The Countdown 2009: 7 Days to Go

7

The number of white, English Bulldogs that have graced the Georgia sidelines as the official mascot, Uga. Uga was named the best collegiate mascot and even had a movie made about him.

Approaching a Milestone

Here we are just one week from the beginning of the 2009 college football season and Bubba 'N Earl Sittin' on the 50 is approaching a major milestone. Sometime today, we will cross over the 90,000 hit mark in the little over a year's time since we started this blog. Next week, we will continue to countdown to the new season with the completion of our Where's the Hardware series, preview the game against Oklahoma State, and take a look at other games around the SEC. We hope that you find the posts entertaining and will continue to read our site as we cross over the 100,000 hit mark sometime in the next month.

Georgia vs. Urban Meyer's Daughter

Georgia women's volleyball team kicks off their season tonight against a Georgia Tech team with a very prominent member:

Nicki Meyer is a the very lovely daughter of the A #1 douchebag of Gainesville, FL. Although, all that piss colored stuff in the picture is a massive turn off.

So, if you're not doing anything, maybe you should think about going on down to the North Avenue Trade School and cheering on Georgia (game time is 7pm). Georgia also continues play there tomorrow against Mercer and Austin Peay State.

Perhaps you should also say a few kind words to Nicki, or any phrases of your choosing.

The Countdown 2009: 8 Days to Go

8

Jersey number of Georgia's star wide receiver AJ Green. Green was a freshman All-American, leading the SEC in receiving yards per game. AJ caught his first touchdown pass in his first collegiate game against Georgia Southern. That pass came from the man who will throw to him this season, Joe Cox.

Green would have his breakout game in the desert against Arizona State. Green caught 8 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown in the 27-10 victory. He would also haul in a long touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford in the 52-38 victory over LSU and score the game winning touchdowns in the fourth in the victories at Kentucky and Auburn.


GO DAWGS!!!!

I simply hate this clown...

For Tebow to get this sort of attention, even if it is intended to poke fun at him, simply makes me ill. What a douche-bag...and the WWL won't let him disappear.

Minor League baseball teams will never cease or desist to come up with outrageous shenanigans and promotions.

Where's The Hardware? '94 Crimson Tide

Disclaimer: This list and subsequent blog posts were formed to create conversation between SEC fans about teams that were very close to having championship seasons. Looking at the teams listed and thinking about the teams that were left off further proves the depth of the SEC and the focus needed to win week in and week out. Teams were chosen and ranked based on significant wins/losses, star power and old school opinion (because we're opinionated SEC fans).

BNE's Top 10 List so far...
#10 - 2001 Florida
#9 - 1997 Florida
#8 - 2006 LSU
#7 - 2007 Georgia
#6 - 2001 Tennessee
#5 - 1998 Florida
#4 - 2008 Alabama

BNE's best teams to not win the SEC title (post-1992): #3
1994 Alabama Crimson Tide

AP Preseason #12

Final AP Ranking: #5
Final Coaches Ranking: #4

Record: 12-1 (8-0)

Losses:
SEC Championship Game: #6 Florida 24-23 (Bama ranked #3)
- first SECCG to be played at Georgia Dome

Wins vs. Ranked Opponents:
@ #20 Miss. State 29-25
#6 Auburn 21-14 (Birmingham)
Citrus Bowl: #13 Ohio State 24-17

Star Power: QB Jay Barker, RB Sherman Williams, RB Tarrant Lynch, WR Toderick Malone, DT Shannon Brown, S Sam Shade, S Eric Turner, K Michael Proctor

Jay Barker, Jay Barker, Jay Barker, Jay Barker....We probably left off some names, but the important thing to remember is that Jay Barker was a winner. Proved he could do it without that '92 defense.

Why Ahead of '08 Alabama?
Lost one game by one point to the SEC Champion and preseason #1 Florida. Had the same undefeated regular season of 2008 Alabama without laying an egg in its bowl game. Like several teams on our list, would have had the hardware before 1992 division split.

