Where do we go from here?

I can honestly say that I was never really worried about Georgia losing to Tennessee on Saturday. To me, Georgia was in control for the vast majority of the game. If Hutson Mason doesn't turn the ball over with two interceptions, Georgia probably covers the 17 point spread that they were favored by. More than anything, yesterday's game has left me with the uneasy feeling that this season, which promised so much following the Clemson game, may end up like last season, with Georgia fans, players, and coaches asking themselves, what if.

Moving forward, Mike Bobo has to figure out how to make this offense more versatile without a legitimate passing threat. We saw one play yesterday out of the "Jet Sweep" look, where Sony Michel was lined up a quarterback and Isiah McKenzie was running across the formation at the snap of the ball. Put Todd Gurley in as a set back to either side of Michel, and Georgia's three most dangerous players are all threats on the same play. I think Georgia has to do more creative things like that if they are going to continue to be prolific on offense. As good as Todd Gurley is, and he is better than advertised, against the best defenses in the league, you can't be one dimensional and win. Missouri, Arkansas, Florida, and Auburn will all be able to contain Gurley unless there are other offensive wrinkles that take the focus off #3 for at least a play or two.

I've said all along that Hutson Mason is the key to this season, and that is why I am no longer optimistic that this season will end with Georgia playing in the SEC title game. Mason looked bad against Tennessee yesterday. The two interceptions were poorly thrown balls. There were about four more passes that were really terrible as well. He showed no poise in the pocket, and his feet were bouncing around constantly. The best plays he made yesterday were when he was running the ball, or when he was blocking for Gurley.

Mark Richt and Mike Bobo want to win more than any fan watching at home. They obviously know the players on their team better than we do, and they feel that Hutson Mason gives Georgia the best chance to win right now. Having not seen any of the backups play in a significant game, you can't possibly say that Bryce Ramsey or Jacob Park would be a better option. Mason only has one more chance to turn me around on him as a player. Next week, he will have all of his weapons back. Malcom Mitchell, Johnathan Rumph, and Justin Scott-Wesley are all on track to return to action against Vanderbilt. Against a bad team in Vanderbilt, maybe Mason can finally show that he has the ability to deliver the ball down field with accuracy, because at this point in the season, he hasn't been able to challenge opposing defenses.

Mason's longest pass play of the season is 36 yards. That was against Troy, so it doesn't count at all. Mason's second longest pass play was against South Carolina, for 35 yards. You will remember this play because it was a pass to Isiah McKenzie that traveled about 5 yards in the air, and McKenzie darted his way into the end zone on Georgia's second offensive play. It might look like a 35 yard pass on the stat sheet, but it wasn't.

Mason is averaging 6.7 yards per attempt so far this season. By comparison, Todd Gurley is averaging 8.8 yards per attempt, Sony Michel is averaging 9.7 yards per attempt, and Nick Chubb is averaging 6.3 yards per attempt. When looking at those numbers it is staggering that Georgia is averaging 45.1 points per game this season.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm still optimistic about where this defense is headed. Despite giving up 32 points to Tennessee, I feel like Georgia is doing a lot of positive things on defense, and just not quite executing to the best of their ability. Yesterday, the tackling wasn't good for the first time this season, but that Tennessee running back, along with their two top receivers, are big guys that are hard to bring down.

Georgia is doing a good job at getting after the quarterback, and in this age of bend but don't break defense, they have the ability to put the opposing team behind the chains early and then hold them on third and long.

However, there is one play that I am now tired of seeing. In every game this season, except for the Troy game, Georgia's opponent has scored a touchdown by throwing to either a tight end or a receiver in the slot and getting that player matched up with either Amarlo Herrara or Ramik Wilson. The plays look so similar its maddening. The ball travels over the arms of the defender who has his back to the quarterback while chasing two steps behind the receiver. Georgia has to do a better job about getting into an extra defensive back on the field in those situations and not putting their middle linebackers in those situations. It is not an accident that it keeps happening. Opposing teams are seeing it on film, and purposefully attacking the weakness week in and week out. Jeremy Pruitt needs to figure it out, or Georgia will continue to give up big plays right down the middle of the field.

