Urban Meyer Resigns..... Again

Déjà vu all over again for Florida. It was less than 1 year ago when the college football world was shocked to hear that Urban Meyer was stepping down at Florida for health concerns. Meyer shocked the world again when he took it all back 24 hours later. Now today, the world is once again shocked to hear that Urban Meyer is walking away.

Unlike last year, medical reasons seem to have no part in the decision. Family is apparently the basis for this decision. However, it does seem a little funny that Meyer decided to leave after his worst season in Gainesville, with no real hope of a dramatic turn-around next season.

Yes Meyer won two national titles at Florida, but the first of those titles he won with mostly Ron Zook’s players, and the second of those titles he won with Tim Tebow. I’m not saying that Meyer isn’t a good coach, but sometimes great coaches are the products of great players, and we will never know how good Meyer is because he never won anything without Tebow.
Meyer’s two national titles returned Florida to the top of the college football world, but his exit leaves many questions in Gainesville. After a 7-5 season, there is another great recruiting class coming in, but will his exit make any of their commits think twice? Even with Meyer, Florida wasn’t in a position to return to national prominence next year, so with John Brantley at QB what can we expect from Florida in 2011?

Those questions will be asked, but the biggest question is the most obvious: Who will take over one of college football’s premier programs. Florida is one of the five best jobs in the country, and there is almost no coach in America who wouldn’t consider the position if it were offered. Dan Mullen will be the first name out of everyone’s mouth because of his success at Mississippi State, but Mullen hasn’t really proven himself on the national stage. Getting Mississippi State to a bowl game doesn’t make you the next great college coach. Charlie Strong is in the same position at Louisville. Having only 1 year of head coaching experience would make him a questionable hire even though he has strong ties to the program.

After you get past those two names, the fun really starts. Bob Stoops coached at Florida under Steve Spurrier. Could Florida AD Jeremy Foley convince Stoops to leave Oklahoma for the bright lights of the SEC? Butch Davis won a national championship in the state of Florida when he coached Miami, could Davis return to the state as the Gators next headman? Jon Gruden wants to coach again, would he consider a move to the college world? Bobby Petrino has to be getting a little antsy at Arkansas. With Mallet heading to the NFL, would it be time for the master of abandonment to head for the greener pastures of Gainesville? Could the Ole’ Ball Coach rekindle some of his ole’ magic and return to the Swamp? I hear Bobby Bowden has some free time, maybe he could lead the Gators against the ‘Noles in 2011. (Just kidding about that last one)

There will be no shortage of rumors and people who think they know what is going to happen in Gainesville now. The truth will play itself out over the next few weeks, but don’t expect the search to last too long. If a new coach isn’t in place before Christmas, it could really hurt the Gators in recruiting.

Meyer will coach his last game at Florida, in Florida, when the Gators take on Penn State in the Outback Bowl. That game will now feature two coaches who couldn’t be any more different. Joe Paterno has been at Penn State for 44 years. Paterno has won two national titles in that time, and is the winningest coach in FBS history. Through good times and bad, he has stuck with Penn State and Penn State has stuck with him. He has been offered the head coaching job at Michigan and the Pittsburg Steelers at different time in his career and chose to stay in Happy Valley. Paterno is coming back for a 45th season at Penn State in 2011, where is salary will be somewhere around $550,000 (modest by today’s standards).

Meyer made $18.5 in his 6 years at Florida. He will now take a year off and probably surface at ESPN or CBS as a commentator. He will get the itch to coach again in a few years, and he will have his pick of a job when that time comes, but Meyer has proven that he is committed only as long as it works for him, so buyer beware.

A Bow on the Season

We have some house cleaning to do before we get to what happened yesterday.

It has been a long time since I was as mad about a football game as I was at the end of the Auburn/Georgia game two weeks ago. It was not that Georgia lost. It was how Auburn won.
Cam Newton is as good as any college football player I have seen. (That includes Tim Tebow).

However, the way that Nick Fairley played in that game was disgraceful. The fact that the refs let it happen was disgraceful. The sight of seeing Mark Richt yelling at the refs because of their lack of control of the game was laudable, and the way the Georgia players went after Fairley after the hit on Aaron Murray was to be expected.

Auburn has a good team, but with all of the rumors around Newton, and with the thug-like way they finished the Georgia game, I’m not sure they have the character of a champion.

I was lucky enough to be at the game last night, and besides the stands not being full, it was everything a rivalry should be. Neither team has had a memorable season; however, pride was on the line between the hedges. Georgia did not play well on defense and their tackling didn’t look any better than it did last season under Martinez. However, I think all Georgia fans have learned the value of a victory this season, and getting the win was all we could hope for last night.

Justin Houston and AJ Green showed out in what will most likely be their last game in Sanford Stadium, while the maturation of Aaron Murray continued to be evident. Tech made some good plays, and Paul Johnson has to be one of the most aggressive coaches in college football. It is easy to love a coach that will go for it on fourth down and try to win the game rather than to not lose the game.

There were some iffy calls, especially the ball spotting on the fourth and short play in the second quarter, however, as coach Richt said after the game, you can’t leave it close enough to depend on the spot. If Georgia could have converted the fourth and short, and not had two fumbles in the red zone, we would have put the game away in the third quarter, and I would not still be cold today. However, this team does not do things the easy way, and you have to credit Tech for battling back from down two touchdowns in the second half.

The decision to run the ball at the end of the game rather than take a knee was curious. Had Tech managed to score and convert the two-point conversion, Georgia coaches would be getting killed today. As it was, the Dawgs escaped with the victory and advanced to their 14th consecutive bowl game.

Not sure where the Dawgs will play, but making the bowl is important for the fact that Murray needs the chance to continue to practice with receivers other than Green since he will be playing on Sundays next year.

With one week to go in the season, here are my predictions for the BCS bowls, and other games of interest.

Florida will play in the Gator Bowl and Tennessee will play in the Music City Bowl because those venues will sell out easily with defacto home teams playing in them. By that rule, Georgia should be playing in the CFA Bowl, but I think it will most likely be the Liberty Bowl against Central Florida.

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin v. TCU
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech v. Stanford
Sugar Bowl: Arkansas v. Ohio State
Fiesta Bowl: Nebraska v. UCONN

BCS Championship: Auburn v. Oregon

Coming Wednesday: A retrospective on the Bulldogs 2010

Tomorrow We're Going to Party Like its 2006

Okay Georgia fans, here is the history lesson for the weekend.
In 2006, the Georgia Bulldogs, led by a freshman quarterback, traveled down to the Plains to take on Auburn.

Georgia had just lost a game at Kentucky, and faced the possibility of not making a bowl game.

Auburn was ranked #5 in the BCS, and had intentions on making a run at the national title.

The Dawgs crushed the Tiger’s hearts in 2006, and I would not be surprised if history repeats itself tomorrow.

Georgia has not had an historic season in 2010, but they are a good team that has not played up to their potential. However, the Georgia offense has been clicking on all cylinders recently, and has the ability to keep up with the high-powered offense Auburn will feature.
Georgia’s defense is not great, but it will not have to be to win the game on Saturday. If Auburn punts three times, Georgia will win the game. This game is going to be high scoring and very entertaining.

For Auburn, everything has broken just right for the Tigers, on the field at least. Auburn has won an overtime game against Clemson. Auburn won a fourth quarter battle with South Carolina, and won an amazing game against Arkansas.

Auburn can clinch their spot in Atlanta by beating the Dawgs on Saturday.

Of course, there is one small problem. Cam Newton is a question mark. At 4:00 pm on Friday afternoon, Auburn’s AD said the school “were not commenting on Cam Newton’s status” for the game against Georgia.

It never crossed my mind this week that Newton would not play, but that seems to be a strange quote.

The Newton situation could bring the Tigers together, or it could be a distraction that brings their focus away from the Dawgs.

I won’t predict that Georgia will win, because that hasn’t worked out very well. But I think history has a tendency to repeat itself.

SEC Picture and Predictions

Alabama’s loss to LSU yesterday means that the path to Atlanta and the SEC title game is wide open. Five different teams could still end up playing for the title in the Georgia Dome.

Here are the scenarios:

Simplest Route: Three teams control their destiny.

For South Carolina and Steve Spurrier, it is simple: beat Florida and make history. South Carolina is one of four SEC schools to have never played in the SEC championship game, which started in 1992. One win against the Gators would clinch South Carolina’s spot, and justify Spurrier going to Columbia in the first place. The loss on Saturday to Arkansas means nothing for South Carolina who would have had to beat Florida to make it to Atlanta either way. (FYI Dawg fans, had Georgia beaten Florida, Georgia would be a South Carolina loss to Florida away from playing in Atlanta, even if they lose to Auburn…)

Florida’s route is just as simple. Beat South Carolina in Columbia on Saturday, and you go back to Atlanta for the 3rd straight year.

