At least we get a true home night game this year.
ESPN Prime Time Kickoff
It's going to be a great day of SEC football.
UF at SC - 12:30 JP
LSU at Bama -- 3:30 CBS
AU at UGA - 7:45 ESPN
We need you Shock.
Photo from Georgiadogs.com
October 31, 2005
Georgia vs. Auburn -- Kickoff Set for 7:45 p.m.
Disappointed
I don't have time for a full review b/c work is brutal still.
But suffice it to say that I think this was the single worst game plan of the Richt era. Every team that beat the Gators blitzed from the opening whistle til the final horn. They beat prissy little Leak into a pulp.
As Orson Swindle pointed out to me Saturday...."You held the Gators to 14 points and zero in the final 3 quarters. With all due respect, how can you be mad at the Defense?" The answer is field position. Because we played so soft and because we never put any pressure on Leak we seemed to start every drive inside our own 20. You can't expect a first time starting QB to march the team the length of the field every drive.
As for the offensive game plan...I can appreciate bringing back the toss sweep and using a FEW quarterback sweeps to throw the defense off. I knew going into this game, that Joe T could run. But you don't run QB sweeps on 3rd and 22 or whatever or 3rd and 10. Not after the surprise is already over.
It was a horribly called game. I love what Richt has done for UGA. In fact, I think he's the best thing to happen to UGA since Herschel signed his recruitment papers on Easter Sunday 1980. But this game plan was without a doubt his worst ever.
BTW -- as for Coutu's misses. The wind was brutal. I can't really fault him much. We lost b/c of coaching. Not player execution. UF outcoached us badly.
The Cherrishinski -- The Drink That Almost Was
In his book Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, Warren St. John talks about traveling with some Alabama fans who invented a drink/popper called the "Bama Bomb." The Bama Bomb consists of cherries marinated in golden grain alcohol for a period of weeks or months.
After the UT game 3 weeks ago, one of my friends took a large jar of cherries and marinated them in a Golden Grain/Makers Mark mix. The creation debuted Friday night before the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. We all made a pact that if Georgia won the Gator game this hellish creation would forever be known as "The Cherrishinski."
Alas, the drink may never see the light of day again.
Full Credit to the Name goes to Ryan. A 3rd Year law student at UGA.
October 29, 2005
Why Someone else hates the Gators
earlier I wrote an article called "Why I Hate the Gators." Some well spoken, unknown soul answered why he also hated the Gators. Rather than have anyone miss his rant, I cut and pasted it into its own post.
At 9:06 AM, Anonymous said...
I hate the Florida Gators with everything that is deep within my Red & Black soul. Some people hate Tennessee. Some people hate Auburn. Everyone hates Georgia Tech. That's all well and good and each Dawg fan has that special spot of hatred reserved for the team of his or her choosing, but for me, that spot is reserved for the reptiles, the vermin that reside in Gainesville, FL.
There has never been a more cocky fanbase with so little to back it up with. There has never been a more arrogant group of people to the point it infuriates you to talk to them no matter what. There is not a fanbase out there that will proclaim superiority on a more regular basis regardless of a record that screams otherwise than the fanbase of the Florida Gators.
If Georgia could beat them 77-0 on Saturday and have the ball at the Florida 5 yard line with 5 seconds left, I would hope that Richt calls a pass play into the endzone and then goes for two instead of kicking the PAT. If there's any time left after that for a kickoff, I would hope that CMR kicks onside and we recover the ball en route to a TD as time expires...and, yes, I hope we go for two after that score as well.
I want Georgia to embarass Florida in every sport, every chance they get. Embarassment is the only thing that will shut a Florida fan's pie-hole. Unfortunately, we haven't been able recently to embarass them like we used to, but there's not a better time to bring back that good old Georgia tradition than this weekend. I want Georgia to destroy Florida and then rub their noses in the smoldering heap that is the "Urban myth".
I want a Gator fan's great-great-great-great grandchild to talk about this game to his or her son or daugher in hushed tones and reverent solemnity because it still hurts so bad even after all the years have passed. I want the series record to get back to what it used to be before the 90s hit and Georgia literally owned that patheitc little excuse for a football program down in Gainesville. I want Florida fans' hangovers on Sunday morning after the WLOCP to be preferable to the thought of the game against the Dawgs...and I want all of this to happen year after year after year after freakin' year.