The one thing you do have to give Georgia's coaching staff a lot of credit on is the drastic improvement that we have seen on special teams this season. Georgia was awful on special teams last year, and it cost the Dawgs a possible victory against both Vanderbilt and Clemson. Missing field goals is going to happen from time to time, but the solid performance by Georgia's kick and punt return teams along with their absolute excellence on the coverage teams has kept Georgia in a positive field position for the majority of the season. It seems like Georgia's opponents are starting drives close to their own 20, while Georgia always seems to have the ball around their 35. That is a huge difference, and the special teams play on the fourth quarter punt yesterday set up the game winning score on defense.

I started this blog by saying that Georgia fans were going to be left wondering what if again this season and I really believe that. What if Georgia had a quarterback that could soften up defenses for this amazing stable of running backs? What if Georgia's defense had just a little more experience in the secondary. What if?

I hope I'm wrong, but this seems to be a good team in a year where there are no great teams, that is just too flawed to make a run at a title.

At this point last season, Georgia had survived the toughest September in school history. They were undefeated in conference play, and looked like they had all the ability in the world to make a strong run towards the SEC title. October changed all that. Georgia went 2-2 last October, with one of those wins coming in overtime against Tennessee in a game Georgia should have lost. Losses to Missouri and Vanderbilt doomed the Georgia title hopes, and sent the season into a free-fall.

October will again define Georgia. Next week will hopefully be a confidence booster against Vanderbilt before heading on a two game road trip that will make or break the season. Georgia travels to Missouri on October 11th for what could be an SEC East title game and then travels all the way back out to Arkansas on October 18th to play a physical and much improved Razorback team. Win those two games, and Georgia will be a Top 10 team in the hunt for the playoff. Lose either of those games, with Florida and Auburn still looming, and you can kiss the playoff goodbye.

The time is now for Hutson Mason step up. The time is now for the Georgia defense to grow up. The time is now if Georgia is going to rise up and become the team we all hoped they would be. It is either now, or never for the 2014 Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia/Tennessee Preview

It is time for Georgia to decide what kind of season it is going to be in Athens. Georgia was at the top of the college football world after crushing Clemson in the opening week of the season, but the loss two weeks later to South Carolina left a lot of questions in the Bulldog Nation. After dismissing Troy is predictable fashion, the 2014 season will truly begin to take shape tomorrow at high noon, between the hedges.

Who are the 2014 Georgia Bulldogs? On offense? On defense? What should we expect from this team the rest of the season? 

If I told you I had the answers, I would be lying, but I think I know who this team is, and I think you are going to like it. I think Georgia is one of the best teams in the country, and I fully expect Georgia to go on a winning streak that is going to last a while.

Georgia has the best running back in the country, they have play makers all over the field on offense and defense, and apparently, now we can execute special teams plays without messing everything up.

Tennessee is a solid team. They might go to a bowl game this year. But they aren't on Georgia's level. Tennessee is rebuilding their offensive line, and that will be the difference in the game tomorrow. Georgia will play solid against the run, and try and force Tennessee to throw the ball. Justin Worley is an average quarterback, and even though Georgia's secondary is suspect, they will hold up against Worley. There are some threats at the wide receiver position, but I think the Georgia game plan is going to be to pressure Worley early and often and not give him time to get the ball to those receivers down field. 

The smart guys in the desert think Georgia is a 17 point favorite tomorrow, so that should make you feel even better. 

Let's talk about the Dawgs. Everyone knows and loves Todd Gurley, but I am getting more and more excited about watching Sony Michel. He is fast, that is obvious, but he looks like he isn't even trying when he is running the ball. The word that comes to mind is smooth. He glides across the field and makes the defenders look silly.

The reason this offense is appointment television is because right now, there are four players on offense that can take it to the house each time they touch the ball. Gurly, Michel, Chubb, and wideout Isaiah McKenzie can all go the distance as soon as they get the ball in their hands. First and ten from the Georgia 20, Boom! Gurley 80 yards for a touchdown. At this point, I'm more surprised when Gurley is tackled than when he scores.

The most rare thing in sports is an athlete living up to the hype. Todd Gurley lives up to the hype every week. The opposing team knows they have to stop him to win, and they just can't do it. Please, please enjoy watching number 3 carry the ball, because you aren't going to get to see it much longer. 