Auburn is the other team that controls their destiny. All Auburn has to do is beat either Georgia or Alabama and they will play in Atlanta.

A little more complicated:

LSU’s route to Atlanta is more difficult. First, they need to win out, which means beating Ole Miss and Arkansas to finish their season. Secondly, LSU needs Auburn to lose their final two games, which would mean losing to Georgia and Alabama. In this scenario, LSU would finish with one conference loss while Auburn and Alabama would finish with two conference losses.

So you are saying there is a chance:

Alabama needs as much luck as you can have over the next three weeks to find themselves in another SEC title game. Like Arkansas, Bama first has to win out, which would include beating Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Secondly, Bama needs Auburn to lose to Georgia this weekend. Lastly, Alabama would then need LSU to lose to Arkansas or Ole Miss, giving the Tigers two losses. In this scenario, all three teams would have two losses, and all three would have beaten each other, but no team would have loss to both teams. Confused? Look at it this way:

Auburn would have beaten LSU.
LSU would have beaten Alabama.
Alabama would have beaten Auburn.
AND all three would have one more loss.

Since there would be a three-way tie, with no team losing to both of the other teams in the three way tie, we would go to the second tie breaker, which is record within the Western Division of the SEC. Auburn would be 4-1, Alabama would be 4-1, while LSU would be 3-2. This would eliminate LSU, and then the tiebreaker would be head to head between Alabama and Auburn, which Alabama would win by way of their supposed victory in the Iron Bowl.

Not exactly the most likely scenario, but still possible for Tide fans.

Here is what is going to happen.

Auburn will win one of its last two games and return to the SEC title game for the first time since 2004, when the Tigers went undefeated but got left out of the National Title game.


Florida will rise from the dead and crush the hearts of Gamecock fans by beating South Carolina this weekend and punching their ticket for Atlanta again. I am not rooting for the Gators, but history tells us that South Carolina cannot win in November, when it counts. There has not been a game that has counted more for South Carolina in the past twenty years, and I am almost sure they will wet their pants.

Too bad for South Carolina. Even though Lattimore is just a freshman and Garcia is only a junior, they will never get this close to an SEC title game again. Florida will be much better next year when their young players are a year older. Tennessee will improve under Derek Dooley. Kentucky (who beat South Carolina this year) will continue to be good. And the Dawgs are a heck of a lot better than their record and they will be an real contender next year.

I am rooting for South Carolina this weekend, because every school should get a chance to be in the spotlight, and this is the last spotlight the Chickens will see for a very long time.

Another disappointing Night in Jacksonville

This one hurt a lot.

For the past two years, Florida has come to Jacksonville and dominated Georgia. Florida was just better in every aspect of the game. Florida had better players and better coaches. That is not easy to accept, but it’s easier than what happen yesterday.

Georgia is not a great team and neither is Florida, but losing 34-31 in OT was just heartbreaking.

At halftime, you could see this game getting away from the Dawgs. 21-7 and all the momentum was with Florida. Florida was getting the ball to start the second half. But Georgia showed amazing fortitude by hanging in and chipping away at Florida’s lead. They even managed to tie the game at 24, and then the Gators came right back and took a 31-24 lead. Aaron Murray didn’t care. He lead the Dawgs down the field and threaded a pass through three defenders to AJ Green for another game-tying touchdown.

There will be some debate about the final Georgia drive of regulation. Georgia had 54 seconds to play, two timeouts and all the momentum. However, had Georgia gotten aggressive and gone three and out, Dawg fans would be killing Richt this morning. Richt played for overtime, and Murray through an interception trying to get the ball to the best receiver Georgia has ever had. Florida’s punter then kicked the game winning field goal, breaking Bulldog hearts everywhere.

Yeah this one is going to sting for a while.

It’s not that we were playing for a national title. Even an SEC East title was still a long shot with a win. It’s not that Florida was a great team and we had a chance to beat them. The reason this one is going to hurt is simply because we lost to Florida again. 18-21 games in this series have gone to the Gators.

When Florida is better they kill Georgia (2008, 2009) . When Georgia is better they manage to sneak by Georgia (2002, 2005). And this year, when both teams are not very good, Florida still beats Georgia.

This game was razor close by all statistical measures. On the scoreboard, it was a three point game. Florida had 23 first downs, Georgia had 22. Florida had 450 yards of total offense, Georgia had 439. Florida had the ball for 30 minutes and 38 seconds, Georgia had the ball for 29 minutes and 22 seconds.

What is even harder to deal with are the numbers that were in Georgia’s favor. Georgia was 8-15 on third down, while the Gators were only 4-14. Georgia had only two penalties while Florida had nine.

In reality there is only one number you need to know about the 2010 addition of Georgia/Florida, and that number is 4. 4 costly, game-changing, and heartbreaking turnovers. For the first time this season Aaron Murray played like a freshman. Murray has been nothing but solid under center for the Dawgs all season, but one bad half of football cost Georgia dearly. Richt took up for Murray after the game. Richt said that the first interception was a great play by the Florida defender, and he is right. Richt said the second interception probably sould have been caught by Aaron White, and he is right. But there is no doubt that Murray was rattled in the first half and it changed the way Georgia’s offense played. To his credit, Murray played at an amazing level in the second half, and showed poise and leadership in bringing the Dawgs back. Georgia scored 24 points in the second half. But at the end of the day, the interceptions and the fumble are the reason Georgia lost to Florida again.

I believe that Murray will eventually be one of the best quarterbacks that Georgia has ever had. He has the heart and drive to win, but he will have to get over costing his team the game yesterday.

Now the season comes down to this. Georgia must win 2 of their next three games to be 6-6 and make it to a bowl game.

You might be asking yourself, what does it matter if we go to a bowl game? It will be a crappy game that means nothing.

You would be wrong. Making it to a bowl game means you get to practice for that bowl game. It is an extra three weeks for the coaches to work with the players and I think we can all be sure that we need to practice as much as possible.

Georgia will beat Idaho State this weekend, and most of the starters shouldn’t have to play the second half. Then the Dawgs will get the number one team in the nation when they travel to Auburn. To assume anything but a loss at Auburn would be absurd. Which means that it will come down to the Saturday after Thanksgiving and Clean Old-Fashioned Hate between Georgia and Georgia Tech.

This Bulldog team will not be playing for a title, they will not be playing for a big bowl game. This Bulldog team has only one thing left to play for, but it is the purest pursuit in all of sports: Pride.

Time for the Cocktail Party!

What a difference a month makes. It has been a long time since the Bulldog Nation had been lower than we were following the loss to Colorado, but Coach Richt and his team have shown the heart of a true Bulldog in fighting their way back to a 4-4 record.

Many times in rivalry games, you hear that you can throw the records out the window, well this year, the records are all that matter. Georgia is 4-4 with a trip to Auburn left on the schedule. A loss to the Gators would most likely mean a 6-6 record at best, and possibly missing out on a bowl game for the first time since the mid-90’s.

Florida has lost three games in a row, and would fall to 4-4 themselves with a loss to the Dawgs. Their idiot fans are even calling for 2 time national champion Urban Meyer to be fired.

Saturday’s game will have a winner and a loser, like all games do. While the winner still won’t be a great team, the loser will be in a position that neither of these teams thought they would be in when the season began.

So what is going to happen?

Georgia’s offense has scored big in the last 3 games, putting up over 40 points in each game. Meanwhile, Florida’s offense has been terrible. They rank near the bottom of the SEC in almost every offensive category.

Georgia’s defense has been solid, allowing only 19.1 points per game. Florida’s defense has been just a little better at 18.7 points per game.

So here are the keys to the game:

1. There is nothing like an early lead. I firmly believe that whoever is winning after the first quarter will win the game. These two teams have a lot to lose with a loss. If either team can get a 7 or 10 point lead, the team that is down is going to get tight and probably make mistakes.

2. Score touchdowns! When you have a chance to score, put 7 on the board, don’t settle for field goals. Kicking field goals could keep the other team in the game. Missing field goals will lose you the game.

3. Turnovers. Nothing like a turnover to swing the momentum. The team that wins the turnover battle will win the game.

Prediction:
I’m not saying this just because I’m a Dawg fan, but I think Georgia is going to win on Saturday. And I’m not sure it is going to be close. The Dawgs’ offense has been getting better every week, and with King and Ealey both healthy and ready to play, Georgia should be at their best. The defense for Georgia isn’t perfect, but the Gator offense has been so bad, that it won’t matter. Enjoy Saturday Dawg fans, we deserve it.

