(h/t CFR)

I’ve always wondered what it would be like if an SEC team played a true northern football power that took its geographical identity as personally as we do in the South. It might go something like this.

Ordinarily Kansas vs. Missouri is an interesting basketball game or a who-cares football game. Not this year. And with that extra attention, fans of the two schools are going just a little overboard.

Kansas and Missouri are trading Civil War (or WBTS if you please) insults prior to their game that dig at tensions going back nearly 150 years to the days of abolition and states’ rights and are invoking the names of such notorious fighting men as John Brown and William Quantrill.

Depending on the outcome of this game, the folks over at Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC are getting a little nervous. It’s a good thing Gettysburg College is Division III.

There are a handful of games in Sanford Stadium history that are remembered as much for the scene as they are for the outcome. Alabama 1976. Clemson 1991. Someone with a stronger Bulldog pedigree than mine can probably add a few others. We can add Auburn 2007 to that distinguished list. In 25 years, you’ll be able to mention "Auburn" and "blackout" and instantly connect with any Bulldog fan from this era.

So many of us spent last week fretting about the blackout. "Great idea, but…" But it makes us look Gamecock-ish. But there’s no way that you can get word out. But our fans think we’re above gimmicks. But blackouts always fail.

I’ll admit to being skeptical that we’d be able to pull it off. There was great effort to get the word out, fans loosened up and cooperated, and it was an incredible scene to walk into the stadium and see not 40% or 60% but nearly every Georgia fan participating. The black was so extensive that a friend remarked that one could go back through the tape and easily pinpoint which Dawg fans had sold out their tickets to orange-clad Plainsmen.

The scene when the team came out was pandemonium. Dannell Ellerbe remarked that receiving the uniforms was like a Christmas present, and several players raced as far as the west stands to show off their new toys. Meanwhile, Brandon Coutu and the other captains gave new meaning to the term "taking off the red shirt" as they shed the red decoys just before kickoff.

But the black and the emotion only carried the team so far. It was, after all, a gimmick. Auburn is a quality team, they had turned their season around, and we knew that they wouldn’t take a punch without hitting back. Down 20-17 the crowd was growing nervous and impatient, and precious little was happening against the Auburn defense. Matthew Stafford was limping. Auburn had just taken the lead. It was looking much less like the Auburn game of a year ago and much more like the 2006 Tennessee game where the Vols withstood a first half punch to come back and dominate the second half.

Georgia needed to answer before the momentum swing became out of hand, and Mark Richt took a page out of the playbook that beat LSU in 2004. In that game, Georgia’s senior receiver tandem of Reggie Brown and Fred Gibson caught several big pass plays along the sideline to lead the Dawgs to a win. Against Auburn, Richt again called for a senior receiver to make a play down the field at a key moment in the game, and Sean Bailey’s 45-yard catch was the spark that turned the game around for good. Knowshon Moreno finished off the drive, and Georgia had answered Auburn’s challenge and wouldn’t look back.

Everyone now is asking the logical question, "after the masterful job of motivating the team for Florida and Auburn, how in the world do we approach the Kentucky game?" Nearly a month ago as we were leaving Vanderbilt Stadium by the skin of our teeth, Kentucky was back on top after beating LSU. Kentucky looked like the end of a three-game Murderer’s Row to end the SEC slate. Now after losses to Florida and Mississippi State, we’re talking about the Cats as a "trap game." With some key players healthy after a bye week and a win over Vanderbilt, Kentucky is just as dangerous as they were a month ago.

I’m not going to put on my Lou Holtz hat here, but I imagine that motivation this week takes two very basic forms. One…it’s a simple revenge game. The Cats beat us in Lexington last year, tore down the goalposts, and brought us to the low point of the 2006 season. From the turnovers on offense to Kentucky’s game-winning march against the defense, every returning player should be in a foul mood about that game. The second theme is all about possibilities. The Dawgs didn’t turn come this far and beat Auburn and Florida for it to stop now. With an SEC title and BCS bid still very much in the picture, now is no time to relent. All that plus a healthy dose of respect for Kentucky should have the team more than prepared.

Link and more details later, but the Tech game will be a regional ABC broadcast at 3:30 p.m. on November 24th.

Georgia’s senior center was named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week following Saturday’s 45-20 win over Auburn.

The star offensive line prospect from Florida says he has “always been a Cane” but is burning bridges with potential teammates before he even announces his college choice.

Patchan took in Miami’s embarrassing loss to Virginia on Saturday and is ready to make some changes.

“They played terribly,” he said. “That was extremely tough to watch. Guys after the game – there’s too many guys that just it doesn’t bother them that they lost the game. There’s too many guys now at the U that ‘It’s okay we lost, well what am I going to do tonight?’ Like it doesn’t mean anything. They need to get rid of those type of guys.”

The high school student / coach / talent scout continues his evaluation:

“Half those guys in Miami uniforms shouldn’t be there. They physically don’t cut it. A lot of those guys were wasted scholarships. That was Miami’s fault in recruiting. You can’t take a guy who doesn’t know how to play football and ask him to do things that are expected out of University of Miami players.”

