I’ve read a lot of the analysis of this weekend’s game with Ole Miss, but I can’t seem to fall in line with the "letdown" worries.

It’s true that this game sets up as a possible letdown or "trap" coming after a big emotional win and another big road test next week. It’s also true that Ole Miss played us much closer than we would have liked last year.

Why am I having trouble getting properly worried for this game? The first is that Ole Miss isn’t a particularly good road team. Zero road wins in the SEC under Orgeron. They barely escaped a bad Memphis team and lost by double-digits at Vanderbilt. If this game were in Oxford, I’d be a lot more concerned.

The main reason for my mindset is the effect of the Bama win. Some emotional wins are draining, leaving you empty and unable to get back up for the next game. But others have a way of lifting pressure and getting a team on a roll. We saw that after Auburn in 2002. Georgia was a completely different team in those last three games of 2002 once the pressure of winning the SEC East was removed. It’s impossible to predict, but I think that the Bama game will have that kind of effect on this team.

There was a lot of doubt and pressure on the team after the South Carolina loss. While the season will surely still have other tests and struggles, the step forward in Tuscaloosa was significant. Not only was it a big shot of confidence for the team, but the win also got rid of a lot of the woe-is-us mentality from a fan base badly needing an SEC win. The crowd will be into the game. Is it enough to start the Dawgs on a more consistent roll into October? I’m going to take a shot in the dark and say it is. If you want solid reasoning, others have that down much better than I. This is strictly gut-feel stuff today.

You’ll notice I don’t do predictions very often. Some of that’s a result of superstition, but I figure it’s usually a crap shoot most of the time anyway. But for some reason I think the Dawgs start building on that Alabama win this weekend, handle an opponent they should beat, and cover the 15.

One of the negatives from Saturday’s win was another late-game drive against the Georgia defense. Twice this season and going back to some disasters last year, "finishing the drill" hasn’t been a hallmark of the Bulldog defense. Coach Richt discussed that point on Tuesday and said,

"It might be just an attitude thing," coach Mark Richt said Tuesday. "I’m going to challenge the defense this week on that very point and really the rest of the season that we’ve got to finish."

It’s unfortunate that this element of the defense gets the most attention. They played very well on Saturday and are second only to LSU in SEC total defense. Not bad for a unit replacing all but a couple of starters. Still, the late drives are a glaring and not isolated problem.

It’s fine to challenge the defense, but let’s not gloss over that the offense could do much more to put games away. The Bulldogs had that chance at Alabama. Up 7 with 6:24 to go, the Bulldog offense moved the ball just 15 yards in 4 plays before punting to set up Alabama’s game-tying drive.

It’s not the only time that the offense has wasted a chance to close the door. Most glaring is the Vanderbilt game in 2006. Trailing by a point, Vanderbilt muffed a punt and gave Georgia the ball on the Commodore 33 with 7 minutes remaining. Georgia moved the ball 13 yards in 5 plays over two minutes and then missed a short field goal. Vandy got the ball back still down just one point and drove for the winning field goal.

We can go all the way back to Richt’s first season in 2001. Munson’s favorite call, the "Hobnail Boot" play, only happened because Georgia couldn’t seal the win on offense. Late in the game, Jermaine Phillips intercepted a Tennessee pass near midfield. All the Dawgs had to do was get a single first down to end the game as Tennessee ran out of timeouts with little more than a minute left. Of course Georgia didn’t convert, Tennessee scored on a screen pass, and the offense was forced to be aggressive needing a touchdown with less than a minute remaining.

I don’t have a problem with Richt and the defense doing a little introspection because the need for them to make plays, stops, and turnovers is there. Let’s just evaluate the entire team’s approach and attitude to closing out games. It all could use some work.

Georgia’s performance against Alabama was a pessimist’s nightmare. They lost the turnover battle. They were outrushed. Their golden placekicker missed two kicks. They twice lost 10-point leads. Dropped passes hurt them at key times. Missed opportunities abounded. Yet…the Dawgs won. They won on the road against a red-hot favored opponent brimming with confidence.

