On to Auburn

You knew it would be like that didn't you? I mean, come on. We were playing a good team in-between two of our three biggest rivals. No one, player, coach or fan, was fully focused on Troy. I mean, they had the scoreboard from the Florida game on the JumboTron four minutes before kicking-off for God’s sake. Auburn was just a week and 180 miles away. And it was homecoming.

Plus Troy's pretty darn good. But their coach is an egomaniac and a jackass. Really now. What's with all that standing up and looking at the bench before every single play? That's what they did you know. The whole team! And calling three time outs to score against the scrubs during garbage time is horse dung. But when you are a third-tier coach in a third-tier program in a third-tier league I guess you do that sort of thing. I wouldn’t be so upset (because I usually preach about playing a full 60 minutes) except for the fact that Quinton Banks got injured on that play. Ouch!

Quite frankly, my favorite game of the week didn't even take place between the hedges. It took place at historic Grant Field at Bobby Dodd Stadium, on the Flats, near the projects, across the expressway from The Varsity on Thursday night because I enjoy seeing Tech get a beating about as much as I enjoy seeing Georgia win.

I think the favorite part of the evening was when Taylor Bennett called timeout before the first stinking play. That after a two-week layoff, understand. Of course each of the five interceptions were pretty sweet, too, as were the ESPN commentators berating the Yellow Jackets and their fans throughout the game including the now infamous TeleTubbies reference by Chri$ F0wler.

But we were talking about the Men from Georgia, not the Nerds from N.A.T.S.

For a guy that wasn't going to play the Troy quarterback had a pretty good day. I was encouraged by the way we contained him on the ground and, like our coaches, I was impressed that we held them to 3 points after spotting them such good field position after two early fumbles but dang! How did those receivers stay so wide open all day long? I hope it was just a passing fad, pun intended, because they lit us up a little bit through the air. Luckily, the Troy QB is way better than Brandon Cox. HA!

But how 'bout that Knowshon Moreno? Munson started calling him "New Jersey." Did he take off on that 80-yard sprint or what? He is putting up numbers like nobody's business. I just hope he can keep it up, and do you suppose we will see him and T. Brown in the same backfield at any point this season? I just hope “New Jersey” keeps getting 20-plus carries every game even after T.B. returns.

I don't want to jinx anybody but our receivers have certainly stepped up. Sean Bailey has been as steady as they come and Mo-Mass has turned into what we thought he would be all along. Tripp Chandler has turned to glue ever since his sister got on the radio and threatened the entire Bulldog Nation.

Matt Stafford continues to improve, however, I am not ready to anoint him as Saint Matthew just yet. His last two turnovers have really cost us and could have cost us games. He has got to know the fine line between a risky throw and a stupid one. His footwork has also got to improve further. But overall, for a second-year QB with a first-year O-line in front of him, he’s doing pretty well.

And so here we are. Seven and two with those danged Auburn Tiger/War Eagle/Plainsmen invading Athens next weekend. When you were walking back to your car after the South Carolina game, did you ever for one moment dream that this week's game would have such lofty implications on the SEC standings and National rankings?

But Richt has coached his team up while the Genius formally known as Evil has coached his team into the toilet. So again I say, here we are.

I don't know who will win Saturday but I do know this. To quote the immortal Erk Russell from a 1972 Thursday night pep rally in the McWhorter Hall parking lot, "What we need Saturday is the damnedest bunch of Dawgs you have ever seen getting after their asses, and I mean in the stands and on the field." That’s really what we need. Dawgs young and old to come early and come loud. The whole season depends on it. There is a F@cebook group entitled noise-out Auburn. That’s right, not red-out, black-out, or white-out, just noise-out. That’s what we have got to do to beat Auburn and Florida in the same season for the first time since 1982, BE LOUD! We have 92,000 seats, 80,000-plus of those seats will have Georgia fans in them. Now, let’s sound like it. You can look for me. I'll be the loud Dawg wearing red and black! Won't you please join me?

Go Dawgs!