Latest / Dawgs Down South / Episode 120: Western Kentucky Recap, Danny Kanell Madness, SEC Power Rankings Week 2

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Episode 120: Western Kentucky Recap, Danny Kanell Madness, SEC Power Rankings Week 2 · Dawgs Down South

• Ted Turner: Greetings and welcome everyone to Dogs Down South. I'm your host, Ted Turner, and I am excited to be with you on this Tuesday night where we are going, we are going to recap obviously, Georgia, Western, Kentucky. We're going to talk about some hot topics. We're going to look at my week two power rankings, and we're going to talk. Where Georgia stands before we start SEC play this weekend versus Arkansas on the road. if you haven't already done so, first off, thank you, thank you, thank you for all the support. We are seeing our YouTube channel grow. We're seeing our TikTok channel grow. Apple Podcasts as well. Thank you if you are listening and tuning in. Your support matters, and we're just super grateful to have you as a follower. And if you are interested in learning how we are Dogs Down South, we are on YouTube, Dogs Down South, TikTok, Dogs Down South, and as well as Apple Podcasts that you can listen to 24 hours later in your listening experience, whether you're going to work in your car or at work and want to turn us on, you pick, but we would just love to have you. So let's hop in. Georgia wins against Western Kentucky. They go to two and And 70 points on Western Kentucky heading into SEC play. And I and I think, you know, as fans, I think after this weekend there's there was mixed emotions. we, you know, we played a Western Kentucky team that everybody looked at and said, well, this they'll be better than Tennessee State, and they were. Similar scoring outcomes. I I do think that, you know, the second, third, and fourth strings, maybe just second and third strings, I should say. Definitely struggled a little more than they did against Tennessee State at times. Obviously, I think you could feel that from Kirby. I think for the most part, he was, you know, I I think he got to a point where it was kind of like another scrimmage for him to really see, okay, like who can handle some of this going forward in SEC play and some of the things that we're going to ask them to do. Whether that be at the quarterback position, the backup quarterback position, obviously, running back, wide receiver, some depth as far as trying out some depth on the defensive side of the ball. But I think the number one thing that really showed up was ball security from those guys. we saw the ball go on the ground a couple of times. We saw some defensive mishaps, I would call it. but the good news is out of all that, you didn't really see much of that with the first layer. Maybe first or second layer as you So overall, you know, we we did what we we should do. I mean, the the the bright spot is is that in the past, Georgia has kind of played with their food, right? A little bit during this time. you see victories, but you see them more competitive in the first quarter or two. And and in this game, you saw pure dominance as well as the first game, pure dominance in the first two quarters, the starters including Gunner and and and such, you know, getting things done quickly and and getting them out of the game and keeping them healthy for the start of SCC play. which is this weekend, another twelve noon kickoff. So we kicked off around I can't even remember three o'clock on three three thirty is Tennessee State. And then we kicked at twelve forty five this past weekend and we we have an even earlier kick coming up this weekend at twelve o'clock. But for you know people out in Arkansas time we're at eleven a so a very early game and I mean, mixed emotions on that. I know a lot of dog fans are like, man, how many early kicks can you have? But we can all agree that, you know, I don't know if it with the with the characteristics of how the games landed. And I know a lot of these games ended up like this because of having to maneuver things around. We know when Oklahoma joined the SEC and, you know, just some things kind of changed at the beginning of the year and a nine game SEC slate. And, you know, furthermore, it I I think I think Kirby's kinda like, when you can show me that strength of schedule is actually something that's valued, maybe we'll go out there and kill ourselves the first, you know, two or three games of the year. So I don't know. Mixed emotions, I think, from Kirby with that. So, dogs go to two and one thing I want to point out, I wanna hop in and and break the ice tonight. I don't typically do this. I mean I do venture around to some of the the other sports writers and columnists and and I it's people that banter, I think, about college football. this is what I will call this person is a sports banterer. Danny Connell, He kind of just caught me off guard this past week. And, you know, I know Kirby, this is this is more for just kind of icebreaker tonight. I mean, this is not important to Kirby. It's might not even be important to some fans. it might even be important. It's obviously unimportant to the players. and we know that Kirby coaches us up very well about his team. So this is not something that I'm looking at and going, all right, this this has to be bulletin board material. But Danny Connell comes out and it's kind of one of those things should dog fans Should should they be kind pissed, right? because while Georgia's two and and has outscored 133 points in its first two games, they've outscored their opponents by 133 points. Danny Connell has Georgia outside his top 12 teams in the country. Now, I will give you Danny Connell's backstory. He's like, I don't care who's in the top twenty-five or the top ten. I'm going off of games I've seen and what the top 10, top 12 teams should look like. Now, To be fair, let's let's give the teams that he put in there. So after week two, Connell released its updated rankings and his top ten is number one, Texas, obviously. he feels like Texas, as a lot of people, deserve that number one spot for beating Ohio State, LSU, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Miami, Michigan at number six, Duke at seven, Tennessee at eight, Texas AM at nine, Alabama at ten. Now Here's my thing. Here's my big question with this. I understand where Danny Connell is coming from. I even understand maybe the point that he says Georgia's played nobody, okay? Now, I love what David Pollack talked about about Brock Bowers, how he would say, you know, we can't control who we play, but we can control the the team across from us and the outcome of that. And I think for the most part, Georgia has shown that the outcome is they're not playing with their food this year, okay? so everybody loves to put Georgia in a box as far as how dominant they look on defense, how improved. And we're gonna talk a little bit later on about why people are saying this more. But that's the only thing really keeping them out of this top 10. Now, here's my problems. Okay, here's my problems. Texas is at number one. So Connell is looking at two games and he's going, We beat they beat Ohio State. They beat Ohio State. in the game, but they were down in that game for three, three and a quarter worth of quarters. Okay. The outcome was a win. But let's just be honest against Texas State too. There was some head