Six inches.  That's how close Georgia came to the BCS national title game.  Bryant Hahnfeldt's kick in the closing moments of the Vanderbilt-Tennessee game went off the left upright and, apparently, so did Georgia's hope for the BCS title game.  Had it been six inches to the right, Georgia would have gone to the SEC Championship game and likely soundly beaten a gimpy LSU squad, setting themselves up for a showdown with Ohio State.

Six inches.

But that's not what happened, and life goes on.  For a consolation prize, Georgia gets a trip to the Crescent City, which is and has been the most overrated city in all the land.  (If you've never been, you should go, because you'll likely have the time of your life.  But, if you are strapped for cash, I've found a kit to replicate a New Orleans experience.  Ordinarily, this kit goes for $129.99, but as an exclusive for Dawgsports' readers, I'll give you a snapshot of what this kit entails: Just gather 100 gallons of urine, a metric ton of plastic green and purple beads, 25,000 of your closest red and black friends, twenty-five of which should be females that are stupid enough to believe that what happens in a crowded alley full of cameras stays in a crowded alley full of cameras, and mix into a lecherous back alley that might be 20 feet across.  Good times, I tell you.  Good times. [/crotchety old man diatribe])

Getting back to... whatever it is I was doing...

Oh, yes... I believe that a team should win its conference to be considered for the national title game, but I also believe that all the participating conferences should play on an equal playing field.  If half the conferences have a conference championship game, the other conferences should be required to adopt the same.  If not, then all conferences should be judged by the same criteria that the conferences without championship games are judged.  For example, two-loss Southern Cal shares the conference championship with Arizona State.  USC has the tie-breaker, of course, but Arizona State will go down in the annals of PAC-10 history as co-champs of the conference, no?  Yes.  They do.  Similarly, West Virginia holds the tie-breaker over UConn, but they share the Big East title.  USC and Cal shared the Pac Ten title last year.  Ohio State and Penn State shared the Big Ten title in 2005.  Iowa and Michigan shared the title in 2004, and there was a 4-way tie in the Big East in 2004.  Ohio State shared the title with Iowa (both at 8-0) in 2002, and went on to win the national title.  USC was co-champs again with Washington State that year.  

So, if a conference can have multiple champions, how can you fault Georgia for playing in a conference that believes having multiple champions is patently absurd?  If the SEC played under the Pac Ten's rules or the Big Ten's rules or the Big East's rules, Georgia would be in a three-way tie for the conference crown with Tennessee and LSU since all three teams finished the regular season conference play at 6-2.  Therefore, Georgia would technically be conference champions.  The one technicality that the talking heads kept bringing up was that Georgia "didn't even win their own division."  Of course, if we acknowledge co-champs, then you must also agree that Georgia was co-champs of the East (not that we're putting up a banner or anything... I don't believe in celebrating these things unless you win them outright) making that a moot point.  And, under a similar set of criteria that other teams in participating conferences are judged, Georgia would technically be considered a conference co-champ, even though the thought is dumb, dumb, dumb.

But, given all that.  I don't have a problem with Georgia being excluded from the BCS title game.  I wouldn't have them playing for the title, either.  But I would have them excluded for entirely different reasons... like, say, the merits of their season compared to those of LSU, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma.  Saying they didn't win their own division or their conference is a straw man and a red herring all wrapped up conveniently in an irrelevant logical fallacy and served chilled with a side of hypocrisy from the World Wide Leader's panel of talking heads at worst, and judging teams using different criteria at best.

1. Georgia: Still Man Enough -- Games have undercurrents. You can just sense it while watching the game. One team is clearly more talented, playing better, executing better... something. But, you can feel it, regardless of what the scoreboard says. That was how I felt during the game Saturday night. Georgia was just better. Not head and shoulders better, and not that Alabama is not a good football team. Just that Georgia is better. You could just feel it. The fact that Georgia won the game was almost an inevitability.
   
   Notwithstanding intangible things, Georgia-Alabama lived up to the billing. It was a terrific game. The two teams were statistically even. The Tide out-rushed the Dawgs 164-153, but UGA out-passed Alabama 224-185. Georgia was -1 in turnovers. Georgia had 5 penalties and 32 penalty yards more than the Thundering Elephants. So, what was the difference?
   
