The last thing college football needs is Ohio State being able to claim, “yeah, but that was without Wells” at the end of the season.

If there’s a "thanks, Captain Obvious" topic when talking about football, it’s the importance of turnovers. Turnovers matter? I had no idea. Still, there are some games in which turnovers factor more than others, and this weekend’s game in Columbia could be one of them. Whether it’s Quincy Carter’s five interceptions or David Pollack’s unbelievable play, turnovers in the South Carolina game at Columbia tend to stick out.

The Georgia Sports Blog correctly points out how turnovers in this series have either put Georgia in a bind or kept games closer than they might have been otherwise. They’ve also bounced Georgia’s way, and there is no better example than the second half of the 2002 game.

With that in mind, David Hale painted this picture yesterday:

So far the Bulldogs have played two clearly overmatched opponents, one without a true starting QB. Both of those opponents were clearly out of their element in front of the energetic Sanford Stadium crowd. Both games were lopsided, forcing those opponents to throw the ball in a desperate attempt to play catch up. And yet, with all that favoring Georgia’s secondary, the DBs have yet to record a single interception.

Good and timely observation. To be fair, the defense does have two interceptions, and both of those were at somewhat important times in the first half when the opponent was driving in Georgia’s half of the field. We like saying that Georgia started out 38-0 on Georgia Southern, but it took an interception in our own end zone (not to mention a missed field goal) to get there. He’s right, though. Georgia’s somewhat experienced secondary is still 0-for-the season. They’ve come close – Rashad Jones had an interception for the taking against Georgia Southern – but the plays haven’t been made.

You can credit what you like for Georgia’s turnaround and strong finish last season, but turnovers should be near the top of the list. We know that Matthew Stafford cut down the errors that led to some back-breaking turnovers in 2006, but the end of 2007 was also about what Georgia was doing on defense to score takeaways.

Through the first seven games of the 2007 season, Georgia managed a total of six takeaways. There were three games (South Carolina, Western Carolina, and Tennessee) in which the Dawgs struck out in the takeaway department. They had two multiple takeaway games (Ole Miss and Vanderbilt).

Beginning with the late and game-turning fumble recovery at Vandy, something changed. The only game down the stretch in which Georgia didn’t record multiple takeaways was the Kentucky game. The results were impressive: against Florida (2), Troy (4), Auburn (4), Kentucky (1), Tech (3), and Hawaii (6) Georgia tallied 20 takeaways.

So far this season Georgia’s offense has been outstanding taking care of the ball. The only turnovers have come on fumbles by a reserve tailback and quarterback. Stafford is – knock wood – still without an interception this year, and that’s much more important to the team than chasing the 300-yard barrier. Keeping that mark intact against a much better pass defense than we’ve seen so far will be a key to avoiding another nailbiter.

On the other sideline, South Carolina has already turned the ball over seven times through two games. Six of those turnovers were interceptions. The Gamecock quarterback position is unsettled, and it’s possible that their best receiver will be out or at least limited by a hamstring injury. Worse, their running game hasn’t done much to pick up the slack. It’s a scenario any secondary should salivate over.

So which gives? South Carolina’s propensity for throwing the ball up for grabs, or Georgia’s interception shutout in the secondary?

ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt dropped in over at UGASports.com to respond to some of the “conspiracy” nonsense. Poor guy.

(Credit to BrickYard on the DawgVent for this photoshop job.)

Georgia Southern (1-1) —

Central Michigan (1-1): Central Michigan will try to rebound from the Georgia loss with an interesting game at Ohio. Ohio is 0-2, but they’ve lost to Wyoming by a single point and took Ohio State to the wire last week. Will the Bobcats be in a funk over the missed opportunity, or will they be fired up by playing one of the big boys so close? THIS WEEK: @ Ohio Univ.