scratchers, right? Texas State is a team that, yes, is is probably far be it better than Tennessee State, probably better than even Western Kentucky, but you got outrushed in that game. Okay. there were a lot of nuances that game where you looked and you go, there was Everybody leading up, there was a lot of people that were like, Man, this is I'm sure my Big Ten fans were like, This, this is not gonna even be close. a lot of the game day crew picked Texas. but I also heard that not a lot of the game day crew was super confident that that's what would happen. I think they just kinda went off the fact of it was due. Texas was due in this game. LSU, I thought they looked very lackluster this past weekend. nothing really to write home about. And they beat a Clemson team that now has turned out that they're Clemson's bad. They're bad. Georgia Southern beat you know, they beat Georgia Southern, I think it was twenty two to seven. And I think Georgia Southern like kind of felt like they had a chance at that game. Ole Miss, I get it. Ole Miss comes out against a little bit better of a Louisville team, almost loses. Okay, I get it. And then they they they have a blowout win, I get it. Miami, okay, I get it. Michigan, I don't know, man. I West so so so this is he's saying my top ten after I've seen two weeks of football. Did you see week one? Western Michigan? Bryce Underwood can't move the ball against Western Michigan. Takes a Hell Mary. And I'm not even sure they won that game, right? That's fine. Duke, I don't know, man. Tennessee, okay. I'm liking Tennessee. I'm liking what we're seeing from Tennessee. Their defense, their bason Brandon and This offense, the run game, is we I said this. I suspected this. Texas AM, I I don't know. I think what we're seeing from Texas AM is the defense is showing up. Defense is showing up a little bit more than, and I think that's how far this team will go this year. Texas AM is defense. Alabama, I mean, if you look at the first quarter, I mean, I don't know. I I don't I don't look and say that's the tenth best team in the country just because they're playing Kentucky. Was Kentucky really a quality opponent? Because I knew in my power rankings. They're a little down there. Okay. So, you know, my thing is, is in his final two spots, Mississippi State at eleven and SMU at twelve. I like Mississippi State. I think they've been playing really well. I think they went on the road, beat a good Minnesota Minnesota team. I think there's some people that picked against that game. But I liked I liked Mississippi State in that game. But, you know, a lot of the questions are is Cannell completely wrong for leaving Georgia out? Or do you understand the argument? Is basically, you we we we've beaten Tennessee State, Western Kentucky. Meanwhile, Texas beats you know number one Ohio State and we went through the whole thing. So should Georgia be pissed? Now, I was just kind of pissed because I think Danny Connell in all just likes to draw attention to himself. I think he just wants attention. I think he he says some kind of stupid stuff sometimes. His rankings are a little stupid, a little out of whack. And I think that's the only thing that keeps him relevant is the fact that he stays a little bit out of whack and everybody's like, what's going on with this guy, right? I'm gonna say in this, I'm gonna say this. not because Georgia deserved to be ranked number one, but I think Georgia deserves to be pissed. Not that we're trying to qualify ourselves off Andy Connell by no means. I just think it's good icebreaker material tonight, right? Georgia should be pissed because this is exactly the type of thing Kirby Smart can use as fuel. He won't. He might. I don't know. There's a lot of things that we hear about in practice or we hear about, and we think Kirby doesn't do this. You can't guarantee that. We we I know that Kirby. I know that Kirby tries to do everything he possibly can to motivate this team to get them ready mentally and physically for these games, regardless of if it's Tennessee State or if it's Alabama, Ole Miss, you name it. but the dogs have scored 63 points against Tennessee State and 70 against Western Kentucky. That is a huge amount of offense and defensive turnovers leading to points that in the past We've looked back and went, where is this at? I'll repeat this. Here's the positives why you have to be as a dog fan a little bit pissed. Because years ago, last two or three years, we've played with our food during these games, right? We've said, where is the defense creating explosive plays on defense, which are sacks, pass breakups, interceptions, special teams things? They're creating those things. Regardless of if it's Western Kentucky or Wisconsin, which I'm gonna hop on that in a second, it doesn't matter. You didn't play with your food. Seventy points, sixty-three, I think twenty points is something that people scratch their head against Western Kentucky, but the majority of those points were the second later second third string players. There were some blunders in there. And you really want that decisive victory, but then you look at that seventy number and you go, Okay. And the fact that they scored on seven of their first seven drives is incredible in many different ways. We're showing how many different receivers, tight ends, and players are going to amount this offense, just like Kirby tried to hint at with the Oklahoma City Thunder story. It's everybody that's going to do their part to make this team successful this year. The domination. Georgia hasn't played an SEC opponent yet, right? So here's a message. Don't complain about the rankings. Go prove it, go prove everybody wrong, right? And Georgia gets that opportunity immediately. Some would say, right? We're in the SEC this weekend. But I want to backtrack on the Notre Dame thing. Okay. I want this Notre Dame thing to be, I want to clip this really quick. I will tell you, out of all of the craziness of these top ten, Notre Dame has to be the craziest. Has to be the craziest. Okay. I don't think that Notre Dame has paid has played any better competition. I think I understand putting Notre Dame ahead of Georgia because of the Wisconsin win. But after two weeks. What has Notre Dame done against Rice that Georgia hasn't done against its opponents? And if we're judging the resume, how much credit are you giving Notre Dame for Wisconsin compared with Georgia's dominance of the first two teams? Once again, I reinforced this with this is not really bothering me. It's just really, you really need to see how crazy Danny Connell sounds and how much attention he gets from this bull crap every single week. They haven't. They haven't. You beat Rice. Whoop Dee, you struggled a little bit with West Wisconsin. This is a team that tons of sports riders, including tons of ESPN analysts, game day analysts, have picked to win the national championship. They had some had some problems with Wisconsin playing with their food and they beat Rice. Big deal. Big deal. All I'm saying is, is it I I just really I'm calling to not give Danny Cannell all of this love because he is making this bull crap up. To get the attention because honestly, I just really don't think he knows how to call it. I really don't think he has a heartbeat of how to call any of this, period. so yeah, that that's my take on it. I I got a little