You're on notice, dawg! Hate Week. (Week 9)

Unfortunately, a bad cold/flu prevented me from attending the friend's wedding of which I spoke last week.  I was, however, able to spend quite an enjoyable night with my fellow Dawgs in the open comment thread, so that was a very nice consolation prize.

The Dawgs took care of business against a Kentucky team we thought might or might not be overmatched, and now we turn to the biggest week of the season (for me)...  Hate Week.

I know we have another rivalry that's called Clean Old-Fashioned Hate, and that's all well and good.  This week, however, isn't clean, and it isn't old-fashioned (though it is a tradition going back to 1904). It's just hate.  Dirty, stinkin', drankin', sweatin'...  hate.  I hate Florida.  You hate Florida.  We all hate Florida.

Therefore, I say to following people that, for Gator Hater week, You're on notice, dawg!

What, you were expecting something other than irrational, intense hatred?

1) Michael Adams - Why Michael Adams?  Because he's a jerk, has stolen money from and is a disaster for University, and everybody that has ever worked with him hates him. Plus, I have it from a very authoritative source inside the UGA administration that he communicates daily with Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer to discuss wistfully with them just how awesome it is to live and  work in a place like Gainesville, FL.

2-7) The Florida Gators - To the Florida fans with class out there, please let me clarify: I have no quarrel personally with you.  As Kyle has said many times in many situations, ours is an institutional rivalry, not a personal one.  So don't take this personally, but I hope that, this time next week, you're so pissed off and frustrated that you can't think straight.

I hate Florida to steal Kyle's Too Much Information thunder, but in each of the last 3 SEC games they've played, the Georgia Bulldogs have scored more than 40 points and given up 14, 0, and 31 points, for an average of 15 points allowed per game.  The Florida Gators, in their last 3 SEC games, have scored an average of 14 points and given up an average of about 25 points per game.

Florida's last 3 games, to be sure, have come against much stiffer competition than Georgia has been facing (with the exception of Mississippi State, which is a shared opponent... and loss).  Still, though, the Gators have been reeling on both offense and defense.  If they expect to continue their dominance of the past 20 years, they're going to have to step up their game.  (Fortunately for them, they just had a bye week to "Shit Tyrone Get It Together.")

Fortunately for us, though, this man is still their offensive coordinator.

8) Georgia's defense on 3rd and long - In the midst of all my irrational and uncompromising hatred of all things Gator, I simply have to point out this one idiosyncrasy of Todd Grantham's version of the 3-4 defense.  We seem to be doing a great job of stopping teams short on first and second downs, but virtually every time an opponent faces third down and 8 yards or more, they convert as easily as though they were playing a FCS 1-AA team.  I think we need to start intentionally letting our opponents get 5 yards on first down from now on.  (I call it the "Willie Martinez strategy.")  Then we'll have them right where we want them.

So, what's my prediction for Saturday? A repeat of the 1942 conflagration: Georgia 75, Florida 0.  That's always my prediction, because I hate Florida with a hate that is beyond rational thought. (Yes, I predicted that score in 1995, too.) Yes, if Florida scores the first touchdown, I will flip-flop just as quickly into the indescribable despair that is the realization that we won't win (a-friggin-gain).  If the Bulldogs score first, though... here we go.

I'm going to have some more hate-week venom to spew southward as the days progress.  For now, though, I'll just close by saying:

Go Dawgs!  Beat Florida!