Georgia-Louisville info to chew on

@TylerDawgden @CardChronicle Hey guys, here's our #BelkBowl program comparison: http://t.co/pdMXCXYhyA #UGAvsLOU pic.twitter.com/o8Y4iWohz8
— Winsipedia (@Winsipedia) December 26, 2014 

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Tasty Louisville Kool-Aid

Heh.

They go with the 'when his guys were healthy" trope. Forgetting the defense wasn't that banged up last year. Wonder if 'when his guys were healthy' is code for 'when they were still not terribly coached?'

You can almost picture them putting their hand down their pants.
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Petrino and Grantham: Is the honeymoon over?

I'd been hearing some rumors from friends in Louisville, but now this...

Multiple outlets reporting friction between Bobby Petrino & Todd Grantham. Will it be displayed on Labor Day when Louisville faces Miami?
— David Paschall (@DavidSPaschall) August 19, 2014

Not quite sure how it will play out, but it isn't hard to see where the Cardinal staff room isn't big enough for those two egos.
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Granthamball

951 yards, 11 touchdowns.

That is really not all you need to know about Louisville's offensive performance in their Spring game last night. As their presumptive starting quarterback put it:

"When guys are wide open, you can't miss them," Gardner said. "I just put the ball where I can and they make the plays."

No information was posted as to how many of those were wheel routes.

There were some decidedly pro-offensive ground rules, most importantly no pressuring the quarterback, but still:

"Sometimes they may know what to do, but they're second-guessing themselves," Rankins said. "With the spring, everything's thrown at us so fast. … With the summer and time to dissect the playbook, coming out for camp and the first game, we'll be fine."

That sound all too familiar, right? Petrino's going to need all the points he can get.

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Well, THAT was awesome: A quick photo essay

Coach Muschamp walks on the field to see where his team is
(Image: SBN)

Coach Strong, whom I am very glad Florida, Auburn and Tennessee didn't hire
(Image: SBN)

I really wanted to post butthurt Florida fans here, but sadly no fans showed up:

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Could UGA face Fulmer again soon?

Fulmer told Tony Barnhart (and anyone else that'll listen for that matter) that he wants to coach again starting next season. Although, he wants to go to a school that is "committed to winning championships."

The types of jobs that I could see opening next year that would be interested in Fulmer are South Carolina and Louisville.

Fulmer turns 59 in a few days, and South Carolina's last two coaching hires would suggest that they aren't afraid to go after an older formerly successful coach. But you have to imagine they've been there and done that now. If Spurrier walks away this year, I think Tommy Tuberville, Skip Holtz, Charlie Strong, and Gary Patterson (ties to the SC AD) will get the first looks there. Plus, there's the argument that SC isn't committed to winning championships.

Which brings me back to Louisville. They've been to a BCS Bowl, and Fulmer would resonate as a hire there. He also knows the recruiting territory better than anyone else they could possibly get. Will they go that route? Can they even afford him? Who knows.

But UGA opens the 2011 schedule at home against Louisville. It would take that game to a whole new level of intriguing. That's for sure.

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To Dome or Not to Dome

Image: AJC
Tim Tucker caught up with Gary Stokan of the Atlanta Sports Council for an update on the possibility of UGA playing a game at the Georgia Dome. He basically says what I suggested earlier....the idea of UGA giving up its 6th home game for a match-up at the Dome is NOT on the table for 2010 or any other year.

The options on the table are:

A. Push out or cancel '10 non-conference road game (ie: Colorado)
B. Play only 6 home games in '11 (ie: push out opener vs. Lville)

I've seen an uproar on this site about not wanting to move the Colorado trip in 2010. I don't get it. It won't be like the ASU trip last year. Arizona State has a 76,000 seat stadium that rarely sells out. UGA fans got their hands on a near unlimited supply of cheap tickets to the game, and 15,000-20,000 of us turned into a de facto bowl game complete with a side trip to Sedona, the Grand Canyon and/or Vegas. Plus, ASU was a pre-season Top 15 team.

Colorado won't be like that. Folsom Field only seats 53,000 people. Their tickets aren't as accessible, and the Denver area's strongest suit is the Winter. Not early October. Their program is also in rebuilding mode, and the female talent will most certainly not be comparable to the Sun Devils. It's extremely unlikely that we're going to face a Top 15 team. (Granted: ASU had started tumbling before we got there, but we were booking flights and hotels based on the assumption that they wouldn't lose to UNLV the week before)

I'm looking forward to the trip to Boulder. Hell, Dawgnoxious and I actually saw UGA play hoops in Boulder. But I don't see what the fuss is about or what the problem would be with pushing the game out a bit. Especially, if we could replace that game with a more logistically manageable, less expensive game in Atlanta versus a much bigger name team. What am I missing?

Also, Georgia's best seasons since 1964 (when Vince Dooley arrived) usually began with a game that caught the player's attention and forced them to work harder all off season.

2007 vs Oklahoma State (#2 final ranking)
2005 vs a hyped Boise State (SEC Champs)
2003 at Clemson (SEC East Champs)
2002 vs Clemson (SEC Champs)
1997 vs Ark State (10 wins. Top 10 Finish) -- EXCEPTION
1992 at South Carolina (10 wins. SEC East Co-Champs)
1983 vs UCLA (10 wins. Cotton Bowl Champs)
1982 vs Clemson (SEC Champs)
1981 vs Tennessee (SEC Champs)
1980 at Tennessee (SEC Champs)
1976 vs California (SEC Champs) -- See Update*
1971 vs Oregon State (11-1 team) -- EXCEPTION
1968 at Tennessee (SEC Champs)
1966 at Mississippi State (SEC Champs)

Update: SpartanburgDawg sent me a note -- "Total speculation, but I’m guessing the 1976 Cal Bears had our undivided attention, as well, given that they were co-Pac 10 champs in 1975 and had won 8 of their past 9 games. A year later, they opened the season by whipping Tennessee’s ass in Knoxville." (touche)

That's 11 12 of 14 seasons that we've won 10 or more games and/or won the SEC East or better that began with an attention getting game. Compare that to Richt's seasons in which we've underwhelmed or underachieved '01 (Ark St.), '04 (GSU), '06 (WKU) and '08 (GSU).

I don't want to screw the Buffs. I'm just saying....do what it takes to get us a quality opponent in Week 1. If that requires a game at the Dome. Fine. It doesn't ensure greatness to play those tough openers, but not playing big opponents immediately sure does seem to lead to lackluster seasons.

See Also:
-- UGA ponders the Dome - Blutarsky

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