Let all the Bulldog faithful rally behind the men who now wear the red and black with two words, two simple words which express the sentiments of the entire Bulldog Nation: Auburn Sucks.
It must be the rapture. For once, Danny Kanell says something that I can’t argue with. It’s true, the conference was perceived better when teams could stack blue chips on their first and second strings, and the rest of college football has found creative way$ to lure the second stringers away. He’s not wrong.
I do wonder what he means by “top to bottom”, though. No conference out there has a top to bottom that is national championship contenders, unless Notre Dame is a conference in and of itself, which the Irish believe they are. The B1G has a huge drop off past their top four teams, the ACC can’t even have a team want to win their conference that can make the CFP, and the Big XII is simply laughable. In the SEC, you’ve got a load of teams that are competitive enough to make the CFP, and whether you want to argue the post-season success or not, their resume does stack up.
But, it’s the offseason, so let’s blow smoke up everyone’s asses to create content and drive views.
And sorry for posting anything Danny Kanell says here. Though, like I said, he finally has a relevant point. It happens.
After that night in September, did you think this Georgia team would be here with a chance to put an important number on the wall and a trophy in the case? I admit I wasn’t sure especially given the defensive problems we saw 2 weeks prior in Knoxville on top of the mess we saw in Sanford that night. If so, I’ll give you the title “ball knower.”
On the other sideline is the nuisance (I like that term over nemesis) … the Bammers. They may be playing for their playoff fortunes and their ability to be Lucy to our Charlie Brown.
Let’s get to the preview.
When Georgia has the ball
Can the Dawgs run for 230 yards against Alabama again? If so, I love our chances. Other than the last quarter and a half in Indianapolis, I’ve never seen a Georgia offensive line dominate a Bama defensive line as they did that night in Athens during the Saban era and beyond.
Mixed with a passing game that has become dangerous (last Friday not withstanding), this offense could be high powered and force Bama to do something they may not be built for at this point … win a true shootout. Drew Bobo’s injury couldn’t have happened at a less opportune time. Will that be neutralized by LT Overton’s absence due to illness? That may be the storyline to follow throughout the game.
When Alabama has the ball
Do Schumann and Smart have a better game plan than they did in September (especially on 3rd down)? Teams that have attacked Ty Simpson have had success. The Bama running game has been pretty lousy by their standard this year. The Dawgs are coming off their best defensive performance since Clemson 2024 as they put a UFC chokehold on the vaunted Faulkner/King offense (Side note – What does Faulkner’s decision to leave in a lateral move for Hogtown tell you about his faith in Key?).
Can Georgia get pressure on Simpson and control the Tide’s running game effectively? I think the outcome hinges on this. If the Dawgs’ rapidly improving front 7 can manage the game, we’ll be happy with the outcome.
What will happen
I don’t think there’s any doubt the suits in Birmingham (plus the other 15 presidents and athletic directors) want Bama in the CFP. It ju$t mean$ more. To what extent will the SEC go to get their way, that’s tin foil hat kind of stuff.
What is real and spectacular is Bama privilege. Therefore, we’re likely to be playing 11 vs. 19 all night long.
At this point, I’m asking the team to show me it can beat Bama plus the refs before I pick them.
Someone send me a crow au vin recipe and soap to wash out my mouth. I won’t be placing a bet on this, so, no, I’m not putting my money where my mouth is.
The SEC released the first batch of game times for early September and a few other rivalry games (https://www.secsports.com/fbtv#schedule) on Thursday. The one surprise I saw is Alabama will host Wisconsin at 11 a.m. Central as the warm-up for what is likely the last UGA-Tennessee game in Knoxville for a few years regardless of the scheduling format in 2026. The flip side is that LSU gets 2 home games at night right off the bat.
