Desert Storm

 

Courtesy of Amy at antiorange.dawgtoons.com

 

For most of the summer the thought of this game has really kept me nervous. I went back and forth in my head, one day believing the Dawgs are gonna maul the sun devils and the next wondering if we have an offense potent enough to win a possible shoot-out. When we got past Southern and Central Michigan with such ease I began seeing crystal footballs dancing in my head. But after catching the replay of the SCUm game Monday night, those sweet dreams have turned into night terrors. I’m not ready to call for a loss -its against my bulldawg code – but I don’t think this game will be as easy as most fans think either.

There are a few intangibles that have me worried right off the bat. 

1. Its the first time since the invention of color tv that a Georgia team has ventured outside the south. I spent 5 years living overseas and travelling for a living. I know what a 4-hour plane ride can do to your body if you’re not fully prepared and if you have very little time to get acclimated.
2. They say its a dry heat. I wouldn’t know; I’ve never been to that part of the southwest. From everything I’ve heard & read, having the proper hydration strategy (I stole that term from Kit, btw) is imperative. We’re used to the hot & muggy life of the Deep South, but none of our kids have played ball in the desert. And reading this didn’t exactly boost my confidence: “I talked to my brother-in-law,” said Georgia coach Mark Richt, referring to the well-traveled NFL quarterback Brad Johnson, “and he said most NFL teams that go cross-country to play in that element early in the season usually lay an egg.”  Well that’s just great.
3. But, the biggest concern I have involves PAC-10 officials. Apparently they are the only conference that doesn’t alow visiting OOC teams to bring their own officials. Fabulous news. Has anyone forgotten the history of just how game changingly horrible these folks are? I mean, these refs make Penn Wagers look like a Dawg fan! Granted last week we got hosed by a bunch of SEC refs that think 2 penalties on the SAME TEAM off-set one another. But seriously, the Pac-10 refs are on a whole other planet of stupid.  Just ask Oklahoma, Oregon State or Washington. Bottom line, an official’s “judgment” should never affect the outcome of a game. Period. Pac-10 officials apparently never got that memo. And with UGA already averaging 10 freaking penalties/game, this issue really has me nervous. 

I have several other concerns about the way we’re playing right now, but the good news is that they’re all fixable. I’ve kept up with practice reports and read everything I could get my hands on this week. All signs point to CMR making adjustments for this game and working hard to correct problems that were magnified against the lamecocks. No surprise there, complacency is not a word to describe this team or our coaches. But the biggest factor in assuaging my pessimism is simply remembering what I tell myself every year: there’s not a better Coach on the road than Mark Richt. 

I typically don’t do big previews for UGA games, I leave that to the experts like these guys, but I do have some thoughts on what the Dawgs will have to do to leave Tempe with a “W.” So here goes:

 

The O-line has to hold. In the last couple of days we heard talk about how changes are coming in the starting line-up this week, specifically because of the poor play against the lamecock D. Also, left tackle Kiante Tripp sprained his ankle in practice Tuesday but was running drills soon afterward, so that doesn’t concern me too much. Even the shifts on the line don’t alarm me. As we learned last year, being a starter doesn’t really matter that much in the grand scheme of the game because everyone rotates in & out to stay fresh. What is a concern however, is their ability to gel up front. Knowshon can’t do what he does without that line making holes. We saw evidence of that against SCUm. The other concern for this bunch involves the stellar DE’s from ASU. Dexter Davis is a 252lb beast and one of the best pass rushers in the country, with 10.5 sacks last season. Their other DE, Luis Vasques is also no joke. Stafford was sacked an ungodly 4 times last Saturday. That cannot happen again if we have any chance of winning this game.

