Random Thoughts from the Weekend

I already laid down some thoughts on Georgia. As for the rest of college ball....

-- UF and AU:- The blue print for beating both teams is there. You pressure the hell out of their quarterbacks and tackle well. UGA isn't in a position to take advantage of either blueprint right now. Right now, both would take us to the woodshed in a big way. Interestingly, I think both would lose vs. Michigan's sack happy defense.

-- Chris Leak: He isn't tough. He hasn't ever been tough, and he will never win a title of any type because he isn't tough. Pat Forde said it best:

Leak was supposed to be the player who sustained Florida's program in the uncertainty of the post-Spurrier world. He'll leave Gainesville with a bag full of records and fancy stats, but he's never won a championship of any kind and he's rarely played like a hero in big moments.

None bigger than this one.

Armed with a lead on the road, Florida was shut out in the second half Saturday night. And by the fourth quarter, Leak was coming unglued. His final six plays of this game were as follows: Fumble, interception, pass batted down, pass overthrown, pass dropped, and -- the coup de (dis)grace, a completed pass that was lateraled back to Leak as he fell down. It bounced off his chest, was scooped up and run in for the final touchdown at the final gun.

Orson Swindle is pretty much over him too. Stewart Mandel also weighs in.

-- Tray Blackmon: Damn. Second biggest UGA recruiting miss of the Mark Richt era behind Calvin Johnson. A human seeking missle that explodes to the ball carrier. Sure, he missed the tackle on Percy Harvin, but that happens sometimes. It's interesting to see how AU use him despite his full knowledge of the playbook. Why? Because he can make plays. I'd love to see us use Ellerbe and Dewberry in the same manner. Why? Our starting LBs aren't covering well in zone, and they aren't fast enough to get to the QB on a blitz. So why not put the fastest LBs on the field to blitz and distrupt? It worked for AU.

-- Miami's Meltdown: If you want to see why Richt is a bad fit for Da U, check out the color guy's commentary for CSS during their broadcast of the FIU game. The color man is former Cane player Lamar Thomas (the one that was stripped by the Bama player in the '92 title game). As the fight breaks out, he describes what a good thing it is. Under pressure from the ACC, NCAA and the Miami president, Coker will likely suspend players through the GT game in two weeks. Right now, the 8 suspensions are just listed as "indefinite." Expect more before Tuesday. Chan Gailey just caught the biggest break of his career. Also expect Lamar Thomas to be unemployed by Tuesday.

-- Next Week ESPN Gameday: The Gameday crew will most likely be at Clemson next week for the ACC showdown of Georgia Tech and Clemson. If I were betting, I'd go with the home team. Sheridan agrees as he has the Tigers a 7 point favorite. That seems a bit much to me, but I do see the Tigers winning this one at home. As someone else said (no idea who), the ACC title game was intended to put high profile programs like Miami and FSU against each other. The idea of Boston College vs. Georgia Tech or Wake Forest in the ACC title game is the worst nightmare of John Swofford, ABC and the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce.


Looking like the best case scenario right now.

-- Georgia's Bowl Chances: The Dawgs are playing their way to Shreveport or Nashville right now. However, we have two aces in the hole. It still looks very possible that the SEC will put two teams into the BCS. Right now, I like Auburn and UT in those two slots because I think UF loses the SEC title game which pushes them out of the BCS picture. Also in our favor...the Peach Bowl now gets the ACC Championship Game loser. If Clemson loses the ACC title game, a match-up with UGA would be very appealing. It would also keep South Carolina out of the Peach. FWIW -- Sportsline has us in the Peach. Bottomline: If UGA wants a decent bowl, it better get it's collective act together.

-- Wake Friggin Forest: The Deacons are 6-1 with a legit shot at 8-4. Who woulda thunk it. Rutgers is 6-0 with a legit shot at 8-4 or 9-3. The Tire Bowl's worst nightmare is Wake Forest vs. Rutgers in the Who Gives a Damn Bowl in front of 25,000 people. That said, it's a travshamockery that Wake isn't ranked in the Harris or Coach's poll.

That's all for now.

PWD

Tweet