As it relates to Georgia, the first 3 games will all be at 3:30. I’m just glad the Tennessee game won’t be at night in Kneeland. No surprise that the last Cocktail Party in Jacksonville for a couple of years will be in its traditional 3:30 slot. A really big surprise is that Clean Old-Fashioned Hate in Mercedes-Benz will be sandwiched between the hatefests of the Egg Bowl and Texas-Texas A&M at 3:30 on Black Friday rather than in its traditional sleepy noon slot at Richt-Smart Field at Vince Dooley Stadium. No excuse for a full-throated Dawg invasion of downtown Atlanta.
I have a lot of problems with how the SEC operates with officiating at the top of the list, but I would say this is ridiculous.
The SEC schedulers don’t take into account bye weeks when they put together the overall schedule. I’m sure each school gets to request the weeks they would like their bye weeks scheduled knowing their conference opponents and their non-conference schedules already established.
We made fun of Nick Saban complaining about this same topic a few years ago.
Kirby should embrace this with his team as a badge of honor that we are the Big Dawg in the conference.
Georgia and Texas square off later today for the 2nd time in Atlanta with the SEC championship on the line. Just like clockwork the entire college football apparatus has lined up saying Texas will win. They all talk about what Texas learned from the first game, and no one is giving Georgia a chance. I even heard Josh Pate talk about what happens in the playoff if Georgia gets blown out like the result is set in stone and it’s just a matter of how bad it’s going to be. I don’t know if Georgia is going to win, but other than the LSU game in 2019, I’ve never gone into a game in this building thinking the Dawgs didn’t have chance. This Texas team ain’t that LSU team. Let’s get to the preview.
When Georgia Has the Ball
Can Carson Beck continue to take care of the ball as he has the last few weeks and didn’t do in Austin? If so, Georgia has more than a puncher’s chance to win today. Due to the offensive woes at the time, Georgia took advantage of field position created by the defense to score 23 first half points. We can’t rely on those same opportunities to win today. Similar to the Tennessee game, I expect we are going to see Mike Bobo take an early shot to let the Longhorns’ defense know we are going to throw it over their head if they decide to play 8 or 9 in the box.
I can’t write this without talking about how important the offensive line play is this week. This game likely goes only as well as that group allows. Just enough of a running game to force the Longhorns to respect play action. Keep Beck upright in the pocket.
When Texas Has the Ball
Will Sark put Arch Manning out there more than in game 1? Can Quinn Ewers be more effective than he was in Austin? Can Texas run the ball and protect the quarterbacks much better than they did in front of friendly crowd in Austin? If the answers to all of these are yes, we probably don’t win.
The defense has played 3 great games this year: Clemson, Texas and Tennessee. The common denominator in all of those games really was the ability to force quarterbacks to stay in the pocket and make throws with a limited ability to run the ball. Against Clemson, Georgia stopped the run consistently and got consistent pressure but only 2 sacks. 7 sacks in Austin were the difference in the game as Ewers and Manning looked like they were playing big boy football for the first time. 5 sacks on Nico I in Athens against Tennessee. Many of those caused by the fact there was no one to throw to downfield. On the other hand, in our 2 losses, we got 1 sack total.
I think that tells you our winning formula today depends on creating havoc. Can we do it?
What Will Happen
Honestly, I’m at a loss for knowing what is going to happen. LSU 2019 is the only time we have lost in Mercedes-Benz without Alabama being on the other sideline. This Georgia team is better than that 2019 team, and Texas is nowhere near the juggernaut that was that LSU team.
This outcome of this game comes down to line play and how Carson Beck handles the moment. At this point in the season, I have to say Texas has the edge along the lines of scrimmage, but they aren’t going to be able to win a 17-7 type of game as they did last week in College Station. Carson Beck at his best is better than the 2 QBs combined for Texas.
Other than that LSU game, Kirby seems to be at his best when no one gives his team a chance. I believe Kirby knows the value of getting that bye for his team, and he is going to coach that way.
The Dawgs force one field goal in the red zone to make the difference.
