Georgia's Liberty Bowl History: 1987

This is part two of our look at Georgia's history in the Liberty Bowl.

1987: Georgia vs. Arkansas

(Picture Courtesy of DawgToons)

Before Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992, Georgia and Arkansas had only met three times. Each of those contests took place in bowl game. The first two meetings went the way of the Razorbacks, defeating Georgia 16-2 in the 1969 Sugar Bowl and 31-10 in the 1976 Cotton Bowl. The two teams would meet again in Memphis in 1987, one of the last few times they would meet as non-conference opponents.

Georgia entered the 1987 Liberty Bowl with a record of 8-3. Lars Tate and Rodney Hampton were the stars for the Dawgs on offense, but this team was better known for its stars on defense. Georgia greats John Brantley, Richard Tardits, and Bill Goldberg led the team to give up no more than 27 points in any game all season. Georgia had lost 3 games by a combined 20 points, including a 1 point loss to #8 Clemson and a 3 point loss to #7 LSU. All three losses were to ranked teams, leaving the Dawgs with a 1-3 record against ranked opponents for the season.
Arkansas had a similar season to Georgia that fall. They were 9-3 (they played a 12th game against Hawaii in December), with two of their three losses coming to ranked opponents. They boasted the #20 defense in the country and were looking to finish with 10 wins for Coach Dan Hatfield.

53,249 fans were in attendance to see the third matchup of the Dawgs and the Hawgs. Arkansas took an early lead with a field goal. But in the first minute of the second quarter, Lars Tate ran one in from the 1 yard line to give the Dawgs a 7-3 lead. But Arkansas answered with a touchdown pass and took a 10-7 lead into the locker room. Georgia’s offense continued to struggle in the third quarter and Arkansas built their lead to 17-7.

But the Dawgs took control in the fourth quarter. John Kasay kicked a field goal to get the Dawgs within 7 before quarterback James Jackson tied the game on a 5 yard run. With the game tied at 17, defensive back Carver Russaw intercepted an Arkansas pass and ran it back into Hawgs’ territory. A pass from James Jackson to tight end Troy Sadowski set up John Kasay for a game winning field goal attempt. The kick was good and Georgia defeated Arkansas, 20-17. James Jackson was named the MVP, rushing for 72 yards and throwing for 148. The Dawgs finished the season 9-3, their first 9 win season since 1983.

John Kasay: Still kicking in the NFL after all these years

Thoughts on Arkansas

I've waited a few days before writing my thoughts on the last minute loss to Arkansas on Saturday. For much of the game, Georgia looked like a team lost. Lost in the expectations of the fans, in the talent of the other team, and looking for an identity of its own. My thoughts on this game were all over the place, from the incredibly disappointed to the extactically optimistic. When we stopped the Hogs again after getting back to a tie in the fourth, I'd be lying if I said I did not think we were going to win on a field goal. If there is one word I could use to describe my feelings, the word is polarizing. We are 1-2 and looking at a long season ahead, but there certainly are some bright spots from the game.

Let's start with the bad:

- We lost. There's nothing worse than losing in football. Doesn't matter if it is by 1 or 100, it is still a loss in the books. And while I am happy we fought back and had a chance to win, it doesn't really matter in the end.
- Poor Aaron Murray. Yes, he held on to the ball too long a few times, but his receivers were covered. Would you have rather he thrown it up and risked an interception?
- Blown coverages. We got burned short and burned deep. Why can we not defend a crossing route over the middle???
- Without AJ, it is clear we are missing a deep threat. Arkansas stayed in man coverage and the receivers were not getting much separation to take advantage.
- Ealey is a good runner, but we need Caleb back in the game. He is an excellent blocker Ealey clearly is not getting the job done.
- We really missed Branden Smith.

Now, the positive:

- Murray is a special player. Yes, he still makes some freshman mistakes. But he was about one 15 yard pass away from having his very own "David Greene" moment.
- Durham continues to impress me. When AJ gets back, Durham may get even more chances to shine.
- The tackling was improved.
- We fought back. The team could have easily caved with Arkansas up 14 in the 4th. But they didn't. To all those fans who left, shame on you. The team didn't quit, why did you???

We've got to pick up the pieces and move on. There is still a lot of season left. Losing to arguably the best South Carolina and Arkansas teams each school has had in at least a decade does not make me feel so bad. We can right the ship in Starkville on Saturday.

GO DAWGS!!!!

