“The star of the team is the team” might’ve been a useful approach to the offseason for Mark Richt, but reality is that every top-level team, Georgia included, has its standouts who come through and shine during the season. Stafford and Moreno might be gone, but the 2009 Dawgs are starting to show that they aren’t bereft of exciting playmakers.

The young talent on the team has definitely been given the chance to shine, and the emergence of the Brandon and Branden show on Saturday was a nice glimpse into the future. As Tim Tucker wrote, “Stars were born.”

“Around campus, people [are] asking for autographs and everything,” Smith said Tuesday. “It has been kind of weird.”

The fresh faces aren’t the only star power on the team. The South Carolina game was full of big plays and huge swings in the momentum, but Rennie Curran’s deflection on South Carolina’s final pass sealed the win. Plays don’t come much bigger, and Curran’s reaction and tip should rank right up there with Witherspoon versus LSU or even Hoage against Vanderbilt.

Georgia’s red zone defense made the difference in the game. Though they surrendered tons of yardage, the ability to hold South Carolina to field goals after the first quarter helped the Dawgs withstand several mistakes. Elsewhere on the field Georgia’s linebackers were often used to blitz to compensate for the lack of pass rush and left quite a bit of the middle of the field open. South Carolina exploited that opening all night. But after getting burned on a blitz for South Carolina’s second touchdown, the Bulldog defense began dropping its linebackers in the red zone, and the Gamecocks didn’t find the endzone again. Curran’s game-saving play saw the Dawgs rush only four and drop the linebackers into coverage, and Georgia’s defensive star was in position to make the play.

And speaking of stars, anyone who can levitate like this is in a galaxy occupied by few others…

Photo: Kelly Lambert/ABH

Blutarsky points to a Chip Towers’ post gathering the reaction of recruits to Georgia’s use of Branden Smith. When you add that kind of element to a team, you tend to find your way on the field quickly. If Smith’s jaw-dropping speed on his reverse did anything, it was to instantly answer the question “why the heck to they keep trotting him back out there?” Now we know.

Be sure to read the excerpt Blutarsky has up about how Smith was greeted when he got back to the bench after his costly fumble. It got Smith pumped up to make a big play when he saw the field again, but it also had an impact on a VIP recruit watching from the sideline.

Khairi Fortt is one of the nation’s top linebacker recruits and was on his official visit. UGASports.com has a great two-part interview with him following the visit, and he had this to say about Smith:

“I liked the fact that there was a freshman player on Saturday in Smith that fumbled the ball on the kickoff return. Normally you do something like that you get down on yourself, and you start thinking that coach is going to bench you. But actually Coach Richt put him back in there on offense, and he scored on a 61-yard reverse, and he also put him back out there on kickoff return. I liked the fact that he had faith in his players, even true freshman. At other schools if you make a mistake it cost you playing time,” said Fortt.

You kind of wish some people were charged much more for the privilege of parking and tailgating on campus after seeing these results. Disgusting and embarrassing.

Buried in a Saturday ABH article about tailgating was this note:

Athens-Clarke officials voted to hike city parking fees and fines this spring, doubling the price for football parking in the city’s downtown deck from $20 to $40. Some private lots have followed suit and raised prices.

Sure enough, as I drove along Hancock Street coming through downtown, I saw lot after lot operated by Prestige Parking charging $40 for a day’s worth of parking. The first move in this doubling of rates came from Athens-Clarke at the suggestion of the Athens Downtown Development Authority. The $40 game day rate approved by the city for the College Avenue Parking Deck is just $16.25 less than the monthly rate for that deck.

They can charge what they like of course, and there are ways to park in or near downtown for less if you’re early/resourceful enough. Due to the actions of the ADDA, I’ll avoid spending money in the downtown central business district during the season. It’s not a lot, but it certainly would be more than the $240 they’re asking for a season’s worth of downtown parking.

Yesterday’s declaration that Joe Cox will start Saturday’s game was supposed to be the final word on rumors about Cox’s status, but Cox himself has now admitted to ESPN’s Joe Schad that Cox has an injured throwing shoulder.

