The UGA vs. Ga. Tech game. I have been talking to my Georgia Tech friends about the big game today. They seem to think anything can happen. I am not sure, but my hopes are there! In short, all of the odds are against UGA in the betting polls, and GA Tech has QB Josh Nesbitt, who is probably the best running QB in the NCAA right now. When evaluating the situation, Georgia Tech won this battle 45-42 last season and that’s when Georgia had their weapons (Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, and Mohammed Massaquoi). This year, UGA has Joe Cox.

I like to believe that UGA can do it, though, and that the adrenaline and good coaching will pull them through another matchup. I, for one, am ready for the end of this “Joe Cox” season!

Go Dawgs!

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Any Hope for Georgia Today? Against GA Tech, UGA needs a miracle!

This week, the South’s “oldest rivalry” is re-ignited when the Auburn Tigers (7-3, 3-3 SEC)  and Georgia Bulldogs (5-4, 3-3 SEC) meet for the 113th time at 7pm in Athens at Sanford Stadium. Former Bulldog head coach Vince Dooley played his collegiate ball at Auburn, and that’s why this is referred to as the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.” Auburn is 1 of 2 teams that Georgia has played more than 100 times in their history.

Out of all of the meetings of these two teams, the Tigers hold merely a two game advantage. The rivalry is fierce and the outcome of their games is always close. The Tigers, however, have won 10 of their last 13 games at Sanford Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Both teams are coming off homecoming wins. Auburn’s 63-31 win over Furman catapulted it into the Top 25 in the coaches’ poll. Georgia shut out Tennessee Tech 38-0.

Last time the two teams met in 2008, Georgia beat Auburn 17-13. But that was with Matthew Stafford and before Joe Cox was their quarterback. I am hoping Joe Cox can step up his game for the matchup!

Auburn player, Ben Tate has rushed for 1,142 yards this season. Auburn is currently the second highest scoring team in the SEC. Auburn’s defense is last in the league in scoring, and they are allowing more than 26 points per game.

The Tiger’s offense ranks 13th nationally in red zone offense, scoring on 31 of 33 opportunities.

This could be a high scoring game with many penalities and turnovers. From what I have read, and based on the record at Sanford Stadium, the Georgia Bulldogs are not favored to win. I am hoping they can dig deep to fight, fight, fight! and we can all see a great game tonight!

In other college football this week:

The key game this week isn’t in any of the major conferences, but in the Mountain West, where No. 4 TCU hosts No. 16 Utah at 7:30PM ET on Saturday. TCU is a 17-point favorite at home.

Another key matchup this week is in the Big Ten when No. 10 Ohio State hosts No. 15 Iowa. The Buckeyes are 14.5-point favorites at home against the Hawkeyes. This game will likely decide the winner of the Big Ten title and the automatic BCS bowl bid.

Steve Spurrier faces his old team  as well when South Carolina hosts Florida. The Gators are 15-point road favorites. Last year, Florida posted a 56-6 win over the Gamecocks in the Swamp. South Carolina has lost three of its last four games, but has yet to lose at home this season.

Saturday Football Fever commences with many great games to watch, as the college football season starts to wind its way down! I will be watching to see how all of these matchups turn-out!

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Auburn or Georgia? & Other College Football Today

Black Eyes, Black Helmets, Black Britches, Black DAY. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Tim Tebow with his eye black. It always warms my heart to see the number of people he is reaching by putting scripture verses on his eye black!  It is reported that the number of people who see his eye black and look up the verses is in the millions! Saturday, the verse he had on his eye black was Phil 4:13 which says “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” These are the kind of black eyes I like! This is what I would call the GOOD in the game.