Georgia 38 Florida 17

Rankings/Bowl Projections

Top 10: Because who really cares who is #22?
1. Auburn
2. Oregon
3. Oklahoma
4. Boise State
5. LSU
6. Alabama
7. TCU
8. Michigan State
9. Ohio State
10. Nebraska

1. Auburn: I have watched many games this season, and there has been no team as impressive as Auburn. The biggest question about Auburn is there defense, but if they are going to score 65 points, the defense can be bad and still be ok. Next week’s game against undefeated LSU will be huge, as both teams still have to play Alabama later in the season.

2. Oregon: I’m not really sure how good the Ducks are, but they have looked good beating the teams they have played. If they can win at USC in two weeks, they will most likely run the table and play for a National Championship.

3. Oklahoma: Oklahoma is a good team that is getting better. Landry Jones is beginning to play like the quarterback that national pundits have said he is. If they can get past Missouri on Saturday night, then the only thing standing in the way of the Sooners making a return to the title game is an old school show down with Nebraska in the last Big 12 title game.

4. Boise State: I have nothing to say about Boise State.

5. LSU: LSU will be exposed for the fraud they are on Saturday when they play at Auburn. I believe LSU will lose three of their last five games.

6. Alabama: I still think Bama is the best team in the nation. The question will be whether the teams in front of Bama give them the chance to move back towards the title game. They can personally eliminate Auburn and LSU in the regular season, and I still think a one loss Alabama will play in the title game over an undefeated Boise State team.

7. TCU: I have less to say about TCU than Boise State.

8. Michigan State: Take a look at their schedule. The only game that the Spartans have left that is dangerous is at Iowa the day before Halloween. The Big 10 schedule is stupid. How can this team not play Ohio State?

9. Ohio State: No chance for the Buckeyes to get back in the title hunt, and because they don’t play Michigan State, this team might have punched their ticket to the Holiday Bowl by losing last night.

10. Nebraska: Even though they lost to Texas, Nebraska is still a very good team that will have a role in deciding who plays for the title. They will get a chance to eliminate Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game.

SEC Tie In Bowl Game Predictions:

SEC #8- Birmingham Bowl, January 8 (Mississippi State)
SEC #7- Music City Bowl, December 30 (Kentucky)
SEC #6- Gator Bowl, January 1 (Florida)
SEC #5- Chick-fil-A Bowl, December 31 (Arkansas)
SEC #4- Outback Bowl, January 1 (South Carolina)
SEC #3- Cotton Bowl, January 2 (LSU)
SEC #2- Capital One Bowl, January 1 (Auburn)
SEC #1- Sugar Bowl, January 4 (Alabama)


BCS Bowl Game Predictions: (Not what I want, but what looks inevitable)

National Title Game: Oregon v. Boise State
Rose Bowl: Arizona v. Michigan State
Sugar Bowl: Alabama v. Ohio State
Fiesta Bowl: TCU v. Nebraska
Orange Bowl: Florida State v. West Virginia

Still a chance to turn the season around

I was talking to a friend last night after the Georgia game and he made an interesting comment. With Georgia’s victory over Tennessee yesterday, they now stand at 2-4. If Georgia could manage to finish 7-5 this season, it would mean finishing 6-1 after a 1-4 start and the Bulldog Nation would be very happy. However, what if the season had worked out this way: Georgia splits the two games with Arkansas and South Carolina and takes care of business on the road against Mississippi State and Colorado. They beat Tennessee just like they did yesterday. They would be 5-1 at this point and ranked in the top 15. However, Georgia then loses to Florida, Auburn, and Georgia Tech to finish the season 8-4. Georgia fans would be livid and calling for changes. Just a thought.

Yesterday’s game is what every optimistic fan thought Georgia would be capable of this season. Murray played a great game, and the defense put pressure on Tennessee and forced turnovers. The run game is still MIA, but at least we saw the offensive line do some good pass blocking.

If you want to hear about impressive, check this out.
Here are Aaron Murray’s stats for the 2010 season if you project what he has done already over the rest of the season:
61 % completion
20 touchdowns
6 interceptions
2700 + yards passing

Murray has been great so far, and if the rest of the season works out like that, Georgia should have at least 10 wins with him playing that way.

So what is the problem?
The running game is the problem. Georgia ranks 77th in the nation rushing the ball. Ealey and King have not built upon the game they had against Georgia Tech last season. Obviously this season is not going to be a special one in Athens, but if the next few seasons are going to be better, Georgia has to get the running game back on track.

The solution?
Isaiah Crowell.
Cross your fingers and hope that Georgia can land this major recruit. Could be the kind of guy that could turn the entire program around.

A must win to say the least

This is going to be short and sweet. Georgia better figure out a way to stop the bleeding on Saturday, or else heads are going to roll in Athens.

Win this one, and you can still save the season. Lose this one, and a bowl game is unlikely.

Disgraceful

Georgia/Mississippi State Recap:

Throughout the day and night yesterday, I never considered that Georgia would lose to Mississippi State. They did. And now we are left to figure this team out. This team is more talented than Mississippi State, and they got dominated for 4 quarters. Mississippi State made mistakes, but Georgia couldn’t capitalize.

In the past two seasons, Georgia has lost to Kentucky, Arkansas, South Carolina, Mississippi State, LSU, Florida, and Tennessee. At 1-3 you are who you are. Georgia is a bad team. There is no excuse for losing to Mississippi State.

There will be calls for Mark Richt’s job, and they are justified. The good thing for Richt is that he will not be fired mid-season, so he has the rest of this year to correct things and make people believe that the ship is heading in the right direction. Right or wrong, Richt will be fired if Georgia doesn’t win 7 games this season.

This is as bad as it has been in Athens in a long time. If Georgia loses to Colorado on Saturday night, the Richt Era in Athens will be over.

Georgia-Arkansas Reaction

I don’t know that I have ever watched a game that took me in so many emotional directions as the one I watched on Saturday. For the first three quarters, I was wondering if this team would be able to win against any decent team this year, and in the fourth quarter, I was standing up in my living room, shouting at the TV as the Dawgs came roaring back against a good team. This morning, here are my thoughts:

- Things can appear to be worse than they are. Yes Georgia is 1-2, and there is no excuse for being 1-2 at Georgia. BUT how many fans looked at the South Carolina game and the Arkansas game and thought, those are going to be tough? My guess is just about everyone. Georgia has been in both games, and has had chances to win both games, the cards just haven’t fallen our way so far. Georgia now hits a softer part of their schedule, and while no wins are guaranteed on the road in the SEC, I think Georgia will come out and play a great game against Mississippi State and get the season back on track.

- Aaron Murray is going to be really good, but right now, he needs the offensive line to help him out. There were a few times when Murray held the ball far too long, but there were other times when he was under pressure before getting set in the pocket. Offensive line was supposed to be a strength for this team, but yet again this season they are underachieving. They protected Murray great in the fourth quarter (except for the last drive), so you know they can do it.

- The defense is going to be fine. Read this next sentence very closely. Georgia played the best quarterback in the SEC yesterday, and he played well. But in the fourth quarter, when we had to get stops to get back into the game, the defense stepped up and stopped Arkansas three times. That should have won the game.

- Play calling. I’m not a coach, and I have never played organized football, so maybe there are things that I don’t understand. However, I don’t understand Georgia’s play calling. I don’t know that it is time for Bobo to go, however, there has to be an improvement on play calling. The TV guys had it right. On 3rd and 5, when all you need to do is get into Walsh’s field goal range to win the game, why are all the receivers running 20 yard routes. Watch the tape, Arkansas was conceding the first down, but we didn’t have anyone there to get it. The result: Murray got creamed. He is a young quarterback in the SEC, the last thing he needs to worry about is getting killed for standing the pocket.

- I was terribly disappointed with the lack of heart that Georgia showed against South Carolina. And for 3 quarters against Arkansas, Georgia wasn’t showing any heart on Saturday. They pulled together for a great comeback, but in the end they fell short. Why can’t these guys go out there and play hard for 4 quarters?

Georgia is going to play some close games this season. I’m not sure that we will see a win or a loss be more than 14 points all year (except for Idaho State). But for everyone who wants to get upset and talk about how bad this team is consider the following:

Georgia lost to Arkansas on Saturday without the best receiver in college football, without their co-starting tailback, without a starting cornerback, without their starting full back, with a redshirt freshman quarterback, and with a new defensive scheme. Before the season, I wrote that you have to have proper expectations coming into any season, I think the Georgia fans should re-evaluate what they thought this team could do. They can still go 9-3, which would be impressive in this transition season.

Georgia-Arkansas Preview

There is no way to down play the significance of Georgia’s game tomorrow with Arkansas. There is a worried feeling around the program right now, and a loss between the hedges will put even more pressure on a young team that is still trying to find their way.

