Final Feelings: UGA Should Roll Past These Vols
ATHENS - The Dawg Post crew tells you what to look for this Friday night and Saturday, and their final takes, views and predictions for this weekend.
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Matt’s final feelings:
Well, it was a pretty average week on my end.
I stayed in Georgia last week while Dean and Dylan worked hard up in Missouri. I’m looking forward to being in Athens this week to cover the Dawgs against Jeremy Pruitt and the Vols.
My first game ever covering for Dean was two years ago when the Vols game to Athens. It was definitely memorable, in a sick and twisted kind of way.
That won’t be happening this year as the Bulldogs should have this one wrapped up by halftime. After last week’s performance (to go along with what happened in this game in 2016) I’m expecting Georgia to come out and play hard from the first whistle. The crowd and atmosphere should be at its best. Mecole Hardman will have another 50+ yard touchdown, Elijah Holyfield will rush for over 100 yards, Deandre Baker will have another interception, and the Bulldogs will win this game 49-10.
But let’s not forget, this is a big recruiting weekend too. Four-star safety target Lewis Cine will be taking his official visit this weekend and plans to make a commitment next month. This is a BIG visit and the staff will try to close the deal while he’s in town.
Lots of 2020 prospects in town as well to go along with many 2019 current commitments. Linebacker Trezman Marshall confirmed that he will also be in Athens which is a good sign from a prospect who is still looking at other schools.
Last weekend I saw Georgia commit Ryland Goede play. He’s a real big guy around 6-foot-7 230-pounds and very mature. He made some great blocks all night which helped running back Keyon Brooks rush for over 300 yards. Kennesaw Mountain ran all over Lassiter and a lot of that was attributed to Goede. He caught two passes with one being a nice catch and run that he took for about a 35-yard gain. He dropped one easy pass over the middle, but it was a solid game overall for the big tight end commit.
As for the Braves, they’ve won their division for the first time since 2013, and it feels awesome. This is a young team ahead of schedule and should be a fun team to watch for the next few years. Will they win the World Series this year? Very doubtful. It looks like they’ll have to play against a good-hitting Dodgers team in the first round. Not impossible, but the Dodgers will be tough to beat. The Red Sox have been incredible all year, but I’m going with an Astros-Cubs World Series this November.
The Falcons are done. My Super Bowl prediction from last week might have been a little bit of a stretch. With safety Ricardo Allen now done for the year as well, this defense could be the worst in the league at the end of the year. The offense has looked great the past two weeks, but this defense will be giving up at least 30 points just about every week the rest of the way. There’s no way they can make a playoff run with this many guys out on defense.
So apparently all the new shows came back on this week. I don’t watch the Modern Family, The Middle, This is Us, or any of those doctor shows. I’ve been hearing Ozarks is a really cool show, and since it’s filmed in Georgia I might give it a shot. I don’t watch a ton of TV, but when I do, it’s usually Game of Thrones, The Office, Entourage or some Jersey Shore. So yeah, I need a new show.
Dylan’s final feelings:
It was a pretty easygoing week. I did close to no school work, the weather wasn’t deathly hot and practices went by smoothly.
There wasn’t a whole lot going on. The coaches have seemed way more pissed off in practice than they did early this season, but maybe that’s just a coincidence. Either way, it’s made my time a lot more enjoyable. Nothing brightens more than seeing a R-rated, Daffy Duck-like rampage from Jim Chaney.
On the injury front, expect Andrew Thomas to play this weekend. His ankle might not be perfect at the moment, but I’m sure it is very close to it. They’ll need him at left tackle as it currently looks like Cade Mays will be at right guard against the Vols. Ben Cleveland is obviously out, so they need someone there. Justin Shaffer was the guy to fill in last week, but Kirby said that it was him because Shaffer was working as the second guard while Mays was working at left tackle still. Other than Cleveland, there really aren’t any major injuries. Tyler Simmons might miss the next couple of weeks, but, pending setback, seems like the most it will be. In a game like this, those losses don’t matter that much. I think Georgia wants to straight up manhandle Tennessee and I’m saying they will. Beating a team like Austin Peay by 45 is great, but it isn’t fulfilling. Annihilating a team like Tennessee is very fulfilling though because you can just feel the demoralization of such a huge (and obnoxious) fanbase. Georgia wants that feeling again. Dawgs cover -31 and more, winning 48-7.
On Friday, I’ll be going to see the prospect Shiner Bock at Pauley’s with the Dawg Post gang. I have him listed as a five-star prospect, but some disagree with me. I honestly think he’s the best prospect in the country, but Dawg Post’s recruiting analyst Matt DeBary has Bud-Light as his top-ranked player ever. Bock can be a bit heavy, but it all depends on what you’re looking for. He’s good on his own, but if you pair him up with barbecue you can create one hell of a powerful duo.
As for the real UT, I was wrong. The Horns are back baby and they’re going to win the Big 12 - I can just feel it in my bones. OK, maybe not. That was almost as bold of a claim as saying the Falcons were going to the Super Bowl after getting by the Panthers in a seven-point victory. Almost. Actually though, it looks like Texas is actually decent. They’ll still blow some games they should win, but they could finish 8-4, which would be a big step on getting back on pace. They’ll win this weekend at Kansas State, but they’ll just scrape by, 24-21. For the Aggies, I wish Arkansas had a shot, but wow are they bad. Going to be a complete dismantling there, taking it 45-10.
Lastly, I need to ask y’all for help. I mentioned my opinion on Tennessee fans earlier. Well, to my misfortune, I have three staying at my place this weekend, but I need ways to mess with them. I already have some Champions of Life pictures printed out for them. What else do I need to get? There’s no way I can just let them come into my house, talk my ear off about Jeremy Pruitt and the ever so bright future of Tennessee football and not give them hell somehow. I’m willing to buy a trash can, I just need to know how to incorporate that into my tomfoolery. As long as it doesn’t cause (significant) injuries, I’m all for it. Just leave it below.