South Carolina (1-1): It’s the classic paranoia of Georgia fans to interpret the moping from Columbia since the Vanderbilt loss as anything other than a serious kick to the jimmy of the Gamecock psyche. "Sure they’re depressed…depressed like a FOX!" For the first time in a while, another team has done the job usually reserved for Georgia: bringing South Carolina back to earth. Vanderbilt (and even N.C. State to some extent) revealed some pretty big flaws with South Carolina. We’ve been in this position too often to take them lightly. It’s CBS, the SEC opener, and it’s too important a game through which to sleepwalk. THIS WEEK: vs. Georgia

Arizona State (2-0): If the ASU offensive line is a problem, it hasn’t slowed Rudy Carpenter very much. Carpenter hasn’t been sacked yet, is completing 76% of his passes, and has thrown for at least 345 yards in each of ASU’s first two games. The Sun Devils get another tuneup at home this week before Georgia comes to town. THIS WEEK: UNLV

Alabama (2-0): Last week I wondered whether the Clemson win proved that Alabama was a contender or if it was their one "where the hell did that come from" win of the season a la Florida 2005. It’s no surprise that they had a letdown against Tulane, but posting a single touchdown on offense after such an impressive display the week before is a head-scratcher. They’ll have another chance to beat up on someone before getting into SEC play next week. THIS WEEK: W. Kentucky

Tennessee (0-1): The Vols have had over a week to stew about the loss to UCLA, and UAB should provide no serious resistance as the Vols try to get things back on track for Florida. THIS WEEK: UAB

Vanderbilt (2-0): Wow. With an eye always on bowl eligibility, the Commodores are 1/3 of the way there through two games. They’ve played defense well enough to win, and the offense has just enough misdirection to make headaches out of defensive assignments. Let’s not forget though that they did only put up 225 yards on South Carolina, and punts don’t always bounce your way. Rice can score some points, so this is no breather for anyone, let alone Vandy. THIS WEEK: Rice

LSU (1-0): Damage to LSU’s stadium forced the postponment of the Troy game to later in the season. Now Hurricane Ike is forcing LSU AD Joe Alleva to consider alternate plans for Saturday night’s scheduled game against North Texas. You have to wonder how all of the disruption and uncertainty of the past two weeks will affect this team as they prepare for a real test at Auburn next week. THIS WEEK: North Texas…maybe.

Florida (2-0): They didn’t light Miami up, but so far the folks who assumed that the Florida defense has to be better this year are looking good. Now it’s another week to rest and heal before the big trip to Knoxville. THIS WEEK: BYE

Kentucky (2-0): The Wildcats easily handled Norfolk State, and they’ve only allowed five points through their first two games. Not bad. This week’s challenge is interesting: Middle Tennessee is coming off a win over Maryland. The Blue Raiders put a scare into Louisville last year, and last Saturday’s win over a reeling Terrapin team should have the visitors from Murfreesboro full of confidence for their visit to Lexington. Keep an eye on this game. THIS WEEK: MTSU

Auburn (2-0): Everything’s building for next week’s showdown with LSU. Auburn had few problems controlling a Southern Miss offense that was supposed to put up a better fight, and they should have an even easier time of it this week against a lesser Mississippi State offense. Though the new Auburn offense isn’t setting anyone on fire at this point, a few scores should be more than enough in their SEC opener. Could Croom’s men catch Auburn looking ahead? Doubtful, especially with last year’s embarrassing loss in mind. THIS WEEK: @ Miss. St.

Georgia Tech (2-0): Give them credit – they went on the road and won their conference opener. Paul Johnson isn’t just the architect of the offense; he’s the head coach, and he deserves as much praise for games in which the defense outshines the offense. Boston College had their chances but were forced to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns, and it put Tech in a position where one big play from the option could turn the game, and it did. Has Virginia Tech righted the ship now that Tyrod Taylor is back? Maybe, but I don’t expect the same lopsided Hokie win we saw in Atlanta last season. If Tech wins in Blacksburg, a Georgia Tech team everyone expected to struggle could be 6-0 going into the Clemson game. THIS WEEK: @ Virginia Tech

To arms! To arms! The SEC release trumpeting Knowshon’s well-deserved first PotW honor did not, I repeat did NOT contain photographic or video evidence of “the hurdle.”

Former Bulldog letterman and well-known Athens businessman Leroy Dukes has passed away at the age of 68. The Athens Ramada Inn that Dukes managed and its Frog Pond Lounge were landmarks for Bulldog fans and the place to be on Signing Day.

Congratulations to Vanderbilt. The Commodores are off to a 2-0 start and have an impressive road win and now a home win over a ranked opponent for the first time in a decade and a half. Neither were flukes, not even close.

After being stymied on offense in the first half, the Commodores feasted on South Carolina mistakes and flipped a 10-3 disadvantage into a 24-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. To South Carolina’s credit, they came back and had a chance to tie, but they stalled inside Vanderbilt territory.