The most important thing that can happen for Georgia over the next two weeks is for Hutson Mason to start establishing himself as a credible threat passing the ball. The toughest part of the schedule that remains for Georgia is back to back road games at Missouri and Arkansas. Georgia will have to be balanced to win those games, and Georgia can't be balanced without Mason improving. 

Georgia is going to start showing the world just how good they are tomorrow, I think we are going to have a lot of fun. 

Georgia 51   Tennessee 27

Go Dawgs!

What can we learn about Georgia this weekend?

This week is an example of a time-honored tradition in college football, the cupcake game. Georgia is paying Troy to come to Athens this weekend to get a butt kicking. For fans, it is hard to get excited about watching Georgia play Troy, for players it feels like a bye week before another big game next Saturday, and for bloggers it leaves you writing at 6:50 am on a Friday morning because you just realized you never wrote a preview for this weekend...

Coaches insist that you have to respect the team that is coming in to play you and anything can happen, but this Troy team lost to Abilene-Christian last week, so no, you don't really have to respect them as a legitimate threat. Even if Georgia underwhelms for the first half, first three quarters, or the entire game, they aren't going to lose.

There is nothing positive that Georgia can take out of this game. The only thing that could happen that would effect the rest of the season, is an injury so let's just hope that nothing significant comes out of the game.

Rather than pretend to break down anything having to do with this game, I want to pass along a quick story that I heard this week on Athens' radio. 

Tuesday, Mike Bobo, Jeremy Pruitt, and Mark Richt addressed the media in that order.

Bobo stepped up and took responsibility for Georgia losing to South Carolina. Bobo said that when you have the ball first and goal from the four, you should score a touchdown, and as the offensive coordinator, it is his job to make sure that happens. A reporter asked specifically about the play-calling, and Bobo said that at the time the thought he was calling the best play he could call to help us Georgia score. He said that he is always trying to get better as a play caller, and he would learn from the South Carolina game just like he tries to learn from every game he coaches.

Next, Jeremy Pruitt steps up. Pruitt said that he appreciated what coach Bobo said, but that coach Bobo was wrong. Pruitt said that when you go on the road in the SEC and score 35 points you should never lose. Pruitt said he and the defense were to blame for the loss to South Carolina. Pruitt made no excuses for the poor performance, he only said it was up to him to get the players to perform better in the future.

Finally, coach Richt stepped up and said that he was the head coach, and ultimately the responsibility for all players and coaches fall to him. 

As frustrating as the loss was, Georgia fans should feel good about the future with these three men leading our program. So often you hear coaches make excuses, blame referees, or pass the buck, but Georgia's coaches are all taking responsibility for the part that they played in the loss, and furthermore, they all think that their shortcomings were why the team lost. 

I'm not saying that the attitude of the coaches means that Georgia is going to run the table, but it is nice to hear them step up and be held accountable. 

Georgia still has big questions on defense, and it remains to be seen whether Hutson Mason is capable of leading this team to big wins in the SEC, but for some reason, I feel really good about where the program is headed.

Georgia comes up inches short in Columbia

The first thing that everyone wants to do after losing a big game is assign blame. As fans, we are frustrated that things didn’t go the way we wanted them to, so by figuring out whose fault it is, we have an outlet for that frustration. As soon as the game was over, Twitter and Facebook where full of people trying to decide who was to blame.

There were plenty of candidates yesterday, and they are all points of frustration for Georgia fans going back farther than just this game.

Start with missed field goals. Throughout the Richt era, there have been multiple games that Georgia has missed field goals and lost the game. Yesterday, Marshall Morgan set a SEC record by hitting his 19^th consecutive field goal. He then proceeded to miss two field goals, missing out on six points in a game Georgia lost by three points.

The next candidate for who is to blame would be the penalties. Penalties cost Georgia seven points on a long touchdown run by Todd Gurley that was called back for holding. The call itself was borderline at best, either way, Georgia takes a touchdown off the board at a time in the game where South Carolina grabbed the momentum and established at two score lead at half time.

Or you could blame the defense. After putting on a fantastic display against Clemson in the second half, the Georgia defense looked a lot like it has over the past few years. There were open receivers all over the field all night. Georgia’s defense never got pressure on Dylan Thompson. Georgia’s defense was terrible on third down. Georgia never turned the ball over, so all 38 points that South Carolina scored can be attributed directly to poor defense.

