Weekend Wrap Up: ONE DAY IN THE VALLEY

Week 9 of the college football season has passed. We survived our trip to New Orleans and Baton Rouge and it is now on to face the hated Gators in Jacksonville . Here are my thoughts on the victory over LSU, the Tiger Stadium experience, the other big games from the weekend, and the upcoming clash with the Gators. Welcome to Hate Week 2008.

VICTORY!!!

What an amazing game in Death Valley on Saturday. We arrived at Tiger Stadium expecting to see a hard fought SEC battle that would be won in the trenches. What we got was a shootout that looked a lot like it belonged in the Big XII. Despite the efforts of the Bayou Bengals, the Dawgs kept their focus and left Louisiana with a 52-38 victory.

Georgia 52, LSU 38

- The offensive line played an amazing game. They gave Stafford enough time to stand tall in the pocket and get the ball to open receivers. The boys up front also opened the holes to allow Knowshon Moreno to slash his way to another huge game (163 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown.)

- Matthew Stafford may have played his best overall game as a Georgia Bulldog. He made some great throws despite getting hit by the LSU pass rush. The long touchdown pass to AJ Green was a thing of beauty, as Stafford waited just long enough for AJ to get past the coverage and delivered the pass before getting hit hard by the defender.

Stafford also ran in a score from 5 yards out on a third and goal.

- Daryl Gamble is getting better every week. I had a number of people tell me before the game that they thought Gamble would play a big role. Gamble had 13 tackles and returned two Jarrett Lee interceptions for touchdowns. He was awarded SEC defensive player of the week for his efforts.

- Georgia played a great game, however there were definitely some issues. LSU gashed the Georgia defense for over 500 yards and once again the Dawgs failed to deliver the final knock out punch. There were way too many missed tackles and that must be improved before the Florida game.

This was a huge win. The boys were warming up their dance skills for next week.

The Tiger Stadium Experience

- As advertised, a visit to Baton Rouge is everything it is advertised to be. The fans are crazy and definitely make you feel intimidated. If I never have to hear "Tiga' Bait" again, I won't be sad. I also witnessed grown men throwing dog biscuits at us and heard about the LSU cops turning the other way to a man getting beaten on the ground.

- We were on the top row of Tiger Stadium (row FF in section 641) but the view was actually very good. Death Valley is very steep so while you are very high up, you are actually still pretty close to the field.

- The LSU band puts on a great show. It is too bad that their fans seemed to give up on their team in the 3rd quarter. When Georgia took the lead at 38-17, the place began to clear out. The Tigers certainly did not quit, but their fans did.

Other Games

- Penn State defeated Ohio State and has pretty much guaranteed themselves an undefeated season.- The suddenly hot Virginia Cavaliers knocked off the Bees from the North Avenue Trade school . Tech has tough games with Florida State, Miami and Georgia left on their schedule.

- Oklahoma State gave Texas a run for their money but came up short in the end. That trip to Stillwater to open the season in '09 keeps looking tougher and tougher.

- Alabama beat Tennessee in another ugly game for the Volunteers. Is Fulmer's career at UT going to end without being bowl eligible?

Showdown in Jacksonville

- This may be one of the biggest Georgia-Florida matchups in Cocktail Party history. The Dawgs really got under the skin of the entire Gator nation with the celebration and the beatdown in 2007. The tag line for this year's game: "There Will be Blood"

GO DAWGS!!!!