Thursday Morning Dawg Bites is Flyin’ High

I posted my usual “15 Thoughts” on Sunday and was reminiscing a bit about some of the big non-conference games back during my years at UGA. I brought up the ‘82 BYU game and the ‘83 UCLA game. I cannot believe I forgot about the ‘82 Labor Day home opener with Clemson. That was an epic match-up of the last 2 National Champions of what was, at the time, yearly combatants. The atmosphere on that ultra humid, breeze-less night was electric. That ‘82 game had a ton of drama leading up to it: Herschel Walker had a broken thumb, it was the first night game in Sanford Stadium under the lights, and a nationally relevant game broadcast on ABC-TV long before any BCS voodoo and the current playoff system.

Here’s a bit of history on both the Clemson and BYU game to open ‘82. Coach Dooley’s voice was a bit on the hoarse side. No wonder.

Now, we’re only a couple of days away from the biggest non-conference tilt since 1982. The fact that it’s been almost 40 years since an out-of-conference home match-up of these proportions is a bit sad. You could throw Boise State in there from ‘05, I suppose, but that turned out to be just another rout. With the new, aggressive scheduling coming up for future seasons, this has been addressed and that is a very good thing. Anyway, Athens is going to be up for grabs and the weather forecast calls for clear skies and temperatures dropping down into the upper 60’s by the time everyone begins to file out.

Apropos of nothing relating to Football, this is my favorite album by The Cars. RIP, Rick Ocasek.

This was part of the soundtrack of my youth...

Now on to some newsy notes and tiddly bits...

In case you missed it, One Foot Down, Notre Dame’s SB Nation site had a friendly little Q/A with our very own Macondawg yesterday. As always, our intrepid leader knocks it out of the park.

Here’s a neat story on current Notre Dame tight end Tommy Tremble, son of former Georgia Bulldog Greg Tremble.

Every team needs leadership. It sounds as if Azeez Ojulari (he’s not alone) has taken on a more vocal role in the locker room. Hey, these guys are young but leaders are leaders. This is the kind of stuff that I love to hear and that not every team benefits from.

Dominick Blaylock continues to impress his coaches and teammates. He’s a high character kid with an evolving skill set that is going to be fun to watch over the next several seasons.

Is this the biggest recruiting weekend ever? Dean Legge thinks so. Hard to argue.

If you want to take a bath/shower and buy some Irish Spring, this particular store is literally having none of it. I’m a Lever Brothers fan myself.

Everyone remembers Davin Bellamy’s critical sack of Notre Dame’s QB Brandon Wimbush back in 2017 which sealed the deal after Lorenzo Carter jumped on the resulting fumble. However, Rodrigo Blankenship had to kick a clutch field goal to put us ahead in the first place. Will history repeat itself on Saturday night?

In Tennessee news, here’s the Lane Kiffin story of his time at Tennessee. The dysfunction may or may not be ending up on Rocky Top, but this article pretty much tells the story of how the Vols ended up where they are today.

Have a great morning, err’body.

That’s all I’ve got. See you in Sanford!

As Always, GO DAWGS!