When fans say they didn’t want to be in the conference championship game, they are just using that as copium to save themselves from the pain of not playing for the crown. Add Alabama and Ole Miss fans to that list.
Yesterday was glorious to this Dawg fan. The meltdowns on other schools’ message boards made me smile.
Let’s start today’s trip in Norman to check in on the Crimson Tide.
Bammers haven’t made a Mike Shula reference since Saban lost to UL Monroe. Watching Alabama get gashed over and over against by a running quarterback while their dual-threat quarterback looked absolutely terrible was a sight for these tired of Alabama sore eyes. Kalen DeBoer looks totally out of his element at this point. How did we lose to this bunch this year?
Let’s move on to Hogtown for a reason I never saw coming.
Lane Kiffen and Ole Miss likely faceplant themselves right out of the CFP unless some really weird stuff happens over the next 2 weeks. I didn’t see much of the game due to the Georgia game being played at the same time, but the fact that Florida held that offense to under 20 points was hard to believe and hard to watch for northern Mississippians. The Egg Bowl is back to what it’s known for … a hate-fest of 2 schools no one else thinks about until they play each other instead of a CFP qualification game.
Assuming Ole Miss doesn’t get into the back end of the CFP field, I wonder if this team of NIL transfers will have enough players to suit up in Houston or Memphis.
Let’s move on to Greater Opelika to see how the 3rd SEC upset victim is doing.
Weird stuff happens every year in Jordan-Hare. Auburn gets a big lead on Texas A&M and then blows that lead. A kicker that’s only there because Birmingham Southern closed its doors as a university ties the game with a field goal. Auburn wins the game on 2-point conversion try (the equivalent of a soccer or hockey shootout), and the Auburn crowd storms the field over beating the (checks the rankings) 15th ranked team in the country.
I guess Texas A&M really was focused on Texas all week last week.
Unpopular opinion … Something has to be done about the college overtime rule. It’s not football.
Let’s end today trip to check on the roadkill that is Indiana after being taken behind the ‘Shoe by Ohio State.
Indiana faces a team with a pulse and gets slapped back to reality by the Just for Men spokescoach and the best team money can buy. For those of you who are betting men, I hope you cleaned out the sports books who believed the Hoosiers could keep it relatively close with Ohio State.
In the meantime, the Florida State village idiot/genius poked his head out after the game to give us his insightful analysis:
Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
That’s what I saw this weekend. Let us know your thoughts below.
After last night’s escape from Lexington, I needed 12 hours or so to think about how the same team that beat the hell out of Clemson could be taken to the brink by a team that lost by 25 at home to South Carolina. We’ll get to our geniuses in a bit, but for now, let’s enjoy a little from the message board universe.
I had to start today with the Hogtown dumpster fire mixed with Busch Light, Axe body spray and eau de paper mill.
Jort Nation can’t decide whether to fire Sun Belt Billy now or force him to earn his buyout by taking the brunt of this season on his record. The Handbags made the AgCult’s offense look functional. They also learned that DJ Lagway may become a great player at the college level but he isn’t one right now. The mostly empty 2nd half Swamp made these 90s eyes cry tears of joy. I hope SBB makes it through the season because it will make the Florida recruiting class so bad the talent gap between us will look like the Gulf of Mexico.
Good times indeed.
We’ll move a little west toward the Redneck Riviera for our next stop in the message board universe.
Losing to Georgia Tech sucked but at least there was plenty of Guinness, Harp, and Irish whiskey for sorrow drowning. Being bullied by Boston College was surprising and shocking. Getting punked at home by Memphis has to be rock bottom. At least that’s what Nole fans have to be thinking. When your unconquered fans are now saying we don’t want any part of a big boy conference and longing for the days of Willie Taggart, it ain’t good in Tallahassee. How low can it go now especially given FSU is tied to Mike Norvell.
Let’s take our little trip now to the surface of the sun aka Columbia, South Carolina for a double feature.
