Lowered expectations with a vengeance

If you think Georgia was dissed back in 2005 before the season opener, check this bad boy out (start at about the 3:45 mark) to get a real flavor for how far under the radar the Dawgs are flying this year.

85 Comments

Filed under ESPN Is The Devil, Georgia Football

85 responses to “Lowered expectations with a vengeance

  1. Jim

    Amazing how the rest of the country can see what a lot of Dawg fans can’t.

    In all seriousness, hard to expect much more coming off the year and bowl game we had last year.

    Respect at the national level has to be earned and we have lost it, unfortunately, deservedly so.

    Until we play again like a nationally relevant team, we aren’t going to be one.

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    • Jim

      I do agree with what others will certainly point out – Richt has done some of his best work flying under the radar.

      I certainly hope he can do it this year, but what we have witnessed the last couple of years doesn’t give me a lot of confidence

      Like

    • Gravidy

      I agree. I’m as much of a UGA fan as anyone, but I can’t get angry over what was said on that video clip. As a side note, when Herbie is the one sticking up for the Dawgs, that tells you all you need to know.

      Like

  2. Nate Dawg

    I can’t believe Herbie is the one sticking up for us…When San Deigo St. is getting more hype than ANY SEC team, I’ve got problems with that panel. Oh, btw, they lost their head coach to greener pastures after going 9-4. I’m sure that’ll be the toughest game on Boise’s new and inproved WAC schedule. And I also believe, 6-7 last year or not, there is a big difference in playing the Dawgs in the Dome and playing VT in Maryland or DC area. Plus, if VT doesn’t sleep thru the first quater I believe they win that game, against what I think was a much better Boise team than it’ll be this year. But of course, that remains to be seen.

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    • Wonderful Ohio on the Gulf 'Dog

      Nate Dawg, you are spot on when you write “Plus, if VT doesn’t sleep thru the first quater I believe they win that game.”

      Boise scores 17 unaswered points in the first few minutes of last year’s Kickoff Classic. That gave the Broncos the confidence and momentum to hold on for dear life the rest of the game for the win.

      Billy Winn was in the Hokies’ backfield as much as Tyrod Taylor was in the first quarter. Then things kind of evened out.

      First quarter shock and awe is Boise State’s brand of football. What we need to do is make them play four quarters of hard football.

      If we make them play four quarters, I don’t doubt that we’ll win.

      What remains to be seen is if our much vaunted strenght and conditioning program is the Hope and Change it’s cracked up to be.

      It will be obvious early on at the Chick-fil-A whether Coach Richt and crew have figured out what they need to do to set things right,

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      • Nate Dawg

        “First quarter shock and awe is Boise State’s brand of football. What we need to do is make them play four quarters of hard football.”
        You are spot on as well WOOTGD (is that abv too long..?) and I never really relized that before. But being the junkie I am, I realize that’s what Nevada made them do as I stayed up in the wee hours of the morning to watch them loose that game last year.

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        • Krautdawg

          Agree that BSU is opportunistic, but those guys hung in for 4 quarters against OU in ’06 & TCU in ’09. Also, they put together the winning drive against VT’s defense after stopping VT’s offense late in the 4thQ, w/ Moore scoring the winning TD on a throw he’d missed twice during the same game. BSU will be focused during the 4th quarter in ATL; I have more doubt that we will be.

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          • Wonderful Ohio on the Gulf 'Dog

            Krautdawg:

            “BSU will be focused during the 4th quarter in ATL.”

            That’s exactly right. We have to be ready to play all four quarters of nut-busting football.

            My larger point is, that if we are not prepared to bring it against Boise State, how can we expect to turn it on against South Carolina the following week?

            We cannot go into the Chick-fil-A game with anything but an in-your-face, make-or-break attitude ready to play mid-season, elite-SEC program football against the Broncos. To do anything less leaves us unprepared for the rest of the season.

            Losing to Boise State is not the end of the world, but such a loss would portend misery the rest of the season because it would demonstrate a lack of fortitude to win, against the Broncos and against the SEC.

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            • Krautdawg

              Agreed. Throw in the thought that, if we lose to BSU in game 1 — especially if in spectacular fashion — the team might start to jump ship on Richt.

