Final Feelings: UGA-Auburn Set for Saturday Night

Dylan’s Final Feelings:

I love writing these cause it means I’m taking a break from writing these annoying responses for my religion class. But I hate finishing them because that means I have to go back to that dreaded thing, so I’m going to type this nice and slow.

Practice this week was pretty dull. There wasn’t a whole lot to see out there. Of course, they were fired up, it’s Auburn week. Kirby mentioned it on Tuesday I think, but he said if the team couldn’t get excited for Auburn then something is wrong. 

I’ll assure, nothing is wrong in that department. These guys hateeee Auburn. That game last year stung, and still stings a little bit despite getting redemption in the SEC Championship. I think Kirby and Georgia want to beat their brains in. It won’t be easy to do so, but it’s possible. Auburn rushed for 19 yards and was still able to beat the Texas A&M (Lol Aggies). NINETEEN YARDS. That is dumbfounding that you can rush for fewer than 20 yards and still win a game in SEC. Maybe in the Big 12, but not here. 

If they can’t quintuple that number, Auburn will lose this game. Only thing is, they now are playing a better defense and on the road. I’m sure the Tigers will rush for more than 20 yards, but if they didn’t that would be a complete embarrassment - like on a whole new level. I’m not sure how much more it will be, though. And when they try to just go through the air, well, this secondary will make them pay. They will basically be able to throw only to one side because they aren’t going to beat Deandre Baker. Their best bet will be to just throw towards Tyson Campbell, which will not work every single time. If they can’t run the ball at least somewhat well, Auburn is toast. Give me the Dawgs, the points, and an awesome Sanford night game experience. Georgia wins 38-13.

I was burned by the Horns AGAIN. This time just later in the season. I can’t believe I do this to myself. I’m like Matt with the Falcons. Every time you think everything has been figured out, you’re wrong. It’s kind of like chasing a girl you’ve always had a crush on. You know that you will never date, but then she gives you some hope. She asks you to hang out, maybe get dinner or something. You start thinking to yourself, “Well, maybe it’s actually coming true!” Then she says no, I can’t do this right now and you’re back at square one.

Well this season, that girl kissed me and I thought I had finally made it. 

Nope. Thanks Texas for leading me on again.

They could very well lose this weekend at Texas Tech (A horrid place Lubbock is). But I’ll still chase that girl. Give me the UT by three.

At Kyle Field, the Aggies will probably steamroll Ole Miss. That’s a tough place to play and Jimbo will get the train back on the tracks, at least somewhat.

As for my personal life - I reentered the dating world for the first time after being chained up for about a year-and-a-half. Had coffee with this girl and she was really cool, had a good time with her. Only thing is, she is not a sports fan. No football, no basketball, no nothing. She had zero interest in watching the Duke-Kentucky game the other night and said to me, “Georgia beat Kentucky, right?” I’m not sure how I feel about this. Matt, how do you go about it with your girlfriend? Do you just pretend like she’s interested and talk about it anyway with her? 

Well, back to this religion paper I go.

Matt’s Final Feelings:

It’s Auburn week, folks. One of the longest and most heated rivalries in college sports. 

From a national perspective, many look at this as a “friendly” rivalry. Both schools are similar in a lot of ways, but make no mistake, there is a lot of hate between these schools.

Georgia fans hate Auburn. Auburn fans hate Georgia. 

Maybe it’s because they’ve been playing for over 100 years. Maybe it’s because each school considers itself “Running Back University” (poor Auburn fans). Maybe it’s because of the rivalries’ recent past. Or maybe it’s because there is so much at stake when these two teams take the field each November.

No matter what the reason is, it’s clear these fanbases can’t stand each other. 

From 1994-1999, I lived in a small town called Calera, Alabama. It has grown considerably since we moved, but back then it was a small town where everyone knew each other. Literally. There was once church, one high school, one everything. Growing up in a Bulldog family, all my friends around the neighborhood were either Alabama or Auburn kids. The DeBarys were the token Bulldog family in Calera. 

