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?

“If we can’t score two times, we don’t deserve to wear G’s on our helmet.”
– Joe Cox to teammates before taking over during the Colorado game

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.

Unfortunately, it’s in the wrong direction.

Odell Thurman was arrested on a DUI charge early this morning and tested twice the legal limit. He’s already serving a suspension for violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

He really needs to turn it around. I can’t imagine what would happen after a third strike.

Here’s the really interesting part:

Thurman was with two other Bengals players, but police declined to release their identities…Thurman was released to a companion who was sober to drive him home, police said.

He’s with two teammates who know he’s currently suspended and already has a strike against him. They let him drive? Was he in the best shape of the three of them? Someone was sober enough to drive them home from the checkpoint but not from the bar?

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Negative, Ghostrider. The pattern is full."

This is an off-topic post, but it’s a noteworthy day in that the United States Navy is retiring the F-14 Tomcat. If you’ve seen Top Gun, you know what an F-14 is. The aircraft has been at the front of the nation’s naval air superiority for over 30 years. Its distinguished swept wing and twin tail gave it a unique and graceful look. It was an extremely versatile fighter nimble enough for dogfights and large enough to act as a bomber when needed. I’m proud to say that my late grandfather was one of the men behind the Tomcat. I’m sure this is a bittersweet day for everyone who spent time at Grumman. The F-14 has served the nation well, but there are some incredible aircraft taking its place in our nation’s arsenal.

The F-14 and the men and women behind it are remembered at the Grumman Memorial Park out on the east end of Long Island very close to the place I consider home.

Clay Travis asks why shakers are so popular at Southern football games even among the manly men who otherwise wouldn’t be caught dead with something so sissified as a thunderstick or some other cheering implement.

The reason is so simple that I’m amazed it escapes Clay. What else are you going to use to mix your drink?

The recipe for the "gameday special" has been passed down from generation to generation. Step one: get a souvenier-sized soda. Drink a little bit to make room. Step two: empty flask or airplane bottles into the cup. Step three – and this is critical – stir. You don’t want all that high-octane stuff floating on top. Enjoy. The typical shaker with its foot-long plastic handle makes the perfect straw to stir this most perfect of drinks.

The next time you see an entire SEC student section using its shakers, just remember that 1) the shakers are probably still damp and 2) those using them are probably in a much more comfortable state than you are.

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.

Yes, EDSBS, we did notice Andre 3000 and his posse providing sideline entertainment during last night’s game. The highlights:

• A member of the posse shouting "CALVIN JONES FOR HEISMAN!!!". All the posse has to know is that this Calvin Whatshisname is ripe for a big representation deal in a few months. He’ll need hangers-on too then.
• Mass confusion over the number 41, derailing the interview. Andre gives a shout out to #41. Erin Andrews, ever on the ball and probably still wondering who "Calvin Jones" is, notes that Calvin Johnson is actually #21. Andre corrects her and say he was giving a shout out to his boy #41 on the sideline (Tech’s Philip Wheeler). Erin pauses to process this sidetrack. Very nice.
• The best – Andre saying that, yes, he is a Tech fan. But he’s also a fan of USC. And Ohio State. And Michigan. (As one of the ESPN guys noted, this might be the first ever recorded case of co-fandom between tOSU and Michigan.) He’s just a fan of the game. Off-camera, he also said he’s a fan of Wisconsin. And sunsets. And the Buffalo Sabres. And the card game Uno. And Marshall. And the Saskatchewan Roughriders. And wide collars. And Pakistani cricket. He’s just a fan, you know.

David Ching looks at the run/pass split and notes that while Georgia is heavy on the run in the second half, it’s not much heavier than the split in the first half. The Dawgs run slightly less in the first half but the split favors the run at any point in the game. I would note that the UAB game, in which the split was skewed more towards the run than the other games, was the weaker-looking offensive performance of the three. Balance still matters. Like Ching, I’d like to see what it looks like against Tennessee or a similar opponent. I should have my running game stats browser working by next week, and we can crunch this even more then.

The quarterback situation lends itself to a reasonable explanation for the split. We pretty much figured that we weren’t going to be slinging the ball all over the field with Joe T. under center. Now that Stafford’s in, he’s being brought along. Though he’s not being asked to pass a lot, he cut back on the mistakes last week and became much more efficient completing 10 of 17 with no turnovers. All that plus the nature of the games (a conservative plan was appropriate for all games so far) leads to favoring the run. Not terribly wide-open yet, but the season is young and the need to push things with Stafford hasn’t presented itself yet.

