Cocktail Thursday: South Carolina Edition.

It's no secret that the Bulldog offensive line could have played a lot better against the Clemson Tigers than it did. Mark Richt said as much after the game, pointing out that the big uglies committed drive killing penalties on multiple occasions, and concluding that at times they played "like they were in the first grade."

Of course this wasn't supposed to be the case. This unit wasn't supposed to give up four sacks to Clemson. They weren't supposed to have breakdowns up the middle and get beat around the end in pass protection. They weren't supposed to look gassed before halftime of the first game of the year.

But they did. They did all of these things. And they have Jadeveon Clowney coming to town to face an offensive line that did little to stop him last season or the season before. Ostensibly Ken Gates, starting at left tackle, will be the guy tasked with stopping Clowney, but also expect right tackle John Theus and guard/tackle Kolton Houston to get their shots. Georgia will likely try to slide protection toward Clowney when possible, so that Gates and left guard Dallas Lee can combo block him. Coach Bobo will also probably have the tight ends and a back available to stop the big guy as well.

Clowney is certainly big, but when you watch him on film you don't see a raging bull running over people. You see a guy who likes to use his speed and ranginess to disrupt offenses. If I were qualified to do so (which I'm not), my first piece of advice to the Georgia linemen would be to force Clowney to bull rush. Don't get off balance and get beat on one of his finesse moves. If you can do that, odds are he'll get to Aaron Murray a lot less and will wear down more quickly.

My second piece of advise would be to play with some fire. Fire deep down in your gut. And while I can't provide that for the Red and Black student athletes, I can provide it for the fans. So, when you hit the green hillsides of the Classic City bright and early this Saturday for the first home tailgate of the season, I suggest you start the festivities with a Molten Houston.

It's a twist on the traditional Bloody Mary which I believe is well worth testing. The ingredients are:

2 oz. tequila of your choice

3 oz. tomato juice

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

1 teaspoon A-1 steak sauce

1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon lime juice

1 teaspoon lemon juice

salt (celery salt if you have it) and pepper to taste

Mix it all in a glass over ice and garnish with a celery stalk. Because celery is good for you.

So mix up a Molten Houston and join us back here this evening for college football (Florida Atlantic vs. East Carolina on Fox Sports 1) and NFL football (Denver vs. Baltimore on NBC), or U.S. Open Tennis if that's your thing. Until later . . .

Go 'Dawgs!!!