Gridiron Gate

My 2 Cents

2008-09-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

For What It's Worth.......

I don't want to repeat too much of what's been flying around the blogroll, so I'll keep my observations to a minimum.

1.

I don't agree with the combo that produced the fumble in the first quarter. If you're going to put Cox in the game, make it after Matt has finished his day. The kid was in a rythym and getting cute and switching QB's served no purpose at the time. Of course I was prone to bitchin' about the Greene / Shockley rotation for the same reason. The point is, when your 3rd year starting QB is having a good day, leave him in until the game's in hand, then let him bask in the afterglow for the rest of the day.

2.

Contrary to the opinions that I've been reading, Georgia Southern didn't put up their points on our "3rd String D". Throughout the 2nd half, we kept enough veterans in the game on defense to keep the young guys in check. So, while the points weren't scored on our "1st Team", they weren't put up against a bunch of walk-on's. It is to be noted that if we keep our 1st team offense on the field during this time, Ga Southern never gets the reps to put up the points........if that makes you feel better.

3.

The offense looks good. I'd like to see AJ and MoMass get at least 4 balls a game to keep them involved. AJ's TD catch wasn't your "run-of-the-mill-variety" and he seems to be the real deal. The running backs did a very good job overall. Matt had the overthrow with 2 wide open in the endzone and followed that with 2 underthrows. If he gets his timing with AJ, the future is bright.

4.

Injuries suck. Marcus Washington, Trinton Sturdivant, and now, Jeff Owens.....gone for the season. Quentin Banks, Brannen Southerland....out until the UT game. After a relatively quiet 2007 on the injury front, we seem to be making up for it now. Each was a starter, and the effect is not minimal. Needless to say, we can't afford many more of these and expect to contend in the conference.

5.

Welcome to Athens, Mr. Blair Walsh.

6.

@ 7:50 remaining in the game, Ga Southern punted out of bounds. Did anyone other than me notice who our return man was? ........Logan Gray.

Overall, I didn't see much that would alarm me, or much that would afford high praise. The team looked solid and we got some reps for our young players. This week's game should resemble the Troy game from last year, a mid-major who actually believes that they can come to our house and pull an upset. The results should be similar too.

This has been quite a hectic summer. 60+ hour workweeks don't allow much time for the blog, but now that we've kicked off, maybe I'll be able to squeeze in a few posts each week.

'Till then....

How's it Hangin Vol. IX

2008-05-27T04:57:00.003-04:00

It's been eleven days since the last time I posted an update, so here's the extended week that was...........

UGA Football
When the clock reached 0:00 at the Sugar Bowl, it was an agonizing 241 days till opening day 2008. That’s been whittled down to 95 as of today and in that perspective, it doesn’t sound as bad. There has been some recruiting news lately, you can pick that up here. True freshmen start hitting campus this week to start their strength & conditioning program.

UGA Basketball
2008 SEC TOURNAMENT CHAMPS !! Practice cranks back up in October. The 2008 recruiting class is full. Recruiting news here.

UGA Baseball
2008 SEC CHAMPS !! By now, everyone knows that our regular season success didn’t carry over to the SEC Tournament. 2 games played, 2 losses, & we’re out. UGA did however land the #8 seed in the NCAA tourney and will host a regional featuring UGA 35-21-1, Georgia Tech 39-19 (not a good draw for the Dawgs), Louisville 41-19, and Lipscomb 32-28. The regional is double elimination and the Dawgs open play vs Lipscomb on Friday. As the eighth seed, UGA would also be in line to host a super regional should they advance.

Atlanta Braves
The Braves have played 10 games since I last checked in going 7-3 in the process, including a 4 game sweep of the METS. They split 4 games with NL West Leading Arizona over the holiday weekend. The Braves hit the road for 3 games in Milwaukee and 3 in Cincy. Currently the Braves are 28-23, 2 games behind NL East leading Florida.

Atlanta Hawks
Eliminated in 1st Round of the NBA Playoffs. 15th overall pick in the ’08 draft.

Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan gets 6 years, $72 million…..that’s a joke. Enuf said.

Atlanta Thrashers
Have the 3rd overall pick in the draft coming in June.