Mark Richt is a very good coach, but he is cursed with having to coach in the toughest conference in America against two of the 3 best coaches in America (Saben and Meyer). He is a great person who has done nothing in his personal life to bring anything but pride to the University of Georgia. He has won two SEC titles and finished has multiple top 5 finishes on his record in his 9 years at Georgia.

All of the positives that Richt brings to the table have been overshadowed over the past few seasons in Athens. Despite a fantastic finish to the 2007 season, Georgia has fallen off the map nationally and now come in to tomorrow’s game as a slim home favorite over Arkansas.

Arkansas.

A loss on Saturday will put many in the Bulldog Nation on the fence about Richt as the coach that can bring the big one to Athens. Let there be no doubt, the goal at Georgia should be to win the title. I’m not saying that we should win the title this year, but I am saying that the ultimate goal for the program has to be winning it all, and right now, you have to wonder if we are on the right track.

I think tomorrow is going to be a great day to be a Georgia Bulldog, so let’s start making some room on the band-wagon for everyone who bailed on this team after last week’s performance. I believe that after tomorrow’s win, Georgia will win their next 5 games, and show up to play Florida in Jacksonville as the higher ranked team. I know it seems like a pipe dream right now, but understand that this team is no different than they were last Friday, when we all believed.
Aaron Murray his going to have a huge day tomorrow, Washaun Ealey is going to remind us why we were ready to compare him to Moreno last year, Grantham’s defense is going to put up a good effort against a great offense, and Georgia is going to take the first step back to national significance by sending Petrino’s Pigs back west with the first of back to back losses (Arkansas plays Alabama next week).

This is the only game I’m going to preview this week, because as a Dawg fan, this is the only game that matters.

Keep an eye on Georgia’s young quarterback tomorrow, and compare his attitude and demeanor to that of Ryan Mallot, the Arkansas quarterback.

Keep an eye on Mark Richt, and realize the kind of man and leader we have at Georgia. Compare that to Bobby Petrino, who is a win at all cost, me first type of coach.

And after Georgia does away with the Razorbacks, keep an eye on Auburn, Alabama tomorrow night, when the Tigers take on South Carolina. A Gamecock loss puts Georgia right back in position to make it to Atlanta.

South Carolina Aftermath

Georgia v. South Carolina

Obviously, it was a disappointing SEC opener for the Bulldogs in Columbia. While I truly believe there is no shame in losing on the road to a good team like South Carolina, the way Georgia lost was very frustrating. However, its still early in the season, so let’s be positive and start this week’s recap with the good things that happened against South Carolina.

The Good:

-In my mind, the best thing I saw on Saturday was an impressive performance from Aaron Murray. Murray used his legs effectively and threw the ball with confidence in his first road game as Georgia quarterback. Murray seemed to work through his progressions, and find the open man many times during the game, and never threw a ball into double coverage. He seems to understand the offense and the routes his receivers are running. I believe we are going to see Murray improve week to week this season, and as he does, Georgia will become a very strong team offensively.

- Mark Richt’s teams have been excellent at being poised, and Saturday was no different. At no time did it seem that Georgia panicked. There are going to be more times throughout the season when Georgia falls behind, and when they do they need to show the same type poise they showed against South Carolina.

- Penalties: There has been much written and discussed over the past two seasons about Georgia’s penalty problems. Georgia did well in the first game of the season by limiting their penalties and they continued to do well on Saturday. Georgia was penalized only four times for 25 yards. Even though Georgia has some unfortunate timing on the penalties they did have, at least there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel we have been in over the past two seasons.

The Bad:

- TACKLING!!!!: I believe Marcus Lattimore will be making a lot of defenses look bad this season. However, Georgia has to improve on their tackling. Too many times, you saw Georgia defensive players throwing shoulders into Lattimore, only to see the big running back keep his legs moving and gain more yards. If Georgia’s defense doesn’t spend a lot of time this week working on tackling, we could see 50 points on the board this Saturday when Arkansas comes to town.

- Clock Management: There is no reason that Georgia should have taken their final timeout of the game with seven minutes left in the third quarter. Coach Richt and Coach Grantham need to do whatever it takes to manage the game better from the sideline. When you are playing close games in the SEC, like Georgia will be playing throughout the season, timeouts are golden.

- Conservative game plan: After the game, Mark Richt admitted that the offensive coaches were going to have to take the training wheels off of the offense and see what Aaron Murray can do. The game plan was obviously to run the ball and try to throw off of play action, however, the Georgia running game was inconsistent, and Murray did not have enough opportunities to throw the ball, especially in the first half. Georgia can’t abandon the run, but teams are going to attempt to take the run game away from the Dawgs and dare Aaron Murray to beat them. From what I have seen so far, I believe he can beat any team on Georgia’s schedule this season, so Georgia will have to become more aggressive with the passing game.

- Drew Butler: Butler won the Ray Guy award as the best punter in the nation last season, but he did not have a good game on Saturday. Butler averaged only 42 yards per punt on Saturday, and Georgia struggled with field position for the entire fourth quarter. Special teams were a strength for this team last season, and they will be key if Georgia is going to make it to a New Year’s Day bowl game.

- ESPN 2: I can’t remember watching a Georgia game when the broadcast was as bad as it was on Saturday. The camera guys were always chasing the play. The announcers didn’t seem to be watching the game half of the time, and when they were, they didn’t add anything to the game. They never said why Caleb King was not playing, or even noticed that he did not play. Here’s to hoping we can avoid this crew again.

So where are we now? Georgia can still have a great season. That is right, I said great. It all starts with Arkansas this weekend. The Razorbacks are coming to Athens ranked in the top 15. A win would give the team confidence, going into a softer part of the schedule. Arkansas will most likely be looking ahead a bit as they have a chance to knock off the #1 Crimson Tide at home the week after the Georgia game. Also, Arkansas was off this past weekend, so they could be a little rusty with only one game played so far in the season.
A win against Arkansas would get Georgia back over .500 as they go on the road for two weeks against inferior opponents. If you are coming to Athens on Saturday, get here early, be loud at kickoff, and help get the Dawgs back on the right track!

P.S.
If you are one of the fair weather idiots who are now talking about firing Mark Richt, benching Washaun Ealey, or abandoning the 3-4 defense please go to your local sporting goods store and purchase all of the Georgia Tech gear they have because the Bulldog Nation doesn’t have room for people like you. If you want to know what I’m talking about, read the comments on ajc.com. These people don’t know football and can’t spell loyalty.

Week 2 Preview

Week Two Preview:

After some good games last week, college football is in full swing for week 2. We have rivalries heating up in the SEC, and some national championship rematches. You can start your day at Noon and watch great games until 10 pm on Saturday!

Georgia v. South Carolina 12:00 pm ESPN 2

The AJ Green suspension has most Georgia fans thinking that it is not going to be a good day in Columbia. Personally, I think the suspension will help the Dawgs. I didn’t see this game going Georgia’s way before the season, and I still think it will be an upset if the Dawgs win, but I think that the suspension will pull this team together.

Before we get to the game, a word about the suspension. Green knew what he was doing was against NCAA rules. He apologized in a statement and repaid the money. Now he has to do the time. You can’t fault the NCAA for making this decision. There are going to be more suspensions coming in the next few days and weeks for other high-profile programs, at least now the coaches, players, and fans know that Green will be out until the Colorado game.

Now to the on-field matters.

Georgia usually beats South Carolina. In the Richt era, Georgia has only lost to the Gamecocks twice, and one of those times was in Richt’s first SEC game in 2001.
South Carolina looked very good against Southern Mississippi last Thursday night, and they will have a few extra days of rest because of the early game last week, but, Georgia isn’t Southern Mississippi.

South Carolina will feature a veteran quarterback in Stephen Garcia as well as a young prodigy in Connor Shaw. In Garcia, you know what you are going to get. He is going to make some plays, and he has the ability to move around in the pocket and even scramble when pressure is applied. When he is given time, he can pick a defense apart. However, if you saw the game against Southern Miss you know that he doesn’t respond well to pressure. He takes his eyes off of the receivers too early and starts trying to run. If Georgia can get in Garcia’s face, they might force him into some mistakes. Mistakes are the other thing you know you are going to get with Garcia. He threw 10 INT’s last season, and some of them came at the worst possible times. Look for South Carolina to try to establish the run with freshman running back Marcus Lattimore. The ESPN guys loved talking about how Lattimore was running over the Southern Miss defenders, but I think he will have a harder time with the Dawgs defense.

