We knew this day would come, but we hoped it never would. Larry Munson is retiring; the Central Michigan game was his last painting the picture for Georgia fans.

Legendary University of Georgia football play-by-play announcer Larry Munson, who began broadcasting Bulldog games in 1966, has announced his retirement from the booth.

Munson has done only home games thus far this season and in 2007; however, he has decided that the Central Michigan broadcast on Sept. 6, was his last. The current road game booth crew of Scott Howard and Eric Zeier will finish out the 2008 season handling home and away games.

“I can’t express enough my deep feelings toward the Georgia football fans,” said Munson. “They have been so friendly especially during this most recent period of time. I feel I owe them so much more than I can give. I’ll remember all the great times with the Dogs and have the fondest wishes and good luck toward them all.”

“Larry made the decision over the weekend after consultation with his family, doctor, and close friends,” said Michael Munson, Larry’s son. “The Munson family would like to thank Cox Radio, the University of Georgia and the Georgia people who have been so supportive of Larry throughout his long career and especially the last several months following his surgery in April. Larry plans to celebrate his 86th birthday this weekend watching the Alabama game with family and close friends.”

Michael Munson also indicated that after 60 years in broadcasting, Larry told him “There are lots of things I still want to do.”

“I want to thank Larry Munson on behalf of this great university for 42 dedicated years of delivering the Georgia Bulldogs to fans on fall Saturday’s around the world,” said UGA Director of Athletics Damon Evans. “I truly appreciate his return at the start of this season from surgery to give us all another opportunity to hear him describe the tradition and pageantry of Georgia football as only he could do it. This is a day that we all knew would come for the Bulldog Nation, Larry Munson is and will always be a part of what is great about being a Georgia Bulldog.”

Wearing black to Saturday’s game just became a million times more poignant.

I’m among those heading out to Tempe today, so it’ll pretty much be radio silence over the weekend. A few things I’ll be thinking about on the plane…

Next in line. The shuffling of the offensive line about which we speculated earlier in the week is underway. It looks like a starting unit of (L-R) Vance-C Davis-Jones-Boling-Anderson will take the field. There are concerns with three of the new starters – Vance’s speed and agility, Jones’ experience, and Anderson’s grasp of the assignments – that have been present since the staff began evaluating the line in the sprint.

I stress again that some of the line positions were close battles to begin with. Jones had been pushing Davis at center since the spring. Cordy Glenn’s rise to the starting lineup was one of the surprises of August’s preseason camp. Ability has never been the question with Justin Anderson; it’s only been a question of understanding the scheme. I don’t necessarily see this shakeup as a desperation move. The line did perform poorly last week, and that might have tipped some of these positional battles that were close to begin with. Tripp and Glenn aren’t going anywhere, and we should see each in the game on Saturday.

Where’s the hype? Maybe it’s a lack of perspective after the blitz for the SoCal-Ohio St. game, but is it just me or have things been pretty quiet this week? Oh, you’ve had a few nods to Georgia’s first trip out west in decades, and the Arizona press has done their part to spotlight the crazy SEC fans coming to town. You just don’t get the sense that there’s much buzz on the national scene for this game, and that’s not good news for a Georgia program hoping to grow its brand and national reputation through games like this.

In fact, if I go to ESPN’s college football page, I’m reminded that the national focus this weekend is back in the South and the SEC. Gameday will be at LSU-Auburn. Florida @ Tennessee is also getting plenty of play because, well, I guess we missed talking about Florida during their bye week. On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being South Carolina-Wofford and 10 being Beanie Wells’ ankle, this game is only a 6 or 7 on the hype meter right now.

Something to prove? Though Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno put up some good numbers and highlights in Georgia’s first couple of games, their first performance last weekend in front of a national audience was pretty lackluster. The Georgia offense produced just one touchdown, Moreno was held well under 100 yards, Stafford was bailed out of his first INT of the season, and, worse, the Georgia coaches more or less surrendered to the fact that the line was getting beat and didn’t even let Moreno try to put the game away on their final two drives of the game.

