The Junkyard Blawg has moved!
Along with the other ajc.com blogs, the Junkyard Blawg has moved over to WordPress, where the blogging and commenting experience promises to be better. Join us over at the new WordPress version of the Junkyard Blawg by clicking on the link below.
AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2007 > December > 18
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Building up the ‘Bows
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Checking in from vacation, I see that the media pumping of Hawaii’s Warriors and the sniping about this Sugar Bowl being a lose-lose situation for Georgia continue.
I know Hawaii has a fine quarterback who’s got an impressive stat sheet. But I can’t help but be reminded of the similar buildups of Boise State and Oklahoma State before the Dawgs met them.
Granted, Hawaii looks to be better than either of those teams were. And, yes, Oklahoma learned the hard way last year that these non-BCS conference intruders can smack you upside the head if you’re not careful.
But I think maybe some folks are getting a little carried away here in painting Hawaii as some sort of unstoppable force. Yeah, they throw the ball a lot and have scored a lot of points against questionable opposition.
Georgia also has scored a lot of points. Against much better teams. The Dawgs’ defenders also seem to have gotten up to speed in the latter half of the season and have gotten a lot of sacks, even against highly touted QBS.
The only real danger is if UGA sleepwalks into this game (and we all know that has happened occasionally in the past). But I think Mark Richt will do whatever is necessary to see that isn’t the case this time.
As for the lose-lose business, I understand the line of thinking: Hawaii is a largely untested WAC team. If Georgia doesn’t beat them badly, it’s an underwhelming win. And if Georgia loses, it’s a gigantic upset.
Such thinking overlooks the third option, however. If Georgia wins big in a BCS bowl against a previously undefeated media darling team, it’s a GREAT way to start the new football year.
The Dawgs can make a statement with this game. That’s what the SEC’s new Great Motivator needs to be stressing to his team.
