THE MONDAY MORNING REWIND

ATHENS -- Welcome to LSU week. It ought to be a wild one.

ESPN’s College GameDay and UGA have decided again to set up on the Meyers Quad off Sanford Drive. Meanwhile, the Bayou Bengal faithful should be descending upon Athens about the time construction is completed on Thursday.

There is much to get to this week, and we promise to have it all covered before Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. kickoff (CBS). Of course, I’ve already written my first piece on Zach Mettenberger’s homecoming. UGA gave his mom, an administrative assistant in the football office, the week off. I should probably share here that my requests for interviews of Mettenberger’s parents, Tammy and Bernie, have been declined going back to this summer. Zach also has declined my requests for some one-on-one time. LSU’s sports communications office has offered to share some of his comments with me when he meets with the local media briefly tonight. I’ll have a full story on the Mettenberger’s journey in Wednesday’s paper.

The Mettenberger’s bunker mentality is understandable considering the magnitude of Saturday’s contest. Let’s go ahead and call it what it is – it is a national championship playoff for Georgia. The Bulldogs have already lost one Top 10 matchup to No. 3-ranked Clemson on the road. If they intend to get to Pasadena for the BCS Championship game – and that’s their stated goal – you can’t lose at home to No. 6 LSU. It’s all or nothing in that regard.

A loss won’t preclude Georgia from winning the SEC East. That will still be there for the taking. But the Bulldogs’ national championship hopes will effectively be gone with a defeat.

So with that little build-up, let’s get to the rewind:

THE POSITIVES

The defense: The Bulldogs gave up just 238 total yards – and fewer than 200 against the No. 1 defensive unit – to a veteran-laden North Texas captained by a quarterback that Todd Grantham says will be in an NFL camp next year. Georgia gave up a 10-play, 86-yard scoring drive early in the second quarter that ended with the Mean Green beating cornerback Damian Swann one-on-one. But the drive was facilitated by a questionable interference call. And at the end of the day, the Bulldogs allowed just 7 yards rushing with two sacks and 10 tackles for loss. A good day.

The offense: Georgia ended up with 191 yards rushing, but it struggled to run the football. The good news about that is North Texas absolutely sold out to stop the run and was an impressive team from a tackling standpoint. That’s exactly what the Bulldogs are going to see – times 10 – against LSU. And here’s some reality. Georgia ended up with 641 yards offense and passed for 450 against the Mean Green. Aaron Murray and company could have thrown for 1,000 yards if they had chosen to take what the defense was giving. They’ll choose the path of least resistance against the Tigers.

THE NEGATIVES

Special teams: The Bulldogs have had four colossal breakdowns in four games, including two this past Saturday. The goal is to go the entire season without any. Georgia gave up a pair of touchdowns to North Texas on a 99-yard kickoff return and a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone. One change has already come as a result. Snapper Nathan Theus was replaced by walkon Trent Frix in Saturday’s game. Richt indicated the Bulldogs will stick with that this week. But they will also be exploring personnel  changes on the kickoff coverage team and the punt team. They need to get it shored up before the Tigers arrive. They’re strong in every phase.

Jay Rome: Tight end Arthur Lynch has done a fantastic job but the Bulldogs really need Rome to get healthy. The sophomore tight end is a formidable pass-catching threat, as he domonstrated getting open on yet another seam route against North Texas. But he took another shot on his trouble left ankle on the 27-yard play in the first quarter and did not return. His status remains questionable this week and he won't be close to 100 percent if he goes.

INTANGIBLES

GameDay factor: People like to cite Georgia’s record when ESPN’s College GameDay is on site for one of their games. The Bulldogs are 3-12 as I understand it coming into this game. The last time the crew broadcasted from Athens, No. 3 Georgia lost to No. 8 Alabama 41-30. Richt scoffed at their presence having any tangible effect on the way the Bulldogs play. “The difference is you’ve got to play well,” he said. “What matters is what happens on the field and not what happens out on a courtyard somewhere.”

He did add: “We’re not going to do a blackout.” That ’08 Alabama game is the last time the Bulldogs did that at home.