Georgia/LSU reaction

When was the last time you saw a college football coach cry in a post-game interview after a win in September?

Mark Richt’s tears, Aaron Murray’s jubilation, and me jumping up and down in my living room were completely justified as the team finished off one of the most difficult four game stretches in the history of Georgia football.

All of the hopes and the expectations for this season came down to winning the game today, and Georgia got it done.

Sanford Stadium was rocking this afternoon. I can’t really remember seeing the crowd affect the game the way it has so far this season. A true home field advantage. Georgia’s last loss Between the Hedges was in September of 2011, 45-42 to South Carolina. Georgia has won 15 straight games at home.

In my season preview for Georgia, I said that if Georgia made it to the month of October with a record of 3-1, no matter who the loss came to, Georgia would play in Atlanta for the SEC title. Well here we are, and I think we just punched our ticket to the Dome on December 7^th.

For Georgia to lose the East they would have to lose two conference games the rest of the way. No offense to the teams left on Georgia’s schedule, but that’s just not going to happen.

Tennessee almost went to overtime against South Alabama today. Missouri has to come to Athens. Vanderbilt just isn’t the team they were two years ago. Florida has lost their quarterback and their best defensive player. Auburn is actually the team that scares me the most, but by November, I think Georgia will be playing much better on defense. The last SEC game is against Kentucky, so yeah.

I saw people on Twitter calling this game a classic. I’m not sure about that, but I know that winning these types of games beats the heck out of losing these types of games.

To me, at least one thing was settled tonight. Aaron Murray is the greatest quarterback in the history of the University of Georgia football program. He’s not perfect, but what he has done in the past year has proven that he is great.

Murray didn’t play well against Florida last year, but he made plays at the end of the game to win. Murray played well against Bama, but the team came up just short. Murray played well at Clemson, but just made one mistake. Murray assisted in the win against South Carolina, but Gurley played a big part.

Tonight was all about Aaron. Down four with under four minutes to play, ball in his hands, best back in America in a walking boot, all of the pressure on his shoulders, and he leads his team down the field for a game winning touchdown.

Yeah, he threw an interception, quarterbacks do that some time, but in the end, he made the plays that mattered.

Mettenberger played great, but Murray played just a little bit better.

Even though they surrendered 41 points, I thought there were signs of improvement for the defense, particularly against the run. The defense is getting better, and the schedule is getting easier.

After playing the most difficult schedule in America for the first month of the season, Georgia’s schedule now sets up perfectly for getting healthy and getting better.

Georgia won’t play Gurley against Tennessee if he isn’t 100%, and they won’t have to. Georgia can focus on improving on defense and getting more experience for some of these guys that have a ton of talent.

If Georgia can run the table, which should be expected at this point, they will find themselves in the exact position they were in last year; playing in Atlanta for the SEC title, a win away from playing for the National Title Game.

Don’t you wish you could hear how the Mighty Munson would have called that game today?

Glory, Glory to Old Georgia!

Dawgs on Top.

North Texas Reaction

Before Georgia fans get too carried away with Saturday’s performance against North Texas, let me first criticize Georgia fans.

How can you be aggravated with the team for now showing up against North Texas when you don’t show up for North Texas? The best place for students to do homework on Saturday would have been Sanford Stadium in the first quarter. The place was quiet as it could be.

The fans weren’t interested in this game for the most part, so just remember how you didn’t care that Georgia was playing North Texas next February, when you are longing for football. We only get 12 football Saturdays each fall, please don’t waste them, because the season will be over before you know it.

Now, on to the game itself. For people who actually watched the game, I think there were plenty of great signs for Georgia. First of all, you have to be at least a little more optimistic about Georgia’s defense, especially against the run. Georgia played the run very well, and even though North Texas doesn’t have the talent of an SEC school, they were experienced. Georgia did a much better job with the fundamentals of defense. Staying in your lane, tackling, getting hats on the ball throughout the game, Georgia did all of these things well following an off week.

Aaron Murray also played well. There were a couple of passes that floated on him, but for the most part, Murray did a good job.

I think the most exciting thing I saw on Saturday was Reggie Davis. Georgia has some absolute burners at the receiver position. The 98 yard touchdown pass and catch was more impressive because of Davis’ speed. Combine that with the speed of Justin Scott-Wesley and you have two guys that run past a defender in one on one coverage and take it to the house. It is just one more match up problem that Georgia can offer opposing teams.