Bubba says: 1994 Alabama didn't have a lot of flash, they just won a lot of football games. QB Jay Barker was one of the greatest compeditors that the SEC has seen over the last 25 years and I remember him making it rain in the comeback victory over the Dawgs, where Eric Zier became the all time leading passer (at that time) in SEC History. You always knew the Tide defense would be solid under Gene Stallings and while this team ultimately had no chance to win the national championship, one loss SEC teams are usually conference champions.


Gene Stallings' reaction to the dog running onto the field says it all about Stallings' personality. A throwback coach in a conference that's had many of them.

Earl says: This Alabama was like so many Alabama teams under Gene Stallings, they just won. With OC Homer Smith at the controls of the offense led by a senior Jay Barker, this '94 squad might've been a little better on that side of the ball than other Alabama teams of the early '90s. Jay Barker led comebacks against Georgia and Miss. State to preserve the Tide's undefeated SEC regular season before it was beaten on a late touchdown pass by Florida in the SEC Championship Game. Its most surprising victory came against Auburn in the Iron Bowl. It wasn't surprising that the Tide won. It was surprising that the Tide was leading 21-0 in the first half against an Auburn program that hadn't lost in 21 games.

Unfortunately, even if Alabama would've defeated Florida in the Dome, it still would've had a difficult time winning the national championship with an undefeated Nebraska and an undefeated Penn State ahead of Alabama in the polls. After the disappointing loss to Florida, Stallings got his crew to bounce back and take care of Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day.

What's that? An SEC team defeats Ohio State? That's never happened before...

Next installment: #2 - 1995 Tennessee Volunteers

The Countdown 2009: 9 Days to Go

9

Number of New Year's Day bowl games Georgia has appeared in since Vince Dooley stepped down as head coach. That includes 6 appearances during the Mark Richt era.

2nd Annual Bubba 'n Earl College Football Pick 'Em

With 10 days to go until the official start of the college football season, I am here to announce the start of the 2nd annual Bubba 'n Earl College Football Pick 'Em! This year we will host the picks online through http://www.funofficepools.com/ so more people can join and enjoy the college football season. As we go through the season, we'll be posting the top 10 winners from each week so join up as soon as you can. There are only 10 days left to submit your picks.

It's pretty simple, click on the link below, creat an account, and you're entered.
http://www.funofficepools.com/joinpool.php?Passed_Pool_Key=6c1a4a42bc8

Good luck!!!

Welcome to BNE, AUMaverick

As some of you have noticed, there is a new contributor to the BNE staff...me. So, in the spirit of Lewis Grizzard, who loved the State of Georgia, UGA, and SEC football, I'd like to say WAR EAGLE to all you Georgia Dawgs as well as everyone else who follows this blog. I know Lewis wouldn't mind someone from "the other side" contributing to a blog dedicated to UGA and college football; afterall, the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry is between Auburn and UGA. Besides, just like CNN, FOX News and the AJC, every good editorial needs to be fair and balanced.

That being said, I'd also like to say GO DAWGS! No, you didn't read incorrectly, and no I am not a traitor to my school. I happen to love UGA and Auburn equally, except of course for one Saturday out of the year. For those of you who don't know, I was raised all over the world and I happen to call Georgia home. Belive it or not, I even lived in Athens for a short time. I have spent many nights in Athens with my Dawg friends, enjoying all the great scenery and atmosphere that only Athens can offer. My favorite restaurant is in Athens and I even met my wife in Athens one summer long ago. So, while UGA and Auburn have a very deep and bitter rivalry, it is still a friendly rivalry, and, being a great lover of SEC football and all things from the state of Georga, I too can root for UGA...most of the year.


So, from time to time, I will contribute my thoughts and observations on all things SEC football, UGA, and of course, Auburn. I will try to keep my thoughts fair and balanced, giving a voice to the others out there who may not always see the red between the black and white. I also vow, here and now, to hate Alabama and all things crimson and houndstooth. God hates BAMA just as much as he hates giant lizzards and stinging flying bugs. I make no apologies and that is the one thing I will always keep a hatred toward in my heart. However, I will keep my hatred for Bama out of the mix for as much as possible and focus soley on football.


