In my last segment of the Letters to Boise State series, we get real, yo. You can go here to read the first letter and here to read the second (which was SOOOO popular), but keep an open mind with this one The time is over for snark. 

Dear Boise State (henceforth known as BS...U),

So, this is awkward. I know I said some things that got you (and some of our kind as well) riled up, but trust me when I say that it was all in jest. Poorly done jest, but, well, you get the point.

Anyway, I'm writing you in our final correspondence to clear the air. Some of it was lost in the shuffle, but I do implore you to go back and read a little deeper between the lines. For example, I wrote this quote about your team and your coach in the first letter:

Fiutak swears up and down that it's time for America to believe BS is a good team and I think he is exactly right....If there's a better coach in America that puts guys in the places they need to be in order to be successful, then I'd love to have him pointed out to me.

You guys ARE good. There's no doubt about that. Someone noted in the comments of both letters that it sounded like this UGA fan was nervous because I "poked the bear." You know what? I am.

I've said it repeatedly on the podcast that this is a game where we have so much to lose. You wouldn't understand BSU, because you've been winning more than you've been losing lately. As you know, we haven't. I'm not dogging on my team, but this game is INCREDIBLY important to us. This fan base is ready and rabid to see a Georgia team that reminds us of the teams we have so much fun remembering. 

Yep, we did beat you in 2005. It doesn't matter now. You beat Oklahoma after that. That doesn't matter now, either. What matters is that we've both had extremely long offseasons and we're both ready to see our teams be tested against incredibly worthy competition and see how we compare. You know you're excited about playing Georgia. We're excited about playing Boise State.

On this day, where college football kicks off with the kind of fanfare that resembles the most Southern of church revivals, I write you to tell you that I'm looking forward to Saturday. I respect you Boise State. I'll respect you even more on Sunday morning, regardless of the outcome. I wouldn't lie to you, buttercup.

But man, do I want my team to beat you guys. It makes my blood boil to think about a loss. Please take that as a compliment, as I want this win to see if we are what we think we might be. Thinking about this UGA team and our impending season has almost driven me to the edge of madness. You don't know (or maybe don't remember) what it's like to wonder if you have a 12-0 team or a 6-7 team. Let me tell you, it's frustrating to say the least. 

So yes, I will be rooting against you on Saturday. I'll be doing so with as much Red & Black Fervor as I can muster. There is not a team on this schedule I want to get a win against more than you. Why? Because you're a Top 10 team that's earned its place. Why wouldn't we want to beat you? That's football. It's why you play the game.

I just wanted to make sure you guys knew that through all the ribbing I've given you, it's all based out of respect for who you are and what you've accomplished. That's why this letter needed to be written today. We Georgia fans take pride in our school, our state and our football. While that pride sometimes gets the better of us before a game, the idea is to never let it make us forget our good Southern values of winning with class and losing with class.

But make no mistake, we're not playing this game expecting to lose.

Safe travels to you and yours. I'd say good luck, but I wouldn't mean it. However, if we win, we'll be huge Bronco fans afterwards, so you've got that going for you, which is nice.

Until next time kids.

Be safe. (and Go Dawgs!)