   Georgia was 9 of 19 on third down conversions. Bama was 3 of 15. Georgia sustained drives when Alabama couldn't. Georgia won the time of possession battle. UGA forced 8 punts, all on drives of 5 plays or less (one came after a UGA INT). Alabama totaled 86 yards on 30 plays on those drives (21 came on their first offensive play). UGA was forced to punt 5 times, only 4 of those were on functional 3 & outs.
   
   One final thought... Credit Alabama with the determination and will to come back again and again when Georgia had them against the ropes. (The team is not there yet, but they aren't too far off either.) The defense played really well, stopping the Tide offense in its tracks on several occasions as noted above. But how many times in the past 2+ years has Georgia had a late lead with the game seemingly in hand, only to allow the opposing team to march down the field and score? I'm not going to assign blame, or throw anyone under the bus. As I said, I think the gameplan and execution were much better in this game than in other games recently. But at what point does this go from being a nuance of the game to a legitimate concern? And, for one final bit of snipping, it hurt me physically as well as emotionally to watch the defense give up 42 yards rushing on 7 attempts on that final drive.
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3. Spurrier got Spurriered -- The fake field goal was the proverbial nail that fully fastened that pine box. That play was nice, but the play that really wowed me was the misdirection run by diminutive Trindon Holliday. He ran by players like he was a Maserati on the interstate with VW buses. It put Steve Slaton and Pat White to shame... which is quite something. Additionally, Florida's close call does little to deter my thoughts that they and LSU top the class in the SEC. If anything, it only makes me nervous for this weekend.
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5. Ohio State is coming along nicely -- Though a 58-7 thumping of the team that just lost to Duke at home isn't all that impressive. Just the same, they are as much a sleeper as a top ten team can be. As average-to-slightly-above-average as most teams in the Big 10 are right now, Ohio State could run the table and end up a player in the BCSNTG talk, or stumble a couple of times along the way and be relegated to the Alamo Bowl. Illinois looks like a team that could steal a victory here or there. Ditto Purdue and Michigan State. Plus you have Penn State, Wisconsin, and the reborn Michigan who will be 8-2 before you know it. It's a fairly deep, if only average conference.
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7. Football is rockin' in the Bluegrass state -- But, not in Louisville. Kentucky, led by future 1st round pick Andre Woodson, overcame some really sloppy play to pull out a win in Fayettenam. A poorly-timed roughing the kicker penalty (are they ever well-timed?) started a 21-point fourth quarter onslaught from The Woodson that gave Kentucky a big SEC win to open the conference slate. Don't get too high on the Wildcats, though. Some call it livin' on the margins, but eventually, getting out-gained (-7 yards vs. LOU, -60 vs. ARK)and having to score a lot late (14 in 4th vs. LOU, 21 in 4th vs. ARK) will bite you in the rear end. While they show character and a never-say-die attitude, they aren't exactly harbingers of future success. They'll get a win next week (Florida Atlantic), but then they play at South Carolina on Thurs. night before welcoming LSU and Florida on back-to-back weekends. Depending on how they fare during that stretch, they could make noise in November, as they could/should/might/maybe win three of their last four. Is 9-3 possible for Kentucky? You betcha. But, so is 7-5.
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9. Defense wins championships. -- (I already knew this, but still) Ball State racked up 610 yards of offense, out-gaining Nebraska by 58 yards, and lost by one point. Louisville totals 628 yards, out-gains lowly (and by lowly, I'm talking Notre Dame bad) Syracuse by 163 yards and loses by 3. By the way, Louisville never held a lead in that game. Texas Tech manages 718 yards and out-gains Oklahoma State by 108 yards, and loses by 4. The defensive coordinator subsequently quits. Conversely, Virginia Tech tallies a paltry 287 yards of offense against 1-AA William & Mary, and wins by 41.

