This puzzle is still missing a piece or two, maybe we find them this weekend

Well, our defense showed up a little against a “suspect” Arizona State offense. I say “suspect” because, to be honest, they didn’t look that good to me. Their QB appeared almost overwhelmed and actually had that “deer in the headlights” look on his face for most of the game. He didn’t have that “glide” that you often see with a player who has confidence in his ability. Think about Joe Montana. Now, I am certainly not trying to equate Danny Sullivan with Joe Montana, but when Joe moved, there was a certain smoothness to his motions. Even when Joe simply dropped back to pass, his motion was smooth. The same can be said about athletes like Michael Jordan, Randy Moss and our very own AJ Green. Most athletes have a sort of “glide” to them, and poor ‘ole Danny Sullivan, by contrast was jerky, clunky and downright stoic. So, I am not sure our defense was that much better as much as Danny Sullivan is just not a very good athlete/QB.

As the old saying goes – “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”, which really makes no sense to me, a win is a win and we should be happy about it. I am happy about it. I was very happy about it when we went up 14-3 in terrible weather. Our running game still leaves a lot to be desired, but we were moving the ball well in a downpour and weren’t making many mistakes. But then we seemed to take our foot off the pedal. It reminded me of when we played Florida State in the Sugar Bowl in 2003. There was a point in that game when it became obvious that we were the better team and that we were going to win, and we simply disengaged and coasted the rest of the way. I got the EXACT same feeling about mid-way through the 2nd quarter of this game. As it turns out, we would have done well to keep the momentum going and to have scored a couple more times, and then put it on cruise control. We came perilously close to losing a game we should have won, as they say “going away”.

That was then, this is now. This week, LSU comes to town. LSU, as you recall is coming off of a very disappointing (to them, normal for Georgia Tech) 7-5 season. So far, by all accounts, they have looked much like us, except they are undefeated and ranked #4. They have beaten a seemingly good Washington team and a resurgent Mississippi State team, both wins being fairly close. They appear to be in some sort of “talent limbo” like us, as well. We both have recruited well over the years, yet neither of us has been able to come out like the world beaters we should be and impress on both sides of the ball. Their offense is not firing on all cylinders and their defense has been so-so. They are struggling with their running game, just like us and both teams have a “stable” of capable talent. Their QB is a bit more mobile than ours and they have a good receiving corps, but I would give the edge to us with AJ Green. They hold the edge on defense, since they seem to be able to create turnovers while we have not shown that ability, to date. Just looking at this game, we appear to be fairly even across the board. That should mean that it will be a tight game. I mean, why would we want to break with tradition, right?!?!

However, something back in the cob-webbed, dark recesses of my mind tells me that this might be a “relaxing” game for one or the other of us. I hope it will be UGA, but it could just as well be LSU. Will LSU be yet another top-5 team to bite the dust? Will UGA actually play up to its potential and put together a complete game for the first time this year? Will LSU come in and utilize “super stud” Russell Shephard in the same manner that we should be using Logan Gray and make us pay for it? Was LSU looking ahead to us when they almost let Mississippi State win their game? Were we looking ahead to LSU with a lackadaisical win over a middle-tier PAC 10 school? Will LSU be looking ahead to Florida, who they play next when they come to Athens this Saturday? Will we be looking ahead to Tennessee? A lot of questions, but one thing is for sure – this game is always tough to predict.

Perhaps it is the eternal optimist in me that wants to believe in the Mark Richt system and in the coaching staff that averages nearly 10 wins per year, but I think UGA, at home will come out determined to win, hold onto the ball, gain a couple of turnovers in our favor for once and win the game. With all of the attention LSU is going to give AJ, look for someone else to make a statement in this game. Caleb should start and will hopefully get the majority of the carries early and then Richard can take over late in the game when we need to pound the rock and use the clock. (Nice, unintended rhyme, huh?).While I stated earlier that I had a feeling this game would be a comfortable win for one of us, logic tells me that the status quo for close games by both squads will prevail in this one, as well.

UGA by 4.