My favorite scapegoat is Mike Bobo and the play calling. Georgia made a big play on defense in the fourth quarter, and gave the offense the ball on first and goal at the 4 yard line. Hutson Mason fakes to Gurley on first down, and gets called for intentional grounding. Georgia never got back to the four yard line, and ultimately the Dawgs miss the game tying field goal. So why, why, why didn’t Georgia give the ball to Todd Gurley 4 times from the four yard line, score a touchdown and win the game? It’s not fair to judge the play calling that way. Georgia scored 35 points on the road, in a place where they hadn’t scored more than 20 points since 1996. How can you hang this loss on Mike Bobo when his offense scored 35 points?

On that particular series, as with all play calling criticism, we have the benefit of hindsight to strengthen our argument. If Mason throws the ball away in an area that doesn’t draw the flag for intentional grounding, then Georgia is second and goal from the four, Gurley gets the ball on second down and Georgia scores, then no one cares that Georgia didn’t give the ball to Gurley on first down. If Georgia scores on third and goal from the 10 instead of throwing an incomplete pass, then no one cares. More to the point, if Georgia runs Gurley three times and he doesn’t get in the end zone, then Georgia fans would be setting their hair on fire that Bobo is terrible because he just ran three times. Bobo calls the plays, the players have to get the job done.

The frustrating reality of this game is that it was the very definition of a team loss. There were so many opportunities for Georgia to do just one thing better in multiple areas of the game that could have changed the outcome. Georgia was the more talented team, but in the end, the failed to execute in the critical moments.

South Carolina wasn’t as bad as they looked against Texas A&M, and Georgia isn’t as good as they looked against Clemson. At this point, I could see Georgia winning out, and I could also see Georgia losing two or three more games. After two games, I think we have more questions than answers.

Like I said two weeks ago, it is a long season, and you can’t draw conclusions from such a small sample size.

However, the biggest key to this team’s success will continue to be the play of Hutson Mason. The defense is going to be average most of the time, and hopefully great once in a while. The running game is going to consistently be the backbone of the offense. The difference between winning and losing is going to be Mason. Yesterday, Mason wasn’t great and at the critical moment of the game, he made a terrible error in drawing the intentional grounding penalty. I’m not saying that the loss is his fault, but ultimately, his play will dictate how far Georgia can go. He has to manage the game better than he did yesterday, and he has to make better decisions at crunch time.

All is not lost after just one loss. Troy comes to Athens next Saturday in a classic “Get Right” game. Tennessee and Vanderbilt follow, also in Athens. The Vols are much improved, while Vanderbilt has reverted to the Vanderbilt that we all know and love to beat. I would expect Georgia to win the next three at home, with the season being defined by back to back road games at Missouri and Arkansas.

The story of the 2014 Georgia Bulldogs is yet to be written, and we have a long way to go.

Go Dawgs.

Georgia/South Carolina Preview

It may only be the third week of the season, but it is not overstating to say that the Georgia/South Carolina game is one of the biggest games of the year in the SEC. The two teams have had dramatically different starts to their seasons, but everything could change if South Carolina pulls out a win this Saturday.

Traveling to Columbia hasn’t been an easy task for Georgia under Mark Richt. Even though Richt won his first four games in Columbia, each game was a challenge.

In 2002, it took David Pollack with a sack/fumble/touchdown to put Georgia over the top against South Carolina. The Dawgs were able to hold on with a 13-7 win, despite not scoring an offensive touchdown in the game.

In 2004, Georgia found themselves down 16-0 in the first half, before the offense woke up and came back to win 20-16. David Greene threw a touchdown in that game, which is significant because no Georgia quarterback has thrown a touchdown in Columbia since.

In 2006, Georgia had to play freshman Matt Stafford after a first quarter injury. The defense dominated the game, with the Dawgs winning 18-0.

In 2008, Georgia won 14-7 in a game I have no recollection of.

2010 was the first loss for Georgia under Richt in Columbia. Marcus Lattimore made his SEC debut by running all over Georgia. There were multiple times in the game where Lattimore would run the ball on third and long, and get the first down by about a yard. It was demoralizing. Carolina won 17-6 and it really wasn’t that close. Georgia was never in the game.

