Ok Georgia fans, now that I have your undivided attention, please listen up! No, I don't really want you to settle down, on the contrary. I think you guys should keep up the intensity until the final second of the BCS Championship game ticks away. No, this is not a lecture. This is, however, some sage preseason advice from some rabid LSU fans that were in your shoes exactly one year ago!
So, last year your Bulldogs didn't make it to the SEC Championship game even though you swore that they were the best team in the SEC East, right? Then another SEC team makes it to the BCS title game, thus placing your Dawgs in the Sugar Bowl where they routed a Hawaii team that probably didn't deserve to be in a BCS Bowl.
Now almost every "expert" has UGA ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in their preseason polls. Sound familiar? It does to LSU fans, right down to their Sugar Bowl beat down of a Notre Dame team that probably didn't deserve to be in a BCS Bowl to cap off the '06 season.
Need more parallels? Ok.
In the summer of 2007, LSU fans got the heartbreaking news that their beloved and long time mascot, Mike V, had passed away. Shortly before the season began, LSU procured a gorgeous new Siberian Bengal tiger named "Roscoe." He was huge. His head is about the size of a Volkswagen. By the time the season got into full swing he was coronated as "Mike VI" and everything in Baton Rouge seemed back to normal.
This past June, Georgia fans suffered a similar emotional blow when it was announced that their long time mascot "Uga VI" had passed away. "Uga V" had endeared himself to me when he snapped at an Auburn wide receiver that got too close while playing between the hedges. Fortunately, the Seiler family has promised that "Uga VII," will present for the Bulldogs' home opener against Georgia Southern.
There are few things more exciting than knowing in the summer that your favorite college football team will be going on a championship run in the fall. Well, here's a six pack on me! Here are six survival tips from someone who has been there recently:
1) Don't criticize your players on the message boards if they make a mistake or even lose a game. No matter what anybody says, the players read those message boards and being young and competitive you know they take every word personally. I know it's a tall order, but the administration should try to keep the crazies off your boards!
2) If you absolutely feel the need to criticize someone on the team to quell any frustrations about a shortcoming you may have in life, then criticize the coaching staff. It won't always be easy since Mark Richt is one of the best coaches in all of college football. However, when a player sees his coach being burned, it usually fires the player up and makes him play his heart out. Reverse psychology my friends!
38 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Nick The Only 11 months ago
Herbstreit went to Ohio State, why would he be on USC's bandwagon this year?
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Brian Scott 11 months ago
I know he went to Ohio State. Perhaps someone should remind him of that. It's what makes it all the more perplexing why he touts USC year in and year out.
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Nick The Only 11 months ago
Maybe so when OSU loses to USC, he can make the excuse that they just lost to the better team. Although OSU should be the better team this year because they return practically everyone and USC has to replace its O-line and still has no big game receivers willing to step up.
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Brian Scott 11 months ago
Don't underestimate the USC sports information office. They have the budget and the spin doctors that can rival the White House Press Office. They also have the "happy cooperation" of many of the sports media big boys.
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Liger 11 months ago
I would tout SC if I were a sports personality too...think about it, in our current format, it's all about the road you travel as much as how good you are. Of all the big teams, SC has the easiest road to the NC Game.
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Michael Inglis 11 months ago
Because he's actually objective. That's why he has that job.
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Chris Ballay 11 months ago
Herb is very USC. HE can't be pro-OSU on air because that would not be good TV. But Brian is right Herb loves the whole USC thing and Holtz about ND is right on.
By the way Corso is actually older than Holtz. How weird is that?
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Timothy Threadcraft 11 months ago
WHOO!!!!
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Justin Goar 11 months ago
the best advice i gave fellow tiger fans last year was to just "take the ride".
getting to up after a win or too down after a loss can really put years on your life.
the 'o3 NC was great b/c it was a surprise, but last year's was great b/c we won in the face of great expectations which is a lot harder.
I honestly wish the UGA fans luck (especially vs Bama, AU, and the WLOCP).
looking fwd to hosting some at our tailgate on oct 25th!
