Aubie As A Turkey: True Story Of The SEC's Most Versatile Mascot

In the midst of a email chain between several of us Dawgs and AUMaverick, Earl reminded me of this post from last year detailing the many faces of Aubie.

It reminded me how Aubie out did himself last year by dressing up as a turkey.

Luckily, we sat 5 rows from the field in the Auburn section, so I got some great pictures of it.

I did a post on it last year too, but figured it was worth posting again:





When you see Aubie on Saturday, remember that he isn't threatening.

That is, unless you are going up against him in a job interview or an a game show obstacle course. His experience and skills are unmatched.

Give me Something to Believe in: the Auburn Preview

Unfortunately, work is crazy today and I won't have time to write a full preview. Georgia and Auburn are both middle of the road SEC teams with bad defenses. Auburn has a better offense, but I would say Georgia has a more dangerous weapon in AJ Green. With both teams poor defenses, I can see this game turning out like South Carolina. I hoping Georgia can pull it out, so I'm picking the Dawgs.

Georgia 34, Auburn 31

GO DAWGS!!!

Georgia - Auburn in the Richt Era Part 3: 2006 - 2008

*** This is part 3 of a series looking at the Georgia Auburn Series since 2001

2006:

Georgia travelled to the Plains to take on Auburn with a record of 6-4. The Dawgs were coming off a loss to Kentucky that resulted in the the bruised Matt Stafford you see above. With embarassing losses to Kentucy and Vanderbilt and narrow victories over weak Colorado and Mississippi state teams, Georgia was definitely reeling. Auburn, on the other hand, was enjoying a fantastic season and was in the middle of the National Championship hunt. Because of Georgia's poor record, the game was bounced to the 12:30 Ray Com Sports game. A sluggish Auburn team and crowd showed up for the 11:30 local kick-off and Georgia would take full advantage.

Matthew Stafford hooked up on a long pass to set up the first score of the game, an 8 yard touchdown run by Kregg Lumpkin. Georgia had a 7-0 lead after the first quarter, but would really pile it on in the second. With Stafford's passing and running, Georgia was able to build a 17-0 lead. Former walk on Tra Battle, who would pick off 3 passes from Auburn quarterback Brandon Cox in the game, picked up a touchdown on a 30 yard INT return that gave Georgia a 24-0 lead. Here are the highlights of Battle's heroics:


Georgia picked up one more score to take a 30-7 lead at the half. The second half saw the Dawgs control the clock. Auburn had cut the lead to 30-15 in the third quarter, but Matt Stafford took the Dawgs on another drive. Stafford, who finished the day with 219 yards passing and 83 yards rushing, capped the drive with a 9 yard touchdown run. Georgia had knocked the Tigers out of the SEC and National Championship hunts in a game that has become known as the Massacre on the Plains.

Georgia 37, Auburn 15

2007:

Rumors began swarming around Athens that the Georgia players wanted the fans to come dressed in all black for the 2007 meeting of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. Coach Mark Richt made the announcement official, calling on the Bulldog Nation to have a Blackout at Sanford Stadium. Georgia was coming off a win over Florida a few weeks before and had found a breakout star in halfback Knowshon Moreno. Auburn came in ranked 22 with a record of 7-3 and looking to avenge the beatdown the Bulldogs handed them in Jordan-Hare the year before. This would not be the night for Auburn to get their revenge.

The crowd was ready.

The crowd did their part, showing up decked out in black but the Georgia team came out for warm-ups in their normal home red jerseys. The team went to the locker room, but when they arrived, the lights were off. When the lights came on, black jerseys hung in their lockers. When the team came running out of the tunnel, the crowd lost its $#$%...mind:

With Georgia in black, there was something in the air and it seemed destiny that Georgia would handle the Tigers easily. On the first snap from scrimmage, Kelin Johnson picked off a Brandon Cox pass (Cox threw 4 interceptions against Georgia for second consecutive year) and the Dawgs were in business. They were only able to get a field goal which Auburn soon matched and the score was tied at 3. Georgia had the ball back and began a drive that ended when Matt Stafford found a wide open Mohammed Massaquoi for a 52 yard touchdown that put Georgia ahead. Another Stafford touchdown to Sean Bailey put the Dawgs up 14, but Auburn closed the gap with a late touchdown by Ben Tate that sent the teams to the locker room with Georgia leading 17-14.