Speaking of never in the game, Georgia suffered through four miserable quarters against the Gamecocks two years ago in a prime-time game that was awful to watch on TV or in person. South Carolina punched Georgia in the mouth early in the game, and the Dawgs just laid down. The final score was 35-7, but it felt more like 70-0. Going into the game ranked 5^th in the nation, Georgia looked like they would never win another game.

Georgia won in Athens last year, saving their season after dropping their opener on the road to Clemson. This year, it is South Carolina who is playing for their season after the whopping they took at the hands of Texas A&M. Before the loss to A&M, South Carolina had won 18 straight games at home, so winning in Columbia hasn’t been easy for any team lately.

So what can we expect on Saturday?

The Georgia offense is the best unit on either team. Georgia showed against Clemson that they have the ability to run the ball effectively with multiple running backs. Todd Gurley will again be the best player on the field, but I don’t think we can expect Gurley to go for nearly 300 yards and four touchdowns like he did against Clemson.

I think the biggest key to the running game is going to be Georgia’s ability to be dynamic in the running game. Using Sony Michel and Isaiah McKenzie on the fly sweep from the wide receiver position will keep the Carolina defense on their toes. I think the more backs Georgia can put on the field at one time, the better. A two-back set with Michel and Gurley would mean that any fake to Gurley would get the entire defense moving one way, while Michel’s top level speed could be heading in the opposite direction. Just like he showed against Clemson, Michel only needs a small window to be able to turn the corner.

Another aspect of the running game that I think will be critical for Georgia is using more than one back in an offensive series. In the Clemson game, there were times where Keith Marshall or Sony Michel were in the game and a third and short situation presented itself. Two different drives stalled because the speed backs were left in the game when a power back would have been more effective. I really want to see Georgia put Gurley, Chubb, or Brendan Douglas in the game in those situations because they are going to be able to pound the defense rather than try to run around them.

Obviously, South Carolina is going to try and load up against the run and make Hutson Mason beat them. The problem for South Carolina is that they have been absolutely gashed in the passing game in their first two games of the seasons. A&M passed for 511 yards and East Carolina passed for 321 yards.

Georgia isn’t going to want to throw as much as either A&M or East Carolina did, but if Carolina can’t stop Mason from passing when he needs to, then there is no chance that Georgia will be stopped. I think it is unrealistic to think that Carolina can stop the Georgia running game entirely, so stopping Mason will be a necessity if the game is going to be close.

The Carolina defense was supposed to be solid, but it has looked un-athletic and under-talented in both of their first two games. They gave up 52 points to A&M and 23 points to East Carolina. I think Georgia will win the game if they can score 30 points, so it is going to be difficult for the Carolina defense to hold Georgia under 30 when they gave up 23 to East Carolina.

Offensively, South Carolina is going to want to run the ball to slow down the game, and keep the Georgia offense on the sideline.

Mike Davis is a much better running back than any back that Clemson played against the Dawgs two weeks ago. The problem for South Carolina is that there is a significant drop off in talent after Davis.

Dylan Thompson hasn’t looked great in his first two games this season. Many times, Thompson has missed open receivers by throwing high. It seems that Thompson has a hard time managing his energy level during the game and sometimes has a hard time being accurate, especially when he is trying to throw the deep ball. However, it only takes one throw to get him in a rhythm. If Thompson can get off to a good start, I think he will be able to take advantage of the young Georgia secondary.

Georgia can win this game on defense. If Georgia stops the run, Georgia will win. I don’t think Dylan Thompson can beat Georgia with his arm alone. Georgia was fantastic against the run against Clemson. Georgia held the Tigers to 88 yards rushing on 43 carries. That is an average of about 2 yards per carry. I don’t think Georgia can duplicate that performance, but if they could hold South Carolina under 125 yards rushing, they will have done a great job. I have already said that Dylan 

Thompson can be erratic, so if Georgia can hit him early and often I think they can take him out of the game completely. Georgia had 5 sacks against Clemson. They might not need that many against the Gamecocks to win.

There is an “X Factor” in this game: Williams-Brice Stadium. Seeing it with my own eyes two years ago, I can tell you that the crowd, and the way the players feed off of the crowd contributed greatly to the 28 point beat down that Georgia experienced. I really believe that the beginning of this game is going to be critical for both teams.