So I’ve always had a little more hate for Auburn than most. I never knew why the Auburn chant was “War Eagle”, when their mascot was a Tiger. Why do they throw toilet paper all over their campus after a big win? I mean, who cleans that stuff up the next day. It just seems a little childish to me. 

And why can’t Auburn people drive? I swear, every time someone cuts me off or does something stupid on the roads I see a damn Auburn sticker on the back of their car. I know they aren't the brightest group out there, I mean they obviously couldn’t get into Georgia, but following the rules of the road should be pretty easy.

As a recruiting analyst and media member, I try to be as unbiased as possible. But there’s no doubt that I’m a Georgia guy. Always will be. 

Georgia is going to win this game 32-14. I’ve said it for a while now, this is not a very good Auburn football team. Jarrett Stidham is average at best. They have ZERO running game. Their offensive line is also average. Their defense has taken a step back from last year. I do think they have excellent receivers and a very good defensive line, but they’ll need much more than that to beat Georgia in Sanford Stadium.

This Georgia team, and the fanbase, will be ready for this one. It’s going to be loud and the atmosphere will be top notch. Games like these are why college football is the best sport in the world. 

On the recruiting front, there will be a LOADED group in town this weekend. 5-stars Nakobe Dean, Clay Webb, Bryan Bresee, Justin Rogers, and many more will be in town to experience a night game between the hedges. Official visitors Nakobe Dean, Trevor Keegan, and Kenny McIntosh are all VERY high on Georgia right now, and the staff will try and close the deal with those three and many others this weekend. It will be a large star-studded group to see one of the best rivalries in college football.

So that was my Auburn rant and prediction. Now onto my Birds. The Birds have won 3 straight games and now have a 4-4 record. Like I said weeks ago, if it weren’t for all those injuries in week 1, this is an easy playoff team and a Super Bowl contender. I understand injuries happen, though. That’s football. NOBODY thought this Falcons team could be 4-4 after those week 1 injuries though. 

They play in the toughest division in the NFL, but I still think they have an outside shot at the playoffs. Matt Ryan is playing at an MVP level once again and the defense is getting better and better each week. I promise I’m not crazy, but my Birds can still make the playoffs. I’m back on board.

Non-football related, but I’ve got a quick movie dilemma going on right now and I have to vent about it. For a long time, Pulp Fiction was my favorite movie. I absolutely loved it. When I saw the Dark Night, that took the No. 1 spot on my movie list. As a proud Irishman, I publicly named The Departed as my leader shortly after, even though it came out after the Dark Night. I mean, Mark Whalberg, Matt Damon, Leo DiCaprio and Marty Scorsese? That’s one of the best movies of all time. Not to mention the badass Irish music throughout the movie.

But the other night I saw Braveheart again. Halfway through the movie I decided to flip and name Mel Gibsons’s masterpiece my favorite movie. Maybe I was on a movie high, but I don’t care. William Wallace is one of the biggest badasses of all time and it’s a damn shame Mel Gibson didn’t win the Oscar for best actor that year. 

Anyway, Braveheart is my current leader for favorite movie, and Georgia is going to give Auburn a night beatdown on Saturday night. See ya’ll next week.

Dean’s Final Feelings

Another year, another Georgia-Auburn game late in the season, and that’s where it belongs. These two have been fighting one another this time of year for decades. I think most folks reading this know my feeling on the addition of A&M and Missouri into the league. That didn’t directly give reason for Auburn to start whining about playing this game this time of year, but the addition of A&M to Auburn’s permanent schedule, and Missouri to UGA’s is a flat out annoyance. 

I can’t tell you how drained I am from this season’s travel. One trip to the west is enough. But every other year UGA, and I, have to travel to Missouri and then somewhere else way out there. In 2020 UGA plays at Missouri and Bama - not the end of the world. 2022 - at Missouri and State. State isn’t an easy place to get to… annoyed. And then, of course, the worst is kept for last… in 2024 at A&M and Missouri - as if Georgia plays in the Big 12. 

