gameday confidence, slightly tempered

Aug 31, 2013, 1:58 PM

i remember my first Clemson/Georgia game: it was 1981. listened to Leonard's Losers on the way up with my dad (may he be watching tonight from a sweet spot in the beyond)...that was always a riveting 20 minutes or so of the road trip. perhaps i didn't really understand what underdogs we were going in, but Clemson fans were treated to a real dominating performance that day. i have been anticipating tonight's matchup for what seems like an eternity, and yet our gut-wrenching bowl victory over LSU still seems as vivid as if it happened yesterday. not sure how that works. anyway, here are my thoughts on the matchup tonight...

there is no question that i'm confident about our offense. i feel good about the playcalling, about Boyd, our receivers, our line, and even our running backs, even though many point to that as a question mark. i understand that UGA has some issues on the defensive side of the ball, but i'm sure they'll be athletic and tough. not unlike what we faced in the opener last year perhaps (when Auburn was debuting a new D coordinator), and we put up a mere 27 points. i don't think that gets it done tonight (and I DO think we can easily score more than that), but who knows. first games tend to be wildly unpredictable in terms of efficiency vs jitters and sloppy play. if rust comes into play i can only hope it affects UGA's O as well. everyone here knows how experienced and talented their O-line is and how talented their backs are, but i think some have underestimated their receivers. Mitchell is a beast with the ball after the catch. our secondary better be ready to hit people and bring them down. as for our D as a whole, i feel almost eerily calm about them. i know Georgia will get their yard and their points, but i think we will see a much improved defense this year, on all levels. i wish Alexander had been healthy enough in camp to earn a starting spot for this game, but honestly it's a real blessing to have Breeland, Jenkins, and Robinson back healthy, and i think they'll be pretty solid.

i think the biggest difference-maker in the game tonight is the home field advantage our fans are going to provide. by the end of the Gameday broadcast it looked like an *enormous* crowd on Bowman. i have no doubt that it will be a special, special night from an atmosphere perspective. i won't predict a score but i'm sure you get the sense who my winner is...if you've managed to read all of this

Go Tigers!

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gameday confidence, slightly tempered

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