Bulldog Bites: Christmas in Shreveport
(Georgiadogs.com)
Georgia wrapped up its pre-bowl practices in Athens today and the players will be hitting the road on their own for Shreveport, where they’re expected to report by 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday. First up once they get there, the athletic department says, will be a team activity at Barksdale Air Force Base.
The Dogs will practice again Friday afternoon at Independence Stadium, after beginning Christmas Day with a morning visit to patients at a local hospital. Some of the players have grumbled about being away from home on Christmas, but maybe they’ll feel less sorry for themselves after that. A dinner is planned at the team hotel Christmas evening.
The Dogs will practice again on Saturday and hold a walk-through session on Sunday before Monday’s game against the Aggies. The Dogs are a 7-point favorite with the game’s over/under betting total set at 64 points, which, considering the offenses and defenses involved, some might consider kind of conservative.
I’m hoping the Dogs don’t get into a high-scoring shootout with the Aggies. If they do, it’ll mean the game plan (run the ball, control the clock and keep QB Jerrod Johnson on the sideline) didn’t work.
I’m thinking it might wind up something along the lines of 38-21 in favor of the Dogs. What does your crystal ball say?
INDEPENDENCE BOWL FLASHBACK
(The Helmet Project)
Georgia’s previous visit to Shreveport, to play Arkansas in the 1991 Independence Bowl during the Ray Goff era, isn’t one of those games of the ages that fans like to reminisce about. But if you’d like to refresh your memory about the game (which Georgia won 24-15), UGA football historian Patrick Garbin provides an interesting look back.
For a lot of folks, that game is most notable for Goff having given in to the players by adding a black stripe down the center of the red helmets and black facemasks. Thankfully, that was the only time that design was used.
The Blawg is taking a holiday break the rest of the week. See you back here for the bowl game.
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273 comments Add your comment
WonderDawg
December 22nd, 2009
4:43 pm
See Mark (3:26), you’re a good Tech fan that has good intentions. Then along comes “Toe Meets Leather”…… That’s right “Toe”, we had a sorry season by our standards – the worst since Mark Richt got here. But dang if he can’t kick Ga Tech’s a$$ 9 out of 10!!! That’s 9-1! We think we’ll keep him!!
WonderDawg
December 22nd, 2009
4:45 pm
Yes we can!
WonderDawg
December 22nd, 2009
4:51 pm
Sorry AU Alum92, I’ll even pull for UF. But I can’t pull for UT anmore. Not for slimy Lane. Man, he is more USC pimp than head coach. UT won’t tolerate his butt for very long.
oldbird
December 22nd, 2009
4:59 pm
Mark, I am a UGA alum and agree 100% with your post. I pull for GT every Saturday of football season except for one. The great state of Georgia need two top shelf programs. Hopefully, our dawgs can get back up there next year. Nice to see some sanity on the blog.
oldbird
December 22nd, 2009
5:02 pm
Oops. needs. Just a typo. I am not an illiterate UGA grad.
trey
December 22nd, 2009
5:06 pm
GT currently has 8K tickets left in their allotment. LOLOLOL
First major bowl you nerds have been to since, what is it, mid 60s, and you don’t sell your allotment. What’s your excuse? Oh yeah, you don’t have a “big fan base” right? So in all the years that GT has been in existence, you haven’t graduated enough little insects to fill up a football stadium for a major bowl? ROTFLMAO
In case you’ve forgotten:
(( 30-24 ))
Whamburger
December 22nd, 2009
5:11 pm
Hey MATTHEWS DAWG : This is for you -
1. ESPN Hates Georgia
December 21st, 2009
5:59 pm
Georgia won the Natl Championship in 2007, even though ESPN and Kirk Heirbstreet says LSU did.
2. Kirk Heirbstreet Biased Anti-Georgia Reporter
December 22nd, 2009
12:13 pm
Georgia should have had a shot in 2007, you just can’t play favorites like that. Georgia in 2007 was CLEARLY the hottest team in the country, but because of the ESPN Heirbstreet bias, was not invited to the Natl Champ.
Doesn’t matter, Georgia was Natl Champs in 2007.