The black eyes that result in real black eye injuries are the ones when players are behaving badly. Clearly, on purpose if you view the video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDOy-RMIpF0&NR=1, Florida linebacker Brandon Sikes intentionally eye gouged Georgia running back Washaun Ealey last Saturday. The officials did not see it, and it did not become apparent until after the game that such bad behavior had taken place. Brandon Sikes was given a one half of a game suspension against Vanderbilt. Certainly a small punishment for trying to gouge another player’s eyes out! This is what I would call the BAD in the game.

The black helmets and the black pants…definitely the UGLY in the game! I missed the Bulldogs’ silver britches. I understand that coming onto the field in black can help pump up the players and I get that. But, in a matchup between Tim Tebow and Joe Cox, well, Georgia never had a chance! The black helmets and black britches only marked an ugly ending to a dark day for Georgia. Georgia lost this game: 41- 17.

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Georgia Florida Game – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

I really should preface this by saying that I’ve been at Taco Mac all night drinking beer and now I’m sipping on a celebratory Jack Daniels on the rocks.

The Tide’s offensive line dominated the Dawgs in the first half and the defense held Heisman hopeful Knowshon Moreno to 34 yards on the ground.  Despite what the final score may show, Georgia had no shot in this game.  Bama owned them from the opening kick.

Prior to this game, Bama hand’t played anyone tough (and that includes Clemson).  UGA was their measuring stick and the measured up.  I think its time to start thinking about winning the SEC West and contending for the SEC title.

I may have more on this game tomorrow, but for now I’m too happy and too tipsy to put together coherent thoughts concerning this game.

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Blacked out

I was getting tired of all the “Who is USC going to play in the championship game?” articles and talk.  They had only played 3 games!!  And this is a USC team that has managed to lose at least one game a year that they had no business losing the last 3 years.

You also have to consider that with the Pac-10 being in the crapper so far, whose to say that USC would have even made it to the title game after the computers chewed them up and spit them out?  There are several Big 12 and SEC teams that play tougher schedules and have the ability to run the table.  You could very well see a Big 12 – SEC title game.

Bottom line – now people can stop talking about USC’s and their automatic spot in the title game.

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Fall of Troy

First of all, when the black jersey’s were used in the Auburn game, it was a great way to get the team and the fans hyped up.  And to some extent, it psyched out the Tigers.  Then the black was used in the bowl game and it wasn’t quite as exciting.  Now its being used for the Bama game and it seems to have lost a little bit more of its luster.  I’ve even talked to many UGA fans who agree.

There’s a resaon that Notre Dame only wears the green jersey’s (and not just because they lose when they wear them) – it’s because they are meant to jack fans and players up for the game every few years that is hugely important to the program.  For UGA, that was the Auburn game was last year – it helped keep the momentum going after the Florida win and carried the team for the rest of the season.  But three times in the span of nine games?  That takes something away from the experience.

What it really comes down to is who is the better, more prepared team.  And both teams are good and will come in well prepared.  Honestly, I think the media is reading too much into the give and take between Saban and Richt.  They are just two coaches having a little fun, trying to keep things light going into a big game.  In the end, laundry will have no bearing on this game.

Breakdown

UGA - The offense is solid.  Moreno takes a load of pressure off Stafford with his ability to run the ball and AJ Green has emerged as a reliable threat at receiver, which UGA hasn’t had in several years.  That being said, I’m still not sold on Stafford as the “best NFL QB prospect in the country”.  From what I’ve seen of him this year, he still makes bad decisions and struggles against good defenses.  You also have a young offensive line that is still trying to figure out how to play with each other after a rash of injuries have caused some shuffling of positions.  The defense has been solid, but they haven’t faced a very good or balanced offense yet.  The Dawgs are also the most penalized team in the SEC, averaging almost 11 per game, which is double the next closest team.

