Final Feelings: The Off Weekend...
Dylan’s Final Feelings:
Bye week is truly a blessing. I know most people probably wish the Dawgs were playing this weekend but damn is it nice to get a break. I’ve only had to go in once today to Butts Mehre for practice and player availabilities. The rest of the week I’ve made sure to take it nice and easy.
For the one day of practice - the big thing was the absence of D’Andre Swift. Kirby made it sound like it wasn’t a big deal, and it probably wasn’t. According to someone with the team, he was in a boot on Tuesday during practice but could have played this week if there was a game. The worrisome part of it is that this is just another small injury added to the list for Swift. None of them are major injuries, but the little ones add up, especially for someone of that size and skill set.
I’m getting a break from covering the Dawgs, but I don’t know if there will ever be a Saturday in my life where I’m not watching college football. Well, I haven’t gotten married yet so I’ll hold that statement. Regardless, I will be watching football this weekend even if it isn’t a great set of games.
LSU is going to stomp on Mississippi State at Tiger Stadium. That fanbase got faith back in their team last weekend and that’s going to show on Saturday. I think State is OK, but not nearly as physical and tough as LSU is. Give me Coach O and the points at -6.5.
I haven’t watched a whole lot of Michigan State, in fact, the last game I really got to watch them fully was against Arizona State early in the year. Sparty sucked that weekend so that’s the image I have in my brain. Michigan’s got it but not by the -7 they’re listed at.
Horns are on a bye week. Not good for them. They’re a very momentum and energy based team. Sure, they get some rest, but it takes a while for a train to start back up and that could hurt when going up to Oklahoma State.
Now Vegas is calling me crazy for this, but I’m calling a big upset this weekend. Texas A&M will lose to the fighting bye weeks by 10 this weekend. Jimbo doesn’t know what’s hitting him in College Station. The Aggies will be out working the farms not realizing that the bye week is going to roll them. OK, maybe not, but living in College Station is still a loss, so suck it.
Like I said I’ll be watching college football this weekend, but not from Athens. Instead, I’ll be kicking it up in Blue Ridge with some friends for the weekend. A buddy of mine has a place up there so we’re going to go do what we do here just in a colder, prettier place.
Matt’s Final Feelings
Georgia gets an off week and it could not come at a better time for both the team and the Dawg Post crew.
New Orleans was awesome and we had a great time, but it wasn’t all pretty. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to go through the whole car rental issue like everyone else.
Dean picked me up in Tucker with Dylan, along with Brad and his wife Leah. The issue of finding a rental van was a pain in the ass, but apparently dropping it off was even worse.
Dodged that bullet big time.
Anyway, New Orleans itself was great. Other than picking/dropping off the rental van and Saturday between 2:30 and 6, we had a great time. I had some great food, great drinks, and the best cornbread I’ve had in my life. I’m an Atlanta guy through and through, but I can still admit that New Orleans was pretty cool.
Now onto the game. They got their ass kicked. Plain and simple. The team wasn’t prepared, Jake Fromm played his worst game as a Bulldog, and the better team won the game in the end. Georgia has their biggest game coming up against the Gators and they better be ready. Georgia can’t lose this game.
We should see more of Justin Fields in Jacksonville. He needs to throw the ball around more, too. How is he going to get better if he’s just out there running zone-reads? That’s not going to fool anyone.
Can they beat Florida? Sure they can. Can they beat Kentucky? Absolutely. The season isn’t over, and if Georgia wins out, including winning the SEC crown, then they’re in the playoff. That’s unlikely, but not impossible.
So without a Georgia game to cover I’ve got a free Saturday coming up. The girlfriend has been wanting to go to Dahlonega to do “fall stuff” for a while now so I’ll most likely do something like that. She’s mentioned a wine festival so that doesn’t sound too terrible. She’s a middle school teacher so once the weekend is here, she’s ready to let loose a little bit.
The Braves got beat in the first round of the playoffs as we all expected, but these playoffs have still been fun to watch. I called an Astros/Brewers World Series when the playoffs started, so of course it looks like the opposite will happen. This Red Sox/Astros series has been really fun to watch.
I’m not an NBA guy, but many think the season has already started. In my eyes, NBA season is just June and July. The Celtics are good, but can they really beat the Warriors in a 7 game series next summer? I mean, those are the two teams capable of winning it, right? The Rockets always choke. They’re an Atlanta team playing in Houston. The Lakers have LeBron now but it doesn’t look like they can compete with the Oakland Warriors. Those San Fransisco folks can try to claim the Warriors all they want, but the team plays in Oakland, not San Francisco. But that’s another rant for another time.
Dean’s Final Feelings
Typical bye week. This year has been a mess from the start, and I am using this week to try to get everything right for these final seven or so games of 2018. I will also be watching everyone play (that started Thursday night with the Stanford-Arizona State debacle).
The Pac 12 is so bad.
Still, this is a solid weekend of football.
You can start tonight with Colorado State-Boise State at 9 PM on ESPN2 (on the middle TV).
