Week In Review: August 30

Biggest Story of the Week: First Impressions in big match ups

There are obvious positives and negatives to playing a big time opponent in your opening game of the season. There were three marquee games on the schedule for Week One, and in all three games, one team made a big statement.

On Thursday night, Texas A&M started the post-Johnny Football Era by showing that there is life after #2. A&M went into Columbia and put on a performance that not only raised eyebrows in the south, but all over the country. I can’t remember a game that flipped the script for both teams the way that game did. Everything you thought you knew went out the window, and we are left thinking that A&M will have a say in the SEC.

Think about this, how many games are we now dying to see out of the SEC West? Basically any game that includes two teams from the west, except for Arkansas is going to be a must-see affair. The division is so incredibly deep, it is hard to see any team making it through without a loss.

On Saturday, two more SEC schools stood out.

Georgia played a second half for the ages against Clemson. The running game not only looks dynamic for the Dawgs, but as deep as any backfield in recent memory. If Mike Bobo and Mark Richt can be creative in keeping all four running backs involved in the attack, Georgia could literally run over the SEC. You can’t stop a solid running game. Hutson Mason is going to get plenty of chances to throw to receivers in one on one situations because teams are going to be scared to death of Georgia’s running game. Oh, and by the way, Georgia’s defense would have made Erk Russell smile last night, and Erk Russell didn’t smile.

Finally, LSU might have been the most impressive team in week one. With a lot of young players on a big time stage, the Tigers fell behind by 17 points against a really good Wisconsin team last night, only to come back in the second half and show how much potential they truly possess. I said in my season preview that I thought LSU would be one of the best teams in the nation by the end of the season, and if last night is any indication, it might not take that long. LSU has so much talent. If you are going to beat the Tigers, you better do it soon, because once these young players figure things out, you aren’t going to have a chance.

Biggest Win of the Week: Texas A&M

The Aggies are for real, and it looks like Kevin Sumlin might be building a national powerhouse in College Station. The offensive line for A&M was spectacular against a good South Carolina defense. This is the same line that has produced two top 6 picks in the NFL draft over the last two seasons. Kenny Hill looks like the real deal, and there are skill players all over the field that can take it to the house any time they touch the ball. If you were annoyed by Johnny Manziel’s attitude and antics (like I was) you are going to love watching this offense play at an amazing level, without all the baggage of Johnny Football.

The defense will be the key to the Aggies’ season. If they can just make a few stops each game, then Texas A&M is going to have a great shot at playing in Atlanta in December.

The issue for the Aggies is the schedule. They should be 5-0 as they head to Starkville on October 4^th to play Mississippi State. Then they have 5 games over the next 8 weeks against the cream of the crop in the SEC. The Aggies play Ole Miss, go to Alabama, have a bye week, then another bye week against UL Monroe, before traveling to Auburn, hosting Missouri, and finishing the season on Thanksgiving night against LSU. Wow.

Biggest Loss of the Week: South Carolina

All of the talk in Columbia was that South Carolina was ready to turn three 11 win seasons in a row into a legitimate run at a title. All of that talk ended quickly and decisively on Thursday night. It is easy to overreact to the first week of college football’s season, but the reality of Carolina’s situation couldn’t be clearer.

In two weeks, Georgia comes to town. The same Georgia team that just looked unstoppable against Clemson. A South Carolina loss against Georgia would pretty much end their season after only three weeks. Losing two of their first three games, at home no less, would mean that all of the goals for the season would realistically be out of the question.

Last season, Georgia faced this exact situation and came up big against the Gamecocks in Athens. As quickly as South Carolina’s season spiraled on Thursday night, it can all be made right with a victory over the Dawgs on September 13.

For now, South Carolina looks like the leading candidate for biggest disappointment of the season.

Heisman Winner if the Season Ended Today: Kenny Hill

I don’t care what offense you are playing in, 500 yards passing against South Carolina in Columbia is impressive. A week ago, no one knew his name, so it will be interesting to see how Kenny Hill responds to being the biggest name of college football’s opening week.

Mr. Gurley also made quite an impression. Four touchdowns on 16 touches. Not a bad percentage.

Playoff Teams if the season ended today:

Obviously this is going to change dramatically throughout the season, but if the concept of the playoff is that there are no preseason rankings and it is all about what happens on the field, then this is reflective of what has happened on the field so far.

