Meet Uga Vii

THERE'S ANOTHER Dawg coming of age in Athens. After Uga VI died of heart failure in June, the Seiler family of Savannah, which has raised the Georgia mascots for the last 52 years, tabbed 3-year-old Loran's Best to be Uga VII just two weeks before the season. (He's named after longtime Georgia radio reporter Loran Smith.) The 57-pound Uga VII seems to be saving his energy for bigger games. In the Bulldogs' opening win over Georgia Southern, TV cameras caught him snoozing late in the 45--21 blowout. And last Saturday he looked less than pugnacious at times as he retreated to his ice-filled kennel to escape the desert heat. "He has a sense of his role," says attorney Frank W. (Sonny) Seiler, 75, "but he hasn't really figured it out yet."

His ancestors set the bar high: Uga VI roamed the sidelines for the most Georgia wins (87 over nine seasons, with just 27 losses), and Uga V graced SI's cover in 1997 as the nation's best college mascot. Says Seiler of Uga VII, "He has big paws to fill."