Never gets old.

Nine out of eleven, bitchez. 

We may not be entitled, but we’re certainly due.

As I get ready to leave for Athens, a thought occurs to me:  it’s been a while since Sanford Stadium was legitimately rocking.

It’s feel good time, Dawgs.  In fact, it’s way past time for that.

Consider this your game day thread post.

All the time in the world

Those of you who insist that Georgia needed that open records law to avoid being overwhelmed with the hardship of providing information… well, maybe you can explain what’s so tough about this.

The Georgia football team has agreed to host East Tennessee State in 2020, according to a memorandum of understanding that was signed earlier this year.

East Tennessee State will be paid $550,000 for the game. The day of the game is to be decided, and due to be finalized by Dec. 1, 2018.

The memorandum shows that East Tennessee’s athletics director signed the memo in May – UGA athletics director Greg McGarity’s signature is undated – but the memo was not released until Friday. It was in response to a request for scheduling contracts made by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on July 18. UGA is using the full 90 days the state legislature gave it to respond to athletics-related requests, starting in July.

Man, I can only imagine the mad scramble that went on behind the scenes to put that together for the media’s satisfaction.  A flock of staffers frantically trying to lay their hands on the raw data.  Days, stretching into weeks, as the information was studied, analyzed, correlated and organized into an effective presentation.

To put all that together in a mere ninety days without the athletic department’s regular business grinding to a halt?  Wow.  Somebody deserves a bonus.

Or, it could just be that Greg McGarity doesn’t want to tell anyone his business until he has to.  I know which answer Occam’s Razor suggests.  It’s too bad Occam won’t be getting a ticket to see Georgia play in the SECCG, though.

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A few thoughts on Georgia-Auburn

I have mixed feelings about today’s game.  Skip past the obvious structural deficiencies — Georgia’s at a disadvantage in special teams and the offensive line’s match up against the Tigers’ defensive line — and I’m still left with some statistical shortcomings that suggest the 10-point spread isn’t a stretch in the slightest.

Check out these conference ranking comparisons to get a flavor of what I’m getting at:

• Scrimmage plays of 30 yards or more:  Auburn 3rd; Georgia 12th
• 3rd down conversion rate:  Auburn 2nd; Georgia 10th
• Opponent red zone conversion rate:  Auburn 3rd; Georgia 14th
• Tackles for loss:  Auburn 6th; Georgia 14th

In short, Auburn is more explosive and efficient on offense, much better at defending the red zone and more likely to put opponents in unfavorable down and distance situations.  If you think Georgia’s best chance to win lies in controlling the ball and limiting the number of touches Auburn gets on offense, that’s a very bad combination.

Funny thing is, while my head tells me Auburn’s going to grind Georgia down slowly and walk away with a two-touchdown win, my heart wouldn’t be surprised if the Dawgs surprise and spring the upset.  Why?  Well, history, basically.  It’s not as if Gus Malzahn’s been Steve Spurrier, after all.  Auburn’s only won two of the last ten games in the series, neither of those in Athens, and it took magical seasons from its quarterbacks to pull those off (plus one of the flukiest plays we’ve ever seen, of course).

The other thing in the back of my head is that we’re at game ten now.  It’s about time for things to start coming together.  The coaches know their personnel.  The players have had time to adjust to what the new staff is doing.  We’re starting to see positive development in areas like the defensive line.  All of which isn’t to guarantee a win; rather, it’s just to say that an upset wouldn’t be totally out of the question for me.

If you really want a key for the game, keep an eye on first quarter scoring.  Auburn is tops in the SEC in that, while Georgia is tenth.  If the Dawgs can keep things close early, they might be in store for a good day.

Your weekly non-Dawg game day post, 11/12 edition

Of all the Saturdays this season, this is certainly one of them.

Mississippi State

#1Alabama

12:00 PM

You think Mississippi State could… ah, forget it.

South Carolina

Florida

12:00 PM

Agent Muschamp returns to the scene of the crime, hoping to inflict chaos on the SEC East race.  And, yes, I’m using the term “race” loosely here.

Kentucky

Tennessee

12:00 PM

Forget it, Booch.  It’s November.

Georgia Tech

#14Virginia Tech

3:30 PM

Misery loves company, right, Dawg fans?

#24LSU

#25Arkansas

7:00 PM

This week, in the Ed Orgeron Job Interview Tour…

#20USC

#4Washington

7:30 PM

Maybe it’s just me, but this looks like a great game.

Toss in your own observations in the comments.