Catch the freaking ball! More than anything I was shocked to see the case of the dropsies hit Tripp Chandler and our receivers again last week. I don’t know what it is about the lamecocks, but I’m praying its just a virus we seem to be plagued with only while playing against them. I feel bad for Tripp; Saturday definitely was not his day. However, if he comes up lame again this Saturday, for God’s sakes CMR pull him & lets try Figgins or White. Mo Mass and AJ have been outstanding so far, and as Kit mentioned earlier this week, they will stay in double coverage and cannot be our only option. The other guys in our arsenal have to step up. Staying balanced on offense has become our calling card and its the only way we’re gonna continue to stay in the win column.

Please God, no directional kicks! Same story, different year. I will never, I repeat NEVER, understand the whole directional kick theory of Coach Fabris for this team. On paper its genius. But the fact remains, it doesn’t work for us. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over & over and expecting a different result. At first I thought Blair Walsh had the power to kick it out of the end zone. Now I’m not so sure since CMR has said several times now that he hasn’t seen Blair make it with any consistency. Either Walsh can’t get it done or Coach Fab is insisting on sticking with his asinine plan. I don’t know and I don’t care, quite frankly. What I do know is that allowing ASU to start every drive on a short field will kill us for sure. Somebody needs to step-up and get that damn ball in the endzone. Period.

Pass Rush. Pass Rush. Pass Rush. Good Lord, this was the most depressing part of last week’s game for me. I would love to say that allowing the lamecocks to throw the ball up & down the field (with some assistance in our gift-wrapped penalty yardage) in the 4th quarter was due to fatigue and some big miscues. But the fact is, we saw evidence of this in the games against Southern and CMU. Houston, we’ve got  a problem. A big one. We lack a David Pollack, Odell Thurman type pass rusher this year no question. The loss of Marcus Howard has been huge for this D. But we have too many returning players and too much talent for this to continue. Smelley looked good only because we allowed him time to get set and throw. Facing a quarterback the likes of Rudy Carpenter will be no easy task and a hellova lot tougher if we can’t put some pressure on him. He’s the top passer in the Pac-10 & 5th in the nation, with a 71% completion rate and a QB rating of 183.6 – yeah, he’s seriously no joke. In last week’s loss against UNLV he only made 23 pass attempts, instead of his average 32. Apparently Coach Erikson thought that was the game to try his experiment of getting their running game going. Colossal Fail. You can bet your ass that won’t happen this week, especially after watching our film against SCUm. And if our DE’s & secondary fail to get pressure & make plays, ASU’s high-octane offense will carve us up like a Thanksgiving turkey.

We need to score points. Sounds elementary & obvious I know, but its really that simple. Fourteen points will not cut it against an offensive powerhouse like ASU. In our first two games, UGA racked up more than 530 yards each time. Against the lamecocks, we were held to 252 yards. Yeah, I realize Southern & CMU were cupcakes (relatively speaking) and SCUm has a damn good D, but we have two Heisman candidates running our offense and one of the best balanced offenses in the country. When you’re as talented as we are, there’s no excuse for the lack of production we gave last week and it cannot be repeated. Here’s some interesting stats I found courtesy of espn: Since 2001 Georgia is 46-3 when putting up at least 30 points, and 23-0 when scoring at least 40. And check out ASU’s record when held to below 40 and even 30 points. Seems simple to me, if we can put up at least 30 and defensively prevent this game from turning into a shoot-out, the Dawgs walk away with the win.

 

So, there’s how I see it. Comparing both teams right now, UGA has the edge in several categories, including: coaching, a balanced offense and defensive speed. We have some of the most talented players in college football. We also have some of the most talented & winingest coaches in college football. Beating ASU is not only doable, but should be expected! Regardless of what the wwl will try to sell you and the rest of the country over the next two days, this game is not on upset alert. Georgia flies home to the Classic City with a win and ready to take on Bama next week.

So here’s my prediction…..we win this one for Munson:   UGA 38 ASU 24

 

Go Dawgs!!!

 

PS – Oh, and in case you’re headed to Tempe to catch the live show, here’s what to avoid. They suck at tailgating.

 

 

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