Obviously there were two glaring issues for Georgia on Saturday, but I think they might have been blessings in disguise. The kick return for a touchdown and the blocked punt for a touchdown are inexcusable. They should never happen, and they should definitely not happen against North Texas. The blessing may come that with those two mistakes fresh on their minds, maybe the special teams will really focus in on what they are doing and eliminate the mistakes before Georgia gets LSU next weekend.

The kicker, who I will refer to as the kicker rather than using his name because he does not deserve for his name to be said or read, missed a field goal in his first game back. He also made a kick, which I’m sure will be cause for him to take his boat out this afternoon. Georgia’s kick game, not their defense is my biggest fear going forward.

All in all, it was a mediocre performance by the Dawgs, but in a way, I think that is a good thing. My wife Aimee said that she feels like Georgia plays down to their opponents. Obviously, the Dawgs played down to North Texas yesterday. The special teams’ problems made the score look closer than the game actually was. But why waste a perfectly crisp performance against North Texas?

With College Gameday coming to Athens next weekend, something tells me that the boys will be ready to go when the Tigers come calling. Win on Saturday and no one will care that North Texas blocked a punt.

Weekend Review: Week 3

The Biggest Story of the Week: The Death of Defensive Football

Change doesn't happen all at once. Sometimes it is slow, so slow that the outcome, which seems inevitable at the end, was impossible to see during the process. I believe the end is now here, and we can pronounce that football has changed forever. Defense as we knew it is dead.

It started about 10 years ago in the NFL. Two rules were passed almost at the same time, that would change how the game was played. The league realized that quarterbacks were becoming rock stars, and the last thing you wanted was your rock stars on the bench each Sunday. The NFL began protecting quarterbacks to the point that defenders really had to think twice about hitting them hard at all. The other rule that was passed in the NFL was a response to a playoff game between the Patriots and the Colts in the early 2000’s. 

The Patriot defensive backs dominated the game by being physical with the Colt receivers, at the line of scrimmage, down the field, and as the pass was in the air. Almost none of the plays were flagged, but it was  rough and ugly style of football that the NFL didn’t see as marketable enough, so they responded with the illegal contact rule. An illegal contact foul would result in a 5 yard penalty and an automatic first down. So now, as a defensive back, you can’t put your hands on a receiver because it would be illegal contact, you can’t try to chuck them at the line, because if you happen to hit them after the 5 yard buffer, then it is defensive holding, and you can’t make contact with the receiver while the ball is in the air, because that is pass interference. All of these penalties result in a first down. Advantage offense.

The next step in the death of defensive football also came at the NFL level. Former players of the league, many of whom were suffering from head-related injuries sued the league for negligence in educating players about the risks of head injuries. While the legal process was working itself out, there was a work stoppage due to labor negotiations. The league had to respond quickly. After settling the labor issues with the players, the league began focusing on player safety. More rules were put into place. Now defensive players could be flagged for leading with the crown of their helmet, and more importantly, targeting a defenseless receiver.

All of these changes began in the NFL, but their repercussions have been felt more at the college level because of the disparity in talent. NFL teams all have one thing in common, they are full of NFL caliber players. Even the best college teams, which have 85 scholarship players on their roster, might have 20 NFL players. That means there is a big disparity between the best players and the worst players. Now take into account that teams like Alabama and Oregon routinely play teams that have no NFL talent on them, and you have to go even farther in protecting players who honestly shouldn’t be on the same field. There is a reason that high school football teams don’t play middle school football teams, but that is in essence, what happens at the college level.

This season, the NCAA instituted a rule that makes “targeting” illegal. A foul comes with a 15 yard penalty and ejection from the game. We saw the rule in its ugliest form yesterday during the marquee matchup of the college football season, Alabama v. Texas A&M. As soon as you look at the replay it was obvious that there was nothing dirty, or even illegal about the play the Alabama player made, but the referee, standing on the Texas A&M sideline, threw the flag anyway. The commentators said it was because officials have been told to error on the side of caution, but in reality, it was a response to the high impact look of the play. The call was overturned and the player was not ejected, but the penalty stood because the NCAA doesn’t want penalties to be reviewable.

