The college road trip is a right of passage, and some writers for the Red and Black have taken to the highways to watch the Diamond Dawgs in Omaha.

Highlights:

11:23- Tyler: Is it blog worthy if I run down this Tennessee fan in front of us ?Me: sure it is, I was thinking the same thing. Although, weren’t you a Tennessee fan growing up? Tyler (regretfully): Yes

Side note- Tyler LOVES pretzel sticks, they are apparently really good with beer. Since I’m not 21 and have never drank underage, I wouldn’t know.

12:21: Tyler once again points out the mind-blowing realization that we are driving to Nebraska. Damn, 1,043 miles is a long way. My over/under for someone saying that we are driving to Nebraska is five, and we already at two.

4:39: Mile 434.2. Insanity may finally be broached, as we all join in a terrifically harmonized and falsettoed rendition of “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” (you know, that commercial from the 70s). And then we, of course, each enjoy a Coke. And keep it company. In perfect harmony.

6:41: Chumbawumba’s “Tubthumping” raises morale.

Highly recommended. I hope they keep it up and make it to Omaha.

I’m going to try liveblogging tonight’s game. Someone has to keep track of the number of times they show Lauren Massinari or tell us that Fresno State was a #4 seed in their regional. I doubt they mention that Fresno was a preseason top 20 team.

Title IX is 36 years old today. For some football fans, it’s the law that is the root of all that’s wrong with the world. But without it, the Georgia campus probably never would have been graced with Teresa Edwards, the Gym Dogs, Kristy Kowal, or any of the other outstanding female student-athletes we’ve known.

The law itself is pretty simple:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

The current landscape of intercollegiate athletics is, for better or worse, built on the sturdy shoulders of that law. Various judicial and executive interpretations have combined to give us the current guidelines, and it’s still very much a politically active topic. Teams and scholarships have had to be added, removed, and balanced in this modern nod to the Missouri Compromise. Though the opportunites opened for women have been tremendous, Title IX hasn’t come without its costs or friction.

It’s interesting to read that "NCAA President Myles Brand (suggested) that unisex teams could be the wave of the future for intercollegiate athletics." You’re starting to see more and more of this measuring against the men, and we’re not just talking about Michelle Wie. The WNBA’s Atlanta Dream is running an ad in which a young girl in a playground game shows she belongs by throwing an elbow at a male opponent. But when it’s still big news that a 6’4" woman can dunk a basketball, the idea of unisex teams still seems a little ridiculous, doesn’t it?

Yes, it is Dawg vs. Dog. The College World Series has gone to the dogs.

With that out of the way, we now know that it’s Georgia vs. Fresno State for all the marbles at the College World Series. Fresno State has definitely had a tremendous run, and the fact that they were a #4 seed in the regional makes the “underdog” label applicable.

You’ll hear no end to the George Mason comparisons, but that’s hardly fair to a Fresno State squad very familiar with postseason play. The Bulldogs have won three straight WAC titles and are in their third straight NCAA Tournament (a claim even Georgia cannot make).

Let’s get it out of the way: Georgia looks to have everything on their side. They’ve had the better season against stronger competition. They are hitting well against good pitching. Their rotation is set up perfectly for the best-of-three series after copious amounts of rest over the past week. Our own Bulldogs are a great story in their own right. They have come off a losing season to play for the national title. For some, it’s a chance at redemption for a missed opportunity in 2006.

But Fresno has beaten some pretty big odds just to get to this point, and they probably won’t blink twice at Georgia’s advantages. Fresno State has solid, fundamental defense, timely hitting, and they have had some great pitching in Omaha, though it’s yet to be seen how much is left as they play their third game in as many days on Monday.

So, yes, the Bulldogs will win the national title. Will it be Fresno’s first or Georgia’s second national title? Monday’s first game will be critical, and Georgia has to feel pretty good handing the ball to Trevor Holder.

Here is the finals schedule:
Monday, June 23
Game 1 — Fresno State (45-30) vs. No. 8 Georgia (44-23-1), 7 p.m., (ESPN2/ESPN360)

Tuesday, June 24
Game 2 — No. 8 Georgia (44-23-1) vs. Fresno State (45-30), 7 p.m., (ESPN/ESPN360)

Wednesday, June 25
Game 3 — No. 8 Georgia (44-23-1) vs. Fresno State (45-30) (if nec.), 7 p.m., (ESPN/ESPN360)

With the Diamond Dawgs now facing as many as five games over as many days, coach David Perno has named veteran Nathan Moreau the starter on Saturday, replacing scheduled starter Trevor Holder. Moreau is the only regular weekend starter without a mound appearance so far in Omaha, and his last start was a rough one in the Super Regional loss to N.C. State.