3. Kirk Heirbstreet Biased Anti-Georgia Reporter
December 22nd, 2009
2:38 pm
OKLAHOMA LOST the BIG 12 Champ in 2003, 35-7 to Kansas St., and got an invite to the Natl Champ. They LOST their cxonference, and got an invite. Georgia didn’t win the SEC in 2007, and did NOT get the invite. Human bias.
George G.
December 22nd, 2009
5:16 pm
Teams with two loses, including one to a 6-6 team at home, don’t deserve to be in the NC game…even if everyone else has two losses. If UGA fans are seriously mad about that, they are insane.
Denver Dog
December 22nd, 2009
5:23 pm
It doesn’t really matter except that the kids get to play in a bowl game, and all the underclassmen get one more game’s worth of experience. It is hard to say which UGA team will show up, but if they want to go out in style they will play long and hard. The one thing to realize is that there are not alot of seniors on this team to begin with, and if the D coach, and D coach GA’s do a good job, then UGA will win this shoot out. I expect that to be an average game for UGA and A&M will try to make it a statement game. Our coaches will try to be building on something too!
Denver Dog
December 22nd, 2009
5:25 pm
George C, I am not sure what you are speaking of there?
Mark Under-Achieving Rich
December 22nd, 2009
5:42 pm
I think our program is going in the right direct. Whats the name of this bowl any way and who are we playing? Is their anyone left I can throw under the bus? Did you like the way I threw UGA IV under the bus? Martinez? My mom got spared. Do you think winning this sorry azz bowl game is going to mean anything to potential recruits….
I dont know how Bama does it. They dont have top five talent but they stay within striking range of a national championship. LSU did it Auburn did it Florida did it even Tennessee. I look back at the 90’s and the past decade.
I havent accomplished a damn thing with all that talent. How In the hell is every body else doing more with less? Oh well, who give a fcck, I be back next year….y’all remember the tangerine bowl? I dont think weve played there before. Even the peach bowl is tired of my sorry azz….fcck!
Mark Under-Achieving Rich
December 22nd, 2009
5:43 pm
I left the “T” off my last name…will one of you put it on there for me, Im too tired to get up….thanks
What ever happened to....
December 22nd, 2009
5:46 pm
Dawgs every body preseason # 1 pick. The most talent ever on one team….
Dawg Fleas
December 22nd, 2009
5:57 pm
On no! No team bus or coaches ? I guess Jeff Owens will stop at every Mickey D’s along the way to Shreveport that ole fat slow blob.
TUCK FECH
December 22nd, 2009
6:01 pm
You would think Tech would be on the Iowa Blog, but yet they are still OBSESSED with the DAWGS!
GEORGIA 60-39 over GT in series!
GEORGIA 30-24 over ACC Champ!
GEORGIA SELLS OUT EVERY HOME GAME!
GEORGIA HAS BEEN TO 3 BCS BOWLS BEFORE TECH COULD SMELL ONE!
DEAL WITH IT!
Mark Richt, Natl Champs 2010
December 22nd, 2009
6:01 pm
Odd, the last 5 Natl Championship coaches to appear in the Natl Champ have all had an “M” in either their first or last name as the first letter:
2010 Mark (Richt)
2009 Mack
2008 Meyer
2007 Miles
2006 Meyer
2005 Mack
Also, if you look at the last 3 Natl Championship Coaches that appeared in the Champ from 2006-2008, the letters from their name spells out MARK RICHT.
Pete Carroll- C, R
Kyle Whittingham- K, H, I, T
Urban Meyer- M, A, R,
Paul's Johnson
December 22nd, 2009
6:08 pm
One last reminder for you mutt-lovers. Watch out for that inside trap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkNT28g6YBU&feature=player_embedded
frank james
December 22nd, 2009
6:09 pm
As much as I love the Bowl games, I can’t stand the schedule. Only one game should be played after Jan. 1 and that is the National Championship Game. I am an old timer that thinks that New Years Day should be the hight light of the bowl season other that the NCG. We don’t have a playoff because we are worried about losing class time and some schools will have to cancel classes for there games. I just don’t want to be like the NBA, Major League Baseball and Pro Football. They all go a month too long. But money and TV dictate what goes on. What is everyone elses opinion on this?