It’s not that Stafford or Moreno have played poorly. Stafford is as good as he’s been at Georgia, and Moreno has 7 touchdowns already. But as Chase Daniels begins to pull away from the pack in the Heisman race, Georgia’s stars on offense could really use a big game in a high-profile setting. Of course they can only perform as well as the line and the hands of the receivers allow.

Getting pressure. The pass rush has been a hot topic this week, and it doesn’t help that the Dawgs are now down two starters. The loss of Jeff Owens got tons of attention in the first week, but defensive end Rod Battle missed the South Carolina game and is also out for Arizona State with a neck injury. The depth on the line is thin enough, and now half of the starting unit is unavailable. We made a lot out of Arizona State’s sack total last year, but they’ve been much better so far this year giving up just five sacks through three games. Whether that’s a factor of the competition, better-than-expected play from the patchwork line, or the result of scheming around the weakness, the job of getting to and disrupting Carpenter doesn’t seem as easy as it might have in July.

For everyone headed out to the game, be safe, and we’ll see you here on Saturday.

Georgia Southern (1-1) —

Central Michigan (2-1): The Chippewas bounced back from the Georgia loss by winning their conference opener at Ohio, but it wasn’t easy. CMU fell behind 14-0, recovered to lead 31-21, and had to hold on for the 31-28 win. In fact, CMU had to force a fumble on their own goal line to stop a late Ohio drive (sound familiar?). Next they get a chance for revenge against a team that beat them not once but twice last season. THIS WEEK: @ Purdue

South Carolina (1-2): It’s possible to attach too much significance to the loss to Georgia, but at 0-2 in the league the Gamecocks might already be reduced to a spoiler role in a year where people are beginning to question the direction of the program. Two easy games should have the Gamecocks back over .500 soon, but then what? THIS WEEK: Wofford

Arizona State (2-1): Whether the loss to UNLV was a case of looking ahead or a sign of bigger problems, it wasn’t how the Sun Devils wanted to go into this weekend’s big game. The bloom is off the rose somewhat with ASU dropping out of one poll, but they are still a very dangerous team. Everyone is focused on the matchup of Arizona State’s passing offense against the Georgia defense, but the Bulldog offense should also be in the spotlight after managing a single touchdown and just 14 points last week. THIS WEEK: Georgia

Alabama (3-0): The Tide had no problems dispatching Western Kentucky, and their 3-0 start has earned them a spot in the top 10. They will put that ranking to the test and start the SEC schedule with consecutive road trips. Arkansas shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but they can’t get caught looking ahead to Georgia. THIS WEEK: @ Arkansas

Tennessee (1-1): As expected, the Vols had little trouble with a horrible UAB team and earned their first win. The win still wasn’t enough to erase concerns with QB Jonathan Crompton, and he’ll be squarely in the spotlight for the SEC opener against Florida. Tennessee has to draw some confidence from Miami’s ability to keep Florida off the scoreboard (for a while, anyway). If they’re to have a chance, they must have at least as much success against the Florida offense, and the ground game that was abandoned at UCLA has to show up. The Vols were able to win the SEC East despite losing this game a year ago, but a 1-2 start with Auburn and Georgia coming up soon would put Tennessee in a tight spot. THIS WEEK: Florida

Vanderbilt (3-0): Halfway to bowl eligibility. Again they were outgained but came away with another win. They made up the difference in return yards and defensive adjustments that shut out a quality Rice offense in the second half. Their next four games include both Mississippi schools, Auburn, and Georgia. THIS WEEK: @ Mississippi

LSU (2-0): Les Miles was itching to play a game, and I guess playing North Texas qualified. The Tigers have had two lightweight warmups and a third delayed when their stadium was damaged by a hurricane. Was it enough to prepare the defending champions and their new quarterbacks for the SEC? We’ll find out right away – there’s a lot at stake and some history to overcome in their first conference test. THIS WEEK: @ Auburn

Florida (2-0): The Gators have had two weeks to prepare for the Vols, and that doesn’t seem to be a good omen for this weekend’s hosts. Percy Harvin is back, but the story so far has been the Florida defense. They’ve been stifling in their first two games, and if they can continue to remain strong against the Tennessee ground game, Florida should come away with the early advantage in the SEC East. THIS WEEK: @ Tennessee