Florida should be embrassed, destroyed, maimed, ridiculed, levelled, decimated, annihilated, blasted and plain old whooped by the Georgia Bulldogs on a yearly basis. It should be so bad that the rest of the SEC should begin to feel pity and awe at the things Florida has had done to it on an annual basis by the Dawgs.
I want the beatings to be so bad that a new term is created in the English lexicon to describe utter and complete destruction, and it should be derived from the utter and complete destruction that Georgia hands out to Florida in the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party every year.
Speaking of that moniker, I want the beatings to be so bad that the media is forced to rename the annual match-up from the WLOCP to the "AFGAW" - The Annual Florida Gator Ass Whoopin'...maybe just "GAW" for short. The annual "GAW" in JAX. I want that to roll off the toungue of every college football commentator in America and I want it to be used on-air at least 148 times during the week of this game so that every Florida fan everywhere knows deep down inside what this week is all about.
It is about hating Florida...and I do.
October 28, 2005
Why I hate the Gators
In 1990, I made my first trip to the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. It was the first of many journeys to The City That Hygiene Forgot.
The 2005 edition of the Georgia vs. Florida game will be my 12th Cocktail Party and my 13th time watching this matchup.
I've only missed the 1993 Game (aka "Timeout Florida") and the 1994 Game (aka "The Debacle in the Swamp). I even sat through the 1995 "Beat Down in Athens" in which with 5 minutes left I yelled:
You're not Getting 50. Not in OUR HOUSE!"
[Quiet for 3 minutes]
"Well...You're not getting 55."
I hate the Gators for the same reason that most Gator fans over the age of 40 hate Georgia. My frame of reference is one of pain, hatered and long bitter rides home on Sunday mornings.
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After that great Vince Dooley run, which not coincidentally ended in the Gator Bowl, the Dawgs went 3-13. The Dawgs kept their swagger for 1 year after Dooley retired. Winning in Ray Goff's first year. Then the wheels fell off.
The winds of change blew again into Jacksonville as Spurrier retired after the 2001 season. Just as the Dawgs enjoyed the momentum of their ownership of Florida for 1 more year after Dooley left; the Gators enjoyed two more years of ownership of Georgia after the Evil Genius walked away.
Now we enter this weekend's game.
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What will this matchup bring? I don't honestly know. With Shockley gone anything can happen.
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[Photo: A reinactment of the 1995 Fiesta Bowl.]
If the Dawgs protect the ball we win. And not only that...we begin another Dooley like run of dominance. This series has NEVER been about balance. It has always been about domination. And Gators brace yourself because if we win under these incredibly adverse circumstances, we're going to settle into victory lane for the long term.
The Very Long Term
All Farks Courtesy of the World Famous Sooner Fark Board.
October 27, 2005
Joe T gets His Shot -- Josh Kendall Article
This. Is. Outstanding. It's an article about whether or not Joe will be ready.
This article is another in a series that everyone is doing about his family legacy.
To quote a co-worker today (Vol Fan):
"It's ridiculous. You guys get the Tereshinskis and they've won like a dozen SEC Titles playing Center, Defensive, QBs and whatever. And you get the Bailey's who've all been drafted in like the 1st Round. But our legacy is 'The Punting Colquitts'. What a jip."
Recycled Smack -- Florida Edition
While I'm digging out from under the crater of work. I thought I'd recap some of my favorite anti-Gator lines that I saw this year online.
Urban Meyer Praised for Pointing and Staring
JeromeFromDecatur's instant classic commentary on the secret to Meyer's greatness.
Real Men of Genius -- Mr. Jean Shorts Inventor
Jorts. Gators love 'em. Everyone knows it.
Meyer Attempts to top "Pointing and Staring"
Meyer's no Bear....or Galen Hall for that matter.
Urban Meyer's List of Accomplishments
WeAreTheBoys.com makes fun of their own.
With Your Shiny Orange Shirts.
And Your Bright Blue Britches.
