One Goal

This season began with promise: an experienced team with a high ranking and an easy schedule.  Many of the players talked about an ultimate goal, making it to Miami for the National Championship game.  But as we watched the debacle that took place on Saturday night, all of those lofty dreams quickly died to the sound of Sandstorm over the loud speaker.  Maybe the players were not focused, the coaching staff ill-prepared, or maybe South Carolina is just that good.  We’ll never truly know why the game went so bad on Saturday.  But one thing has become abundantly clear: Georgia must beat Florida.

The coaching staff may mention other goals.  They’ll say we still have a chance at the East, that we can beat Auburn for 6^th time in 7 years and Georgia Tech for the 11^th time in 12.  They’ll say we can return to a New Year’s Bowl game and potentially a BCS game if we win out.  NONE OF THIS MATTERS.

The only goal the coaching staff and the team should be focused on is beating Florida.  The rest of the schedule is filled with scrubs (Kentucky, Ole Miss) and teams that clearly have no idea what they are doing right now (Auburn and Georgia Tech).  Beating them should be expected (and no, that does not mean overlook them, it just means Georgia clearly has more talent).  After two down years, the Florida Gators are trying to reintroduce themselves to the nation.  Their second season under Will Muschamp is beginning to bear a resemblance to Mark Richt’s second season at Georgia, with a strong defense, a reliable running back, and a quickly improving quarterback.  If the Dawgs hope to reclaim what was once a bright season, they must return the favor that the Gators gave them back in 2002.

Florida is still the team that I want to beat more than anyone, and I think most of the Dawg Nation would agree.  South Carolina appears to have turned the corner as an upper echelon team in the East and if the Dawgs don’t want to get left behind, they must take back control of the series in Jacksonville.  We all know the numbers over the last 20 some odd years, but let’s just look at the years under Richt.  Since 2001, Georgia has gone 3-8 against the Gators.  And while that number is still horrendous, it is much better than the one win in the ten previous seasons.  And that record is better when you look at the last 5 years, where Georgia has gone 2-3.  Getting to .500 over the last six would be huge.

The season is not lost, but it sure feels like it.  The fans are angry and some are acting really stupid.  To salvage the season, we need to feel good about something.  Beating Florida (I believe) is what the doctor ordered.  So forget our time, our team, no regrets.  It’s time to embrace the only goal that matters:  BEAT FLORIDA.

Gameday Activities & More Hype in Columbia

The South Carolina State Capitol, located near the Horseshoe (GameDay site) and the Vista bar area.

COLUMBIA, SC -- The excitement for Saturday continues to build. I went to trivia last night at the Thirsty Fellow, which is immediately adjacent to the Colonial Life Arena, and their weekly 'Special' menu featured such items as "Burn the Hedges" Soup, "The DOWNward Dawg Salad, an "UGA-ly Burger," and "The Fall of Athens Dinner." And as you may imagine, 107.5 The Game has been especially interesting, with everyone emphasizing that UGA has been SC's circle game on the calendar which allows them to dismiss their otherwise-dismal performance against the Kentucky Wildcats.

The new Farmer's Market will be hosting a free Billy Currington concert at 5pm on Saturday. The Farmer's Market is located on the Southwest side of the Stadium, immediately opposite the Stadium across Bluff Road (the Bojangles is conveniently accessible).

For Friday night activities, be aware that the Salty Nut/Pavlov bar complex in Five Points will be very busy, with the Salty Nut rumored re-opening finally occurring the same weekend. The bar area though has a large outside setup at night for big home football games, and will still feel more spacious than most of the other cramped Five Points bars. For those unfamiliar with the bar areas, Five Points is generally the more undergrad/throwdown bar area, with the newer Vista bar scene being more appropriate for the older crowd.  If you are looking to find a sports bar to hunker down in, however, the Vista will be a better option (check out the Carolina Ale House).

For Gameday logistics, the South Carolina State Fairgrounds, the primary tailgating venue which varies opening depending on the kickoff time (example, UAB parking for a 7pm kickoff, was not open until 2pm), will officially be open at 8am to accommodate the anticipated hordes of fans descending on Columbia.

USC will also be operating free shuttles from the Fairgrounds to the situs of the GameDay broadcast, from 8:30am until 1:30pm.  Be aware, however, that parking at the Fairgrounds will be more limited than an average game due to setup activities associated with the South Carolina State Fair, which begins the following week. Unless you already have a parking pass for the lot, there will not be general paid parking available at the Fairgrounds.

There will be parking around the Colonial Life Arena, with a (very quick) shuttle over to Williams-Brice Stadium, for those who would like to try and avoid the parking headaches immediately around the Stadium. Make sure to get in the area early to avoid major parking hassles later.

'It's Official,' the Hype in Columbia Has Begun

The SC student newspaper cover, building up the hype on 10/1.

COLUMBIA, SC -- On a wet, dreary, and overcast day in South Carolina, even the weather cannot dampen the irrational exuberance that is part and parcel of the natives' passion for the Gamecocks. Especially on campus, the excitement for the game is noticeably palpable, with 4-5 conversations between myself and Gamechicken fans immediately before & after the normally quiet 8am class bloc.

