Georgia Sports Blog

A Promise Kept - Georgia Wins the National Championship

2022-01-16T22:43:00.000-05:00

Hey.

Yes, I still have access to this account. Back in Fall of 2018, I decided Waitn' Since Last Saturday provided the much needed outlet blogging previously provided, Twitter is actually much easier for me, and I suck at writing.

Mostly, though, it was because I didn't have anything new to add. After ten years of blogging and 3+ of podcasting, it felt well worn.

Because it was.

When Kirby was hired, I promised myself I'd write a post when Georgia won the National Championship, one in which I'd formally retire from this blog. It is said that you can't really retire when you aren't working, but I've always admired folks like Spencer Hall or Kyle King that could openly and publicly say they were done. Honestly, I expected to see the post that had been languishing in drafts since January 2019 after the Texas Sugar Bowl loss, the one in which I said I was done. It never became a post because I figured UGA would get a bigger stage and one that I'd feel good about doing a last post on. I never considered that for the Sugar Bowl last year, not because of the opponent or anything like that, but because I'd totally forgot I still had access to a blog.

But then they actually went and won it.

So, there you are. Georgia won the National Championship. I was there. It happened.

It was a blast doing this. I appreciate Westerdawg (Quint and Dawgnoxious, too) for letting me play in the sandbox they built. Who knows, I may end up unretiring one of these days and get back to turning out multiple posts a day.

But a promise is a promise, and God kept promises last Monday night in Indy, so I'm out.

Go Dawgs and see you around.

So, the SEC East is...Good?

2018-10-01T17:22:00.000-04:00

There is a running narrative about the SEC East: It is trash. Honestly, the crossover record versus the SEC West is embarrassing. In the past nine seasons, the SEC West has a 103-44 record vs the SEC East and won all but one SEC Championship Game. The 2017 Bowl Season didn't do anything to change the perception either. Narrative dictates that an SEC East team lost to an SEC West team, so that is reason [FILL IN THE BLANK] why the East Is Trash.

There are plenty of reasons for the long term narrative. Tennessee's rotating cast of Coaches with Great Slogans. Florida's inability to find a coach that can find talent on more than one side of the ball. Missouri deciding they miss the Big Twelve's defensive style. Steve Spurrier retiring a full season before he bothered to tell anyone. James Franklin leaving Vandy. Georgia's offensive coordinator hiring practices. Kentucky.

Frankly, The Narrative is in the periphery of why a coaching change was made at Georgia in 2015. It was not hard to see that the SEC East landscape had changed, that Georgia had not taken advantage of their two biggest rivals for the top tier of the SEC East being in various states of dumpster firedom, and in failing to do so, shrugged at the open door leading to the top of the SEC East. The chicken and egg part of that argument is the SEC East was considered down because Georgia did not walk through that door (See 2013 and 2014 SEC East Division Champion Missouri Tigers for a deeper treatment).

Now, we are facing a crazy start to 2018. Mississippi State has already gone 0-2 vs the SEC East. In Bill Connelly’s S&P+ and ESPN’s FPI, the SEC has ten teams ranked in the top 30, evenly split between the SEC’s two divisions. Also, Kentucky getting significantly better on defense while having a star playing is paying off for the division.

What does all this mean? In the next two weeks, we will have a much bigger sample size, as LSU faces Florida and Georgia, Texas A&M faces Kentucky and South Carolina, and Missouri faces Alabama. The SEC East can flip The Narrative on it’s head, probably.

The bigger picture is how much fun it is to see Kentucky doing well and the corollary pop the SEC East is getting due to that improvement. Missouri and Kentucky are both solid teams, albeit for different reasons. Florida looks better than predicted. South Carolina still has the pieces to be a bowl team.

Then there is Georgia. Getting back to the 2017 season, the same game that works against the SEC East also has saddled Georgia with being the mantle bearer of the SEC East. A slip up against LSU on CBS as a second ranked team, we get a new lease on the SEC East is trash story. That is how narratives work.