At the start of the second half, it looked like the magic of the blackout may end up being a curse. Auburn scored 10 points to take a 20-17 lead. But this night would belong to the Dawgs, and the final 20 minutes of the game will a memory that Bulldog fans would never forget. It started with a 24 yard touchdown from Knowshon Moreno:

Georgia would soon get the ball back and on a third down from around the Auburn 25, Knowshon Moreno broke a series of tackles to take the Dawgs inside the 10. A facemask on the play allowed Georgia one untimed down to end the third, which Moreno capitalized with his second score of the day. After the band played, Soulja Boy cranked over the speakers at Sanford and the party spread throughout the stadium, even into the CBS broadcasting booth. The scene was amazing:

Georgia continued to score in the fourth, adding two more touchdowns. What was a close game turned into a blowout victory for Georgia. Georgia ride that momentum through the rest of the year and #2 national ranking.

Georgia 45, Auburn 20

2008:

Preseason #1 Georgia had been brought back down to earth during the 2008 season with crushing losses to Alabama and eventual national champion Florida. Following a last minute victory over the Wildcats in Kentucky a week before, Georgia returned to the Plains to meet an Auburn team that was on its way to a losing season. Rumors of Tommy Tuberville's potential firing swarmed around Auburn and many were sure the Dawgs would handle the Tigers again.

The Georgia offense failed to get going in the first half and Auburn capitalized on a special teams mistake to take an early lead. At the end of the first quarter, Auburn went back to punt from their own endzone. Georgia hit the Auburn punter and would have had a first down, but it did not matter. Georgia returner Prince Miller fumbled the punt and Auburn took over at their own 48. Kodi Burns connected on a 52 yard touchdown pass on the next play to Mario Fannin, but a botched extra point (which would prove very costly) gave Auburn only a 6-0 lead. Georgia got on the scoreboard just before half, as Knowshon Moreno took a screen pass from Matthew Stafford in for a score from 30 yards out. Moreno would have a solid day on the ground, rushing for 131 yards on 22 carries. Georgia lead at the break, 7-6.

The teams continued to struggle to score in the third, with the only points coming on a Blair Walsh field goal. Heading to the fourth, Georgia led 10-6. Auburn then went on an 11 play, 90 yard drive that was capped off by a Mario Fannin 35 yard touchdown run to give the Tigers the lead with 11 minutes to go. Georgia answered with a 3 minute scoring drive of its own, capped off by a touchdown pass to AJ Green. Auburn would get one final chance to win the game, taking over at their own 20 with 1:44 showing on the clock. Because of the early missed extra point, Auburn could not tie the game with a field goal. Kodi Burns lead Auburn down the field, but a fourth down pass fell incomplete just outside the end zone and Georgia won its third straight in the series. Here are the highlights:

Georgia 17, Auburn 13

Tomorrow: Part 4, the 2009 Preview

Alabama Polytechnic Institute

Every kid's back-up school since 1856.

Masters of the Tailgate Review

Yesterday we mentioned how Bubba and Streit were going to appear on Masters of the Tailgate in a tailgating obstacle course.

Bubba's appearance came in the final segment of the show called, "The Berg Challenge" and he appeared under the name "Bluto."

If you saw it, Bubba put forth a valiant effort, but came up short against his opponent, "The Berg." The Berg was able to get a head start on Bubba because he was extremely skilled at cornhole, the challenge's first event.

No harsh feelings though, The Berg was a cool dude (a champion among champions, if you will) and he looked like he was still drunk from the night before.

Unfortunately for Streit, he didn't realy end up appearing the show. However, several of us appear behind Bubba (and received close ups of our horrific faces), and we looked like complete idiots. Awesome.