1.     Texas A&M

2.      Georgia

3.      Florida State

4.      LSU

Three Things to Watch for Next Week:

1.     

             In the first Top 10 matchup of the season, we have a matchup that sounds like a great Rose Bowl: Michigan State v. Oregon. Neither team was challenged in week one, so we are going to find out what these two are all about on Saturday night. Playing at Oregon is one of the most difficult tasks in college football, but a team like Michigan State that likes to play defense and run the ball, might have a chance to win in that crazy setting. The winner of this game will have the best win of the season, and pole position for the playoff.

2.     

      I’m on record saying that the PAC 12 will cannibalize itself this season, and that will start on Saturday afternoon when USC travels to Stanford. Both teams won easily in week one, and both teams have an incredibly difficult schedule following this game. The loser of this game will basically have their backs against the wall for the rest of the year, while the winner will have a leg up in the conference race.

3.      

     No matter the records, Michigan/Notre Dame matters. On a weekend where there aren’t many games to get excited about, watching two traditional rivals play in an historic setting should pique your interest. This rivalry is about to go away, so enjoy watching it while you can. 

Georgia Runs Wild

It was a special night in Athens.

Georgia played a fantastic game on both sides of the ball against a Clemson team that looked pretty good for most of the night.

Three things stood out to me about tonight’s victory.

First, the running game is going to be as good as advertised. Todd Gurley is, indeed, the best running back in the country. When he is healthy, and fresh, you can’t stop him consistently. Nick Chubb is going to be a huge addition to this team for the next few years, and his running style will get fans out of their seat in the stadium and in their homes. Sony Michel has world-class speed. One of the best runs of the night was seeing Clemson’s defenders take a bad angle on Michel because they underestimated his speed getting to the edge. Keith Marshall had a rough night, and to me, it looks like he isn’t quite back to 100% following knee surgery last season.

Not only is Georgia’s running game deep and talented, it has the potential to be dynamic. The plays where Georgia puts Michel or Isaiah McKenzie at wide out with Gurley in the backfield and they bring the receiver across the play could be indefensible when Gurley is right. It is exciting to think about how effective this running attack can be, and there is nothing more demoralizing for a defense than having the ball run right down your throat again and again.

Secondly, Georgia’s defense is significantly better than last season. Even giving up a lot of yards and 21 points in the first half, there was significant improvement. Georgia’s defensive backs had multiple chances to make plays on passes, but they never got their heads turned around to find the ball. As aggravating as that was, it is a big improvement because the defensive backs were in the proper positions to start with. 

Additionally, I can’t think of one missed tackle in the game. There was none of the shoulder hitting that we have become accustomed to seeing these past four seasons.

Jeremy Pruitt should run for Governer of Georgia tonight, because he would win with about 97% of the vote. It is hard to believe that most of those players were the same guys that played last year under the former defensive coordinator who shall never be named on this blog again.

Early in the first half, I told Aimee that what Pruitt was so good at last year with Florida State was half time adjustments. In the national title game, Florida State got gashed by Auburn in the first half, but then adjusted their scheme and basically shut Auburn down in the second half. Tonight’s second half defense was as good as I can remember seeing Georgia play in a very long time. Once they got the momentum in the fourth quarter, the Georgia defense seemed almost impossible to play against.

Running the ball and playing great defense is what the University of Georgia is all about. For years under Vince Dooley those two things were the backbone of the program. Even if it was just for one night, seeing Georgia play like Georgia is enough to bring a tear to your eye and a send a chill down your spine. This was a complete game, and now expectations will be through the roof for the rest of this season.

That brings me to point number three. There were three different quarterbacks that played in tonight’s game, and Hutson Mason was the third best. I am so happy that we don’t have Clemson on the schedule for the next three seasons because Mr. Watson is going to be a special player for the Tigers. For the rest of this season, Stoudt is plenty good enough to have Clemson competing for the ACC title. Stoudt was nearly perfect early in the game, and if his receivers would have held onto the ball in the first half, Georgia might have been down two or three touchdowns at half time.