1. Notre Dame flat out sucks. -- Georgia can empathize with the growing pains of a true freshman quarterback maturing on the biggest of stages instead of in the film room and on the practice field.  But, uh, Georgia never went through a stretch of games where the offense couldn't find the endzone.  UGA's game against South Carolina was the first time in six years they haven't reached the end zone.  Notre Dame has gone three consecutive games without the offense crossing the goal line.  Also, I just want to point out that Ty Willingham is 2-1 at Washington, with a quarterback that looks to have life and the capability of throwing more than swing passes and screen passes.  Charlie Weis is 0-3, and his offense has yet to earn 7 points... not in a game, mind you... total.  Not 7 points total!
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3. Florida is rather good. -- Similarly, the universe is rather big, Kristen Davis is rather attractive, and Kyle's posts are rather wordy.  While I would consider 17 of those 59 points to have come in garbage time for Florida, it's still impressive to put up 50+ against a supposedly good SEC defense.  The Florida offense is a group that stretches the field and seems to hit every big play opportunity that comes along.  Tebow may throw for 4000 yards with only 200 attempts.  That's ridiculous, friends.
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5. Arian Foster is not good. -- I keep wanting to believe that Foster is good.  I really do.  But nothing I have seen would lead me to that conclusion.  He is hesitant hitting the hole... almost like he is waiting to be hit.  That's not a good sign from a big, power back.  Coker is the better back, but Tennessee has to get something going up front.  Right now, the lines on both sides of the ball have been whipped pretty good.  554 yards of offense.  That's what Tennessee gave up on Saturday.  For those not initiated, that's not good.
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7. The Stars Were Askew -- Somebody dying to do research should look this up... when was the last time these four things happened on the same day: Mississippi State won an SEC game on the road, Vanderbilt won an SEC game, Kentucky beat a top 10 team, and Duke beat a BCS team... on the road.  Anybody?  Anybody?
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9. The SEC is sick and tiered -- From what I've seen this year, the SEC goes about like this... LSU & Florida are the two best teams.  Then there is a cluster[radio edit] of six teams that aren't demonstrably better than one another.  These are, in no particular order, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, and Tennessee. Then, we have Auburn who should be in the above group, but instead, has Brandon "Sux" Cox for a quarterback, who has devolved into the kid who prays that you hit the ball to anybody but him.  If Auburn wises up and decides to go another way at QB, then they should recoup their 2nd tier status.  Right now, purgatory for the WarEagleTigerPlainsmen for losing to Mississippi State.  Then, finally, we have Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt who reside in the downstairs sublet of the finest building in all the land, and have their rent subsidized by the upstairs tenants... what a gig that must be.
10. Georgia Tech is averse to success, functional passing game -- Matt Ryan, or "Matty Ice" as his friends allegedly call him, exposes John Tenuta's blitz-happy defense to the tune of 435 yards through the air.  Tashard Choice was non-existent, and Taylor Bennett wasn't much better.  By the way, Bobby Dodd was packed to the gills for this ACC showdown of Top 25 teams with an attendace of 51,112.  The SEC scoffs at your insolence and your puny attendance figures.
11. 
    
    
12. The Saban finds time for this win over Arkansas -- and by "finds time," I mean was given time by a "fortunate" official's timeout for measurement.  It was clearly not a first down (the measurement was short by 18 inches and the sideline was maybe 10 yards away... officials can accurately gauge first down yardage from midfield, but they couldn't see this one?), but the stoppage allowed Alabama who had no timeouts to gather themselves and get set while the clock was not moving.  Rather fortuitous, if you ask me, but of course, no one ever does.  Poo on the officials, here, because they clearly blew this one.  They should have set the ball, started the play clock and forced Alabama to spike the ball on 2nd down.  The game may have ended up the same, but the officials should allow the players to decide that on the field.  Giving Alabama what amounts to a timeout with 21 seconds remaining in the Arkansas redzone is an unfair advantage, and should not have been given in this instance.  Upon watching the replay, it appears the officials called the timeout as much to get themselves in order as much as anything else, which is a shame.  They should know better, and should be relegated to Mississippi State games for the remainder of the season.  Of course, they won't be.  They'll be assigned to all of Georgia's games just to spite me.