Kentucky (3-0): I thought last week that Kentucky’s game against MTSU might be more interesting than it seemed, and it definitely was. Rich Brooks – stolen signs or not – is getting proper criticism for nearly blowing the game, but the Wildcats narrowly avoided becoming MTSU’s second BCS conference victim. So here they are at the bye week, undefeated, and will likely head into October without a blemish before the meat of the SEC schedule. THIS WEEK: BYE

Auburn (3-0): Everyone has had a laugh at the expense of Auburn’s 3-2 win at Mississippi State, and playing against the LSU defense isn’t a good prescription for an anemic offense. No one’s laughing at the Auburn defense, and they’ll be counted on to rattle an LSU quarterback making his road debut. Brad Lester’s status for the game is still up in the air, and his absence would be a big hit to Auburn’s chances. LSU’s stable of tailbacks and receivers should give them the edge, but the home crowd and a big play or two by the defense could flip the advantage. THIS WEEK: LSU

Georgia Tech (2-1): For the second week in a row the Yellow Jackets went on the road and played a tight, competitive ACC game. This time, at Virginia Tech, they came out on the losing side. The Paul Johnson offense has struggled to get out of the upper teens against conference competition, but the defense has kept the games close so far. The over/under for their next game might be in the single digits. THIS WEEK: Mississippi State

UGA has published a set of tailgating reminders for Georgia fans heading to Tempe. Some of the rules seem a little nanny-ish, but others are based on common sense due to the fact that YOU ARE TAILGATING IN A #$@*ING DESERT.

In other words, it’s not a good idea to sit outside from 8 AM on and pound Jim Beam. There are plenty of watering holes in the area to set up shop for the day and stay out of the sun. The UGA Alumni Association will be taking over Gordon Biersch (420 South Mill Ave), and there are several other good options elsewhere along Mill Ave.

Here is the law of the land:

• Tailgating may occur in the ASU’s parking lots and structures 3.5 hours preceding football games (1:30 p.m. [local time] for this Saturday’s game against Georgia).
• The consumption of beer and wine is permitted but under Arizona law, the consumption of liquor is not authorized.
• Individuals consuming beer or wine must be of legal age, i.e., 21 years of age or older.
• Formal organized events, such as when a company plans and has catered an event with food and alcohol, are required to obtain an alcohol permit.
• Grilling may be done in open parking lots and on the roof of parking structures. No charcoal grills are allowed.
• ASU police encourages the use of cans or plastic bottles.
• No one can bring any alcohol inside the stadium.
• Drinking games and binge drinking are prohibited. Other recreational games such as bean-bag toss, football, etc., are permitted as long as a competitive drinking aspect is not involved.

Mark Richt hinted at possible changes in Tuesday’s press conference. The unit as a whole was underwhelming on Saturday, and Richt admits that the time has come to “probably experiment a little bit.”

It’s not the end of the world and wouldn’t be unprecedented. History has nothing but good things to say about the 2007 line and Stacy Searels’ job getting the young unit to perform, but we also saw an early season shake-up last year. Anyone remember Scott Haverkamp?

We’ve now had a few games to see how individuals perform, and remember that some of these positional battles were neck-and-neck to begin with before the Sturdivant injury caused some shuffling. The changes in 2007 made way for players like Clint Boling, and if there are changes coming this week, it might be time for Justin Anderson or Ben Jones to shine. At least the staff finally has some options to consider up front.

We want to increase Georgia’s national exposure. What Georgia fan could disagree with that goal for the program? We want Bulldog football to be popular, ubiquitous, and successful like Coca-Cola, Google, Toyota, or any other respected and well-known brand. It’s a business, Georgia football is a brand, and Damon Evans, like any good manager, wants to grow that brand.

My only question – and it’s one that I’ve asked since we first learned about this road trip to Arizona – is this: is Georgia’s national exposure really a problem that needs attention?

