Overall, the Western Carolina game didn’t do much to change what we knew about the Dawgs. No one got seriously injured, several players made their 2007 debuts, and the Dawgs got the easy win that everyone expected.

Quarterback play

Matthew Stafford had, on the whole and as you would hope, a better performance in this game. His accuracy improved, and the touch he showed on some passes was exceptional – one in particular to Massaquoi just before halftime was placed just out of the reach of a defender.

Stafford still has a disconnect with the receivers on passes longer than 20 yards. Watching teams from Bama to BC to Ohio State hit some deep balls makes it painfully clear how much we need that element. Richt admitted after the game "that we probably haven’t taken enough shots (down the field)." Alabama has a decent secondary led by All-SEC standout Tim Castille, but Arkansas wasn’t the team to test Bama’s pass defense. Georgia’s ability to hit a deep pass (and make an incredible catch) played a big part in the 2002 win – will it this weekend?

Kickoff coverage

Kickoff coverage is always an adventure. Kevin Butler had an interesting comment after the game about it – it seems as if our coverage guys seek out contact from blockers instead of avoiding it. The typical kickoff follows this pattern:

1. Coutu kicks to the right corner.
2. The first wave of Georgia guys is met and engaged around the 20. No one blows through the protection.
3. The returner brings the ball to the right towards the center of the field and then turns upfield into a huge hole.
4. The returner is eventually brought down around the 35 either from behind or by one of the safeties.

Richt doesn’t believe the problem is one of scheme, "It’s very sound, what we’re doing." At the same time, he is hesitant to replace the current ineffective group of players with ones less experienced. "I believe we’re gonna stay with the personnel we’ve got for the most part and just continue to work hard at getting better at it," he said in Sunday’s teleconference. "It’s hard to throw another guy in there with (no experience) and then he starts making rookie mistakes and all of a sudden you’ve got problems."

I’d say we have problems now.

Plays

A lot was made of the sluggish start and the relatively low point total. I don’t think it was as bad as some (especially Munson) made it sound. Including the fumble on Georgia’s second possession, the Dawgs still scored on 7 of their first 9 drives of the game before they went into complete clock-killing mode late. What might skew things is the fact that Georgia ran only 60 plays on offense. (Moreno was involved in 25% (15) of those plays – more than any other player except Stafford.) The Dawgs ran at least 70 plays in each of their first two games. WCU had a 7-minute drive in the second quarter that resulted in a field goal, but the Dawgs still managed three touchdowns in the period. You wonder how the score might have looked with a few more Catamount 3-and-outs.

Turnovers

For the second straight week, the Georgia defense didn’t create a takeaway. Georgia’s turnover margin for the season is now -1 (2 giveaways vs. 1 takeaway). The giveaway number is just fine, but one takeaway through three games is dragging the bottom of the NCAA stats. All other SEC teams have at least four takeaways.

About the closest Georgia came to a turnover against Western Carolina was a fumble that bounced right towards Akeem Dent but was ultimately recovered by the offense. It’s elementary to say that a big defensive or special teams play could really change an otherwise close game, but it’s true. A big part of Arkansas’ comeback against Alabama was an interception, and an interception also changed the game the last time Georgia and Alabama met.

Misc.

• Brandon Miller took his demotion like a man. He saved a big kickoff return by chasing the returner down from behind, and he also threw some nice blocks on punt returns. I think he even ended up near the team-high with 6 tackles.
• Moreno continues to impress and get a plurality of carries, but he’d better score from 20+ yards out. If the Dawgs get inside the 20, Moreno invariably heads for the sideline. I don’t know why either.
• The offensive line is still a work in progress. We knew that already, but Vince Vance and Clint Boling made the picture a little cloudier with some nice plays.

At least we know it won’t be as hot as 2002. Then again, what could be? UGA’s release:

The Saturday, Sept. 22, SEC football game between Georgia and Alabama in Tuscaloosa will be televised by ESPN with kickoff set for 7:45 pm ET.

This will be Georgia’s 49th appearance on ESPN all-time with the Bulldogs owning a 24-23-1 record.

Other SEC televised games on Sept. 22 include: Florida at Ole Miss, 12:30 ET, Lincoln Financial; South Carolina at LSU, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS; Kentucky at Arkansas, 6:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2.

The AJC columnists have set aside this week to play "House, M.D." with the Georgia program. First it was Jeff Schultz’s diagnosis that Georgia and its coach were soft. Now Terence Moore offers that the problem is a lack of leadership – or, more specifically, someone "who can growl while throwing a chair across the locker room".