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  3. Wonderful Ohio on the Gulf 'Dog

    Georgia stunk up the joint last year, no doubt about it.

    BUT, we could have won every game last year, including the eventual 18 point blow-out at Auburn.

    We weren’t incapabale of 14-0 last year. We were incapabable, however, of “finishing the drill,” in Coach Richt’s words, as a 14-0 team does.

    That distinction makes all the difference!

    Secondly, the point was made that a Boise State victory over Georgia might be more impressive than the Broncos’ victory over Virginia Tech last year, simply because VA Tech is an ACC team and Georgia is an SEC team.

    There’s a lot of truth to that, The SEC is the premier league, while the ACC is an also-ran with a couple of good teams.

    Unlike a lot of Georgia fans who point to South Carolina as THE game, I think beating Boise State is absolutely critical for our program.

    Boise State is the Junkyard Dogs of this millenium. They recruit scrappy kids too small and, maybe, too slow to play in the PAC-10. The Broncos play to a man with a chip-on-the-shoulder attitude.

    Sound familiar?

    How we play in the Georgia Dome on September 3 will show on national television whether Georgia’s prepared to bust some heads in 2011, or whether the Junkyard Dog spirit has departed Athens for points north.

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    • zdub

      Completely disagree with your second point. If BSU were playing Vandy to start this season, they wouldn’t get any respect for beating them just because they are a SEC team. They won’t get much respect if they beat us either, simply because we are not that good (in terms of the last couple of years).

      The only thing critical for our program is to win our SEC games. Beating BSU does NOT accomplish that. USCe is the most important game of our season (early on) in terms of winning the East. That’s not to say that we should look past BSU, obviously, because they are going to put up one hell of a fight.

      The way to gain back national respect is to win in your league (the toughest league in the NCAA). Occasionally playing tough OOC games is all well and good, but proving that you can win within your own league is much more important.

      Would you be upset if we made it to the SECCG even after a early season loss to BSU? I certainly wouldn’t, although I do hope that we win every game we play this season.

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      • Wonderful Ohio on the Gulf 'Dog

        I just do not see Georgia losing to Boise State and then playing in the SECCG.

        Unless we play with the spirit and determination necessary to beat the Broncos, I can’t see us developing the tenacity and attitude we need to compete for the SEC title in the next week in time to beat South Carolina.

        It could happen. I just don’t see it though.

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        • Kevin

          oregon lost to bsu in 09, won the pac10. va tech lost to bsu in 10, won the acc.

          why cant you see it happen for uga?

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          • Wonderful Ohio on the Gulf 'Dog

            Many reasons. I’ll mention two.

            First, and most important, if Georgia doesn’t play Boise State with the fire in the belly nescessary to beat Boise State, it won’t suddenly develop the attitude necessary to compete in the SEC the following week.

            Winning attitude is not something reliably turned on and off.

            The 2011 ‘Dogs will either have it or they won’t. They’ll show it September 3 or they won’t.

            The ‘Dogs either are either ready to kick butt at the Dome and we win, or they are not ready to kick butt and we lose. It’s really as simple as that.

            You might argue that Georgia could play its hearts out and still lose to Boise State. With all due respect to the Boise State program, I don’t think so.

            Scrappy players coached up to play game after game way over their heads is Boise State’s hallmark. They take great pride in that description of themselves, much like Georgia used to take pride in being Junkyard Dogs. It’s the same principle.

            But if this Georgia team plays with the same level of intensity that Boise State does and we play at that level for four quarters, I cannot believe Georgia loses to Boise State.

            If we do not play at that level against Boise State, I do not see how we play at that level the next week against South Carolina. South Carolina will hand us our heads if we don’t play with spirit and intensity.

            Second, the 2009 PAC-10 and the 2010 ACC are not the 2011 SEC. Would the 2010 Virginia Tech team that lost to James Madison compete in the 2010 SEC West? We both know the answer to that one (which, I think, answers your question in and of itself).