• Recruiting: Georgia has had a recruiting class among the national top 10 (according to Rivals.com) for several years running. They have the advantage of being the flagship public school in a talent-rich state. Additionally, they have landed elite national prospects from as far away as Texas and New Jersey without playing in or near those states.
• Popularity: Georgia is among the 10 top-selling institutions represented by CLC. Georgia merchandise is in demand. Season ticket interest is through the roof.
• Reach: Thanks to the SEC’s popularity, over half of Georgia’s games this year will be on major national networks. Others will be on regional networks but available in homes and sports bars elsewhere through ESPN’s GamePlan. This isn’t 1940 or even 1985 when watching a team in person might be your only opportunity to get a look at them. It’s possible that interested persons in Gov. Sarah Palin’s town of Wasilla, Alaska, were able to pick up last Saturday’s game against South Carolina on rabbit ears via KTVA-TV in Anchorage.
• Finance: Georgia’s financial success is well-documented and a credit to the management of Damon Evans and his predecessor. No issues here.
• Reputation: If Georgia gets knocked for being a "regional program", it doesn’t show up in the polls. Silly issues like Knowshon’s hurdle aside, it’s hard to argue that Georgia gets slighted.

What am I missing here? I’m not impressed with the cliches – "in order to be the best you’ve got to beat the best." It’s not about ducking quality competition, but there are very real consequences to the team when you drop a trip to Tempe in the middle of the SEC schedule.

If Evans and Richt really see a perception and image problem with the Georgia brand, how about a national title or two first?

If there’s a "thanks, Captain Obvious" topic when talking about football, it’s the importance of turnovers. Turnovers matter? I had no idea. Still, there are some games in which turnovers factor more than others, and this weekend’s game in Columbia could be one of them. Whether it’s Quincy Carter’s five interceptions or David Pollack’s unbelievable play, turnovers in the South Carolina game at Columbia tend to stick out.

The Georgia Sports Blog correctly points out how turnovers in this series have either put Georgia in a bind or kept games closer than they might have been otherwise. They’ve also bounced Georgia’s way, and there is no better example than the second half of the 2002 game.

With that in mind, David Hale painted this picture yesterday:

So far the Bulldogs have played two clearly overmatched opponents, one without a true starting QB. Both of those opponents were clearly out of their element in front of the energetic Sanford Stadium crowd. Both games were lopsided, forcing those opponents to throw the ball in a desperate attempt to play catch up. And yet, with all that favoring Georgia’s secondary, the DBs have yet to record a single interception.

Good and timely observation. To be fair, the defense does have two interceptions, and both of those were at somewhat important times in the first half when the opponent was driving in Georgia’s half of the field. We like saying that Georgia started out 38-0 on Georgia Southern, but it took an interception in our own end zone (not to mention a missed field goal) to get there. He’s right, though. Georgia’s somewhat experienced secondary is still 0-for-the season. They’ve come close – Rashad Jones had an interception for the taking against Georgia Southern – but the plays haven’t been made.

You can credit what you like for Georgia’s turnaround and strong finish last season, but turnovers should be near the top of the list. We know that Matthew Stafford cut down the errors that led to some back-breaking turnovers in 2006, but the end of 2007 was also about what Georgia was doing on defense to score takeaways.

Through the first seven games of the 2007 season, Georgia managed a total of six takeaways. There were three games (South Carolina, Western Carolina, and Tennessee) in which the Dawgs struck out in the takeaway department. They had two multiple takeaway games (Ole Miss and Vanderbilt).

Beginning with the late and game-turning fumble recovery at Vandy, something changed. The only game down the stretch in which Georgia didn’t record multiple takeaways was the Kentucky game. The results were impressive: against Florida (2), Troy (4), Auburn (4), Kentucky (1), Tech (3), and Hawaii (6) Georgia tallied 20 takeaways.

So far this season Georgia’s offense has been outstanding taking care of the ball. The only turnovers have come on fumbles by a reserve tailback and quarterback. Stafford is – knock wood – still without an interception this year, and that’s much more important to the team than chasing the 300-yard barrier. Keeping that mark intact against a much better pass defense than we’ve seen so far will be a key to avoiding another nailbiter.

On the other sideline, South Carolina has already turned the ball over seven times through two games. Six of those turnovers were interceptions. The Gamecock quarterback position is unsettled, and it’s possible that their best receiver will be out or at least limited by a hamstring injury. Worse, their running game hasn’t done much to pick up the slack. It’s a scenario any secondary should salivate over.