Narrative is what drives this conversation in the first place. There are at least one and a half cable networks, with dozens of hours of time to fill each, devoted to the SEC Football Machine. You cannot do that without stuff to talk about. For that matter, you cannot very well do a podcast twice a week without it either.

LSU is CBS Game at 3:30 Eastern

2018-10-01T12:34:00.001-04:00

Whew. Although how do you not pick that as your national game considering the rankings?

📺 times and networks announced for games on October 13: https://t.co/bBTbvF5Dqs pic.twitter.com/GyfJ2v5OP8
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) October 1, 2018

Missouri Kickoff Announced

2018-09-10T12:39:00.002-04:00

The good news is that it is 11am local time. The bad news is that some of you will barely be up.

SEC Television Schedule for Saturday, September 22, 2018:

Georgia at Missouri, 12 pm ET/11 am CT on ESPN
Kent State at Ole Miss, 12 pm ET/11 am CT on SEC Network
Texas A&M at Alabama, 3:30 pm ET/2:30 pm CT on CBS
South Carolina at Vanderbilt, 4 pm ET/3 pm CT on SEC Network
Mississippi State at Kentucky, 7 pm ET/6 pm CT on ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU*
Louisiana Tech at LSU, 7 pm ET/6 pm CT on ESPN2 or ESPNU*
Arkansas at Auburn, 7 pm ET/6 pm CT on ESPN or ESPN2 OR 7:30 pm/6:30 pm CT on SEC Network#
Florida at Tennessee, 7 pm ET/6 pm CT on ESPN or ESPN2 OR 7:30 pm/6:30 pm CT on SEC Network#

WSLS Ep. 138: Season 4 Premier

2018-08-09T09:38:00.003-04:00

We are all together again for an hour plus of fun, SEC talk, and jokes about Jeremy Pruitt's hair.

Scott also released his pre-season hype video:

Links:
UGA Hype Video: youtu.be/G6zFz8W4twI

To support my "Over the Edge" Charity Event: give.overtheedge.events/d1N9Md?ref=ab…i42jaR19DpUi4

Please consider making a donation of any amount. Thanks so much for being a part of our podcasting community!

2018 Projected Football Kickoff Times

2018-07-17T17:08:00.001-04:00

This is my best guess for kickoff times this season.

Times and networks in bold are confirmed.

Date	Opponent	Time	TV
9/1/17	Austin Peay	3:30 pm	ESPN	Tickets
9/8/17	at South Carolina	3:30 pm	CBS	Tickets
9/15/17	MTSU	7:15pm	ESPN2	Tickets
9/22/17	at Missouri	7:00 pm	ESPN	Tickets
9/29/17	Tennessee	7:00 pm	ESPN	Tickets
10/6/17	Vandy	Noon	ESPN	Tickets
10/13/17	at LSU	3:30 pm	CBS	Tickets
10/27/17	Florida	3:30 pm	CBS	Tickets
11/3/17	at Kentucky	Noon	ESPN	Tickets
11/10/17	Auburn	3:30 pm	CBS	Tickets
11/17/17	UMass	3:30 pm	SECN	Tickets
11/24/17	Tech	7:30	SECN	Tickets

A couple of interesting things...

CBS is going back to two doubleheader weekends, after doing three last year:

Nov 3 - 3:30/8pm
Nov 10 - Noon/3:30pm

The doubleheader weekends don't make me think things change much for our schedule:

Nov 3 - It takes a possible night match up off the table, as the only other SEC game that evening will be an SECNetwork stinker (I'm liking LaTech vs Mississippi State for that) to go against the 8pm game. We could end up as a 3pm SEC Network game if Kentucky (or both Kentucky and UGA) are bad.
Nov 10 - Looking at that weekend, I still think Georgia at Auburn will be the top match-up. Unless something goes way off the rails, this is the closest thing to a lock I can predict for that late in the season.

