Is Boise St. still a no-win situation for Dawgs?

When the Broncos visited Athens in 2005, they were considered a very good mid-major conference opponent, and a few prognosticators even went so far as to predict their upset of Georgia that year. After all, they'd gone 11-1 the year before. The result was a 48-13 thrashing by Georgia. Nonetheless, Boise St. went on to go 13-0 in 2006, and have generally continued the pace year in, year out since that fateful day.

Last year, more writers, coaches, etc. were seemingly ready to give them their shot at the BCS title, until the Broncos were derailed by a solid Nevada team late in the year.

But, despite a couple of undefeated seasons and victories over perennial Top-25 teams like Oklahoma and Virginia Tech, there is still the issue of Boise St. having what amounts to a cupcake schedule year in, year out.

Nonetheless, BSU is, at last view, bouncing around between a 3 and 6 point favorite against Georgia on a technically neutral field, but one that should amount to a home field for the Dawgs.

I pose the question: Is this still a "no-win" situation for Georgia? That is, if the Dawgs beat up on the Broncos, will the majority of the college football world simply shrug and say, "that's what they should have done?" Likewise, will it be a total embarrassment for UGA if they lose to the Broncos, regardless of the score?

Or, do you think that the Dawgs will get some props for beating a team that's been in or around the top 10 for the better part of 5 years?

Many weary and wary of talk during Dawgs summer workouts

"Last year, I think we kinda just went through the motions."

"We didn't push ourselves as hard as we could have."

These are but a couple of examples of what we tend to hear from players following a relatively disappointing season. It can get old, and most fans, particularly the more disgruntled ones, don't want to hear it.

The most obvious and instantaneous response to the aforementioned statements is, "Well, why the hell weren't you pushing harder last year?"

True enough, as it seems coaches and players alike would realize by now that champions are not made by just "getting by" in the seemingly endless number of drills and workouts.

At the risk of sounding like an apologist, though, I'll point out a little thing called perspective.

The workouts and regimens put forth by any football program out there is bound to be grueling and a test of the will. While you're in the moment, with coaches and teammates yelling at you to do better, go faster, etc., you could easily feel like your giving every last bit of effort you can. It's only after a loss or a disappointing season that you might look back and say, "You know what? I think I really could have given more."

There's also the problem of a lack of a better response when asked what is different about this year's practices and workouts. Certainly, after a 6-7 season, nobody's going to say, "We're just doing what we've been doing." For, as football legend Albert Einstein once said, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.

So, try not to blame the players for saying they're doing things better, working harder, staying more focused, holding each other accountable, having higher attendance at voluntary workouts, or otherwise changing things around. They probably are, and they've got to believe that they are.