WILL GEORGIA WIN THE 2014 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP?

Welcome back, Nation.  The 2014 college football season is finally upon us.  Can I get a “Go DAWGS!”?  All spring and summer I listen to folks talk about how they just can’t wait for football season to come back around and how they just can’t wait to see those DAWGS running loose again.  Well, here we are.

Will this finally be the year our beloved Georgia Bulldogs win a national championship?  Well, we’ll get to that.

This year, just like every year, the DAWGS will take the field carrying their own hopes and dreams, as well as the hopes and dreams of a nation…the DAWG Nation…on their shoulders.  The young men that wear the red and black have been working every day since that last whistle blew to do what it takes to get the job done this time around.  Each and every one of them have committed body and soul to the “G” in pursuit of that most elusive of goals.  Think about that as we point out the lone trumpeter and listen to Munson call our DAWGS to field of battle one more time. 

But why do they do it?  Why do these young men, the coaches, staff, and the Redcoats and cheerleaders too, why do they sacrifice so much?  Certainly, everyone involved wants to win a championship, but I know there’s more to it.  To make such an investment of time and effort (and remember there is nothing more valuable than our time), there must be more. 

They do it because it matters.  I’m not simply talking about wins and losses.  There are well over one hundred schools playing FBS level football and winning and losing matters to all of them.  If you don’t believe me, just ask them.  It matters to those actually putting in the work on a completely different level.  It matters because each person involved is putting it all on the line to represent their family.  It matters because of a sacred promise they’ve made to their teammates, their brothers and sisters in the chaos, that they will give it all they’ve got because a promise so sacred demands nothing less.  Certainly, they want to win for themselves.  Absolutely!  But do not let it go unnoticed that it matters because they feel the weight of representing everyone that came before them, a university and an entire state.  It matters because they know they are representing you.  They are sacrificing for you.  They want to win for you.

So, will the 2014 edition of the Georgia Bulldogs win a national championship on the gridiron?  Probably not.  Can they?  Most definitely!  Do I hope that happens?  Abso-damn-lutely! But let’s face it, those odds are long and there are a lot of bounces of the ball that will have to go Georgia’s way for that to happen. 

So, if you’re a “fan” that will be miserable and write the entire season off as a waste of time if the DAWGS fail to claim a national title in 2014, you’re probably not going to enjoy the back half of this year….and I want to wish you lots of luck with that.  But, if you’re a true fan, a real supporter of the University of Georgia and the people that represent it, I want to encourage you to enjoy every minute of every game and appreciate the efforts of these young men, the coaches and everyone involved with the program for the expression of a passion that is visceral and real.  As someone that loves the University of Georgia, what more can you ask of any representative of the DAWG Nation.

Glory, Glory!

THE PACKING LIST : CLEMSON

Hello, DAWG Nation!  The BEAST is back and man it feels good.  It has been an extremely busy year around our way, but football is back and that gets our attention.  What’s more, we look up and find an old rival has invited us over to get the party started…Clemson.  In case I haven’t mentioned it before, we grew up about 30 minutes from Clemson, have family that went to and graduated from Clemson, and I will readily state that as a matter of fact, Clemson’s version of Tiger Rag is the one and only true version of Tiger Rag.  Period.  But enough of that noise.  This week those Tigers are nothing more than the first in a long and formidable line of challengers that the DAWGS must conquer to claim the championship mantle they truly desire and make good on their mantra, “New Year.  New Team.  One Dream.” 

And what a way to get it started!  A top ten match-up with a prime time national television spotlight.  Whew-wee, son!  Everybody in the pasture town that is Clemson better strap ‘em on tight Saturday ‘cause they don’t get any bigger than this.  I’m serious.  Wherever you may be, you better get your head on a swivel.  When the DAWG Nation gets this amped up, you just never know where that knockout crack back is going to come from.  It might just be that lovely lady on your arm dressed in her best red and black.  Man, I can’t wait!  It’s coming…tick, tIcK, TICK…and the DAWGS are gonna get loose. 

All the big stuff’s already on the trucks, but there are just few things we have to make sure we don’t leave behind before we fire the diesels and roll this show up I-85.  Don’t forget to steal a quick look at beautiful Lake Hartwell on the way.  We know traveling can get a little hectic and it can be tough to always remember everything, so we humbly offer up this week’s packing list.

*BIG BOY (SILVER) BRITCHES*

Georgia and Clemson.  Dooley and Danny.  This is the classic rivalry of my youth that showed me what Georgia football is all about.  The one that built the legends and made me understand what silver britches were really supposed to look like and more importantly, represent.  I know exactly what I was doing when I saw Kevin Butler kick one 60 yards, plus a foot and a half…hanging in the doorway with the cousins as we craned our necks back inside to see the game as we rambled out the door to play a pick-up game of tackle in the front yard.  This one is rooted deep for me and all that makes me the DAWG I am to this day. 

That’s why I know Georgia has to bring their big boy britches to this one.  Everybody knows there will be more than a few new faces taking the field on Saturday, but that can be no excuse for a team that absolutely expects to do big things this season.  The environment will be tough and the stage will be huge, but if the DAWGS are really what we all hope and believe they are, those new faces need to be the next wave of stars for us to cheer and not a handicap that must be overcome.  If we’re lucky, we’ll see some silver in those britches and if we do, this Georgia team really could turn out to be something special.