For Georgia it is all about two things: No mistakes from Aaron Murray and keep that defense aggressive. Murray looked extremely poised last Saturday between the hedges, but he has never been in an environment like the one he will see Saturday at Noon. Murray does not have to win the game, but he cannot lose it either. If Murray does not throw an interception, Georgia will win the game.

The biggest key to the game in my opinion is Georgia’s defense. They looked great against lowly Louisiana Lafayette, but what will they be able to do against a legitimate offense. Spurrier is a genius, and if there are holes in the defense, he will find them. Georgia has to figure out a way to stop the passing game of South Carolina. Alshon Jeffery (6-4), Jason Barnes (6-4), and Ace Sanders (5-7) are three great receivers and two of them have the size that will make them almost impossible to cover. If Georgia puts pressure on Garcia, which they have to, it will leave our cornerbacks going one on one with these huge receivers.

I think Georgia will come into Williams-Bryce Stadium on Saturday, arm and arm with an “us against the world mentality.” I think 80,000 people are going to boo this young Georgia team and I don’t think they are going to care for one minute. I think Georgia will play a great game, and end up losing a close one in the end. South Carolina’s size at wide receiver and their veteran leadership will be just enough to beat the Dawgs, 20-17.
P.S. I hope I’m wrong.

Miami v. Ohio State 3:40 pm ESPN

This is a rematch of a great National Title Game in 2002. Ohio State won that game with the help of a bad pass interference call in overtime. This game might be just as close. Randy Shannon has done a great job bringing Miami back after Larry Coker managed to take all that talent to mediocre levels. Miami’s quarterback Jacory Harris has the talent to go on the road and lead his team to victory, but does he have the mental make up to handle the big situations and the national attention?

On the other side of the field, Tyrell Pryor has heard everyone talk about how good he is since he was in high school. Pryor famously took a few extra weeks to decide on Ohio State over Michigan a few years ago, and proceeded to live up to all of his hype in last year’s Rose Bowl. This game will make one of these teams a title contender and leave the other team playing only for their conference title.

Because the game is being played in Columbus, I’ll take Ohio State, but I think it will be a shootout, 31-24.

Florida State v. Oklahoma 3:30 pm ABC

This is a rematch of a not-so-great National Title game in 2001. FSU’s potent offense could barely make it on and off the field after offensive coordinator, Mark Richt took the Georgia job before the title game. Oklahoma won the game and the title. Bobby Bowden never went back to a title game.

Jimbo Fisher is the coach at FSU now, although Bowden’s shadow still looms large over the program. Fisher would go a long way to make the program his own by going on the road Saturday and upsetting Oklahoma, and I believe that is exactly what is going to happen. Oklahoma didn’t look good in their opening game, and even though I think Oklahoma is a good team, I think FSU is due for a big time win. The Noles pull the upset 27-16.

Penn State v. Alabama 7 pm ESPN

The defending champions get their first test of 2010 as Joe Pa brings a young Nitny Lions team to Tuscaloosa. Mark Ingram isn’t going to play and to hear Bama fans talk about it, they are better off. Trent Richardson had a good game last week, but there is a reason Ingram won the Heisman. I think this game will be the game of the day.
Penn State is going to scare the pants right off of AL the elephant. In the end, I think Bama will hang on to win, but don’t be surprised if Penn State is leading sometime in the second half. The fighting Sabans win this one, but close: Bama 17-16.

Thoughts on Week One

For what was supposed to be a boring week in college football, there is plenty to talk about. First and most importantly, were the two victories by the non-BCS contenders. TCU took care of business and won a great game against Oregon State. The Horned-Frogs are now in position to run the table, but probably don't have the schedule to really get into the National title conversation.

Boise State is in a completely different position. Their national profile is much higher than TCU. The Broncos won an amazing game on Labor Day night against Virginia Tech. Kellen Moore showed why he might be the front runner for the Heisman Trophy, and Chris Peterson showed that he is one of the best coaches in America. The question now is, can Boise State continue winning and winning impressively while BCS schools rack up big wins in conference. Boise's schedule will hurt them because they won't be playing in high profile game like they were last night. They also won't be on TV much for the rest of the season. It's going to be difficult for Boise to keep themselves in the minds of the voters when they won't have another substantial win for the rest of the season.

Closer to home, Georgia fans have to feel good about what they saw on Saturday. Murray looked poised and in control of the offense. He made one significant error but got away with it. The defense was the most exciting thing to see. Watching that aggressive defense attack all afternoon long reminded me of the the days of David Pollack, Odell Thurman, and Thomas Davis. If this team is going to have a special season, the defense will be the most important aspect.

A couple of warnings for SEC fans. Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee aren't as good as they looked against weak opponents. And be sure that Florida's offense won't be as bad as they looked on Saturday.

Ole Miss could possibly be as bad as they looked, losing to Jacksonville State at home!

Week one is in the books, and we will know so much more about every team after this weekend.

Week 1 Preview

You have been waiting almost 8 months for college football to return, and you will be waiting one more week for a great weekend of college football. Don’t get me wrong, there are a couple of good games this weekend, but overall, you don’t have many great match ups. Finding five games to break down won’t be nearly as difficult in the coming weeks, but here we go for week one of the 2010 college football season.

Southern Mississippi v. South Carolina (ESPN 7:30 pm, Thursday)

The Bulldog nation should tune in to get a look at Georgia’s first real opponent of the season. The Gamecocks are coming off a 7-6 season a year ago. You wouldn’t expect to see a Steve Spurrier team struggle to score points, however, the 2009 edition of the Gamecocks ranked 102nd in the nation in scoring at just over 20 points per game. Steven Garcia will be the starting quarterback, but in true Spurrier fashion, another quarterback will get a share of the snaps. True freshman Connor Shaw from Flowery Branch, GA will see the field regularly, and many Gamecock fans think Shaw will eventually be the starter.

Southern Mississippi also went 7-6 in 2009, however, playing in Conference USA is very different than playing in the SEC. Because of their weaker schedule, their statistics look a lot better. With senior quarterback, Martevious Young under center Southern Mississippi should be able to stay with South Carolina for at least the first half. However, with a national audience turning their attention to Columbus, don’t expect the Gamecocks to blow this one.

South Carolina will win but I don’t think they will blow the Golden Eagles out, because I don’t think the Gamecock offense can score enough, but I fully expect South Carolina to win. The bigger question is whether the two-quarterback system will be an advantage or a distraction against teams later in the season, namely the Dawgs next weekend.

UNC v. LSU (Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game: ABC 8 pm, Saturday)

I believe this game will be close, low-scoring, and eventually a pivotal point for LSU coach Les Miles. LSU’s defense carried them last season, but the offense will have to step up this year. The offense will get an SEC-style test when they meet the Tar Heals. UNC sports one of the best defenses in the nation, with possibly 5 future NFL players on their roster.

LSU comes into the season ranked #21, but they are just 8-8 since winning the National Championship in 2007-2008. Miles will need to improve on that record this year, or he will be looking for another job after the season. Here is the problem for Miles and LSU this season. They have to go on the road to play three of their four biggest games of the year. The Tigers travel to Florida, Auburn, and Arkansas in 2010. The other big SEC game is at home…. against Alabama. I don’t think it would be ridiculous to think that LSU could lose all four of those games. If that is the case, LSU can’t do better than 4-4 in the conference again this season. Add on top of that schedule an early season loss to UNC in the Georgia Dome, and there will be real trouble on the Bayou.

For UNC, they have a chance to get to their first ACC title game this year, but they play in the harder of the two ACC divisions. To make it to Tampa, UNC will have to overcome defending champion Georgia Tech, Miami, and Virginia Tech. Not going to happen.

When we look back on this game at the end of the season, I don’t think either of these team will be ranked, but on Saturday night, give me Butch Davis over Les Miles. UNC wins the game by 3.

Oregon State v. TCU (ESPN 7:45 pm, Saturday)

This is the only game that TCU will play this season versus an opponent that is ranked in the preseason. By ranking TCU so high in the polls (#6 in the coaches poll), the Horned Frogs could be playing for a spot in the national title game on Saturday night. I don’t know anything about TCU, and I don’t want to know anything about TCU. I hope Oregon State beats them by 40.
With all of this talk about realignment, you haven’t heard one person from TCU, Boise State, or Utah ask to be put in one of the big 6 conferences. These guys don’t want to play the big boys week in and week out, so they don’t deserve to play for the national title. I’ll take a one loss Ohio State team and a two loss SEC champion over one of these “mid-majors” any day of the week.

Boise State v. Virginia Tech (ESPN 8 pm, Monday)

Please re-read everything I said above and insert Boise State every time you see the word TCU. These teams are a joke, and the people who voted them in the Top 10 should lose their voting privileges.