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            • Kevin

              meh. you’re assuming just as much as i was assuming so i really can’t buy that argument.

              they’re just as likely to do it as they aren’t – and your point about VT losing to JMU doesn’t help because it shows you CAN turn a winning attitude on in the middle of the season… or else VT would never have won out and won a conference championship… hell, UGA could lose the first two games and lose ANOTHER SEC game and still win the east.

              im really just trying to play devil’s advocate here. i feel like your argument that they ‘wont have the fire’ has just as many legs to stand on as ‘well the other two openers did it’ – both pretty shotty.

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        • zdub

          That’s a fair point and I see where you are coming from.

          My response is that if we let one early season loss beat us, then we are not a mentally tough team and deserve the lousy season that we will inevitably get. Letting one loss get you down is not the mark of a championship team. Look at LSU in ’07. They didn’t let their late season loss to Arkansas get them down and they ended up winning the whole thing.

          I do not think that we will be deflated if we lose a hard fought game to BSU. If we get pummeled then I could see us getting down on ourselves but if we make it close then Richt can use the “we’re THIS close to being great” approach to get them ready for the next week against USCe. Who knows how they will respond.

          I would hope that the team leaders would pick everyone up and get them mentally prepared for USCe. Whether that has to happen or not remains to be seen.

          The more I type this the more I wonder how mentally tough this team will be. I can’t say that I have much faith in their mental toughness at this moment, but they have surprised me before.

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          • Wonderful Ohio on the Gulf 'Dog

            If we’re not going to be ready to beat Boise State, we’re not going to be ready to beat South Carolina. Consequently, it is imperative we beat Boise State.

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            • zdub

              We’ll just agree to disagree, I guess. What you have said is opinion, same as me.

              Bottom line is your opinion is we can’t beat USCe if we lose to BSU. My opinion is we can beat USCe whether we lose to BSU or not.

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              • Kevin

                In total agreement here as I stated above. Both are just opinions of what might happen – really no reason to hash it out. I was just merely pointing out some facts of things that HAVE happened.

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              • Wonderful Ohio on the Gulf 'Dog

                I think you misunderstand what I have been saying, but, it’s only an opinion anyway.

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  4. Chuck

    We heard this same thing a few years ago when they came to Athens! We all know what happen then. I do agree that this is a must win to get the program on a good start and get the fan base to back them. Also agree that Mark does his very best when under the radar. I hope they continue to throw us under the bus. Look at Aurburn the year before last and they did really well last year. Cost them some money!

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  5. Texas Baller

    Nate, I don’t know what you saw last Sept in DC but I saw a 90% pro – VT stadium rocking at kickoff (sandman)….and then Kellen quited the crowd quickly. VT was NEVER in the game and thoroughly dominated. Now, UGA will surely have Its kickoff music (The Who) blaring at the Dome intimidating (ha) Coach Peterson – but somehow I think the Broncs will show-up to play and put the fear of God into our Dawgs. And by the way, the SEC owners of the Dome, LSU, are the only sure fire dominators in the ATL.

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    • Wonderful Ohio on the Gulf 'Dog

      Texas,

      It was a three-point game. How can you possibly say “VT was NEVER in the game?” That’s ridiculous!

      You are right, though, that a scrappy bunch of Bronocs will show up at the Dome ready to play and with a huge chip on their shoulders.

      The noise and the crowd will be meaningless to them as the VA Tech crowd was in DC last year.

      If Georgia shows up at the Chick-fil-A not ready to bust some heads, we will lose.

      But if we make Boise State play four quarters of hard, intense football, I cannot believe we won’t win.

      The game against Boise State is Georgia’s defining moment. We either show up to Atlanta as Junkyard Dogs fully prepared to “finish the drill,” or we can look forward to yet another year of mediocrity.

      Technically, the South Carolina game the following week is statistically more important.

      But it is the heart of Georgia and whether this rendition of the Georgia Bulldogs has it in them to play as they need in order to compete in the SEC will be front and center for all to see on national television on September 3.

