Last week I had a mixed record intrying to predict the five things you'd see during the Bulldogs' matchup with the Georgia Southern Eagles. But as with so many other things in life (golf, love, taxidermy . . .) I'm not going to let my past failures prevent me from jumping right back in. Ergo, I am proud to report that on Saturday I'm willing to bet that you'll see
1) The first 300 yard passing effort of the Matt Stafford era. Stafford threw for a tidy 275 against Georgia Southern despite playing with a rotating cast of receivers and inexperienced offensive linemen. With a full game against a team that can score in buckets, Mark Richt will give him the chance to put some points on the board.
2) A solid defensive effort from the Central Michigan Chippewas. Oh, wait, wrong list. That was #2 on the list of things that you won't see on Saturday over at BizarroDawgSports. Central Michigan, noted for it's potent offense, has an absolute phobia of playing defense against decent opponents. In Butch Jones first season, the Chippewas gave up 70 to Clemson and 51 to Purdue. As good humored commenter captain kirk put it, "our defense is a rumor." While the Chippewa D only gave up 12 to Eastern Illinois, I think it's worthwhile to remember that we are talking about Eastern Flippin' Illinois. For the second week in a row, we'll be sitting in Sanford Stadium with the sensation that Mark Richt is driving a Ferrari without ever really shifting out of 2nd gear. But don't worry, the time will come.
3) Caleb King. Coach Richt says that Knowshon Rockwell Moreno is 100%. Granted. I'm not sure that's really relevant at this point to how much he plays. Caleb King showed last week that he is perfectly capable of rolling up yards on the ground, going for 95 on 12 carries. Against Central Michigan's porous defense, King will break at least one run of 30 yards plus on the way to the endzone, while Knowshon gets just enough snaps to keep him sharp.
4) Blair Walsh. The freshman kicker out of Cardinal Gibbons High showed last Saturday that he is capable of bombing away from 50+ yards away. I think we'll get a good number of possessions by forcing quick 3-and-outs from the Chippewa offense. At least two of those drives will stall, and Walsh will kick a minimum of two field goals.
5) UGA 55, Central Michigan 21. Again, junk points get scored on the 3rd stringers in the fourth quarter. It's a necessary evil if we're going to be able to count on the likes of Brandon Boykin and Deangelo Tyson later this year at an unexpected but urgent moment. I'll be back on Monday to see how wrong I was. Until then, enjoy your football Saturday, and . . .
Go 'Dawgs!!!