bit bothered, I would say. you know, I guess I'll say bothered. That's what I would say. but you know, we get a chance, right? SEC play starts this weekend, Georgia heads to Arkansas, and I know everybody's like, well. It's not really a great opening SEC opponent. I mean, Arkansas went to Utah this past weekend, laid an egg. we thought that we would see, you know, i is i if Arkansas can go in and they really do some nice things on the road against Utah. Maybe, maybe, you know, Silver Fox, Silverfield, he looks like I I don't know, man. He he looks depressed on the sideline. You know, a lot of people dragging him through the mud this week about the comments he made about wide receivers and speeding tickets and racing and stuff like that. And I'm not even gonna dive into that. But you know, I will say at the end of the day, Georgia has an opportunity to open open up SEC play on the road before they come back and they and they face a little bit of a of a stint with Oklahoma. that game is has been tapped as a 330 game. Curious what you guys think about that. A lot of people like a three thirty start because Get some tailgating, some quality tailgating, you get a game, it it seeps into the night most of the time, and you get home in a decent hour. Some people would say that seven, seven thirty hours are more atmosphere to really the crowd is more intense. Everybody, you know, the the the college kids have been drinking all day. It's rowdy, it's crazy, and you get the elite atmosphere most of the time at night. which you which you've seen the past few, you know, weekend. You saw Texas, obviously in a and Ohio State being on that main stage. You're gonna see a very interesting weekend with LSU heading into Hottie Toddyville, old miss. Lane Kiffin returns back home, back to his old home, I should say, against Pete Golding. And there's been warnings and safety issues and letters to the to the students issued out. It it's not gonna control any of this, just so you know. there's nothing you can say, do or write to control what this drama and this absolute cinema is gonna be this weekend when you pull up that game, Ole Miss versus LSU, and even the pageantry of of the entire week and the interviews and things and things like that. but I think all in all, I think it's a it's gonna be a really good week of of opening SEC games. You had some really interesting games. You got some you got some teams that are coming off of of interesting games this past week and they're they're gonna get some teams that hopefully can give them the opportunity continue to to get better and and and work. So so really looking forward to that. Let's talk really quick about what we learned about Georgia's offense. We're gonna talk about what we learned about Georgia's offense, what we learned about Georgia's defense, and then we're gonna do tomorrow night will be our main, our weekly main show. We'll all have Fish and possibly Rich on tomorrow night with us to do our main show. We'll do all of our picks. We'll talk about keys to victory as we open up against Arkansas. So I'm not gonna let any of that out of the bag tonight. But I do want to give you some keys that I things I saw from this past weekend that could give you some number one, answer some questions that are going on between YouTube, TikTok, and things of that nature, but also can can kind of lead you into what we expect more of come SEC play. The first thing I would say is that I took out of this past weekend. was the fact that when you look at the biggest takeaway about explosive, right? Georgia might be much more explosive than people expected. Okay. I don't think it's coming in the natural way of man, we're just dropping back and we're just we're just just hoisting fifty yard passes up there. I think what people mistakenly see nowadays is is these are SEC defenses. These are SEC cornerbacks. yes. Western Kentucky and Tennessee State are not. But I don't think as you look at the dynamic of SEC quarterback play across the first two weeks with teams that met, I don't think you saw a lot of that in general. So I think you you look at the SEC as as a whole and you go, Man, they there's there's great teams in the SEC. We're not just three D, four D as far as teams in the Big Ten. And don't quote me on that. Quote Nick Sabin from College Game Day on that. I think we're very deep. you're gonna see that with these power rankings when I break them down here in a little bit. But I think Georgia might be more explosive than people expected. coming into the season, the biggest question was who is going to replace all that production Georgia lost at wide receiver? And, you know, Kirby, he backed it up at SEC Media Days. He said, you know, I cannot wait to post some of this stuff and to let, you know, some of these, some of these receivers know what you said because it just gives them more motivation to go out there. And to show you separation and what they've been working on and how they've been progressing. And I think we're seeing it now. Once again, I'm not going to repeat it all night long. I understand who the opponent was, but even on air, even on air, Georgia has looked different. Gunner has looked different. Gunner's look sharp. The one thing I will tell you is you're not really seeing Nate Frazier. You're not really seeing Gunnar Stockton, any receivers, tight ends, you're not really seeing any defensive leaders. Because Georgia hasn't had their starters in very much at all in any of these games. I think I was looking at passing yards and rushing yards and I mean, you're not seeing any of that. Now, when you look at overall like I test and you know, you take statistics and you bring them in as a part of the equation. Yeah, Gunner's Gunner's right up there in the top three right now, I think. I think you you've seen in the first two games, you've seen the split you've seen in the people that you've seen to tail away from the others. are quarterbacks like Gunner. Obviously you look at, you know, Arch Manning had his moment finally against Ohio State, right? So you look at Arch Manning, he's in that category probably. I think Trinidad has shown that he can put the team in the first two games on his back, even when the offense is maybe not maybe not clicking on all four cylinders. and the fourth, you know, the fourth person I would say is, you know, maybe there's maybe there's five. I I I don't want to cheat. I don't want to cheat anybody about this. I I'm gonna be honest, man. a lot of people out there are really high on was was really high on Matir this year. man, Mateir, and I don't wanna say too much about Mathir. I'm gonna go live on TikTok here in a minute after we get done and we we're gonna talk power rankings with all the TikTok fans out there that that follow dogs down south. But you know, Mateer has, I just felt like it had that feeling, right? that he was gonna have a really good season. They they talked about obviously he played a lot last year hurt. and so, you know, when you look at that, you're like, all right, man, like what is he capable of doing? What is he capable of doing when he's not Sorry, having a little technical technical difficulties. What is he capable of doing when he's not hurt, right? Or when he has a you know, a full-scale thumb working, right? I think he had a solid outing the first week, but I think he went to the big house. And