So which gives? South Carolina’s propensity for throwing the ball up for grabs, or Georgia’s interception shutout in the secondary?

ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt dropped in over at UGASports.com to respond to some of the “conspiracy” nonsense. Poor guy.

(Credit to BrickYard on the DawgVent for this photoshop job.)

Georgia Southern (1-1) —

Central Michigan (1-1): Central Michigan will try to rebound from the Georgia loss with an interesting game at Ohio. Ohio is 0-2, but they’ve lost to Wyoming by a single point and took Ohio State to the wire last week. Will the Bobcats be in a funk over the missed opportunity, or will they be fired up by playing one of the big boys so close? THIS WEEK: @ Ohio Univ.

South Carolina (1-1): It’s the classic paranoia of Georgia fans to interpret the moping from Columbia since the Vanderbilt loss as anything other than a serious kick to the jimmy of the Gamecock psyche. "Sure they’re depressed…depressed like a FOX!" For the first time in a while, another team has done the job usually reserved for Georgia: bringing South Carolina back to earth. Vanderbilt (and even N.C. State to some extent) revealed some pretty big flaws with South Carolina. We’ve been in this position too often to take them lightly. It’s CBS, the SEC opener, and it’s too important a game through which to sleepwalk. THIS WEEK: vs. Georgia

Arizona State (2-0): If the ASU offensive line is a problem, it hasn’t slowed Rudy Carpenter very much. Carpenter hasn’t been sacked yet, is completing 76% of his passes, and has thrown for at least 345 yards in each of ASU’s first two games. The Sun Devils get another tuneup at home this week before Georgia comes to town. THIS WEEK: UNLV

Alabama (2-0): Last week I wondered whether the Clemson win proved that Alabama was a contender or if it was their one "where the hell did that come from" win of the season a la Florida 2005. It’s no surprise that they had a letdown against Tulane, but posting a single touchdown on offense after such an impressive display the week before is a head-scratcher. They’ll have another chance to beat up on someone before getting into SEC play next week. THIS WEEK: W. Kentucky

Tennessee (0-1): The Vols have had over a week to stew about the loss to UCLA, and UAB should provide no serious resistance as the Vols try to get things back on track for Florida. THIS WEEK: UAB

Vanderbilt (2-0): Wow. With an eye always on bowl eligibility, the Commodores are 1/3 of the way there through two games. They’ve played defense well enough to win, and the offense has just enough misdirection to make headaches out of defensive assignments. Let’s not forget though that they did only put up 225 yards on South Carolina, and punts don’t always bounce your way. Rice can score some points, so this is no breather for anyone, let alone Vandy. THIS WEEK: Rice

LSU (1-0): Damage to LSU’s stadium forced the postponment of the Troy game to later in the season. Now Hurricane Ike is forcing LSU AD Joe Alleva to consider alternate plans for Saturday night’s scheduled game against North Texas. You have to wonder how all of the disruption and uncertainty of the past two weeks will affect this team as they prepare for a real test at Auburn next week. THIS WEEK: North Texas…maybe.

Florida (2-0): They didn’t light Miami up, but so far the folks who assumed that the Florida defense has to be better this year are looking good. Now it’s another week to rest and heal before the big trip to Knoxville. THIS WEEK: BYE

Kentucky (2-0): The Wildcats easily handled Norfolk State, and they’ve only allowed five points through their first two games. Not bad. This week’s challenge is interesting: Middle Tennessee is coming off a win over Maryland. The Blue Raiders put a scare into Louisville last year, and last Saturday’s win over a reeling Terrapin team should have the visitors from Murfreesboro full of confidence for their visit to Lexington. Keep an eye on this game. THIS WEEK: MTSU

Auburn (2-0): Everything’s building for next week’s showdown with LSU. Auburn had few problems controlling a Southern Miss offense that was supposed to put up a better fight, and they should have an even easier time of it this week against a lesser Mississippi State offense. Though the new Auburn offense isn’t setting anyone on fire at this point, a few scores should be more than enough in their SEC opener. Could Croom’s men catch Auburn looking ahead? Doubtful, especially with last year’s embarrassing loss in mind. THIS WEEK: @ Miss. St.