How's It Hangin? Vol. VIII

2008-05-16T15:25:00.003-04:00

Whew, it’s been a busy week. Once again, I’m barely getting enough time to read about everything that’s goin’ on, much less write about it.

The week that was...................

UGA Football
106 days till kickoff. True freshmen start hitting campus in 2 weeks to start their strength & conditioning program.

UGA Basketball
Practice cranks back up in October. The 2008 recruiting class is full. Recruiting news here. 2008 SEC CHAMPS !!

UGA Baseball
UGA has clinched the #1 seed for the SEC Tourney beginning May 21st. The Dawgs lost last Friday to Vandy, but rallied to take the next 2. Throw in a win at Turner Field over Georgia Tech, and we finished the week 3-1. Yesterday’s game vs. Bama was rained out, so we’ll play 2 today beginning @ 3:00 pm. We wrap up the regular season tomorrow @ 2. As of this minute, UGA is 34-17-1 overall with a 19-7-1 conference mark. We have a 4.5 game lead in the SEC East over 2nd place Vandy with 3 games remaining. UGA’s first game in the SEC Tourney will be on Wednesday @ 3 pm at Regions Park in Hoover, Alabama.

Atlanta Braves
Two weeks ago…..6-0. Last week 2-5. Hot & cold. It’s hard to be consistent with all of the injuries and young guys that the Braves are plugging into the lineup on a daily basis. Chipper keeps bangin’ out hits to the tune of a .418 average and Smoltz is almost ready to return from the DL. The Braves are currently at .500 with a record of 20-20, 3 games behind NL East leader Florida.Atlanta HawksEliminated in 1st Round of the NBA Playoffs. 15th overall pick in the ’08 draft.

Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons had their first practices for the new coach last weekend. Among those getting back into the action was DJ Shockley. The news is that he’s understandably rusty, but at least the knee held up ok.

Atlanta Thrashers
Have the 3rd overall pick in the draft coming in June.

How's it Hangin? Vol. VII

2008-05-09T08:49:00.002-04:00

The week that was........

UGA FOOTBALL
If no news is good news, it's been a great week. 2008 true freshmen start filtering in about 3 weeks from now for summer workouts. Fall practice begins in August, exact date TBA. 114 days until opening day.

UGA BASKETBALL
Practice cranks back up in October. The 2008 recruiting class is full. Recruiting news here.

UGA BASEBALL
UGA won another SEC series taking 2 of 3 from Ole Miss over the weekend. Georgia lost to Tech on Tuesday finishing the week with a 2-2 mark. We're heading to Vandy to take on the 21st ranked Commodores this weekend for 3 games and finishing the Tech series on Tuesday @ Turner Field. Right now, UGA appears to have a lock on the #1 seed heading into the SEC tourney that begins on May 21. UGA currently has a 3 game lead in the SEC East over 2nd place Vandy with a conference record of 17-16-1. LSU leads the West with a 12-11-1 record.

ATLANTA BRAVES
Kickin' ass & taking names. 6 games in 7 days.......all W's. I dunno how with 8 players on the DL, but whatever you're doin, keep it up. A 4 game set with Pittsburgh starts tonite followed by 3 in Philly. The Braves are currently 1 1/2 games behind NL East leader Florida with a record of 18-15.

ATLANTA FALCONS
Mandatory mini-camp opens tomorrow and finishes on Monday. Practice times are 10:30 am and 4:15 pm on Saturday and Sunday. The public is invited and it's free if you want to get on up to Flowery Branch & catch it.

ATLANTA HAWKS
The fairy tale didn't have a happy ending, with the Hawks absolutely not showing up to any of the 4 games played in Boston. On the brite side, we did take the team with the best record in the NBA to 7 games. Currently looking for another GM since Billy Knight resigned earlier in the week. Since Atlanta made the playoffs, they're not included in the draft lottery and will have the 15th overall pick in the draft.

ATLANTA THRASHERS
Have the 3rd overall pick in the draft coming in June.

Bein' 34th ain't all bad

2008-05-06T22:18:00.004-04:00

The NCAA released the Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores for football programs covering the prior 4 year period and UGA ranks 8th among BCS schools. Not too shabby.

If a program's APR score is under 925 can lead to scholarship reductions. UGA checks in at 965.

