Does your blood run Red and Black?

Each college football season, the first blog I write is almost exactly the same, because each year, fans have to start with perspective.

Sure, pundits in the media can say stupid things like, “this team should be in the hunt for a national championship every year,” but that isn’t realistic.

Now, you want to point out Alabama. Ok, for the past six years, Alabama has been in the hunt each year. But what about before that? Maybe look at Alabama football from 1993 to 2007. Despite what Bama fans might tell you, the Crimson Tide did field a team during those years, and they weren’t competing for a championship each year.

Perspective is the key to enjoying any season, and Georgia fans completely lost perspective on the 2015 season.

As Georgia enters their bye week, the Bulldog Nation has become disenchanted with this season, this team, and of course, this coach.

If you thought this team should have contended for a National Title this season, then you are the problem, not this team.

Sure, once Georgia was 4-0 and hosting Alabama, who had already lost a game, you could start thinking that things might fall Georgia’s way. But go back to August, and remember that this team was going to be young at receiver, incredibly young in the secondary, and they didn’t have a quarterback.

Here we are on October 18^th, and what is the state of this team?

We just played about a million freshmen mostly at receiver and in the secondary, we still don’t have a quarterback, and our best player is out for the year with a knee injury.

If you are a Georgia fan, please stop rooting for a team that doesn’t exist, and root for the team we have. This team isn’t going to change before they get to Jacksonville in 13 days.

So you have about two weeks, as a Georgia fan to decide if you want to be a Georgia fan or not. This team is 5-2, will probably get back in the Top 25 before the Cocktail Party, and controls its own destiny in the SEC East.

Are you in or are you out? You have to decide now. Because I am sick of hearing people complain or cheer after the game.

Georgia fans aren’t alone in this, but we have become a terrible fan base that is ready to burn down Sanford Stadium after every loss. We want to fire a great coach and a better man because Nick Saban has gone on an historical run at Alabama, and now we have decided that it is our birth right to win every college football game we play.

There are five games left in this season, and I’m going to choose to be a fan. If we lose in Jacksonville, I’m going to watch the Kentucky game. If we lose to Auburn, I’m going to watch the Tech game. If we lose to Tech, I’m going to vomit, and then I’m going to watch the bowl game.

After the season, we can assess the season and the program, but instantly reacting to every third down play and trying to judge the entire program on a game or two is annoying.

Georgia is going to be underdogs in Jacksonville in two weeks, but in a rivalry game you never know what might happen. The Dawgs were a far better team last year, but didn’t show up and play at their best, and they lost the game. Florida isn’t the greatest team in college football, and Georgia can beat them.

Win or lose, the program is heading in the right direction. The recruiting job that this staff has done over the past two seasons is excellent and the incoming class might be the best of all. We see Georgia’s depth at linebacker with the injuries and ejections this season, so I’m convinced we will be strong there again next season, the young secondary is really talented and they are going to be really good maybe even by the end of this season, and next year we will have a quarterback that has the ability to make all the throws.

Is anything guaranteed?

Of course not.

As a fan I’m excited about watching these young Dawgs grow over the rest of this season, and I’m very excited about the future.

Perspective is something that we aren’t good at in this country any more. We want  what we want and we want it yesterday. For Georgia fans, the best example of this is that just two years ago these same “fans” that want Richt fired were calling Aaron Murray a bum and wanted Hutson Mason or Bryce Ramsey to play quarterback, because they were obviously a better option than Murray.

I hate to break it to you “fans” but you aren’t nearly as smart as you think you are. You might watch a lot of football, and you might have even played in high school, but you don’t know more about the game that Mark Richt and his coaching staff. You thought Murray was terrible, and he was the best quarterback we have had at Georgia in a very long time. Reading a message board doesn’t make you qualified to coach the team any more than writing a blog does.

The media is part of the problem. Whether it is sports, politics, the economy, or social issues, we are influenced by what we read or hear from so called experts, but they get ratings and readers by telling you who to blame. They sit in the cheap seats and criticize the man in the arena who does the hard job of actually competing or making decisions. If these people were truly experts, they would be on the field either playing or coaching. Mark Richt makes a lot more money coaching than anyone at the AJC makes writing about how bad Mark Richt is as a coach. That should tell you something. 

Fans need to be fans, support the team in good times and bad, or just find another team to support. The term fair-weather fan applies to the Bulldog Nation more than I ever thought it could. Character is revealed through adversity, and true loyalty is shown in the hard times.

