Good morning, Dawgs and Dawgettes. Here’s hoping you have a leisurely Labor Day planned, with a bit of barbecue, maybe some time by the pool, and even a little college football. Before you get down to the business of not taking care of business, let’s catch up on what’s making news in Bulldog Nation:
Perhaps you heard, it wasn’t a great opening weekend for our friends from Tuscaloosa. Roll Bama Roll pulls no punches on what’s wrong amongst the Crimson Tide. While it was certainly not the opener Bama fans
were hoping for, I’d advise Bulldog fans to contain their mirth. The Tide still have a ton of talent, and a lot of time to figure things out before they arrive in Athens in late September. For what it’s worth the Crimson Tide currently have exactly one fewer FBS victories than Georgia’s upcoming opponent the Austin Peay Governors. The Guvs upset Middle Tennessee State 34-14, holding the Blue Raiders to 153 yards of total offense and a striking 0 of 12 on 3rd down attempts. I wouldn’t bet on Austin Peay to do the same against the Dawgs, but it bears noting that Coach Jeff Faris has his guys off to a confident start.
Elsewhere among college football unbeatens, Miami held on to upset Notre Dame last night behind a fair to decent effort from Carson Beck. In case you missed it, the broadcast was heavy with innuendo that Beck was treated unfairly in Athens and blamed for things that weren’t his fault. In short, he’s being set up as a Cinderella who’s been bullied by his mean and uncaring teammates and coaches at Georgia.
To this narrative I would retort that two things can be true at the same time. One is that the 2024 Bulldog offense had problems that weren’t of Carson Beck’s making. He put a lot of passes in Arian Smith’s hands that Smith dropped like a live tarantula. And Stacy Searels’ offensive line didn’t block for him as well as anyone would have liked. But none of those culprits threw 3 interceptions in each of three big games against Alabama, Texas, and Florida. And I’m fairly certain no one forced Beck to sit on the sideline grinning like a mule munching briars as Georgia was getting blasted by Ole Miss.
In short, Carson Beck may well benefit from a fresh start in Coral Gables. I think he’s a generally decent young man who showed a lot of character by hanging around and waiting his turn behind Stetson Bennett. But let’s not pretend Georgia might not also benefit from a fresh start without him, going in a different direction offensively.
Go ‘Dawgs!!!
