Teams of note on our schedule:
| Team | AP Poll | USAToday Poll |
| Alabama | 2 | 4 |
| LSU | 3 | 2 |
| Florida | 12 | 13 |
| Auburn | 13 | 14 |
| Vanderbilt | 19 | 19 |
| Others Receiving Votes | ||
| Kentucky | 28 | 28 |
| Georgia Tech | 37 | 35 |
The most interesting things about the polls to me are the wild differences between the writers and coaches regarding Alabama. The AP writers gave the Crimson Tide 21 first place votes while the coaches only gave them two first place.
The other things that jump off the page to me are:
- USC over UGA in the AP. As SquareBush said in the comments, we lost to a Top 10 team. The Trojans lost to an unranked team. How does that put us below them?
- Ohio State over UF in the
APCoaches - Will the Coaches ever learn? - The ACC - Their highest rated teams come in at #20 and #24 respectively.
PWD
(PS - I'm likely not doing any bowl projections this week, but I have tinkered with some things on a napkin. If UGA doesn't get its act together quickly, we'll be in Tampa for New Years facing Michigan State, Illinois or Northwestern. Or worse)
26 comments:
i think you mean tosu higher than uf in the coach's.
The rankings are about right.. but I gotta call BS on USC being ranked ahead of the Dawgs. No matter who you are, that doesn's seem right.
Actually, I would rank USC ahead of the Dawgs. As it stands both teams looked horrible, but the Dawgs got absolutely demolished at home. The second half of the game (with a punt return for a TD and a couple of garbage scores) masked the absolute domination by Bama. Granted USC looked bad against OSU, but they were on the road and would have won if there were more time. UGA would have just lost by more points. If you look at their schedules, USC has beaten Ohio State. Say what you will, but Ohio State is a better team (at least in the polls) than any team UGA has played.
All that said, if (and this a big if) UGA wins some of their upcoming games (i.e. LSU, FLA), they'll jump USC. But was there anything that you saw from UGA on Saturday that makes you believe they can beat these teams? The argument of who should be higher is irrelevant until after UGA shows it can hang with the big boys (literally) of the SEC...
I agree with the number next to UGA but really disagree with the teams ahead of us. USC lost to a team that got demolished by Penn St. while we lost by 11 to the #2 team in the country. Sure we got down 31-0 but the final score is what really should matter. I also think Bama should be #1...they have soundly beaten two Top 5 teams while OU hasn't even faced a ranked opponent. I certainly don't think either USF or BYU are better than us either, but they have won all of their games so I can't blame the voters there.
I thought hell would freeze over before I EVER saw Vandy in a poll!
We are darn lucky we aren't lower.
Ohio State is a much different team with Pryor under center and a healthy Beanie. I thought it was hilarious that UGA fans were chanting "overrated" during gameday. They were right...about their own team.
I think Georgia is ranked in the right place (I actually am very thankful for not falling further), but I don't think our surrounding company is ranked right. USC above us? Hell no. UF lost to a terrible Ole Miss team, and they're only one spot behind us? We lost to, in my opinion, the best team in the nation, and made somewhat of a game in the 2nd half after being down by 31 at the half. That showed a lot for us. The only good thing about the rankings is that now they just don't mean a whole lot. This season can be taken by anybody, including us. We take care of business, we're in the National Title game.
Can't disagree with USC being ranked ahead of us at this point. We looked really bad in the first half last night.
Realitycheck, you must not have actually seen the USC-Oregon State game, or you'd know that that game and Alabama-Georgia were really quite similar: Oregon State straight-up dominated USC in the first half, leading 21-0 at halftime, and while the Trojans did make a decent stab at a comeback in the second half, they never really got on track and the game was never as close as the final score might appear. Same deal with Bama-UGA. Only difference is that Georgia laid their egg against a top-three-caliber team, while USC laid theirs against a team that had looked almost uniformly godawful the first four weeks of the season.
Still, I wouldn't worry too much about the rankings at this point -- I wonder if getting too rankings-obsessed in the wake of the USC upset was part of Georgia's coming out so completely flat in the beginning against Alabama. We are not, as some people have prematurely proposed, out of the national-title race, but we're not fully in it either until we sack up on both the lines and take a remedial course in Not Roughing The Passer 101.
We are about where I thought we would be and USC is about where I assumed they would put them, surprised they actually dropped them that far.
Now that Notre Dame is no longer in the race each year , USC is their new chosen one.
I really don't care to be chosen I would prefer it be earned and we did not come close last night.
But neither did USC for that matter , we will see where it ends us at the end of the year.
For now we have to start worrying about what we can control and winning against Tenn would be a good start.
Any news on the injuries of Chandler, Duhram, and Ellerbe? Also, what about Knowshon? He didn't play very much in the 2nd half.