Here are how some notables finished overall

1. PENN 993
5. STANFORD 986
18. DUKE 977
29. MIAMI 969
29. NOTRE DAME 969
34. UGA 965
41. FLORIDA 962
47. VANDY 959
50. SOUTHERN MISS 958
54. FSU 954
60. AUBURN 953
64. GA TECH 951
64. MICHIGAN 951
74. USC 948
80. LSU 946
89. ALABAMA 944
98. OKLAHOMA 942
98. TEXAS 942
98. OHIO ST 942
139. VIRGINIA TECH 929
163. OREGON 921

You can get the full list here. (h/t to EDSBS)

Best of the Best Part III

2008-05-05T05:02:00.003-04:00

I started this series of posts a little over a week ago, with an attempt to gain a little better knowledge of the history of the most successful programs in college football history. I’ve taken some statistical categories that I think are extremely important and currently using them to rank the top 17 programs overall. All of the stats used are for the modern-era (1970 – current). The original series of ranking the teams on all-time records is here.

It never ceases to amaze me as to the amount of sheer b.s. that gets printed on message boards and even in articles attributed to many of our mainstream journalists. Too many times we’re fed information and statistics regarding the history of a program that paint rosy pictures, often glossing over the bad. Wow, I can get off-topic in a hurry when traveling down that line of thought. I'll save this for a later post.

Back to the subject at hand. Today, I’m going to rate these teams by conference championships and conference winning percentages. Once again, this is very hard to get a historical perspective on due to the fact that Notre Dame is an independent and Penn St, FSU, and Miami joined conferences in the early 90’s. It brings up an interesting dilemma, especially with Notre Dame when placing them on the list of conference champions. They have 0. Should they be put at the bottom? I don’t think so. In fantasyland, if they were a member of a conference, they would probably have several on their resume. But, which conference? If it’s the Big 10, they would more than likely have thrown their hat into the 2 horse race and brought down Michigan and Ohio State’s large totals in this category. On the other hand, if it’s the Big East, the likely would have silly high totals too. There’s absolutely no fair way to handle the situation, but hey, life isn’t fair. I’ve decided to give them 10th place points.

Here’s a list of the rules.

12 points for a 12 team conference championship (SEC 1992 - ), (Big Twelve 1996 - )
11 points for 11 teams (Big Ten 1993 - )
10 points for 10 teams (Pac Ten 1978 - ), (Big Ten thru 1992), (SEC thru 1991)
9 points for 9 teams (ACC 1992-2003)
8 points for 8 teams ( Big 8 thru 1995), (SWC thru 1995), (Pac 8 thru 1977), (ACC thru 1991), (Big East)
6 points for a 6 team division (Big Twelve 1996 - ), (SEC 1992 - ), (ACC 2005 - )
Split titles mean split points ( # of teams sharing title divided by teams eligible)

And the results are in

OKLAHOMA 170
ALABAMA 152.33
NEBRASKA 152
MICHIGAN 142.33
USC 140.33
FLORIDA 129
OHIO STATE 122.67
TEXAS 112
FSU 108
LSU 86
TENNESSEE 76.33
GEORGIA 74
UCLA 57.33
MIAMI 48
AUBURN 43
PENN STATE 16.5
NOTRE DAME 87 (10TH PLACE)

Again, my personal belief is that an SEC title should count for far more than a Big Ten, Big 8, SWC, or ACC due to the level of competition. However, the numbers are what they are, and there’s your list. When ranking from 1 – 17 in this category, I’ve given double points for conference championships because of the importance.

Some will argue that the following list will show just how powerful a team is. I’ll argue that it shows the level of competition. Here’s the conference winning percentages of these teams.

MICHIGAN 82
NEBRASKA 80
OHIO ST 77
OKLAHOMA 76
FSU 75
USC 72
ALABAMA 70
FLORIDA 68
TENNESSEE 66
GEORGIA 66
TEXAS 65
UCLA 63
AUBURN 62
PENN ST 61
MIAMI 61
LSU 58
NOTRE DAME 66 (10TH PLACE)

I’d like to mention again that due to a recent job change, I’m not able to post as often as I’d like. I leave the house around 5:30 am and usually have to stop at the ball field for the kid’s practices or games, making it 9 pm or so when I finally get home. Since it’s the off season, and most of the junk that I write about isn’t time sensitive, or hot-off-the-wire, it’s not that big of a deal. It just may take 2 or 3 days to put together what I used to do in one.