Bubba, however, appeared downright dignified in his bowtie and represented the Bulldawg Nation well.

still a champion

I thought that the show was pretty good overall. It captured the tailgting experience fairly well, at least as best anyone could in a 30 minute show. Of course, some fans with a hint of douchebaggery made it on, but so did some pretty awesome fans as well.

I also like how the show the profiled downtown Athens at night. That's definitely unique among any show that has tried to profile the college gameday experience.

If we can get the video, we'll put it up on the blog.

At the end of the season, they're going to have a vote for the best tailgating among the campuses they profiled. Hopefully we'll be able to as good of a job campaigning for that as we did for our buddy Alex over at Junkyard Blawg.

Georgia vs. Auburn in the Richt Era Part 2: 2004 - 2005

*** This part two of a series looking at the Georgia Auburn series since 2001.

2004

In 2004, Georgia and Auburn were two teams made up of senior leaders. Georgia was led by quarterback David Greene, wide recevier Fred Gibson, and defensive end David Pollack. Auburn countered with quarterback Jason Campbell and running backs Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams. Georgia had opened the year in the top 5 and after big wins over LSU and Florida, came into the game with only one loss. Auburn had became the team that many through they would be in 2003. The offensive combination of Campbell, Brown, and Williams combined with a defensive led by Junior Rosegreen had led the Tigers to an undefeated record and a #2 ranking. Larry Munson helped hype the game on College Game day that morning:


What looked like a good game going in became a lopsided affair. Auburn grabbed the lead on 1 yard TD run by Cadillac Williams in the first and that was all the scoring they would end up needing. Auburn's defense shut down the Georgia attack, even when it appeared Georgia may get in the end zone. David Pollack blocked a second quarter Auburn punt and Georgia drove toward the Auburn end zone. But Carlos Rodgers picked off a David Greene pass in the end zone, spoiling Georgia's best chance to get points in the half. Auburn added a trick play touchdown pass and a field goal and took a 17-0 lead into the locker room.

Georgia tried to get back in the game in the third quarter, when David Greene hit Reggie Brown with a pass to Auburn 20. But Auburn corner Junior Rosegreen put a helmet to helmet hit on Brown,causing him to lose the ball and consciousness (the hit led to a rule change protecting receivers from helmet to helmet hits). The refs ruled the play a fumble and Auburn took over. Georgia managed to finally scored on a touchdown pass to Leonard Pope with just over two minutes to play, but Auburn easily won the game.

Auburn 24, Georgia 6


2005:

Coming off their first loss of the season against Florida the week before, the Bulldogs were looking to get revenge on Auburn for the 2004 beat down. The Dawg nation was excited because quarterback DJ Shockley was returning to action after missing the Florida game with a knee injury. #9 Georgia welcomed #15 Auburn back to Athens with a chance to clinch the SEC East title:


What happenned was one of the most exciting games in this storied rivalry's history.

Auburn's Kenny Irons, who had a huge game for the Tigers rushing for 179 yards, opened the scoring with a 30 yard touchdown run. After a Brandon Coutu field goal, a touchdown pass to Leonard Pope gave Georgia their first lead and was the second of 8 lead changes in the game. A second Irons touchdown and another Coutu field goal made the game a 14-13 Auburn lead at the half.

DJ Shockley, who finished the game 20 of 36 for 302 yards and two scores, hooked up with freshman Mohammd Massaquoi for a touchdown to give the lead back to Georgia. The teams traded touchdowns and the score 27-21 in favor of Georgia early in the fourth. Auburn drove to the Georgia 11, but a Kenny Irons fumble gave it back to the Dawgs. Georgia would soon return the favor, as Brannen Southerland fumbled a pass at the 15 and Karibi Dede scooped it up for the 15 yard touchdown. With nine minutes to go, the game was about to get really interesting.

With Auburn leading by 1 (at 28-27), Georgia was able to get a 41 yard field goal from Brandon Coutu to take a 2 point lead with 3 and half minutes left. Georgia forced Auburn into a fourth down, but Brandon Cox (in his only good game of his career against Georgia) found Devin Aromashodu went 62 yards before fumbling just before the goal line. Auburn luckily recovered and kicked a field goal to take a 1 point lead with 6 seconds left. Georgia would go on to win the SEC Championship that year, but the memory of this game still hurts.

