If it's Monday, and it's football season, and you're sitting at your desk eating cup-o-noodles to save up gas money for a trip to Columbia, then it's time for us to rehash precisely how wrong i was about the 5 things I thought you'd see during the University of Georgia's matchup with the Central Michigan Chippewas. To review, I predicted you'd see:
1.) The first 300 yard passing effort of the Matt Stafford era. Did I say 300? I meant 200. Oh, he's already done that? Ah forget it. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Stafford didn't look as crisp as he could have, but ultimately got the job done. For the second week in a row, he didn't turn the ball over once. That's the biggest stat of the game in my book. Consonant with offseason reports from Athens, the young man from Texas just looks like a lot more mature player. He also outrushed Central Michigan's "duel threat" quarterback Dan LeFevour.
2) A solid defensive effort from the Central Michigan Chippewas. I predicted that "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." I think I was right on this one. Again the offense was a creamy, smooth vanilla. We put up 49 offensive points and 525 yards without doing anything crazier than a tailback screen. Admittedly, Central Michigan plays defense like 1930's France. But if we go from an extraordinary 525 yards a game against a MAC opponent to a merely excellent 425 yards against South Carolina's defense, I think we'll be ok this week.
3) Caleb King. :"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." Well, Knowshon again stayed under 20 carries, which is good. You can call Tim Tebow Superman all you want, but at the end of the day there's only one SEC back who literally flew this weekend. And while Caleb didn't break the long one I forecast, he did get to the endzone and average 4.0 yards a carry. That's not shabby.
I think one of the stories of the first two weeks has been this offensive line. Yeah, they've not played against the best in the land. Yeah, they've had some dumb penalties. But they've kept Matt Stafford upright and clean better than anyone could have reasonably hoped for at this point. They've also opened up monster holes not only for Knowshon, but for King and Samuel as well. And Cordy Glenn continues to impress me beyond my wildest expectations.
4) Blair Walsh. "Walsh will kick a minimum of two field goals." Yeah, about that. There's a reason friends never take me along on trips to Vegas . . .
5) UGA 55, Central Michigan 21. While last week I correctly predicted the margin of victory, this week I was off. By a measly five points. I'm calling that a win, though you're free to disagree in the comments. Believe me, there will come a week this season where I leave you wondering whether it's finally time for them to adjust my medication, so let me savor this small victory. Other random thoughts from the weekend that was:
- How about Demarcus Dobbs? Everybody knows about the return, but some probably missed the fact that he actually got the start at defensive end. Kudos to him. I'm beginning to wonder if Jeremy Lomax isn't still suffering from the foot/toe injury he was dealing with during camp. He just looks a little slower off the line than he did last season.
- After two weeks and two turnovers, is it safe to say that Joe Cox will be staying after practice to work on handoffs and center exchanges? Let's hope so.
- I was even more impressed with Marcus Dowtin this week than I was last week. The guy's going to be a fixture in our linebacking corps. As our intrepid correspondent Darius Dawgberry pointed out "that guy gets to the ball fast and arrives with bad intentions." I'll just say he's like Rennie Curran with a lift kit.
- Mike Moore is emerging as a threat. First clutch 3rd down catches against Georgia Southern, and now five grabs against Central Michigan. It's good to see the guy living up to the expectations so many had for him when he arrived in Athens.
- Was anybody else as unimpressed as I was with Florida's victory over Miami? I mean, forget the junk points at the end of the game. To me the real story is that they still can't protect Tebow, and he still can't really throw effectively when teams get in his face. When you manage one first half score against Randy Shannon's Miami Northwestern H.S. defense, it's time to go back to the drawing board.
- As much as I hate to say that any young man makes the right decision by turning down a scholarship offer from the University of Georgia, don't you imagine Jonathan Dwyer is kinda glad he's at Georgia Tech? I mean, Paul Johnson's squad is 2-0 and Dwyer is running wild in an offense tailor-made for a big brusing back who's elusive in the open field. If he were at Georgia, he'd likely be fighting with Caleb King and Richard Samuel for 5 carries a game. But at Tech, Dwyer is going to rush for 1200+ yards regardless of his team's record.
- I'm willing to bet anybody the keys to Kyle's Porsche that Skip Holtz gets to ask a question on this week's "Ask Dr. Lou" segment. Both because a) after the Pirates' hot start that would be the sentimental thing to do and b) because Kyle doesn't drive a Porsche. He rolls up to the club in a Chevy with butterfly doors. I'll be back on Wednesday to help you get to know . . .Steve Spurrier. Yes, this chicken's going to come out smothered in the extra spicy curry. Until then . . .
Go 'Dawgs!!!