Georgia won for a reason that is at the heart of so many football victories: they won up front on both sides of the ball. While no one will mistake the current Bama defense with the Copeland and Curry unit of the early 90s, Georgia’s performance up front Saturday was nothing short of a miracle. A starter, Scott Haverkamp, missed the trip entirely due to injury. The Dawgs started three freshmen (including two true freshmen) on the offensive line. His replacement, Clint Boling, was injured for much of the week.

Despite all that, they blocked for two backs who went for over 70 yards apiece. They allowed zero sacks. Of course they had their moments – there were missed assignments and penalties. On the whole, Coach Searels had his guys ready, and Wallace Gilberry will have to hold onto that FTD Pick-Me-Up bouquet for another week.

The Dawgs got timely blocks when they needed them. There was Sturdivant leading the way on Thomas Brown’s screen reception for the first score, and then there was this nice example in the second half.

But the success wasn’t limited to the offensive line. Georgia’s defense got pressure. Marcus Howard was a noticeable factor. Rod Battle survived against Andre Smith which is all you can hope for. Jeff Owens nearly took John Parker Wilson’s head off. Though the Dawgs failed to tally a sack themselves, the results showed up in the stats. Bama’s explosive tailback Terry Grant was held to his lowest rushing total of the young season.

Some more random notes:

• For the first time this season, Thomas Brown had more carries than Knowshon Moreno. Both backs finished with 74 yards. Though many fans want to see more of Moreno, experience might have been the motivation in this game. Brown is a seasoned senior, and it was Moreno’s first SEC road game. Brown was effective on Georgia’s opening scoring drive, and he was also in at the end of the game where he had a key third down run on Georgia’s final drive of regulation. Moreno was most effective when the Dawgs needed a spark following Bama’s equalizing score in the third quarter. Both backs delivered in their roles, and as we watch and enjoy Moreno’s rise, we cannot forget about the value of having the #9 guy on Georgia’s career rushing list.
• Asher Allen played his guts out. Though Bryan Evans did the best he could on a bum knee, the rest of the secondary really stepped it up. A passing game that torched Arkansas the week before was held to 185 yards.
• Is there a bigger anonymous contributor on the team than Geno Atkins? He gets into every game, makes plays, gets props from the coach, yet he’s completely off the radar. I don’t know if it’s a question of playing behind Owens and Weston, but he’s not going to remain unknown much longer.
• Alabama’s overtime series showed off the entire Georgia defense. You had the line and linebackers combining on first down to stuff the run. You had pressure affecting the pass on second down. Then you had coverage make the difference on third down and nearly get the interception. After a demoralizing series to allow the tying score at the end of regulation that left the defense gassed and banged up, pulling it together for overtime was an incredible show of toughness. Still, you do have to get a little nervous about these late-game drives going back to last season.
• It turns out that the closed practices did have an impact. Though the injury to Haverkamp was becoming less of a secret late in the week when the starting offensive line was announced, the extent of Boling’s similar injury went unreported. Had Boling not "made a good turnaround Friday and Saturday," the offensive line situation could have been much more dire, and we wouldn’t have known a thing about it.
• How do you know punter Brian Mimbs is doing a good job? No one is talking about him. For a position that was unsettled right up to the first game, he has been consistent, overcome a few bad snaps, and is actually leading the league in net punting.
• Georgia’s defense is tops in the SEC when it comes down to opponent third-down conversion, and holding Bama to just 3 conversions in 15 attempts Saturday was a big part of the win. For most of the game, Bama just couldn’t get anything going. The Dawgs converted 9 of 19 chances, a good bit above their 39% season average. As a result, Georgia had 15 more plays on offense in regulation this week than they had against Western Carolina (75 vs. 60).
• The Dawgs finally had a strong showing in kickoff coverage. Bama averaged just 16 yards per kickoff return (Georgia averaged 21 yards).

UGA-UT time and TV set

The Saturday, Oct. 6, SEC football game between Georgia and Tennessee in Knoxville will be televised by CBS with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET.

Moreno is SEC Freshman of the Week

University of Georgia redshirt freshman tailback Knowshon Moreno has been named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week, according to an announcement by the league office on Monday.