I think Michigan is, you know, I don't know if Michigan the hard question is I don't know if Michigan's that good or Oklahoma's that bad. And believe me, I'm I'm having to backtrack myself because I had Oklahoma picked as a team to. To be second in the SEC behind Georgia, had them pick to lose to Georgia and to play them again in the SEC championship. That's not saying they can't turn back around and make this interesting, right? but I will tell you the quarterback that looked more impressive, in my opinion, than him, and that's Camario Taylor. Camario Taylor has been the talk of the SEC. the kid's got an incredible arm. you see Mississippi State go and do a couple of things this year that, And maybe, maybe finally, you know, Levy's finding his his his mojo, right? Camario Taylor, he comes on last year. he has him, I think Van Buren was the guy last year, and he's like, look, you know, we're going with Camario, he's the future, and I think that was key for Levy, made a really good choice. Zach Arnett comes back as the as the defensive coordinator, and here we are. but I but I think when you when you look at all this, I think the reason you're not seeing those explosive numbers is for reasons because they haven't been in the game a whole lot. So that's it for me. I mean, six of Georgia's top seven pass catchers from 2025 are gone. And yet the the only thing you can hear about in the first two weeks of the season is how many players are being spread around to get this offense where it's going. I mean, you're hearing all of these names from running backs. I I feel like we are four deep at the running back position at any time. Nate Frazier, Nate Frazier's he just looks a little different this year. He looks a little different this year. Chauncey looks like he's got a little, a little more twitch in his step. He's running with a little aggression, but he's got a little bit more natural oomph in what's going on. Obviously, I think Dwight Phillips Jr. looks very elusive. He looks like he's gonna catch one this year. And I don't mean a a a ball or a touchdown. He's gonna catch one and take it to the house. And it's gonna be based off of the dynamic of his speed. And his elusiveness, right? And then Bo Walker has been extremely oppressive, albeit against possibly the second and third stringers as well. imagine what, you know, I I don't venture to say that George's line is too far off when you get down into second and third and fourth tier, but he's he if he's running behind that first string line, like what is Bo Walker getting, right? So I don't know. and then you start looking at all of the the the pass catchers, you know, Talon Taylor has done some really nice things. They they incorporated London Humphreys this past weekend. We've seen Caden Pro throw not a lot, but we we saw him catch a touchdown pass in the first game and and him get a couple of receptions. I think this could be a really great year for a a combo of receivers. I I really like what I'm seeing out of Craig Dandridge and Sokobi Whitehelt. I think those guys are gonna be big play guys, along with Talon Taylor. I don't think you can look at any three of those guys and go, man, They all three, you know, w there's one over the other with bigger capability. Now, if I had to give a a square centimeter of what I of who I think has a little bit more big playability, I think that's Craig Dandridge because he has a little bit more speed. he just he separates a little bit when it comes down to just natural speed. but I like what I see from Dandridge. We haven't even dove into the to the tight ends where I feel like, you know, Rodell has flashed. I feel like Boston Lucky flashed this past weekend. Feel like Elias Williams flash the previous weekend. What a lot of people get get mixed up in with Elias is is how much of a how great of a blocker Elias is. so, and then, you know, you can't, I mean, eat Ethan Barbour. he's gotten a couple of really nice catches. He had a drop in the first game, came back, had a touchdown catch in the second game. but he looked really good. You've seen just some others, and I know I'm forgetting somebody. I mean, Thomas Blackstreet didn't play in the second game, he has to be catching the first game. think he's dealing with some kind of thumb injury or something of that nature. I think he's fine. I think it's more precautionary. Isaiah Canyon has had a couple of really good, really, really good catches. but while we're while we're on that, I know people asked, you know, what what what happened to Jaden Riddell in that second game? Is this, you know, where was he at? Didn't see a lot of him. He was in there. He was in there. I I I think, you know, the question is is like everybody feels like amongst all these tight ends, And my question to you is, do you feel this way because he's just kind of built like and we compared him per se to Brock Bowers? So You know, is that why everybody goes, well, he's the next big thing at Georgia? but is that merely because everybody kind of resembles him to Brock Bowers? let's talk about Jaden Riddell here for a second before we kind of finish out, you know, what we think about the offense, things of that nature as far as you know, do we take a step in the right direction? I think this guy's gonna become a major storyline as the season progresses. I I I I think that Kirby played it like he played everybody else. I mean, you don't really need to see Jaden Riddell. You don't need to see Gunner. You don't need to you need to see the fact that there are players that need to show what kind of quality snaps they're gonna be able to help us with this year. And that's who was seeing those snaps. So to answer your question, I think that's why you didn't receive a lot of Jade Jaden Riddell. If you go back and watch the first three or four series, he's in there. I I think fans have heard it all season about his talent. I think you're seeing it. I mean, you see the you know, you see the break tackles, you see the the the the plays that he's in that resemble what Brock was in, that he's running some of those type formations that Brock's in and just give you those flashbacks, right? side note, side note. you know, there was, you know, Kirby had his presser, his normal presser on Monday, and man man. We gotta do better, man. There are reporters and columnists and people that and and sports writers and you know people that cover podcasts and all albeit things of people that can be in that room to talk to Kirby on Monday mornings. But can we just get some and and don't let me wrong, I'm not talking about everybody, but can we just get can we get some people that understand when you get the opportunity to go in there and cover Georgia and ask Kirby questions? Can we Just agree to stop asking the stupidest questions I've ever heard. Like, it is a joke. It really brings a dynamic to Georgia football that doesn't need to be brought into here. If you were to sit and listen to the questions, it's kind of embarrassing in some areas. Like, I heard one guy ask, Can you give me a little bit of of of of what's going on with Tyree Green and is Xavier McLeod with the team? And Kirby paused and was like, So you are a reporter and you follow Georgia football. And the question you ask me almost a week after this story broke about Xavier McLeod and Georgia's given a statement and they've told you what's