Practice Report: Dawgs Wrap Up Preparations for OSU

From UGA release...

The 13th-ranked Georgia football team crossed its t's and dotted its i's on Thursday with the second of two dress rehearsals in preparation for this Saturday's season opener at ninth-ranked Oklahoma State.

After holding their first dress rehearsal on Wednesday for an hour and a half, the Bulldogs returned to Sanford Stadium Thursday for another 90-minute session including 30 minutes with earsplitting crowd noise pumped through the sound system to replicate game-day atmosphere.

The Bulldogs and Cowboys will open the season Saturday in front of 60,218 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. The contest will be televised by ABC with kickoff officially set for 3:36 p.m. ET and Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Holly Rowe calling the action. All Georgia games are broadcast live on the Bulldog Radio Network on ISP Sports with Scott Howard calling the play-by-play and Eric Zeier providing color analysis. The radio audio can also be heard worldwide on both georgiadogs.com, the official website of UGA Athletics, on XM Satellite Radio channel 201 and on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 212. This weekend's game will also be carried nationally by Westwood One Radio Sports with Chuck Cooperstein and Eddie George.

Prior to Thursday's practice session, Georgia head coach Mark Richt met with the media for a final time before Saturday's duel with the Cowboys.

"Today's practice, I have no idea how it went because we haven't had it yet," Richt said jokingly. "It's the last one before we go, and we are all excited about this trip. I think the guys will play with a lot of spirit, and I think they understand what kind of opponent we are running into here and have total respect for them. I would imagine it's going to be a great game to watch."

When asked how he feels going into a season opener Richt explained that he does not get nervous but does have anticipation and curiosity for seeing how the Bulldogs will play.

"I get excited," Richt said. "I'm anxious. Curious is maybe the best word. I'm very curious to see what we got. I'm very curious to see how we will respond in this game and throughout the season, but you get a pretty good taste in game one. Although, this game is a lot different than other season openers we've had in years past."

Richt then elaborated on what the experience will be like for the 12 true freshmen that will make the trip to Stillwater.

"Those guys have no idea what's about to happen to them … It's going to be something they will never ever forget," Richt explained. "I remember the first time that I got to play in a game (for Miami). I think I was a freshman and we were at the University of Colorado. It was just totally surreal and kind of like an out-of-body experience for me. Once it gets rolling, it becomes more like a real life situation. It takes a little while to get used to, and these guys, I don't even know what type of a crowd they've played in front of before. Some of them have probably played on national T.V. It used to be that a high school athlete never played on national television, but some of these guys played in all-stars games that were nationally televised so they got a little taste of that. The atmosphere that is going to be produced in Stillwater is going to be different than anything they've ever experienced."

Saturday's contest against the Cowboys will mark the first time the Bulldogs have opened the season against a higher ranked opponent since unranked Georgia defeated No. 25 Baylor, 15-3, on Sept. 16, 1989. The Dogs last faced a higher ranked opponent on the road in their opener in 1968, when unranked UGA tied No. 9 Tennessee, 17-17, in Knoxville.