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
KNelson
December 23rd, 2009
6:29 am
Here we go again ! Talking about a NC in 2010 ! Georgia , you dont even know who your qb will be. You will have a new dc, not very much dept at any position while Tennessee will be better, Florida needs not even be mentioned as they ALWAYS beat you. Kentucky will be improved . A realistic hope is to play in a bowl after December 28th. Wake up !
KNelson
December 23rd, 2009
6:33 am
BOWL BEAUTY – Did your parents produce any children that lived? A Great matchup? A& M is a 6-6 team ! I guess it will be good to see 2 mediocre teams play each other but thats about it! 2 good QB’s? What is A& M going to start 2 at the position?
War Jacket
December 23rd, 2009
7:22 am
Georgia is just another irrelevant team playing one of many irrelevant bowl games. GO AGGIES!!
Tom Barfield
December 23rd, 2009
7:32 am
I met my wife in Shreveport. 29 years later, still no parole!!!
quadriple option
December 23rd, 2009
9:12 am
A new offensive attack found hidden in the dead sea scrolls. GT will put up an average of 45 points a game with this new discovered offense. It is a combinatio of the Statue of liberty and hook and ladder.
JMac12203
December 23rd, 2009
9:24 am
So, some of the players are grumbling about being away from home at Christmas. Well, if they had a better team and could actually win more than ONE game against top competition (GT), they would be home for Christmas. As luck and a bad football team would have it, they are in the party city of SHREVEPORT. hahahahahahahahahahahahaha !!!!!
Bad Dawgie
December 23rd, 2009
9:55 am
Time to jump off the bandwagon.
Who are these guys?
December 23rd, 2009
10:00 am
Who are these guys?
December 23rd, 2009
9:59 am
Texas A&M will face Georgia in the 2009 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl on Monday, Dec. 28 at 4 p.m. on ESPN2 with Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham, and Quint Kessenich calling the game.
For such a great match up I would have thought Fowler, Herbstreit, Corso, May and Holtz would have been at the game
ARdawg
December 23rd, 2009
10:01 am
ARdawg will be in Shreveport to cheer on UGA. Why? Because thats what we Dawg Fans do.
Mark, like Cam Fong said you shoot my theory about Tech fans all to hell. Just when I think you all suck the big one, along comes one with some common decency, you. Merry Christmas to you my friend and good luck to your team in the Orange Bowl.
To my Georgia athletes: quit yer damn whining. I am not convinced we even deserve to play in the Independence Bowl. The bytch slapping in TN and J’ville and the miserable losses to OK ST and KY we are extremely lucky to even be noticed by a bowl committee. Being home for Christmas is a reward to teams for “winning”. We don’t belong in that category this year. Pin your ears back and reap your earned just rewards. Beat A&M!
GO DAWGS
yellowfuzzy
December 23rd, 2009
10:16 am
Those UGAlys don’t know football we’re the 16th greatest champion in college football. The best game of the bowl season is the orange bowl and we won last year!
yellowfuzzy
December 23rd, 2009
10:17 am
weve got the perfect option… I get goosepimples every time I see that on youtube.
bob leblah
December 23rd, 2009
10:20 am
If tech hadn’t been given the 1999 game on that bad fumble call.. they wouldn’t have beaten uga in that toilet they call a stadium since 1989!!! 9 of 10 in the toilet, with an asterisk next to your one win. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Dogs Roll
December 23rd, 2009
10:36 am
Texas A&M is not a good team… Georgia should roll ..
JacketFan
December 23rd, 2009
10:41 am
Sounds like some of the Dawgs don’t want to be there. Be careful, we saw what happened to OSU last night-they didn’t want to be Las Vegas. If Dawg morale is low, A&M will win. Hope Richt can get his kids inspired to play …
Brucemac
December 23rd, 2009
10:48 am
The players always drive to games if it is in reach since the NCAA allows them a mileage rate that nets them some extra cash for the bowl. Nothing wrong with our busses or our airplane. This is how it is done by all.
quadriple option
December 23rd, 2009
10:51 am
Twas the night before the tech game, And all through the house
All the nerds were playing World of Warcraft, Steadily clicking there mouse
Brucemac
December 23rd, 2009
10:57 am
Oh yea, this is a pitiful bowl, reminds me of when Dawgs went to Tangerine Bowl and got hammered by Miami-Ohio (really). It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened as Dooley went to work and we were in National Championship race for along time afterward. In 2010 we will have great running game, great O line and much better defence. Our speciality teams will be led by the best kicking combo in the country. That new untested qb in Tuscaloosa didn’t seem to bother them, huh? I think Dawgs will be very good next year, NC seems a long way off though.
