The north side will be a broiler. The south side will be a hot Blackstone griddle. I’m guessing the aftermarket prices on these tickets will be “Are you giving those away including your parking pass?”
The defending SEC champions open on streaming only. Wow, just wow.
At least, traffic won’t be bad.
Saturday afternoon Ole Miss as the 6 seed takes on the AAC champs and 11 seed Tulane in Oxford. Duke’s win in the ACC championship moved the Green Wave up one spot and likely resulted in Notre Dame’s ouster from the field. Ole Miss and Notre Dame likely would have been a much more attractive game for TV. Instead, we get a rematch of a previous mismatch for a spot in New Orleans to face the Dawgs.
Series record: Ole Miss leads the series 44-28 and holds a 3 game winning streak in the series.
Last meeting: In September, Ole Miss ran out to a 23-3 lead and never looked back cruising to a win at Vaught-Hemingway. Ole Miss rolled up almost 550 yards of total offense as Trinidad Chambliss had 419 yards of total offense and 2 TDs. The Ole Miss defense yielded almost 180 yards of rushing at a 4.6 yards per attempt clip.
Gambling degenerate facts: Caesar’s has Ole Miss as a 17.5 point favorite with a money line of -950 and a point total of 51.5.
How should a refugee watch this game: The easy answer here is how do the Rebel Black Bears look without Joey Freshwater on the sideline. His play calling and feel for the game are a big reason for the Rebels’ explosive offense and their QB play throughout the season. Can Charlie Weis, Jr. guide Chambliss and the offense to make it difficult for Tulane to keep up with them? How will Pete Golding respond to being the man on the sideline?
I’m just as interested in seeing what Jon Sumrall is all about as he moves to Hogtown to be the chief Handbag. I don’t know if this game will be a good barometer for his prospects in North Florida.
Interesting statistic: 4.33 (Ole Miss’s average yards yielded per rush)
Ole Miss has been subpar defending the running game. Mississippi State rang up 262 yards on the ground in the Egg Bowl. As you all know, the Dawgs chewed up yards on the ground in the regular season meeting with them. Tulane’s best shot is to be able to move the chains with the running game, play keep away, and shorten the game.
Early outlook: Similar to other G5 playoff game, the visiting team does not have a lot of paths to stealing a win. Tulane has a better shot than JMU because of the coaching turnover at Ole Miss and the unknown of whether Golding is ready to be the guy.
I just don’t see the Tulane defense getting the number of stops necessary to get the win, and I’m not sure they can do it enough to cover the spread.
Ole Miss takes care of business and will be in for a rude awakening on Sunday morning when they are facing a Georgia team that has become a force.
Final Score: Ole Miss 38, Tulane 14
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
Saturday afternoon (night for us) the 5th seeded Oregon Ducks host the 12th seeded Fun Belt champion James Madison Dukes for the right to face Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. None of the powers that be ever planned for 2 Group of 5 champions to make the field, but then again, no one thought the ACC would be so pathetic where the winner of the World’s Smallest Outdoor Cocktail Party would ever be left out. This match-up really does look like a September rent-a-win game rather than a game with national championship implications.
Series record: First meeting
Last meeting: N/A
Gambling degenerate facts: Oregon currently is a 21.5 favorite with a money line of -2000 and a point total of 49.5.
How should a refugee watch this game: Refugees should watch this game with an eye toward a potential national championship showdown with the Ducks. Are the Ducks good, or is their record a product of a schedule that included an overrated at the time the game was played Penn State?
I’ll be hate watching the game because after a trip to Disneyland a number of years ago, I figured out Oregon fans are the west coast version of the Handbags but without the nattys in their history.
Interesting statistic: +2.92 (Oregon’s net yards per play)
Once again, I don’t know if this is a product of the Oregon schedule, but a greater than a net 2 yards per play tells me they are good on both sides of the ball and they create and prevent explosive plays. I expect we’ll see their explosiveness on Saturday.
Early outlook: I really don’t see a path to an upset in this game without significant help by Oregon through turnovers and special teams miscues.
JMU is likely to be happy to get the playoff check for the Sun Belt and prepare for the return of SBB to his natural environs. Oregon is going to look to make a statement that they plan to use an advantageous path to the best of their ability.
Ducks win and win big, but I doubt their players will be eating chicken wings on the sideline in the 4th quarter.
Final Score: Oregon 48, James Madison 13
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
Later today on SEC Cupcake Saturday, the Dawgs face off with the Charlotte Gold Diggers … wait, I mean 49ers … in Athens. This team could be one of the worst FBS teams to appear in Sanford Stadium in recent memory. They are 1-9 with their win over Monmouth.