Auburn 31, Georgia 30

Tomorrow: Part 3 - Stafford Dominates, the Blackout, and AJ Green (2006-2008)

See Bubba and Streit on TV: Masters of the Tailgate

A new television show, called Masters of the Tailgate, on the Versus Channel was in Athens on the weekened of the LSU game to tape segments for an episode detailing tailgating at UGA. David Hale mentioned the show in a blog post yesterday.

Bubba was chosen to be a contestant in what amounted to a tailgating obstacle course. Once the producer laid eyes on Bubba, he knew there was no better choice for the show. MT (frequent commenter here), told the producer that Bubba's name was Bluto, so that's what he's referred to on the show.

One of the last missions on the obstacle course was to catch a pass, and Streit had the honor of making a cameo by throwing the football to Bubba. He was a spitting image of David Greene, and you should be able to see for yourself on the show.

I've forgotten to DVR the previous episodes (filmed at Ohio State and Floriduh), so I don't know how they actually set up the show. However, I'm hoping it will be pretty funny. The crew members of the show were pretty cool, as well as one of the hosts being somewhat attractive (MASSIVE UNDERSTATEMENT).

The show is appearing on Versus today at 4:30p.m. Unfortunately, I haven't found any scheduled repeats. So, make sure you set your DVR.

If we can get a video of the episode, we will post the video (likely against the wishes of Bubba).

Until then, below are some pictures from Bubba's appearance. You can see most of the Bubba 'N Earl team and extended family in the background of the pics.

The Legend

some douchebag in the background

Declaring the impending victory

The opposition

Georgia vs. Auburn in the Richt Era, Part 1: 2001-2003

*** This is the first post in a series that looks back at the Georgia-Auburn Rivalry since Mark Richt came to Georgia in 2001.

2001:

Mark Richt’s first Bulldog came into the Deep’s South Oldest Rivalry ranked #22 in the country, including their upset victory over Tennessee in Knoxville. The Dawgs were led by a freshman quarterback David Greene and linebackers Boss Bailey and Tony Gilbert. In their third season under Tommy Tuberville, Auburn had struggled to find a solid starter a quarterback. Freshman Jason Campbell saw his share of snaps that season, but the starter on that day was Daniel Cobb, a former Georgia player who had left when Quincy Carter came to Athens. By the end of the game, a young star would cement his place in the rivalry’s record books and a young coach would learn a lesson in time management.

Georgia jumped on top the Tigers early to open the contest. Borrowing a play from his years at Florida State, David Greene executed a near perfect “hidden ball” play action pass that resulted in a 67 yard touchdown to fellow freshman Fred Gibson. Carnell “Cadillac” Williams would make his first big play of the game in the first on a 1 yard touchdown run that tied the game after 1. Georgia would take the lead on another long TD pass, this time a 56 yard strike to Terrence Edwards that gave the Dawgs a 14-7 halftime lead. Auburn made some adjustments in the locker room, and took the lead back from the Dawgs before a Billy Bennett field goal tied the game at 17.

In the fourth quarter, the game was taken over by Cadillac Williams. On an Auburn single game record of 41 carries, Williams rushed for 167 yards. The most important yard was his final one, which came on his second 1 yard touchdown of the day that gave Auburn the lead with very little time to go. Georgia was able to quickly drive the ball down near the Auburn goal line. But with just seconds remaining and no timeouts, Richt elected to go with a running play. Jasper Sanks was stopped at the one and the Dawgs were unable to run another play.