going on with Xavier McLeod. The Tyree Green question valid. But like, where did that come from? And how how far under a rock are you? Not not as a fan, not as a person that goes, okay, you missed it. You don't follow social media a lot. You're a fan, but I get it, the business of the week. But you cover Georgia football and you're in that room and you're able to ask Kirby questions so that the general public can hear Kirby talk about his team and you set him up with that question and then he goes, Is Avery McCl Javier McLeod's not with the team? Everybody knew that, but you. But you get the opportunity to sit in that room and ask a dumb question. I just think it's embarrassing. I think it's very embarrassing and I think it's very embarrassing for people to look at and showcase A lot of eyes are on Georgia. We're we've we've been a top ranked team under Kirby since he's been here. And so I think it's a joke to look at how we embarrass ourselves. And Kirby's all also, if you just take a look at his demeanor, he's just getting a little bit he just honestly he's just kinda like, Man, get me through this ten minutes 'cause I'm sick and tired of this. There's really not any great questions for me to sit here and and and answer. it's just the same stuff over and over and over. but you know, we back to Jaden. So, you know, he scored against Tennessee State. the other question was You know, about do do we did he know that a post got eight million likes, you know, talking about Jaden Riddell, getting the getting the play call back on the stiff arm? And did he show it and was it a face mask? And he's like, I I don't even know what you're talking about. It's just embarrassing, man. It's really embarrassing. We need to get our crap together. you have days to prepare to walk in and ask Kirby one question and we ask some stupid mess, and it's honestly Like, give me my call, man. Dogs down south. Give me my call. You guys want to like this up to give me my call so I can get in that room? I'll ask a question that you guys want to hear. Anyways, scored against Tennessee State. He's shown more and more that he can be a go to guy. He's improved significantly as a block. These are the things that when you look at Jaden Riddell and go, like, why didn't I see this out of Jaden Ridell earlier on? It's because he you gotta do these things at Jordan. You we know this as fans. The players definitely know it. I mean, I I think You know, when you look at Georgia and you look at what Georgia wants to do to you and you and you step foot on the field the first day at practice, you could be a guy that's literally been under a rock. Said this a lot tonight, but and understand that you're gonna be required as a receiver, as a tight end, to be able to block at an elite level before you can ever catch a pass. Period. That's U G A DNA right there. Period. And if you if you don't know that as a fan, I'm telling it to you right now. The DNA Of our football team when it comes to the wide receivers and the tight ends and the running backs, is you have to be elite at blocking and doing the absolute things that other teams secondhandedly don't think about sometimes to give us an edge to be better on offense in so many areas and make us so much more, I guess, unpredictable. Because let's just be honest, the film guy Austin Brooks said it. He said in this SEC this year. With as many teams that are honestly in it and that could have a year to be to have a say in the SEC championship and the playoffs, you're not going to be able to line up this year in the SEC and just run the football directly at. You're not. And those defenses that you used to do it on are improving. The Mississippi States, the Floridas, even the Arkansas. I mean, I think Arkansas from last year will take a step in the right direction. Will it be enough? I don't know. Probably not. But it will be better. Every team, Auburn, will be better. Even though Auburn's have Auburn down there as well. but just to be fair, you're gonna have to he he is blocked so significantly better. And it's a huge reason why Georgia's trusting him more in in total in total you know playing time. that's important because Georgia doesn't need Reddell to be Brock Powers. They they need him to be the best Jade Riddell he can be. Let's stop comparing every Georgia tight end to Brock Powers, though. I know that's why we think out of every one of them. He might be the one. But I'd also think that about Elias. I also think about about Ethan. I think these guys as a whole are going to show you this year how a how a team of playmakers can make up for one or two guys. Ask Ohio State right now, right? Ohio State is you could see against Texas when Jeremiah Smith is not stepping up to the plate and and doing the things that he needs to do. There is still, even though you have four and five star and top receivers that have been recruited, he still has a lot on his shoulders because it felt like if he didn't go in those third and fourth quarters, Ohio State didn't go. And that's just that's just when you start to look and go, man, is Kirby Kirby and Bobo look like the smartest man in the room right now? Because we got fifteen to seventeen guys that are making plays every Saturday right now, the last two weeks. Talon Taylor. I think he's do I think he's a breakout candidate. Everybody's been asking this. What did we learn the first two games about Talon Taylor? Do we think he's gonna fit into those shoes? I'm most interested in this. You know, I I still don't have a good enough dynamic of of what I've seen from him. he's showing consistency. he's caught a touchdown in both games. gives Georgia something beyond just receiving ability. I think he's he's he's carried the ball behind the line of scrimmage. He's made some really athletic plays. in some formations that are going to get him the ball in different ways. I think even the AJC pointed out that Atlanta Journal Constitution pointed out that Taylor's the only Georgia pass catcher to score a touchdown in each of his first two games. Huge development for that kid, right? And I want to see that kid I want to see him at the top. I do. Not at the expense though that that we don't have the productivity that we have built around him because right now we are unpredictable as hell on tape. I'm just telling you, Arkansas this week is going through it. They're going through trying to prepare for Georgia this week. Really are. I don't care what you say. They don't have any time this week to be talking about how fast Georgia wide receivers are driving their cars. They need to be worried about how fast Georgia is running routes, catching the ball, and scoring touchdowns. Period. So I don't I think that's what Silverstein, Silver Fox, Silver Burns, whatever his name is, needs to be worried about. and last but not least, Dandridge, right? Also known as Craig Dangerous, right? He's the one we need to watch. You look at Talon Taylor, you've seen more consistency. You look at Riddell and you go, man, he could be he could be the freak in the middle of everything. But but Dandridge has become a person that is out of everybody has been more relied on as a go-to, right? and yes, I'm gonna keep calling you know Craig Dandridge because on George's official information, he's Dandridge. But To me, he's dangerous. Okay. he's already shown something that you can't teach. he