Scenes from the last encounter (Image: Hipple)
Some headlines from the folks out in Stillwater:
- T. Boone Pickens thinks the score will be Ok State 387 UGA 24. Seriously. (ht - Mark Bradley)
Dear Mr. Pickens,
Thank you for making sure the Georgia football team will be 1000% focused on the season opener. Your help in motivating our players is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely - The Georgia Fans - The NY Times has their season preview of the Cowboys up today. The Pokes come in at #15 in their preseason ranking. This is a must read. They predict a 9-3 season with losses to UGA, Texas and Oklahoma with a "complete dismantling" of the rest of their schedule.
- The biggest loss from the '08 Cowboy team was all-universe tight end Brandon Pettigrew. The Oklahoman has a profile of his replacement Jamal Mosley. I think their TE vs. our LBs will be an interesting match-up. We've struggled at times with ultra athletic guys like Jared Cook from South Carolina.
See Also:
-- Tickets: Georgia at Oklahoma State
-- Stillwater Travel Info - Georgia Sports Blog
PWD
46 comments:
T. Boone might consider 387-24 a reasonable prediction, given that he was alive to see GTU 222-Cumberland 0 in person.
GATA.
Hahaha, well said, Andrew!
Granted ole' T. Boone's prediction was meant to be taken tongue-in-cheek, but I will say that OSU fans are supremely confident going into this one. I mean, for a program that has a sub .500 all-time record and managed to lose 3 of their last 4 games last year, they have the bravado of some random USC fan or something. Now, don't get me wrong---I can see why OSU fans are excited, and yes, I wouldn't be shocked if they won; but more and more they remind me of SCU fans.
Some of their predictions on the message boards border on lunacy. They talk as if they have much more depth and talent than we do, which is of course laughable, and post predictions such as: "OSU 49, UGA 20...they can't stop us and our new D is going to be awesome!" Again, the more and more I hear from them, the more and more they remind me of your typical delusional SCU fan.
That's rich. I think the best line for this game is the over/under on how much time will be left on the clock when T. Boone decides he's had enough? I'm sure you all remember the article from '07 describing TBP's day in Athens.
I'm saying nothing more about this game except that we'll be in it if we don't win.
T. Boone talks a big game for a man who maxes out at 95 lbs on bench press.
I'd imagine their boys are still going to be a little intimidated given the fact that they've never really beaten anyone that was good.
And I thought the Alabama fanbase was completely unreasonable and myopic. Come on guys, Oklahoma State has a proven quarterback returning as well as perhaps the best receiver in college football. Most of their starting O-line returns as well. Georgia has an unproven quarterback with 11 live snaps under his belt in 4 years. Granted, you have one of the best receivers in the game returning, but you lost 85% of your offense.
I'm not saying Georgia can't go to Stillwater and pull the upset, but it's highly unlikely in my opnion. I still say the Cowboys win by 10. Furthermore, I believe Georgia will start the year 0-3. I'm a huge fan of the program and especially Mark richt, but if he wins 8 games this year it will by far be his best coaching job to date.
Is Jamal Mosley going to play? He is facing a marijuana possession charge but I bet Gundy lets him play.
HAHA.. Andrew has the post of the day!
Anon, @ 9:36, do you work for ESPN or the AJC? Is your name Mark May by chance?
Gen. Stoopnagle,
I haven't seen that article and am quite interested in reading it. Do you have a link or know which paper it was in so I can find it? I'll be glad when gameday finally gets here so we can put all this talk to rest. If I remember correctly, 2003 was supposed to be a big dropoff for the Dawgs, too, but they went out and hung a 30-0 whooping on Clemson on the road to open the season. Not saying we'll do that to Okie State, but no one should doubt Richt's ability to reload.
Anon @ 9:36
I hope your prediction is as reliable as the facts and logic you use to back it up.
Please consider; T Bone Peekins shares a locker with the pokes and he might have an eye on something we can't see.
9:36, you are selling Joe Cox short. In his career he has started a game, led the team on a game winning drive, and played in 13 total games. He is a quality talent that happened to play behind the #1 overall pick in the draft. As for Ok State's returning talent, we've been there and done that. The things I have heard from the Poke's players and boosters sounds like they are reading their press too much, very similar to us last year IMO. Should be a good game.
Anon @ 9:36
Let's say we meet in Nevada.
I'll put a $100 on UGA straight up in each of the first three.
Plus I'll give you 2:1 on UGA winning at least one of the first three. You get 1,000 if UGA goes 0-3. I get $500 if UGA wins at least one of the three.
Let me know if you're interested.
Who cares what T. Boone says re: football? It's just smack-talk from one of this country's most successful entrepreneurs.
I think T. has earned a right to talk a little sh*t.
Most Americans can't tote his spitbucket.
The T-Boone article: http://georgiasports.blogspot.com/2007/09/t-boones-saturday.html
Ironically below it on a hash tag search for "OK State":
http://georgiasports.blogspot.com/2007/09/ok-state-game-kickoff-coverage.html
My score prediction: Cowboys 0 - Georgia 1: Pokes forfeit and never make it out of the locker room because there's a Golden Girls marathon on the 60" plasma
Someone beat me to it, offering for the goofball predictor of 0-3 to bet. He sounds like a lonesome GT fan to me.
