Friday Morning ‘Dawg Bites

Your football weekend is only hours away, but first here are a few Bulldog headlines to get your day started.

Apparently the team which grinds out the most rushing yards has won the last ten World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Parties. Yeah. That’s worrisome.

How has Florida turned this rivalry around the past two seasons after losing three in a row in the series? Among other things, by scoring on special teams in each of those two contests. Special teams could again be a factor in this one. Yeah. That’s worrisome.

Florida was particularly banged up heading into their off week, but appears to have gotten most everyone back just in time for this weekend. Yeah. That’s worrisome.

Even a year later, no one involved really wants to talk about the decision to start Faton Bauta against Florida. For my part, it’s still not the decision to start Bauta that’s irksome. Greyson Lambert had looked uncomfortable and out of step since the Alabama game. Brice Ramsey didn’t look any better in the action he’d had. The Bulldog offense desperately needed a spark of some sort.

What gets me is still the fact that the decision appears almost as if it was made during the week of preparation, which is a little late to throw any player into that fire. And that if it was made earlier, there was absolutely no effort in the offensive plan to take advantage of Bauta’s strength (his legs) or diminish his weaknesses (playing under center, throwing downfield).

You can’t throw out your entire offensive playbook. Not eight games into the season. I get that. But the fact that it looked like Brian Schottenheimer rolled out of bed on the Tuesday before the biggest game of his first season in Athens and thought “Hey! Let’s start Bauta against Florida!” helps explain why neither he nor Mark Richt remains in Athens.

Bernie is attempting the rally the troops, and I salute him for it. The truth is there have been very few Bulldog wins in this series in the past 20 years which were predictable or expected. More often than not victory in Jacksonvile seems to begin with a Bulldog team limping into town on three flat tires deciding that they’re just tired of getting pushed around and yelled at and they’re not going to take it any more. Personally, I would take that kind of win (or any kind) tomorrow. Until later....

Go ‘Dawgs!!!