can stretch the field, check. We've wanted that. even though we saw that out of Zach Branch, he stretched in a different way. I think against Western Kentucky, you know, with that that 43 yard gain, do I think that he could have led Dandridge and you know, he score? Yeah. But I also think Gunner is a quarterback that's gonna say, Hey, when you take these chances and when you call these plays. I'm gonna put the ball in a opportunity where we can get forty three, but I'm not gonna gonna give a square inch to where we can turn the ball over because I know that you want that too, Kirby. You want you want me to protect the football. He also has has shown that when you throw it his way, like he he's he's gonna catch the football. That's huge. That's huge. I know it sounds like me it sounds kind of weird, but it's like, yeah, like he's all these things, but he's gonna catch the football too. I mean Aaron Smith, I mean He was a guy that you could look and go, man, he's like he was shot out of a cannon, but he had the drops one year. If not some, if not some some drops at at the most part of all years. huge compliment coming from Kirby was he said that Dandrews works hard, runs routes correctly, listens to coaching, plays fast, has consistent hands per the AJC. don't be surprised if you see this kid become a bigger part of the offense and a go to guy as the competition gets tougher. on defense, really quick. Let's reflect on kind of what we've learned from George's defense. I think, I think this this is a very nasty defense. I think it's a really nasty defense. I think that we're getting pressure with four, five guys. I think I think Chris Cole looks like an absolute animal. I think DeMelo Jones is just statistically right now the best cornerback on the field. And that's with a top 10 possible draft pick on the other side and Ellis Robinson and a first team possible All-American. And the only thing that the reason hasn't been shown is because statistically also, people aren't throwing towards Ellis. I mean, Debello has an interception. man, I really like these corners, man. I really like these corners. I love, love, love the secondary. I love KJ Bolden is stepping up in the spots. he is he's leading this defense, but he's also tackling at a high rate. He's playing defense at a high rate. I'm leaving people out. There's so many bright spots on this defense. Well they'll get tested more this week on the road, first road test. but I think they'll be ready for the job. What we did learn about some names though, I mean, we talked about Melo Jones. Bigger roll ahead, yes, absolutely. we're looking at we're looking at the possibility of what we said earlier of two shutdown corners at each end. made his first career start. and you know, I think I think he's definitely That second one recovered a fumble that was created by Anthony Crua on the opening kickoff that literally allowed George to score within the first minute. had the interception, had the pick, returned it for a touchdown. it's extremely encouraging to see Damelo Jones arriving to have those two guys on each end is huge. He can establish himself as a as a reliable starter. It gives Glenn Schumann and T Rob another piece to really focus in on and work with. with all the dangerous people. The last name I'm gonna bring up, because like I said, I could stay all night on the defense, PJ Dean. We didn't talk about this guy a lot, but man, you know, you know, you when you f when you flip the script on what this defense is doing, this name has stood out. He made an immediate impact against Tennessee State with a sack and a half. man, can we just talk about how we did talk about these things last year? Sacks, sacks, right? young player Georgia needs him develop weird scenario, right? Actually came in and was and was thought to be developing as a as an offensive lineman. Crazy, right? Lost a lot, cut a lot of weight, and just flourished at the right time. Another another great just aptitude Kirby and his staff has to evaluate talent, right? if Dean continues to develop, like you could see his role increase dramatically. And we've seen him, he's everywhere. You know, I thought at first I'm like, man, Javius Johnson, maybe he did wear thirty three this year. No. P.J. Dean for 33 and Quintavious Johnson. I'm seeing three everywhere as well. you know, and here's the exciting part. He's not going to have to be the guy. he's playing around the veterans and established players. That means offenses have to account for multiple threats. PJ Dean is like not even on the scouting roster, right? You got Cole on there, you got Bolden on there, you got here's what we're going up against against lockdown cornerbacks. You know, you got Elijah Griffin, you got Hall, you got. All these things coming at you. And then PJ Dean is just like, by the way, 33. 33, you know? And I think that can make him even a deadlier part of this defense. so I think all in all, when you look at defense, I'm giving a little, you know, as far as I'm I'm giving them, you know, kind of you've seen the explosiveness from the offense, the run game looked different, the lines look different. but I still am giving the edge a little bit to the defense. To set the tone for these early these early games in the and you know, I say early games, these earlier SEC games that are slated. Allow 20 points, twenty-three total this year in two games. absolutely stingy that first line with rushing and and passing yards. you know, the problem that came later on, honestly, in the in the rotations that heavily happened on defense. And actually, actually where Kirby seemed frustrated, you know. The concern wasn't that Georgia couldn't stop Western Kentucky. The concern was that the younger players weren't ready to finish the game the way the starters had started it. That's huge. I think that's what Georgia fans were so kind of in, you know, meh about. You're reading kind of Kirby's dynamic and you're thinking, man, we just won seventy to twenty, but Kirby's going, you know, I I I think we did some good things as a starter at the start as a starting unit, but some of these guys gotta help us out during the year, right? Or depth. And he wanted them to come in and shut Western Kentucky down and look and to look the part And to kind of go one for one, because if you think about it, twos and threes weren't exactly going against the ones, you know, for the entire game. There there was some twos by Western Kentucky later on. That was when all the sloppy play came, right? because in November, you're gonna need those guys. injuries happen, fatigue happens, you know, championship teams need depth. Biggest thing is who's hot and who's healthy when it comes down to winning an SC championship and going deep in the playoffs. Who's hot? And who's healthy is huge. so I mean, offense versus defense, I mean, like I said, I gave I give it a little bit of an edge to the defense. I mean, here's my question for everybody though. And before we get into my power rankings and we finish it out tonight, is which Georgia unit are you more confident in right now? The offense, I mean, or the defense? I mean, I'm leaning toward the offense in some areas, but I'm leaning towards defense in other areas. I think totally though, I'm leaning towards the defense. I never thought I'd say that coming into this season because, you know, I I know we've