The excitement is very much justified however, with this being the first top-10 matchup between SC and UGA in the rivalry's historically infrequent matchup. The highest-ranked matchup between our Dawgs and SC occurred, coincidentally enough, in 1980 in a matchup of future Heisman trophy winners George Rogers and Herschel Walker, with #4 UGA beating #14 SC 13-10 in Athens.  The 7pm game will also be the first time SC and UGA have played each other in October since 1971.

The only complaint I have heard so far regarding the ESPN College Gameday selection is the site location of the broadcast.  While ESPN itself considers the Historic Horseshoe as "one of the best sites we've ever had for College GameDay," the Horseshoe is nearly 3 long miles away from Williams-Brice Stadium, located across several railroad tracks and with rows of seedy warehouses and industrial areas further separating the two locations. Especially with the new Farmers Market tailgating grounds, located in an otherwise bleak area surrounding the stadium, it is surprising to me that SC did not try to convince ESPN to more extensively highlight the big upgrade.

As an open question, what pro-UGA ideas come to mind for Gameday sign material for this weekend? With the later than average opening of the Fairground parking lots and surrounding lots, all of the travelling Georgia fans should have plenty of time to visit the Gameday scene before getting down to tailgating business before the big night game.

As things further develop here in Columbia, and the hype/smack talk unfolds, I'll try to add more location-specific coverage as we rapidly approach the big game.

Feel free to toss your visor into the ring in the comments below, or on Twitter!

The Wishlist Week 3: Results

As expected, the Dawgs rolled to an easy win over the Florida Atlantic Owls yesterday.  Once again, the Dawgs gave up too many yards and points to a weak opponent in the first half but they clamped down in the second.  Offensively, the Dawgs could not be stopped (with the exception of a dumb throw by Murray and total ineptitude on the part of back up Christian LeMay).  Vanderbilt comes to town next week for the first of 7 straight SEC games.  Hopefully, they got all of the early game defense lapses out of their system.

Here's how I did this week:

• Two running backs break 100 yards -Check.  Marshall and Gurley both had over 100 yards and each scored a TD.  The future at running back looks mighty bright for the Dawgs.
• No picks for Murray -Nope.  Murray threw a stupid pick in the end zone on his final play.  Before that, he had been absolutely brilliant, throwing for 342 yards on only 14 completions.
• Jordan Jenkins registering a sack -Nope.  Did the Dawgs even register a sack period?  With Jarvis out, we hardly blitzed the entire game.  Not a big deal.
• Malcolm Mitchell catching a pass on offense -Check.  Mitchell caught one pass for 45 yards.  He blew right past the coverage.  With Commings back and Rambo soon to follow, I think its time to Mitchell back on the offensive side.  He's just too good.
• Touchbacks -Check, for the most part.  Even if we didn't kick it deep, we did not allow any big returns.
• Lynch and Rome as more than blockers -Check.  Lynch had a huge game (despite the early fumble).  Rome didn't have a catch, but did not really have a chance to get one.
• A much better game from John Theus -Check.  I don't think he got called for any penalties and Murray was kept off the grass for most of the game.
• Georgia 51, FAU 7 -Close.  If not for Lemay's stupid pick, Georgia would have one by 42, dang close to my prediction of a 44 point victory.

The Wishlist Game 3: Florida Atlantic

Georgia pulled out a huge victory at Missouri last week that took a lot out of the team mentally and physically.  There are a number of players hurt and the focus may already be turned to Vanderbilt.  But the Dawgs should have no problem with the Owls.  Here's what I want to see:

• Two running backs break 100 yards - Gurley did it in week 1 and Marshall has led the team in carries both week.  It's time to give Murray's arm a break and get these guys more carries.\
• No picks for Murray - And he should be out of the game before the 4th quarter.
• Jordan Jenkins registering a sack - He seemed to be all over the place last week.  Time to get his first sack.
• Malcolm Mitchell catching a pass on offense - Champ 2.0...not yet.
• Touchbacks - After kicking it deep against Buffalo, we kicked more directional last week.  This is FAU, just make them start at the 25.
• Lynch and Rome as more than blockers - 1 catch in two games from the tight ends is not what I had in mind coming into the season.
• A much better game from John Theus - We can't have a repeat of last week when we get into the meat of the SEC schedule.
• Georgia 51, FAU 7 - Could we score more?  Definitely.  But Coach Richt will call of the Dawgs early.  I doubt FAU is able to move the ball much.

Old Man T-Shirts

I'm probably not the only one to do this, but I have created a T-shirt in honor of Old Man Football.

If you want one, they can be ordered at:
http://www.customink.com/designs/oldman1/gbh0-000r-e89h/hotlink?pc=HL-76683&cm_mmc=hotlink-_-test_4-_-Body_txt-_-button1

(Please note:  I am not making money off this.  These were made for myself and some friends, but I thought I would share the link.  The shirt does not contain any copyrighted material, so stay off my back NCAA!)