Editor's Note Issue #16 - Georgia Southern

by Vance Leavy

Ahhh, what a wonderful feeling it is to be heading back to Atlanta to play in the SEC Championship in a few weeks. And how nice to not only beat Auburn, but to totally dominate and shut them out at their own place.

Huge accolades go to Coach Richt and his staff who had our boys ready to roll when the first whistle blew on the Plains. It was a fundamental butt-whipping that equated to a rockin’ good time for the Bulldog Nation.

Throughout our years of doing Bulldawg Illustrated, all of us that get to opine about our number one love have always preached the desire for Mark Richt’s teams to play sound football in all phases. And that’s exactly what we got this past Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Boy, doesn’t it feel good?

On offense, between Aaron Murray zipping the ball around to his receiving unit to Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall combining for another stellar performance running the football, Auburn simply had no answers.

And the same could definitely be said for our defense that literally shut the Tigers out. 38-0. There’s nothing like a goose egg!

And lastly, our special teams had their best game of the season.

Kudos guys. It was a wonderful night and certainly a game that made everyone proud to be a Georgia Bulldog.

And with that, we say goodbye to the great victory because now it’s time to focus on our next opponent.

And while it would be easy to assume that Saturday’s game against Georgia Southern will be a simple task, I refuse to think that way. If you need a little reminder that anything can happen on any given day in college football, then just look at Florida’s near disaster this past week versus Louisiana-Lafayette.

It rarely happens that David actually brings down Goliath in these miss-matched games, but it hits every now and again. Remember Appalachian State’s historic victory over Michigan a few years back? Bottom line, is our team and our fans need to hit Sanford Stadium on Saturday with the same focus and determination that occurred in Auburn.

At this point, our national championship goal requires two unbeaten teams to lose over the next few weeks. Yes, the helplessness of this situation isn’t fun, but the fact of the matter is the Dawgs must continue to take care of their own business for any of this to matter. Not only do we need to keep winning, we need a couple more beatdowns to enhance our BCS ranking.

Keep it Rolling. That’s the caption I chose for this cover and that’s exactly what must happen versus the Eagles.

Enjoy this issue full of photos from the Auburn game. There’s nothing like capturing happy faces at halftime knowing that the game is already over. Take it easy, Aubie!

Also inside, make sure to read Jeff Dantzler’s terrific column on the beloved Georgia and Georgia Southern coach Erk Russell. He is greatly missed by the Bulldog Nation. But his legacy of not only being a great coach but an incredible man will never cease.

And in our center spread, our interns Pierce Persons and Annie Trice have put together a fantastic feature where they show off the true spirit of the Georgia Bulldogs with spotlights on two cheerleaders, two majorettes and a Red Coat Band Member. Yes, we love our football here at Bulldawg Illustrated, but we certainly appreciate all the pageantry that enhances every game.

Sadly, there are only two more games left in the 2012 regular season. Let’s make them special.

Go Dawgs!

Tagged: vance leavy, editors note, auburn, tigers, georgia southern eagles