Day 2.5 - Summary of the Wednesday Podcast
What to expect, What wish for and What watch for...
Day 2 - The Daily Dawg Podcast Debuts
This morning, the first-ever The Daily Dawg Podcast was posted. It’s called GameWeek 1 - Wednesday, which is pretty straightforward. We are in the first game week of the 2025 season, and it’s Wednesday.
During the season, I plan to produce written and podcast content every day. I enjoy both, and I’m trying to tailor this experience to reflect what I think will best serve Dawg Nation to get their daily fix.
I tend to listen to podcasts when I exercise, so 35-55 minute episodes are just right for me. I can complete one podcast per workout each day. I have trouble stacking up podcasts that are an hour and a half or longer and never finishing them before I need to move on to other content.
But I’m a writer at heart, and I read a lot. I can usually plow through 2-10 articles in the little 5-10 minute nooks and crannies I carve out each day. First on my reading list: anything Dawgs or Braves related. Good content is the saving grace of waiting in line or overlong conference calls.
I choose Substack to launch this project for the direct reach to the audience, bypassing corporate control and advertising (which is corporate control).
I have become so tired of ads. They break up the reading experience and force you to scroll 4-6 pages to read 1-2 pages. And while the text only formats in the middle of the page, the ads run edge to edge, guaranteeing one or more accidental clicks per article. I feel so used each time I fat-thumb a click-through ad.
Substack is a clean, ad-free, and user-friendly environment. Furthermore, I work for you. You decide to subscribe or not. My work is not a wall upon which to hang digital ads!
GameWeek 1 - Wednesday Summary
In the podcast, I introduced Marshall so Bulldog fans would know a little more about them. They are known as the Thundering Herd and they are from West Virginia. Their school has about 9,600 students, and their stadium seats about 38,000 or about 40% of Sanford Stadium.
Last season, Marshall went 10-3, 7-1 in the Sun Belt Conference and won the SBC. But their coach was hired by Southern Miss. The staff and so many players left after the regular season, so they had to cancel their bowl game against Army due to a lack of players. They are not the same team that played Ohio State to 28-14 at halftime and hung tough with Virginia Tech last year. In fact, Marshall returns nearly the least amount of offensive and defensive production in the country.
So what do we expect to happen in the game? We expect Georgia to win, of course, and they are nearly 40-point favorites. Some past Marshall teams, including last year’s team, might have given the Dawgs fits, but not this one. The Dawgs should cover or exceed the line. Off the top of my head, 51-10 feels about right.
But what are we watching for and what do we want from this game? UGA needs to consistently move the ball on offense, generating more than 500 yards on offense with a balanced attack. We should gain 200+ yards on the ground and in the air.
This is a perfect game for Georgia to have on the schedule right now. Gunner had to come off the bench for the second half to win an SEC Championship. Then his first start was a neutral-site playoff game. This is a great chance to go through the motions of starting a regular home game, with low pressure. A chance for him to focus on routine and execution and hopefully have a little fun. This game should help him settle into the role as QB1. Hopefully, he executes well and is out of the game by halftime or at least the 3rd quarter. I’d really like to see 3 QBs play in this one.
Both lines need to establish themselves. The offensive line needs to prevent pressure, open consistent holes, and give the QBs time to throw. The D-line needs to be a wall against the run. Five running backs should gain significant yards. The defensive secondary and linebackers just need to stay on their assignments and play clean, mistake-free ball. This is a good chance to hit someone other than their teammates, have some fun, and build teamwork and communication on assignments.
The Dawgs will win, and the score should be fine, but this little checklist gives you some keys to watch for as you enjoy seeing the Red & Black flying around the field again for the first time in 2025.
Does any of this really matter, though? Do we gain anything from this game either way? The sad truth is very little. If the game is too close, the pundits will lose a little more faith in this year’s team. Yet, there is no score that will change the narrative going into the season that this year’s team is a step behind the Bulldogs of the last 3-5 years.
As fans, for the first time in the last few years, we get the unexpected excitement of not really knowing how good this team can be. Saturday won’t really answer the question either, but it is the first bread crumb on the path to the answer.
So, hope for the guys to have fun, build team chemistry, and execute well. Hope for no injuries. We know we will enjoy seeing the stadium fill up with Red, hearing the Redcoats play, the lone trumpeter, and The Battle Hyman of the Bulldog Nation, calling the Dawgs, Larry Munson telling us what it means to be a Bulldog, The Who playing just before the first kick-off…We know we will enjoy Saturday in Athens!
Go Dawgs! Sic’em Woof! Woof! Woof!