Cocktail Thursday: Rebel Yell Edition.

Another Saturday of SEC football approaches with the speed of a Jarvis Jones A-Gap blitz. I'm pretty sure that means you need a drink. Allow me to help.

Please understand, I am over the roof thrilled about Georgia's current two game winning streak over Florida. {unleashes the troll} In fact, I think the fact that Will Muschamp has proven that he's basically Ron Zook with weird facial ticks is great news, and the fact that the series has now clearly reached one of its regular 20 year turning points is even better {releashes troll, gives it a troll treat}.

But that doesn't mean there isn't a helluva lot to improve on from last week. Georgia played its most physical, complete game along both the offensive and defensive lines. That's good news. Aaron Murray was not sacked once against a really stout Florida front 7, and that's exceptionally good news. But on the downside, the Bulldogs amassed 14 penalties for 132 yards. Granted, a lot of that was attributable to the officials trying to rein in both teams. The 'Dawgs showed a lot of fight, but they also showed a propensity to fight, and jawbone, and generally to engage in conduct that Penn Wagers considers dangerous to Western civilization. They jumped offside, started falsely, and held a couple of defenders for good measure.

It's a tough balance to be sure. You have to be aggressive to win in the SEC. In the end analysis, football is about physically imposing your will on the other team play after play. There's just no way around it. But at the same time 132 penalty yards is more than enough to sink the ship against an Ole Miss offense that can put up points in spades. However the Rebs don't have a whole lot of depth at this point. Georgia needs to play just as physical as we did in Jacksonville last Saturday to win in Athens this Saturday.

But the 'Dawgs must also balance that physicality with some smart play. Ole Miss will use misdirection, trick plays, and multiple personnel groupings to keep the Bulldog defense off balance. We don't need to help them move down the field 15 yards at a time.

So what should you drink while fretting over whether Coach Richt's charges can balance animal aggression with razor sharp discipline? My suggestion is the Coupage merlot/cabernet blend from Dahlonega's Wolf Mountain Vineyards."Coupage" is in French for "the art of blending", at least according to the vineyard's website. I don't actuallt speak French, largely because I could never do it as well as NCT, and I can't stand the disappointment of being a poor man's NCT.

But I digress. Coupage is a full-bodied blend that goes great with, well, everything I've ever had it with. It's a little pricey, but not 50th wedding anniversary dinner pricey. It is however the perfect accompaniment to watching the Georgia defense hone its act, and hopefully watching the Bulldog offense get back on track. Head to your local purveyor of fine spirits and pick some up if you can.

In the meantime, feel free to use this as your open thread for late season Thursday night college football. There's a night coming when this time slot will be reserved for a Coppin St./Binghampton basketball game, so savor it while you can. Until later . . .

Go 'Dawgs!!!