As the A&M sideline was lobbying the referee for the flag, did you see anyone on that sideline move towards the player that was supposedly targeted? I didn’t. While the intention of the rule was to focus on player safety, it is obvious to me, that the safety of the player wasn’t the primary concern yesterday, it was drawing a penalty and getting an opposing player kicked out of the game.

Alabama has great players on defense. Alabama has a defensive-minded head coach that is probably the best collegiate coach of all time. Alabama is the two-time defending national champions. Alabama gave up 42 points yesterday.

Ohio State gave up 34 points yesterday and won by 18. South Carolina, with their stacked defense and the best defensive player in the game, gave up 25 points to Vanderbilt. Texas gave up 44 points at home.

Of the 18 games featuring top 25 teams, every team that won scored at least 20 points and 11 of those teams scored 35 points or more.

Defense used to be about punishing the guy with the ball. You wanted the opposing receiver to think about getting hit as he ran across the middle of the field. You wanted to quarterback to get rid of the ball earlier than he wanted to, because he didn’t want to get hit. Guys like “Mean” Joe Green, Reggie White, and Ronnie Lott are in the NFL Hall of Fame because they imposed a physical toll on their opponents. Those guys would be getting fined in the modern NFL, and kicked out of games at the college level.

I’m not saying that player safety isn’t important, but I am saying that we all better get used to the new game of football. Offense wins games, and all you need your defense to do is stop the other team a couple of times and get a turnover or two. The difference in games now is whether or not you can hold your opponent to a field goal rather than a touchdown, as if stopping them from scoring at all is out of the question.

In some ways, I think it is disrespectful to refer to the modern game as football, because it doesn’t look like the game played back in the 70’s, 80’s, or even the 90’s. While the modern game is highly entertaining and dramatic, let’s call it what it is, basketball on grass.

Biggest Win of the Week: Alabama stays at the top of the mountain

Ric Flair said it best, “To be the man, you have to beat the man.” LSU tried last year, Georgia tried last year, and Texas A&M tried yesterday, but Alabama is still the man. Yes A&M beat Bama last year, but it didn’t cost the Tide anything. Yesterday’s loss could have been the end of the run for Alabama, because A&M would have had to lose two SEC games for the Tide to get back into the title picture, and that would mean losing to both LSU and Ole Miss. Now, with LSU having to play Georgia, A&M, Florida, and Ole Miss, and Alabama already having the one game lead on A&M, you can pretty much put the Tide back in the SEC title game, or as it could be called, the National Semifinal. The beauty of college football is the importance of each game, and the stark difference in your season outlook between a win and a loss. Alabama set themselves up for another magical season with their win in College Station.

Biggest Loss of the Week: Texas is a dumpster fire

The Longhorns had the biggest loss last week in their game against BYU, but they had the chance to change their momentum with a win, or even a good performance against an up and coming Ole Miss team in Austin. After going down 14-0, Texas showed some spirit by battling back and even taking the lead. But the Longhorns were shut out in the second half, and their defense again looked putrid.

Now Texas heads into a Saturday night showdown with Kansas State on ABC. Yes, the same Kansas State that lost week one, at home, to North Dakota State. This is ABC’s national game on Saturday night. I would rather watch a Kardashian marathon.

The reality for Texas is that it will be hard for the Longhorns to make a bowl game if something doesn’t drastically change. They still have games against TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Baylor.

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter what Texas does for the rest of the season,  Mack Brown is gone, and one of the best jobs in America will be open. It will be interesting to see who Texas wants (Charlie Strong, Kevin Sumlin, Nick Saban), who wants to go to Texas (Hugh Freeze, David Shaw), and who Texas actually ends up with. I think Texas is going to figure out that they don’t exactly have the clout that they used to have.

Heisman Winner if the Season Ended Today: Johnny Football

I hate his off-field antics. I hate his me-first attitude. I hate it when he makes bad decisions and they work out. But at the end of the day, you have to give the devil his due. Johnny Football is the only reason that game was close yesterday. Nick Saban and Alabama knew that all they had to do was slow down Manziel and they would win the game, and they never really did it. Manziel made a stupid pass into the end zone that got picked off, but there was no pressure on him, he just made a mistake. You can’t really fault him for the tipped pass that was returned for a touchdown. Everyone will point to the scramble play in the first half as Johnny’s Heisman moment from yesterday, but that pass was stupid. Johnny’s Heisman moment yesterday was standing 5 yards deep in his own end zone while the Alabama defense rushed at him, and throwing a 95 yard touchdown pass to make it a game in the fourth quarter.