Go to Hell you Sons of Bitches.
As The College Football Media Turns...
By JeromeFromDecatur
In the spirit of losing a starting quarterback, who has waited three years for a chance of retribution against the hated Gators in the midst of an undefeated season, Jerome would like to take the following curmudgeonly few moments and pick out the things in College Football Coverage that are maddening…
Aaron Taylor, Craig James, John Saunders: The ABC College Football "Team"
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How bad are these guys? When DJ went down, Aaron Taylor said,
"Well, Georgia has been struggling for weeks, and now they will really struggle..."
And instead of saying, "WTF are you talking about?" Craig James said, "Exactly. Georgia's struggles just got a lot worse."
Do these guys watch college football? Do they have any clue what is going on?
(Photo: "Hello, I’m a moron.")
Reece Davis and whoever-is-sitting-next-to-him are the best in the business in knowing players, coaches, traditions. And the gap is not even close.
When Brett Musburger Begins Speaking From the Point of View of Another Human Being, Animal, or Object:
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But now it's reached obscene levels and regularity.
At one point during the Texas-Texas Tech game he spoke from the consciousness of Vince Young and then when ABC came back with a shot of BEVO on the sideline and the BCS National Championship Trophy in front of him, Musburger said, "Bevo is saying, 'Look at that. I would like to eat that. Not so fast USC. Not so fast Reggie Bush. Not so easy. I'm not going to let you Trojan Horses take the championship from me."
Dan Fouts then laughs. But its a strange laugh. The way you laugh at the Uncle at Thanksgiving who is let out of the attic and makes everyone uneasy.
(Photo: "That’s funny Coach Knight, but what is your sweater thinking?")
The Big Ten
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Want to know why the Big Ten is mediocre? Watch an SEC game and turn to Michigan State vs. Northwestern and you'll wonder why everything is happening in slow motion.
(Photo: Rustic, Serene, Slow)
Auburn's Dance of Perceived Lack of "Respect"
You knew it was coming. Auburn beats up on Western Kentucky, Ball State, Shamrock Junior High, and MSU, and the media begins reporting on the media's lack of reporting on Auburn.
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If you lose your home opener to a mid-major, you won't be taken seriously by the national media until you give them a reason to think otherwise....
(Photo: Meeting of the "minds")
Bob Davie's Failure to Say Anything Ever
Does the man ever say anything noteworthy at all? Ever?
It seems when he’s not getting a player’s name right, Bob Davie cannot stop from gushing on other coaches. A typical moment for Bob Davie.
LSU jumps off-side. For the third time.
Bob Davie, "You know, a lot of people are up in arms about LSU's penalties, but Coach Les Miles is a great coach."
LSU jumps off-side. A fourth time.
Bob Davie: "That's gotta frustrate Coach Les Miles. But he is a great coach and will have them back and prepared."
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Did his experience at Notre Dame give Bob Davie Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder? A disorder that doesn't let himself say anything but sunshine things about coaches?
(Photo: If you don’t have anything nice to say.)
To be fair, perhaps Davie is simply being a devil's advocate to the amount of zealous fans who are constantly calling for the heads of coaches. But he compounds his lack of saying anything interesting by being wooden, stiff, and constantly mispronouncing player's and teams names.
That’s all for now. A warning word to the wise—prepare your stomachs for a heavy doses of Verne Lundquist and Todd Blackledge referring at least 39 times to Coach Meyer’s crying, Chris Leak’s crying, and the “emotional two weeks it’s been for the Florida Gators…” and you’ll begin to wonder when the Lifetime Network began covering games. -- Jerome
October 26, 2005
Anti-Dawg Blog Articles (Cocktail Party Edition)
Some good comedy.
1. Violating every Dawg Copyright CodeThe University’s logo is not allowed on a toilet seat cover; a picture of Jesus, Buddha or Muhammad; a pale ale beverage; or a coffin.
Click to see Orson Swindle and the EverydayShouldBeSaturday crew violate the ruling. Comedy.
2. Why UF owns UGA
EDSBS.com again shoots at the Dawgs. I'll have retort up sooner or later.