Moore’s point I think is closer to the heart of the matter. He does take an odd disapproving view of "leadership by committee" considering that he names several former leaders who were on the same team. Still, I tend to agree that the leadership issue is valid. I think we can put it even more simply: this is Matthew Stafford’s team, and we’re waiting for that big play or moment that cements it. There are locker room leaders, and you do need the veteran guys who keep everyone focused.

At the same time, you need the leaders and playmakers on the field. That the coaches are just as likely to have Tony Wilson as Sean Bailey in the game during key drives tells us that the team has a bunch of almost-but-not-quite playmakers. Go-to guys. Is Sean Bailey becoming one? How about Knowshon Moreno? In the end, though, I believe that the team will go as Stafford goes.

On to Western Carolina

Fans want a 70-0 bloodbath in part as a catharsis after last weekend’s loss but also as a demonstration that the team can really throw, catch, run, block, and tackle. Responding to the nebulous criticism of Schultz earlier in the week, they want to see some sort of "killer instinct" reflected on the scoreboard. If history holds, the Dawgs should win easily but not threaten that 70-point mark.

Mark Richt’s Bulldogs have played three 1-AA* opponents, and the results (at least on Georgia’s side of the scoreboard) have been steady:

• 2002: 45-7 over Northwestern State
• 2004: 48-28 over Georgia Southern
• 2006: 48-12 over Western Kentucky

Even as 1-AA teams go, Western Carolina is no powerhouse, so style points will be the main focus of the game for Georgia fans. With Alabama coming up next week, fans will inevitably compare Georgia’s performance against Western Carolina with the Catamounts’ season opener at Alabama. The Crimson Tide won 52-6. That’s about what I expect from Georgia: a score in the ballpark of 50 points while making it tough for WCU to get on the scoreboard. While we’d prefer a shutout, you never know what will happen when the 7th string is in.

While the guaranteed wave of substitutions will make a direct comparison next to impossible, there are a few stats worth watching. Bama held Western Carolina to 247 yards of offense – 76 rushing and 171 passing. Bama was also effective running the ball. Tailback Terry Grant rushed for 134 yards in his debut with three touchdowns. Will Knowshon Moreno or Thomas Brown have big games? Turnovers will also be something to keep an eye on. The Dawgs have turned it over only once this season – a Stafford interception against South Carolina – but they have also caused just one turnover. While the Bulldog defense has generally been stingy holding two good opponents to an average of 15 points, they could do a good bit more to make plays and cause turnovers. We’ll see if they are able to create some things against a lesser opponent.

* – I’ll still refer to this level of competition as 1-AA. 1-AA was good enough for Erk Russell, and it’s good enough for me. The "we actually play college football with a playoff" subdivision is a nice attempt at rebranding, but "1-AA" reminds us that there is a hierarchy to things and that "Appalachian State" is a Cherokee phrase meaning "Chaminade."

Jerry Meyer of Rivals.com is reporting that Dennis Felton received a commitment today from 6’8″ forward Drazen Zlovaric for the 2008 class. Following the stereotype of European big men, Zlovaric is said to be more finesse than power, but building up his body is a priority this year according to his high school coach.

Zlovaric, a Serbian native currently living in Florida, had received offers from Texas, Maryland, Arkansas, and Ole Miss. Georgia and Texas were his top two, and the Dawgs beat the Longhorns in this head-to-head battle.

Zlovaric joins forward Howard Thompkins and guard Dustin Ware as commitments for the 2008 class.

The Crimson Tide have added an expansion to the north side of their stadium since we last visited in 2002, and the seating arrangements have changed as a result.

Most Bryant-Denny seating charts don’t tell you much, but this one from the Tide Pride booster program tells you everything.

Georgia’s sections will be:

• Lower level: partial sections LL, MM, NN in the northeast corner
• East upper deck (U4): complete sections AA, BB, PP, QQ, RR
• North upper deck: Sections 418-429

With the exceptions of those in upper AA and BB, all visitor tickets are on the north / northeast sides of the stadium.

If you get a chance, come in from the north side of the stadium. Part of their expansion project was a very impressive entryway and plaza leading from the Denny Chimes area of campus. It’s really well done. From the 1980s when Bama didn’t even play many of their home games in Tuscaloosa, the stadium has come an awful long way. When you see the improvements, there’s no question that they’ve taken the lead in the in-state stadium arms race.

While fans continue debating who should be fired, shot, or just merely ridiculed after a loss, we could all probably take some pointers from the prospects who were at the game.

Lineman Omoregie Uzzi has offers from all over the South. His comments after Saturday’s game?

"That loss has nothing to do with me or my situation," he said. "It doesn’t mean anything at all to me. Georgia is still Georgia and it is not a big deal."

