As fall practice begins and the arrest season winds down, we keep the following date posted on our list of “to do’s”. September 1st. That’s the date that the Oklahoma State Cowboys come to town (cue Clint Eastwod western music). Instead of starting the season with the usual patsy like Western Kentucky or Winona Park Elementary School, Athletic Director Damon Evans has scheduled a season opener with a team very capable of beating the Dawgs – depending on who you ask. Two years ago, media darling and mid-major Boise State came to town for the opener. All summer long many ‘knowledgeable’ media types predicted that Boise State would upset the Dawgs. Using their new-fangled, pass happy spread offense, they were supposed to confuse and confound Georgia. Bronco coach Dan Hawkins (now at Colorado) proclaimed that his team would not be bothered by the heat and had just as much speed as the SEC teams. He was wrong and the Dawgs squashed Boise State 48-13. Even worse, those poor guys had to fly back to Idaho. I couldn’t tell if we were that much better or Bronco QB Jared Zabransky threw the game. Fast forward to January 2nd, 2006 – when SEC champion Georgia played West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl. That turned out to be the upset. The Mountaineers ran and ran and ran and beat us 38-35, making household names of QB Pat White and RB Steve Slaton in the process. Many Dawg fans offer up excuses – it was a meaningless game, we weren’t prepared and took the game lightly, Coach Richt’s press conference bored our guys to sleep, but regardless, they won and excuses don’t matter.
So now enter Oklahoma State. I submit that they are not Boise State, but they ain’t West Virginia either. Hardcore Georgia fans should recall the name of QB Bobby Reid as he was somewhat recruited by Georgia out of high school. He’s a very capable dual threat. They have a very versatile backfield and a serious WR threat in Adarius Bowman. But by most accounts they have a shaky defense (which means Georgia Tech could even score on them), so it could be a high scoring affair. The only person who seems bullish on our defense is Coach Richt, so I feel good about all those new guys if HE does. For that reason, and that reason alone, I imagine we should win that game. Ultimately, I just don’t want to lose the first game of the year. That’s the equivalent of throwing a party and having the “marginal” guest show up first. You know – the one who is really obnoxious but you only invited him so his feelings wouldn’t be hurt? It just makes for an awful long wait until the next guest arrives (in this case the next game - against Steve Spurrier, possibly the worst dinner guest EVER)
No comments:
Post a Comment