Bo Williams
December 22nd, 2009
6:12 pm
Even Santa Claus isn’t going to Shreveport!
frank james
December 22nd, 2009
6:33 pm
Bo I hate to tell you, but Santa goes everywhere!
Mark Richt, Natl Champs 2010
December 22nd, 2009
6:35 pm
Mark Richt has 9 letters in his name. So that would seem to indicate that his cycle will be completed after his 9th season.
9
So if 2010 is the year Richt wins the Natl Champ, to complete a cycle, you’d have to think his jersey number in college, like the 9 letters in his name, would have been “9″, meaning, he will experience something great after his 9th year as a coach. Richt’s jersey number at Miami as QB was in fact:
9
UGASlobberknocker
December 22nd, 2009
6:37 pm
I think the guy above that is finding hidden Mark Richt lettering in the names of past natl championship coaches is spending a little too much time indoors. Dude, get a girlfriend. What’s next, Nostradamus making bowl selections?
1eyedJack
December 22nd, 2009
6:37 pm
He’ll be gettin’ here a little earlier this year because it won’t take very long in Knoxville. Lot’s of boys and girls on the naughty list in Knoxville.
I wonder if Layla has been naughty or nice this year?
Opinion
December 22nd, 2009
6:39 pm
The Jackets have won four Division I-A college football national championships and 15 conference titles. Their success led to Street and Smith to call them the 16th greatest football program of all time, which, to the delight of Tech fans, put them 2 spots ahead of hated rival University of Georgia.
Enjoy Christmas in Shreveport………..hahahahahahaha!!!!!
UGASlobberknocker
December 22nd, 2009
6:40 pm
There are 11 letters in Paul Johnson’s name..that can mean only one thing:
Tech sucks
1eyedJack
December 22nd, 2009
6:42 pm
I guess we better get that NC next year or the next ’cause the world is gonna’ end in 2012 right?
jonnycash
December 22nd, 2009
7:08 pm
I don’t understand them not going as a team. I think it shows just how weak a coach Richt is and you will see this situation will not get any better just worse. I agree the highlight of the year is the Tech win and they should have stayed home.
1eyedJack
December 22nd, 2009
7:17 pm
Is there an NCAA travel restriction here?
2007 & 2009
December 22nd, 2009
7:18 pm
All of us need to remember that TN. beat the snot out of us both years. That is why I didn’t buy the NC talk of 2007.
#2 BAMA FAN
December 22nd, 2009
7:36 pm
Bama turned its football program around at the bowl game in 07. Good luck in beating the aggies!! RTR
Hedgecutter
December 22nd, 2009
7:39 pm
Trey’s an idiot….UGA has not had the team to compete for the NC since 1980…they were lucky then. You do not have the coaching staff to make it happen. 2009 waqs a blip in ATL….GT will dominate in the future…find a decent coach.
TUCK FECH
December 22nd, 2009
7:43 pm
Hedgecutter I am still waiting on a Tech fan to take a swing at me like your coach instructed after the 30-24 Beat Down!
Hedgecutter
December 22nd, 2009
7:50 pm
Tuck…I would but you are not worth it…what a pitiful program you have…You will be 3rd or 4th in the SEC east for many years .
TUCK FECH
December 22nd, 2009
7:54 pm
Hedgecutter The SEC plays for the National Championship while the ACC gets beat by unranked SEC teams.
ACC= All Coast Clear.
TUCK FECH
December 22nd, 2009
7:56 pm
How does a #2 ranking in the Nation in 2007…An SEC Championship in 2005 and 2002…and 3 BCS games say about 3rd or 4th in the SEC EAST?
frank james
December 22nd, 2009
8:03 pm
Hedgecutter – You better go finish that yard. You can tell you know nothing about college football. Maybe you can quite doing yards on Sat. and start watching so you will become educated. You are making a fool of yourself.