Louisiana-Lafayette v. Georgia (SEC Network/Peachtree TV 12:20 pm, Saturday)

Aaron Murray and Todd Grantham will be making their Georgia Bulldog debuts “Between the Hedges” and I’m not really sure which I’m more excited about. I don’t want to see a Stafford like performance on Saturday out of Murray. I want to see the calm, steady David Greene type of performance that lead Georgia back to the top of the polls in 2002. Aaron Murray is the only new starter for the Bulldogs on offense, and his job will be to manage the game and distribute the football.

On defense, Georgia needs to get back to that aggressive style of defense that thrived in the mid 2000’s.

This game should be well over by halftime, but if you want to look for a few things, keep an eye on penalties. A new quarterback needs to get the team in and out of the huddle and avoid delay of game penalties.

Georgia wins by about 30. The real question is whether Hutson Mason will play in the 2nd half. Mason is listed as Georgia’s backup quarterback, but playing him will mean losing his redshirt and an extra year of eligibility.

Georgia Predictions

We've looked all over the country at the different conferences, and previewed the upcoming year in college football. But any true Dawg only wants to know one thing:

How will the 2010 Dawgs perform on the field?

Well, here is my prediction for the 2010 Georgia Bulldogs.

Obviously Georgia will open their season with a win against ULL on Saturday. There is just too much talent on Georgia's sideline for this to be a game in the fourth quarter.

I do think Georgia will experience a setback in Columbus. Asking a red-shirt freshman to lead a team on the road in the SEC with no experience is just unrealistic. South Carolina always plays Georgia tough, and I think the Gamecocks will get the best of the Dawgs. If Georgia wins, it will be a defensive battle where either a defensive touchdown or a special teams touchdown will be the difference.

After a loss at South Carolina, the magic starts to happen. Georgia will beat Arkansas at home, then go on the road to beat Mississippi State and Colorado. Georgia will come back home and beat both Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

The hot Dawgs will win a close game in Lexington, and set up a top 10 battle with Florida in Jacksonville. Georgia will win in Jacksonville for the first time since the magical 2007 season.

After beating Idaho State by as many points as Georgia decides to score, Georgia will travel to Auburn.

Now let's be clear. When you think about this team going 10-2 this year, you would take that to the bank right now. However, in mid-November, having only one loss and being in the discussion for the national title, Dawg fans will have their hearts broken on the Plains when Georgia comes up a little short against Auburn.

After a bye week, Georgia will continue to "Run this state" by beating Tech for the second straight year.

By beating Florida in Jacksonville, Georgia will earn a spot in the SEC title game where they will meat Alabama.

The Tide will prevail and probably take their talent to the National Title Game, while the Dawgs will return the the Sugar Bowl for the 3rd time in the Richt Era.

Aaron Murry will be fine, AJ Green will be heading towards the NFL, and all of the critics who want Mark Richt fired will have to go back to being die-hard Richt fans.

Let's get ready for the ride!

GO DAWGS!!!!

SEC Preview 2010

SEC Preview 2010

West:

The SEC west features the overwhelming number one team in the nation. The defending National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide bring back their quarterback, running back, and maybe most importantly, their coach. Nick Saban has done amazing things at Alabama. He took an underachieving program to the top of the rankings. Bama has lost only two games in the last two years, and should be right back in the title hunt this year.
The question in the West is what are the teams behind Alabama going to do. Auburn should be better this year. SEC fans will know the name Cameron Newton. The ex-Florida Gator could win the starting quarterback job out of fall practice, but one way or another, Newton will see the field this year on the plains.

Arkansas has the offensive talent to challenge Alabama in the league. The Tide have to travel to Fayetteville to play the Hogs, so Arkansas will have their chance to unseat the Kings of the West. My guess is that Arkansas will underachieve this year. Ryan Mallet doesn’t have the mental makeup to last a long, hard season in the SEC. Not to mention, Bobby Petrino has be getting a little antsy. He hasn’t run out on a team in almost two years…

LSU will be looking for a new coach after this season. Les Miles won a title just a few years ago, but those were Nick Saban’s players, and Tiger fans have seen a lot of talent translate into nothing on the field. LSU will lose in Atlanta in the Chick-fil-A kickoff game, and Miles will be on his way out from there. Funny thing is, North Carolina, who LSU will lose to in Atlanta, will be where LSU turns for a new coach. I expect Heals coach Butch Davis to be the front-runner for LSU.

Bad year for Mississippi. First an oil spill and then a long fall for Rebels and Bogus Bulldogs alike. If I had to pick one to stink a little less, I’ll take the Bogus Bulldogs.

East:

Never in the history of the SEC have we seen a season like we will see this fall. Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee will all have new quarterbacks and new defensive coordinators. Tennessee also has a new head coach. Florida’s head coach was retired for about 20 minutes, and Georgia will feature a 3-4 defense.

The obvious first impression for any prognosticator would be that South Carolina should be in position to win the East this year. They have an experienced quarterback, stability within the coaching staff, they play three of their four hardest games of the year at home, and they have a very solid defense. So South Carolina will play in the Dome in early December right?

Wrong.

There is one indisputable fact that South Carolina has going against it. They are South Carolina. They will find some way to screw it up. The only thing South Carolina has done since Spurrier got there is ruin Georgia’s season in 2007 as well as Florida’s season in 2005. Both of those teams would have played in the SEC title game if it weren’t for a loss to the Gamecocks, and Georgia might have had a shot at the National title in 2007. Funny thing is, in 2005 South Carolina finished the season 7-5 and they were a game worse in 2007 when they finished 6-6.
So, with the lame cocks out of the picture, we are left to speculate which of the Big 3 rebuilding programs can make it to Atlanta. Tennessee is out. There talent level has dropped off after losing Eric Berry on defense, and Bryce Brown has left the program.

So, it’s down to Georgia and Florida. By the time we make it to Jacksonville, we will know what these two teams are. The winner of the game in Jacksonville should play Alabama in Atlanta. My heart says Georgia, but my head says Florida.

A Look around the country

National Preview:

ACC:
The theme at the beginning of the 2010 season for the ACC will be welcoming the new.
Jimbo Fisher is the new head coach at Florida State. He is charged with returning the ‘Noles to the level of national importance they seemed to own during the 90’s under Bobby Bowden.
There are new expectations at North Carolina. Butch Davis has the Tar Heals garnering some National attention with a defense that will feature multiple first round NFL draft picks and an offense that can’t possibly be as bad as they were last year.
There is a new defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech. Despite winning the ACC last year, Paul Johnson was not happy with his defense, so he brought in Al Groh to be his new coordinator. Early prediction: Al Groh will be the best thing to happen to Georgia Tech since Reggie Ball graduated.
At the end of the season however, it will be all about the old. The same old teams will be in contention in ACC. It is quite possible that the four best teams in this league all play in the same division. Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Miami, and North Carolina will have fun beating each other’s brains in throughout the year, and by rule, one of these teams will make it to Jacksonville (or whatever parking lot they are having the ACC title game in this year). My pick is Virginia Tech. I feel sorry for Frank Beamer. His team could compete for a national title, but the schedule is just too tough. Virginia Tech will have to settle for beating the crap out of one of the also-rans in the ACC Atlantic Division, I’ll take Florida State for no reason what-so-ever.

Big 10:
The Big 11 as it stands now and the future Big 12, which for some unknown reason will still be called the Big 10 next year, will enter its final season before big changes come to this numerical oddity of a conference. The only conference I hate more than the ACC is the Big 10. However, they may be able to manage some decent football this year.
Ohio State is clearly the favorite, but Wisconsin and Iowa should both have a say. Penn State is probably good for an upset of one of the Big 3 at the top of the conference, and Michigan will be looking to hire another coach very soon. Luckily for them, Les Miles will probably be available after this season.
At the end of the day it breaks down like this. If Ohio State loses a game, they better hope there isn’t a 1 or 2 loss SEC Champion out there because they might be settling for Roses rather than playing for crystal come January.

Big 12:
The Big 12, which will be the Big 10 after this season (no word yet if they will have a name that make sense in 2011) will once again come down to Texas and Oklahoma.
Texas flirted with every other conference in America during the summer, but it is still the best team in this conference.
If you are looking for a team that is going to come out of nowhere, keep looking past Texas A&M. All the national guys are picking A&M to be a contender this season, which means they aren’t coming out of nowhere. Besides, we have heard this song before in the Big 12. Remember Oklahoma State last year? They were better, but they still couldn’t crack the Texas/Oklahoma strangle hold on this conference.
Honestly, the thing I’m looking forward to the most in the Big 12 is to see how Tommy Tuberville does at Texas Tech.

Big East:
Do they still play football?