3. Apologies to WeAreTheBoys.com.
I was to participate in their Podcast about the game, but couldn't show and I lost his email. Work is crazy. Got to take care of the real job first. (Insert Fryer jokes for the GT Lurkers)
"Blacks run very, very well" -- Air Force Coach
Fisher DeBerry is at it again. This time he has pointed out that "afro-american kids run very, very well." And for reasons beyond my comprehension this has stirred up controversy in Colorado.
Honestly, black men have had to deal with lots of negative stereotypes in the US over the past 200 years. But this is one of two stereotypes that works in their favor. How is being "fast" a negative?
The next thing you're going to tell me that "Asians are good at math" is a negative stereotype. I mean roll with the punches folks. Embrace the positive stereotypes. Ditch the negative ones.
You don't see african-american men running from the biggest stereotype of them all. They don't shy from that. lol.
[Photo: This guy didn't win.}
October 24, 2005
Blog Poll Ballot -- Week 9
For starters, here is my week 8 ballot. You'll notice tremendous changes from last week to this one. I took a step back and said, "I've got some rankings that just make zero sense." So I tried to fix them.
Week 9: Last Week in ( )
1. Southern Cal (1)- I agree with Lee Corso in that Texas may be a more complete team. But I'm still keeping USC #1 on my ballot.
2. Texas (2) - I'm not in love with Texas because they beat an overrated Texas Tech team. It's just because they look so damn good on defense.
3. Virginia Tech (3) - a sloppy turnover filled affair with NCSU didn't do much to move VT up anyone's board.
4. Georgia (4) - Getting Tony Taylor (MLB) and Gerald Anderson (DT) back for this game is almost as big as losing Shockley. Ok...not really...but it's very big. I just hope Gerald can hold up without another concussion relapse. Arkansas was able to move the ball so well on UGA because we were so thin and tired up the middle. I thought Gant and Jackson were going to fall over dead from exhaustion late in the 4th quarter.
5. Alabama (5) - They get cupcake Utah State this week.
6. UCLA (8) - I decided to leap frog them over Miami and LSU because they are still undefeated. I have a feeling this is going to be fairly fluid.
7. Louisiana State (7) - Beating Auburn because the Plainsmen can't kick wasn't enough for me to move them up.
8. Miami (6) - The loss to FSU looks less impressive. The win over Clemson looks less impressive. Their best win looks like Colorado right now.
9. Penn State (13) - I'm not sure in retrospect why I had PSU below OSU. It escapes me now. Regardless, I fixed it. Their wins vs. Northwestern and Ohio State look better daily.
10. Notre Dame (11) - up one.
11. Wisconsin (16) - I just don't get why the mainstream pollsters still have these guys so low. Is it because of the loss to Northwestern? I know they don't have a magestic signature win yet. But 15th is too low.
12. Ohio State (9) - I gave their win over Michigan State too much credit.
13. Oregon (14) - I'm still trying to decide where I like these guys. But 16 was too low. Beating Cal this week won't impress me as I think Cal is still grossly overrated.
14. Florida State (17) - How did these guys lose to UVA? I leap frogged them over Boston College to correct that error. Earlier in the season, I kept them below Miami b/c I thought if they played again Miami that the Canes would win. If these guys played BC again, they would beat BC again. Thus the adjustment.
15. Boston College (15) - I considered dropping them a few slots.
16. West Virginia (18) - These guys are more physical than Northwestern or UF.
17. Northwestern (UN) - You take away a disasterous 2nd quarter vs. Arizona State in Tempe early in the year in which they gave up 31 points and this team has looked pretty good. They only lost to Penn State by 5.
18. Florida (20) - This is probably too high, but Texas Tech deserves to be punished for losing to the ONLY quality team they've faced this year.
19. Texas Tech (10) - I loathe Mike Leach. If you listed every coach in the Top 25 and said "Which one would you least like to have a beer with?" I'd list Fulmer, Leach then Tressel. You know...that would make a great blog poll roundtable question.
20. Auburn (12) - If you can't kick field goals, you're going to lose some games. Thus and therefore.
21. Louisville (21) - I could just as easily not rank these guys.
22. Colorado (24) - They could go 9-2, and it would still be hard to find reasons to move them up. They lost to the only quality teams that they have faced this year.