The rumors about Logan Gray starting might’ve been shot down, but Cox’s health was always the key part of the story. And now, after countless dismissals and Mark Richt joking around about resting Cox during the week, we learn that there’s a legitimate injury story here.

Whether Cox is able to perform and is still the best option going forward is of course still in question and up to the coaching staff, but maybe now we can see that there was more than a shred of truth to the talk of getting Logan Gray ready to lead the #1 offense.

For many of us, the home opener is about getting back to Athens and reconnecting with the town, campus, and friends that make the whole experience much more than just a sporting event. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the campus and town continue to change between our visits, and there has definitely been some work done since the end of last season. As always, we recommend visiting the Gameday Gameplan site for specifics about enjoying Saturday in Athens, but here are a few of the highlights of some of the changes:

Tate Center Expansion

We mentioned this over the summer, but the opening of the Tate Center expansion will be a big change for the fans who like to gather and shop around the central campus in the shadow of the west side of Sanford Stadium. It will also make for a slightly different Dawg Walk, but more on that in a second.

In addition to being a boon for current students, the space added by the expansion will provide a lot more indoor space for fans on game days. The best part of the addition, at least from a fan’s point of view, might be the 24-foot projection TV screen in the third-floor lobby. Hang out there and watch other games or even the Georgia game if you don’t have a ticket. There’s also a parking deck underneath the structure, but that’s not an entirely new feature.

The new buildings and the loss of the open parking lot means that the corridor for the Dawg Walk will be a bit narrower than it’s been in recent years. One big plus of the new buildings is multiple levels from which to line the walkway and get a good look at the Dawg Walk. The expansion might even serve to shift the focus of the Walk from the original Tate Center back closer towards the Lumpkin Street end.

East Campus Construction

If you haven’t been on East Campus since last season, it’s quite a dramatic change. A new Greek Park has been opened along River Road not far from its terminus at East Campus Road around where the ATO house used to be. It currently houses four fraternities. Unfortunately the complex took out a lot of the older landscape of that part of campus to go along with the older house, so it’s a pretty stark place for now.

More construction is taking place further down River Rd. Buildings in the new Performing Arts Center have taken most of the open surface parking in that part of East Campus, and work is underway for a new parking deck to be located back behind the Performing Arts building. That deck is expected to be completed in November. There is still some surface parking available in the area, but it might not be as available or as accessible as you remember it.

Gameday Experience

Not much has changed this year with regards to campus tailgating regulations. It’s still the same 7 a.m. start time. One thing that caught my eye was a specific prohibition on “low country boils.” I remember deep fryers being prohibited, but the low country boil regulation is a new one I think. Apparently the boiling of water is something best left to the professionals. (Thank goodness we tailgate off-campus.)

One small change I noticed on the parking maps: the small North Campus lot behind Baldwin Hall was a hidden gem for several of my friends – a free lot close to the stadium. That lot is now controlled by the Athletic Association and will require a permit.

Perhaps overshadowed by the quarterback story, the Dawgs might have to shake things up on both sides of the ball due to injuries.

Contrary to reports earlier in the week, David Hale isn’t optimistic about Caleb King’s chances of playing on Saturday. It could come down to a game-time decision, but the coaches aren’t going to play him without some good practices this week. That window of opportunity is closing quickly.

Starting OLB Darius Dewberry is “doubtful” with a groin injury.

Trinton Sturdivant’s knee injury meant that a change was coming along the offensive line, but there will be an additional change up front. Vince Vance will take over for Sturdivant. He played a good bit on Saturday, and he also filled in for Sturdivant last year before his own season-ending injury. Hopefully Vance can finish out the season as the left tackle. In addition to Vance, guard Justin Anderson will start over Chris Davis. The move is more tactical than anything; Anderson’s larger size and brawn make him a better match against a large South Carolina defensive front.

It was also interesting to note that Tavarres King will start over Michael Moore. Mark Richt said on Sunday that “King earned himself some more playing time,” and it looks as if he’s earned a start.

Lots of “news” coming out of Athens this morning about Georgia’s quarterbacking situation. Best to just go down the list.

What we know:

• Logan Gray was seen working with the starters last night during the few practice periods observed by media.