Mason didn’t play poorly, but he never made a big time throw in a clutch situation. He was average. But if Georgia wants this to be a special season, Mason is going to have to be better than average. I believe now more than ever that Hutson Mason will be the key to this season for Georgia. If the Dawgs are going to go into Columbia in two weeks and beat the Gamecocks, Mason has to be better. If Georgia is going to beat Florida for a fourth consecutive season, Mason has to be better. If Georgia is going to beat Auburn, Mason has to be better. You can’t be one dimensional, no matter how amazing that dimension might be.

Georgia fans should enjoy this night. There aren’t many times when everything goes your way the way it did tonight.

Tonight we saw just how good this team can be. The question for the rest of the season will be, how many times can Georgia play at this level for 60 minutes. Championship teams repeat this performance, and if Georgia plays at this level all season, they will be a championship team.

Glory, Glory!

Go Dawgs!

Clemson Preview

If the first night of games is any indication, we are in for one heck of a season. Everything we thought we knew about South Carolina and Texas A&M changed in the blink of an eye. Last night should be a lesson for Georgia.

Simply being at home should give Georgia an edge in their season opener against Clemson, but South Carolina showed last night that if you don’t come prepared to play, it doesn’t matter where you are playing.

Georgia brings back a team that is full of talent and questions.

Todd Gurley, Michael Bennett, Keith Marshall, Chris Connally, Hutson Mason, David Andrews, Jordan Jenkins, Ray Drew, Leonard Floyd. These are the names that you know.

Lorenzo Carter, Isaiah McKenzie, Sony Michel, and Nick Chubb. These are the names that you will know by this time tomorrow.

Georgia is absolutely stacked with talent on both sides of the ball, and most of the talent is very young. The question that we will answer over the next three months, is whether the talent accumulated by Mark Richt and his coaching staff will produce on the field.

I’ve already said that I think Hutson Mason will be the difference for the Georgia offense, and that starts tomorrow. Mason has experience, but whether or not he can use his experience to make plays remains to be seen. Dylan Thompson was erratic for South Carolina last night, missing high on many occasions. Thompson was missing one thing that Mason will have going for him tomorrow afternoon: Todd Gurley.

Gurley is an absolute beast, and tomorrow will be the beginning of the end for him in a Georgia uniform. I can’t imagine a situation where Gurley would return to Athens next season, so let’s make sure we enjoy him while we can. Mark Richt has made it clear that all five of the running backs, Gurley, Marshall, Douglas, Michel, and Chubb will play tomorrow and while that is exciting, Gurley still needs to be the focus of the offense.

If Todd Gurley doesn’t touch the ball 20 times, then Mark Richt will have some major questions to answer.

If Mason is the most important member of the 2014 Georgia Bulldogs, then Jeremy Pruitt is number two. The new defensive coordinator has made his presence known in Athens. Quickly, Pruitt made it clear that it didn’t matter what happened before he got to Athens, everyone would have to earn their spot. Ray Drew and Ramik Wilson quickly got demoted on the depth chart when Pruitt didn’t feel their performance was up to par.

Pruitt’s background is as a defensive backs coach, which will be the part of the defense that has the most question marks. Georgia lost three potential starters in the secondary since the end of last season. Pruitt has said that his philosophy centers on putting talented players in the right positions to make plays. That is music to my ears. Too many times over the past few years, Georgia’s defensive players were confused and out of position when the ball was snapped.

Alec Ogletree apparently told a member of last year’s team that his new defensive scheme with the St. Louis Rams was much simpler than the scheme he played in at Georgia. Hopefully a simpler approach will mean that Georgia’s defense can go from being absolutely awful to at least average.

Special teams were yet another Achilles heel for last year’s team, so it will be important that those mistakes to be corrected immediately this year. I think the coaching staff has finally recognized that special teams are 1/3 of the game, and that they deserve a lot more attention in practice.

As an eternal optimist, I believe that this season has the potential to be special. Georgia opens at home tomorrow, and then has two weeks to get ready to travel to Columbia for a game that could eliminate the Gamecocks from the SEC East race. Everything has opened up for the Dawgs, now they just have to take advantage of the opportunity.

Tomorrow is going to be a special day in Athens. The city is alive. The coaches and players seem to have a quiet confidence about them. It will be hard for any team to make an impression like A&M did last night, but I think Georgia will play a complete game against the Tigers. The offense will be consistent and effective. The defense will be fast and improved. The special teams will be good, which will be a huge improvement. Georgia will avenge last year’s loss with a solid victory 34-20.