Eskimo Joe
December 23rd, 2009
11:17 am
Richt is #1 in the SEC in Bowl games for the decade he knows how to get his guys ready for the Bowl. He is 7-2 in Bowl games. No active coach in the SEC has more Bowl wins than Richt. The guy’s a winner. 80 wins in 8 seasons in the SEC.
BAMA STAN
December 23rd, 2009
11:19 am
12 NATIONAL TITLES – 22 SEC TITLES!!!
Guys – I smell an upset – Texas A&M will win this game.
The vibe I am getting from the bulldog nation and Athens is very similar to Alabama last year = and we got UTAH’D.
– TEXAS A&M is fired up to play UGA
– They have sold out their tickets and buying UGA tickets
– Practice Reports are that they are fired up and excited to be playing this game – and sense a victory.
– UGA under Richt does not do well in bowl games when the clear favorite – save Hawaii (see BC and West VA)
– UGA is without a defensive coaching staff – and your DL Coach is rumored to be leaving as well.
Seems to me that UGA is going through the motions – and TEXAS A&M is preparing as if they are playing for a National Title.
Last year – underdogs won over 60% of the bowl games – for the reason above. Again – see Alabama – UTAH.
Also – last spring I predicted UGA would win 8 games most – might win only 5 games – but wind up with a 6-6 or 7-5 record. and several folks tore me apart on these blogs.
I am merely calling it as I see it – and I could tell that UGA was going to struggle this year for the following reasons:
– losing Moreno/Stafford/MOMass was huge.
– OL was not good last year – despite what UGA was saying (and same players this year – 2009)
– Defense has been sliding since 2006 – and no DE play last year with no stars this year.
– NO QB – Joe Cox = Greg Talley – although Cox (and Talley) are two kids that you want to root for.
Results speak for themselves.
Texas A&M wins – but this will not be an upset. UGA will earn this defeat with sloppy play – stupid penalties – turn over issues, etc (see Kentucky, OK STATE, TN, FL, – and dang lucky did not get beat by AZ STATE and SC.
I will root for the UGA team – but this has been a horrible “team” and a horrible coaching job by this staff.
ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL TIDE!!!!!!!
Eskimo Joe
December 23rd, 2009
11:19 am
Texas A & M is an excellent team, they almost beat #2 ranked Texas. But like Tech, they will be no match for the mighty Bulldogs.
Brucemac
December 23rd, 2009
11:27 am
Bama Stan, you are correct, we will get whomped. How do you see 2010 for Dawgs since you are apparently on a roll (pun intended), assuming we get a real DC of significance.
Observor
December 23rd, 2009
11:42 am
Brucemac,
2010 dawgs will go 7-5 or 8-4 again. Florida is an automatic loss. South Carolina, UT, GT, and Auburn are probable losses but dogs will win 1 or 2 of those 4 games. If they split then that’s 3-4 losses.
Then they will probably lose one of their 2 games to a west division opponent and then there’s always Kentucky. Hard to believe but Kentucky actually now competes with Georgia having split the last 4 with the dawgs. And if Georgia doesn’t get a lucky 4th down td pass last year then UK would have won 3 of the last 4 against the dawgs.
Its shocking but dawg fans were leaving in droves when UK took only a 6 pt lead against the dawgs midway through the 4th qtr this year. That pretty much was the defining moment for Georgia football in 2009.
I’m going with 7-5 and 8-4 best case scenario. On top of everything else UGA will be breaking in a new qb and most likely it will be a redshirt frosh. Its never good to start a freshman even if they have a year as a redshirt to learn. We’ve all seen what Logan Gray can do: Not much.
