Wheaties? Ice Cream? Something Gave the Dawgs a Second Wind

If Lucy Van Pelt had ever left that football on the ground and let Charlie Brown kick it, his first attempt at the feat probably would have looked like this:

When I saw Marshall Morgan kick that ball, I laughed so hard I fell out of my chair. Even in this replay video, you can hear me chuckling. I still giggle every time I watch it. Instead of a number on Morgan's jersey, Coach Richt should have put a black zig-zag line.

That one kick represents Georgia's performance during their comedy routine of a first half. At times I wondered whether Richt gathered the team in the locker room and said, "Let's spend the first half making Ole Miss think we really suck."

If that was the Dawgs' goal, it worked.

But I'm glad I didn't turn off the TV because with just seconds left in the first half, the Bulldogs finally showed up for the game, and with Tavarres King's beautiful completed touchdown pass, Georgia finally came out of the doghouse.

Four years ago, when I first started watching Georgia football games with interest, Tavarres King was in his first year playing in Sanford Stadium. Early in the season, Joe Cox threw him a touchdown pass, and King later told the press that he was keeping his glove as a souvenir. That was when I started calling him Keepsake King. But if King wants a keepsake of his Georgia years, he should hold on to yesterday's glove--bronze it even.

Then the Dawgs returned to the locker room for a pep talk. I can't help wondering what Mark Richt had to say to them. Did he give them the Pa Ingalls treatment and cry as he told them he loved them?

Or maybe he gave them some of this:

Maybe he fed them some Wheaties.

Or Maybe he sicked Shawn Williams on them. His pep talks have done more good than anything this year.

He doesn't look like someone I'd want yelling at me. 

Whatever happened during half time, I hope it keeps up. If the Dawgs go to the SEC championship, they can't go looking like they did in their first half. And Marshall Morgan needs to get the Charlie Brown out of his head.

The second half was a completely different game with two more touchdowns, a touch back and a safety. This season, Aaron Murray has been promising the team Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream for each win. The Olegtrees, both Xander and Alec, earned a banana split each for their roles. So did Malcom Mitchell and Tavarres King. Downtown Marlon Brown scored the game's second touchdown of the day, but if I were Murray, I'd only give him a double dip of Chunky Monkey. Brown didn't exactly hustle down that field. In fact, he looked like he was jogging, which made me change his nickname to Slow Down Marlon Brown.

A score of 37-10 is great, but it's much more satsifying if the fans have something to cheer about all through the first half.

Two other great games to watch last night were Notre Dame versus Pitt and LSU versus Alabama. The first game was a treat to watch, as the Irish and the Panthers went into triple overtime. I've never seen that in a football game. It sure keeps the crowd in the stands. Two good friends, Beth Howells and Nylce Prada Myers are Notre Dame alums, so out of friendship to them, I always hope the Irish win. Notre Dame has had some pretty tough years recently, so it's been a treat to see them victorious this season. So when Stephen told me Notre Dame's loss would be Georgia's game, I tried to cheer for Pitt. I really did. But I couldn't help silently rooting for Notre Dame. I know more about that university, and I want my friends' team to succeed. Besides, their helmets were so shiny and gold.

After that game, I was ready for a football break. I can only take so much in one day, and I also had some papers to grade. I didn't accomplish much because the TV in the next room kept distracting me. When I joined Stephen on the couch, LSU and Alabama were at each other's throats in the fourth quarter. Alabama had put a hurting on LSU all evening, but when I sat down, the Tigers were making a comeback.

Stephen was cheering for Alabama. He wants the Crimson Tide to remain number one because if Georgia goes to the SEC championship, he wants the Dawgs to play a number one team. But I cannot bring myself to cheer for Alabama. If Alabama played football against the devil, even then, I'd have a hard time yelling, "Roll Tide." However, I don't like LSU either. Ever since I went to the Georgia-LSU game two years ago and saw Les Miles send sick players onto the field only to vomit on the football, he sank past the bottom of my people-to-like list. But my friend Jack is an LSU alum, and so for his sake, I cheered for LSU.

Unfortunately, I was unable to stay awake until the clock ran out. At 11:30 I called it a night, but Stephen watched until the bitter end. When he came to bed, he reported the bad news (or good news for him) Alabama finally pulled off a victory over LSU, 21-17.