There is talk that Cody Hawkins, Colorado freshman QB and son of coach Dan Hawkins, might see playing time tomorrow. The plan was to redshirt Cody, but that might change.

I understand the coach’s hesitance. He surely remembers how the Georgia defense had Jared Zabransky in a fetal position by halftime last year. Like any good father, he wouldn’t want to put his son in harm’s way.

Yes, EDSBS, we did notice Andre 3000 and his posse providing sideline entertainment during last night’s game. The highlights:

• A member of the posse shouting "CALVIN JONES FOR HEISMAN!!!". All the posse has to know is that this Calvin Whatshisname is ripe for a big representation deal in a few months. He’ll need hangers-on too then.
• Mass confusion over the number 41, derailing the interview. Andre gives a shout out to #41. Erin Andrews, ever on the ball and probably still wondering who "Calvin Jones" is, notes that Calvin Johnson is actually #21. Andre corrects her and say he was giving a shout out to his boy #41 on the sideline (Tech’s Philip Wheeler). Erin pauses to process this sidetrack. Very nice.
• The best – Andre saying that, yes, he is a Tech fan. But he’s also a fan of USC. And Ohio State. And Michigan. (As one of the ESPN guys noted, this might be the first ever recorded case of co-fandom between tOSU and Michigan.) He’s just a fan of the game. Off-camera, he also said he’s a fan of Wisconsin. And sunsets. And the Buffalo Sabres. And the card game Uno. And Marshall. And the Saskatchewan Roughriders. And wide collars. And Pakistani cricket. He’s just a fan, you know.

David Ching looks at the run/pass split and notes that while Georgia is heavy on the run in the second half, it’s not much heavier than the split in the first half. The Dawgs run slightly less in the first half but the split favors the run at any point in the game. I would note that the UAB game, in which the split was skewed more towards the run than the other games, was the weaker-looking offensive performance of the three. Balance still matters. Like Ching, I’d like to see what it looks like against Tennessee or a similar opponent. I should have my running game stats browser working by next week, and we can crunch this even more then.

The quarterback situation lends itself to a reasonable explanation for the split. We pretty much figured that we weren’t going to be slinging the ball all over the field with Joe T. under center. Now that Stafford’s in, he’s being brought along. Though he’s not being asked to pass a lot, he cut back on the mistakes last week and became much more efficient completing 10 of 17 with no turnovers. All that plus the nature of the games (a conservative plan was appropriate for all games so far) leads to favoring the run. Not terribly wide-open yet, but the season is young and the need to push things with Stafford hasn’t presented itself yet.

That brings me to a related topic. A commenter over at CFR jumps on the theme that UGA 2006 = Ohio State 2002. I’d heard that before, but CFR gives it a good treatment worth discussing. Though CFR and I often have different views on things, I’m with him here in being skeptical about this theme.

It reminds me of the preseason talk last year when some made the UGA 2005 = Tennessee 1998 leap. Shockley = Tee Martin. Because Georgia had a talented black senior quarterback taking over, they could expect an undefeated season and a national title. Make sense to you? Me neither.

Look, I understand what’s going on. We’re still undefeated. Title hopes might not be especially "realistic" (how I hate that word), but technically they’re still alive. So we look around for champions with good defenses and struggling offenses with which we can relate. Bingo, Ohio State 2002. Alabama 1992 is another popular choice.

Georgia finds itself in the not-so-unique position of having a good defense and an offense that’s slowly coming along as it develops a promising but raw freshman QB. That doesn’t make them Ohio State 2002 any more than it makes them FSU 2005.

I should note that this comparison with Ohio State does a big injustice to Krenzel. He completed just shy of 60% of his passes in 2002, made big plays at the right time, and even led his team in rushing against Miami. He wasn’t Vince Young, but that still doesn’t make a comparison with Tereshinski appropriate. I’ve posted before about my appreciation for unspectacular QBs who get the job done and lead their teams to national titles, but they’re a unique breed and not comparable to every team’s stiff who is struggling to complete 50% of his passes.