Through four games, Moreno leads Georgia with 342 rushing yards for an average of 85.5 yards per game, which is ninth in the SEC (second for freshmen) and 56th in the nation. Also, Moreno is second on the team with 120 receiving yards and was part of a Georgia offense that generated 377 total yards against the Crimson Tide.

Many of us, myself included, read a bit too much into the convincing win over Oklahoma State. The young Dawgs had bested a quality opponent, and they were going to be just fine. Stafford was brilliant, the defense was up to the job, and receivers caught the ball. That’s how it would be all season, right?

The win over Alabama means many things, but in the end it simply means that the Dawgs get to move on to the next challenge. It gives us a push to be forward-looking. Had the Dawgs lost, the future would be on hold as we scrutinized everything that could be wrong with the program. Not many people are talking about 0-5 vs. the SEC East this morning.

There are a lot of teams who can look impressive on a given weekend. I don’t mean to downplay the significance of the win, but I find myself hesitant accepting the common chorus that the Dawgs "grew up" at Alabama. Certainly winning in that type of environment takes a certain level of maturity and pride from a team still licking wounds from the South Carolina loss. Avoiding the ups and downs from week to week will tell us much more about how "grown up" this team is than a single week’s result.

As teams like Louisville, Florida, and Nebraska so graciously demonstrated on Saturday, the toughest part of being a top team isn’t getting up for the big games. It’s maintaining that level of play each week and being able to come down from the big wins as quickly as you bounce back from the disappointing losses. ESPN called this weekend’s games "Hangover Saturday," but Georgia’s hangover test will come a week later as we welcome the Rebels to Athens. Their performance against Florida was more than enough to make sure that the Alabama celebration was brief.

Georgia has shown twice that they are capable of playing good football against a diverse set of challenges. The question going forward is how many more times this season they can meet or exceed that level of play.

ESPN’s Pat Forde has a nice column on Georgia’s win.

After hearing “Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Michigan Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban what’swrongwithNotreDame Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban Saban” all day on Saturday, Georgia’s win at Alabama was a statement that Georgia won’t be so easily removed from the top tier of the SEC. Alabama might be on the way back, but they’re not there yet.

The Bulldogs’ pride got a big check in Tuscaloosa, and there are still signs of a healthy pulse.

Surprisingly, no reference to Britney Spears.

Listen to Scott Howard’s “one and done” call here.

Courtesy of ugahairydawgs on the DawgVent.

Heading into the 2007 season most Georgia observers agreed that the offensive line and linebacker groups were two of the biggest areas of concern. The offensive line returned just two scholarship players with game experience, and the linebackers were replacing all three starters.

Now as we enter the fourth game of the season, those two areas are still being tweaked. A week after announcing new starters for Western Carolina, the offensive line and linebackers are getting shuffled again.

Clint Boling made his first start last week at tackle as the Dawgs started a pair of freshman tackles against the Catamounts. This week, Boling moves inside to start at guard. Redshirt freshman Chris Davis will start at the other guard. Scott Haverkamp, who started the first three games at guard, will not start. This move had some fans scratching their heads since Davis seemed to be the weaker of the three guards, but it makes more sense if you believe speculation that Haverkamp might still be fighting an ankle injury. Sturdivant and Adams will anchor the line at tackle, and of course Velasco will be the rock at center. I thought Boling had a solid game last week, and I’d really like to see how the line looks in SEC play with he and a healthy Haverkamp in there at the same time.

Marcus Washington will make his first start at middle linebacker at Alabama. Washington has battled weight and injury problems in his career, but given the opportunity against Western Carolina he played rather well. At the very least, he made plays. The move frees up Ellerbe to go outside where his speed might be a factor. The other starter is still undecided. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dent start over Miller again. Not to get down on Miller – he had some nice special teams plays last week – but I don’t see him returning to the starting lineup after losing both an inside and outside linebacker starting job.

Coach Jancek is a favorite target for criticism, but one thing you have to give him this year is that he hasn’t been hesitant to try different approaches if something isn’t working or if there might be a better solution.

Mark Richt’s decision to close practice this week has drawn a lot of reaction from the indignant to the indifferent. I agree that it’s really not that big of a deal. The only thing the media is losing is the opportunity to watch or photograph stretching and positional drills – there is still access to the coaches and players following practice. It’s not just the media being singled out. The rule extends to "any face that we don’t really recognize."