My bold prediction is that Isaiah McKenzie, the freshman wide receiver will score, maybe by running a punt or kick back. He is going to be a fan favorite very quickly.

It is finally here. It’s time to kick off another season. Enjoy it.

Go Dawgs!

SEC Predictions

The SEC is the premiere conference in all of college football and more often than not, it is the conference that produces the national champion. More than any other season since the SEC’s dominance began back in 2006, America’s best conference is wide open.

Let’s take a quick look at each team before I give you my predictions.

SEC West:

Alabama: Everyone just assumes that Alabama’s quarterback situation will work itself out and that there is no way this team isn’t right back in the national title hunt, but in reality, the lack of a dependable quarterback could be the reason this team slips back a bit this year. The running backs are as good as any in the country, and I’m sure the defense will be solid, but if this team is going to compete for a title, SEC or national, they will have to have a better than average quarterback.

Arkansas: Bret Bielema is probably wishing he was playing a Big 10 schedule these days. Last year, Arkansas failed to win a league game in his first season as head coach, and this year, the best they can really hope for is ruining someone’s season. Arkansas has a good quarterback, and if I took the time I would probably find out that they have a couple of other players who are okay, but as long as that idiot is running the show, nothing is going to get much better for the Hogs.

Auburn: 2013 was a magical season for the Tigers, and no team in the history of college football has deserved what Auburn has coming to them more than the 2014 edition of the Auburn Tigers. To say that the schedule is brutal is an understatement. The Tigers host LSU, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Alabama while going on the road to Georgia and Kansas State on a Thursday night for some reason. Auburn does return Nick Marshall, but they lost some big name players from a team that overachieved a season ago, so I don’t think its crazy to think they are going to take a step back.

LSU: How is it possible that this team could be flying under the radar? Ok, so I couldn’t tell you the name of the quarterback if I tried and the only real thing I know about this team is that they got the number one recruit in the country last year, running back Leonard Fournette, but LSU is still LSU and they are going to be heard from in the SEC West. By the time they play Alabama in November, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are in the Top 10 and positioning themselves to get into the SEC title game.

Mississippi State: It seems like a long time ago when Dan Mullen took the job at Mississippi State and there was talk of turning the Bizzaro Bulldogs into a contender. Mullen has done a good job just making this team mediocre, but they play in the toughest division in college football and they will always be number two in their state. Sadly, this is probably as good as it is going to get in Starkville for a very long time. Maybe they get lucky and make a bowl, but probably not.

Ole Miss: Hugh Freeze got everyone talking two years ago when he brought home on of the best recruiting classes in school history, and he kept them talking when the Rebels upset LSU last year, but now Ole Miss faces its toughest test yet: Can they live up to the high expectations facing them this year? Ole Miss hosts both Alabama and Auburn, if the Rebels can win one or both of those games, then they might just be in the conversation for the SEC title game come November.

Texas A&M: This is going to be an important year for Aggie football. Their introduction into the SEC coincided with the Johnny Football Era, but now Kevin Sumlin has to prove that his program can go on in a post-Johnny world. They will have the eyes of the college football world on them on opening night at South Carolina, and I think the way they play in that game might dictate how far the Aggies fall this year. It’s time for Sumlin to start earning that $4 million contract.

SEC East:

Florida: So as a Georgia fan, just how many games does Will Muschamp have to win, while still losing in Jacksonville to keep him around for another season? Florida was decimated by injuries last year, and they bring back a talented team that could win 10 games this season and put the Gators right back on the national map, but at the end of the day they are still a team that lost to Georgia Southern last year in the Swamp. I think Florida wins 7 or 8 games and puts Jeremy Foley in a really tough spot.

Georgia: Georgia has a new quarterback, a new defensive coordinator, a new secondary, and a lot of talent. What will it all add up to? I’m not sure Mark Richt knows. All of the talk around camp has been that Jeremy Pruitt is the real deal and that the defense is going to be dramatically better. The schedule is as manageable as an SEC schedule can be with no LSU or Alabama this year. If Hutson Mason can be ¾ as good as Aaron Murray, then the Dawgs should be in line for not only a spot in the SEC title game, but maybe a spot in the new college football playoff.