With that, I'd like to close with a quote from Lewis Grizzard and I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming season. Lewis once said, "The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the opportunity." Go Dawgs and WAR EAGLE!




*With this brief introduction, BNE invites you to become familiar with and ask that you please welcome AUMaverick to the contributing staff. His primary and first responsibility will be to manage this fall's upcoming BNE College Football Pick 'Em Pool, which you will learn more about in the coming days. We wanted to give AUMaverick this opportunity to introduce himself humbly to our faitful reader base in advance of the launch of this season's pool. Be sure to send AUMaverick your love & thoughts via the comments section of this post and by e-mailing him through his profile link. Go Dawgs! BFR & the BNE Staff

What a Difference a Year Makes

As a Hartman fund donor, I was given the opportunity to purchase Single Game tickets through GeorgiaDogs.com today. Once again this season, we did not have enough points to get season tickets, so I hopped on the chance to secure tickets to some of the home games this fall. The following tickets were available: South Carolina, Arkansas, Arizona State, Tennessee Tech, and Kentucky.

I was very surprised to see tickets for the South Carolina and Kentucky games available. Arizona State and Arkansas are both very far away and Tennessee Tech is a cupcake 1-AA school so I expected these games would be available. But South Carolina, who considers Georgia one of its main rivals, and Kentucky, who typically travels extremely well, I did not expect to be available. The tickets to purchase were from the left overs returned by visiting teams (exception being Arkansas since it was an away game) and usually SEC rivals always buy all their tickets (hence Auburn and LSU not being on this list). Is the economy combined with lowered expectations for the Dawgs in 2009 really enough to keep Kentucky and South Carolina fans away from Athens?

This time last season, the exact opposite seemed to happen. Thousands of Georgia fans were gearing up for cross country trips to Arizona and Louisiana and there was not a ticket to be found for the home opener against 1-AA Georgia Southern. When they placed extra tickets on sale last year, there was only one game that ended up being available (Central Michigan).

One year...what a difference.

Where's The Hardware? '08 Crimson Tide

Disclaimer: This list and subsequent blog posts were formed to create conversation between SEC fans about teams that were very close to having championship seasons. Looking at the teams listed and thinking about the teams that were left off further proves the depth of the SEC and the focus needed to win week in and week out. Teams were chosen and ranked based on significant wins/losses, star power and old school opinion (because we're opinionated SEC fans).

BNE's Top 10 List so far...
#10 - 2001 Florida
#9 - 1997 Florida
#8 - 2006 LSU
#7 - 2007 Georgia
#6 - 2001 Tennessee
#5 - 1998 Florida

BNE's best teams to not win the SEC title (post-1992): #4
2008 Alabama Crimson Tide

AP Preseason #24

Final AP Ranking: #6
Final Coaches Ranking: #6

Record: 12-2 (8-0)

Losses:
SEC Championship Game: #4 Florida 31-20 (Bama ranked #1)
Sugar Bowl: #7 Utah 31-17 (Bama ranked #4)

Wins vs. Ranked Opponents:
#9 Clemson 34-10 (Georgia Dome)
@ #3 Georgia 41-30
@ #15 LSU 27-21 (OT)

Star Power: QB John Parker Wilson, RB Glenn Coffee, RB Mark Ingram, WR Julio Jones, TE Nick Walker, OT Andre Smith, C Antoine Caldwell, DE Bobby Greenwood, DE Brandon Deaderick, DT Terrence Cody, LB Rolando McClain, LB Donta Hightower, LB Brandon Fanney, S Rashad Johnson, PR/KR/CB Javier Arenas

Why Ahead of '98 Florida?
Undefeated SEC regular season - the first on this list. Ranked #1 in the nation for 5 weeks. Controlled its destiny going into SEC Championship Game.