Gamecock fans are delusional, but usually, their delusion is gone by this time of the year. The idiocy of the typical Poultry partisan has never been in doubt. The combination of the 2 in the TwiX above is incredible – the delusion that South Carolina could play for the SEC championship combined with the stupidity of not knowing the divisions are gone now is the USCjr stereotype.
OTOH, the Leprechaun continues to lose Corn Dog Nation. Beating South Carolina by 1 is not the way to prove to the proud Cajuns that you have things under control. Garrett Nussmeier’s awful decision that should have been a game-clinching pick 6 was bailed out by a call that would have never been made anywhere else on the field involving any other player on the field. Does anyone really think Brian Kelly was ever going to be a good fit on the bayou? Add Tiger fans to the list of those who believe they can convince Saban to leave his cushy ESPN job combined with his ability to play golf whenever and wherever he wants and the money Bama is paying him to be around the program.
Let’s move on to the backwoods of the SEC, StarkVegas.
I normally never think about Mississippi State, but this nugget from last night’s beatdown the Bizarro Dogs took at the hands of Toledo made me laugh. When you think MACtion talent is an upgrade, you know you aren’t built to win in the SEC. Those Disney checks still cash very well.
Our trip around the world of CFB now takes us to the capital of the Empire State of the South.
I have saved this space for relishing in the pain of others, but I had to give a shout out to Dell McGee for his Panthers’ win over previously undefeated Vanderbilt last night in Atlanta. McGee seems to be doing things right in downtown Atlanta by taking what he learned from Kirby and applying what works for his current situation. Good for him and I hope he can make life miserable for Brent Key.
Let’s end our weekend travels on the Kentucky bluegrass.
Now it comes to our geniuses who know more football than all of us but just haven’t gotten the chance to show it. I was disappointed in how we played Saturday night (I had a growing Munson throughout the day yesterday that only happens for late games I don’t attend) especially across both lines of scrimmage. Yes, I understand we had a lot of guys out on the defensive line, but we had plenty of chances to get backs on the ground for TFLs or short gains and didn’t do it. The offensive line did not play well at all for most of the game. We got outplayed physically on both lines for most of the night. Said differently, Mike Stoops wanted to play the game in a phone booth to shorten the game, and Kirby was happy to oblige.
For our geniuses, “Fire Mike Bobo” is the hammer for every nail that is a problem at UGA. I don’t know if the game plan was bad because the execution was generally putrid last night. The guy from southwest Georgia that takes a potshot at Beck and Jake Fromm can stick it for all I care … they’re both DGDs.
Those are my thoughts on the weekend that was. Finally, this bye week comes at a good time where Kirby can chew some back sides and get this team focused on the task at hand … Beat Bama.
Well, assholes, you’ve got Georgia. While Texas isn’t the biggest game on our schedule for 2024, they are quickly becoming one that CKS is circling as a needed statement game for the upcoming season. An additional bit of insight on what we’re adding to the conference:
At first glance, this would suggest instant success for both programs (notice Oklahoma isn’t quite as chirpy as Texas)…but it’s important to note that much of Oklahoma’s success was pre-Venables and both played in a conference, like the PAC-10, where defense is a suggestion and not a priority. Outside of the 2020 COVID season, you’re lucky to find one Big 12 team in the top 25 of defense, which could be argued as a chicken-egg thing, but if you watched Texas’s spring game, I’d have to say they would’ve had a better scrimmage placing tackling dummies in the secondary versus what was trotted out onto the field.
I’m not saying that adding the two doesn’t make the conference stronger…certainly having games in Norman and Austin improves the strength of schedule for the conference. But two teams are joining a conference that has owned the college football world for years, and are coming from one that hasn’t hoisted a Natty in nearly two decades…and to listen to one particular fan base, you’d think it’s reversed.
Welcome to the SEC. You might want to give Bobby Hill and the Vowels a call to see how this is going to likely work out for you.
