Thursday, October 30, 2008

What you never thought Mark May would say...

During 4 Downs tonight on ESPN SportsCenter, Mark May actually said something good about the Bulldogs! Well, at least about one of our Dawgs, he said that Knowshon Moreno is the best player in the country.

Other news and notes:

Here are the keys to the game from Get the Picture

Stafford's maturation since the 2007 WLOCP

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Real Men of Genius - Mr Jorts Inventor

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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

UGA - UF Game Analysis




Well, here we sit, 7-1 (4-1) in control of our own destiny. What a enviable position, as USCe and UT would kill to be in our place. The Dawgs and Gators have kept quiet this week as both coaches issued gag orders. However, nothing needs to be said. The winner goes on to Atlanta and has an outside shot at the MNC and the loser probably goes to the Outback Bowl to face some weak Big 10/11 squad.

As for the 800 lb. gorilla in the room that both teams have tried to ignore, nice try. My take on the Celebration is this: UF had the entire game last year to get "fired up" and get a little payback against us. However, they did not and therefore, I believe that the advantage sits squarely in Georgia's corner.

As my neighbor and I were discussing earlier tonight, this situation is very similar to something that often took place in the Spurrier Era. Every year the HBC would say or do something that would make our team and fan base mad, and the team would focus on payback for those comments or act. By focusing on the Celebration, the Gators are going to be taken out of "their game". They will be so focused on payback that they will play without control. On the other side, the Dawgs are coming in to prove that last year was not a fluke and that we can beat the "Mighty" Gators in back-to-back years.

So, without getting too much into how each unit matches up against the other I will make a couple of points.

I believe our offense, lead by the 3 (or 4 if you count MoMass) headed monster is impossible to stop. If you focus on taking one out of the game, Bobo will dial up the other and beat you with that one.

On defense, we have very fast and physical LBs. We have a strong interior defensive line, and DEs that are starting to show signs of life. The improving health of Rod Battle is key to getting pressure on Tebow. Yes, UF has more weapons this year, but I truly believe in Georgia's ability to stuff the run. Last week LSU was able to move the ball on the ground because their big O-line was able to get to the second level of our defense and put a helmet on our LBs. However, this week I believe our D-line will be able to occupy the O-line so that Rennie, Ellerbe, Dent, etc. will be able to step up and shut down the ground game. Stopping the passing game will probably be Georgia's biggest challenge. Martinez has finally made some changes in the secondary including, moving Evans over to back up Reshad Jones, and moving Prince Miller over to Evans CB spot. Hopefully these changes will help to invigorate this unit. I feel that this unit is going to come out with a chip on their shoulder ready to show the country that they can stop the Gators.

Florida definitely has an advantage on special teams. Here Georgia's mission is just to prevent the big play. Contain Brandon James and protect Mimbs and Walsh so that they can get their kicks off. Georgia has faced very solid return men the last three games and have performed well in each contest.

I believe this will be a high scoring game similar to last year's contest.
My Prediction: UGA 48 - UF 31

Go Dawgs
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Trev Alberts - UGA - UF Preview

Trev Alberts is the man! He picks the Dawgs to pull this one out due to Stafford, Moreno, and AJ Green.

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UGA - UF News and Analysis

Jody, from http://www.viewfrom336.com/ has posted his weekly Game Analysis.

Here are some other links:

Tebow's Hurt Feelings - AJC
Elimination Game - AJC
Last Year in Past, till Saturday - CBS
Game Preview - CBS
Something is Going to Happen - Sun Sentinel
Buck Belue Prediction and Scouting Report

Quote from Tebow regarding the 42-30 blowout from last year: "We've had that picture [of Georgia] all dancing in our locker room. There's been a lot of stuff like that."

Have you ever wanted to blast a Gator?? Check out this Game on AJC.com
Gator Shoot Game

Here is a little Fact or Fiction from AJC
UGA - UF Fact or Fiction

The Richt Family

Here is the heart warming story of the Richt family that was aired last week on College Gameday. No, I did not cry!!!

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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Comparing UGA and UF Opponents To Date...

When digging into the numbers of each of the teams competition through Week 9, there are many similarities.

Rankings of UF's Competition:
Average Scoring Offense of Opponents - 70th
Average Scoring Defense of Opponents - 60th
Average Total Defense of Opponents - 43rd
Average Total Offense of Opponents - 79th

Rankings of UGA's Competition:
Average Scoring Offense of Opponents - 71st
Average Scoring Defense of Opponents - 40th
Average Total Defense of Opponents - 37th
Average Total Offense of Opponents - 74th

UGA and UF have two common opponents to date, Tennessee and LSU. As we all know, UGA totally dominated UT, it just didn't correlate to points on the scoreboard. UF also dominated UT, but in a different fashion. UF set the tone early against UT with special teams. The most recent common opponent of the two teams is LSU. Again, both teams dominated LSU. UF did so in the "Friendly" confines of the Swamp, scoring 51 points while only surrendering 21 points. UGA beat down the Bengal Tigers in one of the most (if not most) hardest places to play in the SEC. UGA scored 52 points, while giving up 38. However, I have to say that our team looked to relax each time they got up by 3 TDs. Hopefully they realized that against the more explosive teams in the SEC you cannot take your foot off of the accelerator until the final horn sounds (or Chapel Bell)!

So, what does all of this mean??? Absolutely nothing! But hey, it gives us something to talk about until 3:30 Saturday when the two teams tee it up at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (how many times are they going to change the name of the place?!?)