Monday Morning - Still Coming Down

Bloodied, bruised, battered and wondering. It's the state of the program this Monday morning. Here's to it not being so in six weeks. A man can hope.

When we last met: Arkansas Edition

Georgia host Arkansas this weekend in a crucial game if Georgia wants to get back to the 10 win plateau. Last fall, the Dawgs travelled to Fayetteville in a rather similar situation. Georgia was 1-1 after looking sluggish in season opening loss to Oklahoma State and winning a shootout at home against South Carolina. Here is what the folks at College Gameday thought going into that game:


Georgia's "struggling, conservative" offense went out and defeated a high-powered Hogs squad, 52-41:


Georgia, coming off a tough road loss in Columbia, will now face an Arkansas squad that opened the season with two cupcakes on the schedule. The question once again is whether the Georgia defense can step up and force Ryan Mallett to make mistakes. While I don't expect another almost 100 point shootout, I sure hope the results are the same.

Lots of things to say, just not the right words to say them

It has now been a few days since the loss in Columbia, but I am still not sure how I feel about the game. While disappointed in the loss, there were some positives that I think Georgia can really build on through this season. Is this year going to end with a trip to Atlanta, probably not. But have I given up hope of a 9-3 season and a New Year's day bowl appearance? No.

The Bulldogs face a major challenge at home on Saturday with the high powered offense of Arkansas coming to town. As we saw first hand last year, Ryan Mallett and his stable of receivers can put up a lot of points. Arkansas has good, not great numbers, through its first two games after playing cupcakes in both contests. Georgia, on the other hand, played a tough conference road game that was within a single touchdown until late in the fourth quarter.

As shaky as the tackling was last week, I think our defense is definitely better than what Arkansas brings to the table. Justin Houston continues to be one of the most impressive looking players in the SEC and if we get pressure on Mallett, he will make some bad throws. On offense, I hope that the coaching staff has realized it cannot continue hold Murray back and expect to score many points. South Carolina loaded the box on Georgia and without the threat of deep passes, they forced the Dogs into 4 three and outs.

Vegas has us favored to win on Saturday, and right now I seem to agree. A Georgia victory on Saturday will be to turning this season around quickly. I just hope the team is ready, or else the trips to Starkville and Boulder may be a lot tougher (and more important) than we thought.

LONG WAY TO FIND A WAL-MART: ROAD TRIP TO FAYETTEVILLE

THE DRIVE

Bubba and I ventured out Friday morning on a trip of a lifetime. Okay, maybe not a trip of a lifetime, but an awesome trip it would be.

Is there such a thing as a good rental car? Only if it's red or black!

It started off uneventful because, well, there's nothing of note in north Alabama or Mississippi. However, north Alabama does appear to be the bingo capital of the world. We counted no less than 10 bingo parlors in a 10 mile stretch.

Just after lunch, we rolled into Memphis and ate some of the best ribs I've ever tasted here:

The rest of the drive was pretty boring. There's nothing in Arkansas. Nothing.

However, once you get on I-540, the 45 minute drive to Fayetteville is awesome. You're surrounded by the Ozarks and it makes for a hell of a sight to see.

By simply listening to the radio and looking at the landscape of Arkansas, 3 things become very clear: Arkansas loves 80s music, giant American flags (no car dealership necessary), and strip clubs in awful looking, rusted out warehouses (trucker's paradise).

We also failed to see any UGA fans driving to the game (I don't blame you).

FAYETTEVILLE - FRIDAY NIGHT

We rolled into Fayetteville at about 9pm, and immediately went to the stadium. Its an impressive place, and the video screen is massive.

We continued through the campus, which also turned out to be much nicer than we anticipated.

Rolling into Dickson Street, we saw a good number of bars and restaurants.

We met up with our friend Tyler, a native of Fayetteville, and hit up a couple bars including Brewski's and the Hog Haus Brewery.

While in Hog Haus we be-friended a Bama and LSU fan that gave us some good information on the town.

The upsides to Fayetteville were the good number of bars (probably around 15-20), and plenty of good looking ladies. Again, I was worried in the mountains, but there's nothing to worry about in this town.

The downside is that most of the bars ended up having a cover after about 11pm. Pretty lame, but I guess it's to be expected. It's better than Auburn, where they have covers on all 3 of their bars.

Unfortunately, it was only after we left for the night that we found out that there is a piano bar in downtown Fayetteville.