Moreau is more than capable of getting the job done. We’ll likely see several pitchers on Saturday though as Moreau is a 5 or 6 inning kind of pitcher. Ideally we’d see something like Moreau for six innings, turn it over to McCree for two, and then let Fields finish things. Of course Stanford will have a lot to say about that.

The move gives Perno the option of using Holder either in Sunday’s decisive game with Stanford (if necessary) or in Monday’s opening game of the championship round. Everyone is available and rested at this point – the difficulty is positioning the staff for the next 2-5 games. Again, it would be huge if Georgia can win on Saturday. You could then start Holder in Game 1 of the championship round and have Dodson, Montgomery, and Moreau available down the road (not to mention all of the relievers). If Georgia has to play on Sunday and use Holder (and perhaps Dodson/Montgomery), then the pitching situation becomes a lot more cloudy.

Oh…and props to Ryan Peisel for the “Shining” reference. All rest and no play in this case…

Rain hit the Omaha area Thursday night, forcing the postponement of the loser’s bracket game between LSU and North Carolina. The UNC-LSU game will resume at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday.

The shuffled schedule means that Stanford and Georgia will not play until Saturday at 2 p.m. ET (ESPN2) If Stanford beats Georgia on Saturday, the two teams would play again on Sunday.

Basically, everything is pushed back a day.

Why is this less-than-good news? Two reasons. First, it gives Stanford another day to rest. The historical disadvantage of the loser’s bracket was quick turnaround. Now any pitcher Stanford used on Monday against Georgia should be just fine for Saturday’s game, and it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Stanford could call on a pitcher used Wednesday.

Second is looking ahead a bit to the potential championship round. If Georgia must play on Sunday, they are looking at no fewer than four straight days of action should they prevail over Stanford. Saturday’s game now becomes extremely significant. Win on Saturday and Georgia can rest on Sunday while their championship opponent might have to play on Sunday. Lose on Saturday and brace yourselves for some pretty interesting personnel decisions. Getting through Stanford is of course the priority, but you also don’t want to arrive at Monday’s championship game with nothing in the tank.

It’s looking a bit like 1990 – Georgia and Stanford will meet with a trip to the College World Series championship round at stake. The Cardinal looked really, really tough dispatching #1 and top-seeded Miami 8-3 last night. Dominant Stanford pitching got out of early trouble and kept the potent Miami offense at bay until the Stanford offense with eight runs from the third through sixth innings.

Monday night showed us how hard the Dawgs will have to work to advance, but they do have the advantage of needing just one win while the Cardinal would have to beat the Bulldogs twice. It took that extra rubber match for the Dawgs to advance in 1990, but hopefully they can take care of things on Friday and rest up for Monday’s championship opener. The challenge will be on Georgia’s bats to create some runs against Stanford’s formidable pitching and defense.

Trevor Holder, who started Saturday’s first game against Miami, will get the nod again on Friday.

Georgia vs. Stanford: Friday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2

An updated summer depth chart is out, and there are definitely some things worth noting.

Just be careful of reading too much into those “official” heights and weights…

“I don’t think it’s a big deal,” (Beasley) said of being measured at 6 feet 7 inches, three inches shorter than his listed height at Kansas State. “Other than it’s a little disappointing to me that I found out I’m actually a midget.”

Georgia football signee Xavier Avery is off to play professional baseball. We wish him a long and successful career, and it’s great to see that his contract provides for his education.

That’s the case so far in Omaha. #1 seed Miami and #2 seed North Carolina will have to work back through the loser’s brackets while the Georgia Bulldogs and Fresno State Bulldogs enjoy a 2-0 advantage in their respective groups.

Tuesday’s action in the College World Series had no impact on Georgia’s half of the bracket, but LSU continued this year’s theme of ninth-inning drama with a comeback win over Rice. Fresno then continued their improbable postseason run by handing UNC their first loss of the entire NCAA Tournament.