Georgia Tech (2-0): Give them credit – they went on the road and won their conference opener. Paul Johnson isn’t just the architect of the offense; he’s the head coach, and he deserves as much praise for games in which the defense outshines the offense. Boston College had their chances but were forced to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns, and it put Tech in a position where one big play from the option could turn the game, and it did. Has Virginia Tech righted the ship now that Tyrod Taylor is back? Maybe, but I don’t expect the same lopsided Hokie win we saw in Atlanta last season. If Tech wins in Blacksburg, a Georgia Tech team everyone expected to struggle could be 6-0 going into the Clemson game. THIS WEEK: @ Virginia Tech

To arms! To arms! The SEC release trumpeting Knowshon’s well-deserved first PotW honor did not, I repeat did NOT contain photographic or video evidence of “the hurdle.”

The xs-and-os for Georgia’s next game are all well and good, but if you needed any help getting going for a relatively unfamiliar opponent, we bring you Central Michigan defensive back (and Georgia native) Josh Gordy (h/t Anti-Orange Page):

As a youngster growing up in Georgia, Josh Gordy once watched his brother help Georgia Tech upend rival Georgia on the Bulldogs’ home field. Gordy hopes to do the same thing on Saturday.

Gordy, a native of Warthen, Ga., will try to help Central Michigan’s football team down second-ranked Georgia in their non-conference showdown in Athens.

“My brother went to Georgia Tech,” Gordy said of Chris Edwards, who was a linebacker at Tech from 1996-99. “One of the best moments was when they did beat Georgia. We cut all the hedges down on the field. I would love to have the opportunity to do it again.”

Four CMU players are from Georgia, and running backs coach Jeff Beckles was a graduate assistant at Georgia under Mark Richt from 2002 through 2004.

Not all of the Georgia natives on the CMU team share Gordy’s animosity. Senior DT Larry Knight “was a big Georgia fan growing up there all my life,” and his “biggest memory of Georgia football was the play of All-American David Pollack.”

The game is still being televised on Fox Sports South at 3:30, and that’s good enough for most of us. It’s on most cable and satellite systems.

If you live outside of Georgia (or the South), you still might get Fox Sports South. My digital cable has – way up in the 200s – several Fox Sports regional channels from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Double-check your channels before going the pay-per-view GamePlan route.

Even if you don’t get Fox Sports South, you can watch the game. It will be on ESPN360 if your cable company provides that Internet service, and the game is also available through the pay-per-view ESPN GamePlan package.

The game is just one of six Georgia-related programs on Fox Sports South on Saturday. Beginning at noon, the next seven hours will be dedicated to Georgia football:

• 12:00p – College Flash Classics – 1998 Football: Georgia vs. Kentucky
• 1:00p – Georgia College Football Preview ’08
• 1:30p – Mark Richt
• 2:00p – At Home With Mark Richt
• 2:30p – Dawg Day Saturday Pregame Show
• 3:30p – College Football – Central Michigan at Georgia

Georgia Southern (0-1): We’ll wish them well and stop following the ins and outs of the Southern Conference from here on out. Cool? Cool.

Central Michigan (1-0): Central Michigan had few problems beating Eastern Illinois 31-12. They put the game away in the second quarter and posted a touchdown in each of the final two periods to maintain a comfortable lead. Their infamous offense was solid but not spectacular, posting 389 yards of total offense. Dual-threat QB Dan LeFevour was 21-31 for 217 yards and 3 TD through the air, and he added 42 yards on 11 rushes. Ontario Sneed was an effective weapon out of the backfield with 88 rushing yards, 43 receiving yards, and a touchdown on a 23-yard run. The maligned CMU defense allowed just 83 rushing yards and didn’t give up a touchdown until the 4th quarter. THIS WEEK: @ Georgia

South Carolina (1-0): The Gamecocks survived a turnover-rich first half and pulled away late to beat N.C. State 34-0. The Gamecock defense was dominant, and Chris Smelley earned a look as this week’s starter with a 5-5 performance off the bench. THIS WEEK: @ Vanderbilt, Thursday night