had, you know, more starters returning on defense, but I honestly thought, you know, with the ri with the maybe maybe that sounds kind of weird for some listeners because you're like, well, the wide receiver room. I always had it in the back of my head that the wide receivers were going to get a get out of jail free card because of the tight end room. Like that has not, when everybody was screaming wide receiver and how are we going to fill this void? I just had it in my head the whole time the tight end room was gonna be was gonna be the one that kind of crutched that up, right? but Gunner looks comfortable. I think Gunner looks comfortable. What we've learned about both that coming into this Arkansas game from Western Kentucky and Tennessee State is that Gunner looks comfortable. the running backs are talented. they're creating space, they're elusive. They're I mean, what can they do for four quarters, right? Tight end room is loaded. receivers are starting to emerge. We're starting to see some of these pop out. and you heard me. I mean, we've we've been all across the board of receivers that could at any time during the any game, in my opinion, could tote the load of making of making wins happen. and, you know, the defense, they got a chance to become special, really special. Talent's absolutely there. The question is whether the young guys can develop quickly enough because Some of these things are gonna happen, it's inevitable. We don't wish him on any on anything, right? but I think Kirby's concern and the look in his face is is that he wants to see that depth step up and be really, really confident behind those starters and be hungry and not, man, is Kirby worrying about putting me in the game or I'm going in the game. It's time to, you know, it's time to eat, as Kirby would say. but the real test starts this weekend, obviously. Georgia had Georgia goes on road against Arkansas. Obviously, the 330 game against Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and then Auburn. And so there's a stretch coming our way here, end of September, early October, and it all begins. It all begins this weekend. So a lot to look forward to. some rapid fire questions to end the podcast before I do my just some things that I want some of our listeners to think about. And once again, I will say it again. I appreciate everyone who is following the podcast. It is appreciated. We're we we have so much fun with this. can't wait to get the guys together tomorrow night and go live again and talk about prep for Arkansas. What are we looking at? Who is we'll get a little bit more deep dive into the SEC opponents than we have the the last few. we'll talk about quarterback, we'll look at the team, we'll look at offense, defense, what we think keys to victory are, as well as pick all those games in the SEC, you know, the bigger games outside of it. But you know, as a recap, I mean, should Georgia be motivated. You know, by the fact that people are maybe thinking at it like Danny Connell and going, Really the only reason you're seeing Georgia at a high level right now is because they've played nobody. it's a question to think about. Is Gunner a legitimate Heisman candidate? That's a huge question coming out of this, you know? It's it's like, yes, the numbers are not there, but you know, also Gunner hasn't really played the quarters for those numbers to be there yet. They're coming. you know, some of us would love to see. You know, us pack up at halftime again this weekend. but is he a true Heisman candidate? You know, is he gonna be a guy that takes this team to the end this year? Can he do that? Is he capable of doing that? Who becomes George's number one receiver by end of season? that's a question that's asked a lot. And it and it's really a a loaded question because I don't know that we have that answer now. And I don't know at what point if we will have that answer, just to be honest with you. Is Talon Taylor about to have a breakout season? is Jaden Ridd become Georgia's next elite tight end? PJ Dean, is he more of a is he gonna find himself a little bit more on the back burner and was it all a fluke or is this guy gonna emerge as another, you know, elite guy coming up through the ranks of these Georgia defenses that can cause a lot of problems this year for opponents? and is it is Georgia's offense, you know, actually better than we expect? That's a huge question, right? So, so that's I mean, that's in a nutshell, kinda I think where we're at. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night cover in Arkansas. I'm gonna go through really quick for for all the listeners that are looking for the week two getting ready to hop on TikTok next as we speak. if you're hearing it live, then you know to hop on there if you want to hear more. and if you're not, then you know that these power rankings, I'm gonna start posting these on the TikTok pages, kind of as you would call in the food world, a la carte. but let's see here. Let's hop. Let's hop straight in. SEC Power Rankings, week two. Let me find them. I don't know why I'm having a hard time with them, but I have them right here, handy dandy. You can have you can always be prepared, but you never can be prepared enough. So from 16 to 1, SEC power rankings, week two. I I have Arkansas coming in at sixteen. I feel like Arkansas had a rough showing against Utah. I still think they struggled to have their offense show up at all. I think the defense is not playing horrendous. I actually think the defense is probably has a little bit of an edge on the offense as far as productivity and what this team is kind of made of, but not to spend too much time on them. I just feel like that's where they're at right now. a very lackluster showing game one and then a lackluster, if not Pretty horrendous showing on the road against Utah. Vanderbilt are doing the best thing they possibly could do. and starting Jerry Curtis this week this coming upcoming weekend, but for now, I have them at 15. Auburn, man, I I I I want Auburn to be so much higher. I I felt like a lot about this weekend that they did was still just very just I don't know. It's just not a it's not really exciting. This this offense that Golich has in the SEC like. I knew that it would have to really have to see it. This is an SEC, you know, these are SEC caliber, you know, teams that they're gonna be playing against. And when they're not, I mean, they played Baylor, these are not SEC teams they played. And I feel like the offense just struggled at times. Defense, they're okay, but still just nothing, nothing even as an elite status as it was last year. So nothing really to write home about. I don't know enough about Auburn. I'll know a lot about Auburn this week. When Florida comes to town, we'll know a lot about both of these teams. Kentucky, I felt like you played with Alabama for a little while. You showed some things. I feel like when it was time to really, you know, show up in some areas and the run game getting to an elite level. And I'm just gonna hear it Kentucky fans when I log on here in a second, I know I bought. but you know, Kentucky, I I I I I'm fine with you at thirteen. South Carolina at twelve. Once again, I'm gonna see a lot of you. We're gonna figure out where you stand after this weekend. You know, I think you're back on offense, but I still need to see more. I I I don't