UMass could be played in the noon, 3:30 or late slot. I have no idea.
The thing about putting Tech at night is dependent on them either being pretty good or Johnson fighting for his job. If he's done or looking done, I'd lean that game earlier. There are only four SEC games for inventory that weekend, so after Auburn at Bama is off the table for the CBS game, those other three games are SEC Network games.

Your mileage may vary, though.

You Like Me, You Really Like Me

2018-06-14T08:52:00.002-04:00

Well, at least you like UGA football. Westerdawg used to (obsessively) post about Hartman Points, and for good reason: it matters.

This year is a banner year: 23,900 points was the base points for season tickets. Man, those LSU tickets are going to be nuts, right?

Nothing like success.
TW

WSLS Ep. 133: June Stuff

2018-06-14T08:46:00.003-04:00

Forgot to post this. We got together and had a couple of drinks to talk about softball, baseball, and other stuff (note, this was recorded before those sports' seasons concluded; just play along, ok).

Links you might like:
Twitter: twitter.com/wslspodcast

Website: wslspodcast.com

WSLS Ep. 132: Senator Blutarsky

2018-05-15T08:15:00.002-04:00

The first time I emailed with Michael Brochstien, I was in awe as a baby blogger. His approach to fandom and the filter through which he viewed Georgia athletics was unique to the blogosphere. It remains so nearly ten years later. His thoughtful analysis and ability to distill complicated conclusions to one or two sentences is impressive.

I've had the occasion to chat with him occasionally, though never on the podcast. When I broached doing so with him earlier in the Spring, he was enthusiastic. As usual, his ability to cut to the heart of a matter and deliver a quick and insightful conclusion was evident here.

We talk Twitter, the joy of the 2017 football season, the NCAA, and why we blog. I hope you enjoy.

Follow Senator Blutarsky and read his posts here:
twitter.com/mummepoll
blutarsky.wordpress.com

Kicking It

2018-05-08T08:51:00.000-04:00

Looks like Kirby is on to something:

Georgia appears to be trying out that route once again. Russellville, Kentucky native Landon Stratton announced via his personal Facebook page on Sunday that he intends on joining the Bulldogs' team.
“After a long past few months, I’ve never been more excited to announce that I will be continuing my football and academic career at the University of Georgia,” Stratton said.
"Thank you to everyone who stuck with me during this process, and a bigger thank you to those that left. I'm so thankful for all the love from my family, friends, and coaches during this time. I'm excited for the opportunity and can't wait to get to work!"
Starting the past three seasons for Murray State, Stratton has averaged 41.2 yards per punt, earning third-team Ohio Valley Conference honors last season. Nizialek averaged 45 yards per punt last season for Georgia, ninth best among FBS punters. Stratton has 212 career punts, none of which were blocked, 41 of which traveled 50 yards or more, 18 of which went for touchbacks, and 51 of which were fair caught.

First, if you are getting depth for no ding on your scholarship numbers, great. The competition, especially from someone who has punted 212 times in live game action, is good. If he pays off as an improvement over the punters currently on the roster, that is a bonus.

Second, fostering a model where very good, but unheralded, special teams players can come to Georgia as graduate transfers and get a year playing on the high visibility stage that UGA football promises is brilliant. There are currently over 300 non-FBS football programs, many that aren't in markets that the NFL scouts. Being in a position to encourage top special teams players with proven game tape to spend a year in Athens, with the payoff of having the kind of media attention that comes with it, is a win-win.

TW

Your Weekly Reminder

2018-04-12T09:13:00.001-04:00

That Seth and Cy are just about the only thing the AJC have going for it. It comes as no surprise that Bradley both praises Tech and takes a swipe at Kirby.

Provocative is as provocative does and all that.
T

Who better to play Les Miles than Les Miles?

2018-03-30T08:33:00.000-04:00

When I saw Blutarski had something on this, my first thought was 'how cute.' Then I read the story.

If you think about it, hasn't Les Miles really been acting this whole time? Or has he?