Bubba says: This is another team on our list that really exemplified the team concept. Nick Saban took advantage of a great defense and offensive line to control the clock and grind down teams that might have had superior depth. Glen Coffee was very impressive in his breakout/final season and Mark Ingram proved that he was able to handle the pressures of the SEC as a freshman backup. You have to give credit to a team that went undefeated during the regular season in the SEC and you can never count out teams that grind out tough victories like this one did down the stretch. The knock on this team will always be the humiliating loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl (Utah wasn’t too shabby themselves). Let’s face it though, the Tide more than proved themselves during the course of the season by not only creating breaks for themselves, but taking advantage of them in the biggest situations. Senior leadership with the right mix of hungry, young talent will always be a dangerous combination and 2008 Alabama had the right people in the right place to make this surprising run.


"Busch Lite, which you can get at Winn-Dixie." Thank you Lord for providing us with fans like these...

Earl says: This Bama team set the tone early for its season as it laid the smackdown to an overrated Clemson team in August at the Georgia Dome. As much I enjoyed watching that one, I was still very confident that the Georgia Bulldogs would handle the Tide in late September. But, this Tide team did what you want to do as a football team - it got better every week. That is a sign of good coaching. The Tide used a formula of a strong rushing attack behind a strong offensive line and good defense to jump on opponents early. It had to hold off some teams like Ole Miss and Kentucky, but business was handled week in, week out. Nick Saban instilling his approach in Year 2 and the added threat of Julio Jones made this a different Alabama team from the previous year.

You can't argue against a team that was ranked #1 in the nation for an extended period of time during the season. Under the pre-1992 SEC rules, this Alabama team would've been crowned SEC Champions (like '01 Tennessee would've been), and Florida would've never won the national championship. But in the end, this Alabama team ran into a better football team in the SEC Championship Game because of the leadership of Tim Tebow (ugh).

This '08 version of the Tide would be ranked higher if not for the dismantling Utah handed it. That game really showed the value of Alabama's offensive line in 2008 as the Utes dominated Alabama's patchwork offensive line all night.

Next installment: #3 - 1994 Alabama Crimson Tide

The Countdown 2009: 10 Days to Go

10

Games started by Ben Jones at center in 2008, his freshman season at Georgia. Despite an ankle injury this summer, Jones is expected to be ready for the season opener against Oklahoma State.

The Blasphemy That Is Fake Jerseys

Apparently we have been fooled all of these years, people. This is a brand new Joe Cox jersey:


Now, we've all seen these before. They are the torment on human existence known as "fake," "rip-off," or "Wal-Mart" jerseys.

While I have always scoffed at these things, I never really looked at the prices. As I browsed through a store yesterday, this thing was so hideous that I just had to look to see how much people were burning on these awful things.

$59.99!!!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is mindblowingly INSANE!

You can go here, and purchase an official replica for $60.00!!! That's only a penny more.

And, as Bill King points out, you can go to the UGA bookstore and get an official replica Stafford/Orson Charles jersey for $15!!! Regularly it is, you guessed it, $60.

Wal-Mart may sell them cheaper, but it can't be that much cheaper to force yourself to parade around in such a monstrosity. You can have the real thing (or what we consider to be), for not that much more! If you're going to a regular sports shop, apparently you are going to pay the same price!

This is just plain wrong.

When you see someone wearing one of these, remember to tell them they can avoid massive douchebaggery by not purchasing these awful things.

Go for the real (but still kinda fake) thing.

Where's The Hardware? '98 Florida Gators

Disclaimer: This list and subsequent blog posts were formed to create conversation between SEC fans about teams that were very close to having championship seasons. Looking at the teams listed and thinking about the teams that were left off further proves the depth of the SEC and the focus needed to win week in and week out. Teams were chosen and ranked based on significant wins/losses, star power and old school opinion (because we're opinionated SEC fans).