Aside: It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t nitpick at one of CFR’s points. He "really hated" that 2002 Ohio State team because "because as great as that team was, they were also more than a little lucky." Sure they were. But luck, narrow escapes, blown calls, and controversy are often a part of a national title season. Colorado’s 5th down. Tennessee-Arkansas 1998. How many events had to come together for the 1996 FSU-Florida rematch? Georgia’s own title season in 1980 was a combination of a relatively light schedule, fumbles by Tennessee and South Carolina, a miracle 92-yard touchdown, and Notre Dame special teams breakdowns. The imperfect, tainted, and even "lucky" national title is a common theme in college football history.

Wow…for the quality we got last week in college football, we’re treated to some real dogs this week, especially in SEC-land.

Colorado at Georgia: When the showdown between four-legged mascots trumps interest in the showdown on the field, you have the makings of a very one-sided game.

Alabama at Arkansas: Tough pick. Both teams played a common opponent (Vanderbilt) very close. If this were later in the season, I might like Arkansas. Bama’s defense might have the very slim edge here in Mustain’s first really big home start.

Mississippi State at UAB: Gotta go with the Blazers here. UAB frustrated Georgia’s offense for the better part of three quarters. Lord knows what they’ll do to MSU’s pathetic offense.

Penn State at Ohio State: Once Ohio State finishes this beating and gets a bit of revenge for last season, we can finally be done with the "Penn State is back" talk.

Arizona State at California: The Sun Devils have had problems getting their offense going this year, and that’s unfortunate as they’ll need to keep up in this game. Cal’s offense proves to be too much.

Notre Dame at Michigan State: I think we’ve learned by now that Notre Dame only gets upset at home.

South Florida at Kansas: Two mid-level teams fighting for a shred of respect. I went with Kansas at home.

UCLA at Washington: UCLA needs to win this game if they have any plans of being a Pac10 factor this year. A Washington win at home would be huge for Ty. I expect the Bruins to pass the road test.

Wake Forest at Ole Miss: I’ve been burned twice by Ole Miss. So now watch them win.

Wisconsin at Michigan: Letdown? It’s possible, but even then Wisconsin shouldn’t be much of a problem. The post-Alvarez slide begins.

Ralphie triple-dog-dares Georgia to win.

If this were a more attractive matchup, this could be a great storyline Saturday. First we have Colorado offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus saying, “They aren’t superhuman. Anyone can score on them.” as he dismisses the Georgia defense.

Georgia’s defense has a pretty good representative living in Colorado named Champ Bailey. Champ has his own take on the game:

“They can’t go between the hedges and get a win,” the Pro Bowl cornerback predicts. “Matter of fact, they can’t go get points. Period. It’s not going to happen.”

Nice. Way to represent, Champ

The unfortunate start to Colorado’s 2006 season has taken a lot of the steam out of what was a very interesting matchup when the series was announced. It is Georgia’s first regular season major interconference game with an opponent outside of the ACC since Texas Tech in 1996. It’s the first in a list of nonconference home-and-home series which will include Colorado, Arizona State, Louisville, and Oregon.

In other words, it should be a bigger deal than it is. It’s the risk you take scheduling so far into the future; you have no idea whether Oregon will be a Nike-fueled PAC-10 juggernaut in a few years or if they will collapse under the indecisiveness of 3,827 uniform combinations. You schedule the "name" thinking you have a reasonable shot at a quality matchup, but we know how much of a crap shoot college football can be for all but a handful of teams. It’s not quite what we expected when we took this step to beef up the schedule.

We’re all familiar with the Golden Age of Colorado football. Over the eight seasons from 1989-1996, the Buffaloes averaged just under ten wins a season. They had ten or more wins in five of those seasons. Georgia fans in particular have a special appreciation for their 1990 National Championship season. We all remember Kordell Stewart’s Hail Mary pass to Michael Westbrook in 1994.

Bill McCartney was the coach behind the Buffalo’s most successful era, but Colorado’s reputation as an out-of-control program began under his watch. It only got worse when Rick Neuheisel took over in 1995. Neuheisel was moderately successful but had nowhere near the level of success that McCartney had. By the time Neuheisel left for Washington in 1999, serious damage had been done to the program. The low point came after he left as an NCAA investigation resulted in sanctions and the forfeiting of the entire 1997 season.