Things get going in Georgia’s bracket this evening as Miami and Stanford meet with elimination on the line. The winner gets another shot at Georgia on Friday afternoon. We know from experience that both Miami and Stanford are quality opponents, but I think most Georgia fans would rather face Stanford again rather than the #1 team and their offense. Whatever happens tonight, I hope it lasts about 23 innings with each team running out of pitchers.

While you’re waiting for Friday, head over to the Georgia Sports Blog for an interview with 1990 hero Mike Rebhan (part one | part two). I mentioned Rebhan the other day while looking back at Stanford’s role in Georgia’s 1990 national title, and pwd got some great insight out of the Cardinal conqueror.

The Senator asks an interesting question this afternoon.

I keep wondering the degree to which Stafford’s completion percentage/efficiency rating is important, not so much in regard to his personal legacy, but rather in the context of Georgia’s offensive scheme.

Good question. Just what’s so important about completing 60% versus 55%? I’ll put in my two cents here.

Let’s get the drops out of the way. Every team has them, so Stafford isn’t going to get some Drop Correction Factor (even in the South Carolina game). I’m not going to analyze every pass from 2007, but it was my belief that drops were more or less down in 2007 and on par with most teams.

If you grant that Georgia has a run-oriented scheme, you’d expect that the quarterback’s most important role would be to sustain drives when the running game can’t. Even allowing for the occasional first and second down throws to keep the defense honest, third down is what most of us would consider the passing down. So the third down conversion rate seems like a pretty important performance indicator for the quarterback in an offense like Georgia’s.

As you might expect and hope, the Bulldogs were better on third down last season than they were during Stafford’s freshman campaign. Georgia was 8th in the SEC in 2006 with a 39% conversion rate on third down. In 2007, the Bulldogs had improved to 4th in the conference with a 44.8% conversion rate. In absolute terms, the difference is also impressive: Georgia converted 20 more third downs in 2007 than in 2006. It’s kind of a self-perpetuating system. Because Georgia was able to convert third downs at a higher clip, they kept drives going and had 15% more third down opportunities in 2007.

OK, you say, we did better on third downs, but how much of that was because of some good tailbacks, and how much can we credit to an improved Stafford? It’s hard to tell, but we do know that the run-oriented Bulldogs got more first downs through the air than on the ground last year. But here’s the important takeaway:

63% of Georgia’s completions came on third down.

That stands out, but it’s not a huge shock because, again, third down is generally a passing down even for run-based teams. The point is that incremental increases in pass efficiency will pay the biggest dividends on those all-important third downs. Here’s how.

Using Stafford’s attempts from 2007, an improvement to a 60% completion rate represents just 15 more completions over the season. That’s little more than one more catch per game. It doesn’t seem like a lot – one pass not dropped here, one better throw there. But using last season’s results as a rough guide, that’s potentially ten more third down conversions through the air. Ten more third down conversions in 2007 would have put Georgia over 50% on third downs – second-best in the SEC behind only you-know-who.

So, for what it’s worth, that’s my guess as to why efficiency is such a priority (other than "more completions = good"). Even with a star tailback and quality quarterback, the Georgia offense is still middle-of-the-pack in the SEC. Stafford’s additional completions are likely to be ones that keep drives alive, and an offense that is converting third downs close to 50% is likely to be very productive.

(By the way, how important was third down to LSU last year? The Tigers converted 104 of 223 third downs – numbers which, even considering their 14-game schedule, dwarf the rest of the SEC. Their conversion rate of 46.6% was good enough for top 3 in the league. That’s an awful lot of chances though, and it’s to their credit that they were able to keep grinding out drives and converting. Les Miles probably still went for it half the times he didn’t convert on third down.)

I’ll be honest – recruiting hasn’t gone well for Andy Landers over the past few years. The rising junior class that had three freshmen all-SEC performers was solid, but last year’s class didn’t have much of an impact. It doesn’t help that the top recruit from that class, Brittany Carter, struggled on the court and in the classroom and will transfer. The current incoming class isn’t particularly heralded, though transfer Porsha Phillips is expected to be a key contributor. With some high-profile prospects headed out of state, you get articles like this pointing out the difficulty of the situation when you’re not UConn or Tennessee.

But a coach as successful and driven as Landers doesn’t take setbacks without responding, and a very positive sign came today with the commitment of Wesleyan rising senior Anne Marie Armstrong. Armstrong, considered the top prospect in Georgia for the 2009 class, won the state’s Miss Basketball honor as a junior while leading her team to the Class AA state title.