On second thought, maybe Patchan is perfect for Miami. I’m sure team chemistry would only improve with him in the locker room.

Verne and Gary enjoyed themselves at the game on Saturday.

They do a good job of showing you how just about everyone over the age of 25 looked when Soulja Boy came on before the 4th quarter:

I wonder if the fawning over Will Muschamp will die down just a little bit now.

The Dawgs have now scored over 30 points in three consecutive meetings with Auburn for the first time since the mid-1940s (I exclude the 1996 overtime game). Going back to Muschamp’s days at LSU, the Dawgs are averaging 42+ points in their last three contests against the teams for which Muschamp is coaching.

Related:  UGA’s Martinez stays close to action – Carter Strickland, AJC

You know, some people think that because he doesn’t bleed from the head Willie Martinez isn’t much of an intense defensive coordinator. The assumption is that the style of defense must reflect the personality of the coordinator. Strickland addresses that head-on in this piece. He also provides a nice discussion of coaching from the box vs. the sideline and contrasts the preferences of successful coordinators like Martinez, Muschamp, Tenuta, and also an offensive coordinator in Bobo.

I understand (and sometimes even agree with) criticisms of scheme and personnel on defense, but one of the more ridiculous arguments we see occasionally is that Martinez lacks fire – as if people actually scrutinize his demeanor during the games. Hopefully articles like Strickland’s can help put that myth to bed.

Though support based on one game can be as hasty as condemnation based on one game, if Georgia – Auburn was “a referendum among certain Bulldog fans on Willie Martinez’s coordinatorship,” it was one of the least controversial ballot issues in the state this month.

Coach Richt talked yesterday about the value of bulletin board material (h/t Ching):

Oh we try, yeah. Oh yeah. We’re always looking for something good that can get guys excited or mad or whatever.

Auburn linebacker Quentin Groves did his part this week, discussing Auburn’s tradition of ripping off pieces of Georgia’s hedges after a win in Athens.

"Oh yeah, we want to tear down those hedges."

That news earned a "Golly!" from Richt when he learned of it at his Thursday press conference.

A touchdown on Georgia’s opening drive at Auburn last year was, to be honest, surprising. The Dawgs had lost three of four and were up against a strong defense that had had its way with teams like Florida. The Dawgs came out sharp, converted third downs, completed long passes for once, and jumped on the home team. They kept it up, bolstered by some big plays from the defense, and the Georgia offense stayed on the field almost all day.

It’s no shock that Georgia’s two losses this season have come in games in which Georgia has stumbled out of the gate on offense. Georgia remained dull and ineffective on offense for the rest of those games. They’ve won twice when the opponent has scored first, but those opponents were more forgiving Ole Miss and Troy. Georgia’s most impressive wins of the year – Oklahoma State, Alabama, and Florida – have all had touchdowns on Georgia’s opening drive. It wasn’t that the early scores gave the Dawgs the lead for good; in fact, all three of those teams came back to tie Georgia. Instead those early touchdowns demonstrated, much like the Auburn game last season, a focus and ability to execute on offense that remained with them during the rest of those games.

There’s another reason why an early score against Auburn could have a bigger impact than just a lead on the scoreboard. It would cut at the heart of a season-long trend. Auburn has been a first half team and has led at halftime in every game this season. They score less and give up more points in the second half:

Georgia is the opposite, scoring more points in the second half and giving up fewer even after 24 second half points by Troy.

There will surely be a lot of emotion at the beginning of this game. The stats say that falling behind early doesn’t necessarily mean the end for Georgia, but if an offense led by a sophomore and a redshirt freshman can somehow direct all of that pregame energy and make things happen early against a stingy first half defense, you’ve got to like Georgia’s chances.

$18 for the “official” black-out t-shirt? I’m not even going to link to it. You’d think that some sponsors or even the Athletic Department itself would cover the campus with cheap or even free black shirts for the students this week, but what do we expect from a bookstore?

The Georgia basketball teams get underway tonight with a mens and womens doubleheader beginning at 6:30.

I’ll have more detailed previews up soon for the individual teams, but there are some similar themes. Both teams are led by a senior standout looking for a different level of success in their final campaigns. Sundiata Gaines is trying to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament, and Tasha Humphrey has one more chance to get her team beyond the Sweet 16. Both teams have perimeter play as a key question entering the season as each lost its top three-point specialist from a year ago.

If you’re in town for the Auburn game, head over to Stegeman and watch these teams start the season off right.

College basketball is just getting warmed up.

Big 10 powers Michigan State and Ohio State have already lost to Division II teams.

And now…#20 Kentucky falls to Gardner-Webb.

Hopefully the savants in the media poll can skip the whole vote-for-Gardner-Webb thing this time.

Some of the players are just getting the memo.

By Tuesday afternoon, the idea of the fan “blackout” was filtering down to the rest of the team. Redshirt freshman running back Knowshon Moreno was out of the loop on the blackout and first heard about it when a mob of reporters asked him about it after Richt’s announcement.