Neuheisel was followed by Gary Barnett, the "it" coach of the mid-1990s who had brought Northwestern back off the mat (and who, I might add, was a popular fan choice during Georgia’s coaching searches). Barnett lost further control of the program, and stories of drugs, rape, and harrassment overshadowed a gradual decline of the program. There was a brief resurgence in 2001 with a 10-3 season, but that has been the only year since the 1990s in which Colorado has lost fewer than five games.

If you want an overview of the problems which have built up in the Colorado program, give this a read.

But the relative collapse of Nebraska and the weak state of the rest of the Big 12′s North Division meant that Colorado remained somewhat competitive even as problems built up. In 2001, they beat Nebraska 62-36 and upset Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game to earn a Fiesta Bowl trip. Even last year they managed to get into the Big 12 Championship Game with a 7-4 regular season record.

That brings us to the present. Barnett is gone. Dan Hawkins, formerly of Boise State is in and has the big rebuilding job. After starting the 2005 season 7-2, the Buffaloes have lost seven consecutive games. The power outage on offense is stunning. Since falling 30-16 to Iowa State to start their current losing streak, Colorado hasn’t scored more than 10 points in a game. Over the final three games of 2005 and the first three games of 2006, they averaged 6.5 points per game.

Hawkins’ job (well, one of them) is to revive that offense with the same efficiency he developed at Boise State. It hasn’t happened yet. Point totals and yardage remain anemic. Reading Ching’s synopsis of Georgia player and coach comments, you see that the Bulldogs think it’s just a matter of time before things start clicking and the Buffalo offense gets going. Tra Battle’s comments are especially interesting. "I hope we can force the same turnovers we forced last year (against Hawkins’ Boise State offense). Because if we don’t, it’s gonna be a long day."

I don’t think the day will be as long as Battle fears. Colorado hasn’t clicked yet, and it’s not likely they will against the Georgia defense after being punched in the gut for three straight weeks. Their defense isn’t bad – there’s not much shame in holding Arizona State to 21 points.

We’ll see how much they can improve after Arizona State and coming all the way across the country. But it’s saying a lot, and it’s a bit of a shame, that the story of a live buffalo coming to the game is getting tons more attention than anything actually having to do with Xs and Os. The biggest question seems to be, "can Georgia get another shutout?" I think that’s unlikely mostly because of the factors you need to come together beyond just defensive execution in a shutout, but I’ll be happy if the Dawgs can continue Colorado’s streak of scoring 10 points or fewer.

Hawkins is a good coach, so perhaps when Georgia returns the trip in a few years this game will take on the importance and stirred up the interest we might have expected from such an intersectional series.

He thinks he can leave after a year.

The Banner-Herald follows up on Georgia Sports Blog’s bit of original journalism showing the empty family-free family-friendly zones. PWD promises an update from the UAB game. I can’t imagine things will be much better/different this week with another early start.

The kicker comes courtesy of officer Tim Stewart. “(Stewart) said the alcohol rules aren’t strictly enforced. Police aren’t checking cups, but if officers see someone who obviously is drinking alcohol from a can or bottle, they will tell him to pour it out or leave the area.” So the main rule behind these separate areas is only causally enforced. (Meanwhile, people crossing the street from one private lot to another get open-container tickets.)

In other parking news, the ultimate frisbee crowd has a bit of egg on its face after last weekend. The intramural fields did not, in fact, turn into one big mud-boggin’ pit. They’re just fine. Kudos to the Red & Black for calling them on it. "If no damage was done and the fields were left clean, then why not give credit to the administration." Indeed. Jerrytown and the Womynists can still play the championship game this week. The SGA still promises to watch for tell-tale bent blades of grass in future weeks.

And this seemed inevitable. Given the parking crunch, it was a matter of time until the parking scams started.