Kentucky: People in Lexington are really excited about what Mark Stoops is doing in Kentucky. They are renovating their stadium, and their recruiting has picked up. I’m really happy for those Kentucky fans who really don’t have anything to do until the third week of November when basketball tips off. Kentucky is going to be bad this year, but I don’t think they are going to finish last in the division, so I guess that is showing improvement.

Missouri: In only their second season in the league, the Tigers took down Georgia in Athens, beat Florida and went to the SEC title game. Ok Gary Pinkle, now do it again. James Franklin graduated and they also lost a seventh round draft pick that every keeps talking about. Missouri will be a good football team, but I’m not sure they can come close to repeating what they did last year. If they can finish third in the East, I think that would be a pretty good season from them.

South Carolina: This might be the last great chance that Steve Spurrier gets at South Carolina. Georgia should be strong, but the Dawgs have to come to Columbia this year. Florida will be back soon and Tennessee is going to continue to improve under Butch Jones. When he took the job, he said his goal was to win the SEC. If the Gamecocks don’t get the job done this year, they never will.

Tennessee: Last year they showed signs of life, this year will be another step forward, but Tennessee is still going to need one more season before they are officially back. The Vols had Georgia on the ropes last year, but lost a heart-breaker. They beat South Carolina for their signature win, which cost the Gamecocks a shot at the SEC title. They will ruin someone’s season again this year, but there will be more losses than wins for Tennessee in the SEC this season.

Vanderbilt: James Franklin is gone. Vanderbilt, you now have permission to go back to being Vanderbilt. That is all.

SEC Predictions:

Team that will surprise: LSU

Team that will disappoint: Auburn

Teams that will need a new coach after the season: Arkansas, Mississippi State, Florida

Offensive Player of the Year: Todd Gurley

Defensive Player of the Year: No clue

Coach of the Year: Hugh Freeze

I like LSU to come out of nowhere to win the West. I think Georgia is going to lose to South Carolina in the second game of the season, but I think that will be their only loss. South Carolina could only lose once and keep Georgia out of the SEC title game, but that might not be such a bad thing for the Dawgs because I think an 11-1 Georgia team that has won 10 in a row would have a very strong case to make the playoff even if they don’t make the SEC title game.

Just to not be too much of a homer, I’ll go with LSU as conference champions.

It’s so close now you can almost taste it.

Coming later this week: Georgia/Clemson Preview and Week 1 of Picks You Should Bet Your Friend’s Money On!

National Preview

For any fan to be able to enjoy a college football season, they need one important thing when it comes to their team: perspective. Sadly, perspective is probably the one thing that most fans seem incapable of.

You see, there are five major conferences in college football, four spots in the new college football playoff, and only one national champion each season. But when you listen to individual fan bases, it seems that there are about 50 schools that expect to win a national title each season.

In reality, I believe there are only 18 teams that we could reasonably expect to play in the college football playoff on January 1^st. Here are the teams broken down by conference:

ACC: FSU, Clemson, Louisville

Big 12: Oklahoma, Baylor

Big 10: Michigan State, Wisconsin

Independent: Notre Dame

Pac 12: Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC

SEC: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, South Carolina

I had Ohio State on this list, but with the loss of QB Braxton Miller for the entire season, I don’t think there is any way that Ohio State makes it to the playoff.

With Clemson coming to Florida State this season, I think the Noles are the clear favorite to run away with the ACC.

Clemson has a tough opening game on the road against Georgia and the always difficult game with South Carolina looming at the end of the season. 9-3 isn’t a bad rebuilding season for Clemson, but in the end I don’t think they will be in contention for the playoff.

The reason I put Louisville in is because with Bobby Petrino, there is really no telling what might happen. Despite the fact that he might be one of the worst human beings alive, Petrino is a great football coach and he could just find the right touch to keep the Cardinals in the hunt late in the season. FSU comes to Papa John Stadium on a Thursday night in November, so if Louisville can make it that far, they might have a chance to upset the Noles and win the division. Oh yeah, just a side note. The ACC can’t get anything right. They have placed Clemson, Florida State, and Louisville in the same division. It will make for great games each season, but to me it doesn’t make much sense from a balance stand point. One of these teams will get a ticket to a big bowl game after the crush Miami, Virginia Tech, or Tech in the ACC title game.