know if this is real or this is just when you actually hit, you know, some areas where you have to produce, you know, how's it gonna how's it gonna show up? But you're gonna get tested this week and we're gonna figure that out really quickly. Oklahoma dropped to eleven. I think all in all, I just the the the overall o offensive performance was very, very below standard. I feel like Michigan, you know, let's just be honest, I I don't know what to think of Michigan, right? I mean, the offense is still terrible. Michigan's offense is still terrible. I mean, Bryce Underwood did nothing, hardly. Which makes me ask questions about Oklahoma's defense. And I was very high on both of these. but I have you at eleven. Florida moved you to ten. I need to see you play somebody. I'm gonna see you play Auburn this week. as far as where I have them in the power rings, what I think should happen is I think I think I think Florida should have the edge in a lot of these areas. I don't know. it's all about who shows up, right? And who's gonna who who do I trust is gonna have them in a better spot? Be honest right now. I think John Somerall has has really kind of got me in that area of trusting that a bit more as far as intensity in their in his teams and what I've seen. we're gonna pick those games tomorrow, but that's where I got them. I did move Missouri up to nine. I think Austin Simmons looked really good this past weekend. I think you know. If you can get back party in this offense, I think some of the receivers are emerging. I've seen this defense come to life, the defense that I questioned a little bit. still got to see more. but I do like them moving up to nine. Texas St. I got you at eight. the defense will be the make or break this year, in my opinion. I've seen I think the defense did a really good job against Harris Arizona State to adjust in the second half, make some adjustments. I don't really think the offense just kind of pulled the way. I think the defense puts you in good good situations to To really thrive. I have you at eight, Tennessee. This is a tough one. I could have five, six, and seven pretty much in the same area. Okay. But I just have them here for kicks and giggles. Okay. Because a lot of this is going to pin out this weekend. but I like Faison Brandon. I like what we're doing in the run game. I like what the defense is showing against Georgia Tech, who I think is this year a little bit overmatched in the games I've seen them play in. I still think the offense looks good. it's not like the that the that the teams you're playing don't have a heartbeat. So I think I think for what I've seen so far, you're good. Mississippi State, I'm very impressed with Mississippi State. Camario Taylor looks really good. I mean, it's just a I mean, the guy is super critical of himself too. Has Levy finally arrived? Has Zach Arnett gonna be the answer on defense? Is this the year that Mississippi State puts it together? Do they have enough elements to make a run? We're fisting the seat. I would tell you that I don't have them I'm not really sold on them a lot, but then again, Camario Taylor, I knew had hints of greatness last year when I saw him. But to see him putting all together this year and for for Mississippi State to have a heartbeat on defense, that says a lot about Mississippi State. Alabama got you at five. I don't consider that win a a a really great win, but I do consider it a rally point for you. It was good to see you down. You made some mistakes in the first half, two or three turnovers, came back, Elon Russell seemed calm. To see this team respond on the road against Kentucky and get that win. I think you deserve that fifth spot. Ole Miss, this was also, I could probably group you right in there with these other four teams as well. Maybe four, five, six, and seven. Could go together. But I have Ole Miss at four. Obviously, this is going to pan out this weekend because I have you have Ole Miss and you have LSU playing each other the big game in at Ole Miss in Hottie Toddyville. it's gonna be a good one, but I have them at four secured in there. LSU I have you at three. did you look a little lackluster, you know, last weekend. Yeah. I I think this team's only gonna go as far as Sam Levitt goes. Period. I think, I think it's hard saying that, but I think they're on they only go as far as Sam Levitt goes. here's the ones that people are gonna be like, all right, well, we're showing some home cooking. Yeah, I am. you know, Texas, I have you at second. these are SEC power rankings. And I do feel like that. Unlike unlike the, you know, when you look at talent every year, we're not judging things off of last year, year before, but I still think you gotta get you gotta beat Georgia. Like you got you gotta beat Georgia, right? I think Georgia still has Georgia may have a better defense than they had the last two years when they beat you. Georgia may have a better offense than they had the last two years when they beat you. So until I see you head on, and I already hear it right now, they're like, Texas is like, we want Georgia, and maybe we got it. It's fine. You had a chance at Georgia two years in a row. You you couldn't do it. So I have you at two. I have you at two. and it'll all pan out, right? It'll all pan out. But I don't think that that was your biggest win. I still think the SEC is the best conference in college football. And I think your biggest competition is coming. Your biggest competition is coming, Texas. and Georgia have it one, even though the opponent we talked about it. I think we just solidified the dominance of what they've done in those first two games to get us to one. So That is my week two power rankings. curious in the comments if you catch this. What do you agree with? What do you disagree with? Looking forward to to this week though, we'll we'll do this every Tuesday night. We'll drop these power rankings on the show as well as on TikTok. And I will put them in as a slide on TikTok after we reveal them tonight when we go live. But that's it for tonight. Hope you enjoyed it. we talked about a lot of things that we think we learned from the first two weeks as we head into SEC play. We'll break down Arkansas much more tomorrow night. We'll talk about keys to victory as well as pick all the SEC games and all the bigger games and other conferences around college football. so I hope you enjoyed tonight. it was always a pleasure hanging out with you. One more last time. If you haven't already done so, please go and like and follow us on all the podcasting platforms that we are pretty much on. We are on Everything. We are on YouTube trying to grow that channel over there. So follow us on YouTube, Dogs Down South, Facebook, Twitter, Apple Podcast, Dogs Down South, Spotify, Dogs Down South, TikTok, obviously. If you haven't done so, go hit us up on that platform. If anything, just to go follow us after you get this pitch tonight, because we go live every Tuesday night on there and we talk about the power rankings with a good group of of people. So looking forward to tomorrow night. I hope you guys have a great rest of your Tuesday night. And looking forward to breaking down Arkansas and talking about the weekend as we head in towards that way and rush the week to get to college football. As always on Dogs Down South, I hope you guys have a great night and go dogs.