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    • Nate Dawg

      I guess it’s just my blatant homerism but I just think any SEC crowd, in a dome, in their home state, will rock it out harder than any ACC school, Enter Sandman or no…
      I have to disagree with you on the game, VT fought back and maybe shoulda-coulda won the whole darn thing. At least they played much better 2nd quarter-on than vs the 1st quarter.
      LSU- yes but Bama’s won it twice I believe and I don’t see any Dawg player looking over and being physically intimidated during warm-ups and probably even once the game starts.

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    • S FL Chapter of the Bulldog Nation

      Hey Baller, The Dawgs took the last meeting between LSU and UGA in the Dome….just sayin’ 🙂

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    • D.N. Nation

      Virginia Tech lost to a 1-AA team last year.

      The ACC is a mid-major.

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  6. DawgPhan

    meh…I can’t get to high or low over what people think of the team any more…if they show up to play then they can play with anyone…if they mail it in, then say goodnight…to a man, every single player that straps on a red helmet(hopefully) in the Dome in september is bigger, stronger, faster, better, and better hung that whatever sad sack can’t play in the pac-10 chip on their shoulder last pick in dodgeball bitches BSU brings down to the dirty. They know it. You know it. I know it.

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    • Gravidy

      Your point may be a tad overstated, but it is taken nonetheless. Georgia will be bigger and more athletic than Boise, but we all know the problems of the last three years weren’t caused solely (or even mostly) by a lack of talent. I’m rooting for Richt to turn the ship around. But I can’t hide from the fact that he simply hasn’t gotten the job done lately.

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  7. Russ

    Thank you, ESPN. I like flying under the radar.

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  8. SC Dawg

    I wish someone would’ve flipped that question around. “If UGA wins, do they get any respect for the victory?” My response would be hell no. And that tells me Boise State is a tourist.

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    • Gravidy

      That’s a very good point.

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    • “If UGA wins, do they get any respect for the victory?”

      We didn’t in 2005. But we will if we win this year.

      Boise State was a different team back then — they were good, but when it came to playing name-brand BCS-conference squads on the road, they were still getting their asses handed to them on the regular. (Before UGA-BSU ’05, Boise’s last trip to SEC country had been Arkansas in 2002, and they lost by four TDs.) It wasn’t until the Chris Petersen era and the Fiesta Bowl upset over Oklahoma that they proved they could hang with the best.

      Now, of course, they’ve proven that. And it’s not an exaggeration to say the roles have been flipped since ’05. Boise is the established team that’ll begin the season ranked in the top 15, maybe top 10. Name brand notwithstanding, Georgia is the underdog; we’re not sure we’ll be ranked at all when Sept. 3 rolls around, and I cannot fathom us being favored by Vegas, even in the Georgia Dome.

      If a team coming off a losing season manages to beat a ranked team that’s 61-5 under its current coach, then yes, that’s an upset, I don’t care which two conferences you’re talking about. And at the risk of sounding too much like Urban Meyer, it’ll be a big deal.

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      • Puffdawg

        Doug, I think we’ll be favored by Vegas.

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        • Kevin

          I think we’ll be ranked, too. Just so they can put a number next to our name when talking about the game, not that we deserve it.

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        • Boise was favored by a couple points over VT, and that was a top-10 Hokie team playing in front of a decidedly partisan Virginia/DC/Maryland crowd. I’m not an oddsmaker and I can’t even begin to know all the myriad factors they take into account when setting a line, but other than “Georgia kicked Boise’s ass six years ago,” I’d be hard-pressed to find any overarching reason to make UGA the favorite. My guess is we’ll be about a touchdown ‘dog, maybe less if Crowell, Drew et al. really annihilate in summer practice.

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          • WarD Eagle

            I’m looking through these top 10s and I don’t see VT anywhere.

            AP Top 25
            Tue Jan 11, 2011
            1. Auburn
            2. TCU
            3. Oregon
            4. Stanford
            5. Ohio St.
            6. Oklahoma
            7. Wisconsin
            8. LSU
            9. Boise St.
            10. Alabama

            USA Today
            Tue Jan 11, 2011
            1. Auburn
            2. TCU
            3. Oregon
            4. Stanford
            5. Ohio St.
            6. Oklahoma
            7. Boise St.
            8. Wisconsin
            8. LSU
            10. Oklahoma St.