Richt probably gets fired at the end of next season. And btw I’m not even a dawg hater. Just call it like I see it.
dawgfan
December 23rd, 2009
12:11 pm
Just fyi about the travel…
1. it’s always been travel on your own to bowl games, even for the sugar bowl in 2007
2. the money they get is NOT enough to cover travel. They get $125 for the entire trip and that includes for meals they have to pay for
3. they have to travel as a team to any other game, they don’t have the option to drive to any other game and pocket the difference
Brucemac
December 23rd, 2009
12:12 pm
I wasn’t asking you, I was asking the Bama Stan since he actually has facts that make sense. It is obvious by your blabber that you are weak on the facts and as such your opinion means little. You might not be a Dawg hater but you sure pay alot of attention to our games for a non interested party Touch down passes are not luck unless you follow Tech so I assume you are a Tech Fan.
AltamahaDawg
December 23rd, 2009
12:29 pm
PDawg, the difference is that we gave tech a hard time about thier crappy bowl in years past because we were part of the events that put them there. They don’t really have that angle on us this year. Somehow “haha, we lost to your team going to a crappy bowl” doesnt have the same zing.
Personally I think the “haha, our best team by our standards couldn’t beat your worst team by your standards”, really burns all the Dawg fans.
AltamahaDawg
December 23rd, 2009
12:38 pm
Thanks goodness we have so many rivals whose job it is to just “call it like they see it”. Not sure what us Dawg fans would do without them. With our obvious lack of knowledge about our own football team.
30-24 We're just better than you.
December 23rd, 2009
12:52 pm
We ARE better than you. Period.
http://dli.ajc.com/imageserve/04T47phdBm2ld/400x.jpg
The University of Georgia – 2009 ACC Champions!!!!
quadriple option
December 23rd, 2009
1:00 pm
Oh techie nerds, Oh techie nerds
How Georgia whipped your @ss
Oh techie nerds, Oh techie nerds
We beat the jackets on their own grass!
Your teams ranks fell to the ground,
Paul Johnson’s smile turned upside
Oh techie nerds, oh techie nerds
the Dawgs will ALWAYS own you!
Shreveport 2009, Natl Champs 2010
December 23rd, 2009
1:00 pm
The last 2 times Richt had a bad season at Georgia, he went either 11-2 or 13-1 the next year.
2010 is LOOKING GOOD!!!!!
57 Magnum
December 23rd, 2009
1:15 pm
Hot new topic. the Obama’s lost UGA the national championship this year. Inside sources tell me the 1st lady decided she wanted to go the the championship game. She feels that red is not a good color for her or her two children. Any school with red as a primary color was eliminated.
If that old guy had been elected president UGA would of gone 13-1
By the way Alabama is crimson, not red….
espn
December 23rd, 2009
1:17 pm
We have just about finalized the Dogs Thursday night game…it will be a surprise!
Ray Goff
December 23rd, 2009
1:20 pm
Don’t hate on me
Ed
December 23rd, 2009
1:47 pm
“Georgia is just another irrelevant team playing one of many irrelevant bowl games.”
I’ll have to concede that point, War Jacket – if anyone would know about irrelevant teams and irrelevant bowls, it would be a Tech fan. We will defer to your expertise.
30-24. Any relevancy there?
UA Alum92
December 23rd, 2009
1:50 pm
Brucemac,
I’m not Bama Stan, but I believe the proof will be in the pudding very early for the 2010 Dawgs with the 9/11 game in Columbia. USC is returning something like 18 starters and they seemed to gel later in the season. If the Dawgs survive that one, they might get on a pretty nice roll.
The road for Bama next year is going to be very, very hard. IF we win the NC, then the target naturally comes with it. Plus, this season we played three SEC teams who were coming off of bye weeks (Auburn, MSU and UT). More than anyone else in the conference. Next year? SIX teams will be coming off byes (Auburn, LSU, MSU, Ole Miss, SC and UT) four of which are in our own division. No other SEC school plays more than one in 2010.
Expect a shake-up in scheduling for 2011.
I-DOG
December 23rd, 2009
2:50 pm
Mark:
I have to agree with just about everything that you said. tech outcoached and outplayed UGA last year when UGA had the better team.