Top 5:

1.Alabama

2.Oregon

3.Clemson

4.Stanford

5.Florida State

Three Things to Watch for Next Week:

-Clemson goes on the road to NC State on one of those stupid Thursday night games. Screwy things happen on Thursday night, and Clemson will have to continue to prove their own history wrong all season. So many times, Clemson, and other ACC heavyweights lose inexplicable games to lesser teams in conference. If the Tigers are serious title contenders they will not only win on Thursday night, but they will go on the road and dominate.

-SEC divisional rivalries: Florida hosts Tennessee and LSU hosts Auburn. For Auburn and Tennessee, these games represent the first opportunity to announce their return to relevance in the nation’s best conference. For LSU and Florida, they are must win games if they want to get to Atlanta. I think both of these games will be close, and we might even see an upset.

-Kansas State at Texas. One of these teams will have to win. Okay, so sometimes there aren't three things to watch. 

Georgia/South Carolina Reaction

What a difference a week makes.

Georgia was in another slug-fest this week, but this time, the Dawgs managed to hang on and get a victory that they desperately needed.

Todd Gurley showed once again that he is the best running back in America. Gurley was the anchor of the Georgia offense, carrying the ball an amazing 30 times against South Carolina’s vaunted defense, while rushing for more than 100 yards yet again.

As good as Gurley was, the difference in this game was Aaron Murray. Aaron Murray who turned the ball over twice last week against Clemson. Aaron Murray who didn't throw a touchdown against Clemson. Aaron Murray who can’t win the big game.

Tonight was about Aaron Murray. One night can’t change a career, but Murray stepped up on a night when the story of his career could have been written for good.

A loss to South Carolina would have effectively ended Georgia’s chances at an SEC title and for sure would have ended the Dawgs’ dreams of playing for a national championship. It is not an overstatement to say that this was Murray’s last chance to prove to the Bulldog Nation and to himself, that he is more than just statistics.

Murray threw four touchdowns. Murray made big throw after big throw on third down. In the first half, after a receiver dropped a perfect pass that should have given Georgia a first down on third and 13, Murray came back on fourth down to find a receiver and move the chains.

In the second half, when Murray was forced to scramble from the pocket on a critical third and goal play, he stayed poised, took a hit, and completed a touchdown pass to Todd Gurley in the corner of the end zone.

Aaron Murray just played his best game as a Georgia Bulldog, and that is saying something.

There was a bit of vindication for the defense as well. Late in the game, when South Carolina had the ball first and goal, Georgia’s defense bowed up at just the right time for a goal line stand, to turn the Gamecocks away.

Georgia showed us a few things as a team today.

First, Mark Richt played this game to win from the very first snap. Georgia recovers the onside kick. Georgia goes for it on fourth down. Georgia has lost so many games being conservative and looking like they were playing not to lose, but not tonight.

Georgia also showed some toughness. After being up 17-3, South Carolina battled back like quality teams will do. They managed to tie the game and the half and even stopped Georgia on the opening possession of the second half. But Georgia showed resilience, in forcing a turnover and then getting the lead they would never give up.

The Dawgs didn’t win the SEC East tonight, but the road to the Dome is going through Athens.

 LSU comes calling in three weeks. Georgia now has the amazing advantage to spend the next three weeks getting ready for the Tigers. No offense to North Texas, but I doubt the Dawgs are going to spend a lot of time worrying about them.

As disappointing as last week was, Georgia won the game that they needed to win. They are in the driver’s seat for the SEC East, and they have time to get healthy before another season-defining game with LSU.

One thing is for sure: if Aaron Murray plays the way he did tonight for the rest of this season, there is not a team in America that can beat Georgia. Alabama included.

Enjoy this win Bulldog Nation!

Glory, Glory!

Georgia/South Carolina Preview

This is the beauty of college football. Here we are, week two of the season, and we have a do or die game. Unfortunately, it is do or die for the Dawgs.

This season was much anticipated and full of expectations. After a close loss last week to Clemson in Death Valley, Georgia faces a must win game against South Carolina.

But here is the truth of this game. Whether Georgia won last week or not, this was the game Georgia would have to win. Beating Clemson and losing to South Carolina would be the same as losing both games as it pertains to Georgia’s SEC title hopes.