Have to wait until Tuesday night for a replay of the game, but these are a few random things I took from the weekend:

• I love the shutouts, but I view them much the way I do a no-hitter in baseball: they’re as much luck as they are about a dominant performance. A bloop single because a batter guesses right doesn’t take away from a dominant pitching performance. Greg Maddux at his most dominant still gave up three or four hits a game, but there was no question we were watching greatness. It’s the same with a football shutout. Consider that field position, a single blown coverage, or even coaching decisions (such as going for it in field goal situations) can factor into a shutout. Take the game against Western Kentucky. Georgia’s defense eventually gave up ten points, but Western Kentucky didn’t manage a first down until late in the second quarter. Which has been the most dominant defensive performance?
• Who is "Garrison Hurst"? This gaffe has been on the pre-game video since the beginning of the season, and I think one of Georgia’s better tailbacks deserves to have his name spelled correctly. Hurshel would want it that way.
• Why does a pay-per-view broadcast need television timeouts? They’re already charging folks $30 to broadcast the game; they need to show them ads too?
• Very glad to see Ray Goff on the field with his 1976 team. No one was a bigger part of that SEC Championship unit.
• I don’t think you can understand how poignient a moment it was for Bill Stanfill to be on the field Saturday until you realize that Erk Russell had planned to be out there with him.
• Stunning stat of the weekend: Miami has lost five of its last six games against 1-A competition (pointed out during Saturday’s broadcast). That the one win was at Virginia Tech is the most amazing part of it all.
• I appreciate Matthew Stafford’s improvement from a week ago. There were much fewer mistakes (aside from the much-publicized sack and fumble), and he didn’t try to force things against a zone defense. The timing is still off though. Any pass longer than 15 yards was off. Either it’s the receivers and their routes, or it’s Stafford and his delivery, but the deep threat just hasn’t shown itself yet.
• Seeing Chris Leak dive a yard short of the first down marker shows us that he hasn’t changed all that much, but there is no doubt who the better quarterback was at the end of that game. Ron Zook was fired in large part for fourth-quarter collapses and coming up just short, and now Meyer has Leak winning those games.
• It’s bad enough seeing the stadium bathed in orange-and-blue Cingular colors or seeing "Crocs" advertised at the game, but now a stupid in-stadium Chik-fil-A mascot race ad bleeds over into an actual play. Who is asleep at the switch in the promotions department?
• You’d think part of the job requirement for "mike man" would be the ability to distinguish offense from defense. It’s noticable how much bigger of an impact the band, cheerleaders, etc can have when they have a sense of the flow of the game and situational awareness of what is going on out on the field.
• Speaking of the band, can we take the word "marching" out of the name? Lots of standing around. Most fans surely don’t notice (or care) about things like this, but I’ve seen more than one or two Redcoat alums grumble about the direction of the organization. And now they want to hit us up to build a million-dollar practice facility?
• I’m very impressed by the improvement in Georgia’s linebackers, and that’s no small reason for the strong defense. Tony Taylor runs the show. He’s fully back from his 2004 injury, and it shows. Danny Verdun-Wheeler is everywhere. He’s quick, versatile, and makes tackles. Jarvis Jackson is the enforcer in the middle bringing the heavy hits. It’s looking like a great unit, and then you consider that guys like Brandon Miller, Dannell Ellerbe, and now Darius Dewberry are hungry to get in there.
• Southern Cal looked strong again against Nebraska. Even if Auburn or some other SEC team can run the table, I think only an Ohio State or Southern Cal loss could keep us from another 2004 scenario.
• Finally, about UAB. Last week the tone was all about caution. The (-17) spread was seen as easy money if you took the Blazers. They put a scare into Oklahoma. They played us close two years ago. Etc, etc. Now that Georgia won 34-0, the UAB win is forgotten as if Georgia had beaten another 1-AA team. I guess that’s what happens when you beat the teams you should, but everyone (and there are many) who said last week that "these are the kinds of games Georgia struggles with" need to take a closer look at what’s really going on with this program. They’ll start the same drumbeat with Colorado this week…tough team backed into a corner, classic let-down game, and so on.
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NFL.com reports that former Bulldog and current Cincinatti Bengal David Pollack suffered a neck injury in today’s game with the Cleveland Browns. We certainly hope the best for him.

Pollack hurt his neck while tackling running back Reuben Droughns on Cleveland’s second play. Pollack, a first-round pick last year, hit Droughns with his right shoulder, then lay face-down on the field.