UGA has not played a complete game of football since the 2008 season (that I can recall) and rarely have played even a good half of football in the last two seasons. I’m not talking about near perfection, just a good solid game of disciplined smart football for 4 quarters. I also agree with you that Paul Johnson is getting a lot out of his players. The only thing I disagree with you on is that UGA played smarter than they have against tech this year. I guess we played a “little” smarter, but there was no reason for that to be a close game. When one team can get 7-8 yards, at will, by running up the middle even in the 1st quarter when everyone is fresh… it shouldn’t come down to the final drive of the game.
UGA kept tech in it with some really boneheaded penalties and turnovers that were the trademark of our 2009 squad. Until we can force some turnovers, and stop leading the NCAA in dumb penalties and turnovers, it will be tough for us to compete in the SEC to any degree.
Toe Meets Leather
December 23rd, 2009
3:34 pm
It appears that I have unintentionally offended some people by pointing out that Georgia will be playing its bowl game in Shreveport.
Nothing wrong with Shreveport. Why, I’ll bet that in the last few weeks thousands of Georgia grads have returned to the trailer after a hard day’s work at Mickey Ds and said, “Hon, you know I’ve always had a hankering to see Shreveport. Do you think . . .?”
SHREVEPORT. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
JB
December 23rd, 2009
3:50 pm
Rather be in Shreveport with Georgia folks than in Miami with Tech Folks. It’s as simple as that.
Cletis
December 23rd, 2009
4:21 pm
Excited bout watching the dawgs tee it up one more time this year!!! Finish strong boys finish strong!!!!!
Haters??
December 23rd, 2009
4:25 pm
Funny how so many haters get on the UGA blog. Its nice to be 7-5 and still be relevant to you guys. WE WILL ALWAYS BE IN THE MIX IN THE SEC HATERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mikey
December 23rd, 2009
4:26 pm
JB, you wouldn’t find many Tech folks in Miami anyway.
Munson
December 23rd, 2009
4:36 pm
Bama Stan, a perfect example of why I will be rooting for Texas in the NC game.
Bama fans-The only fan base in America that makes Gator fans look classy!
Jethro Dawg Tull
December 23rd, 2009
4:46 pm
Toe Meets Leather = Still haven’t gotten over being bitten by the DAWG have ya?
nellzred
December 23rd, 2009
4:49 pm
While in Shreveport, restaurant-wise, try Fertitta’s on Line Ave. near Superior Grill and Smith’s Crosslake Inn. If you want to dine in style, the absolute best is Ernest’s on Youree Drive Extention. Try the crab claws, you won’t regret it.
steve
December 23rd, 2009
4:56 pm
this just in Todd Granthham just hired as UGA DC
Andrew
December 23rd, 2009
5:05 pm
Hey Bill, if they want to complain about missing Christmas, tell them next time to play a little better and they wouldn’t have too.
superDawg
December 23rd, 2009
7:02 pm
to stinger and any other tekie out there,if tek is this so called powerhouse then why can’t your team beat UGA on consistant basis?
Ramma Bama
December 23rd, 2009
7:03 pm
Georgia may have about 200 people at that low rent game. But, when bama went a few years ago, they sold it out. Ga’s fans jumped off the bandwagon long ago. Look for an easy bama win against Texas, making it title #13!!!!
superDawg
December 23rd, 2009
7:03 pm
That is how you shut up a nerd.Ask them a question that requires the truth to answer.
Shreveport--Home of 2009 Natl Champs
December 23rd, 2009
7:07 pm
Good job selling this Bowl out in 7 days guys! Bama couldn’t sell it out in 2006 or 2007. Nice to know our fan suport exceeds Bama. Bama followed the 2007 Indep Bowl in Shreveport with a trip to the Natl Champ in 2009.
Tech Fan
December 23rd, 2009
7:18 pm
Bill – You’re a joke. This is a dog loss pure and simple. Texas A & M will clean your plow. The only way it will be a 38 – 21 win for GA will be in you dreams before the game. This game will cap the outstanding season UGA has enjoyed (7 – 5) while showing their “dominance” in SEC play against teams like FLA and KY. Only a lucky win at Tech helped you salvage your season. Don’t flatter yourself with winning predictions. You and the doggies are exactly in the bowl you deserve – actually you wouldn’t even be there if it wasn’t for your luck at Tech. Enjoy the holidays mutts – I hope the team is smart enough to find their way to Shreveport on their own – by the way, do they have airline service there yet??