From the Georgia perspective, yes, it’s always fun to see Spurrier go down, and it’s doubly enjoyable to see Vandy deliver the first dose of reality to Gamecock fans. Still, Vandy is slightly better than usual (let’s not overreact and build them up into what they’re not), and we considered ourselves fortunate to get out of there with a win last October. They’re not going to be much of a breather between Tennessee and LSU, and we know what happened the last time they came to Athens.

Is a win over South Carolina a given now? Hardly. We know how games go over there, and it’s still likely to be close and low-scoring. Georgia has scored over 20 only once against South Carolina in this decade. Georgia should bring an offense better than any the Gamecocks have seen to this point, and you like the Bulldogs’ chances of keeping South Carolina off the scoreboard again. A lot hinges on the hamstring of Kenny McKinley. South Carolina already looks pretty one-dimensional on offense, and if their best receiver can’t go, it will only make things more difficult for a shaky QB position.

On November 29, Vanderbilt will close the season at Wake Forest. That might not be a dog of a game for once.

The xs-and-os for Georgia’s next game are all well and good, but if you needed any help getting going for a relatively unfamiliar opponent, we bring you Central Michigan defensive back (and Georgia native) Josh Gordy (h/t Anti-Orange Page):

As a youngster growing up in Georgia, Josh Gordy once watched his brother help Georgia Tech upend rival Georgia on the Bulldogs’ home field. Gordy hopes to do the same thing on Saturday.

Gordy, a native of Warthen, Ga., will try to help Central Michigan’s football team down second-ranked Georgia in their non-conference showdown in Athens.

“My brother went to Georgia Tech,” Gordy said of Chris Edwards, who was a linebacker at Tech from 1996-99. “One of the best moments was when they did beat Georgia. We cut all the hedges down on the field. I would love to have the opportunity to do it again.”

Four CMU players are from Georgia, and running backs coach Jeff Beckles was a graduate assistant at Georgia under Mark Richt from 2002 through 2004.

Not all of the Georgia natives on the CMU team share Gordy’s animosity. Senior DT Larry Knight “was a big Georgia fan growing up there all my life,” and his “biggest memory of Georgia football was the play of All-American David Pollack.”

The game is still being televised on Fox Sports South at 3:30, and that’s good enough for most of us. It’s on most cable and satellite systems.

If you live outside of Georgia (or the South), you still might get Fox Sports South. My digital cable has – way up in the 200s – several Fox Sports regional channels from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Double-check your channels before going the pay-per-view GamePlan route.

Even if you don’t get Fox Sports South, you can watch the game. It will be on ESPN360 if your cable company provides that Internet service, and the game is also available through the pay-per-view ESPN GamePlan package.

The game is just one of six Georgia-related programs on Fox Sports South on Saturday. Beginning at noon, the next seven hours will be dedicated to Georgia football:

• 12:00p – College Flash Classics – 1998 Football: Georgia vs. Kentucky
• 1:00p – Georgia College Football Preview ’08
• 1:30p – Mark Richt
• 2:00p – At Home With Mark Richt
• 2:30p – Dawg Day Saturday Pregame Show
• 3:30p – College Football – Central Michigan at Georgia

Q: What advice did Mark Richt give Tommy Bowden when Bowden called following last weekend’s loss to Alabama?

Georgia Southern (0-1): We’ll wish them well and stop following the ins and outs of the Southern Conference from here on out. Cool? Cool.

Central Michigan (1-0): Central Michigan had few problems beating Eastern Illinois 31-12. They put the game away in the second quarter and posted a touchdown in each of the final two periods to maintain a comfortable lead. Their infamous offense was solid but not spectacular, posting 389 yards of total offense. Dual-threat QB Dan LeFevour was 21-31 for 217 yards and 3 TD through the air, and he added 42 yards on 11 rushes. Ontario Sneed was an effective weapon out of the backfield with 88 rushing yards, 43 receiving yards, and a touchdown on a 23-yard run. The maligned CMU defense allowed just 83 rushing yards and didn’t give up a touchdown until the 4th quarter. THIS WEEK: @ Georgia

