By this point we’ve heard plenty about the season-ending injuries that plagued the Dawgs this season, but even some of those who were considered "healthy" were playing through some pretty serious pain.

Guard Chris Davis will miss spring practice after hip surgery that will follow the bowl game. I’ve been told that Davis has been playing through this injury for most of the season and likely would have been held out of games under normal circumstances. But given the injuries and lack of depth on the offensive line, he’s kept going and will make his 26th start as a Bulldog in the bowl game. Of the group that came in last year, Davis is the only one not to miss a start due to injury or suspension.

If you can’t imagine why a hip injury would be a big deal to an offensive lineman, think about the lineman’s job on most plays. You start down in a stance. On the snap, you have to explode from that crouch and move quickly to be a position to make your block. Then you use your legs as leverage while driving a 270+ lb defensive lineman. Then consider the screen plays or running plays during which the lineman has to release downfield or pull around to lead a tailback. If this has been a chronic injury for Davis this season, it’s had to have been excruciating for him.

Here’s to a successful surgery and quick recovery. Davis will be one of the upperclassman veterans on the line next year, and he’ll be needed.

What to make of the 2008 football season continues to be a hot topic, and the Senator has a good roundup of much of the thinking out there. The Senator isn’t alone when he admits that he “(finds himself) in an awkward middle ground right now.” There was a lot of good that happened (when was the last time we won three straight over Auburn?), but when viewed through the lens of preseason expectations we can’t help but talk about degrees of disappointment.

The Senator’s subsequent post about the basketball program and the “mirage” of the SEC Tournament win actually has a lot to do with the football discussion.

9-3 muddies the waters when we talk about the football program just as the SEC Tournament title clouded the basketball discussion. Neither are anything we’d give back, and we can’t pretend (or would want to pretend) that they don’t exist. Fans love to live in the world of black-and-white, and these realities make big inconvenient globs of gray.

It’s more dramatic in the basketball case, but I can’t help thinking how differently we’d be looking at this football team but for three – just three – plays against South Carolina, Kentucky, and Auburn. Nobody is pretending that all is well with the football program, but the fact that we pulled out those three games and finished with 9 (and possibly 10) wins does make it possible to convince ourselves that what we need are tweaks and not massive changes. That, I believe, is the source of the “awkward middle ground” the Senator is talking about. The uncomfortably close distance between 9 or 10 wins and a New Year’s Day bowl and a 6-6 disaster isn’t fun to think about.

The seasons of Auburn and Tennessee are worth considering. We’d rather be 9-3 than 5-7, and if the occasional 3 or 4 loss season is as bad as it gets under Richt, I’ll take it. If we’re able to honestly assess and tweak the program within that framework, then fine. But the record can’t be a distraction. It’s great that we’re 9-3 (with a chance for 10), but the record can’t become a blind spot that keeps us from the moment of clarity that can come from a real disaster of a season.

Anthony Dasher of UGASports.com is reporting ($) that Auburn is talking to Georgia offensive line coach Stacy Searels. Searels of course played at Auburn in the mid-1980s where he was a first team All-American in 1987. He has both an undergraduate and Master’s degree from Auburn and began his coaching career there as a graduate assistant in the early 1990s.

The key question is, “about which position is he talking to Auburn?” That’s still unknown at this point, and Coach Richt didn’t know yet. That lends itself to speculation. Is it the offensive coordinator position? One would think that a new head coach as under the gun as Chizik would want to make as big of a splash as he could with his staff in order to build legitimacy. We’re talking Norm Chow level. Would Chizik, himself a defense guy, really hire an offensive coordinator without experience directing a proven scheme?

Of course it’s possible that Auburn is talking to Searels about a lateral move as offensive line coach. After all, it was a lateral move that brought him from LSU to Georgia. But Searels also had family considerations when taking the job at Georgia, and he is a Georgia native. He’ll have to consider his ties to his alma mater, but he’ll have to consider the climate not only at Auburn but also within the state of Alabama. Is Auburn entering a period under Alabama’s thumb, and what will that mean for a coaching staff that’s starting out on shaky ground?