At the beginning of the season, from my perspective, 10-2 would have been a success for this team, and I’m sticking to that, but win or lose, I’m all in.

The rest of you Georgia fans need to decide where you stand.

Does your blood run Red and Black or not?

Georgia/Alabama Preview

Weeks like this are so much fun.

The anticipation of a big home game, especially against a traditional power like Alabama is what college football is all about. The weather doesn’t seem to want to cooperate, but both teams have to play in the same conditions, so I’m not convinced that will be a deciding factor in the game.

When I say this game could go either way, I mean it. In any game, there are four possible outcomes: either team wins a close game, or either team blows the other team out. Most of the time, you could eliminate at least one of those possibilities, but not this week.

Nothing that happens on Saturday will surprise me.

Obviously either team winning a close game would be just about what most of us expect.

Those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it, so you can’t discount the idea that Georgia could get blown out on Saturday just like they did in 2008.

My guess is, based on previous Georgia performances in big games, most Georgia fans wouldn’t expect a blow out win for the Dawgs, but that is exactly what I expect.

Going back to 2012, the last time Alabama won the National Title, you see that the Alabama defense was fantastic. Even in the one game they lost in 2012, to Texas A&M, Bama only gave up 29 points. In the classic SEC title game versus Georgia, the Tide only gave up 28 points.

The following year, 2013, Alabama gave up 42 points to Texas A&M in a victory, and then gave up 34 points to Auburn in the “Kick Six” game, and 45 points to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.

Last season, Alabama gave up 44 points to Auburn in the Iron Bowl, but still won the game, and they allowed 42 points to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.

Two weeks ago, Ole Miss put up 43 points on Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama still has good players on defense, and they are more than capable of putting up a big performance, but against the best teams that Alabama has faced over the past few seasons, Alabama’s defense hasn’t been the juggernaut that the dynasty was built on.

Then look at the other side of the ball. Alabama’s offense is still solid, but would anybody take Jake Coker over Blake Sims, AJ McCarron, or Greg McElroy? I don’t think so.

Lane Kiffin’s big play offense worked last season with Sims finding Amare Cooper time and time again for long touchdowns, but this year, Coker hasn’t had the time in the pocket to execute those big plays, and he has been too loose with the football at times.

Now let me say something that could really come back to bite me. Derek Henry is not as good as Trent Richardson, Mark Ingram, or TJ Yeldon. I’m not saying he is a bad player, but he isn’t the dynamic kind of runner those previous backs were. He is too big. Once he gets going, he can’t be stopped, but I think there are going to be a lot of plays on Saturday where Henry doesn’t get going.

Now look on the other side of the field.

Georgia’s offensive line has been phenomenal this season. They run block, they pass block, and they haven’t been giving away stupid penalties.

Georgia’s quarterback isn’t an All-American or a 5 star recruit, but he has shown himself to be a solid game manager that is capable of making big plays in the passing game when needed.

At running back, Georgia has multiple weapons they can put on the field in different situations to cause matchup problems for opposing defenses with Chubb and Michel.

Malcolm Mitchell is a game changer at wide receiver, and now that he is healthy for the first time since the Clemson game in 2013, he is showing just how good he is.

Defensively, Georgia has come a long, long way under Jeremy Pruitt. The strength of the defense is obviously the linebacker position, where it seems some of Georgia’s backups are as good as the starters. The secondary has been great since the middle of last season, and those guys all seem to have a nose for the ball.

The defensive line is solid, with a chance for greatness as Mr. Thompson continues to develop into the beast that I predicted he would be before the season started.

So what does that all add up to?

Great offensive line, smart quarterback, dynamic receiver, multiple running backs, strong defense that can produce turnovers.

Georgia 2015 is built just like Alabama 2009-2012. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, so I guess the Tide should be flattered.

I think we are going to see the same type of game on Saturday afternoon that we saw 7 years ago, just with the roles reversed. Georgia is poised to break out and prove to the nation that they are a different team with a different feel. I’m not saying that the Dawgs are the best team in the country right now, I’m just saying they are better than the team they will be playing on Saturday.

The South Carolina win has been blown way out of proportion because the reality is that South Carolina isn’t a very good team this year. This win for Georgia will also get blown out of proportion because Alabama 2015 isn’t the same team that we are used to seeing Nick Saban coach. I think Alabama is going to lose their 2^nd SEC game on Saturday night, but it won’t be their last. Bama is going to lose 2 more games this season, with the likes of Texas A&M, LSU, and Tennessee still on their schedule.