Bama – The offensive line is mean, nasty and is dominating.  Andre Smith, Antoine Caldwell and Co. open up huge holes for the running game and they make John Parker Wilson look like Tom Brady with all the time they give him.  Mark Ingram is the bruiser and Glen Coffee is the speedster and they combine to make one of the best RB tandems in the conference.  Julio Jones and Nick Walker are excellent targets for JPW.  The defense has been stingy this year, allowing only 9.2 points per game.  They are lead by the disruptive Terrance “Mount” Cody, a 365 pound beast in the middle.  The linebackers, while young, have been solid and the secondary has been good.  Javier Arenas is the X factor on special teams, having already returned one punt for a TD and averaging 18.7 yards per return.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I’m a Bama alumni and psychotic Tide fan.)

Prediction

I think this game will be closer than either side wants to believe.  It will be physical and relatively low scoring.  In the end, I think penalties will kill the Dawgs and special teams will be the difference.  Leigh Tiffin will kick the winning field goal in the final minute and Bama will win 27-24 in a thriller.

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Fade to Black

- For as much as they hate him, at least Rich Rodriguez won football games.  Think that the Mountaineer fans are wishing he was still around?

- Give Art Briles a few more years and Baylor will actually be pretty good.  They looked very competitive against Connecticut and they’ve got a young team.  The might win a few games this years that folks thought would be unwinnable.

- Mississippi State has done a complete 180 from the end of the last year.  They finished strong and have looked bad this year.  Sadly, I think this could be Croom’s farewell tour in Starkville.

- So much for ECU being the BCS buster.

- Rutgers is back to being Rutgers.  I guess the wins left with Ray Rice.

- Is Vanderbilt for real?  I can honestly say that I’m glad Bama doesn’t play them this year.

- After the Arkansas game, I’m looking forward to the showdown against UGA this coming Saturday.  It’ll be a physical, low scoring, close game.  And I can’t wait.

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Week 4 Thoughts

- As I watched the Maryland-Cal game, something stuck me: it wasn’t too long ago that these were two programs on the rise.  Neither seems to have been able to make the leap to occasional challenger to elite power.

The team Ralph Friedgen inherited in 2001 had gone 5-6 the previous year.  They went 10-2 and won the ACC and followed that up with 11-3 (2002) and 10-3 (2003).  In 2004, things seemed to turn sour, with the Terps going 5-6 followed by 5-6 in 2005.  They snuck up on some folks in 2006 and finished 9-4, only to drop back to mediocre in 2007 at 6-7.  They just can’t seem to take that next step to become a major player in the ACC year in and year out.  With the ACC having an off year so far, maybe this is the year Maryland can turn things around.

In 2003, Jeff Tedford finally got his shot as head coach, taking over a Cal team that had won only 1 game the previous season.  He immediately raised expectations when he finished 7-5 in his first season.  Over the next few seasons, Cal steadily improved, going 8-6 (2003), 10-2 (2004), and 8-4 (2005).  Tedford finally broke through and lead Cal to a 10-3 record and became co-Pac-10 champions in 2006.  They promptly took a step back last year, when they 6 of their last 8 and finished 7-6 on the season.  In each year that Tedford has been at Cal, they have been mentioned as the team that could knock USC of their throne, but each year they slip up against teams that they should beat.  They just can’t seem to become the Pac-10 challenger that the conference needs.

It was strange to see these two teams who are on opposite sides of the country and have taken the same path face off.

- Speaking of the Maryland game, they have one ugly end-zone.  It’s not as bad as the one in Knoxville, but it’s certainly not attractive.  I don’t understand why they decided to put the state flag in the end zone as opposed to the team name or logo.

- Did anyone else notice that stands were pretty bare at the Clemson-NCSU game?  The cameras panned the crowd right after the start of the 3rd quarter and it looked like an Atlanta Hawks game.  The announcer even mistakenly said a “crowd of 80” before correcting himself to 80,000.  Memorial Stadium has a seating capacity of 80,301 and the attendance for the game was reported as 76,500.  But the stands looked to be holding considerably less.  I was hoping that the good people of Clemson had finally realized that their season could only end in heartbreak as long as Tommy Bowden was their coach and decided not to show up in protest.  But I guess that’s not the case.