That brings me to a related topic. A commenter over at CFR jumps on the theme that UGA 2006 = Ohio State 2002. I’d heard that before, but CFR gives it a good treatment worth discussing. Though CFR and I often have different views on things, I’m with him here in being skeptical about this theme.

It reminds me of the preseason talk last year when some made the UGA 2005 = Tennessee 1998 leap. Shockley = Tee Martin. Because Georgia had a talented black senior quarterback taking over, they could expect an undefeated season and a national title. Make sense to you? Me neither.

Look, I understand what’s going on. We’re still undefeated. Title hopes might not be especially "realistic" (how I hate that word), but technically they’re still alive. So we look around for champions with good defenses and struggling offenses with which we can relate. Bingo, Ohio State 2002. Alabama 1992 is another popular choice.

Georgia finds itself in the not-so-unique position of having a good defense and an offense that’s slowly coming along as it develops a promising but raw freshman QB. That doesn’t make them Ohio State 2002 any more than it makes them FSU 2005.

I should note that this comparison with Ohio State does a big injustice to Krenzel. He completed just shy of 60% of his passes in 2002, made big plays at the right time, and even led his team in rushing against Miami. He wasn’t Vince Young, but that still doesn’t make a comparison with Tereshinski appropriate. I’ve posted before about my appreciation for unspectacular QBs who get the job done and lead their teams to national titles, but they’re a unique breed and not comparable to every team’s stiff who is struggling to complete 50% of his passes.

Aside: It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t nitpick at one of CFR’s points. He "really hated" that 2002 Ohio State team because "because as great as that team was, they were also more than a little lucky." Sure they were. But luck, narrow escapes, blown calls, and controversy are often a part of a national title season. Colorado’s 5th down. Tennessee-Arkansas 1998. How many events had to come together for the 1996 FSU-Florida rematch? Georgia’s own title season in 1980 was a combination of a relatively light schedule, fumbles by Tennessee and South Carolina, a miracle 92-yard touchdown, and Notre Dame special teams breakdowns. The imperfect, tainted, and even "lucky" national title is a common theme in college football history.

Wow…for the quality we got last week in college football, we’re treated to some real dogs this week, especially in SEC-land.

Colorado at Georgia: When the showdown between four-legged mascots trumps interest in the showdown on the field, you have the makings of a very one-sided game.

Alabama at Arkansas: Tough pick. Both teams played a common opponent (Vanderbilt) very close. If this were later in the season, I might like Arkansas. Bama’s defense might have the very slim edge here in Mustain’s first really big home start.

Mississippi State at UAB: Gotta go with the Blazers here. UAB frustrated Georgia’s offense for the better part of three quarters. Lord knows what they’ll do to MSU’s pathetic offense.

Penn State at Ohio State: Once Ohio State finishes this beating and gets a bit of revenge for last season, we can finally be done with the "Penn State is back" talk.

Arizona State at California: The Sun Devils have had problems getting their offense going this year, and that’s unfortunate as they’ll need to keep up in this game. Cal’s offense proves to be too much.

Notre Dame at Michigan State: I think we’ve learned by now that Notre Dame only gets upset at home.

South Florida at Kansas: Two mid-level teams fighting for a shred of respect. I went with Kansas at home.

UCLA at Washington: UCLA needs to win this game if they have any plans of being a Pac10 factor this year. A Washington win at home would be huge for Ty. I expect the Bruins to pass the road test.

Wake Forest at Ole Miss: I’ve been burned twice by Ole Miss. So now watch them win.

Wisconsin at Michigan: Letdown? It’s possible, but even then Wisconsin shouldn’t be much of a problem. The post-Alvarez slide begins.

Ralphie triple-dog-dares Georgia to win.

If this were a more attractive matchup, this could be a great storyline Saturday. First we have Colorado offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus saying, “They aren’t superhuman. Anyone can score on them.” as he dismisses the Georgia defense.

Georgia’s defense has a pretty good representative living in Colorado named Champ Bailey. Champ has his own take on the game:

“They can’t go between the hedges and get a win,” the Pro Bowl cornerback predicts. “Matter of fact, they can’t go get points. Period. It’s not going to happen.”