South Carolina (1-0): The Gamecocks survived a turnover-rich first half and pulled away late to beat N.C. State 34-0. The Gamecock defense was dominant, and Chris Smelley earned a look as this week’s starter with a 5-5 performance off the bench. THIS WEEK: @ Vanderbilt, Thursday night

Arizona State (1-0): Made quick work of Northern Arizona. The Sun Devils were up 27-0 at halftime and coasted to a 30-13 win. QB Rudy Carpenter stood out with a 22-of-28 day and 388 yards passing. They didn’t do much on the ground, but Dimitri Nance added two rushing touchdowns. Receiver Michael Jones led the way with 6 catches for 162 yards. The ASU defense did give up 308 yards, but the second half was mostly garbage time. THIS WEEK: Stanford

Alabama (1-0): What an impressive 34-10 win over Clemson. They dominated the line of scrimmage and couldn’t be stopped on offense. John Parker Wilson was an efficient 22-of-30 passing, and Mark Ingram established himself as a powerful counterpart to Glen Coffee. If they can keep it up, this team could change the landscape of the SEC West. As it is, they have our attention. THIS WEEK: Tulane

Tennessee (0-1): Upset 27-24 at UCLA. For the second straight season, the Vols have opened with a loss on the left coast. They overcame the L to win the SEC East in 2007, but they’ll have to find some identity on offense to contend in 2008. Is this a power running team behind a veteran offensive line, or is this team going to throw the ball 30+ times a game? THIS WEEK: BYE

Vanderbilt (1-0): Opened the season with an impressive 34-13 win at Miami (Ohio). The ground game was dominant for the Commodores with Chris Nickson putting up 166 yards, and they also found some success with the return game. That rushing attack will be put to the test this Thursday in their home opener. THIS WEEK: South Carolina, Thursday night

LSU (1-0): The Tigers ensured early on that Appy State would not upset this season’s first opponent. They led 31-0 at halftime and came away with an easy 41-13 win. Even with copious substitutions they allowed the ASU offense only 239 total yards. Charles Scott was the man on the ground with 160 yards and 2 TD for LSU. THIS WEEK: Troy

Florida (1-0): As expected, the Gators had few problems with Hawaii and won 56-10. It did take them a while to get going; the game was scoreless after one period, but Florida put up 28 points in each of the second and third quarters. They spread the ball around enough that speedster Jeffrey Demps was the leading rusher with just 2 carries and 76 yards. Tim Tebow hardly needed to pad his stats, and he finished with 9-of-14 passing and 137 yards through the air and 37 on the ground. THIS WEEK: Miami (Fla.)

Kentucky (1-0): After impressing us with their offense over the past two seasons, the Wildcats dominated on defense and beat rival Louisville 27-2 on Sunday. It was anyone’s game until UK put up 17 points in the 4th quarter to seal the win. The UK offense wasn’t much to speak of, but they made the most of 5 Louisville turnovers. THIS WEEK: Norfolk St.

Auburn (1-0): Avoided Alabama’s embarrassment of losing to UL-Monroe with an easy 34-0 win. The new Tiger offense didn’t do much through the air, but 321 rushing yards were more than enough to do the job. Auburn didn’t get their first offensive touchdown until the 3rd quarter. THIS WEEK: Southern Miss

Georgia Tech (1-0): The Paul Johnson option attack made its debut, and the result was an expected easy 41-14 win over Jacksonville State. The Jackets rolled up 349 yards of rushing and got two rushing TD each from Jonathan Dwyer and Josh Nesbitt. They’ll face a much stronger test in their ACC opener. THIS WEEK: @ Boston College

I was wrong – it happened. The #1 team was jumped without losing a game. Southern Cal, with their impressive 52-7 drubbing of Virginia, took the #1 spot in this week’s coaches’ poll. Georgia drops to #2 with a fairly comfortable margin over #3 Ohio State. Alabama (#17) and South Carolina (#24) both enter the poll this week, and Tennessee was dropped from the Top 25.

UPDATE: Same story with the AP poll.

I should note first that things are going to be a little spotty here for the next couple of weeks (good timing, huh?). If the worst consequence from the demands of real life is less activity here, things can’t be all that bad. Just note that updates might be brief and sporadic for a while, and I appreciate those who check in often enough for that to matter.

