Final Feelings: Happy for Vince Dooley and Family
ATHENS - The Dawg Post crew tell you what to look for this Friday night and Saturday, and their final takes, views and predictions for this weekend.
Matt’s Final Feelings:
After a big 30-6 win over Vanderbilt, the No. 3 Bulldogs head back to Sanford Stadium and host the mighty Murray State Racers.
Their win over Vanderbilt wasn’t perfect, but they did show they can be dominant. The Bulldogs rushed for over 300 yards, the defense didn’t allow a touchdown, and there were lots of freshman who saw playing time.
As expected, Georgia fans took over Nashville. Sure, it was the first game of the season. Yes, the game was in the fun town of Nashville. Still, what Georgia fans did was impressive. There were at least 75% Georgia fans in attendance and they were loud and proud.
The game against the Racers won’t be much of a game at all. This game will be over at halftime, but I’m not sure Georgia will cover the spread. 48.5 points is a lot, and I’m expecting Kirby Smart to call off his dogs before they’re up by 50. I’m expecting Georgia to win this game 51-7.
Unfortunately, I won’t be there covering the game. Instead, I’ll be in Las Vegas covering two 5-star prospects in Kelee Ringo and Darnell Washington. Right now I believe Georgia has a comfortable lead for both.
Seeing two 5-star prospects will be great, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to check out the city a little bit. I went to Vegas with friends when I turned 21, but I lost way too much on the 2011 NBA Finals. I put money on LeBron and his “Robin”, Dwyane Wade. I still remember feeling confident in the Heat going into game 5, so I put $100 on the Heat. Dirk and the Mavs won game 5, and would go onto win the series. I was so pissed.
This time is going to be different. I’ll be working all day Saturday at Bishop Gorman covering games, but since it’s supposed to be 105 degrees, I’ll be looking to hit the strip and see some hotels before I pass out. I’m not scared, though. I’ve lived in the south my entire life. I can deal with the heat. Bring it on, Vegas. I’ll be ready.
Also, there is an In-and-Out right across the street from my hotel. I’m way too excited about a greasy burger. This will be my first In-and-Out experience and I have very high expectations. We’ll see how it goes. If anyone has food recommendations, please let me know.
Tonight is the start of the NFL. Everyone is high on the Packers and I’m not sure why. Yes, Aaron Rodgers is great. He’s unreal. But it’s crazy he’s only won one Super Bowl so far in Green Bay. That’s almost as bad as the Braves winning only one World Series in the 90s. Almost as bad as Cleveland only winning one NBA title with LeBron. Either way, I’m taking the Bears tonight. That defense helped me win my fantasy title last year, and I’m expecting them to beat Aaron Rodgers on Thursday night. Rodgers owns the Bears, but the Pack is taking a loss to start the season.
The Falcons/Vikings game will go either way. I’ll be watching the game in the Vegas airport at 10 AM, rocking my Birds polo and having a morning beer. I’m excited. Hell, give me the Falcons. This is our year.
Dylan’s Final Thoughts are on assigment in Houston.
Dean’s Final Thoughts:
This entire week I have been screwed up. That’s one reason this story is getting out so late. We didn’t get back from the weeding over the weekend until Tuesday. Then there was the Hurricane giving my inlays grief. Lots of confusion in the Legge household over a slew of different things in terms of logistics.
And this is a week where both Dylan and Matt are traveling so see recruits. That’s not that big of a deal - the traveling part - its what to bring along with you that’s such an annoyance. See, you don’t want to EVER check bags with camera or audio gear.
Why? Well, after the Rose Bowl my audio gear was left on a runway cart as we all returned to Atlanta… and you need your audio gear for nearly everything.
So Dylan was in Texas. Matt is headed to Vegas. We have the home game with Vince Dooley finally having the field named after him at Sanford Stadium. And for me - I’ve not shot a college football game this year, and I will be out of practice to be sure.
I’m eager to see guys like Stetson Bennett and Zamir White play more. We know what Jake Fromm can do, and he’s good at doing that. But this week is about Dawg Post getting its collective ducks in a row… and we have a lot of disorderly ducks.
I’m pretty certain I have finally whipped this cold. I am also certain Sanford Stadium will empty out at half time because it is going to be so hot. A lot of curious eyes will turn towards the Clemson-A&M game during the UGA game. And later that night either LSU or Texas will take a giant step forward towards the playoff with a win in that game.
My gut tells me Texas wins, but LSU really scored some points in the opener against Georgia Southern. Take the Horns against the spread and LSU straight up. You would be getting 4.5 at home, and that’s plenty.
On Clemson-A&M… that line continues to drop more in line with reality. Early afternoon on Friday it was trending towards 16.5. Monitor that number Saturday morning. My suspicion is that Clemson’s defense will continue to be pretty strong and its offense will get its act together to win and but take the Aggies and that massive 16.5 points. Dabo won’t let his program sleepwalk through this one, but twice this year Clemson will probably have to save themselves. I don’t think it will be this week because the entire world is watching this game.
Dabo is much more used to not having the boys ready for the likes of NC State, Syracuse, West Virginia and the like. Also, Clemson should realize sometime soon here that last year has nothing to do with this year. This week might give us some insight into that one. I don’t think A&M has the defense to slow Clemson down, and that’s why I have the Tigers winning.
I am going to monitor Ohio State-Cincinnati; Tech-South Florida; Vols-Mormons; Ole Miss-Hogs and UNC-Canes.
But this is a great weekend for Vince and his family. He’s given a lot to Georgia over the years. He’s earned this honor. It has probably come too late, but the time has come, and I am glad to see it happen.