The backstory:

• Rumors about Joe Cox dealing with a tired or “dead” arm surfaced last month. They weren’t helped by his performance in the season opener.

This morning’s developments:

• Anthony Dasher of UGASports.com (subscription required) expanded on his practice observation of watching Gray with the starters and reported that, according to sources, Gray “took all the snaps with the No. 1 unit Wednesday”.
• Dasher never claimed that Gray has been named the starter but concluded that Gray “could start Saturday’s game.” Dasher cited a source who says, “That’s the way it looks now.”

Muddy Waters

• David Hale followed up and reports that “Joe still took the vast majority of the first-team reps (on Wednesday).” Hale has also spoken with “multiple players who told (him) that (Gray taking all of the snaps) isn’t true.”
• Buck Belue chimed in on 680 AM in Atlanta to speculate that Cox is simply being rested during the week but will start.
• ESPN’s Joe Schad countered that “Georgia is likely to start” Gray. We don’t know if his source is Dasher or someone inside the program.

Got all that? The misinformation can’t be all bad in terms of what South Carolina has to prepare for. At the same time, you don’t waste valuable practice time on a smokescreen. If Gray was working with the starters above and beyond the usual time given to the backup, it was for a reason. If Belue is right and Cox is missing practice time to rest his shoulder, that’s not a positive angle to this story considering the problems in execution that plagued the offense last week. If Cox is going to start and play most of the game, the offense needs all of the practice time with him it can get.

Regardless, Hale notes that “we’ll find out for sure when we meet with Mark Richt around 4 p.m. today.” That should be fun.

UPDATE: Steve Patterson, publisher of UGASports.com, posted that UGA Sports Information released a statement saying that “Joe will be the starter Saturday.”

There’s enough blood in the water after a disappointing loss, and it’s easy to panic over the perception of a program in disarray that makes for good column and sports talk fodder. The coaches (and even the players to some degree) seem fine with chalking a lot of problems up to execution, but getting the coaches on the same page, even in analysis after the fact, has been a story that won’t go away.

It wasn’t just the first start in three years for Joe Cox or the debut of Branden Smith; it was also the first game in which Tony Ball served as Georgia’s receivers coach. Not much went well for the offense, but Ball in particular seemed to have a rough go of it. Georgia struggled to get production through the passing game, and leaving two promising receivers on the bench for the entire game didn’t help matters.

“Coach (Tony) Ball’s in the box and he didn’t have direct contact with us,” (Michael) Moore said of Georgia’s receivers coach. “He kind of didn’t realize that until the end of the game. … We didn’t know what the rotation was going to be and we ended up sticking with basically three guys.”

“He said the game was moving so fast and he was trying to find out what plays worked and what didn’t work, and he said he just forgot, it slipped his mind,” (Marlon) Brown said.

It should be pointed out that this isn’t Ball’s first rodeo as a receivers coach. He’s had the job at before at a major program (Virginia Tech). Position coaches at Georgia have a lot of freedom to set their rotations. It’s possible that Virginia Tech handled things differently when Ball was there. Still, it was an embarrassing oversight, and I don’t blame the players for bewilderment over the news that a position coach with only six scholarship players available forgot about two of them.

This isn’t just Ball’s failure though. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is sitting right next to Ball in the booth. With playcalling resting with Bobo and position coaches deciding on their own rotations, an experienced coach of offense like Mark Richt should be able to have a better big picture view of the offense and speak up when those in the booth get bogged down in the details.

I’m not the first to raise the communication issue, but it goes beyond getting a couple of freshmen on the field. Take another example from the game. Oklahoma State DB Perrish Cox, who was assigned to A.J. Green most of the day, was out of action for a series or two. Many fans noticed it, and the broadcast team did too. Georgia didn’t do much, if anything, to test that side of the field. It makes sense now – if Georgia’s coaches in the box didn’t have a good grip on their own personnel, how could they ever note the absence of a key defender and come up with a plan to test a possible weakness?