Arizona State (1-0): Made quick work of Northern Arizona. The Sun Devils were up 27-0 at halftime and coasted to a 30-13 win. QB Rudy Carpenter stood out with a 22-of-28 day and 388 yards passing. They didn’t do much on the ground, but Dimitri Nance added two rushing touchdowns. Receiver Michael Jones led the way with 6 catches for 162 yards. The ASU defense did give up 308 yards, but the second half was mostly garbage time. THIS WEEK: Stanford

Alabama (1-0): What an impressive 34-10 win over Clemson. They dominated the line of scrimmage and couldn’t be stopped on offense. John Parker Wilson was an efficient 22-of-30 passing, and Mark Ingram established himself as a powerful counterpart to Glen Coffee. If they can keep it up, this team could change the landscape of the SEC West. As it is, they have our attention. THIS WEEK: Tulane

Tennessee (0-1): Upset 27-24 at UCLA. For the second straight season, the Vols have opened with a loss on the left coast. They overcame the L to win the SEC East in 2007, but they’ll have to find some identity on offense to contend in 2008. Is this a power running team behind a veteran offensive line, or is this team going to throw the ball 30+ times a game? THIS WEEK: BYE

Vanderbilt (1-0): Opened the season with an impressive 34-13 win at Miami (Ohio). The ground game was dominant for the Commodores with Chris Nickson putting up 166 yards, and they also found some success with the return game. That rushing attack will be put to the test this Thursday in their home opener. THIS WEEK: South Carolina, Thursday night

LSU (1-0): The Tigers ensured early on that Appy State would not upset this season’s first opponent. They led 31-0 at halftime and came away with an easy 41-13 win. Even with copious substitutions they allowed the ASU offense only 239 total yards. Charles Scott was the man on the ground with 160 yards and 2 TD for LSU. THIS WEEK: Troy

Florida (1-0): As expected, the Gators had few problems with Hawaii and won 56-10. It did take them a while to get going; the game was scoreless after one period, but Florida put up 28 points in each of the second and third quarters. They spread the ball around enough that speedster Jeffrey Demps was the leading rusher with just 2 carries and 76 yards. Tim Tebow hardly needed to pad his stats, and he finished with 9-of-14 passing and 137 yards through the air and 37 on the ground. THIS WEEK: Miami (Fla.)

Kentucky (1-0): After impressing us with their offense over the past two seasons, the Wildcats dominated on defense and beat rival Louisville 27-2 on Sunday. It was anyone’s game until UK put up 17 points in the 4th quarter to seal the win. The UK offense wasn’t much to speak of, but they made the most of 5 Louisville turnovers. THIS WEEK: Norfolk St.

Auburn (1-0): Avoided Alabama’s embarrassment of losing to UL-Monroe with an easy 34-0 win. The new Tiger offense didn’t do much through the air, but 321 rushing yards were more than enough to do the job. Auburn didn’t get their first offensive touchdown until the 3rd quarter. THIS WEEK: Southern Miss

Georgia Tech (1-0): The Paul Johnson option attack made its debut, and the result was an expected easy 41-14 win over Jacksonville State. The Jackets rolled up 349 yards of rushing and got two rushing TD each from Jonathan Dwyer and Josh Nesbitt. They’ll face a much stronger test in their ACC opener. THIS WEEK: @ Boston College

I was wrong – it happened. The #1 team was jumped without losing a game. Southern Cal, with their impressive 52-7 drubbing of Virginia, took the #1 spot in this week’s coaches’ poll. Georgia drops to #2 with a fairly comfortable margin over #3 Ohio State. Alabama (#17) and South Carolina (#24) both enter the poll this week, and Tennessee was dropped from the Top 25.

UPDATE: Same story with the AP poll.

I should note first that things are going to be a little spotty here for the next couple of weeks (good timing, huh?). If the worst consequence from the demands of real life is less activity here, things can’t be all that bad. Just note that updates might be brief and sporadic for a while, and I appreciate those who check in often enough for that to matter.

If you went into Saturday’s game expecting statements that would resonate around the college football world by the nation’s #1 team or from its Heisman candidate tailback, you probably found the result wanting. The Dawgs didn’t win 70-0, Moreno only carried the ball eight times, and overall it was a typical Mark Richt opener against obviously overmatched competition. It was G-Day in August, and it was enough to send Uga VII to naptime.