Tight end Dwayne Allen also didn’t seem too bothered.

"It was a great atmosphere at Georgia on Saturday," said Allen. "Georgia did not come out on top, but the crowd was great, the team played hard and it was a lot of fun. They lost, but I had a great time overall."

Safety Nick Williams had a pretty level head about the loss.

"The loss doesn’t hurt Georgia at all," he said. "Georgia is a good team and they will bounce back. This is football. Any team can win on any given day. Both schools played hard and Georgia came up a little short, but that doesn’t mean anything to me. I still like them a lot."

By the way, Williams, a four-start safety prospect from Bainbridge, committed to Georgia on Sunday.

It’s going to be the overused stat you hear for some time thanks to Steve Spurrier. Georgia’s 1-4 mark against the SEC East last year coupled with Saturday night’s loss means that Georgia is 0-5 against the SEC East since winning in Columbia last year.

What you won’t hear is that the Dawgs currently hold at least a one-game winning streak against every single SEC West school.

Both bits of trivia are about equally relevant to this year’s prospects and to the state of the program. One will be cited a lot more than the other until the Dawgs play Tennessee in a few weeks.

Georgia is #25 in the coach’s poll and #23 in the AP poll.  South Carolina entered the coach’s poll at #23 and are at #17 in the AP poll.  Georgia’s next SEC opponent, Alabama, is still unranked but could earn their way in with a win over Arkansas next weekend.

In 2nd-and-long (7+ yards) situations, Georgia was nearly twice as likely to run as they were to pass. (11 runs / 6 passes)

Even allowing for the late-game clock-killing strategy, 8 of those runs came in the first three quarters. The results were mixed. Five of the runs went for at least four yards. There were a pair of long-ish runs on 2nd-and long: one each by Stafford and Thomas Brown. Only 1 of the 11 yards went for a loss.

The Dawgs only had one run on 3rd and long, and it was a sack of Stafford in the 4th quarter.

While this stat is probably meaningless, it is a small window into Coach Bobo’s commitment to the running game. Running on 2nd and long didn’t make the Dawgs more likely to eventually earn a first down, but it usually did make 3rd down more manageable. Thomas Brown’s 17-yard run on a 2nd and 27 moved the ball to midfield and set up Stafford’s 3rd down strike to Bailey which turned into a big play (and of course an eventual touchdown).

Kudos to Marc Weiszer of the ABH for raising this topic. Often a game that is hyped as a showdown between units or players ends up turning on something else entirely. A great pitcher’s duel turns into a slugfest. A basketball battle between dominant centers is won by outside shooting. Happens all the time. There are other people on the field, and the real opportunities and threats can come from places other than the matchups in the spotlight.

Weiszer highlights OSU tight end Brandon Pettigrew as a possible x-factor in Saturday’s game. A good mix of size and speed comparable to Leonard Pope, Pettigrew could present matchup problems for linebackers and defensive backs in the middle of the field. That’s a good pick by Weiszer, and we’ll have to add the tight end now to the list of things to watch.

We’ve been over the Dawgs so many times that it seems like a wasted effort to try to uncover that hidden angle. You could mention Georgia’s placekicker Brandon Coutu, but he’s hardly a secret weapon. With Matthew Stafford in the spotlight on offense, one might even pick a running back like Thomas Brown or Knowshon Moreno as Georgia’s x-factor. Weiszer went with OSU’s tight end; will Georgia’s be as much of a concern for the OSU defense?

Since I don’t know what I’m talking about anyway, I’m going to go out there and make my pick of middle linebacker Dannell Ellerbe as Georgia’s x-factor in this game. He’s played well enough on the inside during the preseason to make the coaches scrap their Brandon Miller experiment. Against a diverse and balanced offense, the man in the middle will be put under tremendous pressure, and I look for Dannell to come through.

Construction

Construction is a given on campus, and this year’s construction will impact the gameday experience for many fans.

Work continues on the new art school on East Campus. I believe this construction was already underway last year, but the lot below the Performing Arts Center is still unavailable. If you have any questions about parking or similar topics, visit the Gameday Gameplan Web site.

The biggest change will be the work on the Tate Center expansion and addition. A large parking lot adjacent to Sanford Stadium (at the site of the former Stegeman Hall) is unavailable during this construction. The project will create an underground parking deck on top of which the Tate expansion will sit. This construction will especially impact the DawgWalk. While the lane from Lumpkin Street to the stadium is still there, there is much less space in which to congregate and move around. If you’re planning on being part of the DawgWalk (scheduled for 5:05 p.m.), allow extra time to get around the construction and find a place.

