Things With the Word "Southeast" in it.

In an attempt to increase readership (from zero readers to one), I think I'm going to start advertising the blog on my Facebook page. This means two things:

1. I must update more often in order to satisfy the masses.
2. I must prepare to battle the scrutiny of my peers.

Here's to the effort accomplish both.

As of now, it's been eons since I've updated this thing. Long enough for TWO Georgia games to pass. Oh boy, I have a lot to say, so lock your safety restraint and keep your arms and legs inside the train as it leaves the station and approaches the lift hill.

So Georgia started the season ranked No. 13 with a goliath of a Week 1 opponent in Oklahoma State awaiting them. Poised to be the typical "team from the better conference" and force an upset, the Bulldogs instead headed to Stillwater and played shaky football, losing 24-10. The result was a plummet to No. 21, while the Cowboys jumped up to No. 5.

We were upset for, like, five minutes. Then we realized that Oklahoma State was "the new Texas Tech" in the Big 12, and could very much be a conference contender. After that, we got drunk.

Then Week 2 came around. And Oklahoma State lost.

To Houston. No, not the Texans. The Conference USA team. Yeah, those guys.

We all knew what it was going to take to for Georgia not to look like a lost cause--a beatdown of South Carolina. A non-ranked SEC team coming to Sanford. That could definitely happen, right?

Um, we came one play shy of losing.

And oh yeah, we dropped again. To No. 23. Oklahoma State is No. 16. And we look like crap.

Meanwhile, FOUR SEC cracked the Top 10. We went from being a possible contender to Oscar the Grouch of the SEC Sesame Street. In two weeks.

So where does Georgia go from here? 1-1, one embarassing loss and one embarrasing win. One week we get one touchdown, the next we pile up 41, while allowing a crapload of points and yards. We've become an NFL team. The playing field appears to be even no matter what, so we may or may not win every week. There's no guarantee.

This week, the Bulldogs visit Arkansas, an SEC outlier that has one win under its belt this year--a 48-10 over Missouri State. I can barely count that as a football game.

Georgia could possibly get a boost by walloping the Razorbacks. They haven't played anyone yet, and I'm sure Mark Richt has enough fire enough right now to strike fear in his players should they not improve this week.

But, as emphasized in the aforementioned statement, who knows that to expect? I honestly can't predict this team right now. We can gather around the big screen with our chips and salsa and assume that we're going to annihilate an non-ranked opponent since we have a rank. But we can't really do that anymore. We have to be on our toes.

So here's the scenarios we can expect Saturday:

1. We win big, and preserve at least a little intimidation. If we hold Arkansas to single digits, while breaking, say, 30, we stay in the rankings. We might even move up a bit.
2. We win by a squeaker, like last week. The offense sucks. the defense cracks again. Arkansas is better than we think. Any combination of those. We likely drop again, and face falling out of the Top 25 for the first time in ages.
3. We lose. We automatically drop out. We question our team's status. We consider calling this a "rebuilding year."

If this season is a snowman, this week's game is where we start seeing the shape of body. We know where things are going, but the carrot nose and stick arms aren't on yet.

Out,

Mitch

College football is here!

At this point, I'm starting to realize that this blog is turning a sports blog. Frankly, I'm ok with that, since anything otherwise is so unimportant its not worth wasting HTML over.

But what is worth blabbing about is the fact that God's gift to Earth called college football has finally arrived! It officially began yesterday, with good matchups between South Carolina and North Carolina State, as well as Boise State and Oregon.

The South Carolina-NC State game was pretty good for the amount that I saw. I watched the opening kickoff and the entire first quarter, left to study for a bit, then came back for the fourth quarter. Since Georgia has the Gamecocks next week, I wanted to see what was coming our way. South Carolina is a good team, but had its sloppy moments, hopefully something Georgia can take advantage of next week.

As for the west coast game, Boise State was all over Oregon. Oregon was AWFUL in the first half; I think they had only 14 total offensive yards (too lazy to check ESPN). I don't know if it was the blue turf or what, but I can't imagine the Ducks staying at No. 16, or even in the rankings for that matter, if they play like that the rest of the season.

The Boise State win was also the Broncos' 50th staight at home. I think it's about time to start considering a conference move. Year after year, Boise State gets cupcake opponents within its conference, when it has made clear that it belongs in a automatic BCS conference. Throw them in with the Pac-10 and let a team drop out. Shit, let's get British soccer-style delegation going on and send Washington packing.

Oh, and Ducks running back LeGarrette Blount punched a dude in the face. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

Saturday also brings so more good Week 1 battles. In the past, a ranked team's first opponent of the season was typically an FCS team or a mid-major conference pushover. That trend looks to be dwindling, as Georgia goes up against ninth-ranked Oklahoma State tomorrow. How's that for a wake-up call?

Of course, the ruckus on campus is what you'd think: "Dawgs are gonna go apeshit on O-kay State," in light of what happened when the Cowboys came to Athens two years ago. Eh, this isn't the same Oklahoma State team, and quite frankly, I'm kind of worried. The Cowboys have a lot to play for in this game. It seems that there's only room for three bruisers in the Big 12 each season. Last year, it was Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech. Now that Texas Tech is rebuilding, the Cowboys are the favorite to slide into Big 12 triforce. And what better way to do it than beat a very good SEC team.

But, of course, I'm confident in the Bulldogs. They too have a lot to play for. This is the first chance, and a very good chance, to state that Georgia was more than Stafford and Moreno. A win this week might open the curtain to the Top 10, as well as improve their status in the SEC.

If the Bulldogs come ready to play, I give them a 41-35 win in Stillwater. If not, then things could fall apart quickly.

Until next time,
- Mitch