23. Minnesota (23) - Another team that seems bound for 20-25 purgatory.
24. TCU (UN) - I struggle to rank a team that lost to SMU.
25. Missouri (UN) - If your QB puts up 480 yards of offense and half of that is on the ground, you get people's attention. Brad Smith for Heisman! (Kidding)
In the On Deck Circle:
If Georgia Tech beats Clemson, they are back in.
Dropped Out
Michigan State, Tennessee, Virginia
New:
Northwestern, TCU and Missouri
Weekend Recap: Around the SEC
From looking at the box scores, things exited the weekend looking the same as they did when we entered for everyone except Auburn. But the box scores tell only a portion of the story. In no particular order...
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[Photo: Shock and AweCrap he's hurt! Photo from Georgiadogs.com]
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[Photo: Shula beat the Vols and later made sweet love to Condoleezza Rice.]
Neither here nor there, but Warren St. John wrote a great piece on Croyle for the NY Times. In his book "Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer" a Tide fan says to Warren something like "You mean you get PAID to watch Bama games!" That discussion in the book was all I could think about reading this article.
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[Photo: Les Miles seen here holding his Master Plan for extending on Saban's foundation of excellence.]
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Tennessee -- This isn't the time or place to mention it, but UT really does a nice job of running the RB and FB screens out of the shotgun. It takes Georgia FOREVER to get that play going. Obviously, the fullback fumble to lose the game isn't in the diagram.
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[Photo: McFadden is a BEAST. The 70 yard run is the longest play against UGA since the '03 SEC title game as far as I can remember. Click to enlarge.]
Good News for the ACC -- With Mississippi State losing to Houston and Vandy losing to South Carolina, the SEC has virtually no chance of filling its bowl allotment. Some quasi-lucky ACC school will likely get to dodge a Boise snow capped bullet with a trip to Shreveport in December.
The Orgeron Combustion Countdown -- Ole Miss beat Kentucky. I keep waiting on The Orgeron to meltdown in a public and violent manner. Sadly, that has not happened yet and annoying wins like the one over the Mildcats only postpone the inevitable. By the way, what is UK waiting on? Fire Brooks already.
[Photo: Mohamed Massaquoi in action]
October 23, 2005
When Gators Cry
EverydayShouldBeSaturday has an outstanding article on the Meyer Offense and the offense of crying after a game. If you're a Dawg fan and you're feeling down, this article will lift your spirits.
[Photo: When Doves Cry. When Gators Cry. Whatever.]
I was wrong about Kenny Irons
I was wrong. He is in fact much faster than Nell Carter.
Congrats to Kenny for running all over LSU. Too bad he can't kick. ;-)
October 20, 2005
ACC Bowling: Boise State vs. Georgia Tech in the Boise Bowl?
Boise would love to get bookend shots at teams from Georgia this year. It would be spectacular seeing GT struggle on the frozen tundra vs. Boise. Other ACC bowling thoughts....
One man's argument for ACC bowling:
BCS - Virginia Tech
Gator - Miami
Peach - FSU
Champ Sports - Boston College
Tire Bowl - not UVA
Boise Bowl - not UVA
Could there be a 2nd ACC team in the BCS?
In theory yes. However, the FSU loss to UVA put a real damper on that opportunity. Realistically, Notre Dame is going to get one of the two At-Large BCS slots. With only 1 slot left, it will be tough for the ACC to get it. Their best shot is for Miami to beat VT and win the ACC Title while VT beats everyone else. That would likely put VT and Miami in the BCS. The other chance is for FSU to run the table and win the ACC Title game vs. an undefeated Virginia Tech. However, does anyone really think that is going to happen?
Where to put UVA?
UVA has been to the Tire Bowl two of the last three years. They aren't going back there to make it 3 of 4. The ACC likely isn't sending UVA back to Boise in consecutive years. That's just inhumane. The ACC could instead send the Cavaliers to the Liberty Bowl where there's an open slot, or they could use one of the SEC's unfilled slots.