GAME DAY

We headed out from our hotel in Bentonville, aka Wal-Mart Land, early on to get a head start.

We saw a Chik-Fil-A, and immediately stopped so that we could get something of Georgia and some decent sweet tea (real sweet tea doesn't exist in Arkansas).

Everything you could ever want.

After getting back into Fayetteville, we traveled through campus trying to figure out the parking situation. It was about 11am, and while some were out tailgating, the campus was not packed by any means.

After about an hour of driving around and talking to a cop, we finally found a parking garage that we were able to park in for free (wasn't suppose to be free, but we're that good), and that was a good halfway point between downtown and the main area for tailgating.

There wasn't much open downtown in the morning, and we ended up back at Hog Haus Brewery.

Dawg fans started to fill the upstairs bar, and we met some great Dawg fans from Atlanta and Kansas City.

Beer and football, these are things that I like.

We also met our first Arkansas fans that were really into having visiting opponents in town and approached us to talk about football.

At this point, of the Dawg fans we had encountered, we were by far the youngest around, and the Dawg ladies were few and far between.

TAILGATING

We headed out to campus about 3 1/2 hours before the game.

Arkansas' campus is beautiful, and you can tell they've got a lot of money pouring into this school (having the Walton family and Jerry Jones doesn't hurt). The arbotoreum that borders downtown is very similar looking to UGA's North Campus.

That's right, I'm too cool for your sign. Deal with it.

Tailgating at Arkansas has all the necessities, but it's just normal and basic for the most part.

One thing that pissed me off was how all the lots surrounding the stadium were permit only, but some of them half empty before the game. I would have thrown down the money for one to avoid the long hill to our parking deck.

We did stop and talk to a lot of Arkansas fans on the way to a UGA tailgate. While my motivation was mainly to mooch their television to see the Gator/Vols game, I did want to really meet their fans. Up to this point, their fans had not been outgoing for the most part.

I guess that's something to brag about? Whatever.

On the walk through campus, we did meet some undergrads outside of some dorms. These guys were real cool, and like all good college students, they were most interested in drinking (we did provide them some needed cups to hold said beer).

We did tell them the glories of Athens, and how they will need to come to the game next year to see some real partying.

One of the better parts of tailgating was where some local UGA alumni were stationed in a Gazebo in the Gardens (really just very nice landscaped green space). It was a pretty good set up, and having that Gazebo was pretty damn nice.

I'll have to give a big thanks to the Dawgs that hosted that event and allowed us to crash it. To the Kansas City Dawgs and the ex-Gwinnett Dawgs now in Fayetteville, THANKS!

That UGA tailgate was a great time, and it was a relief to finally be around a substantial amount of Dawg Fans.

THE FANS

Arkansas fans are nice people, and when we engaged them, they were great.

However, they are probably the least outgoing to meet opposing fans as I've ever experienced.

Arkansas fans can also be described as lacking in originality. The best insults we received were "Georgia Sucks," and "Fuck Georgia." Not too original there.

There was one fan that held a "This Guy Sucks" sign over Bubba and I. However, we thought it was hilarious and wanted a picture of it, but the guy ran off.

THE GAME

Stadium=awesome. Pretty good design and setup, it was nice inside, and great views of the field. Everything you hear about the scoreboard is true, and that place can get pretty damn loud (even if they're not using their PA to increase the noise).

Unfortunately, Bubba and I got to our seats just before kickoff, so we did not get to see the pre-game pomp and circumstance.

We sat in the last row of the upper deck, and that was actually a surprisingly good view:

The Dawg fans were spread out through our area, and not bunched together in a typical road game fashion (or perhaps the beer and matching colors confused me).

We did have a pretty fun group of Razorbacks in front of us that we went back and forth with the entire game. Our picture with them provides documented proof of attractive women in the Ozarks:

Wooooooooooo Pig Sooie!!!

LEAVING

We skipped out of town after game to get a head start on driving back, and we crashed in little rock for the night.

We were able to stop again in Memphis for some BBQ, and we even saw some fellow Dawgs stopping there as we pulled out.

THINGS I REGRET

Not asking everyone if they hated Target or if they secretly hated Wal-Mart, but weren't allowed to say anything.

Not getting my picture with the golden hog statue in the Gardens.

Continually telling that Kansas State fan that he was awesome for wearing his team's shirt and not selling out to his friends' peer pressure (I was in an "altered" state).

