The zone on South Campus had already been reduced, and just in time for the Tennessee game the zone on North Campus has also been carved up. According to the revised map on the GamedayGameplan.com site, the North Campus zone is now limited to a space in front of Old College, New College, and the Administration building. The space in front of Terrell Hall, the Chapel, Demosthenian, and the Arch is returned to tailgaters.

Hopefully those who do tailgate in the “reclaimed land” will treat it responsibly and not cause the kind of scene that brought about the restrictions in the first place. Just clean it up!

Also be sure not to miss Jody Yarbrough’s weekly Information Overload segment over at UGASports.com – it’s everything you need to become familiar with Georgia’s next opponent.

Rivals.com has put together a nice recap of Saturday’s game-winning drive engineered by Joe Cox. Good commentary and emphasis given to MoMass’s ability to get a first down and out of bounds on the same key play.

North Campus or Gulf Coast?

The Red & Black has a lighthearted editorial today about yesterday’s news of a 7:45 p.m. kickoff for the Tennessee game. They introduce a theme we’ll start hearing a lot as soon as the Ole Miss game is digested:

The combination of an SEC rivalry and a late start time will serve as a true test for the new gameday regulations and intramural field parking situation.

While we hope things will run as smoothly for University police as they have for the past three games, history has shown that evening games are more debauched. While the administration should prepare for the worst, fans should accept personal responsibility for their actions and those of their fellow tailgaters.

That’s pretty mild for what I think we can expect next week. This "prepare for the worst" stuff will stop just short of some columnist calling for FEMA to stand ready for – get this – a "night football game". Yes, night football games have been a part of the Sanford Stadium experience since 1940, but now the whole process will be put under intense scrutiny.

This reminds me of the current hysteria over drinking on campus. It wasn’t too long ago that they drove beer trucks right up on the lawn, but now all of a sudden it’s a major crisis. It also wasn’t too long ago when fans would begin arriving on Thursday or even earlier for big football games (ask around about the 1976 Alabama game), but now we’ve got a powder keg brewing over a few extra hours of tailgating.

If anything, this is much more about the University than it is the fans. Football fans haven’t changed much. There might be more of them, but that’s about it. They’re fairly predictable. We know what a night game is like and what the tailgating scene is likely to be. It’s not as if we haven’t had a few of these before. The University has time to plan for trash and can even encourage local law enforcement enforce littering laws as diligently as they do open container laws.

Let the needless hype begin. Fear the night game!!!

This was also in the Banner-Herald on Saturday, but it deserves its own mention.

The athletic association’s revenues were nearly $20 million more than operating expenses in the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to figures released at Friday’s meeting. Income was about $74 million, while operating expenses amounted to about $53.1 million.

Georgia made headlines this summer for having the nation’s “most profitable” athletic department in the 2005 fiscal year. These new data show that the financial health of the program remains strong. Revenue was up yet again, and expenses topped the $50 million mark. Keep in mind that this is just operating income and expenses and doesn’t represent cash flow or assets and liabilities.

FYE June 30, 2006:

• Revenues: ~$74 million
• Expenses: $53.1 million
• Surplus: > $20 million

FYE June 30, 2005:

• Revenues: $68.8 million
• Expenses: $44.9 million
• Surplus: $23.9 million

The Banner-Herald reported over the weekend that the athletic association has decided on some priorities. Instead of a seldom-used hood ornament of an indoor football facility, the program will instead opt for an expansion (possibly a vertical expansion) of the Butts-Mehre administration building. The expansion will serve the football program in more practical everyday ways:

The expansion will give the football team a bigger weight room, more space for the team to watch videos, a bigger training room and office space, Evans said. It also will mean a larger meeting room for special events. The large meeting room in Butts-Mehre is too small for some events, Evans said.

Coach Richt has made no secret of his desire for an indoor facility to salvage practice time during inclement weather, but even he is on board with the relative priority of the projects. “After seeing other schools’ facilities, UGA football coach Mark Richt said he’d rather have the Butts-Mehre expansion than the indoor football field.”

It’s also worth noting that the expansion project will be paid for in cash and not financed. “We’re not looking to issue any more debt,” said Damon Evans.

Though the focus is on the quarterback depth chart this week, UGASports.com is reporting that Kregg Lumpkin has stepped up into the #1 tailback spot. Lumpkin certainly has looked like the most consistent back this year, so I’m glad to see him get the opportunity. I really hope that Brown can find a role because he’s obviously got the talent.

The real question is, “does the starting tailback really matter?” Given the way the Dawgs rotate in tailbacks, does the position mean anything other than who gets his name announced pregame? Will Lumpkin get a majority of the carries and a chance to let his consistency build to a big day on the ground? If there’s a defense vulnerable against the run, it’s Ole Miss. What can the Dawgs and Lumpkin in the starting role do with this opportunity?

The Dawgs haven’t had a back individually rush for 100 yards since the Louisiana-Monroe game in 2005 when Danny Ware got 109 yards on just 13 carries. That’s 14 consecutive games held under the century mark. It was a big deal when the Dawgs went the entire 2003 season without a 100+ yard game from a back. Are we headed for the same this year?