The funny thing is that arguing which team played better while getting beaten makes no sense. USC was No. 1, UGA No. 3, and FLA, No. 4. Thus, when all three lost they all fell to the same spot in the polls in the same, exact order. Makes sense to me. Trying to justify that the Dawgs loss is better is a waste of time. The polls are merely based on what a team has done. UGA LOST (note that word) to the now No. 2/4 team, but who, to this point, have they beaten???? Who? USC has at least beaten a RANKED team. UGA has not. End of discussion.
Like I said in my earlier post, if UGA takes care of business and gives pollsters a view of how good they really are, then they will easily jump USC (and others) in the polls. Just look at how far Bama jumped after their win over us. If UGA beats LSU and Florida, they'll move too.
Let's just hope that Bama is really as good as they looked. If not, then we're in serious trouble...
This season just doesn't seem to "fit" for us. From the tough in-conference schedule (esp. compared to UF, even though they just lost to Ole Miss) to the injuries (Sturdivant, Owens, Ellerbe?, M. Washington), this feels like 2004 -- a great team that can't quite put it together.
We might just win the rest of our games, but I think we're looking at Tampa or Orlando on Jan. 1, like in 2004. Just thinking ahead to 2009, if our guys get and then stay healthy and we don't lose too much to the draft (fingers crossed), the "fit" may be better next year.
Just an odd Bowls observation.....
A representative from the Captial One Bowl (Central Florida Sports Commission) was on the sidelines for the game. Not sure if that had made its way around the blog-o-sphere.
Silver lining:
With Wisconsin, florida, USC, Wake, Clemson, Illinois, etc. all losing, we didn't take as big a tumble as we could have.
i think we've got the ranking we probably should have had all along.
The CapOne guy wasn't the only bowl representative there. Saw several of them pre-game near the players' entrance.
Florida Citrus Sports put on the Capital One Bowl. Visit fcsports.com for more info. Representatives (we call them scouts) are at UGA for every game except the first one. Look for us in the green jackets. If you spot us, stop us and say hello. We love for people to ask questions or just say hi. We don't bite, I promise. If you ask, we'll probably give you a sticker (it's an embroidered Capital One Bowl logo - something free for your memorabilia collection). It gets pretty boring if the only people who talk to us are members of the athletic department. Usually, we're in the press box most of the time during the game. But I try to walk around outside the stadium for a few hours before the game starts and in the stands for a quarter or so during the game. So we're out there, don't be shy.
OhioSt=still overrated.
Maybe they looked better because of Chris Wells and Pyror.
Or, it was because they played Minnesota.
Minnesota's program claims 6 National Championships...UGA just 2. Obv UGA > UM but I just think it's funny how UGA fans claim that everyone else is always overrated while the pollsters screw them. In reality UGA hasn't done anything in almost 30 years.
I don't think you can use the "better loss" argument with USC/UGA and not use it for UF/tOSU. OSU lost to USC, then #1. UF lost to Ole Miss. AT HOME. The better loss argument either applies in both scenarios or neither scenario, not one or the other depending on who you root for.
Good points re: OSU and USC.
USC did beat a ranked team. OSU lost to (now) # 9.
I just think the polls out to be "what have you done for me lately." Lately, UGA lost to #2, and former #1 lost to an undefeated team.
UGA should be higher than USC, UF, AU, and OSU. Fortunately, UGA actually plays opponents...so it can force its way above USC and its schedule of after-thoughts.
Amen on the boos. I know a lot of us cannot stand to hear Dawg fans boo, but I DO NOT stand for it. If you hear somebody booing let 'em know they better pipe down or strap on.
Dawg fans, I have something you might like. It's a nice sugar bowl plaque. It is clear acrylic. Embedded in it is a copy of the 2008 Sugar Bowl Ticket and a piece of the field net. I am looking to give it to a New Orleans area Dawg. The cost is free. My company, (Allstate), gave it to me. Being an LSU Tiger, I have no interest in this item, while I think a Dawg would love it. I can be reached at rossevrymn@cox.net. First come, first get it. Good Luck, Dawgs, exept in 4 weeks.
UF is just not that good. I think they lose 2 more times this year.
Ohio State improved with Wells coming back and Pryor playing. I watch Ohio State (wife is an alum). They may not be as good as Penn State, but I think they might still be better than Florida.
Remember Ohio State gets blown out by USC without OSU's 2 best offensive players playing (Wells injured; Tressel not trusting Pryor).
Ohio State was at least a TD underdog to USC.
Florida loses to Ole Miss. If you are a writer from somewhere out of the South, you are going to stick it to UF. I am guessing UF was a 20 or so point favorite.
Also, this is this year, not 2 years ago. The teams need to be evaluated on how they are playing now.
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