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.

The official press release from UGA (click through to see more pictures):

The seventh in the Uga line of Georgia mascots will be introduced to the Georgia people on Saturday, Aug. 30, during pre-game ceremonies of the Bulldogs’ season opener against Georgia Southern.

“Loran’s Best” will officially become “Uga VII,” when he is introduced for the first time to the Sanford Stadium crowd prior to the 12:34 p.m. kickoff. He will be escorted onto the field by members of the Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler family of Savannah who have owned the continuous line of mascots since Uga I took up the mantle in 1956.

Uga VII’s coronation will become official when UGA President Dr. Michael F. Adams slips the new red leather spike collar over his head during the ceremony at midfield. He succeeds his father, Uga VI, who passed away in June of this year. Uga VII will be escorted onto the field by Charles Seiler and two Seiler grandchildren: Margaret Story and Sara Thompson.

At 56 and one half pounds, he’ll be second only to Uga VI as the biggest mascot in the line. Seiler said he “has an excellent coat and bears a striking resemblance to his father.”

“He’s a great pet, already answers to his name, loves to travel and ride in the car,” said Seiler. “He sleeps in his kennel in the den and is fed Hill’s prescription maintenance dog food at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily. Uga VII already loves to sit on the dock by the river and is ready for his first boat ride.”

“Loran’s Best” was originally named for long-time Georgia Athletic Association personality Loran Smith. Seiler said Uga VII has an entire new wardrobe made with the same material as the team jerseys.

Participating in the pre-game ceremony will be UGA Director of Athletics Damon Evans and the Georgia Redcoat Band. University Alumni Association president Trey Paris will also present a proclamation to the Seiler family honoring Uga VI and welcoming Uga VII.

Other Seiler family members on the field will be Frank W. “Sonny” and Cecelia Seiler, Swann Seiler, Wendy (Mrs. Charles) Seiler, Shannon and Bess Thompson and their children Tennyson and Seiler Thompson, Todd and Sara Story and their children Anna and William Story.

A video tribute to Uga VI will be shown on the stadium scoreboard prior to the official introduction of Uga VII.

I thought about doing yet another preview for the opener or, worse, the season, but what’s the point? If you’ve kept up with things over the summer, any Georgia preview is like a bad movie version of a good book. I think that’s why we’re all so dissatisfied and nit-picky with most any preview that’s out there. We’ve read the book.

Even Mark Richt is over all of this preseason crap. So instead we’ll keep things a bit more casual and random until we play ball.

Simoniz your watches

The Dawg Walk will take place at 10:45. The location hasn’t changed, but construction on the Tate Center expansion continues, so keep that in mind when heading down there.

Even though it’s an early game against a 1-AA team, I hope the pregame turnout will be better than usual. There will be a video tribute to Uga VI around 12:15, and his successor will be introduced soon after. Besides, being there to hear “your #1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs” is alone worth packing up tailgate a little earlier.

Tickets

Lots of stories about ticket scarcity. I’m not really sympathetic with those who decided that this would be a good time to start getting tickets. It’s not like this is the first promising year under Mark Richt. If two SEC titles weren’t enough to get your motor going before now (when there was much less demand for tickets), I can’t feel your pain.

I’m a little more understanding when it comes to the plight of current students. It seems as if there are always complaints, but the situation is justifiably tighter this year. Due to demand, ticket packages are even being split into three-game sets. Ouch. It’s a good time to be a UGA student, but that’s the price of success. Trust us, you’d much rather have it this way instead of how we had it in 1993 and 1994.

OK, I can’t help it.

Two quick things about the team. First, as impressive as Moreno and Stafford might be, this is still a Georgia offense that was outside the top 3 in the SEC in scoring offense, rushing offense, and passing offense. I’d feel a lot better about the season if the offense can get into the top 3 in those stats. Whether it’s the addition of a playmaker like A.J. Green or another year of experience under Mike Bobo, the offense should have the firepower it needs to become one of the best units in the conference. I hope to see some of that on Saturday.

But if you believe Mark Schlabach, the defense should still be the strength of the team (h/t Blutarsky). Georgia’s schedule has been the focus of many centimeter-deep Georgia previews, but it’s not much more different than the 2003 schedule (trading Clemson for Arizona State). In 2003 the Georgia defense was simply scary, leading to big wins over Clemson, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, and Tech. The defense even looked good in Georgia’s losses (with the lone exception of the SEC Championship). That 2003 defense helped Georgia overcome a young and, let’s face it, porous offensive line and weak running game to win the SEC East.

We have a higher regard for members of that 2003 defense (Pollack, Davis, Thurman, Jones, et. al.), but is this 2008 defense cut from the same cloth?