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  9. Mayor of Dawgtown

    The most telling point was that not a single one of those football “experts” even speculated that the Dawgs could beat Boise State. The guy who was doing the most dissing was Jesse Palmer an ex-Florida backup QB. ESPN strikes again.

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    • Stoopnagle

      Honestly, the whole set was about Boise. I’m not expecting them to talk a lot about Georgia. They said “if” enough times to qualify it.

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    • AthensHomerDawg

      And what’s up with Jesse and the pen waving. Does he think he is somebody’s attorney?
      😉

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  10. CityDawg

    At the risk of repeating myself, if I’m Coach Richt or Coach T, I’m playing this in the weight room all summer long. I’m with WOOTGD — if we put in work this summer and play up to our potential for four quarters, we will whip Boise and put ourselves back on the radar.

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  11. Stoopnagle

    Kellen Moore vs our secondary.

    Who ya got?

    This game is about John Jenkins and Kwame Geathers getting into the center of their line, getting pressure and stuffing any run game along and Jarvis Jones and/or Cornelius Washington getting in the Boise backfield in a hurry. If Jenkins is what we think (Cody or Fairly), we’ve got a chance.

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  12. Reptillicide

    Damn. This post seems to have brought out the cynics.

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    • zdub

      I think if you look at the matchup objectively you have to give the edge to BSU. Nothing really cynical about that, it’s just how things are right now.

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    • Stoopnagle

      You think it was the post?

      I think it was going 6-7, losing to a C-USA team and back-to-back bowl trips to Shreveport and Memphis.

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  13. S FL Chapter of the Bulldog Nation

    I’m just foamin’ at the mouth to get in that Dome and see what our boys have in their guts this year!!! They were in every game last year and let 7 get away….our boys know where they let it slip. Their busting their butts to not let it happen again this year. They’ve seen the ones who didn’t want to bust their tails hit the bricks….and good riddance! Yes, we need depth. Yes, we need experience. But, I’d rather have guys suiting up who want to leave it all on the field for the “G” on their helmets as opposed to worrying about the stat line next to their name in the paper. I believe Richt and Co.’s got ’em buying into the whole idea, and we’ll see guys doin’ just that….leavin’ it all on the field. That’s all you can ask for…..GO DAWGS!!!!

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  14. W Cobb Dawg

    I think its a “must win” game. We juggled our schedule to get this game. Loosing would make us look like fools. It’s not Sanford, but everyone considers it a home game for UGA. CMR had better be ready. Not sure fans & sportscasters have considered the tsunami of criticism CMR will be receiving if we loose. Nobody will be talking about scu.

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    • Puffdawg

      …and then we’ll beat SCU and everybody will be talking about how we are the favorites to win the East and how Richt did such a great job of getting the team to rebound after a devastating loss to Boise.

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    • Stoopnagle

      Not to mention missing out on the Bourbon Trail in Louisville.

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    • zdub

      It’s only a must win game if you expect us to compete for a national title. I don’t think many Dawg fans think we will be doing that this year. Many, however, do believe that we have a shot to win the East.

      Losing would not make us look like fools (unless we get absolutely stomped into the ground). In fact, if we lose it will be, more than likely, exactly what was supposed to happen (BSU will likely be favored and will definitely be ranked higher).

      Richt is getting/has gotten enough criticism the past few years, a little more won’t be a huge deal for him. He has the entire 2011 season to prove he can still win at UGA; McGarity won’t be getting rid of him mid-season if things happen to go badly for the team.

      We juggled our schedule for this game because we get a nice chunk of change out of it and there is a lot more to be gained from beating BSU in Atlanta in front of a national audience than there is from beating Louisville in Athens on Jefferson Pilot Sports (or whatever they are calling it these days).

      Losing to BSU doesn’t make or break the season. Losing to BSU and USCe would make things a lot more difficult for us, but not impossible. There is a lot riding on the early part of the season, but it is not all or nothing for the BSU game.

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  15. dawgtiredofthiscrap

    hell we can’t even beat UCF and a George O’Leary coached team. the damn nerds beat us three consecutive years from 1998-2000. sorry but i’m still pissed off about that Liberty Bowl game i took the wife and kids to.