Back to Boise:
That leaves Georgia Tech, NC State, Maryland and Clemson all fighting for bowl eligibility and the right to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl (formerly known as the Tire Bowl) or the Boise Bowl. Not the most exciting of options to be sure.
Underrated Game to Watch:
GT vs. Clemson -- For Georgia Tech the Clemson game could be the difference between bowling or not. The Jackets have Miami (road), UVA (road) and Georgia remaining on the schedule. Only Clemson and Wake look managable at this point. The game is critical to their season.
Clemson doesn't have a very wide margin of error on bowl eligibility either. A loss to the Jackets would mean sure fire cold weather, and the possibility of being home for the holidays. A win gives them a shot at 7-4 (or better) and a 4 game win streak heading into a huge home game vs. the Noles.
[Photo: Georgia Tech's Rambling Wreck seen parked outside the team hotel in Boise, Idaho for the 2002 MPC Computers Boise Bowl]
October 19, 2005
Ray Friggin Gant!
Honestly, pre-season Ray scared me. Ray is the guy that has entire flights of steps at Sanford Stadium named after him for always being in Garner's doghouse. But he's played pretty well this year and if his actions match his words, he could be on the cusp of developing in a a GREAT future leader for the Dawg Defensive Line.
I couldn't be more pumped about his quotes in the papers about the challenge the Dawgs face with all the banged up injuries. And his role as the leader of the group. I also love his comments about encouraging Swain to get it in gear.
ABH
AJC
MaconTel
Just wanted to give Ray a shoutout.
GATA Ray Gant
BTW -- quote of the month goes to Garner: "They all were signed at Georgia, so obviously we thought they could be good players,” Garner said. “Now they just need to show up and show the world I’m not a very good coach and I should have been playing them more in the first place." Comedy.
Hoops News: Kansas, UNC, Duke...and Georgia???
I'm. Going. To. Speak. Slowly. So. We. Can. All. Have. Time. To. Digest. This.
FoxSports says the class that enrolled this Fall was one of the Top 5 classes in the country. Yes, that's right. Even without Louis Williams.
[Photo: Dennis Felton pledges his soul to Satan in exchange for mystical recruiting powers unseen in Athens since....well....since...never. Photo from Georgiadogs.com]
Blog Poll 8 is up....
See the link here.
Sorry for the lack of commentary. Work is crazy. Most of the article you are seeing this week were written or partially written on Sunday.
Things return to normal in a week or so.
October 18, 2005
Blog Poll Roundtable - The BCS and Polls
All Things Longhorn is hosting this week's Roundtable.
1. What would it take for you to vote someone other than USC #1 in the poll? If you already are, what would it take for USC to regain the top spot on your ballot?
I have USC at #1. If Notre Dame's wheels fell off and if the opponents that Notre Dame has beaten continue to struggle as Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue have at times, I would rethink my vote eventually. But it's hard for me to envision not voting for an undefeated Southern Cal as the #1 team in the country.
2. Which of the undefeateds is most likely to remain so? Who is least likely?
If I were ranking the odds that a team would remain undefeated, I would go:
1. Texas
2. USC
3. Virgina Tech
4. (Huge dropoff)Georgia
Least likely:
1. Texas Tech - even if they beat Texas, which isn't going to happen, they still wouldn't go undefeated.
2. Alabama - attrition is their enemy. Every week that goes by this group gets thinner and thinner. They are probably the thinnest program in the Top 10.
3. UCLA - if only because they play Southern Cal and are coached by Karl Dorrell. Karl Dorrell reminds me of a black Mike Shula...only without Joe Kines...or Brodie Croyle...or as many corrupt boosters.
3. If you were running the BCS system, would you let the computer rankings factor in margin of victory? Why or why not?
I would replace the computers with the old strength of schedule formula. Having said that, the biggest thing that computers provide is a sense of what the college football season would look like if every win or loss happened independent of a timeline. Everyone knows that in the human polls, it pays to lose early and it kills your season to lose late. Computers ignore that element. That said, I'm not a fan of the computers. Even if they do have UGA ranked higher than the humans.
These questions are part of a series of discussions for participants in the Blog Poll, which you can view here.
Better Bulldogs vs. Dores recaps
Crazy Week coming up. While I'm barely posting, I submit two solid recaps from fellow bloggers.
