And it was well worth it

Look, I’m a realist.

Do you really think that Ludacris was going to show up to do a show in Athens out of the goodness of his heart?

Well, in this week’s tale of the offseason college football news cycle, the its a major news item that, for the first time in a while, the gang in Butts Mehre has the audacity to *gasp* actually SPEND some of its financial intake.

Is $65,000 a lot for 15 minutes of work? Sure. It’s on the level of NASCAR teams that collect last-place prize money for running 10 laps and loading up on the trailer.

The anti-football communists and ones who are ok with UGA reverting back to the Goff era may not like the idea of throwing $65,000 around, but that’s a small price to pay for its already proven impact.

The atmosphere at G-Day created an unreal atmosphere for recruits – either in Athens or watching. The program grabbed the attention of the college football world by the horns – oh, and has also reaped immediate windfalls on the recruiting trail.

$65,000? A small price to pay.

Go Dawgs!

Lugnut Dawg

 

Is a big helping of patience in order?

I’m a big fan of winning. It’s better than losing.

Of course, the UGA Athletic Board has the same line of thinking by and large – that’s why Mark Richt is in Coral Gables and Kirby Smart was called to come home to Athens.

In a perfect world, the Smart regime would surpass anything Richt has ever done. But there’s an old saying I once heard – that you cannot make chicken salad without the chicken.

The steal a phrase from Smart’s old boss, ‘it’s a process.’

Georgia may not appear in the mold of how Kirby wants it in September. But will it be toward what he’s envisioning in a three-year plan by the time Auburn comes to town? I’d say odds are good.

There are depth issues at places like running back and inside linebacker. Yes, there’s young talent, but even when you’re in the fire of competition, it’s a learning curve, regardless of the ability.

And make no mistake – if Georgia has a similar record to the end of the Richt era (when Georgia was blessed with an easier schedule than it will face this year), the fans of The University of Mark Richt will be loud boisterous.

But there’s a reason why Georgia pulled the trigger to bring Kirby to Athens.

My prediction is this: It may not show with the record – but Smart will have this program headed in the right direction by November.

Go Dawgs!

Lugnut Dawg

 

 

 

Five Sunday Morning Thoughts

– It’s almost a dropkick to the stomach. You wait all spring and summer for the season, and lightning stops and later shortens the opener. Still, it was all in all a good day. The offense did a lot of good things, nobody got hurt and points got put on the board by not having to crack the playbook open. As nice as it would have been to play those final 9:51, that’s also 9:51 that injuries could not occur.

– Man. How great was it to see Keith Marshall carry the ball and get into the end zone? A healthy Keith Marshall, as we saw back in 2012, makes a pretty good 1-2 punch…or in the current case, 1-2-3.

– Lambert wasn’t spectacular, but he made some nice throws when needed – which is what he needs to do, for the most part. The chatter from camp about his football IQ showed. Lambert not only didn’t turn it over, but you didn’t really see any balls thrown that should have been picked off, either.

– One of the things that would drive you nuts about Bobo was at times underutilizing the tight ends. How nice was it to see the first TD pass of the day to a tight end?

– It was disconcerting to see all the pass completions by ULM, but some of that may have been the very basic packages that Pruitt was running and also some first-game rust from the secondary. That’s something that can easily be fixed before road tripping to Nashville next weekend.

Go Dawgs

Lugnut Dawg

A return, and way too early look at the schedule

Well, after a rather long hiatus, we’re back. Due to some real-job goings on and Little Lugnut Dawg having to go into the hospital the weekend of the Auburn game and having some after-effects, it’s been awhile (update on Little Lugnut coming at some point down the road).

At any rate, this is the least favorite time of the year. There’s too much time, as Munson would say, until the season gets here. All that’s left to do is think ahead to preseason camp and pray to all things holy that no UGA players do anything knuckleheaded off the field. It doesn’t help that the offseason will drag by at a snail’s pace with the looming trainwreck that is the Braves (thanks for the screw job, Frank Wren).

Speaking of that schedule, there’s a lot of time to mull over how it may shake it out. Here’s how it could turn out, week to week.

Sept. 5, Louisiana-Monroe

Should be a steady diet of getting things in sync and hopefully, time for Ram-Bau-Park to get a good feel for the offense

Sept. 12, at Vanderbilt

Nice scheduling break here, getting a first SEC road game for a new QB against a lower-rung team of the conference.

Sept. 19, South Carolina

This’ll be a war, as always. No beating around the bush. USCe’s offensive holes do make you feel a tad better until you realize the HBC is on the other sideline.

Sept. 26, Southern

Are they bringing their band?

Oct 3, Alabama

Possibly the most anticipated home game in Athens since many of us 30ish Dawgs were in diapers. The shot at Bama for the first time since five yards short? The first trip to Athens since a darker shade of jersey out? The atmosphere itself will be worth being in Athens for.

Oct. 10, at Tennessee

This has trap game all over it, being on the road and a week after what will be a charged game against Bama.

Oct. 17, Mizzou

Who’d of thought four years ago that Missouri would be a game with heavy SEC East implications riding on it?