I honestly don’t think any Big 12 team will be in the playoff, but you can’t ignore completely the game that Oklahoma played against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. They were impressive. You just don’t know how much it will matter for the upcoming season. Baylor has their quarterback returning this season, but they lost their running back and they aren’t a traditional power, so to assume they can follow up last year’s success is taking a lot for granted.

Michigan State might have been the second best team in the country by the end of last season. They won a tough Rose Bowl over Stanford, after knocking Ohio State out of the national title picture in the Big 10 Championship Game. I couldn’t tell you one player on their team, but they play a defensive style of football that will keep them in games and give them a chance to win a lot of games.

There is only one reason Wisconsin is on this list: the schedule. The Badgers have an amazingly easy schedule even by Big 10 standards. They open against a young LSU team that could be ripe for the taking, and they get to play Nebraska at home. They don’t play Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, or Michigan State. At the very worst, Wisconsin should be 10-2 this season and 7-1 in the Big 10, which should be good enough to get to the Big 10 title game. If they can manage to beat LSU, Wisconsin will be a contender at the end of the season.

Notre Dame has their cheating quarterback returning this season after sitting out all of last season, so maybe they can be good again. Who knows and, honestly, who cares. Notre Dame and their NBC television contract continue to hold a special place in college football, despite the fact that they haven’t been a consistent power for the past 20 years.

The two best conferences in America are the Pac 12 and the SEC so they both have more contenders than any other conference.

Oregon and Stanford will battle again this season for the Pac 12 north, and the south will come down to the Battle of Los Angeles. The problem is that they all play each other. USC doesn’t play Oregon, but everyone else does play, which means there is a legitimate chance that none of these four make the new playoff because they beat each other up. Also, there is the issue of losing to the lesser teams in the conference.

Last year, Stanford lost to Utah, USC lost to Washington State and Arizona State, Oregon lost to Arizona, and UCLA lost to Arizona State. With the strength at the top of the league, none of these teams are going to be able to overcome a bad loss like they had last season.

It’s obvious that Alabama, Auburn, and LSU are teams that can make the playoff. All three have amazing talent but each will have to play each other, as well as Ole Miss who is going to win some games this season. Alabama has the easiest schedule as they don’t have to play South Carolina or Georgia from the East. LSU is young, but by the time their big game against Alabama comes around in November, they will be much more experienced.

Auburn had a magical season last year, but I think they are going to come back to earth this season. Their schedule might be the toughest in the country.

Some will question Florida being on this list, but the Gators had a ton of injuries last season and they have a desperate coaching staff that is fighting for their job, so you never know. Georgia and South Carolina are both stacked with talent and have manageable schedules. The SEC is strong enough to get a one loss champion into the playoff, so none of these teams have to be perfect to have a chance to play for the title.

When it is all said and done, I believe the SEC is going to get two teams into the playoff. The SEC champion will obviously get in, but I think a one loss team that doesn’t play in the title game will get in as well. The ACC will have a team in the playoff with Florida State. The final spot will go to either the Pac 12 champion or the Big 10 champion.

We are just four days away from the first big game of the season, and less than a week away from UGA and Clemson!

Make sure to enjoy every minute of the season, because it will be all over in the blink of an eye.

SEC Preview coming tomorrow and Georgia/Clemson preview coming on Wednesday.

Go Dawgs!

Hutson Mason: The most important player in 2014

The anticipation that leads to a new football season is different all over the country. In the south, the countdown starts following spring practice, and as we are now seven days from kickoff, it feels like your birthday and Christmas all rolled into one.

For Georgia fans, this year is a bit different. Since Georgia lost their opening two games of the 2011 season, and then ran the table to make it to the SEC title game, expectations have been high. In 2012 Georgia lived up to those expectations by finishing in the top 5 and coming up five yards short against eventual national champion, Alabama in the SEC title game. Last season, expectations were as high as they have been since 

Herschel left town over thirty years ago.

However, going into this season, I think some Georgia fans don’t really know what to expect. It’s hard to blame them. Aaron Murray is gone, there is a new defensive coordinator, and if you looked at 10 different prognostications you would find that half think Georgia are ready to contend for a title and the other half think the Dawgs are going to be mediocre again.