A Whole New World

2018-03-23T10:57:00.001-04:00

I know I'm in for Tom Crean for many reasons, but one of them is his vision for what Georgia Basketball should and can be.

Go listen to his interview this morning on 960 The Ref. No hedging. No qualifiers. No excuses. The way it should be. It is a whole different world in terms of tone, vision, and approach.

GDay Seating

2018-03-23T10:27:00.002-04:00

Working to create a less hectic GDay environment, you'll get a pass for a section, and you'll like it.

Honestly, this isn't terrible, unless I end up with a Tech deck section.

So You Knew This Was Coming

2018-03-16T15:03:00.002-04:00

This is meme gold for a Georgia blogger. I told Westerdawg that we are getting a coach that is expressive as Kirby, with the on court temperament of Tom Izzo.

Running to Athens

Suffice it to say, we, at the Georgia Sports Blog are pretty fired up about this hire.

WSLS Ep. 130: Hoops and Spring Sports

2018-03-16T12:31:00.001-04:00

We recorded this Wednesday night in the nadir of having been spurred by Thad Matta and inking Tom Crean, so forgive the tone.

Interesting

2018-02-13T08:31:00.001-05:00

Just because I'm don't run my mouth don't mean I have nothing to say....

Three thoughts about this interview of Tech AD Todd Stansbury.

He sounds far more Canadian than I gave him credit for.
His take on beating Georgia is the most sound take I've ever heard from someone associated with Tech.
Paul Johnson either has him completely snowed or Stansbury is very, very good at playing his cards close to the vest.

Forgive me for suggesting you listen to Schultz, but the interview, though boring, is pretty good.

Johnson Signs Extension to Stay at Georgia Tech

2018-01-12T09:25:00.002-05:00

A little good news for the week. Insert your own 'best agent in the business/top Georgia fan' comments here.

I Ain't Even Mad

2018-01-09T11:32:00.002-05:00

My initial response when I got home last night was to just post kittens and rainbows and move on with my life. Maybe that will be the response I eventually get to, but riding home last night, I realized that as gut wrenching as last night was, there is a very important take away for Georgia fans: We belonged on that stage and it took the greatest coach in the history of the game to beat our young team and young coach.

This is a beginning. Give Nick Saban and Alabama credit, they belonged on the field with Georgia. Yes, I mean it exactly that way. Alabama is a deeper team, with more experience. Until ~~tonight~~ last night, they didn't show they could change their game plan to win a game. Until last night.

One thing I kept tossing over in my head is the perfect feeling I had after the missed FG at the end of regulation. That is was our time; The Dream Season was real.

Alas, it wasn't. Georgia beat Alabama at their game. Alabama had to play a different game to win. They did.

We have many months to diagnose why Georgia loss in over time in the national championship game to the team in the midst of the greatest run in the history of college football, but for today, and maybe for the rest of my life, we'll always have the 2017 Georgia football team.

This season was a proof of concept for Kirby Smart. It is the beginning. I believe we'll look back in a few years and realize that the game we witnessed last night was prologue to something greater, not an epilogue to a great season.

TW

See also:

- Better Times (Blutarsky)
- Nightmare Doesn't End Georgia Dreams (Will Leitch, Sports on Earth)

Well, Here We Are - The National Championship Game

2018-01-08T06:22:00.000-05:00

We've played a tougher schedule. We played a worse match up in the Semi-final. We had to face Auburn again after getting housed by them immediately prior. We have had to adjust during games to win games.

Georgia possesses the best offense Alabama has faced. We have the third best defense they've faced, behind Clemson and Auburn. They only gained 341 yards in the loss at Auburn and 261 yards in the win against Clemson. With the Clemson game, they had a pick six and a 7 play, 27 yard drive that came off a turnover.

None of their scoring came on drives that started in their own territory.

All of what they want to do on offense starts with Hurts using his legs to make stuff happen with his arm. Take away one of those, Ridley would be my choice, and they are a much less dangerous offensively. Still, Alabama is super efficient when they have the ball, so keeping them behind the chains in a way we didn't against Oklahoma is the key.