Though the players interviewed considered it a good idea, it hardly seemed top-of-mind for most of them. Just as well, as Auburn is having a very intense week of practice, and the Dawgs need to have their focus on job #1. Let the fans be the ones to lose their heads over this “boring” (as Ching put it) blackout story.

Uga’s all set.

I’ve made no secret of my feelings about (insert color)-outs here. I am convinced that some of Kansas’ thrashing of Nebraska last weekend was residual from Nebraska’s disastrous "red-out" for a basketball game against the Jayhawks last season.

Still, when the coaches and players request that Georgia fans wear black this weekend, it’s a bit different than some grass-roots Facebook group. I think the request is important for two reasons:

• By making a public request, the team is sending a message to the fans that the 12th man is really needed in a game like this. Whatever your choice of attire, the team is looking to feed off the crowd in this game.
• Imagine the letdown among the players if this request is ignored. Nothing like heading into a pivotal game knowing that the fans are too uptight or too attached to their lucky red shirt to let loose for one game.

If the Florida celebration and the whole Soulja Boy thing has done anything this year, it’s to remind us and the team that this is all supposed to be fun. So South Carolina got the crap kicked out of them at their black-out. So it’s gimmicky. Who the hell cares? The win in Jacksonville in my eyes gave the team the right to ask something like this.

I’ve decided to go with the team on this one. Just one request of my own to the players:

Do your part. Don’t make us look like South Carolina fans.

UPDATE: "stevenmichael22" on the DawgVent did a great job conceptualizing what a black jersey might look like with the rest of the uniform. Not bad, not bad.

If you haven’t noticed by now, I tend to emphasize matching an opponent’s strength. Florida can score points in bunches, so I thought that the pressure would be on Georgia’s offense to produce. They did, and we’re all happy.

Auburn’s strength is a top 10 defense. They have been stingy against the run, and they can do some ugly things when the pass rush gets going. Teams aren’t scoring many points on them. With that in mind, my key is for the Georgia defense to match that production and give the Bulldogs a chance to compete in a lower-scoring game.

Before I get to the Georgia defense, we shouldn’t abandon all hope of scoring against Auburn. The Dawgs have put up 30+ against the Tigers in the past two meetings. Stafford played one of his better (and smarter) games of the 2006 season at Auburn. Though much of the scoring was set up by defense, the Dawgs were equally adept at running (227 yards) and passing (219 yards) when they had the ball.

The performance of Georgia’s defense at Auburn last year was astonishing after limping home from Kentucky and a wretched midseason. It started on Auburn’s first snap when Ray Gant sacked and injured Brandon Cox, turning the Auburn quarterback into even more of a potted plant than usual. Tra Battle went to work in the second quarter, and by the end of the day Cox had completed as many passes to Georgia defenders (4) as he had to his own team (4-of-12).

Pressure on Cox, containment of the Auburn running game, and the turnovers were all important. But the biggest defensive stat of all in last year’s win was limiting Auburn to a scant 37 plays of offense. Georgia, by contrast, ran 66 plays and had the ball for over 38 minutes. As another point of reference, Troy ran 84 plays against Georgia last weekend. While plays and time of possession don’t mean much if you’re a quick-strike offense, Auburn is not, and few offenses are going to do much with 37 plays in a game. While holding Auburn to fewer than 40 plays again is too much to ask, they’ve run 70 or fewer plays in their three losses this season.

The offense also has plenty to do with limiting the opponent’s possession, and we saw the offense own the ball starting with the first drive last year much the same way they did against Alabama and Florida this season. While Georgia is 2-2 this year after the opponent scored first, those two wins were over Troy and Ole Miss. With the crowd likely to be as good as it gets at Sanford Stadium, a good start can keep them in the game.

Distractions

There will be no shortage of motivation or emotion for this game. The crowd will be stoked as usual, there will be the national TV presence, and even a visit from Cowherd on Friday will add to the circus. The challenge in the Florida game was finding the confidence to shed history and stand up to the Gators. Against Auburn the challenge will be to look past the distractions, hype, black shirts, and everything else to focus and maintain a high level of concentration and intensity against a talented and driven opponent. It would be very easy for such a young team to get caught up in the buildup to the game. Can they learn to channel the energy of the big game crowd into their performance? While I recognize the value of a visit from ESPN’s Gameday, I’m kind of glad that they’re headed elsewhere this weekend.

Turnovers

Turnovers are important. Duh. But they’ve played an unusually large role in the past two meetings. In 2005, two second half Georgia turnovers in their own end led immediately to Auburn touchdowns. One of those turnovers came right after Kenny Irons fumbled on the Georgia 11. Of course last season’s second quarter just about determined the outcome of the game thanks to a few interceptions.

If the game does play out to be relatively low-scoring, the importance of a turnover is magnified. Auburn’s struggles earlier this season can, in part, be attributed to carelessness with the ball. The Tigers gave it away nine times in their first three games. They haven’t had more than one turnover since and are 6-1 in those games with a last-second loss at LSU the sole blemish. Georgia has done well in the giveaway department all season, but they increased their season total by 50% with three turnovers against Troy.