He remained conscious and gave a thumbs-up sign with both hands as he left the field on a back board. The team said he had full feeling in his extremities. Pollack was taken for precautionary X-rays.

Can we finally stop pretending that Georgia has three more or less interchangable tailbacks?

It’s not that Thomas Brown is a bad football player. We’ve all seen enough to know better. But is he and the other backs being used in the right situations that best use their abilities?

In the first quarter of yesterday’s UAB game, Georgia faced a short fourth down conversion. They were already up 7-0, the offense had looked pretty efficient on two drives, and another score might have opened the floodgates. Kregg Lumpkin had a very impressive burst to the outside for the first score, and then Danny Ware had ripped off runs of 6, 8, and 14 yards on the second drive. Stafford was mixing in some passes, and the UAB defense was on its heels.

So on this key fourth down, Richt chooses to hand the ball to…not Lumpkin or Ware but to Thomas Brown. Brown to that point had been the only Georgia back to have a carry for a loss. The conversion failed, and Georgia’s offense took nearly two quarters to recover.

As if that weren’t bad enough, the Dawgs faced another short yardage situation in the second half. Again they called on Brown. Same result. At least it was only third down, and Brannan Southerland was able to salvage the drive on fourth down.

It’s hard to find something really problematic about a 34-0 win, but this is it. With a young quarterback still developing, smarter decisions in the running game are necessary. We’ve come a good ways. We’re seeing multiple back sets mixed in with good results. I’m really happy with the way Danny Ware is used in the passing game; he’s the best receiving back. But that short-yardage power “gotta have a yard” back seems to be the hang-up. Southerland and Williams did a nice job, but sometimes you have to go to the tailback. Who should be in the game when you have to have that one or two yards?

Each of the three tailbacks brings something positive but unique to the offense. We can’t treat them as clones of each other or to expect the same results from each in a given situation. I really hope this is something that gets sorted out before the same thing happens (again) in a game in which the difference between the two teams isn’t so great.

First, David Ching mentions that the Little League World Series champs from Columbus, Ga. will lead the Dawg Walk into the Stadium before Saturday’s game with UAB. The champs were also on hand for Tech’s game against Notre Dame, so let’s hope our home team puts on a better performance worthy of their accomplishment.

Second, Deanna Nolan will be honored during the first half of the game. Nolan is a former Lady Bulldog basketball player who now plays for the Detroit Shock of the WNBA (along with other former Lady Dogs Kara Braxton and Kedra Holland-Corn). Detroit recently won the WNBA title, and Nolan was named MVP for the championship series. She has been a standout guard and WNBA All-Star for several seasons. So the women’s equivalent of Dwyane Wade is a Dawg, and she’ll be recognized on the Sanford field tomorrow. Congrats Tweety!

First he lashed out at his "dumbass" players over last week’s loss to Georgia. Then he came down hard on starting QB Blake Mitchell over a midweek bar fight.

What’s next? Steve Spurrier puts in on the refs.

This calls for a trip down memory lane. Remember 1996? FSU beat Florida 24-21 in the regular season, and it seemed as if an undefeated season and shot at the national title was down the drain. Spurrier went off on the refs claiming that FSU was allowed late hits on his quarterback. As fate would have it, a series of upsets brought about a rematch in the Sugar Bowl, and Spurrier’s whining turned out to be to his advantage: FSU’s defense was less effective the second time around, and Florida won their national championship.

So he’s gone back to this well of complaining about the refs. Poor Steve.

Spurrier concluded, "If it’s OK to hold, we need to start teaching it or we’re at a disadvantage." From what I saw Saturday night, his team already has that stuff down pretty well too.

In 1996, he at least had the team to back up his whining. This was a shot at the national title we’re talking about. Now, it just smacks of pathetic desperation as he seeks whatever leg up he can get for this South Carolina team. If not for Chuck Amato, this might be the saddest display by a head coach we’ve seen in a while. Welcome to the coaching graveyard of the SEC, Coach.

UPDATE: Spurrier’s comments might have violated SEC policy against criticizing officials. “All I can say is that the conference is dealing with this as an internal matter,” (SEC supervisor of officials Rogers) Redding said Friday. “The conversations we have with coaches on matters like these are confidential.”