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Samuel Bell Jr 11 months ago
Good article! That's right, Georgia!
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Dorothy Willis 11 months ago
What a wonderfully heart felt message to the fans! Good on you for this very sage advice. Great! Just great!
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Brian Scott 11 months ago
Thanks for the POD vote Mrs. Dorothy!
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Dorothy Willis 11 months ago
You are sooooooooo very welcome Brian!
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john brewer 11 months ago
two things
herbie is terrible and ESPN needs to stay out of athens. of course they have been to gainsville and knoxville over 20 times since the show started and athens once. read that again. is it the "best team now" or is it a "body of work"? 365 days can change a man's tune herbie.
pick a year any year. pick two teams. any teams. one is ranked 4 and one is ranked 7. number 4 hasn't lost in 6 games. number 7 is 4-2 over last 6 games. number 7 lost 168 hours ago at home to an unranked opponent giving up 51 points. now 1 and 2 lose. what are which year would 7 jump 4?
another way of saying it is name the only top 5 team in the HISTORY of college football who didn"t lose and had 1 much less 2 teams in front of them lose and who went down in the polls? 2007 uga
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Dorothy Willis 11 months ago
John, are you a statistition or a mathematician or just a number cruncher--you scare me guy.
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Michael Inglis 11 months ago
Stop crying. I'm not a LSU fan but they did deserve to be in the National Championship game over UGA. Maybe the way they jumped UGA in the polls wasn't fair but LSU deserved to be there.
LSU: SEC Champs, 11-2 record. Lost to two 8-5 teams.
UGA: Champions of nothing. 10-2 record, lost to a 6-6 USC team.
At least win your division.
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Brian Scott 11 months ago
You are reiterating the points made ad nauseum by every UGA fan including Richt. The fact is without winning your conference you won't get as many points in the modern BCS. After 2003 when OU lost the Big 12 title game but still went on to the BCSCG, they made some tweeks to the system. In my opinion, all they have to do is require that in order to play in the title game, you must be a conference champion. That would solve everything. Furthermore, they should ban any conference that doesn't play a conference championship game from the BCS championship game. Why would anyone not want to have one of these? It's money and exposure for the conference, and it can only help any team you might send to the dance by not making them lay up so long (see USU '06,'07). Last year is over, this is Georgia's year. Don't waste your time worrying about the past.
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GeorgiaDawg 11 months ago
Great advice Brian. I plan to be there when UGA VII takes the field. It will be awesome... and hopefully the season will as well. One note.... I believe UGA V was the DAWG who attacked the Auburn player (if you are referring to the memorable picture)... His headstone at UGA's vault reads
"defender of his turf".
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Thomas Brown 11 months ago
The problem wont be in Baton Rouge, it will be in Sun Devil Stadium
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Justin Goar 11 months ago
i don't know about that one.
i think UGA is better in the trenches and i think this one will get ugly in a surprising fashion like LSU-VT last year.
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Evan Wiley 11 months ago
1. unless it's tripp chandler:)
2. like the UGA players follow the msg boards:)
3. I never do, especially after last yrs App. State victory
4. too late for that one, it already did:)
5. Lou holtz is his generation's version of steve spurrier
6. I agree with this...I see at least 1 loss this season but I cant tell from where yet. My gut is saying LSU tho
great article, definately stuff to consider.
welcome aboard
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Marv Murray 11 months ago
The Dawg that TRIED (never actually got to him) to bite the AU player was UGA V, and I'm pretty sure the incident occurred in Auburn, not Athens. This was the monstrous 4-OT game that led the NCAA to change the OT rules so that each team had to go for two after TDs after the 2nd OT.
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Brian Scott 11 months ago
Sorry if my research on this was off. I looked at two different news articles on the incident and they both said that it was Uga VI. I'm am in no way an expert on Georgia football history or their mascots, so accept my apology if I'm wrong. The point is, any dog that bites an Auburn player, wherever they are playing, is my kind of dog. If it happens again just please make sure it's Chaz Ramsey!