1. Georgia's defense is "4 Realz!"
   
   The defense looked fast, composed, and had an excellent gameplan. Ellerbe looked really good. Geno Atkins had his name called frequently, and Brandon Miller played well. There was only one play that caused gnashing of teeth. It was the 3rd & 21 with roughly 7 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter. What happened? It looked like a zone as nice and soft as the other side of the pillow. True to form, Adarius Bowman splits the over-the-top help and the underneath linebacker for a 28-yard pickup and a first down inside the Georgia redzone. But, I suppose the defense can't stop 'em all right?
2. 
   
   
3. Alesana Alesana means "statue."
   
   The 6'4" 286 lb junior left tackle for Kansas State was merely a mile marker for Quentin Groves. It was reminiscent of Derrick Harvey's performance against Ohio State last year. Groves was just too fast, and the K-State offense couldn't adjust to double him up.
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5. Teams relying on the run... not so much.
   
   Several teams that traditionally (whatever that means) lean on the running game to prop up everything else struggled mightily this past weekend.
   
   Virginia Tech had 33 yards off 31 carries. That's good for #98 in the country after week one. (To compare, Hawaii had 37 yards off 10 carries.) Last year, VaTech ranked #90, averaging 113.38 yards per game.
   
   Auburn earned 62 yards off 37 carries. They fall-in at #89. Last season, they averaged 148 yards per outing, which was good enough for #47
   
   Wake Forest amassed 2 yards(!) on 24 carries. They are not dead last, though close: #111 (Notre Dame is last with -8 yards rushing). In 2006, they finished #44 with 150 yards per contest.
   
   What does this mean, if anything?
   
   Obviously Virginia Tech doesn't need too many yards on the ground to be successful, but they do rely pretty heavily on a sufficient ground game. If they aren't able to run the ball as well as they did last year, which wasn't particularly well at all, then they could be in trouble... starting this week against LSU. Glennon likely will not have as good a day as he did against ECU at night in Baton Rouge.
   
   Auburn's offensive line looked inept. Cox was sacked five times (ed: only five times?), and running back Ben Tate managed 82 yards on 23 carries.
   
   Wake Forest... yeah, I don't know. Neither team ran the ball (the other team being Boston College - 52 yards on 26 carries), but both teams lit up the scoreboard through the air. Wake put it up 60 times for 365 yards, completing 75% of the passes. Unfortunately, starting QB Riley Skinner left with an injury and is likely out against Nebraska this weekend. Those running stats may reverse this week.
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7. Quick Hitters:
   
   >> Notre Dame is in for a loooong season. They looked as bad as I imagined against that blitz-happy Tenuta defense.
   
   >> Playing cupcakes is not a good idea. Michigan gets upset by Appy State in the biggest upset in college football history. USC, Ohio State, & Texas fail to light up the scoreboard (as much as they should have) against weaker win-for-hires. Wins by Florida, Oklahoma, Louisville, and Boise State should be taken with a Stone Mountain size grain of salt. F'rinstance, Florida beat Western Carolina 62-0 last year when they weren't exactly an offensive powerhouse, and Oklahoma beat Middle Tennessee State 59-0, then lost the next week to Texas 28-10.
   
   >> Florida State is just not good... at least, not right now. They have two games and three weeks to turn into a functional football team before the showdown with Alabama. The defense still has some fast athletes, but the offense has zero coherency. It is just an amalgamation of some players with no consistent thought or action. It is really a sad state of affairs that has spiraled out of control after the departure of one Mark Richt.

Georgia gets ready to open a fresh season, full of potential, full of possibilities. They face the Cowboys' offense which has been dubbed the "Greatest Show on Earth." A much-hyped, innovative offense that spreads things out and forces you to defend the entire field traipses into Athens hoping for a marquee win to catapult the program into the big-time. Not only are Bulldog faithful a little nervous, but pundits are calling for an upset. Haven't we been here before?

Well, we all know Boise State was unsuccessful in their bid to knock off the Dawgs. Now, the question is being asked again. Can an up-and-coming team with a lot of offensive talent win on the road in a packed, loud, rowdy SEC stadium... at night?

