixed) actual newspaper article is dramatically better than the interview above. The article ponders the question of how many UGA fans will attend the game. I agree with one of the assumptions in the article...about 8k is my guess.

Although, I do have to laugh at the question of whether or not it's silly to pay $4k to go to this game (that's the cut-off score). That's not really how it works or how anyone contributing to the program would look at it. But regardless, if you want to go...tickets for UGA vs. Oklahoma State on Stubhub start at $110 each as of the time of this posting. That's just $10 over face value.

At that price...how can you afford not to go?

See Also:
-- Tickets: Georgia Bulldogs at Oklahoma State Cowboys

PWD

ESPN's Oklahoma State Preview

A few weeks ago Quinton wrote a pretty balanced piece about the relative awfulness of Oklahoma State defense. On Tuesday, I went back at their offense and defense a bit a few days ago over on the DawgRun.

As my retort to ESPN's comment that they have one of the best offenses in the country, I would retort that much of their greatness was manufactured at the expense of America's Top Cupcakes.

Yes, they have great stats on offense, but look at who they ran the numbers up against. Overall, the Cowboys averaged 40.8 points per game on offense. That's good enough for 9th in the nation. However, against schools with a losing overall record or from a non-BCS conference, that scoring average ballooned to 55 points per game.

Against BCS schools that did not have a losing record, they only averaged 29 points per game. Just saying...look closer at the numbers.

Also, we linked yesterday to the outrageous predictions by T. Boone Pickens that the Cowboys would score 387 points on the Dawgs. I found some other good reactions to that news that I thought you'd appreciate

-- Richt has God's phone number - EDSBS
-- 55 TDs or 6.85 points per second - Obi's Sister
-- The downside of testosterone - Get the Picture
-- All Ok State Needs....except 387 points - Fanhouse

See Also:
-- Oklahoma State 2008 Stats - NCAA.org
-- Tickets: Georgia Bulldogs at Oklahoma State Cowboys

PWD

(BTW-- The header graphic tag line above about buying first downs is from something Bob Davie of ESPN said during the 2007 game.)

T. Boone Pickens Predicts Score of UGA Game

Scenes from the last encounter (Image: Hipple)
Some headlines from the folks out in Stillwater:

• T. Boone Pickens thinks the score will be Ok State 387 UGA 24. Seriously. (ht - Mark Bradley)

  Dear Mr. Pickens,
  
  Thank you for making sure the Georgia football team will be 1000% focused on the season opener. Your help in motivating our players is greatly appreciated.
  
  Sincerely - The Georgia Fans

• The NY Times has their season preview of the Cowboys up today. The Pokes come in at #15 in their preseason ranking. This is a must read. They predict a 9-3 season with losses to UGA, Texas and Oklahoma with a "complete dismantling" of the rest of their schedule.
  
  
• The biggest loss from the '08 Cowboy team was all-universe tight end Brandon Pettigrew. The Oklahoman has a profile of his replacement Jamal Mosley. I think their TE vs. our LBs will be an interesting match-up. We've struggled at times with ultra athletic guys like Jared Cook from South Carolina.

What's your reaction to T. Boone's trash talk?

See Also:
-- Tickets: Georgia at Oklahoma State
-- Stillwater Travel Info - Georgia Sports Blog

PWD

Uncle Boone Beholds the Magnificence He Bought

T. Boone isn't concerned about being the biggest, just the best. After donating around $250 million to OSU athletics, he finally toured the facilities upgrades he paid for, which include his own ventilated locker (it keeps the stench of rotting money from disturbing the players). T. Boone's locker is right next to the locker of Sherman Smith, another old rich guy who really wants to hang out with the football team.

Do any of our boosters have lockers? I understand that for $250 mil we'd likely give a donor whatever they wanted, but it's still odd. Isn't it a bit creepy that big money donors can come in, sit in their lockers and watch the team change clothes before the game?

The facilities upgrades are impressive, by any measure. We've heard a lot during the offseason that the game with the Pokes will be the first in the completed T. Boone Pickens stadium, but that's a bit deceiving. Most of the upgrades were in the training and meeting facilities in the building attached to the stadium. As I understand it, the spectator won't notice much of a change from last year. I guess Uncle Boone feels like his money is being well spent, but I expected more wind turbines.

See Also:
-- Stillwater Travel Info - Georgia Sports Blog

Quinton

Cover Pokes

Okie State QB Zac Robinson is a newly minted SI coverboy for their college football preview issue.  These are regional covers but the picks were surprising: Penn State, Okie State, Ole Miss, and Oregon.  (How can SI not have Timmy Tebow on their cover?  That is something Urban Meyer will never forget.)  Let me be the first to say it: Jinx! Jinx! JINX!

 

As we know, SI is a reliable predictor of football success.

On another, more-expensive note:  Forbes has scoured the secondary market place for the most expensive tickets to 2009 college football games.  Their rankings were based on StubHub numbers.  First on the list is USC's visit to Notre Dame.  Not shocking.  The second, however, is "The University of Georgia - All home games."  Florida's trip to LSU is fifth.  The Red River Shootout is eighth!  So a normal home game in Athens is more expensive that two of the most anticipated games of the year in college football. 

Quinton