Hallelujah. We’ll have some time to tailgate before a home game this year. ESPN will broadcast. 7:45 kickoff. Auburn-Arkansas will occupy the CBS noon slot, and Florida-LSU will be the 3:30 game.

I’m sure my reaction to the unfolding Colorado game went as most people’s: concern, bewilderment, annoyance, stomping mad, nausea, hope, dread, triumph, worry, and finally….relief. That’s it – not happiness or satisfaction – just relief.

This game is already getting overanalyzed trying to figure out what went wrong, so we’ll skip that and hope we can write it off. Great job by Cox and everyone else turning this nightmare into a win. Some other observations:

• Senior leadership pays. Milner, Taylor, Battle, and Dixson all came up big.
• Milner especially came up huge. The jokes about the drops and everything won’t be easy to shake, but he came up with a bigger game than any other UGA receiver this year.
• Though several fans left early and there was plenty of booing, I’m really happy with the crowd at the end of the game. They made a difference and helped to turn the tide. Had Charles Johnson gotten the QB when he went airborne on third down, the place would have fallen down.
• There isn’t much excuse for the lack of a running game. Lumpkin needs to play more.
• It’s amazing how much better playcalling looks when you have a QB delivering the ball on target. Drops seem to miraculously disappear too. I wonder what happened to all of the awful playcalling and poor WR coaching fans like to talk about.
• Tell me no one else had any of these nightmares after the final touchdown: 1) celebration penalty resulting in missed/blocked XP, 2) good kickoff return, 3) flashbacks to the 2005 Auburn game, 4) Colorado getting a chance to kick about a 70-yard FG for the last play of the game.
• Colorado had to burn its timeouts to keep its defense fresh. That turned out to make a huge difference on the final series. Almost as big was the sack on first down. The clock continued to run, and Colorado’s plans were forced to desperation. Had they been able to hit a 15+ yard pass on first down and stop the clock, the last few seconds really change.
• Speaking of the clock, as vocal as we and Coach Richt have been in criticism of the rule changes, they sure worked to Georgia’s advantage. It still doesn’t change my mind that the rules must go. It helped us this time; next time it might cost us. The impact of the changes were obvious as we saw nearly 20 seconds elapse between the kickoff and the first Colorado play.
• Some wonder why Richt didn’t make the QB change sooner, but it’s a really tough call. On one hand you have a true freshman who is struggling, and you can’t pull him too early and completely destroy his confidence. But something had to be done. Stafford’s indecision and the third down play where he went over the line of scrimmage made it the right time for that change.
• Another decision where Richt got criticism – going for it on 4th down in the red zone. I really think those calls were right. Given the performance of the offense to that point, there was no guarantee they would even get within FG range again, much less get back in the red zone.
• People are talking about Stafford’s velocity being a problem, but accuracy is a much bigger issue than touch to me. Several passes either behind or high or low. Some of his passes might have needed a little more touch on them, but I can recall only one drop (by MoMass) where the ball was on the money.
• Massaquoi overcame those drops. It wasn’t so dramatic as Milner’s redemption, but he had two big fourth quarter catches. The play he made on an inside screen on the gamewinning drive to reverse direction and get out of bounds was huge. He also made a big play to break up an interception in the end zone on a poor Cox throw. He still needs to become a bigger playmaker, but at least he didn’t fold after the early drops.

More tonight. I’d like to take a little closer look at the offense’s drives.

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.

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.

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!

Andy Katz of ESPN.com has a somber look at how the death of Kevin Brophy has affected coach Dennis Felton and the Georgia basketball program.

You’ve probably already read about the progress Brophy had made during the offseason. "He was such a leader for this team," Felton said. "He was going to be a team captain. He was taking control of our team." That’s a tremendous impact for a former walk-on who had played sparingly last season. That kind of improvement had to come from a deep source of character and commitment, and that had to leave an impression on the team. It obviously did on the coach.

Felton and the team remain shaken. Plans are in the works to memorialize Brophy with something as enduring as an endowed scholarship. Whatever outward steps are taken to remember Kevin this season, Katz’s piece makes it clear that Brophy is already very much a part of the soul of the team.

The Red & Black joins in today with my suggestion to move the "family-friendly" tailgating areas to the Intramural Fields. The idea continues to make sense: there is less impact on the Intramural Fields, and huge tracts of tailgating greenspace in the middle of campus won’t go underutilized.

I have a feeling this is all going to come to a head at the Tennessee game. Even for the season opener there were stories of overcrowding on some North Campus areas near the Main Library. If more people are added to that area and the "family-free" "family-friendly" area on North Campus is sitting there as an empty alternative, there will be conflict.

A few weeks ago I said that the 2006 schedule might do more this season to mute tailgating than any policy change the University could come up with.

Today we learn that the Lincoln Financial TV crew will be back in Athens for the September 23rd game with Colorado. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m.

The Tennessee game might be the single shot for a decent home tailgate scene this season. Just hope it doesn’t become the noon CBS game that day.