Let’s get to the preview.
When Georgia has the ball
Unless the offense turns the ball over, the first team offense should be able to score at will every time they get the ball. I look for Kirby and Bobo to call the game conservatively and to tell Gunner to minimize his running attempts. We clearly won’t be putting anything on tape for future opponents, so I expect to hear the Bobo haters a couple of rows behind me to be in rare form after every play that doesn’t get a first down or a touchdown.
I’m hoping to see Ryan Puglisi and the 2nd and 3rd team offense get significant snaps as Gunner and the 1st team offense spend a lot of time on the sideline to get ready for next Friday. I would love to see CJ Wiley get a chance to get that first TD of his young career today.
When Charlotte has the ball
The 49ers’ offense has cracked the 30 point barrier once this year in their only win of the season. They have scored a total of 19 offensive TDs in 10 games with 5 of those coming in that single win. (1 kickoff return for a score) They haven’t been good running the ball, so I expect a lot of quick throws while milking the clock as much as they possibly can.
Today would a good time for tight man coverage. Javen Nicholas has some pretty good statistics for a wide receiver with almost 700 yards and 5 TDs. Against North Texas and UNC, he had over 100 yards receiving, so don’t be surprised if the 49ers try to feed him the ball.
What will happen
The outcome of this game isn’t in doubt. At ESPNBet, you can’t place a money line bet. ESPN Analytics have the Dawgs with a 99% chance of winning.
The question is how much does Kirby want the starters in the game before he empties the bench. I’m guessing once the starters have stretched a lead to 30+, you will see wholesale substitutions.
Whether that gives the Dawgs a chance to beat the spread is a completely different question.
Final score: Georgia 48, Charlotte 10
This week didn’t disappoint in the message board universe with upsets, controversy and seasons crashing & burning. We’ll get to the Plains at the end of this week’s journey around college football. Let’s start out with the season crashing and burning in Tallahassee as Pitt ends any hope of a CFP berth for the Tribe.
The only defense really to limit Alabama and Ty Simpson now is leaking like a sieve as they give up 34 points and almost 500 yards to a Pitt team that has lost to the powerhouses of West Virginia and Louisville. Everyone who was hailing Mike Norvell as the turnaround genius in September is now back to calling for his head on a platter. Don’t look now, but the Seminoles have a surging Wake Forest team coming to Tallahassee and a trip for what may be a resurgent Clemson’s Super Bowl as Dabo fights for his job security in the Upstate.
Let’s jump out west to check in on the Handbags of the Northwest … Oregon.
“Humility is a week away” should be a motto plastered on every locker room and weight room in America. After being the latest team to rain on the annual Penn State white-out parade, Oregon gets slapped around at home by Indiana. I love Dan Lanning, but he seems to find a way to lose games his talent and NIL budget shouldn’t lose.
Their fans have a degree of entitlement and expectation not seen since Spurrier and Meyer were on the Hogtown sideline. I don’t care for that fanbase at all. 49-3, you jerks.
Let’s head down the left coast to the Coliseum to check on the state of the Michigan cheating Wolverines.
While not an upset (the Men of Troy were a home field advantage favorite), USC skull drags Michigan to the tune of almost 500 yards and a 2nd half 17-6 surge en route to an 18 point win. The Wolverines’ season is officially on the brink where they will have no marquee wins assuming they lose to anOSU in Ann Arbor. ESPN and the committee want Michigan in their invitational, so Saturday’s loss makes winning out mandatory.
On the other side, the Boy Wonder has Saturday’s trip to Notre Dame and a late season trip to Eugene to bolster their playoff resume or to put Riley officially on a hot seat entering 2026.
Let’s head to the Cotton Bowl and the Texas State Fair to check in on the Crimson and Cream at the Red River Shootout.
Texas methodically puts Oklahoma away with defense and special teams. Josh Pate has slobbered over John Mateer all season, and he doesn’t meet the moment against a Texas team that was reeling after last week’s loss to Florida. The Texas offense continues to sputter under the Archduke. I’m sure F-bum will start the Arch publicity machine back up again.
At least, Texas now has a Power 4 win unlike the Not so Happy Valley faithful after another loss to an overmatched opponent.
James Franklin seems to have completely lost the fan base. (Editor’s note: Franklin is now out as reported on Sunday) Everyone knows Penn State’s 2 wins in the CFP last year were of questionable value at best. Drew Allar is lost for the season with a leg injury. Penn State may be fighting for bowl eligibility this season after starting as the #2 team in the country to prove the value (or lack thereof) of the preseason polls.