I am guilty of being the ultimate optimist at times, but in a sober moment I can tell you this entire season will come down to the performance of one man: Hutson Mason.

Aaron Murray’s backup for the last four years now has his time to shine in Athens, and as Georgia fans, we have seen this twice before, with two drastically different outcomes.

In 2005, I was lucky enough to be in the building when DJ Shockley finally took the reins of the Georgia offense and put on a show against Boise State. Shockley had a fantastic season even though he missed two games due to an injury. He led Georgia to their second SEC title in four years and an appearance in the Sugar Bowl. Shockley had been a part of the Georgia offense for his entire career. Mark Richt took heavy criticism for putting Shockley in games and seemingly breaking the rhythm of David Greene. By the time Shockley stepped on the field as the starter, we had a pretty good idea of what to expect from him.

Hutson Mason’s path into the Bulldog huddle resembles that of Joe Cox, and those results will chill Georgia fans to the bone.

Cox sat for three seasons waiting his turn behind Matt Stafford. Actually, Cox had a brief moment of glory against Colorado in 2006. With the Georgia offense doing nothing with Stafford at the helm, Cox came into the game down 13 points in the fourth quarter and led Georgia on two touchdown drives to win the game. It was one of those moments that was really exciting until you realize that it took a miracle just to beat a bad Colorado team.

When Cox became the starter in 2009, Georgia was still a relevant player in the SEC. By the end of the season, Georgia offered more questions than answers and the entire Bulldog Nation was committed to seeing Willy Martinez get out of Athens. Georgia lost on the road at Oklahoma State to start the season. Georgia also came up short against LSU with the infamous AJ Green penalty for celebrating what we thought was a game winning touchdown. Georgia was not competitive in losing in Knoxville and Jacksonville, but the real disappointment was a home loss to feeble Kentucky in late November. By the end of the season, Georgia had lost five games, and all they had to hang their hat on was a victory over an overrated Tech team.

So with those two examples in mind, we turn back to the 2014 Bulldogs and attempt to figure out which path this team will take.

You might argue that Mason doesn’t have to do that much, when you consider that Todd Gurley is ready to run the ball all over the SEC this season. But if we learned anything from last year it has to be that you can never take Gurley, or any player, for granted because football is a game of injuries. If Gurley stays healthy, then yes Georgia will have a good season. If Georgia’s defense is middle of the road in the SEC (and I think it is going to be a little better than that), and Todd Gurley starts all 12 games, I think you can mark Georgia down for 8 victories.

However, those other four games, against Clemson, South Carolina, Florida, and Auburn , the best teams on Georgia’s schedule, to win those games Hutson Mason is going to have to be effective at the quarterback position.

People use the term game manager as in a derogatory way, but that is exactly what Georgia needs from Mason. There are great backs that the offense can rely on, and there is great talent at tight end and wide receiver. What we are going to need this year is the experience that comes with playing in this offense for the last four years. Mason isn’t going to have to win games by himself like Aaron Murray did at times in his Georgia career, but he is going to have to make a big throw in the fourth quarter to pick up a first down. He is going to have to audible and get Georgia in the right play in critical moments. He is also going to have to be effective throwing the ball down the field so the running backs don’t have to face nine-man fronts all season.

This is going to be a pivotal season for Georgia. One way or another there will be a new, inexperienced quarterback at the helm for the Dawgs next season. Todd Gurley will be gone, and Keith Marshall might be right behind him. Jeremy Pruitt will be sought after once this season comes to a close, so Georgia might be entering a second straight season with a new defensive coordinator.

This is the time for Georgia to win and win big before they have to go into rebuilding mode. Hutson Mason has been waiting for this season for the last four years. He will never approach Aaron Murray’s records. His name will not appear in the scrolls of all time SEC quarterbacks. The only way he will be remembered is if he leads this team to a magical season.

I think we will find out very quickly if Hutson is up to the job, and if he isn’t, then I think this coaching staff will have to decide how much rope to give him before handing the offense over to one of the young quarterbacks that are waiting in the wings. Georgia can’t afford to have another four or five loss season and head into next year with a first time starter. That was the mistake of 2009, and I don’t think Mark Richt would survive making the same mistake again.