That's what I've set out to answer: Can Oklahoma State wrangle Georgia in Athens? ESPN tried to answer. Forget the fact that Bill freakin' Curry gave Georgia's point of view. Forget, also, that Jim Donnan gives the final take. Let's revise this preview from the Realist's perspective.

Mike Gottfried's take on Okie State in a nutshell:
1) Punt returner Perrish Cox is good.
2) Bobby Reid can run the ball as well as pass it. Georgia will likely play a lot of zone to defend against this.
3) Adarius Bowman will move around a lot to prevent Georgia from double-covering him.
4) Tight end Brandon Pettigrew will be a valuable weapon.
5) Control the ball on offense.
6) Move around on defense to disrupt UGA's rookie offensive line.
7) Okie State wins the special teams battle.

Now, instead of Bill Curry, noted Georgia hater, Georgia will be taken over by me, The Realist:
1) Calvin Johnson > Adarius Bowman
Georgia had some success against Calvin Johnson... to put it mildly. Even if Adarius Bowman is as good as Calvin Johnson, Okie State will need another receiver to step up and be that go-to guy. Sure, Georgia doesn't have Paul Oliver back there to shut down Bowman, but that's of little importance. The safeties played a big role the past two years against Calvin Johnson, with Demario Minter drawing shut-down duty two years ago. These young corners are fast enough, and, with help over the top, should be fine in coverage.
2) Dantrell Savage is a threat.
The rush defense needs significant improvement. Hopefully, with added speed at linebacker, UGA can neutralize this threat for most of the game. 100 yards is probably inevitable, but avoiding big plays is vital.
3) Kregg Lumpkin, Thomas Brown, Knowshon Moreno
Run these horses like there is no tomorrow. Force Okie State to pull eight in the box, then play-action them to death. I think Georgia could rush for over 200 yards in this game between the three of these backs.
4) Bobby Reid is just slightly better than Reggie Ball.
That's heresy, right?
Here's the stats for the two players against the (arguably) six toughest teams each quarterback played last year. You tell me which one is Reggie Ball:

Quarterback A played against the #16, 22, 23, 46, 56, & 58 teams ranked by total defense in 2006. His stats in those games:
61-127 (48%) 830 yards, 5 TD 6 INT

Quarterback B played against the #1, 7, 8, 13, 17, & 36 teams ranked by total defense in 2006.
His stats in those games:
61-144 (42.4%) 943 yards, 11 TD, 7 INT

Any guesses? The level of defensive competition likely gave it away. Reggie Ball is quarterback B, but he'll always be #1 in my heart. That means Bobby Reid is quarterback A. One thing to note is that Reid is a little injury prone. He played sparingly against Texas A&M due to injury. He also missed time against Baylor (which wasn't included above), and Oklahoma as well... although I could be mistaken in that game. One attribute Reid has over Ball is height. He's 6'3" instead of 5'3". Anyway, back to the show...

5) Georgia will win the special teams battle.
The return game is flat sick. I wouldn't be surprised if Georgia ran two kicks back for touchdowns. And Coutu? You kiddin' me? Georgia wins 11 games last year if Coutu doesn't go down. Gnaw on that one for a minute. Coutu is the best kicker in college football. And, I doubt Georgia will punt all that often, so who cares who the punter is? Mark this one down. Georgia will dominate on special teams.

If you want to see some Okie State action against a comparable team, here's a link to the Okie State vs. Alabama Independence Bowl from last year. Notice what things Georgia does not need to do:
1) Miss 85 assignments on one play, and then fumble.
2) Let Bobby Reid lob a pass to Adarius Bowman on a corner route. That should be picked off 58% of the time and knocked away the other 42% of the time. The corners have to rely on the safety help on the inside and not let the receivers get outside of them.
3) Passes to offensive linemen are acts of desperation. Let's try to avoid that.
4) No soft zones with 3 minutes left and the score tied. I hate soft zones as much as Kyle hates Auburn. Maybe more.
5) Never, ever, for the love of all things sacred, never let Mike Shula coach our football team.

Thank you. That is all.