I will monitor Air Force-UNLV (left TV)
Saturday at noon is solid with:
No. 6 Michigan at No. 24 Michigan State on Fox (left TV)
Auburn at Ole Miss on ESPN (middle TV)
No. 9 Oklahoma at TCU on ABC (right TV)
Remember when Auburn beat Washington in what was thought to be a huge game to start the season? They’ve got five combined losses.
3:30 becomes halfway interesting. Again, in my living room/TV area I have three TVs. Left, right and middle. Middle is bigger - it is for real shows… like Sesame Street, Vampirina and Fancy Nancy.
At 3:30 I am going:
No. 16 NC State at No. 3 Clemson on ABC (middle TV)
No. 1 Alabama at Tennessee on CBS (right TV)
Colorado at No. 15 Washington on Fox (left TV)
What if UW wins the Pac 12 with a loss to what could be a 7-5 Auburn? Also, I will be watching to see what sort of stupidity emerges from the Clemson-NC State contest… because something stupid always happens when those two get together.
Nightime brings some more interesting games.
At 7:30 I am going:
Vanderbilt at No. 14 Kentucky on SECN (middle TV)
No. 12 Oregon at Washington State on Fox (right TV)
No. 2 Ohio State at Pudue on ABC (left TV)
Fox is going with a triple header on Saturday. That’s not common for that network. To have to close with Oregon-Washington State isn’t ideal… you would have preferred that State-Michigan game.
Don’t skip out on the USC-Utah game on Pac 12 Networks. Those two are solid, but not spectacular clubs. 10:30 kickoffs for Arizona-UCLA, which is a horrible game, but its on, and San Jose State-San Diego State, mean that your football experience doesn’t have to end until about 2 AM.
The week after UGA loses fans wants to see everyone else lose as fast as possible. They want everyone’s weekend ruined. But the truth is that Georgia should still take care of business from here on out and get to Atlanta at 11-1. That might be easier said than done, but it should happen.
Still, Auburn has fallen off a cliff, and it really does feel like when Auburn quits it really quits. The Gators have surged, but are still relatively significant underdogs in Jacksonville. Florida has certainly played well on defense this fall, but they’ve been up and down on offense. If Georgia can slow the Gators down they’ll win a war of attrition down there.
Make no mistake, even though only Kentucky and UGA control their own destinies in the SEC East, the Cocktail Party will decide the division (sorry Peter Burns).
The best thing you heard about moving forward this week for the Dawgs was something the program released on social media about being here in this moment - not worring about the past or the future… only here.
We don’t need any Luke Skywalkers, in other words.
The challenge of being in the moment will get easier as this weekend turns to next week. Getting past losses is never an easy thing in sports. And this turnaround will be the most challenging I can think of in Kirby’s time at Georgia. Twice in 2016, UGA lost back-to-back games. In three of those games they were underdogs, but they were upset by Vanderbilt leading into an off week with the Gators pending.
There have been a lot of assumptions made about this program leading into the first loss of the season. I believe many of them to be true…
This is an elite program
This program isn’t going anywhere
This program is going to bully people
But they are going to have to prove it in Jacksonville. These Gators are emotional, but will fight (apparently literally, too). They will be ready to play. This game will come down to simple execution… nothing breathtaking.
That didn’t happen last weekend, and UGA lost. Time to prove what you are.
Also, a few notes from Dean's world of TV.
Five Big Brother episodes to go… I think the blonde guy is going to win if he doesn’t screw this up. Sam is a wreck.
MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE HAS NEW EPISODES OUT
I’m three shows into the new season. My current power rankings for MITHC
1. Trade Minister - This guy gets it.
2. Joe Blake - Reformed Nazi, or playing for the resistance?
3. Chief Inspector Takeshi Kido - Yes. Yes to everything this guy does. He is so disgusted. He's like Pete Campbell from Mad Men when he's not happy. But Pete never ordered a killing... that we know of
4. Obergruppenführer John Smith - Now his wife is out here killing people with ash trays…
5. Nicole Dörmer - This one has come to America after trying to seduce Joe Blake - NOW SHE’S GOING TO TAKE ALL OF WHAT’S LEFT OF AMERICA DOWN WITH HER!!!
No, I’ve not watched any new fall shows besides all of the god-forsaken Halloween specials.
Halloween specials power rankings
1. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - Clearly the best holiday movie ever… no, you are not allowed to argue with me.
2. Mickey's Monster Musical - The incompetence of the crew is on full display once more… this time as they attempt to avoid ghouls and goblins; Seriously, is Goofy that limited?
3. Thriller - Michael Jackson’s epic video from the early 1980s… awesome. Will Michael get out alive? Is he going to make out with his date, or only eat popcorn?
4. Spookley the Square Pumpkin - I’m not sure this guy’s deal other than he appears to be a square pumpkin. I didn’t think that was possible.
5. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - Yes, it is so good we are going to get in on here twice. PUMPKIN PATCH WITH THE GIRLFRIEND… WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?
The Great Pumpkin > Santa Claus.