Nine days and counting.

Go Dawgs!

Beginning at the End

Any conversation about the 2014 college football season must begin at the end. For the first time in the history of the sport, the national champion will be decided in a four team playoff. Creatively named “The College Football Playoff,” the new system will provide college football fans with more exciting bowl games, and more controversy.

This is how it is going to work:

The Football Final Four will be selected by a committee of 13 that has been agreed upon by the heads of the five major conferences. You might recognize at least a few of the names of the committee. Archie Manning, Ty Willingham, Tom Osborne, and Madam College Football herself, Condoleezza Rice.

According to its own website the selection committee will chose the top four teams based on “strength of schedule, head-to-head results against common opponents, championships won and other factors.” So in essence, they will consider anything, everything, and then some other stuff.

It is obvious that there is much to be determined about how this is going to play out, but there is plenty to be excited about when it comes to the playoff.

First of all, the playoff is going to provide months of exciting debate about who deserves the four spots in the semifinals. Starting in October, the committee will periodically put out rankings that reflect how they see the teams that are in contention, but unlike past years with the BCS, there will be no true way to predict what the committee is going to do. There is also no check on the committee. If for instance, they decided to put in Vanderbilt, Wake Forrest, Indiana, and Washington State who may combine for about 6 wins this season, then those teams are in and there is not a soul in the world that can do a thing about it. There is no rule that says you have to win your conference, your division, or homecoming. This system is going to be in place for the next twelve seasons, so at some point there will be some precedence to refer to, but for this season, anything is possible.

The second reason you should be excited about the playoff is that it will restore what used to be one of the most exciting days on the sports calendar: New Year’s Day college football. Just 30 years ago New Year’s Day was filled with big time bowl games that were on either simultaneously or back to back, offering fans an entire day of great games.

In the BCS era, college football’s signature day had been diluted with games like the Outback Bowl, Gator Bowl, and the Capital One Bowl. The signature BCS bowls were scattered over the course of several days, each one starting at nearly 9 pm and not ending until the early hours of the following day.

How does this schedule sound for New Years? New Year’s Eve will feature a triple header of the Orange Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, and the Peach Bowl. For January 1^st, the Cotton Bowl will be played at 1 pm and that will lead into the two national semifinals at 4:30 pm and 8 pm. The title game will be played each year on Monday night, which means January 12^th this season.

From strictly a fan point of view, nothing could be more exciting than 6 great match ups over the course of about 36 hours.

The other fantastic aspect of the new bowl system is that the committee will be making the match ups for all six of the playoff bowls. There will no longer be any limits to the number of teams from one conference that can make a playoff bowl appearance, and only one of the teams from a smaller conference will make it into the playoff bowls. For example, in 2007 Georgia was shut out of the National Title game because they didn’t play for their conference title. USC won the Pac 10 and they were playing great at the end of the year, but they weren’t in the top two either. The BCS placed Georgia in the Sugar Bowl against Hawaii and USC in the Rose Bowl against a three loss Illinois team. Both of those games stunk. In the new system, the committee could send Georgia to the Rose, or bring USC to the Sugar, or send both teams to the Fiesta. 

The point is that no matter where the game is played, fans are going to get better match ups.

There has been a lot of talk about which conference the playoff will benefit, or if Notre Dame is going to be given an unfair path to one of the big playoff bowls each season. In reality, the fans are the ones who will win.

In any given year it is nearly impossible to project how each conference will play out, and now, having to split hairs between a one loss ACC Champion and a one loss SEC runner up is going to be out of the question. As the season plays out, hopefully the playoff picture will become clearer.

Selfishly, as a Georgia fan I’m not really excited about the idea of Georgia making the playoff. Last year, or any year since 1998 for that matter, if Georgia won the SEC there was a pretty good chance they would be one win away from winning the national title. Now, you can go undefeated in the SEC, win the Sugar Bowl over the Big 10 champion, and then have to turn around and play a team like Florida State? The road to the title just got that much more difficult for Georgia.

Over the next few days I’ll have plenty of previews about Georgia, the SEC, and ultimately my pick for the first final four in college football history. No matter how accurate my prognostications are (or aren’t), college football fans are in for what promises to be an historic season.