Now I am an eternal optimist when it comes to Georgia football, I know that, but this program has a different feel to it now. The talent on the field has gotten better and better through some fantastic recruiting. The talent on the sidelines has gotten better with new coordinators. The mentality of Mark Richt has changed a bit, as his experience is starting to show him how to prepare for these big games. Georgia is ready to take the next step, and I think that is exactly what they are going to do on Saturday night.

Georgia 34  Alabama 20

Glory, Glory

More than just a game

The stakes could not be higher for each team as we approach the showdown in Sanford on Saturday afternoon.

For Georgia, Saturday is the beginning of an October that is sure to define the 2015 season. Four games in five weeks that will challenge Georgia more than they have been challenged all season. 

Momentum is a huge factor in college football, and starting the month off with a win over Alabama would make it a lot more plausible for Georgia to make it to the Dome for the SEC title game.

Let’s be honest about Georgia’s schedule. Every one of the games that were circled on Georgia’s calendar at the beginning of the season are easier today than we thought they were going to be. Tennessee, Auburn, and Tech have all lost two games already this season. Missouri and Florida are still undefeated, but both teams seem to be very beatable and full of holes. Even Alabama is more flawed than we thought they would be coming into this game. Georgia is favored on Saturday afternoon over Alabama, something that hasn’t happened to the Tide in five seasons. Georgia will most likely be favored in all of their remaining games this season. Amazing as it sounds, Georgia has to be considered, on paper, to be a favorite to not only win the SEC East, the SEC, but also a legit contender for the College Football Playoff.

So now would be exactly the right time for the wheels to fall off and leave the entire Bulldog nation sitting around, lamenting what could have been.

Georgia has come up incredibly small in the spots over the last few years.

2012: losses to South Carolina and Alabama in the two biggest games of the season.

2013: home loss to Missouri and road loss to Auburn.

2014: road loss to an average South Carolina team, loss in Jacksonville to a bad Florida team, and a bad home loss to Tech.

The program feels different these days. Coach Richt is talking a lot about focus, where he used to be aw shucksing during press conferences. Coach Richt’s job isn’t on the line Saturday, but he has the chance to change the perception of his program and himself.

At the beginning of his career, Richt was known for winning big games, but his teams’ recent failures have made most fans forget about wins on the road at Tennessee in 2001, in Tuscaloosa in 2002, at home against LSU in 2004, the Blackout against Auburn, and so forth.

So what is at stake for Georgia? Everything.

On the other side of the field, there will be a team even more desperate.

After losing to Ole Miss two weeks ago, the season would officially be over for Alabama if they fail to win in Sanford Stadium on Saturday. This program has set the standard in college football for the last seven years, and now they have that incredibly high standard to live up to year in and year out. Expectations in Tuscaloosa start with SEC titles and assume a shot at a National Championship. A loss on Saturday would put the Tide in uncharted territory, 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the SEC. Season over. Finished. Pave the way for the Outback Bowl.

Obviously Alabama would have to play the games remaining on their schedule this season, but they won’t matter. A loss against Georgia would render the rest of the season pointless for their fan base, and I dare say, their coach. Without a national title to keep Saban motivated, he might just let someone else coach the games so he can hit the recruiting trail to make sure another tragedy like this one would never happen again.

Going back to the loss against Ohio State last January, pundits nationwide have been speculating on the fall of the Alabama Dynasty. The conversation ramped up after Alabama’s home loss to Ole Miss two weeks ago. A loss at Georgia on Saturday would, in my opinion stop the conversation. Dynasties are build on winning championships, and this would be the third straight season without a national title, after winning 3 out of four titles from 2009-2012. The end of Alabama’s dynasty doesn’t mean that Bama won’t be good anymore, just that the era of dominance is over in Tuscaloosa, and with the level of talent in the SEC West, it is unlikely to ever return to the level it was at just a few years ago.

So what's at stake for Alabama? Everything.

Each year there are multiple games that garner national attention. There are other games that are important in the chase for a title. Still there are other games that are program defining for one of the two teams participating. Saturday is a combination of all of the above. The stakes for each team could not be higher, and the anticipation for this game is as high as any since Mark Richt has been the head coach of Georgia.

Sometimes there is symmetry in sports, and it would be incredibly appropriate if the Alabama Dynasty, which was born in Athens, Georgia on September 27, 2008 ended in the same place nearly 7 years after that fateful game. That game changed the trajectory of both teams, and this game could very well do the same.