SUMMARY

Fayetteville is an awesome college town, one of the nicer stadiums you will go to, the women are good, more bars than most towns, the campus is beautiful, and it's definitely worth the trip.

If you do want to drive, don't. Maybe do it once, but that's it. Take the plane.

There is nothing southern about Arkansas. That's okay, but it's the truth.

I would drive through Arkansas again anyday to not have to drive through Alabama ever again.

Victory pics are the best!

GO DAWGS!!

A Quick Look At Fayetteville

Bubba and I are currently working on our post reviewing the road trip to Fayetteville, but here are a few quick points:

-The best word to describe Fayetteville is UNDERRATED

-Great town, great campus, great ladies, and a great stadium

-It's one of the better college towns I've been to for a game.

-Arkansas had all the necessities for Game Day, but it wasn't too special when it came to tailgating or anything. It was good, but it didn't blow you away like LSU or Ole Miss (then again, I wasn't expecting it to).

We will provide all the details asap.

Thoughts on Arkansas

Well, I might as well give up trying to figure out what this group of Bulldogs is going to do when it steps on the field on Saturdays in 2009. I knew the Dawgs would score more than most people thought (I predicted 34 points), but no way did i for see the Dawgs giving up 41 and scoring 52 of their own. Here's a run down of what I saw out of the Dawgs last night.

Let's start with the bad, because there was plenty of it. While the game plan put together by Willie Martinez did what it was supposed to against South Carolina, it failed miserably against Arkansas. The Dawgs were repeatedly beaten short, deep, over the middle, and in the flats. In other words, the Georgia defense did very little to shut down Ryan Mallett all night long. Mallett has a great arm (even better than I thought coming in) and made some great throws, but in most cases he was simply playing pitch and catch with open receivers. Was the coverage really that bad? My answer is no and here is why. Georgia's complete failure to get any kind of pass rush allowed Mallett to take his time. A good quarterback with plenty of time will find someone open, no matter how good the coverage is. I felt like I was watching a Patriots game from a few years ago where Tom Brady had all day to find Randy Moss. There are major issues with the pass defense and luckily for Georgia, there is not another big time passing program on the schedule for the next few weeks.

Once again, the kickoffs were an issue. After a good week against Carolina and some decent kickoffs in the first half, the Dawgs seemed to go back to the directional kicking. Walsh ended up kicking 2 in a row out of bounds. Georgia then brought in Bogatay and had him kick a pooch kick which gave Arkansas position ahead of the 40. Giving teams with any kind of offense this good of field position is just asking to be scored on. Penalties were once again a major problem, but at least Reshad Jones managed to avoid any personal fouls this week. Other than the pass defense, the other major concern I have for Georgia going forward is the turnovers. Once again, two fumbles inside our own 35 left Arkansas with a short field and the capitalized on both. You can't keep asking the defense to get a stop and then turn around to head back out two plays later in worse field position they were in. Losing the turnover battle 3-1 every game is not going to cut it with LSU, Tennessee, Florida, and Auburn left on the schedule.

Now, onto the good things about the win over Arkansas.

The Dawg Nation can no longer doubt Joe Cox. The performance he put up last night may have been better than ANY performance Stafford put on in 3 years at the position. For his 375 yard, 5 touchdown performance, the Ginger Assassin (or Ginger Ninja if you prefer) was named National Offensive Player of the Week. Add in the dropped pass by TK, and Cox would have had over 400 yards and 6 scores. His passes had zip, the deep balls were on the money, and the decision making was great. He found the open man, be it Mike Moore, Orson Charles, or AJ Green and never doubted his arm. What a great performance.

AJ Green turned in another amazing game and is really starting to show what a difference being healthy makes. AJ had an amazing 2008, but in '09 he looks stronger, faster, and more confident. We may be looking at the best receiver to ever come through Athens and quite possibly the best receiver in the country. Richard Samuel's 80 yard run was a thing of beauty, but overall he had a pretty pedestrian night. I was very excited to see the great effort turned in by Caleb King. King ran like a man who was ready to be a top player in the SEC and I can only expect his carries will increase in the coming weeks.

We won the game and that is all that matters. We come home to face Arizona State before LSU comes to town. Let's hope Coach Richt and the staff make some changes, or we could be in for more shootouts this season.

GO DAWGS!!!

West Bound and Down, Dawgs vs. Hawgs

Bubba and I will be hitting the road tomorrow morning on our way to Fayetteville, Arkansas. It will be a long trip into hostile territory with what is most likely the smallest group of traveling fans the Dawgs will have all season and we wouldn't have it any other way. We will absolutely be stopping in Memphis for BBQ, and we might divert for a little while to make a stop at Ole Miss.