The question from the weekend isn’t whether or not Georgia looked like a #1 team in the opener. They won’t be judged down the road on the result of the Georgia Southern game. Most nationwide recaps I saw noted the score, noted Georgia’s 38-0 start, and then moved on to more interesting things. I’m more concerned with whether or not the pieces are in place for the kind of season we’re hoping to see. For the most part, those pieces do seem to be in place.

The makeshift offensive line held its own. You definitely saw some signs of inexperience – Glenn looking around for someone to block eraly in the game or Anderson’s unneccessary holding penalty – but overall the line was solid, and you’d expect that given the competition. Now add Boling back in, and we just might have something. Tripp is going to be outstanding, and I was not surprised to see him just a few steps behind Moreno on a long gain…that kind of mobility at left tackle is just what the position requires.

The receiver picture is also encouraging. If Durham and Green are going to be consistent complements to Massaquoi, the Dawgs will be just fine. I should note that one of the more impressive receivers of the day was Mike Moore. While Durham, MoMass, and Green all made nice, tough catches, Moore showed that he can take hard throws and hard hits across the middle. That’s valuable to any team and will earn him playing time.

As much as we tout depth on defense, the loss of Jeff Owens had an immediate impact. Georgia lost some of its push along the defensive front, and Georgia Southern’s zone read plays were more effective at finding some running room in the middle of the line. The difference wasn’t enough to matter against Southern, but a much more potent running quarterback comes to town this weekend. Fortunately Corvey Irvin showed some promise, but will the Dawgs still be able to rotate defensive linemen as much as they’d like?

Blair Walsh can stay. Kevin Butler on the 5th Quarter Show had a good point about our expectations for Walsh. We’re waiting to judge him by his ability to kick in the clutch, but even Brandon Coutu – Georgia’s most accurate kicker – missed his share of big kicks (think back to the end of last year’s Alabama game). Walsh has the tools though and looks more than capable of doing the job.

So, yeah, most of the pieces are there, and several areas of concern might not be all that bad. It’s tough to evaluate a glorified scrimmage alongside the openers of the rest of the top 10 or the SEC peers because the approaches and goals for the games are so much different. I don’t think we saw anything that isn’t correctable, and that’s what matters at this point. Where a team like Alabama might be focused on making a statement on national TV, Georgia was evaluating depth and experimenting with the playbook. Georgia’s test and time for a statement will come soon enough.

This and That

• Tennessee’s loss last night reminded me a lot of last year’s Georgia – South Carolina game. The running game is working just fine, but let’s throw it 40+ times. A new offense might be a shiny toy to play with, but if your team is built for the power running game, by God, run the ball (right, Alabama?). Still, if that wasn’t a safety, what is?
• Most of the Bulldog fans I’ve heard from are concerned about Alabama, and they should be. They were impressive against Clemson and are no worse than the team that took Georgia to overtime and nearly beat LSU last season. But before we annoint them contenders, lately they have this tendency to really put it to someone once a year. In 2005 it was Florida. Last year it was Tennessee. Was the Clemson game getting the blowout win out of the way early, or are they capable of sustaining that level of play?
• Apologies for doubting Fresno. Are they going to be an interesting team this year, or is Rutgers slipping back to being, well, Rutgers?
• You just know that Tennessee and South Carolina will have figured out their offenses by the time they meet Georgia. Still, UCLA showed that blitzing Tennessee can be effective, and I hope that’s something we’ll see in a month in Athens.
• Tennessee’s loss at UCLA was enjoyable on many levels, but it was also the most recent struggle by an SEC team out west. I’ll feel much better about things if Georgia can survive its turn in Pac-10 land in three weeks.
• I’ll have to go back to verify this, but did it seem as if Georgia ran a lot less I-formation than usual? We know that two of the top three fullbacks were out, but my hazy memory is that much (though not all) of Georgia’s success on the ground came out of formations that didn’t have a fullback.
• For all the heat the ACC took for a rough opening weekend, is the shine coming off the Big East? Auburn slipped against South Florida last year, but they’ll have a chance against West Virginia to drive a big stake into the heart of that conference.