Georgia was going to have a must win game against South Carolina no matter what happened in Clemson. The only reason it seems so bad right now, is that Georgia fans haven’t seen Georgia win this year, only lose.

This game isn’t going to be about statistics, it’s going to be about players. Both teams have good players on each side of the ball, but both teams have one player that stand out from the rest, and they will be on the field at the same time.

Jadaveon Clowney is going to be the number one pick in next April’s draft, and he would have been the number one pick in last April’s draft, had he been allowed to go to the NFL early. He is the first player I can remember who was truly ready to play in the NFL as a sophomore. Clowney effects every aspect of the defense, from the play of the other defensive linemen, to the style of coverage the cornerbacks play.

Because Clowney is so proficient at getting to the quarterback, cornerbacks will play up on receivers almost all of the time, because they don’t expect the quarterback to want to hold the ball long enough for a deep route with Clowney baring down on them. This tight coverage also leads to interceptions, because cornerbacks are in position to jump short passing routes when the quarterback is throwing to his “hot” receiver.

Aaron Murray threw a bad pick last week against Clemson. He will have to make sure that he accounts for defensive linemen dropping into coverage this week, or he will make the same mistake again.

After South Carolina’s game against North Carolina last Thursday night, many pundits criticized Clowney for what they perceived to be a lack of hustle and Clowney being out of shape. First of all, Clowney is not out of shape. I am out of shape. If Clowney is not in optimal football condition for an elite athlete, we should probably figure out another way of saying that, rather than lumping him in with me and the other couch-sitters out there. Secondly, Clowney has absolutely nothing to prove on the collegiate level. He was never a true Heisman candidate, because that award is an offensive award in the minds of most of the voters. He is the best defensive player in the country. Clowney will have a good game this weekend, but even if he doesn’t, it doesn’t diminish the player that he is.

Georgia also has a special player.

Todd Gurley is the best running back that Georgia has seen since Herschel Walker. He is better than Moreno. He is better than Garrison Hurst, Musa Smith, and much, much better than Caleb King or Washaun Ealey. Remember those guys?

Gurley’s run in the first quarter of last week’s game showed just how special he is. There was nothing tricky about the play. The fullback made a fantastic block, Gurley ran with reckless abandon the moment he go the ball in his hands. He hit the hole, made one cut, and it was off to the races. Watch the highlight again. The safety for Clemson has an angle on Gurley, but he underestimated Gurley’s speed. A man of Gurley’s size isn’t supposed to run that fast.

Todd Gurley is not only the key to this game for Georgia, but he will be the key to every Georgia game until the end of the 2014 season when he will declare early for the NFL draft.

It is going to be hard for the offensive coaches to be patient enough to continue to hand the ball to Gurley when they have so many dynamic players on offense and a quarterback who is capable of getting them the ball, but the truth is that the best option, on almost every play, is to give Gurley the ball.

For South Carolina to win, they are going to have to be able to run the ball. Every team Georgia has played over the last year plus has run the ball well against them, so I don’t think that will be a problem. South Carolina is also going to have to make some big plays in the passing game. Connor Shaw might not be able to do that, but Spurrier won’t hesitate to bring in Dylan Thompson to throw the ball down field. Shaw is going to make some runs when the play breaks down, so the Dawgs will have to make sure that when Shaw runs, they make him pay for leaving the pocket. Georgia missed some big tackles last week. South Carolina is too good to give extra yards to. The Dawgs have to make plays on defense when they have the chance.

For Georgia to win, Todd Gurley is going to have to be the focal point of the offense. The offensive line has to be much better in pass blocking situations. There can’t be any more holding penalties on David Andrews. Georgia has to play at least a little bit of run defense, so they can try to force Shaw into some passing mistakes. Aaron Murray has to play like a senior, not a sophomore. No more delay of game penalties. No more passing before you look to see where you are passing the ball. I don’t care how hard you get hit, no more fumbles. Georgia’s defense isn’t good enough to make up for turnovers.

In 2011, South Carolina won this game 45-42. They had a defensive touchdown on a Murray fumble, and they had a fake punt for a touchdown by a defensive lineman.

As bad as Georgia fans feel about last week’s loss and the season going forward, it will only take one win to change the mood of the Bulldog Nation. Georgia only needs one win to get back on track for Atlanta and Pasadena, but it has to be this win.