Dean’s final feelings:
I’m not sure I remember it like it was yesterday because it was 1998, but I remember it pretty well.
No. 4 Tennessee’s 22-3 destruction of No. 7 Georgia was complete. The Vols had worn out UGA a week after No. 12 Georgia took out No. 6 LSU in a game for the ages. Georgia wasn’t anywhere near the Vols that early October afternoon.
The Pride of the Southland, the band that continually plays “Rocky Top” hold up orange cards with the number “8” on them - signifying the Vols’ eight win in a row over Georgia.
After the game concluded, I was waiting around to meet up with friends at the corner of Lumpkin and Broad when a noisy Tennessee student arrived ready to chirp.
“Tennessee is never going to lose to Georgia again,” he told me and a few others around that busy corner. “Never again!”
I wonder how he’s doing today. He was “so” certain that day in Athens. I know it was euphoria following a big win. But it has been pretty rough since that time for the Vols. Certainty, as we’ve learned from the financial meltdown a decade ago, the presidential election two years ago and anytime Alabama loses, is a dangerous thing to believe in.
Consider this: Since Tennessee last won the SEC title it has beaten Georgia, Alabama and the Gators a combined 18 times total. They’ve swept those three games once in 20 years have been swept eight times by all three in the same year.
Georgia, Alabama and the Gators have combined to win 12 SEC titles. The Vols have won only 18 games against those teams the last 20 years combined.
That’s rough.
If folks want to argue that Tennessee is very much last century they can. A place as large and with as many passionate folks surrounding it won’t be “down” forever. At some stage Tennessee will get its act together. But it is teetering on the precipice of being Arkansas, or worse, for the foreseeable future.
It really is a shame for Tennessee fans the Vols have been this dysfunctional for this long. It is a failure in administrative execution to say the least.
I’ve got Georgia winning and covering in this game. I expect Justin Fields to play more, and he needs to. He needs to be developed. I’m looking for a solid performance from this entire team. Missouri was the worst the program has played since 2016. Yes, I think they played better at Auburn in 2017 in some ways, and Auburn was much better than Missouri.
It is time to get rolling back in the right direction. There are some critical games coming up soon, and these Dawgs need to start rolling again. They looked like the second-best team in the country every week except last week.
HALLOWEEN COSTUME UPDATE:
My wife has managed to purchase Fancy Nancy and Vampirina costumes. I asked my daughter if she wanted to wear either of these or Witch Sara (once more) for the big day. She said Witch Sara.
Right now I have Witch Sara at -2 and gaining.
I asked my son the same question, and he screamed at me for being in front of the TV during “The number of the day” on Sesame Street.
MOVING ON…
Time to pick apart my co-workers
Fromm Matt:
"My Super Bowl prediction from last week might have been a little bit of a stretch."
Yeah. You know what, I can save you a lot of time in the future. You are about right on the Braves, but stop the foolishness with the Falcons. They only exist to torment you.
"Any of those doctor shows”
I don’t care for blood, so I can give you a handful of shows to concentrate on here in the near future:
Better Call Saul (AMC) - Yes, it is boring at times. But it is well written.
Man in the High Castle (Amazon) - Ugh!! So good. The Nazis have won WWII. In this alternate universe Americans, which are occupied by the Nazis, are trying to get out from underneath the thumb of the Nazis while the Japanese are wondering their place in this new world with their Axis allies. A wild show.
Diner, Drive-ins and Dives (Food Network) - Awesome to have on in the background when you are doing work on the computer. On occasion you can look up to see what’s goin on. Otherwise it can stay in the background.
The Wire (HBO) - Perhaps the best TV series of all time. The show is based on the heroine game in Baltimore after the turn of the century. But it also focuses on our failures in media, government (politics, schools and police) and, perhaps most notably, morality.
Homeland (Showtime) - Awesome. Saul. Carrie’s crazy ass. SHE HAS TO STOP THIS BEFORE EVERYONE IS KILLED. Honestly, I don’t get hooked into fantasy very often with TV shows or movies, but this had me totally hooked/fooled for about four seasons. It was awesome. I highly recommend.
Big Brother (CBS) - I know it just ended. I’m ten shows behind, but if you like a meaningless study on machiavellian principles, this is the show for you. I don’t know why folks don’t double cross more often. Frankly, a lot of folks play the game the wrong way the entire time. The game, unfortunately and frankly, is to lie exactly when you need to lie. Or a Pink Floyd puts it in “Dogs”:
“You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to
So that when they turn their backs on you,
You'll get the chance to put the knife in”
Fromm Dylan:
“I’ll be going to see the prospect Shiner Bock at Pauley’s with the Dawg Post” - Well done.
“I have three (Tennessee fans) staying at my place this weekend,” - What are you doing to yourself? Have to seen Tennessee orange when the lights get turned out? It stays on.
“There’s no way I can just let them come into my house, talk my ear off about Jeremy Pruitt.”
Here’s what you need to do. Get a few drinks into them Friday night. Record them talking with them about Pruitt and his future with the Vols. Then, after the game, Record them talking with them about Pruitt and his future with the Vols.
Then send me a text with the split screen of those moments. I look forward to it.
Non-UGA-UT things I am looking forward to this weekend:
1. Coots-Cats (7:30 PM, SECN)
2. State-Gators (6 PM, ESPN)
3. Penn State-Ohio State (7:30, ABC)
4. UCLA-Colorado (9 PM Friday night, FS1)
5. Pac 12 triple header on Saturday night (Pac 12, FS1 and ESPN2)