Concessions

• Moe’s and McAlister’s Deli will open locations in the stadium. Moe’s will be in the west endzone concessions, and McAlister’s will be up on the 600 level.
• Stadium souvenir cups will honor Larry Munson this season with a set of seven cups featuring seven of his most famous calls.
• For more stadium-related shopping and eating enhancements, read this press release from the University.

Characters

Finally, congratulations to my friend Thomas Lanford for well-deserved recognition in the Atlanta paper today. He puts an incredible amount of work into hosting a tailgate party for each game, and a group of some great people has been built up and sustained for some ten years now around his generosity and effort. While they might not all have the culinary chops of Thomas, many of us have those people in our tailgating groups that hold things together. They might cook. They might be the first ones there at the crack of dawn to grab the traditional spot. They might open up their RV as home base for the day. We wouldn’t enjoy nearly the gameday experience we do without these people. Football season is in part a chance to reunite with some friends we see all too infrequently, and the reunions begin this weekend.

Good job, John – now about the yellow… (Photo: USOpen.org)

This weekend’s football season opener is an obvious reminder of what drives the Bulldog identity, but the US Open tennis tournament is showing us just how transcendent that identity is.

John Isner, the Bulldog tennis star I’ve mentioned a time or three here, is already making an impact on the professional tour. Earlier in the summer he advanced to the finals of one of his first professional tournaments. Now under the spotlight of the US Open, he’s continuing that success, winning over the crowd, and bringing the sounds of Athens to New York City.

Last night, in front of a partisan crowd, Isner recorded a straight-set second round win over South African Rik de Voest to advance to the round of 32. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Isner’s next opponent is Roger Federer, currently the most dominant men’s tennis player in the world. Isner will take his imposing serve and a shot of confidence into the match. "I’m going to believe," Isner said. "I’m not saying I’m going to win, but I’m going to believe."

Win or lose this weekend against Federer, Isner is already turning heads. It might be too soon to annoit him the next great hope of American tennis against the European juggernauts like Federer and Nadal, but Isner’s stock is on the rise. Easily likeable and fun to watch, he is a fresh face on the scene with a growing and distinctive cheering section. The US Open is already known as a place where tennis lets its hair down, but the barking for Isner is noticed even against that backdrop. His school ties are getting as much press as his serve:

He’s a Georgia Bulldog all the way, backed by barks each time he plays. A few months ago, Isner finished his senior year by leading Georgia to the NCAA team title. He proudly wears his school hat, the one with the giant G, every chance he gets.

With Isner’s match of a lifetime against Federer set for Saturday, it’s likely that most Bulldog fans will have Athens and football on their minds. But in Flushing Meadows, Isner and a small group of red-clad barking fools will be hunkered down in their own battle, and we congratulate them and wish them all the best. A great career is just getting started.

Back in May, I took a look at the post-spring depth chart according to class. It was obvious even then that the 2007 Georgia team would rely on a lot of young players. The caveat back then was that the depth chart could and would change before the season, and it has. We’ve also added in the true freshmen and will count on some of them. Based on the most recent changes, here is a revised look at the depth chart according to class. The youth movement underway is even more apparent now. Over a third of the two-deep are newcomers (freshmen / redshirt freshmen / JUCO and prep transfers), and over half are underclassmen.

1st-teamers are in solid red, 2nd-teamers are highlighted in back, other scholarship players are in gray, and walk-ons are unshaded. We allow for 24 players on each unit (11 offense, 11 defense, a punter, and a placekicker) with these exceptions on the offensive line: Justin Anderson is currently listed as the backup at both guard positions, and Chris Davis is the backup center. The freshmen shaded in green are expected to redshirt (not greenshirt). I have removed Oliver, Coates, and Ian Smith.

As usual, corrections are expected, welcome, and will be made as soon as possible.

Seniors Thomas Brown, Fernando Velasco, Brandon Miller, and Kelin Johnson will be the team captains this Saturday in Georgia’s season opener against Oklahoma State.

Much more from Mark Richt’s first game-week press conference of the 2007 season should be out shortly.

If you’re used to catching CSS’s replays of Georgia games on Tuesday, get ready to tune in a day earlier:

Comcast / Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) and the University of Georgia Athletic Association announced Monday a new UGA Encore Game night. The delay telecast of the Georgia football games moves to prime time on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET (from it’s 2006 time slot on Tuesdays). The change also includes a daytime airing at 12 noon ET every Monday.

The Mark Richt Press Conference coverage will continue to air live on CSS Tuesdays at 12 noon ET.

“We’re excited to feature one of the top programs in the country on Monday nights which is a prime viewing slot for sports fans all around the Southeast,” said CSS GM Mark Fuhrman.