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  16. Titanic

    Coach Mark Richt and I have a lot in common. He’ll find out just how much if he drops the first two games of the season.

    Iceberg. Dead ahead.

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  17. The Goff Era

    part-tay!

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  18. Flying under the radar means you can get even the most elusive terrorist. LOL

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    • Dog in Fla

      +1

      And if they hadn’t taken him out, Osama probably would have said something like Jake’s Quote of the Day:

      “I haven’t been hiding out. I’ve just been somewhere else.” — Jake Scott, AJ-C, 5/23/11

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  19. WarD Eagle

    BSU is going to be a laugher.

    Remember ‘H’a’w’a’i’i’ in the Sugar Bowl? They hung a gazillion on a bunch of whatevers and all the talk was about their coming onto the big stage? Did their QB even live through that game?

    Remember BSU over VT last year? Who beat VT the next week? James Freakin’ Madison – by a larger margin than BSU. VT went on to beat top 20 FSU (the only ranked team they beat) – who also lost to UNC & NCSU. Then they had their asses handed to them by a top 5 team in a bowl game. You never get blown out in a bowl game – unless you’re wildly mismatched (i.e, you’re the team that sucks).

    That Oklahoma team that BSU beat? Even a blind hog finds an acorn. That UO team was the winner of the 2006 Big12 by default, the entire conference sucked that year.

    UGA in a blowout.

    A laugher.

    The locals will bail out in the 4th quarter to beat the traffic.

    Whether that portends a win at USC, Eastern/SEC championship, or Richt’s Ass Aflame, nobody knows.

    But Boise will have a long, embarassing walk through Hartsfield after this game.

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    • NRBQ

      War Damn Dawg!

      I like it.

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    • zdub

      When is the last time BSU was on the losing end of a “laugher”? Several seasons at least. No way we stomp them into the ground. This game will be close the whole way.

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      • Mayor of Dawgtown

        The answer: 2005 in Athens, GA at the hands of the University of Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 48-13–that’s when.

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        • zdub

          Precisely. The last time they got absolutely destroyed was at the hands of our boys. Do you know what that means for the 2011 opener? Zilch. Nada. Goose eggs. Not a damn thing.

          Do you know why, Mayor? To answer that question, ask yourself this: How many young men from the 2005 UGA team are active members of the team today (meaning they play on the field)? How many of the BSU players from their 2005 team are active members of their team today. Yeah, it’s a easy question.

          A lot of UGA fans just don’t want to admit that BSU has a better than good chance of beating us this year. Maybe they truly don’t see it, but BSU is the better team at the moment and that is not really a matter of debate. Blah blah blah they have a easy schedule…the bottom line is they win nearly 100% of their games and have gained national recognition while doing it. And it all started with a beatdown in 2005 in Athens. They took their lumps that day and look where they are today. Now look where we are now…

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      • WarD Eagle

        I’ll see your “When” and raise you with – When was the last time BSU played an SEC team?

        They’re currently 0-3 against the SEC by a combined score of 127 – 58, so yeah, I’m still expecting a laugher.

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        • Mayor of Dawgtown

          +1. I’m not totally sure about the “laugher” but I really think the Dawgs will win.

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  20. shane#1

    Vince Dooley wore rose colored glasses. The UGA secondary, which couldn’t shut down my Mom’s assisted living team against one of the better college QBs in the nation and a spread O. Add in a depleted O line and questions about WRs and RBs and I am looking at full blown depression again. Maybe T Klye King can cheer me up.

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  21. Sep

    I got the impression the whole conversation was after they beat Georgia, not that it would be a game.
    I suspect and hope for a thorough ass kicking for the Dawgs.

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    • Sep

      These guys have lived off crappy teams for way too long with an occasional questionable test. I’m not sold on them and have maybe more faith than I should in us.

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    • shane#1

      I hope you are right. I will keep my negatism close to my heart. Damn, I can’t wait ’till September! What will I load the CD changer with this year? The Brothers Allman and The Who, or George Jones and Haggard? I don’t want to spend another six months crying in my beer.

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