As far as Boone's prediction, I say no way OSU covers that. :)
Thanks for the link, Ryan. Love the Golden Girls comment!
Most of 9:36's false facts have been pointed out, but just for safe measure and to his total discredit ill offer:
UGA actually lost about 93% of it's offense
May I share a few quotes?
"The bulk of OSU's offense returns -- including 100 percent of the rushing and passing yards and 75 percent of the Cowboys' receiving yards. Only [one player] is gone among the major contributors who helped the Cowboys..." finish seventh nationally in points and 16th in yards per game.
"As much firepower as the Cowboys have coming back, their season will depend on the improvement of the defense, which returns [several] starters".
A major change will come with the arrival of [a new] defensive coordinator."
Have you read this before? Yes you have! This isn't from a preview of the '09 Cowboys. It's ESPN's preview of the '07 version.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2805393
If you're curious.
Beautiful General. Absolutely beautiful. I knew I'd heard this song and dance before.
T-Boone's locker room material is nullified by the NY Times saying they'll lose to UGA. I'm sure that will be on their board.
Stoopnagle, you just blew my mind!
Hey T-Boone: Money talks, bullshit walks.
Pickens argument is similar to all OkSt arguments.
I think we are going to be 11-0.
We have to first beat UGA.
Therefore we will win.
Not really deductive.
Not really insightful.
Not really based on anything other than the hope of an 11-0 season.
my reaction - WHO CARES?!?
I am amazed each and every day to see UGA fans thinking we have a shot at leaving Stillwater with a W. What am I missing here? 4 of our last 5 regular season games ended with 38+ points for the opponent. We have an unproven QB and RB. Our o-line is questionable. Yes, there is depth there. Oh, and we were able to generate zero pressure on any QB last year. So, again, what am I missing to think we have a shot in Stillwater?
Faith? As long as the game hasn't been played we do have a shot. Stanford didn't have a shot against USC....
30-4 road record
8-0 season openers
34-3 non-conference
Don't forget the fact that Jeff Owens is back from his injury and Rod Battle is finally healthy. Okie Light has a penchant for disappearing against quality opposition (see UT, TT, OU, Oregon), and it's not like we're Baylor or A&M.
Also let me say that anyone who says Joe Cox is an unproven commodity is talking out of his a$$. He was an Elite 11 QB coming out of HS, and he was nipping at Stafford's heals for the starting job all throughout the 2006 season. We know what we have in him. He's a solid leader playing behind a scary good OL that will make smart decisions with the football.
My reaction? We're going to break their new scoreboard. They won't want to ever play us again if they can help it. We roll.
Anon. 6:34..."He was an Elite 11 QB coming out of HS, and he was nipping at Stafford's heals for the starting job all throughout the 2006 season" Are you joking? The kid has had zero playing time since leaving IHS in Charlotte. How many big time recruits have come out of high school only to fall flat on their face?
As for OSU falling short in big games, what would you say about the Dawgs? How many "big" games have we dropped in recent years? How about Floriday 02, UT hanging half a hundred IN Athens, Bama "Black Out"? As painful as this is to say, we are simply not a "big game" team. Sure there has been success, but does the success equate to the talent we put on the field year in and year out? Take the Pokes and the point for an early Christmas!
I love anonymous commenters who bash UGA then say sorry and expect us to believe they aren't unemployed sanitation engineers from the Trade School.
Is there any program in the country with more envy for their in state rival? Oh yeah...Oklahoma State.
As if to prove my point, on the ESPN comments to Chris Low's article on 5 things to watch in the SEC, a commenter claims to be a huge UGA fan, says we will lose at least 4-5 games this year, then apologizes to fellow UGA fans.
His username? NDFANIRISH23
RedCrake, Anyone...please give me solid info as to why you believe we will leave Stillwater with a W! I want to believe! But given the fact that ALL we have to rely upon RIGHT NOW is the success, or lack there of, from last year, I have nothing else credible to fall back on. Was it the Kentucky game that boosts your hopes for 09? Or was it the GAy Tech game that you saw so much promise? Oh, I know, it must have been that stellar Auburn game that won you over. Please, give me something other than Cox was a stud at the same school that produced Chris Leak?!?!
Anon basher:
If memory serves, Cox threw 66 touchdowns his senior year, against 5 interceptions.
Not sure how many games they played, but that's a shitload of TD's.
Sure, he was never gonna take the job from the Texas Gunslinger.
But I think he will surprise you. And if I believed you are really a Dawg fan, I'd be happy for you.
How about Richt's record in season openers? Or in nonconference games? Or in road games?
How about Oklahoma State's record against Top 25 competition? Or against any kind of real competition for that matter?
Okie State's entire resume for being a top 10-15 team this year is based on beating up on cupcakes to start their 2008 season before losing three of their last four. The single win? Over a 5-7 Colorado team.
