We've Hit the Halfway Point to UGA Football in 2019
ATHENS - It is closer than further away now.
Congratulations, you are halfway there. Today, May 2nd, you are rolling downhill the rest of the way to the opening of Georgia’s 2019 season in Nashville.
There’s a lot of dead space between now and August 31st - at lot more dead space than the long slog through the winter that had recruiting, a 5-star QB transfer, Signing Day and basketball.
There will be weeks of nothingness - the end of June and start of July move with the speed of syrup - but football will pretty well officially kick off a few times for me before it actually kicks off…
First, there’s the 5th of July. Something triggers in my brain the morning of the 5th of July. It feels like I should be doing a whole lot more than I have been (again, there’s not much going on in the weeks leading up to the 4th). The laziness of the summer goes away for me on the 5th. Now, there’s not much going on July 5th, but it “feels” that way.
The dead of the summer - from late June to July 4th - is the slowest time in the world of college football. But from July 5th until Signing Day in February there’s a ton of action. July 5th is a Friday this year, and 11 days after that Kirby goes at SEC Media Days.
The official title of Media Days for years was “SEC Kickoff”, but apparently even the league has given up on that silly title. Now its SEC Media Days. Unfortunately we have to travel to Hoover again for the event.
Quickly: its time to move Media Days once and for all to Atlanta, which is the capital of football in the SEC and the country. Subjecting us to another year of that miserable mall in Hoover seems unfair. You could tell, too, that the SEC really did like the notion of having the event at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, and that’s a great spot for it. It is where the event belongs. It has outgrown Birmingham - it outgrew Birmingham years ago.
After Media Days there’s a small lull in the calendar, but about a week later high school scrimmages start. I love high school scrimmages, and I am not sure why. They are low key typically; that and there’s no traffic to deal with at the stadiums. And it is the first time to take a look at prospects in pads. That time rolls right into the start of practice at UGA.
The first week of practice at Georgia is interesting - particularly when there is something of note going on (QB battles; new coaches). We won’t get that this fall. In fact, writers are going to have to search for real problems at Georgia to discuss.
There are always bodies buried in any college program - no one is perfect - but finding at ton wrong with these Dawgs is going to be a challenge. Kirby has opened up typically one practice a year in the fall, and that’s usually the first Saturday of camp. That should be August 3rd this year. We will see if that trend continues.
By the middle of August the Dawg Post crew has usually criss crossed the country a few times. Last year we went to Pittsburgh, Nashville, New Orleans, Providence, Atlanta and Dodge City, Kansas… just to name a few that month.
I don’t expect this fall to be much different. After all, Kirby already has players from Texas and Florida committed to the Dawgs for 2020. The good news is that games, significant games, start earlier this year than ever.
Miami and the Gators will tee it up on August 24th. Everyone in the college football world will watch that one. Five days later college football really starts - Tech goes to Clemson that night; BYU and Utah face off; UCLA travels to Cincinnati in a strange opener; Texas A&M hosts Texas State; and the Pac 12 nightcap is Kent State at Arizona State… Pac 12 ball is required watching in the Legge household becasue we like Bill Walton, offense and late games. Pac 12 football gives me two of those three most of the time.
Oh, and defending national champs UCF open with FAMU.
A day later, that Friday, Oklahoma State goes to Oregon State; Purdue travels to Nevada; Utah State plays at Wake Forrest (Wake could lose); Wisconsin plays at South Florida; and Mike Bobo tries to get his first win over Colorado, which is now led by Mel Tucker.
That, however, is all just fodder for the actual buildup to the season opener for the Dawgs in Nashville. Georgia hasn’t opened the season against an SEC foe since 1995. Obviously TV wants the Dawgs, and they will get them in this early-season fight. My guess is that CBS will force itself onto this one, but the game, which is controlled by ESPN, might be traded away to ESPN in order to get UGA-Notre Dame on at night in September (that can be explained further some other time).
The Dawgs haven’t opened a season away from Athens since 2016. They’ve not opened the season on the road since 2013, so playing at Vandy isn’t exactly normal to start the season. But thanks to the SEC’s agreement with big media companies there are no rules any more. You are just as likely to play Vanderbilt in August as you are to play Auburn in October.
That won’t take away from what will be an exciting start to the season for the Dawgs. Road trips to Nashville and Knoxville are the bread between the Notre Dame meat in the sandwich. And everyone will be dissecting every move of the Dawgs and Irish before their meeting as it would be shocking for either team to lose before that clash.
Still, you’ve made it halfway there… that’s more than you could say yesterday.