Searels earns $235,400 per year at Georgia which is 4th among Bulldog assistants. Hopefully the outcome of this process is a well-deserved raise for Searels and him staying put in Athens. Professionally it would have to be exciting to see this Georgia line begin to mature and come into its own in the coming seasons.

All of this is using our best guesses and logic, and we know that logic and order certainly does not describe the way things are done at Auburn lately. For all we know they’re going to name him coach-in-waiting. At least the possibility of Rodney Garner joining the Auburn staff seems much less likely now.

The men return from exams to host Wofford on Saturday afternoon at 2:00, and they’ll follow it up with a game on the 22nd against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The schedule’s fairly light until Missouri comes to town after the New Year, and while we can’t take anything for granted with this team, one would hope they can finish 2008 with a 10-3 record before things really heat up in January.

The women also return to action after a pair of ugly losses to Georgia Tech and Rutgers. They’ll head to UAB on Saturday for a 7:00 game in Birmingham. The UAB game will be a homecoming for Alabama natives Jasmine Lee and Meredith Mitchell. The Lady Dogs will then host Clemson on Monday night at the Gwinnett Arena. Georgia is a host school for the NCAA Tournament this spring, and they have to play at least one game on the Gwinnett court in order to host games there.

On a semi-related note, this is a really good weekend for college hoops. There are no fewer than five big national games between ranked teams. This is one of the tradeoffs we talk about when the topic of playoffs comes up. College basketball’s emphasis on the postseason means that most casual fans can safely ignore a weekend of good hoops like this one, but it also means that we get more interesting regular season matchups more often since a loss won’t sink the season. Rather than an early season process of elimination, these big December nonconference games serve as measuring sticks for teams tuning themselves up for the more meaningful conference schedules.

John Frierson of the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the Tennessee-Chattanooga head coaching search is down to three candidates, and Georgia running backs coach Tony Ball is not one of them. Frierson notes that athletic director Rick Hart met with Ball last week to discuss the position.

Though Ball is a UTC alum, you can’t fault him for balking at a head coaching position at a school where support for the football program is very shaky.

Interesting tangent – one of the finalists for the UTC job is Hugh Freeze. If you read the book The Blind Side, you might recall that Freeze was Michael Oher’s high school coach in Memphis and followed Oher down to Oxford where he ultimately became recruiting coordinator. He’s been the head coach at NAIA Lambuth University for less than a year after he was released by new Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt.

Javon Ringer has had one heck of a season, and he even received mention on six Heisman ballots. His 1,590 yards and 21 touchdowns put him in the national top 3 for both categories. Accordingly, he’s aimed high for the last game of his college career. He wants to have a perfect game.

"That’s why this bowl is so good. The perfect game for me would be something like 25 carries, 200 yards, three touchdowns and a victory. That’s the way I want to go out."

I’d be surprised if a top-quality back like Ringer didn’t have such goals for himself. Let’s look deeper at how he racked up those yards:

In six games against teams that finished with six wins or fewer, Ringer put up 1,131 yards and 14 touchdowns. That’s a solid 188.5 yards per game and 2+ touchdowns per game. Ringer put up at least 120 yards in each of those games and had at least 194 yards in four of them.

In six games against teams that finished with seven or more wins, Ringer tallied 459 yards and 7 touchdowns. That’s 76.5 yards and just over 1 touchdown per game against better competition. He went over 100 yards only once against a team with a winning record, and that was a 124-yard performance against 9-3 Northwestern in which he carried the ball 35 times.

Now I have no reason to suddenly get cocky about Georgia’s defense, but the Bulldogs – for all of our sackcloth and ashes – are still very much a winning team and have had reasonable success against the run from traditional offenses.