My Sisyphean quest to escape last place in UGASports.com’s media pick ‘em starts this week, and what a week. The slate of games is fantastic, and cases could be made for either team to win in a lot of these games. You’d think I would have learned something about picking road teams last week, but here we go again.

Arkansas at Vanderbilt: Vandy is decent and will make a lot of teams look ugly, but Arkansas has more in the tank. If the Hogs do lose, it’s a pretty clear sign that they were outcoached, and it wil be a big nail in Nutt’s coffin.

Ole Miss at Kentucky: Similar to the Arkansas game, Ole Miss isn’t great but should be better than Kentucky. We’ll see how badly the Rebels were shaken by last weekend’s meltdown.

Florida at Tennessee: This doesn’t have so much to do with the Tennessee-Air Force game a week ago as it does with the relative strengths of the teams. Both are strong on defense, but Florida has a more mature and potentially explosive offense. This is a game where scheme might not be overrated. Tennessee doesn’t present many wrinkles for the Florida defense, but this is the third straight unique offense the Vol defense will see. In the first three weeks, they’ll have seen Tedford’s Cal offense (run pretty poorly), the flexbone-style option attack of Air Force, and now the spread option of Florida. Will the Vol defense be ready for anything that comes at them, or will their heads spin? On the other hand, what will Florida use as a running game to prevent open season on Chris Leak? Will the misdirection and running plays to talented speedsters like Harvin be enough? Last year, this was a 16-7 slugfest as the Florida defense asserted itself and Meyer’s offense struggled. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of the same this year – perhaps a little higher-scoring.

LSU at Auburn: You have to ask yourself how far Auburn’s running game can carry it, especially as Irons begins to show signs of wear and tear in week two. LSU should be very familiar with the defensive style they’ll see from their former DC Will Muschamp. I just think that LSU has more on both sides of the ball, but I know not to underestimate Borges. Auburn has a very good chance to win this game with coaching and the home field, but I still like the all-around strength of LSU.

Michigan at Notre Dame: Finally going with a home team. I don’t think it will be quite the drubbing I saw coming for Penn State last week, but this is the kind of game where a title contender asserts itself at home.

Miami at Louisville: I struggled with this pick longer than any other. I think the obituary is being written a little too soon on Miami, and they have the talent and ability to rise up as they did at Virginia Tech a year ago. But that road win over the Hokies sticks out like a sore thumb next to losses to Georgia Tech, LSU, and FSU in other big games. This is Louisville’s annual bid to be considered in the title discussion. They came up just short a year ago in Miami, but I think they get it done at home this year. Miami won’t make it easy though.

Texas Tech at TCU: Texas Tech survived UTEP last week, and while TCU isn’t bad, the Red Raiders should win again.

Oklahoma at Oregon: Oklahoma will find out just how much Adrian Peterson can do on the road against a Top 15 team. I think Oregon plus the home field should be enough for another close Duck win. If Oklahoma wins, Texas should start sweating a bit.

Michigan State at Pittsburgh: Why not…another road team wins. Pitt isn’t bad though. This could be pretty entertaining and higher-scoring than some other games.

Tulane at Mississippi State: This might be Mississippi State’s best chance for a win, but first things first – they just need to score this season. I think they hold Tulane to a low score and eek out the win.

By now you’ve probably heard that South Carolina starting QB Blake Mitchell was arrested and suspended for a bar fight this week. Standard stuff. Spurrier wasn’t kidding about his “stupid” team. Have you seen the guy Mitchell was trying to hit?

As our friends from ESPN remind us,

It’s not the first time a starting South Carolina quarterback has gotten into trouble. In 1993, Steve Taneyhill was arrested for underage possession of beer at a party the night after the Gamecocks defeated Georgia 23-21 in Athens.

It’s amazing that Anthony Wright is still an upstanding member of society.

Maybe it’s the hair…we all remember Taneyhill’s championship mullet, and Mitchell has a pretty good mop on his head. So we suggest that the longer the hair of the goofy Gamecock quarterback, the more likely they are to do something stupid involving alcohol after the Georgia game.