Opinion
December 22nd, 2009
8:10 pm
SEC titles-2 the next column might as well be deleted when it says National championships and has Georgia listed under it because for the last decade that would be 0 for the last two decades that would be a 0 while at least Tech has 1 in the last 2 decades
frank james
December 22nd, 2009
8:12 pm
A realistic fan doesn’t measure a successful season by National Championships. Maybe I should, but that figure 8 out of 9 keep popping up.
dawgerbrown
December 22nd, 2009
8:12 pm
Well, someone gave my daughter 2 tix to the Independence Bowl and she and her husband are actually gonna go. Anybody have any idea of any places to stay there?
frank james
December 22nd, 2009
8:17 pm
If you can blog for sure you can go to google and look for hotels in Shreveport. I hope they enjoy themselves. I’m not surprised they are going.
Hedgecutter
December 22nd, 2009
8:28 pm
i think UGA thinks the NC is being played in Shreveport this year…what a joke!!
The Real SugarHillDawg
December 22nd, 2009
8:38 pm
Someone please tell me how a Tech fan can get on here and talk smack after a middle of the road SEC team beats them at their dump?Y’all might be going to a much better bowl but you know who owns you(not that that is saying much). We are gonna win our bowl and Iowa is gonna do what we did to you and the ACC will take yet another black eye–but y’all are used to that.If this keeps up, the ACC is gonna lose it’s BCS tie in.
James
December 22nd, 2009
9:00 pm
How depressing.
Hedgecutter
December 22nd, 2009
9:06 pm
You were lucky to beat GT….enjoy because the Aggies will win by at least 2 touchdowns. Your program is pitiful.
Ed
December 22nd, 2009
9:48 pm
I have to agree with the players who are grumbling about missing Christmas at home. Why not fly out the day after Christmas?
Hedgecutter, shut your mouth, sore loser. Your team lost to Georgia for the 8th time in 9 games. Losers don’t get to call their conquerors pitiful – it just makes you sound stupid. And if you want to talk about “luck” – explain how Tech was even still in the game after Georgia controlled the line of scrimmage so thoroughly. And it’s not our fault your guy couldn’t catch a pass that hit him between the numbers. Catching is still a fundamental part of a passing offense, right?
Try to maintain some dignity. Big deal – you lost to Georgia. Sheesh, you would think that you’d be use to it by now.
30-24 Dawgs - WE RUN THIS STATE
December 22nd, 2009
10:10 pm
30-24 tech game was our real bowl, that’s the one that mattered and Dawgs ran all over them untouched all night long. Dawgs have been to 3 BCS games and finally tech lucks into one in one of the weakest football conferences in America.
WE RUN THIS STATE!
Barkin'Dog
December 22nd, 2009
10:36 pm
For those of you concerned about the players getting to the game on their own, I think it has to do with stipends. They each get a certain amount of money to travel, and they can spend it any way they want. It’s enough to fly, I think, but they can drive (and even car pool to save bucks). This is one way to pay them for their services, and what kid doesn’t want some extra cash before Christmas? My only worry is a accident along the way with any kind of injury. God speed to all the players, and safe journey to kickoff and return. Happy Holidays, everyone, and GO DAWGS!!
Todd
December 22nd, 2009
10:38 pm
Why would anyone care to predict the score of the Independence Bowl?
Truly, as an 85 grad and letterman, I could care less about the outcome.
The only thing it represents to me is leaving the office early on Mon. and take the game in at some decent sports bar.
Tell MR thx for sticking with Joe Cox and he should remind himself he’s 8-9 whatever yrs. in to this thing at Ga and he better tighten up over the offseason. Maybe shed the cruise after spring ball and he and Bobo get thier act together.
The defense is a job for whoever they bring in. I think Ga has a good shot next yr. but based on the past MR will drop one that he should win and hold up his tract record so far. Most likely Arky at home.
frank james
December 22nd, 2009
11:00 pm
Todd – I think the Dawgs can and will bounce back next year. I believe we all can learn from this past year that you better appreciate the good years and great years because their is a fine line in such a competitive league. You learn to appreciate players like Green and Pollock and don’t take assume anything. I believe the fire has been ignited again.
Shreveport or Bust!
December 22nd, 2009
11:25 pm
Good job selling out the Independence Bowl in just 7 days guys. Bama could not sell it out in 2006 or 2007. Bama followed up Shreveport with a Natl Championship–rub that Shreveport magic.