BNE Top 10 List so far...
#10 - 2001 Florida
#9 - 1997 Florida
#8 - 2006 LSU
#7 - 2007 Georgia
#6 - 2001 Tennessee

BNE's best teams to not win the SEC title (post-1992): #5
1998 Florida Gators

AP Preseason #3

Final AP Ranking: #5
Final Coaches Ranking: #6

Record: 10-2 (7-1)

Losses:
@ #6 Tennessee 20-17 (OT) (UF ranked #2)
- eventual SEC and National Champion
@ #5 Florida State 23-12 (UF ranked #4)

Wins vs. Ranked Opponents:
#11 LSU 22-10
#11 Georgia 38-7
Orange Bowl: #18 Syracuse 31-10 (Big East Champion)

Star Power: WR Travis McGriff, WR Darrell Jackson, OT Zach Piller, OT Cooper Carlisle, DE Tim Beauchamp, DT Reggie McGrew, DT Ed Chester, LB Mike Peterson, LB Jevon Kearse, LB Johnny Rutledge, S Tony George

Why Ahead of '01 Tennessee?
Took the eventual national champion to overtime on the road. Its other loss, also on the road, came to the other participant in the national championship game. Got revenge on both LSU and Georgia for the '97 losses.

Bubba says: I can take the blame for this team in our rankings as it was my argument that got this version of the Gators up at #5. Like the 1997 squad, they were a QB away from being a very good football team and the defense, led by 3 outstanding linebackers, was better than the season before. Yes, they lost Fred Taylor the season before, but Terry Jackson was a serviceable SEC tailback and it's not like Spurrier coached teams couldn't score points. Florida had some outstanding teams in this time period and yes, it's weird to have this team as high as they are on our list. However, even with their flaws, the quality of their losses were far stronger than any of the other UF squads on this list. If I have to choose between 1997 Florida and this team, I go with the 1998 version head to head.


Tim Couch's highlights against the '98 Gators. Included because BulldawgJosh and BFR partied with former Kentucky RB Anthony White (#32) when the Dawgs traveled to Lexington last year.

Earl says: Even though the '98 Gators had some "quality" losses to the two national championship game participants, which is why they are ranked this high, I don't think they could beat many teams on this list. The same trouble at quarterback that the '97 Florida team (also featured on this list) had, plus the departure of RB Fred Taylor left this team highly reliable on Bob Stoops' final defense at Florida. The linebackers on this team were monsters, but they were the exact same starting three that the '97 Gators had.

The wins over ranked opponents came against an LSU team that turned out to be pretty pathetic by year's end; a Georgia team that psyched itself out by wearing black pants following the '97 win over the Gators; and a Syracuse team that featured QB Donovan McNabb but represented a very weak Big East conference, which hadn't seen the resurgence of Miami yet.

In my mind, Fred Taylor made '97 Florida better than the '98 version. My first and only major disagreement of our Top 10.

Side note: If the '98 Gators would've beaten FSU and finished the regular season with one loss, would they have backed into a rematch with Tennessee in the very first BCS title game? Imagine the Vol fans reaction to that!

Next installment: #4 - 2008 Alabama Crimson Tide

The Countdown 2009: 11 Days to Go

11

Number of former Georgia players in the collegiate football Hall of Fame. These players include Bob McWhorter, Frank Sinkwich, Charley Trippi, Vernon Smith, Bill Hartman, Fran Tarkenton, Bill Stanfill, Herschel Walker, Terry Hoage, Kevin Butler, and John Rauch.

Is it just me...

Or do these new Falcons throw back jerseys...

Look an awful lot like these:

Hopefully they bring the Falcons better luck than they brought the Dawgs last season.

Where's The Hardware? '01 UT Vols

Disclaimer: This list and subsequent blog posts were formed to create conversation between SEC fans about teams that were very close to having championship seasons. Looking at the teams listed and thinking about the teams that were left off further proves the depth of the SEC and the focus needed to win week in and week out. Teams were chosen and ranked based on significant wins/losses, star power and old school opinion (because we're opinionated SEC fans).