I’m sure Franklin consulted today with the Voldemort of agents, Jimmy Sexton, on his buyout provisions to the tune of the 2nd largest buyout in CFB history (behind Dumbo).
Let’s end today’s trip on the Plains for a game that was truly the opening line of a Charles Dickens novel.
Geniuses calling for Kirby’s firing just need to get off the bandwagon and go find another team to cheer for. To the other geniuses who are saying it’s back to the “Donnon” days likely have no idea what they are talking about.
On the game itself, I have no idea what we were doing on either side of the ball in the 1st half. We had no answer on defense for what was one of the SEC’s worst offenses. In particular, Auburn had success running the ball where they could protect Jackson Arnold from making mistakes. On offense, we looked like we were up against the ‘86 Bears with the number of breakdowns we had in the offensive line.
Then, the fumble happened.
After that, the Dawgs took control of the game in a way I wasn’t sure we could do. We couldn’t get a consistent run game push, so Gunner was throwing it around. Our front 6 then absolutely took over the game as Auburn had less than 30 yards of total offense in the 2nd half. Why did that defensive effort not show up from the first snap? That’s what frustrating about this team. They are immensely talented while also being inconsistently motivated.
As to the last scoring drive, the Georgia offense did its best impression of a dementor by sucking the soul out of not just the Auburn defense but the entire program as shown by the reaction of the Auburn family.
It couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch that cheered for Nick Fairley and retired Cam Newton’s jersey after being at the Alabama Cow College for all of 1 year.
What did you see this weekend? Let us know in the comments.
I didn’t think the message board universe could get more off the rails than last Saturday with Alabama’s shocking loss to Florida State. Needless to say, Sun Belt Billy and the Handbags said to DeBoer and the Bammers, “Hold my beer.”
We’re not going to start in Hogtown but keep reading because we’ll get there. We’ll start up our trip this week on the prairies of Oklahoma to check on Cheater U.
The post in the upper right corner of the MBG TwiX sounds like it could have been a genius on the Georgia message boards on Mike Bobo. The wolves seem to be out in Ann Arbor not because they were found to be truly cheating but because Sherrone Moore is proving to be a placeholder in the aftermath of Harbaugh’s win at all cost approach.
Is Oklahoma for real (Josh Pate is already spiking the football on John Mateer) or is Michigan going to win a bunch of games because they are in the B1G? OU is better than I thought they would be.
Let’s move on to CoMo to check in on the losers of the Border War.
Rock Chalk Jayhawk doesn’t make an appearance on the football MBGs often, but when they do … it’s a doozy.
Other than for the short time Mark Mangino and now Lance Leopold have coached the Kansas program, Kansas has sucked like Vandy type of sucking. Any fan who really believes Nick Saban is going to move Miss Terry further away from the place in Jupiter is delusional.
Just stop.
Leopold gets a lot of buzz for doing more with less. The real coach who does more with less may have been on the other sideline in Eli Drinkwitz.
Back to back week visits to check in on Clemson and the fans who believe the game has passed Dabo by.
Dabo is officially in the CMR zone. Nothing he does short of winning a championship is going to please a vocal part of the fan base. Falling behind … checks notes … Troy 16-0 certainly hasn’t done him any favors. Barely 300 yards of total offense and a QBR just north of 42 for Cade Klubnik isn’t going to get things done when the Tigers take on others in the ACC. The wheels may come off if they lose in Atlanta on Saturday.
Let’s swing by T-town to check in the DeBoer death watch.
Cochran has a great story of recovery. He has all of 1 win as a head coach, and now a Bammer thinks he can be the savior of the program. The Tide gets off the mat to devour the cupcake ULM. DeBoer may be coaching for his and Greg Byrne’s jobs in 3 weeks in Athens. 73-0 against a cupcake doesn’t turn down the heat in Tuscaloosa.
Let’s end this week trip to check in on the Hogtown Handbags.
When your home crowd is chanting for you to be fired after a loss to a G5, it might be beyond the point of no return … Ray Goff never felt the wrath of Georgia fans like that. With the schedule coming for Florida, Napier may not being employed by the Cocktail Party.
Let’s finish this trip with this lack of discipline from the Gators during the game winning drive.
The shoe toss was the beginning of the end for Dopey Dan. Could this be it for Sun Belt Billy?
What did you see this weekend? Let us know in the comments.
YouTube is amazing. That is all.
