A Free Man

Well, I’ve got talk for this weeks matchup between the Georgia Bulldogs and LSU Tigers, but I struggled to get the smack. I tried to find an LSU fan willing to stand up for their team this week ahead of their matchup with the Dawgs. I approached more than a couple of bloggers who came up as the result of a search for “Geaux Tigers” in Technorati. You would think that the defending National Champions would have a legion of fans chomping at the bit to defend their school. Maybe it was the beat down that they took at the hands of the Marsh Skinks a few weeks back, but nobody seemed willing - or perhaps able - to speak up for the Bayou Bengals. I did get one reply in broken French with a whiff of stale Dixie Beer, but I thought the translation may be difficult. Does anyone know what “Bùrp” means in English? Nevermind, we’ll do without the fragile Tiger fans.

Without someone to spar with, it’s not much fun, so I’ll keep things short and sweet. The Tigers are not a natural rival, in fact the last time we faced up with the Bayou Bengals was 2005 in the SEC Championship Game. The Tigers came in heavily favored with a 10-1 record and the only thing between them and a possible shot at a national championship being the Dawgs. That game didn’t turn out so well for LSU. They may be the defending champs, but until they beat us, we’re the defending champs of this matchup.

This game is at LSU’s Tiger Stadium, better known as Death Valley. It’s called that for a reason - the Tigers are tough as nails at home. Death Valley at night is a scary place. Fortunately, it’s a 3:30 kick and the Dawgs play better on the road than at home. In addition to their spanking in The Swamp, LSU has put up underwhelming wins against subpar Auburn and South Carolina teams and perennial cellar dweller Missy State. To be fair, the Dawgs haven’t exactly been setting the SEC on fire either.  It ain’t going to be pretty, my friends, but I think we can take LSU in their house. Georgia 31, LSU 27

Geaux Dawgs!

Once again, apologies for not coming through with an LSU fan but, with all due respect, the  fault lies squarely…

Wait, what’s that? I’m being told that, creeping in out of the swamps of Louisiana comes this missive, soggy and reeking of jasmine and decay. Lousiana Brown of Louisiana Love has staggered in off the shrimp boat to come through for the Tigers:

The countdown begins: Mere days before Georgia knows what a skewered catfish feels like in the bayou. To be honest, Georgia is good enough and strong enough, but can Mark Richt outcoach Les Miles? That’s the question. Richt’s bread and butter this season has been to throw it early and often to insane freshman A.J. Green. He’s lived up to the billing so far, and had his longest reception of the season (49 yards) last week vs. Vandy. LSU has no answer, so we’ll cede 10 points because of that. But don’t think for a moment that Matt Stafford will actually have time to plant his feet and throw to him. LSU has gotten used to calling all-out blitzes the last 2 weeks, look for more on Saturday.

Knowshon Moreno is a great back, but he won’t be able to run on LSU straight up, and LSU will not put 8 in the box either. On the other side of the coin, LSU’s resurgent Kieland Williams will supplement the durable Charles Scott and give the UGA defensive line just enough trouble to off-set the passing game. Jarrett Lee will throw an interception, so we’ll cede another 7 points to the Dawgs. LSU has played from behind in all its major conference games this season, this game won’t be any different. In the 4th quarter, when the UGA defense tires a bit, look for the deep ball to LSU’s speedy receivers Demetrius Byrd and Brandon Lefell. LSU 28- UGA 24.

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Georgia at LSU kicks off at 3:30 p.m. Eastern (6:00 a.m. Sunday Adelaide) on CBS. Expats, you can watch the game on CBS.com with a tricky little fix that The Vol Abroad sorted out (see, some Vol fans are OK). Send me a mail if you need to know how.

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