- USC dominated Ohio State.  It wasn’t even close.  USC looked like they were playing a high school team.  That makes 3 straight big games in which Ohio State has choked.  At some point, the coaches and the AP writers will have to realize that they are over rated and stop ranking them in the top 5, right?  It’s one thing to beat up on the weak teams in the Big Ten, but its whole different beast trying to beat teams with equal or greater talent than you.  And Ohio Stat just can’t do it.

- The Gamecocks seem to have some sort of hex on the Bulldogs.  They always manage to keep the game close, no matter the talent disparity (and it is considerable).  They almost stole the game from the Dawgs, but Chris Smelley struck again and threw a killer pick near the goal line in the closing seconds that would have sent the game in to OT.  SC also lost a fumble in the end zone that could have tied it up earlier in the game.  But in the end the Dawgs escaped and their title hopes live on.

- Another thing I noticed about the UGA game was the announcers unashamed love for Matthew Stafford.  They couldn’t do enough to kiss the ass of the “best NFL QB prospect in the country”.  This is the same Matthew Stafford who needed his defense to make plays to beat the Gamecocks because he couldn’t.  The same Matthew Stafford that could only manage 146 yards and no TDs against SC.  When he made a mistake, it was the fault of his offensive line or his receivers.  In fact, the announcers were talking about his progression over the years and mentioned that he struggled at times last year.  And why did he struggle?  Not because he’s not a very good QB or because he makes poor decisions.  It was because “his receivers let him down.”  When will people stop making excuses for Stafford?  If he played on any other team, he’d be labeled a bust or an underachiever.  But fortunately for him he has a great offensive line and a stable of stud running backs that are able to carry the team.  Because he is clearly not cut out to do so.

- Sure it was against Nevada, but Chase Daniel put up some impressive numbers.  That kid is good.  He‘s another one who falls into the height trap that I don’t understand.  Under 6 foot and foolishly shunned by the big schools in favor of “prototypical” QB’s.

- The Tide seemed to get their act together again, after not scoring an offensive TD against Tulane.  Arkansas is up next and Bama hasn’t won in Fayetteville since 2002.  They are to Alabama as SC is to UGA.  They just play us tough every year, no matter how good or bad they are.  This will be the first real test (and no, Clemson was not a test) that the Tide will face.  This will give us a better idea of how the season will go.

- And I have to include this, since Mickey is a Michigan fan, but they performed poorly against Notre Dame.  Michigan turned the ball over 6 times.  With that many turnovers, even Notre Dame will be able to stay in the game.  The good news is that Michigan has a much brighter future ahead of them.  Rodriguez has been able to win at every place he’s coach.  Weis struggled against New Mexico State, despite having the talent from three straight top 5 recruiting classes on his side.

- I’m guessing that the win over Tennessee was just a fluke.

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Week 3 Thoughts

The announcers have said that Reesing was not heavily recruited by “the big boys”.   Why?

Reesing, Joe Hamilton, Pat White, Doug Flutie and others have proved time and again that height is not as important at the QB position in college as it is in the pro game.  You don’t have to be tall to be a successful QB in the NCAA.  That being the case, why don’t schools like Georgia take a shot on Reesing (5-11, 200, stats) rather than Matthew Stafford (6-3, 237, stats)?  To this point, Reesing has been the better QB, despite being 4 inches shorter than Stafford.

At some point, someone will be able to explain to me why height is such a big deal in college, despite evidence to the contrary.

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I don’t get it

ECU got fined for fans being on the field after the upset of West Virginia.

Does Conference USA not understand college football?  Fans are emotional – the sport is emotional.  When your team beats a top 10 opponent for the first time in a long time, they are likely to rush the field.  Why?  Because they are excited about their teams win.  Don’t punish ECU and their fans for embracing the part of the game that separates college football from the NFL.

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ECU Fined