Armstrong, at 6’3″ is a versatile wing with good size. If you had to compare those attributes to a recent Lady Dog, think Megan Darrah. Hopefully this commitment is just the start towards what could be a very strong 2009 class.

I don’t know that I’ve ever been this drained just from watching a game.

If Georgia’s grueling 4-3 win over Stanford Monday night at the College World Series was this intense for fans, I can’t imagine how the players held it together.

Georgia football fans – remember how you felt leaving Vanderbilt’s stadium last year or leaving South Carolina in 2002? The thrill of victory alternated with bouts of nausea, and the net effect was relief and exhaustion – and we didn’t even play the games.

After tonight’s game, it’s easy to understand how unseeded Stanford upset Cal-Fullerton and FSU to get to this point. They are tireless fighters, make few mistakes, and force you to work for every scrap you can get against them. Nothing came easy for Georgia tonight, not even the final outs, but somehow here they are 2-0 and in the driver’s seat of their half of the CWS field.

Stanford jumped out 3-0 on three extra-base hits in the third inning including a two-run homer by standout catcher Jason Castro. Though starter Nick Montgomery pitched well otherwise, he yielded to Stephen Dodson in the 4th inning.

If there’s a story developing thus far for Georgia, it’s been the bullpen as a whole. They’ve allowed only one run in two games, and Alex McRee atoned for Saturday’s homerun pitch with a perfect performance against the Cardinal. In fact, the Georgia bullpen allowed only one hit after Montgomery left. Dodson, McRee, and Fields held Stanford in check and gave the offense room to mount the gradual comeback.

Getting back in the game was like pulling teeth. The Dawgs missed a chance to get on the scoreboard in the 3rd when Lyle Allen doubled but was inexplicably held at third base on a David Thoms single to right. Neither Peisel nor Olson could bring in Allen, and the Dawgs missed a golden scoring opportunity.

The first run came in the 4th – Matt Cerione doubled in Gordon Beckham, but Cerione was stranded. Georgia again inched closer in the 6th when Robbie O’Bryan drew a bases-loaded walk that scored Rich Poythress. Still, Georgia could do no further damage with the bases loaded and just one out.

The Dawgs finally got on top in the 7th when Gordon Beckham started a two-out rally with a single. Poythress walked, and Massanari was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Matt Cerione laced a single to center field plating Beckham and Poythress for Cerione’s second and third RBI of the day. O’Bryan popped out to end the rally, but Georgia now held the lead.

McRee pitched an incredibly efficient 8th against the heart of the Cardinal lineup, and you had to like Georgia’s chances with Fields pitching to the bottom half of the Stanford order in the 9th. Nothing was easy in this game, though, and Fields certainly made things interesting by walking and then hitting a batter to put the go-ahead run on base with one out. He worked deep into the count against pinch-hitter Colin Walsh before enticing Walsh to hit a ground ball that was fielded by Beckham and turned into a textbook 6-4-3 double play to end the excruciating game.

Georgia has earned the mixed blessing of three days’ rest before playing again on Friday. Everyone should be fresh and rested, but that’s a long time to stew during a championship run. The good news is that Georgia needs just one more win to advance to next week’s championship round. Stanford must play Miami in an elimination game, and the Bulldogs will have two cracks at the winner of that game.

Georgia will play the winner of Wednesday’s Stanford/Miami game at 2:00 p.m. on Friday (ESPN2). If Georgia wins, they advance straight to the championship round which begins Monday. If Georgia falls, they’ll face a rematch with Friday’s opponent on Saturday to determine who advances.

For a complete schedule and stats and recaps from the CWS, visit this page over at ESPN.com.

And with that…I’m going to go collapse into bed.

When Georgia meets Stanford this evening in the College World Series (7:00, ESPN2), it will be a rematch of sorts of one of the biggest battles along the way during Georgia’s 1990 national title run. Georgia will technically be favored against the unseeded Cardinal tonight, but it was Georgia’s underdog performance against top-seeded Stanford that put them into the national title game.

While Stan Payne’s 2-1 victory over Oklahoma State clinched the 1990 national title for Georgia, the Bulldogs’ shot at the championship was set up by three battles over six days with top-seeded Stanford. Georgia crushed Stanford in the first meeting sending the Cardinal to the loser’s bracket. The favorites worked back through the bracket and topped Georgia to force a winner-take-all rematch.