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Ian Zymarakis 11 months ago
ASU is going to beat Georgia this year at home in Sun Devil Stadium..... you heard it here first, mark my words. ASU will defeat Georgia
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Bob Zen 11 months ago
Heard it here first? I've been hearing it for MONTHS. Just like we heard it from OSU, and BSU before that. HI fans talked a lot of smack before the Sugar bowl too. This game isn't a sure win for us and I expect a good game in Sun Devil Stadium, but keep it easy on the smack talk... Crow doesn't taste very good. Just ask any UGA fan talking smack to WVU.
Bob
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Ian Zymarakis 11 months ago
haha where is my smack talk, all I said is ASU is going to win the game.... I didnt say anything about by how much or how bad, I just said plain and simple, ASU will win
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Michael Inglis 11 months ago
Why?
You better hope ASU o-line got a lot better than last year. They gave up 55 sacks last season. If they are that bad this year it could be a repeat of UGA and Hawaii.
Everytime ASU played a top team last year they got hammered. Example, USC, Oregon, Texas.
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Alex O 11 months ago
Ian sees those optical illusions from being in the desert so long.
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Ian Zymarakis 11 months ago
well to ASU's credit, they played USC as USC started to get their act together, Oregon when they had Dennis Dixon at his best and they played in Oregon, and Texas just steamrolled them with the running game. ASU is a lot better then those games showed.
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James Doker 11 months ago
I laughed out loud at the Jim Cantore line. Good stuff.
I'll be curious to see how the Dawgs finish the season. What are the odds of a UF-UGA rematch for the championship? I say slim but not none.
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Brian Scott 11 months ago
UF-UGA in the championship won't happen. They are in the same division and propelling to the title game without even playing for your conference championship is impossible (see UGA last year). Also, as evidenced by the 2006 season, nobody is interested in seeing an intra-conference national championship game. By the way, it was only possible in the Big 10 because they don't play a conference championship game.
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James Doker 11 months ago
Do you know what happened in 2001? Nebraska played in the championship without even playing in their conference championship. Unique circumstances, but it's not "impossible."
Michigan and Ohio State would have rematched in '06 if Florida had finished with more than one loss (which, if you watched the Gators that year, you'll know was very possible). And UM - OSU was those teams' final game of the season. With a meeting earlier in the season (à la UF-UGA), there's a better chance the loser would make up ground.
It's entirely possible for the best two teams in the country to be in the same division of their conference. If that's the case, and they're clearly the best, then they could rematch for the title.
I'm not saying it's going to happen, I'm just saying it's possible. But if I were putting money on a national championship rematch, I'd bet on USC-OSU.
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Brian Scott 11 months ago
Nothing is impossible after last year. But UGA-UF in the BCSCG won't happen.
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GeorgiaDawg 11 months ago
Brian I agree... Any UGA going after an AU player is a great pic!!
Sorry Ian, Not gonna happen. Curious to see how many UGA fans show up in Tempe for that one. Heard they were actually buying the $100 season tickets up in mass, for just the one game. Season tickets for $100? How can you guys not respect the SEC more... Most of the SEC big schools could add on 20,000 seats and still out. Dawgs win by 14.
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Evan Wiley 11 months ago
not surprised....the points cut off was in the middle 5 figure range
and THEN they cost 65 a piece...so 100 bucks isnt bad. and you can punt the rest of the tix for 10 bucks a pop and turn a profit
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Darth Dawg 11 months ago
Good thought Eddie. Hey Brian, great job my man. You have some good points and it's well written. This should be the year of the DAWGS!
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Mark Rupert 11 months ago
Good article. all the parallels are amazing. You must realize one thing's different tho, LSU has one thing that GA doesn't, they have a Michigan man. The boy's at ESPN prefer that over a Southern man any day. From what I've seen of Herbie, He likes OS, Okla, USC, or a strong team in the South that has a Northern coach. (I must say that Todd Blacklege is the best, most unbiased commentator on TV.)
Hope GA gets the chance that LSU enjoyed last year.
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Larry Burton 6 months ago
Brian, my email is finder@digitalexp.com,,, write me offline of this board...
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