PAC 10:
Top to bottom the Pac 10 should be the second best conference in America this season. Defending champion Oregon should be favorite again, and they should be getting a lot of national attention.
However, there is that semi-pro team that plays in Los Angeles that seems to be making the news a bit these days. USC can’t go to a bowl game this year, they have a coach that would be the National Champion of BS if such a thing existed, and still they will be the center of the Pac 10 universe.
Even if they win the conference the number 2 team would play in the Rose Bowl, so unless they are playing one of the actual contenders in this conference, or unless I want to make fun of them, this blog will be a USC-free zone for the next two seasons.
Arizona, Washington, Stanford, and Oregon State should all have a say in the Pac 10 this year, but at the end of the day, the Ducks might be a national title contender.

Notre Dame:
Notre Dame and A-TRAK’s have two things in common: they were both great in the 70’s and neither are coming back.
Good luck Chip Kelly. In four years you will be able to join Bob Davie, Ty Willingham, and Charlie Weis in the group of men who couldn’t resurrect this buzzard of a program.
Prediction for the Future: The top two candidates for the Notre Dame heading coaching job in 2014 will be Urban Meyer and Pete Carroll.

In all seriousness, there are a handful of teams that could play for the National title in January. Although I won’t give you a Top 10 or Top 25 until these teams play a few games, here are my contenders, pretenders, and programs to keep an eye on.

Contenders:
Alabama
Ohio State
Texas
Oklahoma
Florida
Virginia Tech
Oregon
Iowa
Miami
Pretenders:
Boise State
TCU
BYU
North Carolina
Nebraska

Keep an Eye On:
Georgia
Arizona
Washington
Texas Tech
Clemson
Auburn

Close Both Eyes and run away:
Teams from Mississippi
Teams from Michigan
Teams from Los Angeles
The Big East

Tomorrow: SEC Preview!

5 Rules for Enjoying the New Fooball Season

For any college football fan, each season seems to go by way too fast. It seems that August lasts for 6 months, and before you know it, it is New Year’s Day. However, there are a few things that every fan should remember when heading into a new college football season. All you need to know are these five rules:

1. Preseason Polls are crap.

There is nothing less scientific than preseason polls. The preseason poll is almost always based on last year’s team, which obviously has nothing to do with this year’s team, even if there are a lot of returning starters. The other factors that go into making a preseason poll is media hype. ESPN creates some teams to be better than they are because they need good stories. They want to hype every team to boost ratings. If there was any justice in the world, there would be no official preseason polls.
Think about this, in 2004, the Auburn Tigers went undefeated in the toughest conference in America. However, they were shut out of the National Championship game because all season long they had been ranked behind both USC and Oklahoma. Why were they ranked there? Because in the preseason poll they were ranked #17, while USC and Oklahoma were ranked #1 and #2 respectively. Auburn was ranked 7 spots lower than the Florida Gators who ended up going 7-5 in 2004. Obviously Oklahoma and USC were good teams, but Auburn was too, and the preseason poll was the only reason they never got a shot at playing USC for the national championship.

2. Have reasonable expectations for your team, you’ll live longer.

Here is a news flash: only one team can win a National Championship each year. So programs like USC, Ohio St., Florida, Alabama, Texas, LSU, Georgia, Miami, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame who expect their team to be playing for a title each and every year are bound to be disappointed more times than not. Winning a national championship is very difficult, and most of the time, talent is not enough to get a ring (more on that in a bit).
You have to be aware of who your team is, in order to accurately judge the season as it plays out. Georgia fans should not expect to win a National Championship in 2010. This doesn’t mean that there is no way Georgia could win, but to expect a red-shirt freshman to lead you to a title is simply ridiculous. A great season in Athens this year would be 10-2. That means that 2 times during the season, Georgia is going to lose. That means, after Georgia loses a game, there is no reason for any fan to talk about Mark Richt being fired, Mike Bobo being fired, or benching Aaron Murray. Write it down on a piece of paper and stick it to your refrigerator: 10-2. Look at it after Georgia loses its first game, and don’t be one of those fans who end up looking stupid at the end of the year.

3. One loss is ok for a National Title Contender.

For those teams who come into a season with a reasonable expectation to contend for a title, one loss will most likely not mean the end of your January dreams. Sure, there have been a few exceptions, most heartbreakingly Georgia in 2002, but for the most part, a one loss team will still be in the picture come November, especially a one loss SEC team.
Now, as with any rule, there are a couple of exceptions. If you are a non-BCS team, you have no chance if you aren’t undefeated, if you lose your last game of the season, you will not play for the title, and if you are Ohio State you better win all of your games because you have given us enough bad games in January.

4. Two losses is not ok for a National Title Contender.

Just as one loss doesn’t eliminate you from contention, two losses does. Of course there are exceptions, LSU in 2007 being the only exception thus far. However, I can see another exception perhaps happening this year. Let’s say Alabama loses to Florida in the regular season loses another game before the beginning of November. Then they get hot and beat Auburn to finish the year. They roll over the Gators in the SEC championship and finish the season 11-2. They could get in ahead of a one loss Ohio State team, and perhaps ahead of an undefeated Boise State, TCU, or Utah team. However, their #1 preseason ranking is the only reason they might be able to pull this off.

5. Injuries, luck, and upsets will usually decide the championship.

For all of these categories, we will focus only on Georgia.

Injuries. In 2005, Georgia was playing about as good as any team in the country. Until DJ Shockley got hurt against Arkansas on Homecoming and ended up missing the Florida game. Georgia loses to Florida and then loses to Auburn 2 weeks later by a single point when Shockley returns. Without the injury, maybe those two wins get Georgia into the title conversation. The win over #3 LSU in the SEC title game would have given Georgia a very convincing argument.

Luck. Let’s look back at 2002. Many fans remember this as the rebirth of Georgia football. SEC Champs and Sugar Bowl Champs. But remember the season. Georgia is a heroic play by David Pollack away from losing to South Carolina, and there was that tiny little miracle on the Plains in Auburn where Michael Johnson wrote his name in Georgia’s history books. In more recent years, both Florida and Alabama have benefited from blocked field goals at the end of games to keep their title hopes alive, and both eventually took home the hardware. Ohio State got a bad call against Miami in 2002 in the title game to keep their hopes alive. While Colorado got 5 downs against Michigan in 1990 to share a title with the bumble bees from Atlanta. As is true in all walks of life, sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.

Upsets. Each year we look down the schedule and find the game we think our team can win, and the ones our team might lose. More often than not, you will select a win that will become a loss when the season is played out. Upsets are a huge part of College Football each and every year. Georgia was upset twice in 2007 (South Carolina and Tennessee). LSU was upset twice that very same year (Kentucky and Arkansas). Ole Miss clipped Florida in 2008. Florida broke Bulldog hearts in 2002. Georgia shocked LSU in 2005 in the Dome. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself on the schedule because nothing is a guarantee.

All of these rules lead us to the biggest rule about College Football. Enjoy the ride. It will be January very soon.

Get to Know the 2010 Georgia Bulldogs

Each year, there is a great deal of turnover for every college football team. The same is true for the 2010 Bulldogs. Gone are familiar names like Joe Cox, Rennie Curran, and Willie Martinez. New names sure to be familiar very soon like Aaron Murry, Alec Ogletree, and Todd Grantham have arrived in Athens. Here is an early look at the 2010 Bulldogs broken down by position.

Offensive Overview:
The Dawgs return 10 of 11 starters on offense in 2010. However, most of the talk preseason will focus on the 1 starter that is new to the bunch. Aaron Murray has been complimented by coaches, teammates, and the media, however, none of that will matter on September 11 when Murray takes his first road snap in Columbia, South Carolina. AJ Green will be the offensive star, in what will likely be his last season in Athens. The offensive line should be great with all upper classmen in the starting lineup. There is talent all over the field for the Dawgs, but talent alone doesn’t win games.

Quarterback:
Barring injury, Aaron Murray (#11) will be the Georgia Quarterback for the entire 2010 season and beyond. The red-shirt freshman from Plant High School in Florida was highly recruited out of high school, and will make his first start against Louisiana-Lafayette between the hedges.
While many teams in the SEC East will have new starting quarterbacks, Georgia will have the most uncertain quarterback depth chart as the backup quarterback looks to be true freshman Hutson Mason (#14). Junior Logan Gray will only practice at wide receiver for the Dawgs according to Offensive Coordinator, Mike Bobo.
Don’t confuse yourself with pre-season hype. A freshman quarterback in the SEC is going to make mistakes. There will be a learning curve for Murray, and the most the Dawgs can hope for from their young signal caller is that he improve week to week. With early season trips to South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Colorado, Dawg fans should know by October how good Aaron Murray can be.