There will be no silver lining for Georgia if they don’t win this game. There will be no more talk of an SEC title. There is a long season still ahead of us, but if Georgia losses on Saturday, it will seem like the longest season we have had to endure in quite a long time.

The players know the stakes. The coaches know the stakes. The fans know the stakes.

The winner of this game will play in Atlanta for the SEC title.

Georgia 31      South Carolina 27

Go Dawgs!

Weekend Review: Week 1

The opening weekend of college football season lasts almost a week, so other than FSU beating Pittsburgh tonight, the opening weekend is in the books.

The Biggest Story of the Week: Johnny Manziel

Johnny Manziel was the biggest story of the off season and the preseason, so why wouldn't he be the biggest story of week one. Manziel managed to take the heat off of the NCAA by acting like an idiot once he got on the field, making everyone forget how stupid it was that he was suspended for only a half. Manziel entered the game and began talking trash to every Rice player on the field. There were reports that the Rice players had been taunting Manziel during the first half, so just like our mothers taught us, two wrongs…

Manziel was effective, but in my mind, the story has changed from how good is he to when will he self-destruct? After taunting the Rice players again, Manziel got a personal foul penalty and was removed from the game by Kevin Sumlin. As Manziel walked off the field, Sumlin tried to talk to his star quarterback, who seemingly ignored his head coach.

Texas A&M will get a challenge this week from college football powerhouse Sam Houston State, before playing Alabama in week 3. If A&M loses to Alabama, which I think they will, I think Sumlin will start lowering the hammer on this kid. Sumlin has to be the head coach after Manziel goes to the NFL after this season, and if he is going to have any credibility as a coach, he has to show that he is in charge of the program.

The Biggest Win of the Week: Clemson over Georgia

In a game that would have been exciting if it weren't so excruciating, Clemson beat Georgia 38-35 in what was easily the best and biggest game of the week. Tajh Boyd was absolutely fantastic in leading the Tigers to their biggest win in a very long time. Clemson is now on track to be 6-0 when they host Florida State on October 16^th. A win over the ‘Noles should clinch a spot in the ACC title game. Clemson has almost the perfect ACC schedule for reaching the national title game. They beat Georgia, get FSU at home, and then play South Carolina at the end of the season in Columbia. By having three good teams on their schedule, and by having the games spread out so much, if Clemson runs the table, they should have built plenty of national credibility.

ABC has chosen to follow up the Georgia/Clemson match up with Notre Dame/Michigan this week, so don’t worry east coast, you don’t have to stay up late Saturday night.

The Biggest Loss of the Week: Boise State loses to Washington

I could have said that the biggest loss was defending Big 12 champion Kansas State losing to North Dakota State, but Kansas State wasn't supposed to be very good anyway, so even though the loss was bad, it doesn't really affect how the season will play out. Boise State was ranked 19^th and had a shot to crash the BCS party again this year, but now that is not going to happen.

Washington opened up their newly renovated stadium in style by dominating Boise 38-6. Now it doesn't matter what Boise does for the rest of the season, they won’t get into the BCS and will probably play a bowl game in their home stadium.

The Heisman Winner if the season ended today: Tajh Boyd

It’s only the first week, but no player made a statement like Boyd made on national television. 

Top Five Teams:

1. Alabama

2. Oregon

3. Clemson

4. Stanford

5. South Carolina

 3 Things to Watch Next Weekend:

-It’s hard to believe that you could have a must win game this early in the season, but that is exactly what Georgia has when they host South Carolina Saturday afternoon. Georgia had national title aspirations coming into the season, and a second loss would pretty much eliminate them from the title picture. A fourth consecutive loss to South Carolina would also put Georgia behind the 8 ball in the SEC East. If the Dawgs could manage to win the game, they could change the entire feel surrounding the program.

-The only other game that features two Top 25 teams in week two is the Notre Dame/Michigan in Ann Arbor. I can’t say that I know very much about either of these teams, but two new quarterbacks, no Te’o, and no Everett Golsten I honestly don’t know how good either of these teams are. I hope I’m wrong, but I think this game is going to be really boring. There are no good games on, so it’s either this, or DVR.