The thing that had held Ringer back the most this year has been getting carries against better opponents. If you look at his numbers, you’ll see that in seven of Michigan State’s games, Ringer was a workhorse with well over 30 carries. Five times though he was held under 27 carries and failed to go over 100 yards in each of those games. (It should be noted that he was fighting a nasty virus during the Wisconsin game in which he rushed for 54 yards on 21 carries.) It also hasn’t helped that the Spartans fell behind by 20+ early to both Ohio State and Penn State. Comeback mode necessarily limited Ringer’s carries against those opponents (16 and 17, respectively).

Of course any back that racks up 1,500+ on any kind of competition deserves plenty of respect and attention from a defense, and Ringer will get it from Georgia. A similar analysis of Knowshon Moreno’s season will find that he didn’t hit 100 yards against good teams in each of Georgia’s three losses, but we don’t consider him any less of an impact player. The Bulldogs can most help themselves by coming out strong on offense and changing Ringer’s role in the game.

When news of Bulldog quarterback commitment Aaron Murray’s ankle surgery broke less than two months ago, it was mentioned that he was “determined to return to action this season (and) wants to be playing football again in 6-8 weeks.”

True to his word, Murray returned to action tonight for the first time in eight games. It also happened to be the state semifinals. He’d also be putting his recently-healed leg up against a tough Dwyer defense with one objective- hit the quarterback.

Murray did face a lot of pressure, but he led his team to an impressive 33-21 win and a spot in the state championship game. (Click here for a thorough live blog of Friday night’s game.) His unofficial stats were 10-of-22 for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns, and several passes were either dropped or knocked off target by pressure. At any rate, it’s a winning performance in a huge game for a guy who was coming back cold after two months on the sideline.

Murray’s teammate Orson Charles had a few catches at tight end, but he came up biggest on defense with some big plays downt the stretch.

For the second year in a row, the Georgia Bulldogs have the SEC’s Freshman of the Year as voted by the coaches. Wide receiver A.J. Green was voted the league’s top freshman just days after the AP gave the same honor to Alabama’s Julio Jones. Green’s 951 receiving yards leads the SEC this year, and he’d be the first freshman to lead the SEC in receiving since Auburn’s Ronney Daniels in 1999 (half of Daniels’ total had to come against Georgia). It’s fitting that Green and Jones split FOTY honors. Both had stellar seasons, and SEC fans should enjoy watching them over the next two seasons.

On some of the other awards…Tebow and Berry make sense. I also can’t argue with Brandon James though I’m sure Arenas got plenty of consideration. It was interesting that there were no unanimous selections this year. Did someone like Cody take votes away from Berry? I can’t imagine a better season by a defender than what Berry put up.

Any time I see Michael Oher’s name on one of these lists, I have to wonder how much The Blind Side had to do with it. By all accounts Oher’s an excellent lineman and has lived up to the hype, but was he really the best lineman in the conference? Or was he the safe choice because we have a book that says he’s supposed to be a can’t-miss? I don’t pretend to be able to tell the difference between Oher and other top linemen like Andre Smith (who won the award last year), and most honest fans can’t either. So while I’ll admit to being curious about that award, I really can’t disagree with the selection.

That’s not the case with another award. This isn’t the first time I’ve questioned the coaches’ on their COTY pick, and I’ve really got to take issue with Bobby Johnson getting anywhere near it this year. True, the return of Vanderbilt to bowl eligibility is big news. There’s also no question that Vandy is at a different level from the days not too far gone when they were winning two games a year. He’s a good coach over the long haul, but what was exceptional about this season? Johnson’s indecisiveness at the quarterback position proved problematic, and he saw his team all but collapse over the last half of the season as they were unable to beat vulnerable teams like Mississippi State, Duke, and Tennessee. Vandy’s bottom line improvement was one whole game from a 5-7 2007 season.

