The Red and Black

Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: First & Goal

Michael Fitzpatrick

The season begins now.

After being embarrassed in its own house by Alabama, the Georgia football team had a week to lick its wounds before beginning the second phase of its schedule.

And now is the time for the Dogs to prove their mettle to the rest of the country, fans and naysayers alike.

Will they respond to adversity as they did last year, when they won their final seven games season and finished as the No. 2 team in the country?

Or will they come out keeping their heads down and their tails between their legs?

Saturday's game with Tennessee will provide Georgia the platform to get the season back on track, and any hopes of a berth in a BCS bowl depend on it.

After all, Tennessee has won the last two years in a row by a combined score of 86-47, and the chance of revenge should have the Dogs gnawing at their leashes.

And, not to mention the Vols are primed for a good ol' fashioned butt-whoopping. After benching prized five-star quarterback recruit Jonathan Crompton, the No. 3-rated quarterback in 2005 behind USC's Mark Sanchez and former LSU Tiger Ryan Perrilloux, Phil Fullmer's anemic offense only managed to score 13 points against Northern Illinois, at home.

Let me repeat that. Tennessee only scored THIRTEEN points against Northern Illinois, a mediocre Mid-American Conference team, the same conference that Central Michigan has won two years in a row. And the Northern Illinois defense should never be confused with, say, Ohio State.

Tennessee was also beaten by UCLA, a doormat in the Pac-10, the only BCS conference that has only one ranked team.

For the psyche of the team and fans, Georgia needs to blow the Volunteers and their wretched fight song out the stadium all the way back to Knoxville. The offense - in particular the offensive line - needs to build up some confidence before the Dogs head into the month from Hell, which recently added another opponent, the Vanderbilt Commodores.

The sickening feeling of being embarrassed at home needs to be a motivating force, and Georgia needs its offensive leaders to step up and perform.

And by leaders, I am talking about you, Matthew Stafford.

The time has come for Stafford to lead the Dogs to the Promised Land, or at least Miami. He has NFL scouts drooling over his throwing arm and other tangibles and many expect him to both forego his senior season and be the first quarterback taken in the 2009 NFL Draft.

Stafford has controlled the offense, and not turned the ball over. He only has one interception this season, but conversely, only seven touchdown passes. He makes the throws the coaching staff expects him to make, but he needs to start making the passes that are unexpected. Like that overtime winner in Tuscaloosa last season - the picture-perfect 25-yard strike to Mikey Henderson on Georgia's first play. He finally has a legitimate weapon at receiver in true freshman A.J. Green, and senior Mohamed Massaquoi is more than capable of making a big catch.

And especially with the injury to the elbow of Knowshon Moreno, Stafford needs to step up and carry the offensive load, a task he is more than capable of performing.

The penalties also need to stop. Committing five or six personal foul penalties a game is not going to fly, a lesson harshly taught by Saban and Co. Head coach Mark Richt has made ending the needless fouls a point in practice and that is a step in the right direction. The first part of fixing a problem is admitting it exists.

Saturday is the beginning of a new season and the Dogs know it. Due to their increasingly difficult schedule, they could be afforded a blemish and still have a chance at playing on Jan. 8 in Dolphin Stadium.

Well the blemish is now there and can't be wiped away, no matter how hard Georgia scrubs. But it can be forgotten, and that is by doing one thing.

Winning.

- Michael Fitzpatrick is the sports editor for
The Red & Black

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