If you went into Saturday’s game expecting statements that would resonate around the college football world by the nation’s #1 team or from its Heisman candidate tailback, you probably found the result wanting. The Dawgs didn’t win 70-0, Moreno only carried the ball eight times, and overall it was a typical Mark Richt opener against obviously overmatched competition. It was G-Day in August, and it was enough to send Uga VII to naptime.

The question from the weekend isn’t whether or not Georgia looked like a #1 team in the opener. They won’t be judged down the road on the result of the Georgia Southern game. Most nationwide recaps I saw noted the score, noted Georgia’s 38-0 start, and then moved on to more interesting things. I’m more concerned with whether or not the pieces are in place for the kind of season we’re hoping to see. For the most part, those pieces do seem to be in place.

The makeshift offensive line held its own. You definitely saw some signs of inexperience – Glenn looking around for someone to block eraly in the game or Anderson’s unneccessary holding penalty – but overall the line was solid, and you’d expect that given the competition. Now add Boling back in, and we just might have something. Tripp is going to be outstanding, and I was not surprised to see him just a few steps behind Moreno on a long gain…that kind of mobility at left tackle is just what the position requires.

The receiver picture is also encouraging. If Durham and Green are going to be consistent complements to Massaquoi, the Dawgs will be just fine. I should note that one of the more impressive receivers of the day was Mike Moore. While Durham, MoMass, and Green all made nice, tough catches, Moore showed that he can take hard throws and hard hits across the middle. That’s valuable to any team and will earn him playing time.

As much as we tout depth on defense, the loss of Jeff Owens had an immediate impact. Georgia lost some of its push along the defensive front, and Georgia Southern’s zone read plays were more effective at finding some running room in the middle of the line. The difference wasn’t enough to matter against Southern, but a much more potent running quarterback comes to town this weekend. Fortunately Corvey Irvin showed some promise, but will the Dawgs still be able to rotate defensive linemen as much as they’d like?

Blair Walsh can stay. Kevin Butler on the 5th Quarter Show had a good point about our expectations for Walsh. We’re waiting to judge him by his ability to kick in the clutch, but even Brandon Coutu – Georgia’s most accurate kicker – missed his share of big kicks (think back to the end of last year’s Alabama game). Walsh has the tools though and looks more than capable of doing the job.

So, yeah, most of the pieces are there, and several areas of concern might not be all that bad. It’s tough to evaluate a glorified scrimmage alongside the openers of the rest of the top 10 or the SEC peers because the approaches and goals for the games are so much different. I don’t think we saw anything that isn’t correctable, and that’s what matters at this point. Where a team like Alabama might be focused on making a statement on national TV, Georgia was evaluating depth and experimenting with the playbook. Georgia’s test and time for a statement will come soon enough.

This and That

• Tennessee’s loss last night reminded me a lot of last year’s Georgia – South Carolina game. The running game is working just fine, but let’s throw it 40+ times. A new offense might be a shiny toy to play with, but if your team is built for the power running game, by God, run the ball (right, Alabama?). Still, if that wasn’t a safety, what is?
• Most of the Bulldog fans I’ve heard from are concerned about Alabama, and they should be. They were impressive against Clemson and are no worse than the team that took Georgia to overtime and nearly beat LSU last season. But before we annoint them contenders, lately they have this tendency to really put it to someone once a year. In 2005 it was Florida. Last year it was Tennessee. Was the Clemson game getting the blowout win out of the way early, or are they capable of sustaining that level of play?
• Apologies for doubting Fresno. Are they going to be an interesting team this year, or is Rutgers slipping back to being, well, Rutgers?
• You just know that Tennessee and South Carolina will have figured out their offenses by the time they meet Georgia. Still, UCLA showed that blitzing Tennessee can be effective, and I hope that’s something we’ll see in a month in Athens.
• Tennessee’s loss at UCLA was enjoyable on many levels, but it was also the most recent struggle by an SEC team out west. I’ll feel much better about things if Georgia can survive its turn in Pac-10 land in three weeks.
• I’ll have to go back to verify this, but did it seem as if Georgia ran a lot less I-formation than usual? We know that two of the top three fullbacks were out, but my hazy memory is that much (though not all) of Georgia’s success on the ground came out of formations that didn’t have a fullback.
• For all the heat the ACC took for a rough opening weekend, is the shine coming off the Big East? Auburn slipped against South Florida last year, but they’ll have a chance against West Virginia to drive a big stake into the heart of that conference.