Urban Meyer on Why The Gators lost in '07

Here is another reason I do not like Urban Crier. When asked about last year's game, here is his explanation as to why the Gators lost:


"The reason we lost the game a year ago is because we were very, very poor on defense," he said. "We didn't tackle well, we were out of coverage a couple of times and we didn't protect the quarterback. It's not because the sun was a certain way, the color of shoes we wore. It was those three reasons, and if we don't fix that, we won't be successful again this year. … We were a very soft, really selfish outfit a year ago."

Huh...so it had nothing to do with Georgia being the better team, or the Dawgs just outplaying your sorry Gators?? Really?? I see.

Here is a link to the full article that talks about how the loss last year was Tebow's worst loss of his career: Tebow is a Baby


Urban Meyer and Tebow in "High School Musical"

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Monday, October 27, 2008

Pontiac Game Changer - AJ Green

Be sure to vote at ESPN Pontiac Game Changer

UGA-LSU Highlights



Here are the highlights and analysis from Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman of CBS. Tillman, of course picked the Tigers to win. How does that crow taste?
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First Time Ever




Okay, so by now you have probably heard that this was the first time that a team had hung 50+ points on LSU at home in 15 years. Also, this is the first time ever that LSU gave up 50+ twice in the same year.

ESPN did a little research and here is what they found:

From the start of the AP Poll era in 1936 through last year, only two defending national champions ever gave up 50 or more points even once in a season. Both cases involved Notre Dame, and both should give plenty of hope to Florida and Georgia fans.

The only defending champs to give up 50-plus were the 1944 Notre Dame team, which lost 59-0 to Army, and the 1974 Notre Dame squad, which lost 55-24 to USC. Why is that good news for the Gators and Bulldogs? Army eventually won the 1944 national title and USC eventually won the 1974 national title. Florida and Georgia square off Saturday.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

DAWGS POUND LSU: 52 - 38


Well, the Dawgs should be on their chartered flight by now headed back to Athens. They went into Death Valley and executed brilliantly on offense. The defense left a little to be desired, but hey you got to have something to work on, right? Now it is on to the Cocktail Party (Sorry Dr. Adams). Next weeks showdown is going to live up to every bit of its preseason hype. The winner moves closer to Atlanta, and stays alive in the MNC hunt!
Bring on them Gators!!
Go Dawgs
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Friday, October 24, 2008

Does Vegas "Know" Something?

Since the opening line on Monday, UGA +2.5 Pts, the line has drawn closer and closer. As of Friday night, 3 out of the 4 major sports books have reduced the line to UGA +1 Pt. Considering that the home team usually gets about 3 Pts for homefield advantage, you have to like Georgia's odds Saturday.

Summary of sports books

Interesting Factoids:

  • Since 1960, LSU has won 77% of its home night games (207-59-4), compared to 48% of its home day games (21-23-3).
  • UGA is 4-5-1 all-time at Tiger Stadium
  • Dawgs 27-4 on the Road under CMR, a .871 winning pct.

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Trev Alberts - UGA - LSU Preview

Man I miss Trev Alberts view on ESPN...he always seemed to get it "right"!

ESPNU: UGA - LSU Preview

Is the LSU D Overrated??

Okay, so here we sit at the mid-point of the season and yet LSU's "dominant" defense ranks near the middle of the SEC in nearly every statistical category.

Total Defense - 9th
Scoring Defense - 9th
Rush Defense - 5th
Pass Defense - 9th

Georgia's rankings:
Total Defense - 3rd
Scoring Defense - 8th
Rush Defense - 1st
Pass Defense - 10th

Here is some additional analysis from ESPN Research:
LSU's usually dominant defense has been somewhat pedestrian through the first half of the season. The Tigers are allowing 21.5 points per game, their highest total after six games since giving up 22.0 per game in 2000 (Nick Saban's first season). LSU also has given up 28.3 points per game in its four SEC contests.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Honorable Lou Holtz


This is a great article from the Bleacher Report written by Brian Scott. It says what most of the country feels about Holtz and his total lack of professionalism and objectivity on ESPN.

Lou Holtz: From Legend to Laughingstock


UGA vs. LSU Analysis

So, we have finally arrived...the meat of our SEC schedule is now upon us. First up, the Bengal Tigers of LSU.


This game stands to be a true dog fight. While LSU may have the advantage when it comes to the lines of scrimmage, UGA has the advantage at all of the skill positions. Georgia's young line has been more than servicable the last two weeks as they have given up ZERO sacks.


Since the 1st half of the Bama masacre, Georgia has played some of the best all around football in the league. They went out and scored 30 in the 2nd half against Bama, essentially moved the ball at will against the #1 defense (at the time) of UT, and put up great numbers against Vandy.


So, where does this leave us as we head in to Death Valley?? I believe the Dawgs are ready to breakout. I know if you are a Georgia fan you have heard, probably even said it, "remember 2007, we were mediocre through the first half then caught fire." Well, I truly believe we are in the same boat again, maybe even better this year. Going in to the UF game last year UGA was not leading the league in offense as they are this year. All they have to do is put 7's on the board instead of 3's this Saturday and if they do, they will walk out of Baton Rouge with a W.

My Prediction:

UGA 27 - LSU 13

Below are some links to game analysis and picks:

Buck Belue

The Bleacher Report

CBS.com Picks

ESPN - Bruce Feldman

Welcome!!

Welcome to Twilb Dawg's Blog. On here I will provide yet another place for fans of our beloved Dawgs to get information, ask questions, and vent about UGA sports (mainly football).

GO DAWGS!!

TD