From player rotation to playcalling and even down to the approach to kickoffs, Richt delegates and yields to his assistants. That’s not necessarily a bad thing of course; you hope to hire a staff of professionals with the experience and skills to do their jobs, and the head coach cannot hope to micromanage every aspect of the program and game plan. I don’t mean to suggest that Richt is well down the Bobby Bowden path to oblivion. This is still his team though, and it does seem that some of the pieces are disjointed. We joke about Evil Richt and his various personalities…right now, the team could use a good kick from Assertive Richt.

• “Flying under the radar.”
• “Embracing the underdog role.”
• “The star of the team is the team.”
• Richt’s road record (always with an asterix for Jacksonville).
• Off-season discipline and distractions (which team looked as if it had just dealt with a week’s worth of distractions?).

When I hear people pat the defense on the back for a good job, it sounds like most are just relieved that it didn’t turn into a 2008-style meltdown. The defense did play well, and the stats back it up. At the same time, there’s this: Georgia was the only SEC team that didn’t force a turnover last week. If we’re going to bang on the offense for not making plays, we really can’t overlook that the defense did very little to change the momentum once it swung to the Cowboys.

For all of the offseason talk about how different things were going to be, Georgia’s flaws against Oklahoma State seemed all too familiar. After a season in which miscues by Georgia’s offense and special teams led to an average of nearly 10 points per game, Bulldog turnovers and poor coverage led to 17 of Oklahoma State’s 24 points.

Unfortunately the Bulldogs don’t seem to have the offense to overcome such charity. Joe Cox, flu or not, had a very inauspicious debut and helped a ragtag defense under a first year coordinator turn into the big story of the game.

Now the big question entering the SEC opener: do you chalk this up to the flu (if so, where was Gray?), or are there systemic problems with an offense that managed but a 53-yard field goal after its opening drive? For the leadership and poise that Cox was supposed to bring to the offense, he showed little of either.

You’ve read the previews and probably have a good idea what to watch for in terms of matchups and stars. An opener against a quality opponent like this can give you a pretty good read on your team in a hurry. That said, several of the things I’ll be watching for tie in to some of those offseason themes and should serve to let us know how different the team will be from the group that took the field against Georgia Southern over a year ago.

1) Leadership put to the test. If there’s been one overarching theme this offseason, it was leadership. From Cox to Owens to Curran, Georgia’s had no shortage of guys saying and doing the right things. If you like, you can hold up Georgia’s relatively clean offseason discipline record as evidence that all of the talk isn’t just so much bluster. Even Vince Dooley is impressed by the team’s apparent unity.

But of course the ultimate test of what’s changed will come on the field. How does unity and leadership hold up on the road under adversity? Does Joe Cox stay cool and in control after a sack or, God forbid, a turnover? Now that’s he’s facing the flu, will the team avoid being rattled?

This is still, going by the numbers, a team with a lot of young guys in key positions. The leading receiver, tailback, and the cornerback that will often line up opposite Dez Bryant are all true sophomores. The offensive line, with two juniors and three sophomores, look like grizzled veterans by comparison. Even Cox himself is getting his first start since 2006, and it’s a road start against a top 10 opponent.

2) Take away Bryant and Green. Who’s left? Dez Bryant and AJ Green will surely get plenty of attention from the other team’s defense. It’s doubtful that either will be completely shut down, but both teams are going to have to get production from elsewhere, and neither has the strongest of supporting casts. Oklahoma State doesn’t have many experienced returning receivers, and the loss of their starting tight end won’t help. Georgia has just six scholarship receivers, and that includes just one upperclassman. Georgia’s tight end position includes a starter with all of three receptions a year ago who will be backed up by two true freshmen.

3) Hidden yards and points. Georgia’s 2008 issues with penalties, kick coverage, and generating turnovers have received plenty of attention during the offseason. The Dawgs risked a scholarship on a kickoff specialist, and they’ve placed practice emphasis on reducing penalties and creating turnovers. Oklahoma State’s new defensive coordinator likewise is “preaching” a focus on turnovers.

In two games last night we saw sloppy fumbles, interceptions, botched kicks, and even a safety. Georgia’s 2007 win over Oklahoma State started with a short scoring drive following a muffed punt after the Cowboys’ opening drive. Points from these areas weren’t a Georgia point of pride last year; in fact, it amounted to about a touchdown per game advantage for Georgia’s opponents. The OSU offense is good enough without getting help from Georgia’s offense and special teams.