If Georgia can come out early, get a lead, and take the crowd out of the game, they might run away from South Carolina. However, if Carolina can keep the crowd in the game into the second half, the Gamecocks are more than capable of winning the game.

Las Vegas has Georgia favored by 5.5 points. That is almost a 9 point swing from this summer when Georgia was listed as a 3 point underdog.

The season is absolutely on the line for South Carolina. A loss would mean going 0-2 in the SEC with road games at Auburn and Florida still on the schedule.

Georgia will get into a softer part of their schedule after this game. The Dawgs won’t play another road game until October 11^th against Missouri. But the biggest incentive for Georgia in this game is the ability to eliminate South Carolina from the SEC East race.

Even when Georgia is the better team, playing in Columbia is never easy. If you think Georgia is going to just walk in and put a beat down on Carolina then you are crazy. South Carolina is going to play this game like it is their last. I think Carolina will play well in the first half and trail by less than a touchdown going into halftime, but ultimately, Georgia is just more talented. The defense will make great adjustments in the second half, and the running game will get stronger in the second half because the South Carolina defense is simply not that deep. I don’t think Georgia will pull away quite as much as they did against Clemson, but I don’t think this is going to be a nail-biter into the fourth quarter.

Georgia 34     South Carolina 20

Go Dawgs!

Week in Review: September 6

Biggest Story of the Week: The Sharp Decline of a Powerhouse

Everywhere you look today you will hear about the terrible day the Big 10 had yesterday. ESPN is practically running the story as breaking news. Here is some breaking news for the “World Wide Leader,” most of the country has known about the Big 10 being number 5 of the Power Five Conferences for a while. But we are glad you are paying attention.

For me, the biggest story of the day was watching Michigan play Notre Dame. Because of Notre Dame’s new deal with the ACC, this is the last time the two teams will play for the foreseeable future, and that was enough to peek my interest. What I saw was a bit shocking.

Going in, I didn’t think either one of these teams were that good, and when Everett Golsten had to burn two timeouts on the Irish’s opening drive because he couldn’t manage the play clock, I thought it would be a pretty good game between two average teams. Unfortunately for Michigan, they are far from average.

Notre Dame’s defense dominated the game, and Notre Dame’s offense was able to move the ball effectively, but looked like a high school team at times. Notre Dame doesn’t have elite athletes on offense and I think Golsten is a below average quarterback, but they were able to put up 31 points on Michigan. In the final game of the series, Notre Dame shut out Michigan for the first time ever.

While the decline of the Big 10 has been well documented, I think the decline of Michigan is far more troubling.

Like it or not, the Michigan football program is one of the top 3 programs of all time. They have won more games than any other team in college football history. Michigan has 11 consensus national titles. They have 23 undefeated seasons. They have won 42 conference titles. The winged helmets of the Maize and Blue are as iconic as any in college football. The Big House, which seats near 110,000 fans is one of the greatest venues in America. College football is a better product when it’s historical programs like Michigan are in contention.

The problem is that Michigan is not in contention. Since 2008, Michigan has lost 36 games (42-36 overall).

Obviously the worst of those numbers were accumulated during the utter failure that was the Rich Rodriquez era. Rodriguez was going to bring Michigan football into the 21^st century with a new up-tempo offense, but after two straight losing seasons and a 7-6 campaign in 2010, Rich Rod was gone and the Wolverines turned to a “Michigan Man,” in Brady Hoke.

Hoke endeared himself to the Michigan faithful in 2011 by returning the team to the national stage going 11-2 and beating Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. Michigan was back!

Only they weren’t. Alabama embarrassed the Wolverines in the opening game of the 2012 season, and Michigan would limp their way to an 8-5 record and another bowl game defeat.

Last season, Michigan went 7-6.

Looking ahead this season, Michigan still has to play Penn State, Michigan State, and Ohio State. They aren’t winning any of those games. So that is 8-4 at best. If they slip up just once, they are flirting with another appearance in the Toilet Bowl, to be played on December 27^th in a half full stadium that no one has ever heard of.

Just saying that Michigan should fire Brady Hoke is an obvious statement. The more difficult issue is how can this storied school find their way back to national prominence in the current landscape of college football?

Before I answer that, let me tell you whose fault it is that Michigan has fallen so far off the map: Ohio State alum, and ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreet.