Stanford turned to ace and future MLB star Mike Mussina who had been roughed up by Georgia in the first meeting. The Bulldogs countered again with senior Mike Rebhan. Though fatigued, Rebhan pitched a complete game as the Bulldogs eliminated the Cardinal 5-1.

There’s a great account of this 1990 meeting over on UGASports.com. The transformation of Mussina from a dominant pitcher to someone throwing batting practice turned the first meeting. Stanford struck back with a freshman beating Bulldog All-American Dave Fleming. Rebhan turned the tables in the final showdown, and teammate Bruce Chick reflected on how important that performance was. "He had two children and he knew he wasn’t moving on," says Chick. "Mike pitched the game of his life and it wound up being the last game he ever pitched."

Tonight another relatively unknown Bulldog pitcher will step on the Rosenblatt Stadium field with a chance to make his own splash against Stanford. Nick Montgomery wasn’t one of Georgia’s three weekend starters during the regular season, but since his outing against Georgia Tech at Turner Field Montgomery has been one of the most consistent and outstanding Bulldog starters. He already has wins over Georgia Tech and N.C. State in this NCAA Tournament, and the Bulldogs are counting on him to move them one win away from their first trip to the championship round since 1990.

Before Fran Tarkenton, Buck Belue, Eric Zeier, David Greene, Matthew Stafford, and all Georgia quarterbacks in between, there was Johnny Rauch. Rauch set the standard for quarterbacking for college football in the late 1940s, and he went on to a successful career as a pro quarterback and as a coach. He passed away on Tuesday at the age of 80. From the obituary at georgiadogs.com:

Former University of Georgia All-America quarterback John Rauch, who started every game for the Bulldogs from 1945-48, passed away in his sleep on Tuesday at his Oldsmar, Fla., home. He was 80.

Rauch came to Georgia in 1945 after excelling in three sports in high school in Pennsylvania. He didn’t arrive with much fanfare, however, and was discovered by then-Coach Wallace Butts while playing in a flag football game.

After accepting an invitation from Butts to come out for football, Rauch started every game (45 in all) of his college career from 1945-48 and became the first player in NCAA history to start four consecutive bowl games. He passed for 4,044 yards, then the NCAA record for career passing yardage.

Rauch led the Bulldogs to a 36-8-1 record, including the Williamson poll’s national championship in 1946 and two SEC titles. He was an All-American and the SEC Player of the Year his senior season.

Rauch was the No. 1 player taken in the 1949 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions and he went on to a four-year playing career. Rauch then entered the coaching ranks, serving several schools, including Georgia from 1955-58, as an assistant coach.

Rauch returned to the NFL as an assistant for the Oakland Raiders under Al Davis in 1963 and was promoted to head coach in 1966. He guided the Raiders for three seasons, compiling 33 victories and leading them to Super Bowl II. Rauch, whose assistant coaches included John Madden and Bill Walsh, was named AFC Coach of the Year in 1967 after the Super Bowl appearance. Rauch also was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills in 1969, O.J. Simpson’s rookie year.

Rauch completed his coaching career in 1985 after stints with Philadelphia, Atlanta and Tampa Bay of the NFL, Toronto of the CFL and Tampa Bay of the USFL.

Rauch was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004. He also was chosen for the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame in 2000 and Georgia¹s Circle of Honor in 2001.

His grandson also posted a nice note on the DawgVent. Our thoughts go out tonight to the family of one of Georgia’s best.

Everyone’s favorite weatherman/commentator Bill “Hurricane” Curry will leave the broadcast booth to try the Howard Schnellenberger route and build a new program from the ground up in the twilight of his career. Curry will head the new Georgia State program in Atlanta which will begin playing 1-AA football in 2010.

The Panthers had good luck with their last high-profile athletic hire. Under legendary basketball coach Lefty Driesell, Georgia State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and finished 29-5 in 2001.

I’m also glad to see Curry out of the broadcast booth, but what will really be interesting is the Tech reaction. Things are all chummy now – Tech alum and former coach coming back to town – but make no mistake: Tech is the competition. Competition for fans, media attention, even some recruits – everything. If Tech has issues selling season tickets now, things will only be tougher with another program in town. I don’t see Tech losing its hold as the city’s top football program, but can they continue to claim the best college coach in town?