Its garbage, and we’ve gotten to this place because of expansion. That expansion will really, really pay off when the SEC starts a new tier one contract after the 2024 season. But in the meantime this long slog of at Missouri, at Kentucky and in Jacksonville is a monster. It really is, and I glad it is over. 

With that said, Auburn is coming to Athens, and they have really struggled to score here with Gus in charge of running the offense. This might be the game I really miss this fall, but I don’t see Auburn sticking with Georgia. 

The Tigers are struggling to run. They are playing a team that is rolling downhill - a team that’s beating everyone by double digits. Don’t give me that “its a rivalry - you never know.”

You never know because its a college football game. The rivalry aspect has nothing to do with it. About once a decade or so the better team doesn’t win (1996, 1999, 2005?, 2006 and 2017). 2005 and 2017 at Auburn were hardly massive upsets. 1996, 1999 and 2006 most certainly were. 

That 2006 game, in particular, sticks out. I have to tell you that after seeing Georgia lose at Kentucky seven days before, I thought there was simply no chance they could stick with Auburn. No chance. The Tigers were the No. 5 team in the country, and it was there. 

The problem was that was a very young UGA team. That’s not the case with Auburn right now. UGA won that game on the way to ripping through 18 of their next 20 games. Georgia grew up real quick because Matthew Stafford wasn’t making mistakes. The run game showed up. But it really was about Matthew more than anything else. 

Does Auburn have that sort of player on their team? How in the world did Texas A&M manage to lose that game to Auburn? Talk about shameful. I was literally asking what in the world Jimbo was doing out loud in the press box before UGA kicked with Kentucky. 

That reminds me - y’all don’t know how good you’ve got it in Athens. From press box, to traffic to photo lounge to downtown Athens… Georgia is a magnificent set up for fans and those of us who work during games. Other schools have perfectly good or great situations (Tennessee is one of the easiest places to work in terms of traffic and on field access for photo folks), but most places simply are not built to deal with things the way Georgia has built itself. 

Traffic in Athens is “usually” manageable. It never seems to be wherever else we go. LSU, Jacksonville and Kentucky were horrid. South Carolina was fine - nothing great; nothing horrible. Auburn? You want to talk about traffic? The only place worse is Clemson. Missouri? I was working literally outside, which is pathetic. LSU had UGA player interviews yards away from Tiger fans who had stormed the field after the win… its just not safe or professional. 

And I get that folks will start to roll their eyes with some of this stuff, but everything matters. Traffic; game day experience; how you treat folks; it always matters. 

So frankly, we are extremely excited to be back where things are much more manageable. We know where everything is, and we know how it works. No guessing of if the internet works or not. No wondering, I’m talking about you LSU, if there are chairs and tables in the media work area. 

But Georgia-Auburn is a special game. It draws a massive TV number (more than UCLA-USC and Texas-Oklahoma each year). It is one of the reasons we have college football. It, frankly, is the reason why folks pay for tickets to UGA games, and the reason why CBS and ESPN pay so much money for TV contracts. These are two brand name powers… and this game will always matter. 

Again, I see UGA winning this game, and I see it being comfortable. This might be the game I miss this season. I don’t think it is time to start freaking out about an Auburn offense that is missing the explosion we’ve seen in the past (No. 74 in the country), and an defense that’s good up front, but that A&M sliced through easily on the road (203 yards). 

This is going to be a difficult one for Auburn to win. Being a 14.5-point dog on the road isn’t what you want to be. Georgia wins. 

I will be going to watch Trevon Walker on Friday night. If what he did the first time I watched him this season is reality, he will be a force on this team very quickly next year. I expect him to play at least as well as Jordan Davis has so far, but I expect Walker to do from game one. 

The kid is big, can move and he’s physical. He’s the type of player that make you worry a lot less about losing someone as dependable as Jonathon Ledbetter. There was a time when I got very concerned about the future of the defensive line at UGA, but the kids Kirby and company are bringing in for the fall could be very good very fast. They just might be young. 

But mark my words on Walker. This kid has the ability to be a star. 