In 2007, on the day of the SEC Championship game, Herbstreet reported on College Gameday that Michigan was going to hire Les Miles away from LSU to be their next head football coach. Miles, whose team was playing in Atlanta that day, was forced to address the issue before the Tigers took the field, and said he was not leaving LSU.

Miles is a “Michigan Man.” He coached under the legendary Bo Schembechler and I believe with all my heart that the Mad Hatter was heading to Ann Arbor after the season finished, but after being publicly called out, he stayed at LSU. How can you recruit top level talent if you were the guy who was looking for his next job while his team was en route to a national title?

Miles was out, and Rodriquez was the eventual choice for Michigan.

So how does Michigan get back? Hire the man they should have hired in the first place. At the end of the season, Michigan should offer Miles a $10 million per season contract to come home and save his alma mater.

Watching the game last night, the most amazing thing was how few good players Michigan had on the field. How is it, at a place like Michigan, you can’t recruit better players? Miles is a great recruiter and hiring him would not only invigorate a huge fan base, it would also set up the 

Michigan/Ohio State rivalry as one of the best in college football once again.

Biggest Win of the Week: Oregon pulls away from Michigan State

In the marquee match up of the day, the third ranked Ducks managed to pull away from Sparty in the second half in a win that will be even more impressive on paper than it was watching it live. Over the past two seasons, Oregon has fallen to the physicality of the Stanford. Beating a physical team like 

Michigan State in the manner they did, will give Oregon a lot of confidence going forward.

I still think it is going to be hard for Oregon to go undefeated in the Pac 12, but with the terrible day the Big 10 had, a one loss Pac 12 Champion would still be in the playoff. Oregon doesn’t play USC or Arizona State, so the Trojan’s victory over Stanford yesterday sets up the Ducks as the front runner in the Pac 12 North.

Most people on the east coast probably had not seen too much of Marcus Mariota. Mariota was very good yesterday, and at times, he was brilliant, using his mobility to buy more time to make plays down the field, rather than scrambling and taking big hits.

Oregon has speed all over the field on both sides of the ball, so if they can keep Mariota healthy, the Ducks should be in the hunt for the playoff, and a win over a top 10 non conference opponent is just going to make their case that much stronger.

Biggest Loss of the Week: Ohio State falls at home to un-ranked Virginia Tech

Once Braxton Miller was lost for the season, it was hard to see Ohio State being a factor for the national title race, but losing at home to a Virginia Tech team that is very young was embarrassing.

While the quarterback play wasn’t good at all, the real issue was the inability of the Ohio State offensive line to slow down the Virginia Tech defense. Seeing a middle of the road ACC team physically dominate Ohio State in Columbia was pretty surprising.

Going forward, Ohio State is still the team to beat in their division, but only because Penn State is still ineligible for the conference title and Michigan is awful. I can’t see the Buckeyes beating either Michigan State or Wisconsin in the title game, and even if they make it to one of the committee selected bowl games, they would probably be embarrassed.

Urban Meyer was supposed to establish Ohio State as the preeminent program in the Big 10, but now in his third season, Meyer doesn’t seem to have the type of talent that can compete with the big boys in college football. Even if Meyer wins his first Big 10 title this year, the loss last night probably eliminated Ohio State from the playoff, so the best the Buckeyes can hope for is winning the weakest major conference in college football.

Ohio State fans should be careful. If they lose another game or two this season, Meyer might decide that he needs to spend more time with his family again.

Top 3 in the Heisman Race:

1.      Kenny Hill

2.      Marcus Mariota

3.      Todd Gurley

College Football Playoff if the Season Ended Today:

1.      Texas A&M v. 4. Alabama

2.      Oregon v. 3. FSU

Three Things to Watch for Next Week:

1.     South Carolina hosts Georgia with their season on the line. Just like I feared, the Gamecocks looked mediocre against East Carolina last night, which means the entire world will be expecting Georgia to dominate them next Saturday. Georgia ran wild on Clemson, but they are going to need Hutson Mason to play a bigger role in the offense if they expect to win in Columbia for the first time since 2008.

2.      Big Game Bob hosts an SEC school. Oklahoma will face Tennessee in a very interesting game. Tennessee is still probably a year or two away from being able to compete for an SEC title, but they have a lot of talent and they could be a threat to Oklahoma if the Sooners aren’t on their game. Stoops always has a lot to say about the SEC, so I would imagine that he is going to want to make a statement against the Vols.