If you're going to be in Fayetteville, leave us a comment with your contact or shoot me an e-mail at bulldawgjosh@gmail.com, and we'll meet up with you to go find some roasted hawg. Until next time, GO DAWGS!

"I'm fussy about my barbecue. If it's not pork, it's not barbecue." - Lewis Grizzard

THE ARKANSAS PREVIEW

After one of the craziest and hard fought victories for Georgia in recent memory last week against South Carolina, the Dawgs hit the road headed for Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks for the first time since 2005. Georgia leads the all-time series between the two teams, 8-3, including the 30-3 victory in the 2002 SEC Championship Game. Here is the Bubba N' Earl preview of the 2009 match up between the Dawgs and the Hogs.

Who are these guys?

Arkansas comes into the game with a record of 1-0 after defeating Missouri State on September. Quarterback Ryan Mallett, finally eligbile after sitting out the 2008 season after transferring from Michigan, had a career day throwing for 309 yards in the 48-10 victory. Arkansas finished the 2008 season 5-7 under Bobby Petrino and are poised to perform better in '09. They have a quality runningback in Michael Smith, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2008, and one of the best tight ends in the country, DJ Williams. They have a number of other quality receivers, giving Mallet a number of targets to throw at. Mallett, who started a few games at Michigan his freshman year, is a tall, stand still quarterback. Unlike our last two opponents, the Georgia D should not have too worry about Mallett running the ball too much. Their offensive line allowed the most sacks in the SEC in '08, so look for the Dawgs to try and get to Mallett early and often.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Razorbacks defensive line looks to be the strength of young, but talented group. They also return all three starters at linebacker. The secondary is the weak point and Georgia should look to exploit some mismatches.

What are the Dawgs going to do?

The key word for Georgia in this game is RUSH. This will be the key for both the offense and the defense. On defense, if Georgia can utilize a similar game plan from the South Carolina game, they should be able to get hits on Mallet much easier than they were able to get to Stephen Garcia. If Mallett struggles early, look for Arkansas to rely on its run game, an area where the Georgia advantage on the line will be key. Also, look for a lot of pressure from DE Justin Houston, who returns after missing the first two games. Houston's return allows for Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens to resume their normal roles in the middle of the Georgia defensive from. I don't expect too much blitzing from the linebackers this week, as Arkansas will try to spread the field with multiple receiver sets. If Georgia can cut down on the short passes to the tight end, they will make a major stride in winning the battle on defense.

Offensively, the return of Caleb King could not come at a better time. The performance of Richard Samuel last week proves that he is willing to run straight at opponents and try to gain yards after contact. The 'slash and dash' style of King should provide a little balance and hopefully allow the offense to establish the running game early. If the running game clicks, look for Bobo to call some play action in the second quarter and try to take advantage of AJ Green's downfield ability. Once again, Brandedn Smith and Orson Charles may have large roles in the success of the offense, though I also expect Brown and Wooten to get their first receptions this week.

What is going to happen?

Unlike last week, expect the first quarter of the game to go by quickly as Georgia will attempt to establsih the running game. Georgia pressure on Mallett will either force some errant throw or sacks and will allow Georgia to control the field position game. I expect Georgia to have strong second and third quarters and open up a comfortable lead. The Arkansas passign attack will lead the Hogs back in the fourth, but it will be too little, too late.

Georgia 34, Arkansas 20

This Man is Coaching Arkansas' Special Teams...

Let Us Not Forget

Two years ago, Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino was in his first season as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. After Mike Vick went to jail and the team struggled, Petrino quit on his team and took the job at Arkansas. While things seem to have worked out well for the Falcons, let's not forget what a dick move that was. He walked out on his players and the city that supported the team. In the wake of Petrino's dash to Fayetteville, even the stooges at the Worldwide Leader were ripping on Petrino:

While not all Georgia fans are Falcons fans and the teams are completely separate, a win for the Dawgs over the Hogs this Saturday would be a nice kick in the ass from everyone who calls Atlanta home. This guy is known to always be looking for the next job (see Auburn in 2003 for example) and it is just a matter of time before he turns his back on Arkansas.

