As David Ching reported and Paul Westerdawg noted, Mark Richt sprang a surprise on the Bulldog football team on Thursday, taking the players to the Ramsey Center for a relaxing afternoon at the pool.

"We've been working hard and haven't missed a day yet," said Coach Richt, who performed a back flip off of the high dive for the amusement of the team. "It's been extremely hot with record temperatures. We try to do something like this every year for camaraderie and fun, and I think they enjoyed it."

Thursday's afternoon practice was moved from 4:20 to 8:30 that evening.

Meanwhile, in Stillwater, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy is planning to implement his game plan for the Cowboys' season opener against Georgia earlier than usual.

Typically, the Pokes begin preparing for their initial opponent a week or 10 days in advance of the game. This year, however, the plans for O.S.U.'s inaugural outing in Athens will begin being implemented two weeks before the contest.

It will be interesting to see which coach's approach pays bigger dividends on September 1. While there can be no doubt of either team's intensity (as evidenced by the prevalence of sweatshirts seen in Athens reminding the team of the upcoming showdown with the Cowboys), Coach Richt appears to be trying to keep his players loose, while Coach Gundy looks like he's planning to turn things up a notch for Oklahoma State.

Which coach is adopting the more sensible tactic?

Go 'Dawgs!