Now we’ve got Dylan taking coffee with a young lady who isn’t into sports… I really don’t know what to say about that. It isn’t the end of the world. First, this is just coffee… that’s not very serious. That she didn’t know if Georgia beat Kentucky, on the other hand, is a little concerning. I will have to monitor this situation. 

Also, I see where there is another Rocky-type movie coming out. Guess who won’t be watching that one? Also, how was NC State the No. 14 team in the country? Their best result of the year is not playing West Virginia. What, they beat Boston College? Is that what the ACC has come to?

We’ve got Matt asking existential questions about Auburn fandom. First, I had to google how to spell “existential” because we all know this DeKalb County education didn’t include me doing very well in spelling. 

Then again, why in the world do I now need to know how to spell certain words? THAT. IS. WHAT. THE. INTERNETS. ARE/IS. FOR. 

“And why can’t Auburn people drive?” - Oh boy. 

“I know they aren't the brightest group out there, I mean they obviously couldn’t get into Georgia.” - Aggressive.

“I try to be as unbiased as possible…” - Um… 

“Now onto my Birds…” - Nope…

Matt, you realize Scorsese and DiCaprio are not Irish names… right? 

“Not to mention the badass Irish music throughout the movie.” - MAKE. IT. STOP. 

Dean’s Favorite Movies of all time (No order):

Star Wars - The Empire Strike Back - Probably the best of the franchise; talk about a dysfunctional family

Pulp Fiction - Drugs… plenty of drugs, bounty hunters, boxers, murders, male rape, LA privileges revoked - A 1990s classic

Casablanca - She’s in love with a leader of the Vichy French? North Africa during World War II is the backdrop for this love story. “I AM SHOCKED; SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THAT GAMBLING IS GOING ON HERE!”

Shawshank Redemption - Fuzzy Britches

Forrest Gump - Tom Hanks gets it - telling America’s story through the eyes of a challenged young man

Rainman - A selfish young man is transformed by his disabled brother; a classic with two giants of film... "He's artistic?"

Back to the Future - A rebirth of Americana by getting into a car and going back to the 1950s; sounds like a presidential slogan

The Big Short - Don’t trust institutions

My Fair Lady - The best musical of all time; get some culture in your life and learn to speak correctly. "Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?"

Goodfellas - A well-done movie about the mob

The Man with the Golden Gun - A fun Bond in exotic locals 

The Graduate - Probably the best film of the 1960s. What a soundtrack

Argo - America wins

The Dark Knight - ANNE HATHAWAY - OOF!

Ferris Bueller's Day Off - The smartest kid in school gets his way. 

Full Metal Jacket - An outstanding movie proving that war is hell, and that folks with mental issues should not have M16s. 

Field of Dreams - The movie that allowed you to dream about seeing your father when he was young (I’m not sure I would volunteer for that for a few different reasons)

The Breakfast Club - More teenaged angst; but very, very 1980s

Stand By Me - Another sad movie about growing up 

Dazed and Confused - Probably the best-written “tween” movie of my generation; teenage angst everywhere

Inglorious Bastards - Well written; wonderful cast; great storyline

Skyfall - The best Bond of late

MASH - A very sad war movie

All the President’s Men - Two dogged reporters make mistakes, but get the story of the decade

Breakfast at Tiffany’s - Two prostitutes meet up in Manhattan… what could go wrong?

Apollo 13 - American exceptionalism; a classic

Overrated (call me out if you would like, but you know you are wrong…):

Jurassic Park - Such big buzz for a dud
The Blair Witch Project - No. 
The Matrix - I can’t follow or understand anything; why are you taking a pill?
Die Hard - Nah.
Scarface - Good movie… simply “overrated” for me
Fast Times at Ridgemont High - Blah 
Any Terminator movie - I get it… but not great. 
Titanic - My heart will go on without seeing this one again
Gladiator - He kills people or whatever - I don’t know
Avatar - I’m supposed to think this is a great movie because of graphics?
Birdman - Holy moly. This one was all over the place. 
Wonder Woman - Gentlemen prefer Lynda Carter
Willy Wonka - I just never thought it was a great movie; and I’m into dessert