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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2007 > May > 09
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
16 weeks and counting …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ll be in Sanford Stadium Saturday, cheering along with a lot of other very proud parents as my son and his classmates graduate from UGA. And that set me to thinking that just 16 weeks to the day after that, Coach Mark Richt’s Dawgs will open the season hosting the Big 12’s Oklahoma State Cowboys.
In an online poll this week, the Athens Banner-Herald asked which 2007 game Georgia fans will worry the most about this summer. Predictably, the Florida game in Jacksonville led the way with 39.3 percent of the vote, but next was the Oklahoma State game, with 31.7 percent. The South Carolina game, which comes a week after Oklahoma State, drew 16.1 percent.
Opening games are always a big question mark (unless we’re playing one of those designated victims just there for the paycheck), and with Oklahoma State having a veteran offense led by QB Bobby Reid, which blitzed its defense in their spring game (much the same way the Dawgs’ defense got hammered on G-Day), this one could be tough.
Those first two games, against the Cowboys and Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks, could have a lot to do with how Georgia’s season goes. Come out of them 2-0, and we should enter the Alabama game two weeks later feeling pretty confident, despite their $4 million coach. Split those first two and we’ll be likely to have to battle our way through the season. I don’t even want to contemplate the Dogs losing them both (which I think is highly unlikely).
Georgia should be able to run on the Cowboys, who are replacing several defensive linemen, and if our passing game is on target (and the receivers catching the ball), their secondary has a tendency to give up the big play. So we might well be able to win a shootout. But I’d much rather see the defense come up big in our opener, wouldn’t you?
BULLDOG BITES: It was interesting that ESPN.com spent most of its post-spring SEC roundup talking about LSU (their predicted champion) and Florida, while quietly picking Georgia to win the SEC East. They also picked Dogs freshman Knowshon Moreno as likely Newcomer of the Year. … The Gym Dogs winning their third consecutive NCAA National Title and eighth overall will be telecast at 4 p.m. Saturday on CBS. … Don’t forget, the NCAA Tennis Championships are returning to their once semi-permanent home at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens May 17-28. You can find out about tickets at Georgiadogs.com.