Running Back:
After their performance against Georgia Tech last season, many Georgia fans are excited about the running back combination of Washaun Ealey (#3) and Caleb King (#4), and they should be. However, keep last season in perspective. Georgia running backs had only 2 100-yard games last season, and they both came against Georgia Tech. Overall, the running game wasn’t great last year, and most of the offense’s problems originated with the inability to consistently run the ball. You have to run the ball in the SEC, and that is even more true when you consider the freshman quarterback. Ealey and King will have to carry the offense early in the season, if they can’t, Georgia will be out of the SEC East race before the end of September.

Wide Receiver:
It seems impossible that with the best receiver in Georgia history lining up for the Dawgs, there would be questions at that position. However, there are huge questions for Georgia behind AJ Green (#8). Green had 808 yards last season, which is only 15 yards less than the next three Georgia receivers had, combined! Of that group, Michael Moore was a senior.
Tavarres King(#12) will be the starting wide out opposite of Green, but Rantavious Wooten (#17) will also see considerable playing time. 5th year senior Kris Durham (#16) will bring experience and steady hands to the slot receiver position after missing all of last year with an injury. Israel Troup (#28) and Marlon Brown (#15) were highly recruited but haven’t performed on the field yet.
The most important thing for receivers will be catching the ball this year. Georgia fans will remember the struggles that the Georgia receivers had when Matt Stafford was a freshman. If the receivers can help Murray out by having sure hands, it will help the young quarterback with his confidence.

Tight End:
As the season wore on in 2009, Orson Charles (#7) seemed to be the best tight end on Georgia’s roster. With his former high school quarterback (Aaron Murray) now starting for Georgia, expect Charles to improve even more in 2010.
Behind Charles, Georgia has two very capable backups. Aron White (#81) and Bruce Figgins (#89) will both contribute this season, but if Georgia is going to have a real playmaker at tight end, it will be Charles.

Full Back:
Perhaps more than any other team in the SEC, Georgia uses the full back as a key position in their offense. Shawn Chapas (#49) will return as the starter with back up Fred Munzenmaier (#48) providing an important safety net. Chapas doesn’t run the ball as much as past full backs have, however, he is an excellent blocker.

Offensive Line:
While the line is the last position I have chosen to talk about for the offense, I believe the line will be the number one position to watch this season. If the offensive line plays the way it can, there is no reason to believe that Georgia can’t contend in the SEC East. A good line can make good runners great, and a talented quarterback look a lot better than he is right now. Anchored by Ben Jones (#61) at center, the line features upperclassmen with a lot of experience. Add the return of Trinton Sturdivant (#77) after 2 straight years of not playing because of injury, and there is the talent on the line to be one of the best units in the country.

Key Offensive Player for 2010:
This is obvious. While AJ Green is the best offensive player Georgia has, the first and last chapter of the 2010 book on the Georgia offense will be Aaron Murray. His ability to limit mistakes early in the season and progress throughout the year will dictate how far this team can go in the SEC East.


Defensive Overview:
The biggest question on defense is how quickly can new Georgia Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham teach these old dogs new tricks. Grantham was hired well after the recruiting class had all but been put together, so these Dogs were recruited to play in Georgia’s traditional 4-3 defense. Georgia fans will become more familiar with Grantham’s 3-4 look as the season goes on, but bigger than where players lineup is Grantham’s overall philosophy. Grantham promises that Georgia’s defense is going to be more aggressive this season, and the 3-4 look should allow for more options for blitzes.

Defensive Line:
How Georgia performs on the defensive line will set the tone for how effective the 3-4 defense will be in 2010. The problem on the line will be the crucial position of nose tackle. With only 1 defensive tackle, instead of the 2 you would typically see in a 4-3, it is crucial that the nose tackle be an impact player that can occupy two offensive linemen. Conceptually, if the nose tackle can occupy the center and one of the offensive guards, then the defensive ends can go one on one with 2 of the other offensive linemen, while a blitzing linebacker (or two), has only one man to beat to get to the quarterback. Got it? Good.
So all of that said, Georgia has no prototypical nose tackle. The perfect nose tackle has been on display the last two seasons at Alabama. “Mount” Cody anchored the line for the Tide weighing in at about 350 pounds. Georgia will send out DeAngelo Tyson(#94) who is listed currently at 295. That is a huge difference. At end, the leaders after spring practice were Abry Jones(#93) and Demarcus Dobbs(#58).

Linebackers:
In the 3-4, the linebackers are the stars. Think guys like Lawrence Taylor for the Giants in the 1980’s, Derrick Brooks of the Tampa Bay Bucs in the 1990’s, and Shaun Merriman of the San Diego Chargers in the 2000’s. On almost every play, at least one linebacker will be blitzing, and that blitzer can come from any of the 4 linebacker positions. No doubt, Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham will have options and the ability to keep opposing offensive lines off balance. With 4 positions, close to 10 linebackers may see action in any one game, but the main guys to keep an eye on are Christian Robinson (#45), Marcus Dowtin (#38), Akeem Dent (#51), Cornelius Washington(#83), Darryl Gamble(#50), and maybe even former running back Richard Samuel (#22).

Cornerbacks:
There is a ton of talent at the corner position, but not a lot of experience. Brandon Boykin (#2) will be the returning starter in the secondary, and he will be joined by Vance Cuff (#25). Cuff is a senior, but hasn’t seen much of the field to this point. Brandon Smith (#1) and Sanders Commings (#19) will serve as backups, but each will have a chance to earn a starting job during fall practice.
Last year, we saw almost every quarterback Georgia face have the best game of their season against the Dawgs. With Grantham’s aggressive style of defense, these cornerbacks are going to see a great deal of one on one coverage. The pressure will be on for the corners to really step up this season.

Safety:
There will be two new starting safeties this year, and personally, I’m thrilled. Let’s not live in the past, and move forward optimistically. Bacarri Rambo (#18) saved the game against Auburn last year, and he will lead some unfamiliar names like Nick Williams (#39) and Quintin Banks (#31) as Georgia’s last line of defense. One name that all Georgia fans will know before the end of the season is Alec Ogletree (#9). Ogletree may play linebacker or safety, but no matter where he plays, he has the talent to be one of the best defensive players Georgia has had since Champ Bailey.

Key Defensive Player:
Justin Houston (Linebacker). Houston played well last year at defensive end, but will move to linebacker in the 3-4. Houston has the skill set to be an impact linebacker in the 3-4 defense. Look for Houston to live in the opponent’s backfield.

Special Teams:
While there are many questions for the 2010 Georgia Bulldogs, there are no questions when it comes to the special teams. Georgia features the best punter in the country in Drew Butler and perhaps the best place kicker in the country in Blair Walsh. The only decision for Mark Richt to make is which talented player will return kicks and punts this season. Richt will have to choose from Brandon Boykin, Brandon Smith, Carlton Thomas, and perhaps even AJ Green. A nice problem to have. Georgia’s special teams have been special for the last two season, and I wouldn’t expect any different in 2010.

Overall, Georgia will feature 6 seniors, 8 juniors, 7 sophomores, and 1 very important freshman if projected starters from the spring make it through fall practice. There is plenty of leadership for this team, and especially on offense, plenty of experience. As always in the SEC, execution will be the difference between a trip to Atlanta for the SEC title game or a trip to Nashville, where Music City isn’t so great before New Year’s Day.

Damon Evans

It is often said that for major college football programs no news is good news during the summer. The only time your favorite program will find itself in the news is when a player, coach, or in the Bulldogs case, an Athletic Director is in trouble.

Until last week, Georgia was having a great summer. No news, no arrests, and no suspensions for Coach Richt. However, Damon Evans DUI charge has been the major news for the program. I do not want to spend a long time on this issue, but something has to be said.
People make mistakes. However, that does not mean that people do not have to pay the consequences for those mistakes. A lot of the local news is playing the game day film where Damon urges Dog fans not to drink and drive, and having a good laugh. Damon was encouraging people to act responsibly, where is the sin in that?

The fact is that Dr. Adams has to fire Damon Evans. With the police report being published, there is no room for forgiveness. The AJC reported that Evans hinted at trying to get out of the arrest because of his position at the university. The report also stated that Evans had a red pair of women’s under ware between his legs when he was pulled over.

There is no coming back from facts like these. Evans made one mistake, but it is going to cost him everything he has worked for, and as far as I am concerned, it should.
Evans talked at his press conference about being a role model for the student athletes at the university; I think he can be a model for us all. No matter how many good deeds you do in your life, it only takes one really dumb decision to undo it all.

It is a sad time for UGA athletics. Evans has been a great AD, but to whom much is given, much is expected. As a university and a community, we must expect and demand more from our leaders.