Saban was the obvious choice, but I’m glad to see that Houston Nutt received enough support to tie for COTY honors. Nutt took the Ole Miss Rebels from zero SEC wins a season ago to 8-4 overall, 5-3 in the SEC, and a New Year’s Day bowl.s

Sports Business Journal has the lowdown on this year’s crop of bowl gifts (h/t The Wiz). There’s good stuff to be had even at some of the minor bowls. That hasn’t always been the case. I remember talking with some players at the 2001 Music City Bowl who were green with envy after comparing notes with friends who were going to New Year’s Day bowls.

The NCAA limits bowl gifts to $500, and it looks as if Georgia players will be getting most of their swag in the form of a $400 Best Buy shopping spree. Their Citrus Capital One Bowl gift package will also include a commemorative watch and probably smaller items like t-shirts.

Florida Citrus Sports, who organizes the Champs Sports and Capital One bowls in Orlando, have pioneered the shopping spree program that lets the players choose their own gifts rather than accept the predetermined gifts. Players in the two Orlando bowls will be taken to a local Best Buy for a party and must spend their $400 allotment there. The BCS championship game will use a similar program where participants can select $300 of Sony merchandise from a showcase at the team hotel.

Interesting tidbit – the NCAA limits only provide for gifts for 125 people. "I don’t even need to know how many people will be coming through the doors," (promotions company rep Jon) Cooperstein said. "The NCAA allows each bowl to award up to $500 worth of gifts to 125 participants per school. Schools always bring more than that and pay for it on their dime. We’ll make up 500 folios and order forms for each school."

If the Dawgs run up another large tab this bowl season, you’ll probably find a nice chunk of it at a local Orlando Best Buy.

Georgia placed eight players on the AP All-SEC teams, but the Bulldogs only rated six spots on the coaches’ All-SEC teams.

Mohamed Massaquoi, Knowshon Moreno, and Rennie Curran were first team selections. A.J. Green, Matthew Stafford, and Brian Mimbs were second team picks. Massaquoi and Green flip-flopped from their spots on the AP teams while the coaches moved Curran up to first team. Clint Boling and Rashad Jones made the AP teams but were left off by the coaches. Knowshon Moreno was the only Bulldog named first team by both the AP and the coaches.

SEC individual awards and the All-Freshman team will be announced later in the week.

Georgia fans seem more or less resigned to Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford heading to the NFL after this season, but two of their high-profile peers might stick around for another season.

Heisman frontrunner Colt McCoy has come out and said that he’ll return for his senior season. As a senior he’ll try to lead Texas to a Big 12 and national title after coming up just short this year.

Last season’s Heisman winner Tim Tebow won’t decide until after the BCS championship game, but he said that, "if I had to say I was leaning any way, it would be to coming back." Of course he’ll stay – Georgia has everyone up to and including Rashad Jones exploring their draft potential, but Tebow hasn’t even filed the paperwork.

Would taking those two out of the draft make the leap more attractive to someone like Stafford? The looming rookie salary cap is assumed to be one of the bigger issues out there, but a weekend interview with NFL exec Rich McKay (sorry, no link) seemed to indicate that a cap wouldn’t be in place until 2011 at the earliest. That makes sense as the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement isn’t due to expire until 2011. McKay added that agents might be giving misleading and self-serving advice about the rookie cap with the intention of pushing more players into the draft sooner.

Congratulations to the eight Georgia players who earned all-SEC honors from the AP.

With a quarterback, tailback, and two receivers earning all-SEC status, you’d expect a strong offense, and Georgia was definitely as strong as they’ve been on that side of the ball in some time. I was glad to see Clint Boling recognized for his work in 2008. Injuries to other linemen forced him to play out of position for much of the season, but he proved to be versatile and effective. I’m really hoping that Clint can get a season or two where he can stay in his element and see just how far he can go.

The AP wasn’t as kind to the Georgia defense, and that should be no surprise. The Dawgs had no defenders on the first team, and Rennie Curran and Rashad Jones earned a spot on the second team.