I'maRealist gives the Dawgs pretty recap for those with a minute or two to spare.
Kyle King looks at the entire Top 25.
All Things Longhorn looks at the Road to Pasadena.
October 17, 2005
BCS Thoughts -- First Poll is Out
The first BCS poll is out. The top 10 is:
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2. Texas
3. Virginia Tech
4. Georgia
5. Alabama
6. LSU
7. Texas Tech
8. Miami
9. UCLA
10. Penn State
[Photo: Southern Cal has the Pole Position in the race to the BCS]
Thoughts on Georgia:
-- The computers prefer Georgia over Virginia Tech. We're #3 in the computer polls and VT is #4. If VT were to lose a game, UGA would move up from .8933 to around .9250. That still wouldn't be good enough to catch Texas. For Georgia to make the BCS game, we would have to win out and two teams above us would have to lose. In other words, we might as well focus on winning the SEC b/c a huge screw job is cooking that's out of our control.
Other items of note:
1. Notre Dame -- The computers *hate* Notre Dame. They are ranked #16 in the BCS and are currently not ranked in the Top 25 in two of the 6 computer polls. They are ranked 24th in two more polls. For ND to make a BCS bowl, I think they have to be 9-2 or better and ranked in the BCS Top 12. Assuming they win the rest of their games that's doable, but this is a tough pill to swallow for these guys. They need Michigan, Purdue and Michigan State to get back on track.
2. Penn State and Wisconsin -- The computers are in love with these guys. PSU and Oregon are ranked roughly 7 slots higher by the computers than the humans. Wisconsin is ranked 9 slots higher by the computers.
3. Miami - They got the same treatment the Irish got although not as severe. They are ranked 7 slots lower by the computers than the humans.
4. Texas Tech - The computers have these guys ranked 7th overall. Given their schedule of Sam Houston State, Indiana State, Florida International, Kansas and Nebraska that's a shockingly high ranking. I think they are getting much love from the computers by being the old team to beat Nebraska. When Nebraska drops another one, the Red Raiders will hopefully see their ranking plummet.
PWD
Recap: Georgia vs. Vandy
Dawgs win 34-17
I'm going to go with random bullets as I remember them. There's a coherent them in there somewhere, but I'm too tired to find it.
Vandy -- There was some really defeatist articles in the Tennessean about how this is the same old Vandy. It isn't. This Vandy team played tougher and smarter than any team we've played this year. This team played us tougher and out executed Tennessee, South Carolina and Boise State. Are they more talented than those groups? No. Although the gap with SC isn't as great as the SC fans would like to think. When Cutler is on, they can play with lots of folks. They can go bowling by winning 2 of 3 from SC (road), UK (home) and UT (road). That must start this weekend at Carolina. If they get back on pace with a Carolina win, then watchout Vols.
Crowd -- The announced crowd was 38,000+. This was my third trip to Vandy ('99, 01 and 05). This was by far the biggest crowd I had ever seen there. I'll also go as far as to say it was the largest non-UF, non-GT and non-bowl road UGA crowd that I've ever seen. If there were 38,000 butts in the seats, then 25,000 were UGA fans. Great showing by the Dawgs.
Offense - lots of thoughts on the offense here.
Defense - I'm in the Timmy Jennings fan club, but Timmy might be one of the few DBs in history to have been tackled in the open field by 3 different QBs after INTs. Separately, if we don't get some of our DTs back healthy before the UF game, we're going to have issues up the middle. Big time.
Ray Gant -- I want to give the kid a shout out because he is always in the doghouse with Garner for doing or saying the wrong thing. However, Gant's post-game quotes in the Tennessean about Cutler were pure class and deserve to be pointed out.
"He doesn't show any frustration," Dawgs nose tackle Ray Gant said of Cutler. "He's not a big talker. A lot of guys that have had success do a lot of talking and running their mouths, but Jay doesn't say much.
"When a guy is like that, it's hard to tell if he's rattled or not. If a guy's a talker and he gets frustrated or has a bad game, he shuts up after awhile. In the four years he's played us, he's always been their leader."