2 Balls - 7 Strikes

2008-05-03T07:04:00.006-04:00

The balls in question belong to Les Miles. All of the talk in the press and many of the questionable calls during games would lead one to believe that they were made of stainless steel and were the size of cantaloupes. Up to this point however, when it's come to Perriloux, Les' nuggets have been the size of BB's. I'd be willing to bet that Stafford received a bigger lecture over the kegger in Talledega then Perriloux got for any of his transgressions. Congrats go out to Les for finding the stones to finally say "enough is enough".

I knew you had it in ya

7 Strikes?.....Counterfeiting, fake id's, underage drankin, barfights, skippin class, missing team meetings, smoking tha sticky stuff (how many times?), and those are the ones that we know about. Some people just don't get it. The kid has never actually been convicted of any crime, so I'm not going to classify him as a thug. Most of his offenses reek of being an immature party hound. Most party hounds aren't pissin away millions though.

Nad transfer........FAILED......Please try again

Perriloux will end up playin 1-AA ( where there's a little less scrutiny). He more than likely will not change his actions. History is a great teacher.

Will an NFL team take a flyer on him in the late rounds in the 2010 draft?.....Probably (my crystal ball says Dallas). Possible roomie......Pacman Jones

Will he succeed at the next level?.......NFL coaches and players won't tolerate his actions, so I'm going with "NO".

LSU may suffer a little on offense as a result of Perrioux getting the boot. The threat of the QB breaking contain always causes defenses problems and that threat is gone. It's not a death sentence to LSU as some people are predicting. There's several very good teams out there that don't have mobile QB's.

I didn't think that LSU had the pieces in place to repeat last year's success, with or without Perriloux. In the long run.....no, forget that....right NOW, LSU is better off getting rid of that cancer and moving on.

How's It Hangin? Vol. VI

2008-05-02T17:10:00.004-04:00

I started a new job this week and writing has been all but impossible. I’m barely getting enough time to read. Out the door at 5:00 am and always stopping at the kids’ practices or games puts me back home around 9 pm. Maybe I can get caught up on the weekend. Thaz enough about me, here’s the list.

The week that was...................

UGA Football
There’s plenty of recruiting news to keep the withdrawal symptoms to a minimum. Fall practice starts in August, exact date TBA. 121 days until kickoff.

UGA Basketball
Practice cranks back up in October. The 2008 recruiting class is full. Recruiting news here.

UGA Baseball
Dammit. Florida won last weekend’s series by taking the last two on Saturday and Sunday. Prior to last Saturday, you’d have to go back to March 28th, a span of 12 conference games to find the last loss to an SEC opponent. UGA has 11 more regular season (9 SEC) games until the SEC tourney begins on May 21. UGA begins a 3 game set with OLE MISS tonite at 6:30 in Athens. This has been a very light week with the only games being the ones @ Florida over the weekend. For the Week 1-2. Overall record 28-14-1, 15-5-1 SEC, currently in 1st in the SEC East, 3.5 games ahead of Florida.

Atlanta Braves
A win last Friday followed by the current 4 game losing streak makes us 1-4 for the week. The list of the walking wounded gets larger with Smoltz making a trip to the DL and informing the Braves that he will go to the bullpen when he returns. When he gets healthy, it looks like the closer situation is taken care of. Chipper Jones continues to swing a hot bat, but this week, it didn’t seem to matter. The Braves are a whopping 0-9 in one-run games. Current record 12-15, 4th in the NL East, 3 games behind Philadelphia.

Atlanta Hawks
When the series with Boston started, I thought we’d be lucky to win a game. I’ll be damned if we haven’t won 2. This has turned out to be a home team dominated series and Atlanta has a chance to even it up at 3 games apiece tonight at Phillips Arena.

Atlanta Falcons
I’ve seen mixed reviews on last weekend’s draft. My take on it is here. I just don’t see any all-pro type players on the list.

Atlanta Thrashers
Have the 3rd overall pick in the draft coming in June.

Best of the Best Part II

2008-04-28T05:33:00.001-04:00

Today I’m looking at two more categories for my top 17 teams in the modern era of college football (post 1969). You can see the list here.