Two goal line failures will be what Jasper's career at Georgia will be remembered for

Auburn 24, Georgia 17

2002:

Georgia came to the Plains with a shot to clinch it’s first ever trip to the SEC Championship game but came out looking flat against the underdog Tigers (or Eagles or whatever). Without receivers Terrence Edwards and Damien Gary and Fred Gibson playing with a cast, Georgia needed to find another target in the passing game. Few expected the hero that would emerge that day.
Georgia struggled to get much offense going in the first half and had only 3 points on a Billy Bennett field goal to show for. For Auburn, just as Cadillac Williams broke out against the Dawgs in ’01, Ronnie Brown made his presence known to the rivalry in 2002. Brown scored on a 53 yard scamper to give the #22 Tigers a 14-3 lead on #6 rated Georgia going into half.

After an inspiring speech by senior tackle Jon Stinchomb at half, Georgia came out determined to not let their championship dreams die. Led by the play of safety Sean Jones (both on defense and on special teams) the Dawgs clawed their way back within 4 with a 1:15 showing on the clock. Georgia was able to drive into the red zone but after a penalty and a few incompletions found themselves at 4th and 15. David Green then ran the play 70X takeoff and lofted a jump ball to receiver Michael Johnson. Here’s the call from Larry Munson…


It was Johnson’s 13th catch on the day and it sent Georgia to its first ever SEC Championship game. I was in the third row on the opposite side of the stadium and did not know who had caught the pass until the following Monday (I thought it was Gibson).

Georgia 24, Auburn 21

2003:

Georgia came into the 2003 match up with Auburn with a record of 7-2, holding onto hopes of a rematch against LSU in the SEC Championship game. Auburn, who has started the year in the top 10 had struggled and came to Athens with a 6-4 record. After the last minute victory on the Plains in 02, Georgia was looking to defeat Auburn at home for the first time since 1991.
The game would be all Georgia in the first half. Billy Bennett connected on two field goals and David Greene found Michael Johnson for a 19 yard touchdown as the Dawgs took a 13-0 lead into halftime.

Auburn put together a nice drive to open the second half, driving inside the Georgia ten. Kicker Philip Yost, who had attempted a 60 yarder at the end of the first half (he missed), shanked a 25 yarder. Georgia would take over a cap off another scoring drive with a 16 yard touchdown run by Kregg Lumpkin. Auburn once again drove down the field, but on a 3rd and goal they decided to go against using Williams or Brown and put the ball in Jason Campbell’s hands. Tony Taylor tipped a pass and the rest was history:


Auburn scored a late touchdown to avoid the shutout, but Georgia had defeated Auburn for the second year in a row.

Georgia 26, Auburn 7

Tomorrow: Auburn comes roaring back (2004-2005)

Help Alex Win Tickets To Auburn

Alex, a dear friend and a devoted reader of this blog (I also wrote a piece about his father here), is eligible to win tickets from Bill King over at the AJC's Junkyard Blawg.

Go here, and vote for picture No. 2. Just so we're clear, here is the picture you need to vote for:

That is a picture of Alex's foot (yes the tattoo is real), and it just further proves his dedication to the Dawg Nation.

I know it'll be tempting to vote for the first picture since it has Mike Woods in it. However, Mike Woods is not submitting it, and anybody can paint their face. That's no big deal compared to putting that on your foot.

Remember, vote for Alex, No. 2!

When we last met...

November 15, 2008 - Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama:

Auburn came up just short of upsetting the #10 ranked Bulldogs at home. AJ Green caught the go ahead touchdown with 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter to give Georgia 17-13 lead. Auburn then drove the field, but the Georgia defense was able to force an incompletion on a fourth down pass from Cody Burns. The 17-13 victory was Georgia's third straight over Auburn and 5th in the last 7 meetings.

BNE Pick 'Em Week 10

It was a great weekend for college football, and even better because I finally got back to making good picks! But seriously, has this not been a great season of Pick 'Em for college football? Each weekend so far has provided numerous opportunities to follow along as you watch your games and root for your picks. I hope that you have had as much fun so far this season, and I'm sure you can't wait for bowl season to begin.

