Time to tee it up

As I predicted, Paul Johnson's Triple Option Death March to the Endzone offense was unleashed last night with devestating effectiveness. Georgia Tech destroyed the fourth best team in Alabama to a tune of a 41-14 beating. Jacksonville St. looked utterly defenseless, as Josh Nesbitt and Jonathan Dwyer combined for 172 rushing yards. The rest of the country might as well call it a season because let's face it; Georgia Tech is unbeatable.

Thursday's other big matchup featured South Carolina and NC State in a nauseatingly ugly football game. Even with the help of several pitchers at Broad Street Bar and Grill, I couldn't enjoy this one. Tommy Beecher seemed to have trouble remembering which color shirts his receivers were wearing, as he threw three picks in the first half. Luckily for the Cocks, Chris Smelley came off the bench to ensure that Steve Spurrier started the season with a win for the 16th straight year.

Now that the Thursday night appetizers have been downed, we can turn our attention to Saturday's main course. The Friday night before a football game in Athens is a time to get absolutely nutty, and so far, the city seems fairly ready to let loose tomorrow. Unfortunately, I will be "getting nutty" while covering Athens Christian School's season opener at Oglethorpe County High School. Madness. Rest assured, I'll be making up for it at tailgate time tomorrow.

The Dawgs take the field against their distant, more gnat-infested cousins from Statesboro. Anything less than a three-touchdown win would be a disappointment for the No. 1 team in the land. Really, I hope to see Coach Richt keep the playbook relatively simple and let superior talent take care of business. Hopefully, this game will give Richt a chance to evaluate the depth he has. I wouldn't mind seeing steady doses of Caleb King, Richard Samuel and the seemingly endless supply of receivers on the roster. Also, let's not forget that Uga VII will make his much anticipated Sanford Stadium debut. The 3-year-old, 57-pound son of Uga VI should receive the loudest cheer of the day for someone not named Knowshon.

Opening day is definitely a thrilling time of the year. Sundresses galore. A number one ranking. Bourbon. All should contribute to a great day in the Classic City, followed by a hazy night. Look for Georgia to send the Eagles back to the Boro after beating them 41-13.

Not surprisingly, the biggest college football game in Atlanta this weekend doesn't involve Tech. Clemson and Bama meet in the Georgia Dome for a huge ACC-SEC matchup. Alabama fans may or may not have awarded themselves their 33rd straight preseason National Title, while Clemson fans are wondering if their best team in years is good enough to overcome Tommy Bowdon's coaching. James Davis and CJ Spiller are the most dynamic rushing duo in the country, and Cullen Harper is becoming a bona fide college QB. But Alabama has a quarterback with a superior haircut in John Parker Wilson. Wilson will now how have true freshman man-child Julio Jones to throw to. Clemson has ACC and BCS Title aspirations, so a loss here will have the folks at Auburn-With-A-Lake lighting their torches and sharpening their pitchforks. I can't decide if it would be funnier to see Clemson or Bama lose this one, but I'm leaning towards Clemson. Either way, Tigers edge Bama 24-17, proving that Nick Saban is in fact not the Bear.

As much as I'd like to pretend that I care, Missouri's matchup with Illinois really doesn't matter to me. I do enjoy watching Mizzou's offense though. Jeremy Maclin is a gamer and Chase Daniel was as good as they get last year. Mizzou has more to lose in this one, so I see the Tigers winning this one by at least 10. You pick the score.

As a bonus, I'll throw out a pick for the much-anticipated Athens Christian-Oglethorpe County matchup that I'm being forced to attend. Neither team figures to be very good this year, but I've seen Athens Christian play a couple more times than Oglethorpe. Look for Eagles quarterback Ty Beacham to lead Athens Christian to a win. Frankly, I don't care what the score is, as long as the game is over in time for me to get back and down a few drinks before I get to bed.

Sleep tight football fans. Obviously, I won't be posting tomorrow. Look for some kind of recap on Sunday to talk about what we saw on Saturday.