Someone could have made an argument similar to yours about Alabama or Tech's chances of beating Georgia last year and yet it happened. If you were a fan of a program with a legitimate tradition, you'd know that's why they play the game.
Go back to your dungeon master, bee boy!
NRBQ...I am a HUGE Dawg! If I were not a Dawg, I would not be this passionate. I honestly believe that the 09 Dawgs are going to struggle. The offense will be alright. Richt's first few seasons were tough offensively. However, the D held those teams together. I see zero chance of that happening this season. Yes, I am one who believes CWM should have been shown the door last year. I have little to no (leaning more towards no) confidence in him. Our D was awful in 08 due to coaching, lack of overall talent, and yes injuries. Injuring happen and I can live with that. I can not live with poor coaching. Will we have poor talent in some areas from time to time? Of course. What worries me is the OVERALL lack of talent on the defense. With a strong o-line, returing QB, RB and WR (top 3 in nation), how will we keep OSU from posting a huge number? Who is going to pressure the Zac? What about Bryant? How will we stop him? I honestly see nothing from our D that will slow them down.
This is kind of like one of those situations when someone tells you how cool they are or how many friends they have.
When someone has to tell you that they are a "HUGE Dawg," they aren't.
RedCrake?...
Last 5 season openers:
Ga. Souther (2) Bosie State (over hyped and finished 9-40, Western Kentucky (need I say more?), OSU (7-6)! Please give me more.
Previous non-conf. games:
Ga. Souther, Marshall, GAy Tech, ULM, UAB, Central Michigan (Bowls: Mich. State-W, Hawaii-W, Va. Tech-W(good team), West Va-L(we put them on the map) Wisconsin-W. TRY AGAIN.
Road Wins: There it is. Richt's road record is all we have to go on. Outside of that, there is nothing. Where are our big wins?
And what exactly are you basing the impossibility of a win against Oklahoma State on? Where are their big wins?
Two of the season openers that you listed were picked by many to beat UGA. As you said, they were overhyped. Yet you are certain that there is no way we can beat a team that finished 9-4 with a bowl loss to a mid-range Pac10 team.
They have all their statistical leaders back. The same ones that led them to that stellar record?
If you want to have a logical, substantiated discussion about the question marks that Georgia has to answer then I'm all for that. If you're going to state emphatically that there is no reason to believe Georgia can be successful in this game, I'm done. My in-laws are Tech fans so I get to listen to drivel like this during the major holidays...I certainly don't need to do so in August when we have no idea how the season will shake out.
RedCrake..."in August when we have no idea how the season will shake out." That is my point! We have zero idea as to how this season will end. We only have last season as our benchmark. And given last season, we nothing to get excited about. Our offense is a huge question mark, the defense is riddled with holes, and our special teams have tons to prove! Given that, 8-4 sounds like it is not out of the picture. Want the 4? OSU, LSU, UF and GAy Tech. I am just guessing here, but you see it playing out differently. Right?
We have no idea how it will shake out, who might get injured, who will step up, and some want to say who we will lose to.
I am not on the record with any potential win/loss record. I really don't do that. I am optimistic about our potential and think we have a better chance against Ok. St. based primarily on their recent history and the fact that we likely know who will be available for that game at least.
Other than that, we'll just have to agree to disagree.
First, ubiquitous anon, I think you are short-changing our offensive line. It's deep, it's talented and it's experienced. Relative inexperience in the backfield can be overcome with a healthy & dominant OL. You may continue to poo-poo the OL, but I challenge you to find a better OL coach than ours. I have to think that without having to play patchwork games this year, that we'll run the ball well and Cox will have time to get the ball to A.J. Green, our one established play-maker. I'd wager that Moore's bowl performance gave you some hope for the receiving corps as well?
Joe Cox has more than a handful of mop-up time snaps. He led the team to a win in '06 and started the next week at Ole Miss. He was pulled, but he certainly was on a much shorter leash than Stafford that year. (Rightly, I think, as we finished '06 with wins over three ranked teams; and, I needn't remind you, started '07 with a very convincing win over Oklahoma State - and OSU which appeared in pre-season to poised for a break out year, but no need to re-hash, right?)
Georgia has, traditionally, excelled in this situation: low expectations, hyped opponent on cusp of "breakout" year/game. . .
The off-season theme for us has seemed to be leadership. And not "lack of" but the wealth of it displayed all summer. Call me crazy, but with Owens back and our overwhelming strength at DT, our strong LBers and Jones being in a "contract year" I'm betting on marked improvement from the defense.
I remember '07 and we didn't have a dominant pass rush DE going into the year either. Ask Colt Brennan (or Tim Tebow) how that worked out for us.
I'll take the 6 points and the Dawgs, thanks.
Anon @ 9:36...do you not realize what Richt has done on the rode.. He has a 30-4 reacord on the road...and a 8-0 record for season openers..he is also 14-2 when he has over 30 days to prepare for a game...trust me mark richt will have the bulldogs ready
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