After a brief play action fake, I am pleased to present this season's inaugural Cocktail Thursday.
I think the recipe for success against Mike Gundy's team is simple: we have to be able to play football, not basketball. I know it sounds bizarre, but stay with me. Oklahoma State has the ability to get down the field and score on consecutive possessions. They can put up 28 points in half a quarter given a break or two. That's the kind of pointacular explosion that signaled epic failure for the Georgia defense last season. We cannot allow it to happen in Stillwater.
If we're going to win this game we'll have to stop this up and down, fast break offense. Then, we'll need to score on our own. If we get stuck trading scoring possessions with the Cowpokes, eventually, I fear they'll one-up us.
Executing this winning strategy will require contributions from a host of Bulldogs. Curran. Owens. Samuel. Cox.
And not least of all, Green. A.J. Green. While A.J. Green managed an impressive 17.2 yards per catch last season perhaps his most important contribution this season, especially in the early going, could be to simply help Joe Cox keep the chains moving. I'm looking for A.J. Green to convert the 3rd downs on which we looked to Mohamed Massaquoi last season. If he can do that, and break the occasional big one, it will loosen up the OSU defense enough for us to run the ball effectively and slow this thing down. Which is definitely to our benefit.
And while you're telling your tailgate companions about how clutch A.J. is going to be (hint, unless they're wearing orange they probably won''t disagree) you should enjoy a Green Monster:
Mix 3 oz. DeKuyper Sour Apple Pucker Schnapps, 2 oz. of ginger ale, and 2 oz. of apple juice over crushed ice and stir. The result will be sweet, pleasantly potent and exhibit the sort of faint greenish glow you would expect to drip hatefully from the Incredible Hulk's sweaty brow. Don't be too scared of the alcohol content, as the schnapps is 30 proof, a far cry from the 80 to 100 proof brown liquor many of us enjoy on Saturdays in the fall. Did I mention the stuff is green? I think that's worth noting.
I'll be back tomorrow evening with 5 Things you'll see on Saturday, and Kyle will undoubtedly be dialing up too much information about Saturday's game. Until then . . .
Go 'Dawgs!!!