Just like that summer has come and gone, which always leaves me in dismay and anticipation. It’s a bummer that fun times at the beach, lake or mountains have basically ended. However, that also means King Football has officially arrived, which means gathering with 93K-plus Red and Black friends in Sanford Stadium. Or for those raucous road contests, there’s nothing like hunkering down with just a few thousand Bulldog brethren to the dismay of the home team.
Yes, football is back Bulldog Nation and while Saturday’s game is neither home or away, I fully expect Mercedes-Benz Stadium to be quite the scene as the 2024 Dawgs make their debut against an old foe, Clemson.
Like normal here at Bulldawg Illustrated, our sports coverage in this issue gives ample respect to the opponent. I told folks all offseason that I fully expect to get the Tigers best punch when toe meets leather in Atlanta. I felt the same way about the Bees (Ga Tech) this past Saturday in Ireland. Not only did they give the Seminoles all they wanted, they headed back across the pond victorious.
The lesson is simple. Don’t ever take the opposing team lightly and be ready to strike from the first whistle.
Thankfully, we are blessed at Georgia because our head coach is the model of consistency in the belief that humility is only one week away. In fact, Coach Smart recently spoke about his teams’ consistency when lauding the accomplishment of finishing in the Top-7 ranking the last seven years. Of course, that also included two national championships.
Now, that’s consistency personified. However, Clemson could not give a darn how mighty Georgia has been of late. Saturday’s game is the perfect opportunity for Dabo and Company to show the country that multiple titles have also come through Tiger Town this past decade.
Let’s get ready to rumble … Dawgs versus Tigers in the Benz!
Our sports coverage inside should have you salivating for kickoff. On page 10, Jeff Dantzler reminds us that the winner of Georgia-Clemson typically comes down to which team’s dudes play like dudes. This means the elite players performing the best on the field for four quarters. Speaking of that, on our The Five page (18), JD reminisces about Kevin Butler’s epic 60-yard field goal to beat Clemson 40 years ago. What a moment that was for college football’s greatest field goal kicker. And what a moment for everyone in Bulldog Nation who recalls it!
You can find JD’s always, popular Top 12 on page 28. While he explains to readers that his rankings are based on how the season will end going into the new 12-team playoff, it’s worth me adding another disclaimer. To earn the first round bye in the new playoff (4 spots available), the team has to be a conference champion from the four major conferences. That is why JD has Kansas State at No. 4 in his rankings. This week, he sees the Wildcats winning the Big 12 championship. The same for Clemson at No. 3. JD thinks the Tigers will win the ACC. Ok, I’ve done my job, so don’t get mad and throw your BI to the ground because you think JD has lost his mind. Funny, enough I actually saw a Georgia fan do this many moons ago.
Our BI sports interns (Will Hearn and Matthew Herren) are back in this issue with our Bulldogs to Watch and Tigers to Watch features. They are also co-authoring the From the Interns column (page 20), which will be fun and unique this season. Shocker, their message is how Georgia better be ready for Clemson, Kentucky and Bama in September. And they will close the column each week with a “Hot Take of the Week.” I won’t spoil the surprise, so please go check it out.
Greg Poole is also back this issue with his From the Field (page 26), where he sees the potential of Clemson’s offense surging as its best chance of pulling off the upset. Greg will also be braving all the elements taking photos on the field for another season, which everyone at Team BI so appreciates.
That leaves us down to one BI normal sports contributor to talk about, Hamilton Culpepper. I did this for multiple reasons.
First, you will find Hammy’s What’s the Word column in our SOCIAL section this issue (page 50). He had the privilege of attending the Georgia Football Lettermen’s Club ‘s recent gathering in Athens. His column is a touchdown giving readers a glimpse of what it means to the former players to remain connected through the club. Also, enjoy the photos Hammy captured of the lettermen that day (pages 51-53).
The other reason I left mentioning Hamilton to the end is because he is no longer a student intern or student editor for BI. Having graduated in May from Georgia with a Grady College degree, Mr. Culpepper is now a proud full-timer with Bulldawg Illustrated (and our sister publication, Guide 2 Athens). Can I get a hooray?
Cheri and I are thrilled to have Hammy’s skills and passion officially on the team. Like us, he will be doing a little bit of everything, from sales to writing and editing and beyond. It’s going to be a ton of fun, so I encourage you to keep up with Hammy’s contributions.
Wow, my space has gotten away from me, so I have to quickly tie a bow on this one. This issue has tons of fan photos and don’t miss our Georgia Girls with Tinsley English (pages 40, 41) and Proust Q&A with Charlie English (page 54). I don’t think they are related, but beyond having the same last name, they both have new successful books on the streets. And of course, they are fun and diehard Dawgs.
See you in the Benz on Saturday. Let’s blow the doors off CLEM and 2024, Go Dawgs!!