*HAMMERS*

Let’s just put it on the line here.  It’s time to break some stuff.  What better tool to get that done than a hammer?  I know folks are high on Clemson and their complicated and flashy offense, but winning football is a simple concept.  You must win.  Man on man, eleven individual battles across the field.  You must beat your opponent until he don’t want to be hit anymore.  So, it’s a good thing that Georgia’s got a few trusty old hammers in the toolbox. 

If the DAWGS are going to get this done, that talented backfield of Todd Gurley, Keith Marshall (don’t forget that 6’2”, 257 lb Mack truck of a fullback Quayvon Hicks) will have to grind on the Tigers.  On defense, I’m looking at #52 Amarlo Herrera and the rest of the front seven to shut down that unproven Clemson running game…with prejudice.  All those young kids we’re going to be lining up on Saturday should grab one of those hammers and bust some stuff up while we’re at it and use it to break out for the world to see.  If all goes well, all you people in red and black heading north this weekend better watch your step on the way out ‘cause there’s gonna be pieces of shattered hopes and ACC prestige all over the place.

*OLD HAT*

While there’s no doubt this is a big game on Georgia’s schedule and on the college football landscape in 2013, it really shouldn’t faze this group of DAWGS.  Yes, I know.  There are some pups on the bus this week.  But for a program that has seen the glare from more than a few bright lights over the last few years, this game should not provide too big a stage, especially with veterans at every level on both sides of the ball.  The DAWGS must embrace this opportunity like that old familiar hat that’s already broken in and fits just right, and then rock that lid like we all know they can.

*THE NASTIES*

Both in 2002 and 2005, Coach Richt’s DAWGS rode experienced offensive lines to SEC Championships.  Those groups were more than just veteran though, they were nasty.  They lived to gnaw shins, grind lanes and wreck defenders, imposing a championship will as they laid claim to rings.  In 2002, I was in the stadium when Coach Richt believed in his men and went for it on 4^th and short near midfield late in the fourth quarter against Clemson to put the game away and Jon Stinchcomb and crew bulled the way for Musa Smith to go up and over for the first down to seal the win.  I’m certain the young men that make up Georgia’s offensive line unit are wonderful individuals, fabulous students and upstanding campus citizens, but we don’t need to see those guys.  We need the angry, play-through-the-whistle and right up to the line guys.  By the time they walk off the field in Clemson on Saturday night, Georgia’s O-line better have shown a much darker side to the Tigers and made them understand....we are not friends, we do not like you, and you’re gonna like it.  If the DAWGS get that message across to the Tigers, the ride South early on Sunday morning will be a sweet one.

So there it is, Nation.  We’re finally here, the long wait is over and we are rewarded with what should be a fantastic, classic match-up.  The DAWGS are ready and so are we.  If you’re making the trip watch out for those speed traps and fly your colors high.  Don’t take too many back roads or you might find yourself in a country traffic jam, sitting behind a few escaped cows in the middle of the road somewhere in the prettiest pasture town in the Piedmont.  Safe travels, Nation.

Glory, Glory.

BEASTS from the CFB landscape

Given that this week was Homecoming for the DAWGS and provided a very enjoyable (save penalties) and easy win, and the fact that I'm on vacation and have had more time to look around and write, I present to you performances from the CFB landscape that are worthy of designation as A DAMN BEAST!!!

BEAST!!! - Toby Gerhart, Stanford – 38 carries, school record 223 yds (5.9 ypc), 3 tds in the 51-42 upset win over #8 Oregon. Gerhart is an absolute tank. The Stanford power back had rushed for over a hundred yards by halftime against Oregon and did not have a run over 14 yards...impressive. Stanford is fun to watch. I didn't think Jim Harbaugh was nuts in saying his freshman QB Andrew Luck was the best quarterback in the land and there's something growing up on The Farm. The Cardinal are coming as a team and Gerhart is the big diesel engine that makes them go.

BEAST!!! – Zach Callaros, Cincinnati – 29 of 37, 480 yds, TD passing and 75 yds rushing and 2 TDs vs. UCONN. Tony Pike is a nice player and I like Chip Kelly as a coach, but it will be interesting to watch the QB situation in Cincy once Pike is game ready (*Pike was medically cleared this week, but had not practiced enough to be ready for the game according to Coach Kelly)

BEAST!!! – CJ Spiller had a school record 312 total yds vs. FSU. Spiller is a game changer in every sense of the word and the Clemson staff is putting him position to make plays for them. Good for them. Any chance we can get Branden Smith to run that wheel route out of the backfield for the DAWGS the way Spiller does at Clemson? That would be nice.

BEAST!!! – Houston true freshman kicker Matt Hogan 51-yd FG as time expires saves the Cougar’s hide. Case Keenum and the boys are unbelievable. I thought they had lost that game at least three times before they miraculously won it. I'll say this, they keep it interesting.

BEAST!!! – Jordan Shipley, Texas – 11 receptions, school record 273 yds, td vs UCF. This game is one that may make you want to split Heisman votes between Colt McCoy and Shipley at the end of the year. I do not agree. I still stand by my preseason pick that McCoy will win the Heisman and Shipley has been really good all season, but this past Saturday Shipley was absolutely dominant and was absolutely the catalyst for the Longhorns easy win over the Knights.

GO DAWGS!