People found it a little strange that A.J. Green could be named a first team receiver yet lose out on Freshman of the Year honors to Julio Jones. It’s unusual, but it’s not unprecedented. Over in the Big 12, Sam Bradford was the first team QB by the AP, but Colt McCoy was Player of the Year. McCoy might win the Heisman, and he’d do it as the second team QB in his own conference.

We saw something similar in 2005 when Jay Cutler and D.J. Shockley shared first team honors, but Cutler was named SEC Player of the Year on offense. It comes down to voting and how certain votes are weighted. In the case of Green vs. Jones, the question might have come down to a decision between just those two for Freshman of the Year. But for the all-SEC receivers, you have other worthy candidates like Harvin and LaFell affecting the vote.

The one thing that stands out to me? For the first time I can remember, Georgia doesn’t have a defensive lineman on an all-SEC team. Geno Atkins was a first-team selection in 2007. Charles Johnson made the cut in 2006, and Quentin Moses was there in 2005. Then of course you get back into the days of Pollack, Grant, and Seymour. It had to be difficult for Atkins this year with the absence of Jeff Owens and spotty defensive end play, but I was surprised to see that he didn’t even rate honorable mention this year. Perhaps that won’t be the case when the coaches release their own list.

At any rate, the rare lack of a standout defensive tackle or end kind of tells the tale for this year’s Georgia defense. Improvement in that area might be one of the big things to watch in 2009. Atkins has pledged that he’ll be back, and we hope that Owens will join him. Defensive end is the bigger need, and Georgia is again looking for help at that position ($) from the junior college ranks.

Welcome to the week that was in Georgia athletics where the number 42 served to tie together three very low points for three Bulldog teams.

42 points in football is usually enough to outscore anyone except Oklahoma, but we know how that turned out last weekend.

On the other hand 42 points in basketball often means a loss, and that was the case for the Lady Dogs on Friday at Georgia Tech. Not only did Tech beat Georgia by double-digits; they also took sardonic pleasure in making Georgia fans look up at the scoreboard and see “42” in the second losing effort to Tech within a week. “Just like football,” indeed.

Andy Landers might consider teams like LSU and Tennessee more worthy peers and rivals, but like it or not he’s got a very serious challenge in his own state. Georgia controls the series with Tech 28-3, but the series is an even 3-3 over the past six years, and Georgia has lost two out of the last three on Tech’s home floor. There was no question who the better team was on Friday night.

Even the men’s basketball team pitched in with their own 42-point nightmare on Saturday. The Dawgs trailed from the start and saw a somewhat close game deteriorate into a 34-point blowout loss at Illinois. The lowlight, pointed out in graphic detail by the Georgia Sports Blog, was a 22-0 Illinois run to close the game. Once Illinois started finding openings and hitting perimeter shots against Georgia’s 1-3-1 defense, the game was over. But the meltdown at the end was one of the things you might have expected from Felton’s first few teams where we patted everyone on the head for the effort and reassured ourselves that such defeats would be soon forgotten once 2003 was comfortably in the past. So much for that.

Maybe Georgia just needs to avoid teams from Illinois.

Consider coming out to support the Lady Dogs as they play at Georgia Tech (7:00 tip – $5 tix). A Georgia win won’t take the edge off what happened last Saturday, but it’s always nice to get a win over Tech in a sport we’ve traditionally dominated. It won’t be easy though.

Georgia is 28-2 against Tech, but those two Tech wins have come within the past six years, and Tech, with back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids, is as strong as they’ve ever been. They’ve already put scares into UConn and Texas and knocked off ranked Michigan State earlier in the week. They’ll be the toughest team Georgia has faced so far this season.

I haven’t done a Lady Dogs preview this year, but it figures to be a lull between the disappointing end of the Tasha Humphrey era and a really solid recruiting class coming in next year. Hopefully there’s enough left in the tank with this year’s squad to get by an improving and young Tech team. See you in enemy territory tonight.

Looks like we’re back. National tragedy averted.

Backup, backup, backup.