Welcome to Mo's! - the proposed new cheer when Mohammed Massoquai scores a Touchdown (Tripp's idea).
Special Teams - I love our punt return and punt block teams. But our kickoff coverage team looked as bad as it did vs. Boise. We've got to get that back on track, and our kickoff return team needs a massive shot in the arm.
Also kudos to Inman and Moses for being named SEC Players of the Week. Moses is now tied for 6th in Sacks per game nationally. Additionally, this is Inman's second award this year. I didn't think Inman played all that wonderful and said so afterwards. This is my way of saying, "What do I know?"
pwd
My Blog Poll Ballot Week 8
How teams faired and/or why they are ranked where they are:
Week 8
1. Southern Cal - well. duh.
2. Texas - If they throw Texas Tech a beating next week, it will be interesting to see what happens to UT's first place vote count.
3. Virginia Tech - I like this team.
4. Georgia - I moved Georgia over Bama. Georgia looked more impressive beating Vandy than Bama did beating the team that beat the team Bama beat.
5. Alabama - Bama vs. LSU and Auburn will both be outstanding games if Bama's depth can holdup.
6. Miami - Little Havana will be rocking as Senior Georgia Tech comes to down for a ritualistic beat down.
7. Louisiana State - The Auburn game this week is must see TV.
8. UCLA - I corrected my error for last week's ballot. Still not sure how good these guys are, but coming back from 21 down is impressive.
9. Ohio State - I'm not sure who won the Pontiac Game Changing Moment from ESPN, but if it wasn't the blocked FG...then something's wrong. No single play in the USC vs. Notre Dame game changed things as much as the block in this one.
10. Texas Tech - I don't see how feasting on cupcakes prepares you for what's going to happen in Austin this weekend.
11. Notre Dame - When you play the #1 team in America this close, how far can you really fall?
12. Auburn - They haven't played anyone since Georgia Tech. However, Brandon Cox is light years betteer than he was vs. the Jackets.
13. Penn State - I still like this team. They're young in key spots, but they are good enough to go 9-2 or better.
14. Oregon - Belloti looks to be putting together a quality team.
15. Boston College - Wake had these guys beat. I dropped them one on general principal.
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[Photo: Did someone mention angels and wings?]
17. Florida State - Will the last FSU fans who apologizes for dogging me out for not believing in this team please cut off the lights?
18. West Virginia - I need to see more of these guys.
19. Michigan State - John L. Smith is a tard. How do you screw up a final possession of a half so badly?
20. Florida - the Meyer Express still struggles to score points. If LSU holds on to the ball a little better this is a 2 TD beating.
21. Louisville - I wonder if Tuberville smiles when he hears that Petrino has lost another game? I would.
22. Tennessee - I feel bad about putting these guys here. Vandy played us tougher.
23. Virginia - Who knows. Can they handle success? Will they wet the bed vs. Maryland?
24. Colorado - I should be on the CU payroll. I've had them ranked more than anyone else in America.
25. Minnesota - Only ranked here because the idea of ranking TCU, Fresno, Georgia Tech, Cal or Nebraska sickens me.
Dropped Out
Cal
New:
UVA
October 16, 2005
Georgia's Offense vs. the "Big Six" and rest of the nation
I'm going to start with the broader numbers and jump into the "Big 6" (so-called wizards of offensive scheme) a bit lower in the article.
Just some thoughts to chew on:
Per the NCAA's stats, take a look at these numbers for Georgia's Offense:
Total Offense -- 454 YPG (18th Nation/1st SEC)
-- Note: only 3 teams with undefeated records above us in this category. Texas Tech, Southern Cal and Texas.
Scoring Offense -- 32.117 PPG (29th Nation/2nd SEC)
-- Note: Only 1 undefeated team ranked lower than us in this category. Bama.
Rushing Offense -- 189.7 YPG (27th Nation/2nd SEC)
-- Note: Only 2 undefeated teams ranked above us in this category. Texas and USC
Kickoff Returns -- 17.5 yards/return (105th in Nation)
-- Note: That blows.
Passing Offense -- 264.3 YPG (27th Nation/1st SEC)
-- Note: Only 3 undefeated teams ranked above us in th