3.      USC and UCLA on the road. The Trojans head all the way to Chestnut Hill to face Boston College. BC isn’t that good, but it will be interesting how the cross country flight effects USC after a physical game against Stanford last Saturday. Meanwhile, USC’s cross-town rival, UCLA travel to the Lone Star State to take on Texas. The Longhorns got demolished by BYU last Saturday, so Charlie Strong’s team is going to need a big performance if they are going to get back on the right track before their conference schedule begins. The Bruins have not been too impressive in early season wins against Virginia and Memphis, so putting a whopping on Texas would affirm some of the preseason hype they received. 

A word of caution on a bye week

It almost seems like a tease. Georgia gives the best performance we have seen from them since the “Blackout” game against Auburn in 2007, and we have to wait two weeks before they play again.

I would like to take advantage of the bye week to issue a public service announcement to all Georgia fans.

Please, be cautious about how high your expectations get for this team.

Everywhere I looked this week I saw pundits having Georgia ranked number one for the college football playoff. Todd Gurley was being touted as the front runner for the Heisman. As optimistic as I can be as a Georgia fan, even I recognize that it is a very long season, and there are still major obstacles in the way.

Next Saturday, Georgia heads to Columbia where they haven’t won since 2008. As high as Georgia has been riding since their opening victory over Clemson, South Carolina has been equally low since their shocking loss against A&M.

While Georgia has been projected to play for titles, South Carolina has been questioned about their offensive line that was supposed to be great, their defensive line that was supposed to be good, and their running game that was non-existent against the Aggies.

Carolina has a game today against East Carolina, and my guess is they will have a hard time getting ready to play the Pirates. Another underwhelming performance today, and Carolina will be written off for dead against Georgia.

Make no mistake, I don’t care if Carolina loses to East Carolina today, next week’s game will be an absolute war.

Georgia is South Carolina’s biggest rival outside of Clemson, and if they want this season to matter at all, they have to win next Saturday.

Does this situation sound familiar? It should. Georgia was in the exact same situation one year ago when they managed to beat Carolina 41-30 in Athens to avoid going 0-2 to start the season.

You want more reasons to be concerned? Probably not, but I’m going to give them to you anyway.

History would tell us that when we look back at this season, we will view the Clemson game as the exception not the rule. Throughout Mark Richt’s tenure Georgia has produced great games like they did last Saturday, but they have been unable to sustain that level of excellence for the rest of the season.

In 2002, Georgia defeated 5 ranked teams on route to going 13-1 and finishing number three nationally. However, they let down against a Florida team that went 8-5 on the season to miss out on a chance for a national title.

In 2003, Georgia went on the road to beat number 13 Tennessee 41-14. It wasn’t really that close. Then they turned around and lost to number 23 Florida, 16-13.

2004, Georgia beats the daylights out of defending national champion LSU, 45-16. The very next week, Tennessee comes to Athens and beats Georgia 19-14.

In 2007, Georgia again defeated 5 ranked teams in that season, but lost at home to South Carolina, who didn’t even make a bowl game at 6-6, which cost Georgia a spot in the SEC title game and most likely the national title game.

Want some recent history?

Last season, Georgia played Clemson close in a loss, defeated South Carolina and LSU but went on the road and lost to lowly Vanderbilt in a game where the Commodores scored 31 points.

Georgia’s performance against Clemson was a great start, but it is vital for the players, coaches, and fans of the Dawgs to understand that it was just the start. For this season to end  the way we all hope it does, Georgia is going to have to repeat the performance from last week many more times.

Just think about this.

Since 2001, when Mark Richt took over as head coach at Georgia, the Dawgs have never defeated more than 5 ranked teams in one season. If the teams that are ranked now are still ranked when they play Georgia, then Georgia will play 4 ranked teams during the regular season, a ranked team in the SEC title game, and then two more ranked teams if they are going to go on to win the national title. 

That would be seven wins versus ranked teams.

Could it happen? Sure, but Georgia could also go to Columbia next week, lay an egg, and have us all thinking that this is going to be a terrible season.

The college football season is a marathon, not a sprint. Georgia got out of the blocks well, but there are many miles to go before we reach the finish line.