Morning, y’all!

Greetings from Omaha, where it was in the 90s and sweltering yesterday afternoon, and this morning it was 66 and drizzling.

Quick story those of you who have been to this area before will probably find silly. Yesterday, I flew in hours before Brandon Adams and Cody Chaffins, the rest of the DawgNation crew making the trip, got a rental car and got a little work done. Their flight was delayed a few times, so I wanted to make sure I was on time to pick them up.

While headed to the airport, I get a “Welcome to Iowa” update from my GPS. My first reaction: Yikes, OK, where have I been driving this whole time??

Turns out the state border is such that you drive through the Carter Lake area, separated from the rest of Iowa by the Missouri River, on the way to the Omaha airport. So I made it with plenty of time to spare, and the DawgNation crew is ready to crank out some College World Series content for you.

Just a little Nebraska/Iowa geography for y’all on this Thursday morning.

Speaking of Cody, here’s a video he put together on the bond between Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson and pitcher Justin Byrd, who are also roommates.

“He’s one of my best friends on the team, and every time I get on the mound, he’s behind the plate,” Byrd said Tuesday. “We have a special connection.”

Both super regional games ended with Byrd and Jackson on the field together, the right-handed pitcher delivering the game-ending strike. After clinching Georgia’s spot in Omaha, Byrd leaped into Jackson’s arms to celebrate.

CWS schedule

As a reminder, here’s the schedule for the first four CWS matchups:

Game 1: No. 16 West Virginia vs. Troy — 2 p.m. Friday ESPN

Game 2: No. 5 North Carolina vs. Ole Miss — 7 p.m. Friday ESPN

Game 3: No. 7 Alabama vs. Oklahoma — 3 p.m. Saturday ESPN

Game 4: No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Texas 8 p.m. — Saturday ESPN

Georgia baseball ignited after secret meeting with Wes Johnson at airport

Crazy headline, right?

Here’s a super cool story from Mike Griffith on how Wes Johnson got the job at Georgia, and how the Bulldogs have taken off since.

Johnson’s head coaching career took off at the Pensacola International Airport, literally and figuratively.

“They called, and I only had one day open for the interview; I was in Pensacola with my second daughter (Ava), who was getting married,” Johnson, whose hire was announced June 5, 2023, as he was carrying out his pitching coach duties for an LSU team that would win the College World Series, told the AJC on Tuesday.

Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks followed up his call, scheduling a clandestine meeting at the small Florida airport to offer Johnson the job.

“I remember that call and seeing who it was. I had just grabbed a dozen balls to take out to the pitchers,” Johnson said with a chuckle.

“I couldn’t say much. It was before practice, but there were people around me. But yeah, excited.”

Brooks was, too, even though he knew there could be some second-guessing of the hire, as Johnson’s only prior head coaching experience was in his hometown of Sherwood, Arkansas, from 2004 to 2007.

Three years later, the 54-year-old skipper has helped Georgia land a spot in the eight-team field at the College World Series for the first time since 2008.

Read the full story:

Jackson, Phelps headline Georgia baseball’s 4 NCBWA All-Americans

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its annual All-American teams Wednesday, with Georgia tied for the second-most selections across all teams with four players, alongside Georgia Tech, Texas and Texas A&M.

​Making the first team were Jackson and third baseman Tre Phelps; second-team honors went to right-handed pitcher Caden Aoki; right-handed pitcher Joey Volchko earned third-team All-American honors.

3 early keys for Bulldogs ahead of Saturday’s matchup vs. Texas

Similar to Georgia’s, Texas’ batting order is one of the best in baseball, with no weaknesses in hitters 1-9.

But two players Georgia must not let beat them reside at the top of the order.

“They’ve got the two guys at the top, (Aiden) Robbins and (Carson) Tinney, (who) have a lot of power and don’t swing and miss a lot. It will be a good challenge,” Johnson said. “I see that their first two hitters are real.”

Robbins and Tinney are each hitting over .330 with a combined 147 hits, 46 home runs — nearly 45% of all of Texas’ homers — and 122 RBIs.

Both do a great job at setting the tone early in games and are not afraid of doing some damage in the process. In Game 2 of the Austin Super Regional, the duo began the game with back-to-back long balls.

Read on for the other keys:

Georgia football game time windows announced for 2026 season

Sept. 26 vs. Oklahoma: flex, 3:30 to 8 p.m.

Oct. 3 vs. Vanderbilt: early, noon to 1 p.m.

Oct. 10 at Alabama: night, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Oct. 17 vs. Auburn: afternoon, 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., ABC or ESPN

Oct. 31 vs. Florida (in Atlanta): 3:30 p.m., ABC

Nov. 7 at Ole Miss: flex, 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Nov. 14 vs. Missouri: flex, 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Nov. 21 at South Carolina: flex, 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Nov. 28 vs. Georgia Tech: flex, 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The league had previously announced the times for Georgia’s first three games. The Bulldogs will take on Tennessee State at 3 p.m. Sept. 5 before hosting Western Kentucky at 12:45 p.m. Sept. 12.

Georgia’s first SEC game comes on the road against Arkansas on Sept. 19. That game is set for a noon start.

Georgia’s game against Tennessee State will air on ESPN+. The game against Western Kentucky is set to be broadcast by the SEC Network. The Arkansas game will air on ABC.

The SEC expanded to a nine-game conference slate this season. The Bulldogs have four home games, four road games and a game against Florida in Atlanta.

Gunner Stockton knows the difference between being a good and a great QB

Gunner Stockton showed he can be a great quarterback at times last season. Performances against Tennessee, Ole Miss and Texas back that up, when the Georgia quarterback accounted for 13 touchdowns and just one turnover in those victories.

But Stockton wasn’t a great quarterback all the time last season, especially after he lost starting center Drew Bobo. The nadir came against Georgia Tech, when Stockton finished with just 70 passing yards on 21 attempts.

Most everyone would agree Stockton is at least a good quarterback. He finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting last season while earning third-team All-SEC honors.

The bar Stockton has to clear to become a great quarterback isn’t all that high. If he can eliminate the poor showings, as we saw at the end of the season, he’s got the chance to very much count himself among the nation’s elite.

ESPN’s David Hale ranked Stockton among the third tier of quarterbacks for the upcoming season. He’s a step below the likes of CJ Carr of Notre Dame and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, even if he’s beaten Arch Manning and Trinidad Chambliss in competition.

One of Stockton’s biggest strengths is his play against top 25 foes. Against top 25 defenses per the S&P+ last season, Stockton completed 72% of his passes while accounting for 18 touchdowns and just two turnovers.