Nice. Way to represent, Champ

The unfortunate start to Colorado’s 2006 season has taken a lot of the steam out of what was a very interesting matchup when the series was announced. It is Georgia’s first regular season major interconference game with an opponent outside of the ACC since Texas Tech in 1996. It’s the first in a list of nonconference home-and-home series which will include Colorado, Arizona State, Louisville, and Oregon.

In other words, it should be a bigger deal than it is. It’s the risk you take scheduling so far into the future; you have no idea whether Oregon will be a Nike-fueled PAC-10 juggernaut in a few years or if they will collapse under the indecisiveness of 3,827 uniform combinations. You schedule the "name" thinking you have a reasonable shot at a quality matchup, but we know how much of a crap shoot college football can be for all but a handful of teams. It’s not quite what we expected when we took this step to beef up the schedule.

We’re all familiar with the Golden Age of Colorado football. Over the eight seasons from 1989-1996, the Buffaloes averaged just under ten wins a season. They had ten or more wins in five of those seasons. Georgia fans in particular have a special appreciation for their 1990 National Championship season. We all remember Kordell Stewart’s Hail Mary pass to Michael Westbrook in 1994.

Bill McCartney was the coach behind the Buffalo’s most successful era, but Colorado’s reputation as an out-of-control program began under his watch. It only got worse when Rick Neuheisel took over in 1995. Neuheisel was moderately successful but had nowhere near the level of success that McCartney had. By the time Neuheisel left for Washington in 1999, serious damage had been done to the program. The low point came after he left as an NCAA investigation resulted in sanctions and the forfeiting of the entire 1997 season.

Neuheisel was followed by Gary Barnett, the "it" coach of the mid-1990s who had brought Northwestern back off the mat (and who, I might add, was a popular fan choice during Georgia’s coaching searches). Barnett lost further control of the program, and stories of drugs, rape, and harrassment overshadowed a gradual decline of the program. There was a brief resurgence in 2001 with a 10-3 season, but that has been the only year since the 1990s in which Colorado has lost fewer than five games.

If you want an overview of the problems which have built up in the Colorado program, give this a read.

But the relative collapse of Nebraska and the weak state of the rest of the Big 12’s North Division meant that Colorado remained somewhat competitive even as problems built up. In 2001, they beat Nebraska 62-36 and upset Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game to earn a Fiesta Bowl trip. Even last year they managed to get into the Big 12 Championship Game with a 7-4 regular season record.

That brings us to the present. Barnett is gone. Dan Hawkins, formerly of Boise State is in and has the big rebuilding job. After starting the 2005 season 7-2, the Buffaloes have lost seven consecutive games. The power outage on offense is stunning. Since falling 30-16 to Iowa State to start their current losing streak, Colorado hasn’t scored more than 10 points in a game. Over the final three games of 2005 and the first three games of 2006, they averaged 6.5 points per game.

Hawkins’ job (well, one of them) is to revive that offense with the same efficiency he developed at Boise State. It hasn’t happened yet. Point totals and yardage remain anemic. Reading Ching’s synopsis of Georgia player and coach comments, you see that the Bulldogs think it’s just a matter of time before things start clicking and the Buffalo offense gets going. Tra Battle’s comments are especially interesting. "I hope we can force the same turnovers we forced last year (against Hawkins’ Boise State offense). Because if we don’t, it’s gonna be a long day."

I don’t think the day will be as long as Battle fears. Colorado hasn’t clicked yet, and it’s not likely they will against the Georgia defense after being punched in the gut for three straight weeks. Their defense isn’t bad – there’s not much shame in holding Arizona State to 21 points.

We’ll see how much they can improve after Arizona State and coming all the way across the country. But it’s saying a lot, and it’s a bit of a shame, that the story of a live buffalo coming to the game is getting tons more attention than anything actually having to do with Xs and Os. The biggest question seems to be, "can Georgia get another shutout?" I think that’s unlikely mostly because of the factors you need to come together beyond just defensive execution in a shutout, but I’ll be happy if the Dawgs can continue Colorado’s streak of scoring 10 points or fewer.

Hawkins is a good coach, so perhaps when Georgia returns the trip in a few years this game will take on the importance and stirred up the interest we might have expected from such an intersectional series.

He thinks he can leave after a year.