Later today, our Dawgs take on the Austin Peay Governors between the hedges in the final tune-up prior to the gauntlet of the SEC schedule gets started next weekend in Ob-Knoxville. Similar to last week, the outcome is not in question. The Dawgs are going to win and win convincingly. What is different is that the Governors as an FCS program may be better than last week’s FBS opponent. Today’s preview focuses on some guys I hope get an opportunity to make plays later.
When Georgia has the ball
I want to see the two hyped freshman wide receivers (CJ WIley and Talyn Taylor) get a chance to show us what they can do with the ball in their hands. Both played last week, and Taylor showed out on special teams as a gunner along with KJ Bolden in punt coverage. If the game goes to form, I expect to see these guys get some 2nd team reps while Gunner Stockton is still in the game.
The other thing I hope to see when the Dawgs are on offense is getting Dillon Bell off to a good start. Bell was quiet last Saturday, and we’ll need him to play big next week at Kneeland due to his experience and performance in past big games.
When Austin Peay has the ball
The man-child Elijah Griffin made some plays in last week’s game while rotating in with the 1st team defense. Tomorrow would be a great opportunity for him to show why he was the #1 defensive tackle recruit in the country. I don’t expect the Governors to try to stand in the pocket and throw the ball down the field. Therefore, I don’t expect there to be many sack opportunities, but I would like to see him show he can push the pocket in the middle to prevent a QB from stepping up or being able to pull the ball down to get up field to avoid the rush. Once again, I expect that we are going to need the young elite defensive lineman to be ready for play next week in Knoxville.
What will happen
If last week is any indication, I expect another fast start. A double digit lead at the end of the 1st quarter would be a good measuring stick for Saturday afternoon. After that, I expect we’ll see Gunner Stockton and the first team offensive rotation through the first offensive possession of the 3rd quarter. After that, I expect Kirby will empty the bench with anyone healthy who is wearing a red jersey getting a chance to play in front of a Sanford Stadium crowd that will be steadily emptying. Don’t be surprised if the 4th quarter ends up with a 12-minute running clock, so the Governors can deposit their check on the way out of town.
Final score: Georgia 48, Austin Peay 10
No, not the Terry College of Business. BTO brings us today’s theme … takin’ care of business.
We made it after 8 long months between the game in New Orleans and today’s opener in the Classic City. I’m looking forward to drinking a cold Classic City Lager (or 2), walking through the Arch and North Campus, entering the west end zone to pat the Uga statue, cheering as the Redcoats form the Arch and seeing the Junkyard Dawgs unleashed.
Let’s get to the preview.
When Georgia has the ball
https://georgiadogs.com/sports/football/roster/earnest-greene-iii/9526
I’m going to have my eye on this guy for most of the game when the starters are in. Highly talented and athletic, Greene played through injury for much of the season until he wasn’t healthy enough anymore. As the season wore on, was tackle play the result of injuries or talent? Looking back to 2023, I would say injury. If Marshall edge players are running g around him, I’ll change my tune, but before his injury, some were saying he could have left last year.
I’ve said multiple times this offense is going to be only as good as the guys up front make it. The line can only be as good as the left tackle can hold up on his own.
When Marshall has the ball
https://georgiadogs.com/sports/football/roster/jordan-hall/9528
Big Baby came in highly rated and sat out what was going to be his first big year as a result of 2 broken tibias. With the number of times Hall has been in front of the media, Kirby clearly sees him as a leader on this defense. If Hall can be a complement to Christen Miller, we may have the defensive linemen to clog the middle and push the interior of the pocket.
Run defense improvement starts in the middle and works its way outward. 2 really good DTs with quality depth would be a great place to start.
What will happen
I’m assuming Kirby and the staff have put an emphasis on a fast start today. I also assume there will be no early wrinkles in an attempt to get that start on either side of the ball.
Execution, execution, execution.
Dawgs win easily but don’t cover and go under.
Georgia 41, Marshall 10
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
It still doesn’t get old.
The opening Saturday afternoon between the hedges NEVER gets old for this guy regardless of who we’re playing. If you look at the schedule, you may think, “Didn’t Marshall win the Fun Belt last year?” The answer would be yes, but you then find out much of the team left before their bowl game to enter the portal after their head coach left for the greener pastures of … checks note … Southern Miss. This Marshall team is a total unknown given the number of transfers in as a result of the head coaching change. Will they be one of the worst FBS teams to enter Sanford? Will they be a big surprise? Who knows, but let’s get to the first look.
Series Record & Last Meeting: In Athens, Georgia won the only meeting 13-3 in 2004. In one of the oddest games played in Athens during the CMR regime, the Dawgs sleepwalked through a game that was never in doubt while also never comfortable. The defense clamped down on the Marshall offense after an initial drive leading to a field goal. The offense never really took over the game as the defense continued to get the ball to the offense.