-10^th ranked Florida travels down south to take on Miami for a noon kickoff. This will be an interesting test for Florida to see just how good their offense can be. They didn't show much last week against Toledo, but maybe Jeff Driskell has improved enough to make the Gators a legitimate threat in the SEC East. For Miami, they have the chance to put themselves in the ACC title picture. Georgia Tech and North Carolina are supposed to be their biggest rivals within their own division. UNC missed their chance to shock the world against South Carolina, and I don’t think Tech is a real contender, so the Canes could take a big step towards having a special season.

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Georgia/Clemson Reaction

Georgia fans wouldn’t want to hear that it was a great game, but that’s exactly what it was.

The saddest part of Georgia’s 38-35 loss, is that we will now have Georgia “fans” calling for Mark Richt to be fired, Aaron Murray to be benched, and Uga to be put down. If you are one of those people, please do the following immediately.

1.       Don’t post anything on Facebook for the next 24 hours.

2.       Go to your closet, take all of the red and black out, and donate it to charity.

3.       Learn the words to Ramblin’ Wreck.

There is nothing embarrassing about going on the road and playing a top 10 team, and losing by 3  points. 

There would have been nothing embarrassing about losing by 10 for that matter. Clemson played really well. Tajh Boyd was as good as advertised, Sammy Watkins was electric, Clemson has two talented tailbacks, and Clemson’s defense slowed Georgia down at a point in the game where the Dawgs were getting on a roll. Clemson is a very good team that will, most likely, go on to win the ACC this year.

Look at it this way. Georgia lost their best receiver in the first quarter. Georgia’s superstar tailback left the game for about a quarter. Georgia’s senior quarterback struggled for most of the first half. Georgia’s offensive line was terrible in the second quarter. Georgia had way too many penalties. Georgia screwed up a simple field goal. All of that added up to a Clemson blowout right? Nope, just three points.

There will be enough negativity out there, so I will start with the positives.

All in all, I thought the Georgia defense played pretty well against a talented and complicated offense. Georgia’s defense didn't cost them the game, which I would say is more than most people were expecting.

Georgia found a real weapon at fullback with Hicks. His block is what allowed Gurley to make the 75 yard touchdown run for Georgia’s first score. If he plays like he did tonight, it give Georgia their best threat at fullback since Southerland.

Todd Gurley is as good as advertised, and maybe better. Gurley played exceptionally well. He had the one big run, but almost every run he had was positive. He reminds me of Moreno in that he will take a two yard loss and make it a three yard gain. Todd Gurley will win the Doak Walker award this year, and maybe next year too.

Finally, Justin Scott-Wesley looked like a real threat at receiver. He stepped up and made some big catches with Mitchell out of the game.

Of course there were some concerning things as well.

Aaron Murray had a rough first half, but a better second half. The biggest problem, in my opinion, was that he didn't look like a four-year starter tonight. His clock management was bad, and he did seem to get Georgia in the right play as much as you would expect. The fumble wasn't really his fault because the offensive line has to do a better job. The interception right after the muffed punt was his fault and was a momentum killer.

The offensive line was simply offensive tonight. If John Theus can’t play left tackle, then Georgia has to figure out who can. Mr. Clowney comes to Athens next Saturday, and if Theus plays like he did tonight, Aaron Murray will spend next Sunday at St. Mary’s Hospital. David Andrews is supposed to be the leader of the offensive line and is apparently one of Coach Will Friend’s most trusted players, but he had two killer holding calls that negated first downs. I really believed the line would be a strength of this team. They have a lot to prove against South Carolina next week.

The problems on the missed field goal robbed Georgia of seeing tonight’s kicker attempt a true field goal instead of an extra point. I’m sure Marshall Morgan will be kicking next week for Georgia, but if he starts struggling this year like he did in 2012, I think Mr. Morgan will be on the bench.

A few years ago I wrote that one of the most important things a fan can do to enjoy a college football season is try to maintain a certain level of perspective throughout the season. Each and every one of Georgia’s goals are still attainable. I am not the only person that said if you had to start 1-1, you would rather lose the Clemson game. Now Georgia faces a must win game next Saturday night against South Carolina.

The coaches have plenty of things to help motivate the team this week, but nothing is more motivating than the simple fact of what next week’s game means.

Win, and you will have a chance to achieve your goals. Lose, and you won’t. I don’t believe in moral victories in major college football, but tonight is a loss you can live with. A loss next Saturday might throw this program back into the turmoil that haunted it following the 0-2 start in 2012.