Arkansas Notes: The Series

Georgia leads the overall series with Arkansas 8-3. The first four meetings came in bowl games with Arkansas as a member of the old Southwestern Conference (SWC). The first was in the 1969 Sugar Bowl where the Hogs defeated the '68 SEC Champion Dawgs 16-2. The next was in the 1976 Cotton Bowl where the '75 SWC Champion Hogs again defeated the Dawgs 31-10. The third matchup came in the 1987 Liberty Bowl where the Dawgs finally beat the Hogs 20-17. Finally, the fourth matchup came in the 1991 Independence Bowl where the Dawgs evened the series, winning 24-15.

The Dawgs are 3-0 all-time in Fayetteville, and 4-0 vs. the Hogs under Mark Richt, including the 2002 SEC Championship Game 30-3.

Last Meeting: 2005 in Athens. 23-20 Dawgs. The biggest news to come out of this game was the injury to D.J. Shockley that kept him out of the Florida game the next week.

Arkansas Notes: Special Teams & Offense

With all of the kickoff return yardage in last Saturday's UGA-South Carolina game, you'd think maybe we'd get a chance to catch our breath this coming Saturday against Arkansas. Not so...

Arkansas kick returner Dennis Johnson returned the opening kickoff of the season for a 91-yard touchdown vs. Missouri State two weeks ago. I'm sure this will lead our coaches to believe the freakin' corner kick is the way to go against the Razorbacks. We all know that the ONE time South Carolina put a nice return on the deep kickoff, the Dawgs went right back to directional kickoffs.

On the flip side, Arkansas is having trouble keeping the kickoff inbounds with kickers Alex Tejada and Cameron Bryan, spotting the ball on the 40-yard line twice for Missouri State, a problem that reared its ugly head for Arkansas last year.

It might turn out to be another interesting night on special teams.

On the Arkansas offensive side of the ball...

Thirteen (13) different Arkansas players caught passes vs. Missouri State for a school record 447 passing yards, with Jarius Wright leading them with 6 catches for 139 yards. Meanwhile, senior receiver London Crawford was injured vs. Missouri State and won't play on Saturday night. But with 13 different players making plays in the passing game, we'll see if Crawford's injury really matters.

And of course there's tight end D.J. Williams, one of the best in the SEC. And after what South Carolina's tight end did to the Dawgs last Saturday, Williams should be licking his chops.

Thank goodness for the return of defensive end Justin Houston. With Houston's knack to rush the passer and Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett's knack for being big, white and slow, the Dawgs could finally have some success getting to the quarterback. And hopefully Cornelius Washington will come along with Houston.

Senior running back Michael Smith is a really good one and a run-stuffing defensive end like Rod Battle will be missed, but both Jeff Owens and Geno Atkins are willing to play a little defensive end and Georgia has been able to stop the run.

UGA Leading the Way for CFN's September Buzz

The guys over at CollegeFootballNews.com have an interesting Tuesday roundtable today...which program is getting no attention today, but will by the end of September?

Two votes for UGA (Pete Fiutak/CFN and Hunter Ansley/DraftZoo.com) and a picture of Rennie Curran says the roundtable likes the Dawgs.

Proving that BNE can post a picture of Rennie Curran too...with the ball...take that CFN

Fiutak: Am I too much of a wuss if I take Georgia? I have a gnawing feeling that Mark Richt has the type of team good enough to hold Oklahoma State in check in the season opener, beat South Carolina, Arkansas and Arizona State to be a strong 4-0 at the end of September and be ranked fifth in the nation going into the LSU showdown.

Ansley: ...But the team that will be back in the national spotlight after losing three major offensive stars to the NFL is Georgia. Somehow this team gets overlooked every time they lose a few players to the next level. When David Greene left Athens, no one expected DJ Shockley to lead them to the SEC title, but he did. There weren’t huge expectations in 2007 when the Dawgs found their way to a Sugar Bowl blowout. And here we are again, with Georgia likely to find a home in the middle to lower half of the first preseason polls. But a solid season shouldn’t be surprising. Georgia always seems to thrive when they fly under the radar. This is a team that has won 10 or more games in six of the last seven seasons.

Richard Cirminiello of CFN likes Arkansas in September and I can't say that I disagree with him. I think Bobby Petrino will find success in Fayetteville and that usually begins in the second year for good college coaches. Of course, Georgia travels there on September 19 after tough games against Oklahoma State and South Carolina, while Arkansas is coming off a bye week after opening with a cupcake. In other words, Arkansas is preparing for Georgia right now.