Even the tightest security can be thwarted from within. Perhaps the "closed practice" mentality will give some of those people who like to impress their buddies with inside information a hint.

You’ve got student assistants this and student assistants that, and they might want to tell dad something. (People) might see something and want to say it to a friend, and the friend puts in on the Net, and it becomes clue for someone.

I do have a bit of a problem with those framing Richt’s decision completely in the context of the New England Patriots /Belichick / Saban stories. Reporters in the local media should know better – they were there over a month ago before the season when Richt spent a long time on the subject.

The roots of this decision go back to early August. You might remember that Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer closed preseason practices (ironically enough, there were vague accusations that Georgia had spied on VT practices). When you read Mark Richt’s comments related to Beamer’s decision, those quotes lay the foundation for Richt’s decision this week.

"I wish I could close it down completely, but it is kind of hard to do with our set up. I can see why any coach would want to close everything that they do, especially with the Internet…."

"…Even if we let our fans come in who love us, they would just talk about everything that happened and then people would read it and be able to find decipher some things that would help them win…."

"…I have seen enough things and people cannot help themselves. Like if you (TV) guys had a camera rolling on stuff all day long, you would be thinking that you are getting b-roll (footage) for the eleven o’clock news, but when you show the b-roll, you show something a good defensive coordinator could say, “oh I like that. I did not know they were doing that. They did not do that last year.” I do not think anyone is purposefully trying to sabotage Georgia."

Don’t those sound as if they could have been said this week instead of at the beginning of August? Richt’s view on the issue hasn’t changed much. Were current events a catalyst for the move? Maybe, but more likely is Richt following through on a decision that was 95% made several weeks ago.

I will give him credit for being very frank with this statement:

"The reality is what we do is big," he said. "People care about winning, and losing has a profound effect on peoples’ careers and everything else. The saying is, ‘Loose lips can sink ships,’ and it’s true."

People, especially the media, might feel inconvenienced and unfairly accused of spying, but if Richt feels that he can better do his job and prepare his team to win if there are not a few dozen strangers standing around practice, then he should do it.

The Patriots’ release…

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots have signed quarterback David Greene and defensive back Ray Ventrone to their practice squad. Additionally, the Patriots have released offensive tackle Clint Oldenburg from their practice squad. The Patriots practice squad now stands at its limit of eight players.

Greene, 25, was originally drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round (85th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft from the University of Georgia. The 6-foot-3-inch, 225-pound quarterback has not played in an NFL game and served as the Seahawks’ third quarterback for 28 of 32 games from 2005-06. He was Seattle’s backup quarterback for four weeks of the 2006 season while starter Matt Hasselbeck was injured. Greene was released by the Seahawks on Sept. 2, 2007. At Georgia, Green became the winningest quarterback in NCAA history, with his 42 career victories as a starter passing Peyton Manning’s previous record of 39.

Brown scores against WCU (Photo: UGASports.com)

I guess I was a little surprised to read that only 11 Bulldog running backs had at least 2,000 career yards before Thomas Brown became #12 last weekend. Congratulations to Brown – he’s not far from becoming one of the top ten running backs in Georgia’s history.

2,000 yards certainly isn’t insignificant. It requires a certain amount of skill and longevity. Still, some college backs approach that figure in a single season. Spread over 3 or 4 seasons, it’s less than 700 yards per season or 60 yards per game – hence my surprise at there only being 12 Bulldogs in this club. The Dawgs have had many tailbacks with good seasons but relatively few with complete and consistent careers. One also has to deal with injuries, sharing time with other backs, and the fact that a four or even three-year starter at tailback isn’t common. Herschel Walker, Garrison Hearst, Lars Tate, Rodney Hampton, and Kevin McLee are the only Bulldog tailbacks with over 2,300 career rushing yards. Some other recent notables:

• Robert Edwards: 1,955 career yards (some sources have him at 2,033 yards)
• Musa Smith: 2,202 career yards
• Jasper Sanks: 1,651 career yards

So while 2,000 yards might not seem impressive on one hand, Brown’s longevity has placed him right up there among the most productive backs Georgia has had in recent years. With just 40 more yards, he will pass Bulldogs like Tim Worley and "Gliding" Glynn Harrison to move into ninth place behind Musa Smith on Georgia’s career rushing list.

