Tuesday Morning ‘Dawg Bites

Welcome to Tuesday, fans of the back-to-back defending national champion Bulldogs! (I will never get tired of typing those words.) We’ve got actual Georgia football this week - it’s so close you can smell the tailgates, taste the bourbon, and practically touch the hedges.

It might be a bit farther away if you were planning on using the Gillis Bridge to pre-game Sanford Stadium, but with great success comes greater capital improvement projects and required expenditures of University coffers.

The countdown is on, no matter the inconvenient on Game Day, the difficulty finding it on TV, or the quality of the opponent. Speaking of not great news, the injury report is out. The news isn’t great, as the ‘Dawgs have some nagging injuries in the offensive and defensive backfields, and a fairly new development in the pass catchers. There has been a spate of foot injuries, but I like hearing that Mykel Williams has returned to practice.

You can catch some more details, as well as Kirby Smart’s positive take on Carson Beck, as well as the prep for UT Martin at the weekly press conference below. Heck, he even addresses work/life balance.

Nearing a year since beloved former Head Coach and former Athletic Director Vince Dooley passed away, some remembrances of him have popped up in the Classic City. First, a special collection at the Hargrett Library focuses on Coach Dooley’s long legacy with UGA and Athens. A more permanent sign of his legacy is literally a sign: the crossroads of Lumpkin and Broad is now officially Vince Dooley Memorial Intersection.

Did you come here for conference realignment news? I’m sorry to disappoint. I have to say considering the lack of brand for the schools still in limbo, the fact that the SEC (and thus Georgia) doesn’t seem to be immediately affected, means my limited attention span can turn elsewhere. The only thing I enjoy about the deconstruction of any semblance of logic around conference membership and affiliation, is the fact that the PAC-whatever is nearing complete and utter annihilation. Also that the 2021 “alliance” meant exactly diddly-squat, and comes across as even more of a scaredy-cat reaction to Greg Sankey flexing. Oh, I also enjoy the obvious desperation of the ACC and BIG-whatever on an almost daily basis. It’s fun when it’s not you.

In some not quite breaking news, UGA tied with Alabama having the most players named to the All-SEC teams. Both schools had 14 players, with Georgia sporting 10 on 1st team and 4 more on the 2nd team. You’re probably familiar with Bowers, McConkey, Mykel Williams, etc. on the 1st team, but I like Kendall Milton and Xavier Truss getting some notoriety, plus Mondon and Lassiter on the defense. Which also means 4 offensive linemen (Ratledge, Van Pran, Mims, Truss) got nods. Too bad the Joe Moore Award Committee isn’t as good at spotting talent.

Since everyone has agreed that Georgia has supplanted Alabama as the nation’s premiere football program (disclaimer: not me, but it’s getting there), a lot of the attention in Tuscaloosa has been Nick Saban dealing with doubt in his process and the chip pressed firmly on his shoulder. If the common perception is that an underdog Saban is the most dangerous Saban, I would counter he does the same thing every year, but just uses the situation to his advantage. The man has a plan, believes in it, and has proven to be successful whether atop the mountain or begging to get an undeserved playoff spot. It simply does not matter - it just means he utilizes different tactics to achieve the same result.

Without a marquee season-opening game, news around the program is light. Plus, the microscope was placed on Athens months and months ago, so analysis and critique are mostly out of the bag. The real talking points will be when the ‘Dawgs are called, and a ball is kicked off a tee in Sanford Stadium Saturday. Feel free to drop whatever news you find in the comments. We’re glad you’re back with us, and as always...

GO ‘DAWGS!!!