While Oregon proved to be the biggest let down overall from college football, it was Ohio State proving to be the biggest upset to most everyone in the Pick 'Em. 83% of you took the bait and forgot how good a team Ohio State is, at least in Big Ten play, as they put a beat down on Penn State 24-7. In addition, 69% of you forgot that Oklahoma doesn't have Sam Bradford, as Nebraska held on to beat the Sooners 10-3. Don't forget folks, its not just about the W, its also about the point spread. Case in point, Florida: their defense is good, but their offense is even more shaky than Alabama. The Gators managed a tough win against Vandy 27-3 but failed to cover the 33 point spread.

With the exceptions noted above, everyone else seemed to have the swing of things as everyone made the easy choice in SEC homecoming games. LSU had a tough loss to Bama after losing two starters, while SUC was picked apart, wing by wing, by the Razorbacks, but everyone made the right choice in these two games.

Air Force cruised to a win over Army in a very touching game especially in light of the events at Ft. Hood. I know some of you questioned why I picked two academy games this season, but if you don't realize how much our service men and women mean to this country, then you better take some time and think about all that is around you. Everything we have today has come to us because of the sacrifice by our men and women in uniform. The next time you see a soldier, airmen, seamen or Marine, just stop and say thank you. Believe me, we owe them at least that much.

So, with this quick week covered, let's see where we stand...

Standings overall from through week 10:
1. Dutch and shelt320 (Congratulations on beating out Gen.Stoopangle for #1)
3. DawgDai
4. Gen.Stoopangle (so you are mortal afterall)
5. allyugadawg
6. bulldog91
7. dawgsman81 and DonaldEason
9. BFR
10. ecdawg

From the BNE Staff:
1. BFR
2. earl
3. bubba
4. aumaverick
5. Streit
6. bulldawgjosh

The Bottom Feeder of the Week is brought to you by www.despair.com.
mmike032 has been our consistent BFW for the Pick 'Em this year, going six straight weeks at the bottom of the pool. Remember mmike032, consistency is only a virtue if you're not a screw up, and its only a short trip from riding the waves of change to being torn apart by the jaws of defeat.

 Next week's matchups will feature...who cares, its the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry between Auburn and UGA. Auburn leads the DSOR 53-51-8. This year's rivalry will be played in Athens, with both teams coming off large victories over FCS opponents and trying to earn wins for a better bowl berth...actually, UGA is still hoping for a win to get a bowl game. I wonder if Georgia will come out with silver helmets, black jerseys and red britches to spark the team to a win over Auburn...maybe not. Good luck!

Thoughts on Tennessee Tech

What a great game it was yesterday for the Georgia Bulldogs. I know someone will say it was only Tennessee Tech and another person will say, "You only scored 38 points." It doesn't matter. If Coach Richt had wanted the team to score 70, we could have very easily. After we come out and scored on the opening drive of the second half to go up 38-0, the back ups were in and we basically ran the ball up the gut the rest of the day. Tennessee Tech was the worst team I've ever seen us play and we dominated them like we should. Here are my final thoughts on the game:

- I'll start with the only negatives. Still too many penalties, but at this point enough has been said. Logan Gray's interception near the end of the first half was really bad. it was inderthrown into double coverage. As my friend said, maybe no one will ask why Logan is not playing more from here on out after that pass. Alright, on to the positives.

- Aron White and Orson Charles are both playing really well right now. I would love to see them more involved in the passing game as teams will continue to double cover AJ Green.

- Branden Smith = FAST

- The running game looked great. Ealey got the first two TDs of his career and Caleb King has continued to improve. I think these two will be a hell of a backfield in the coming years.

- The defense was lights out. Here's a closer look at how dominate the defense was.
> Tennessee Tech went 3 and out of their first four possessions of the game
> They only crossed the 50 yard line once the entire game
> Georgia allowed only 68 yards passing and -13 yards rushing, for a total only 55 yards of total offense allowed all game
> Georgia held them to 4 of 13 on third downs

In the end, Georgia got the one thing it needed most: a victory. Now we have a huge game with Auburn on Saturday. With South Carolina suddenly struggling, we have a shot at finishing in at least a tie for 2nd place in East.

Let's give 'em hell this Saturday. GO DAWGS!!!