It should also be noted that Kregg Lumpkin isn’t far from becoming #13. He entered the season with 1,617 yards and needs about 380 over the rest of this season. 380 yards doesn’t sound like a lot, but considering Lumpkin’s current injury, the rise of Knowshon Moreno, and Thomas Brown getting plenty of carries, it’s not a sure thing.

Do you think Lumpkin will get there? Georgia only had two tailbacks from 1993-2006 break or approach the 2,000 yard career total, and now they might have two do it in 2007.

No one likes dropped passes. They’re missed opportunities, and one expects a guy playing at the Division 1 level to at the very least catch the freaking football.

Fans of most schools have a tendency to over-exaggerate their own shortcomings and lack perspective and context because they just don’t follow what is going on with other teams. Watch me prove that statement by suggesting that Georgia fans are among the worst out there at agonizing over every dropped pass. Other schools, successful ones too, are dealing with the same issues.

Plus, as well as Ryan has played, things should be even better. BC coaches have counted more than 10 drops from receivers this season, including three in last week’s win over Georgia Tech — when Ryan played flawlessly against Tech coordinator Jon Tenuta’s aggressive, unorthodox blitzing schemes.

That fact doesn’t make me feel any better about losing the South Carolina game, but I’m just about tired of the woe-is-us stuff from Georgia fans since that loss. Does George Gibson’s sell red sackcloth?

Cats Gone Wild

Kentucky’s in high cotton, and they’re making the most of it. After being denied prime goalpost-crashing opportunities in 2002 by Georgia and in 2003 by LSU, the Wildcat fans have now stormed the field in 2 of Kentucky’s last 6 games at Commonwealth Stadium. The first celebration was last November in a game we won’t speak of. The second was after Saturday’s upset of Louisville.

The SEC enacted a policy in 2004 that "access to competition areas shall be limited to participating student-athletes, coaches, officials, support personnel and properly credentialed individuals at all times." Kentucky was nailed as a first offender last November for tearing down the goalposts, and this second "offense" will cost Kentucky $25,000. A third time would cost $50,000. I believe a fourth offense would involve a firing squad.

At least Kentucky fans tore down the goalposts after a home game.

The answer: Thomas, Ramarcus, and the grass

The question: name three things in Sanford Stadium that will be Brown in a few weeks.

Athens-Clarke County recently tightened watering restrictions to completely ban outdoor watering, and Sanford Stadium isn’t exempt. Trucking in water and digging wells aren’t practical solutions, so things will remain parched Between the Hedges. One saving grace is that the cooler fall temperatures won’t be as harsh on the turf as the 100+ degree temperatures of August.

The fire marshal might start to sweat a little when he sees Knowshon Moreno entering the game.

What the heck is going on? First there was Tebow and Joiner and now this:

But the win did seem to restore some of that Alabama swagger, and not just among the fans. Asked about Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, defensive end Wallace Gilberry said: “I don’t know anything about him. But after the game Saturday, I can tell you anything you want to know – his birthday, his telephone number, his home address. I’m serious, because I will know.

“I’ve got to know where to send the flowers after the game.”

Sideline embraces? Sending flowers? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. At least Gilberry seems like the kind who won’t forget his anniversary.

At any rate, the 2007 Cocktail Party now has a theme:

Western Carolina players and coaches have an opinion:

“That should be a good game, but I think Georgia should win,” said WCU quarterback Todd Spitzer, who completed 6 of 10 passes Saturday for just 16 yards before giving way to backup Adam Hearns. “In my opinion, Georgia is bigger and faster and a lot stronger.”

“I thought Georgia was a much more physical team, and I thought they had a little bit better athletes,” said (Catamounts coach Kent) Briggs. “Alabama can go out there and match up with them (better than the Catamounts did), but I think Georgia is the more skilled team overall.”

“They’re both tough teams, but I thought the way Georgia went after us was a little bit more difficult to deal with,” said (defensive end Jeff) Bradley.