Because they won't give up multiple 50 yard runs.

Their defense is exploitable. Ask Auburn and Mississippi State. Still, they've only given up 24+ points twice this season. I believe we can score some more, but not in the 40s. To beat them, we cannot give up pick sixes and whatnot. We can survive a turnover or two, but under no circumstances can we give them two gift TDs.

They can't afford to do that either.

In the end, we match up with the Tide well. I don't dread today's outcome. In fact, I think they should be the concerned team. They didn't win the SEC. The two things they have going for them is they have the best player on either team in Fitzpatrick and the experience of being in this game plenty. Georgia has the next five top players, at least. Georgia has met every challenge presented this season save the Auburn game, including being down by 17 to the most explosive offensive team in football this season.

Overall, I believe we will win because we've shown we can make adjustments and play multiple styles of offense. And it is our time.

TW

Ticket Prices for National Championship Game

2018-01-06T11:56:00.000-05:00

Patience has paid off, some. There are still plenty of tickets available, and they seem to have leveled off at around $1450 or so, with lowers available below $2000.

PrimeSport has a few club seats listed around $2100, too.

First Thoughts on the National Championship Game - It Has to be Alabama

2018-01-06T09:51:00.000-05:00

If I had a dollar for everytime someone someone made a comment about it being Alabama...

Seriously, Georgia was going to have to play good teams to win a National Championship. Alabama has been the class of the sport for almost a decade. Of course, we'd have to play Bama.

And we should want Bama. Really, why wouldn't we. Georgia hired Smart to emulate The Process. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we have a shot to play for a championship and as long as"Georgia" is painted in the end zone at Mercedes Benz Stadium it doesn't matter what is painted in the other, but honestly, if you search your soul, I'd bet you would admit I'm right a little, win or lose.

Will Leitch, my co-host of Waitin' Since Last Saturday has talked about this being the beginning of something at UGA. If it is, having to play Alabama and unseat them feels inevitable. I don't think Alabama is dead. I don't think they are even done with their run of greatness. Win or lose, this game is a benchmark for Georgia as a football program as much as it is for Alabama.

All of that is to say, and exactly what I said on the podcast we recorded Thursday, I'm not scared of Alabama anymore. We may lose this game, but there isn't a sense of foreboding about facing them and being out coached, out schemed, and out depthed. Again, getting out coached may happen, but Smart and his staff matching evenly with or out coaching Saban and his is on the table. That's a huge change.

TW

WSLS Ep 126 - National Championship Game Preview - Alabama vs. Georgia

2018-01-06T09:33:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are talking about playing Alabama in the National Championship Game. In Atlanta. The only thing left on the writers table to work in the script is a game winning TD drive by Jacob Eason.

Have a question for us? Hit us up on Twitter twitter.com/wslspodcast

Or, Leave us a podcast review and ask a question. We will read it and answer it on a future podcast.

Scott: twitter.com/jawavifilms
Will: twitter.com/williamfleitch
Tony: twitter.com/tylerdawgden

WSLS Ep 125 - Rose Bowl Wrap

2018-01-04T09:50:00.000-05:00

Scott and Will break down Georgia's win over Oklahoma.

Links:
Will's Postgame Rose Bowl Article for Sports on Earth
"Get Smart: Right Coach, Right Time"
www.sportsonearth.com/article/264147…ach-nick-saban

Scott's Postgame Rose Bowl Celebration Video
"Watching UGA Win the 2018 Rose Bowl"
youtu.be/9QKBuDE-r7U

Tweet our show:
twitter.com/wslspodcast

WSLS Ep 124 - Rose Bowl Immediate Reaction Pod

2018-01-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

A few vignettes and immediate thoughts from the Rose Bowl, including an interview with two Aussies that became die hard UGA fans as the game wore on.

WSLSpodcast Social Links (Follow All of Them):
twitter.com/wslspodcast
instagram.com/wslspodcast
facebook.com/wslspodcast