Wowzers, how about that Friday night special? And How Bout Them Scrappy Dawgs …Georgia 44 Ga. Tech 42 (8 OT)!

My note this time out is going to be brief because it was imperative to give BI photographer Rob Saye’s excellent image of Dan Jackson’s shot heard around the world ample space.

My goodness, what a phenomenal play by Dirty Dan. And equally impressive was Chaz Chambliss finding the loose football on the ground (see No. 32 hoisting the ball on page 11).

Then Carson Beck and the Georgia offensive found pay dirt to send the game into overtime.

Do you believe Dawg Nation? Some of you didn’t, but that’s ok you are forgiven.

I don’t have the space or the brainpower to take you through the EIGHT overtime periods. This much I can tell you, it did happen and it was an EPIC SCENE like never witnessed in the annals of Georgia football history.

Enjoy another great shot by Rob on page 4 as Georgia running back Nate Frazier bullied his way into the end zone for the walk-off 8th overtime victory for these Scrappy Dawgs … final Georgia 44 Ga. Tech 42 (8 OT)!

Yes, the victory was oh, so sweet. However, now everyone who loves Georgia must turn the page immediately. The SEC Championship in Atlanta is next on the docket, where the hungry Texas Longhorns are surely looking to avenge the whipping our Dawgs gave them on their home field in October.

Say what you will about Texas’ rather skimpy SEC schedule this season. They took care of their business (other than the Georgia loss) and finished the regular season as the only SEC team with one conference loss. It was a stellar debut to college football’s most difficult conference, which certainly deserves a tip of the hat.

Now to why I’m dubbing this 2024 Georgia team as the Scrappy Dawgs.

Coach Smart continues to call this group “resilient,” while many in the Bulldog Nation have all sorts of adjectives that aren’t fit for print. My point being as Jeff Dantzler writes in his column (page 8) somehow, some way this team has won 10 regular season games while navigating the No. 1 hardest schedule in the nation.

What else would you call this group other than scrappy?

Now, the question begs, can they scrap together another victory in the SEC Championship and earn a first round bye into the inaugural 12- team College Football Playoff? My goodness, they need the time off to heal that the bye would garner.

As you will read in JD’s The Five (page 16), there are both upside and downside with these Scrappy Dawgs. As JD establishes in print, they definitely aren’t pristine, but man oh me, there is no quit in this fighting group.

Enjoy this issue of Bulldawg Illustrated, which includes Hamilton Culpepper’s 10th annual The Hammys (pages 40, 41).

Finally, be sure not to miss Kevin Butler’s Players of the Game (page 44). And in particular, his Unsung Dawg of the Week, Mary Beth Smart. Kudos to MB. She is a pro at keeping everyone in the Smart family happy, focused and successful … Woof, Woof!

Bulldog Nation … get in your seats early. Your team needs to feel your love and intensity. Hunker Down and Go Scrappy Dawgs!!