BNE Top 10 List so far...
#10 - 2001 Florida
#9 - 1997 Florida
#8 - 2006 LSU
#7 - 2007 Georgia

BNE's best teams to not win the SEC title (post-1992): #6
2001 Tennessee Volunteers

AP Preseason #8

Final AP Ranking: #4
Final Coaches Ranking: #4

Record: 11-2 (7-1)

Losses:
Georgia 26-24 (UT ranked #6)
- "We stepped on their face with a hobnail boot and broke their nose!"
#21 LSU 31-20 (SEC Championship Game)
- UT ranked #2

Wins vs. Ranked Opponents:
#14 LSU 26-18 (eventual SEC Champion)
#12 South Carolina 17-10
@ #2 Florida 34-32
Citrus Bowl: #17 Michigan 45-17

Star Power: QB Casey Clausen, RB Travis Stephens, WR Kelley Washington, WR Donte' Stallworth, TE Jason Witten, DT John Henderson, DT Albert Haynesworth, DE Will Overstreet, LB Kevin Burnett, LB Dominique Stevenson, CB Andre Lott, S Reshad Baker

Why Ahead of '07 Georgia?
Ranked #2 in the nation, UT controlled its own destiny in the SEC Championship Game against LSU. Win it and play in the National Championship Game, only three years removed from Big Orange's 1998 National Championship.

Bubba says: This was a very talented group that played well as a team. These Vols featured a young Casey Clausen at QB and a hard working 5th year senior at tailback in Travis Stephens. They had their biggest moment of the year when they shocked the 2001 Florida Gators in the Swamp in December. Unfortunately, they couldn't finish the deed in Atlanta for the SEC title and a bad half of football cost them a chance to play for the National Championship. This was the second, and closest, chance the "iceman" had to beat UGA with one arm. I hated that clown.


You thought maybe we'd include some footage of that '01 UT-UF game...Nah...

Earl says: Hobnailed. This '01 UT team will go down in Dawg history as the team that helped Georgia turn everything around in Bulldog Nation. But this Tennessee team was legit. They beat Florida in Gainesville for the first time in 30 years. With Texas' loss in the Big XII Championship Game, the Vols controlled their destiny to play for the national championship if they could just beat LSU, something they had already done earlier in the season. But, a dentist came off LSU's bench to lead the Tigers to an upset victory.

It's great that Casey Clausen didn't get a chance at the national championship. But Travis Stephens was a really good running back. He destroyed Florida for over 200 yards that year, and who can forget the screen pass he took 70+ yards against the Dawgs, setting up Hobnail Time. I was in Neyland Stadium that day, sitting 11 rows from the endzone in which Verron Haynes scored. He literally caught the pass directly in front of me and the group I was with (and I still swear it was in slow motion, he was that wide open). It was a noon kickoff, but I had never heard an outdoor stadium that loud before as Stephens took it to the house, and I haven't since. Forty four (44) seconds in game time later, I've never heard a stadium so quiet. I've never been back to Neyland Stadium. That's hard to top, but I imagine the '03 and '05 games were very fun too. I'll get back there someday.

Does this '01 Tennessee team deserve to be ranked four spots higher than the '01 Florida team? I don't know. But the Vols had to be included if that '01 Florida team made the list. The Vols beat the Gators when it mattered the most that year. Maybe Tennessee should try to get that game moved to December every year.

Next installment: #5 - 1998 Florida Gators

The Countdown 2009: 12 Days to Go

12

Number of Southeastern Conference Championships captured by the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia won its first SEC title under Mark Richt in 2002.

Hurry Up and Get Here Already

In about one week's time, you'll begin to see these pop up all around town in various team colors.

Fired...Up...

If it's a Georgia flag you pass, be sure to honk in support. If it's a rival team's flag you pass, try to keep your cool, even though running a nerd off the road is entertaining.

And for any Dawg fans living in Oklahoma, wave those car flags proudly.

Go Dawgs!

The Countdown 2009: 13 Days to Go

13

Receptions by Michael Johnson against Auburn in 2002, including his final catch of the day that secured Georgia's first trip to the SEC Championship game.

Johnson would finish the days with 141 yards receiving as the Bulldogs defeated the Tigers, 24-21.