Of course the season opener with Georgia Southern has the attention of most Bulldog fans this weekend, but there’s also a basketball player in town on his official visit who singlehandedly has the ability to give a big boost to Georgia’s basketball fortunes.

6’9″ big man Derrick Favors – one of the top 5 prospects in the nation – will be in Athens on his official visit this weekend. Though he’s considered a one-and-done player, he also has the ability to make that one year very special for his chosen team, and that special season couldn’t come at a better time for Georgia or Dennis Felton.

Favors is playing his recruitment very coolly, and we shouldn’t expect big news out of this weekend. He’s considering several other schools and will take additional visits. Still, this is Georgia’s chance to put its best foot forward in the Favors sweepstakes, and there won’t be a more important prospect – football or otherwise – in Athens for a while.

Wesleyan senior and Lady Bulldog commitment Anne Marie Armstrong is one of Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd in the current issue. Armstrong has been a part of seven state titles: three in volleyball, two in basketball, and two in the high jump.

pwd has the scoop on a media development that’s a winner for the Banner-Herald and for Georgia fans. Marc Weiszer’s a solid beat writer, and Ching coming on board will only improve the Georgia coverage.

I know Ching’s an Auburn guy, but I guess a few years covering the Dawgs showed him how the better half lives. Welcome back, David.

UGASports.com reports this morning that captains have been named for the season opener:

• QB Matthew Stafford
• TE Tripp Chandler
• LB Dannell Ellerbe
• P Brian Mimbs

That’s the veteran leadership core of this team.

It was a bit of a coup when Chris Little signed with Georgia in 2007. The USA Today 1st Team All American offensive lineman was originally an FSU commitment, changed his pledge to Notre Dame, and then pulled a Signing Day surprise by signing with the Bulldogs. Little’s letter of intent, at the time, took the edge off of another Signing Day surprise when Antwane Greenlee went with FSU instead of Georgia.

Little so far has been one of those star-crossed players. He had the recruiting pedigree, but since arriving in Athens he’s battled weight issues and has had to deal with the unexpected passing of his mother.

Season-ending foot surgery is Little’s most recent setback. He had surgery for a stress fracture in the spring, but the problems persist, and the weight problems can’t be helping. The Banner-Herald reports today that this most recent surgery will sideline him for 2008. Hopefully he can find a way to remain in shape and active while his foot recovers or it will be a long road back next spring and preseason.

Repechage: You couldn’t watch much Olympics coverage without coming across the term repechage. If you missed it, it’s more or less French for "loser’s bracket". Though the application of the term varies by sport, it generally allows individuals who aren’t automatic qualifiers in preliminary rounds to remain alive and earn their way back either by being the "fastest loser" or by winning additional heats against others who failed to qualify.

College football has its own repechage. There will be teams that lose early and are outright eliminated from the national title picture. Sorry, Michigan, several Pacific islands finished ahead of you in your first heat of 2007. There will be other teams who lose and remain viable title contenders. They’ll have a tougher road back with each loss, and they might need some help. But if your qualifications are strong enough, you still have a fighting chance. The United States might drop the baton, and Pitt might beat West Virginia.

It should be noted that the last two national champions got to the national title game via the repechage.

Superdelegates: We’ll see them in action this week in Denver. They probably won’t have as much of a controversial role at the DNC as it seemed during the spring, but the concept is interesting.

Imagine if after the BCS did its thing a group of college football’s elite figures got a chance to vote and affect the outcome. Some might accept the results of the BCS and vote accordingly. Others might vote in the interests of their conference or school. Still others might feel an obligation to do what’s best for the game and override the BCS.

In many years the football superdelegates wouldn’t have much to say. Southern Cal and Texas? Fine. In other years their role might become much more controversial. Nebraska 2001? Really?

If there were BCS superdelegates, to whom would you give that job?

Matthew Stafford has some pretty high goals for himself this year. Kendall’s article does a good job capturing the anticipation a lot of people nationwide – not only Georgia fans – have for Stafford. Those goals show that Stafford is among those ready to see him put together a season for the ages.

Just to put those goals into perspective, here are the benchmarks so far for Georgia quarterbacks under Mark Richt.

• Yardage: David Greene, 2003 (3,307 yards)
• Percentage: David Greene, 2003 (60.3%)
• Touchdowns: D.J. Shockley, 2005 (24)

Here are the University of Georgia passing records:

• Yardage: Eric Zeier, 1993 (3,525 yards)
• Percentage: Mike Bobo, 1997 (65.03%). A 64% rate would put Stafford second all-time.
• Touchdowns: Shockley (2005) and Zeier (1993 and 1994) with 24 TDs.

Urban Meyer’s daughter Nicki has committed to play volleyball for Georgia Tech.