Oct. 31, Florida

Given the rebuilding in Jortsville, Georgia should win. We said that last year, too

Nov. 7, Kentucky

Scrappy Kentucky team could prove to be a speed bump in between a pair of rivalry games.

Nov. 14, at Auburn

I’m more worried now that Bobo is not around to counter Muschamp. Take away the UF game last year, and Georgia had an apparent advantage. Not so sure now, although that could change.

Nov. 21, Georgia Southern

With GSU no longer running a true option, this game is less of an advantage preceding Tech. Georgia Southern now has a bunch knowing they can hang with big-time teams and be in the game. That could be scary for Georgia, especially if it is banged up or deshoveled after a loss to Auburn, if it happens.

Nov. 28, at Georgia Tech

Only thing worse than losing to the NATS? Losing to them twice in a row.

Go Dawgs!

Lugnut Dawg

Not giving up on Mason…yet

When Rick Pitino was head coach of the Boston Celtics, he once famously exclaimed the the likes of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish are ‘not walking through that door.”

That, to me, is the realization that is more real than ever for Georgia football when it comes to Hutson Mason.

Mason is the best option under center for this team right now. He won’t be Aaron Murray, no one else will be, and Mason is in the unenviable position of replacing one of the top signal-callers in Georgia history.

Fortunately for Mason, he has a healthy Todd Gurley in the backfield. This team has gone from being carried by Aaron Murray a year ago with patchwork running backs at times to Gurley carrying this team’s offense with a limitation at quarterback.

The good news for Mason is that I’m not sure we’ve seen all that he can do. Not even going back to last season against Georgia Tech and Nebraska, Hutson Mason did not have the full arsenal of receivers to throw to.

As frustrating as it may be to not see Mason stretch the field, he can only take those shots if the chances are there. This team has had one true deep threat the past four games in Chris Conley. So when defenses key on him, it’s easy to stack 10 in the box.

But if you get even a somewhat healthy Justin Scott-Wesley and Malcolm Mitchell on the field, it gives defense something to at least think about – and more receivers that can stand a better chance of getting open.

It’s an adjustment not having a QB who can chuck it deep. And not an easy one to get used to. But having more to work with will at least give Hutson Mason a fighting chance.

As odd as it sounds, the Vanderbilt game will be highly important for this team. It’ll show if it has any chance to have any sort of passing attack or if its hopes will hinge on Todd Gurley staying healthy.

Go Dawgs!

Lugnut Dawg

Post USC-East takes

Maybe it was the emotional exhaustion of another grindfest in SEC play…or maybe it had something to do with an eight-week old girl in the house, but I somehow drifted into an unexpected nap on Sunday afternoon.

So after all that, and some time to let everything from Saturday sink in, here are a few takes.

– Was the decision to not run Todd Gurley four times at the four-yard line a knuckleheaded call by Mike Bobo? Probably (Of course, it didn’t help that officials botched the intentional grounding call…more on that later). But I’m more than willing to give Bobo some slack. This offense has averaged more than 40 points or so the past three years. If you would have told me we’d roll up around 40 points the first two games this year with a hovering above average QB and ZERO deep threats at receiver, I’d gladly take it. This team has some shortcomings right now. Mike Bobo is not one of them.

– The defense showed how far of a hole it has to dig out of. When you have inexperience, you can have the greatest coaching in the world, but it cannot compensate with lack of experience. There is talent on defense, but that talent has to grow up in a hurry. A few players that did not want to do it ‘The Georgia Way,” who are not worth mentioning, may help this team long-term, but they put it in a tough spot short-term. This defense will get on the right track. Hopefully, it will be before it is too late. Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins were non-factors against South Carolina…but the Chickens going max-protect had a lot to do with that.

– Did the referees cost Georgia the game? Yes and no. It baffles me that as much revenue as the SEC pulls in that it has no problem that its officials continue to embarrass the conference. And this is not only a Georgia gripe. Ask Kentucky’s fans, as well. An awful holding penalty call cost Georgia a touchdown and Heisman-highlight clip from Todd Gurley, and the intentional grounding call was an awful miss too.  For whatever reason, the SEC does not think its important to have quality officials. It is laughing all the way to the bank. The league, its teams and fans deserve way better. At the end of the day, though, you have to assume in every game you are not going to get certain breaks and have to play well enough to over come them. Georgia did not do that. Which brings us to…

– Football is a funny and illogical game sometimes. How Marshall Morgan’s field goal streak ends with two misses in the second half baffles me. If he makes one of them, it’s a tie game. If he makes both, Georgia wins. On the road in this conference, you have to make your own breaks and take advantage. Georgia did not do that.

– Despite many comment section and Facebook postings after the game, this season is not over. It’s a tough pill to swallow to lose to the HBC, but this team still controls its own fate. USCe will lose at least once more this season. More often than not, you won’t run the table in this conference, it just won’t happen as much as you want it to.

– I’m avoiding the call-in shows on Monday.

– You can’t pin this loss on one facet. It was a team loss. There were breakdowns on offense, defense and special teams that contributed to the loss. This team has a week to get better and heal up against Troy and take on what will be a pesky Tennessee team.

– Can we replace Uncle Verne?

Go Dawgs!

Lugnut Dawg