Gambling Degenerate Facts: Georgia is currently a 39.5 point favorite and the point total is 55.5 with a money line that is off the board according BetESPN.
Interesting Statistic: 39.2% and 32.82%
Given the volume of change in the Marshall program, I just didn’t think a statistic from last year’s team made sense as any indicator of something to think about for Saturday afternoon. Instead, I took the Kirby approach of measuring our team against itself. The numbers shown above are last year’s 3rd down conversion percentages for the offense and defense, respectively. Here are the similar numbers for the prior 5 seasons:
2023 – 55.15% and 25.71%, 2022 – 51.1% and 26.63%, 2021 – 45.03% and 35.15%, 2020 – 45.93% and 35.71%
For this team to get where we hope to see them, the offensive 3rd down conversion percentage needs to improve dramatically while the defense could also get better in that statistic. There’s a lot of hidden yardage in field position caused by those numbers.
Early Outlook
The outcome of this game isn’t in question. Georgia is going to win and likely win comfortably. Kirby, Bobo, and Schumann will not build the game plan with the intent of beating the spread or exceeding the over. The plan is going to be vanilla expecting players to execute at a high level. I want to see the net rushing statistics where we show that we are going to be physical especially for the portion of the game where the starting lines are in the game.
What’s your thought on Saturday at this point? Let us know in the comments below.
After the success of last year’s series of trips around the message board universe, I decided to bring it back for 2025. Until this past Saturday, everyone was undefeated and had visions of championships dancing in their heads. Alas, some fan boards melted down and others were delusional as the best time of the year gets started.
We’ll start our trip at a familiar spot, the loveliest cesspool on the Plains … aka the Greater Opelika Cow College.
The hits keep on coming with the Barn’s new claims of national championships. Pat Dye didn’t have the guts to go for the win against Syracuse and will be forever known as Pat Tie instead. The 1993 claim while Auburn was on probation … again … and the “We’re #3” of 2004 are laughable. Good grief, that bunch is sad.
Speaking of bogus championship claims, let’s go across the state to check in on a genius who likely works in the SEC offices.
If the Birmingham Bammers could get their way, they probably would end the Iron Bowl and the 3rdSiO as annual games to make their schedule as easy as possible. Throw in that the SEC probably would be willing to let the washing detergents play every game at BDS with pro-Bama officials (isn’t that redundant?). They believe they deserve every advantage the office gives them.
Let’s go visit the AgCult to see how they feel about the SEC expanded schedule.
Is there a more down in the mouth fan base than the Aggies at this point? They’ve never made it to the SEC championship game. They were gift wrapped a chance to ruin the Hamburgers’ season last year at Kyle Field, and Mike Elko faceplanted. They are now playing 3rd fiddle in the Texas NIL wars to Texas and Texas Tech.
Let’s go to the north side of the Red River to see how the folks in OU country are feeling.
Texass flunky Oklahoma isn’t feeling the love from the SEC. I know some (cough, cough … Josh Pate … cough, cough) think the Sooners are poised to make noise with their new OC and hotshot QB from Washington State. I have a feeling what the Sooners are in for is in the immortal word of Clubber Lang … “PAIN.”
For a last season preview check-in, let’s head up to Bloomington to see what the most empty calorie playoff fan base thinks.
I’ve said it before, but when you cancel a home and home with … checks notes again … Virginia, you should be immediately declared ineligible for the CFP for those impacted years. Curt Cignetti hides behind Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan to take shots at the SEC. Every top tier SEC program should call Indiana and offer up an opportunity for a home and home and then publicize that Mr. Big Mouth turned them all down.
Let’s check in with the teams who were on the field on Saturday. We’ll start in Manhattan, Kansas via Dublin, Ireland.
Kansas State loses to Iowa State in a top 25 matchup on what appeared to be a disaster of a football pitch. Why any coach agrees to play in that game is beyond me especially to give up a home game for it. The Big 12 is likely to be a mess this year, so losing to a team this early that you may have to deal with in a tiebreaker isn’t season ending, but it does take away the safety net.
Let’s go to the Bay Area via Honolulu to check on the status of the Almost Competitive Conference.
Not a good look, ACC, before the season really starts next week. Stanford may end up as one of the worst 5 teams in all of FBS based on this result. How the brainy have fallen from Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw. You lose to Hawaii … your conference is definitely almost competitive whether your team is or not.
What did you see or read this weekend? Let us know in the comments. I’ll be back with a first look post. It’s finally here. Go Dawgs!