4) Return of the injured. A couple of Georgia’s perceived strengths this year depend on the recovery of key players. On the offensive line, both Sturdivant and Davis (and Vance) have had surgery. Ben Jones missed most of last week with an ankle injury. Then you have defensive lynchpin Jeff Owens whose 2008 injury shook up the defensive line. Defensive end Rod Battle was slowed by injury most of last season, and Reshad Jones was one of many who missed time this August with minor nuisance injuries. They’re all good to go, but any impact of lost practice time and conditioning will be apparent against a quality opponent. Still glad to get them all back, and the Dawgs have to feel fortunate to have had a preseason relatively uninterrupted by injuries. The absence of Kris Durham or Caleb King notwithstanding, it’s a far cry from last August when the team had a single healthy defensive end with which to practice. Perhaps most importantly, the offensive line has been able to work together as a unit for much of the summer and preseason. Remember – they might be experienced individually, but this starting offensive line combination has never taken the field together in a game.

5) The Russell Okung factor. A good left tackle can’t be overvalued (think back to Sturdivant and his injury), and Oklahoma State has perhaps the best in the nation. That’s one of the bigger differences from the game two seasons ago. The zone reads and speed options will rely on Okung to lead the way to the outside. He’ll also be the key to pass protection on a line that only gave up 16 sacks a year ago. Georgia should have the advantage inside, but how heavily can the Cowboys lean on their star tackle?

6) What’ve we got, exactly?

I’ll admit this has been one of the hardest Georgia teams to get a read on. On one hand you have some significant holes to fill. Much of the improvement is expected to come from a lot of the same players and coaches who couldn’t get it done last year. At the same time, there’s a confidence and cohesiveness about this team. As I said up top we’ll find out how that holds up in a real test, but you couldn’t ask for a better preseason in terms of discipline, health, and attitude. That confidence must be catching on, because I don’t get where this comes from:

In some respects, though, Georgia fans almost have to be waiting for the other shoe to drop — it seems more likely a question of which of the first five games the Dawgs will lose than whether they will fall.

It might be due to my own echo chamber, but I haven’t heard that sentiment from any Georgia fan, nor have I seen much analysis that concludes that a loss in the first five games is an inevitability. I grant that none of those five games is a clear-cut win, but Georgia has every reason at this point to be confident in their chances to compete in and win all of those games. Last year was full of shoes dropping; this year, not so much so far.

Does that mean a better team or a more satisfying season? Not necessarily. It’s entirely possible that the questions facing this team will be answered with a big, “NO”. As much as any opponent during this first month has an even-money shot at beating Georgia, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see this team undefeated heading in to October. Maybe it’s just a matter of being conditioned to sailing through September with relatively easier schedules. The cold reality of Sunday morning might require a major reevaluation, but for now it’s full steam ahead.

I saw this post on an economics site titled “Is the S.E.C. More or Less Scary Today?.” It took me a second to realize that they were discussing the government agency.

Thankfully the week’s biggest tempest in a teapot has ended with the correct outcome: there will be no pregame handshake between Georgia and Oklahoma State.

Shaking hands after the game is fine. Some teams even meet at midfield for a postgame prayer. Hand out orange slices, shout “2! 4! 6! 8!” all you like, and tip your cap to the other guy for a game well played. But leave the pregame mingling to the captains.

Joe Cox, not surprisingly, gets it:

“I don’t think it’s necessary. I think you prepare all week to play an opponent, you play, and then you show sportsmanship at the end of the game…The last thing you want to really do before a physical game like football is go shake hands with everybody.”

Mixing 150+ testosterone-dripping college students at the height of emotion and preparation before a violent game like football has never seemed like the best idea to me. But in the interest of fairness, we have this compelling logic from the NCAA’s Marta Lawrence:

Perhaps if there was a pregame handshake before last year’s game against Boise State, (Oregon QB Jeremiah) Masoli might not have suffered a concussion on a late hit in the heartbreaking 37-32 loss to the Broncos.

How can one argue with that?