Head to Head Overall Wins

This is one of the few categories that reward a team for playing tough schedules. Here’s the list.

FLORIDA 121
ALABAMA 109
AUBURN 96
NOTRE DAME 79
TENNESSEE 71
USC 68
FLORIDA STATE 64
GEORGIA 61
LSU 61
MIAMI 60
OKLAHOMA 55
MICHIGAN 53
NEBRASKA 50
PENN STATE 45
OHIO STATE 41
TEXAS 37
UCLA 35

The bottom feeders on this list will greatly benefit in future categories when conference strength / weakness takes effect.

National Championships

This one gets triple points, because, let’s face it, this is what it’s all about. In ranking from 1-17, I’m giving a consensus MNC 10 points and a split title 7. I dunno where I came up with those numbers, but it sounds fair to me. Any USC fans that want to scream for a split title in 2003, sorry, you’re a BCS member and an agreement has been made that the MNC is the winner of the BCS Title game.

MIAMI 4 CONSENSUS, 1 SPLIT, 47 POINTS
NEBRASKA 3 CONSENSUS, 2 SPLIT, 44 POINTS
OKLAHOMA 3 CONSENSUS, 1 SPLIT, 37 POINTS
ALABAMA 2 CONSENSUS, 2 SPLIT, 34 POINTS
USC 2 CONSENSUS, 2 SPLIT, 34 POINTS
NOTRE DAME 2 CONSENSUS, 1 SPLIT, 27 POINTS
FLORIDA 2 CONSENSUS, 20 POINTS
FLORIDA STATE 2 CONSENSUS, 20 POINTS
LSU 2 CONSENSUS, 20 POINTS
PENN STATE 2 CONSENSUS, 20 POINTS
TEXAS 1 CONSENSUS, 1 SPLIT, 17 POINTS
GEORGIA 1 CONSENSUS, 10 POINTS
OHIO STATE 1 CONSENSUS, 10 POINTS
TENNESSEE 1 CONSENSUS, 10 POINTS
MICHIGAN 1 SPLIT, 7 POINTS
AUBURN 0
UCLA 0

Coming soon.....conference championships

Dawg Day Afternoon

2008-04-28T05:20:00.002-04:00

Congrats to the Dawgs that were picked in the NFL Draft yesterday. There weren’t any real shockers in relation to what round any of them went in. It was a surprise that Chester Adams was picked and Fernando Velasco wasn’t. I had that figured as happening the other way around. I do think that Velasco will get a look, and may land a spot on the roster if he ends up with the right team. Kregg Lumkin might find a spot somewhere also.

And now for my less than expert analysis of the Falcons Draft.

WHAT IN THE BLOODY BLUE HELL WERE THEY THINKIN’?

1st Round, 3rd overall pick (the equivalent of an NBA lottery pick)……. Here’s where you can get a player with the “wow factor”, and the Birds pick Matt Ryan. Do the Falcons have a need at QB? Yes. Is Matt Ryan the best QB in this year’s draft? Maybe. Has Matt Ryan ever made anyone say “WOW”? I don’t think so. The Falcons could’ve picked up Flacco or Henne much later. Please prove me wrong Matty, but I think this was a major waste of a very high pick. You’ve gotta stink it up real bad to earn that 3rd pick and to spend it on Matt Ryan here doesn’t give me the feeling that they’re moving in the right direction. McFadden, Dorsey, Ellis, or Gholston would’ve made more sense here to me. Grade C-

1st Round, 21st overall pick…..We trade to get back into the first round and pick up OT Sam Baker from USC. I think the Falcon’s brass has all of the pre-season cfb rags laying around and that’s where they get their info. Sam Baker was a pre-season All-American, but got hurt and didn’t have a monster year. Still, there was a need at tackle, and he was probably the best available at the time. Grade B-

2nd Round, 37th overall pick……MLB Curtis Lofton, Oklahoma. Another wasted pick. This was a very weak year for MLB’s and the Falcons took the 1st one off the board at this spot. OU’s defense didn’t impress me one bit this year and this was their field general. But, his scouting report says he’s “football smart”. Grade D

3rd Round, 68th overall pick…….Chevis Jackson, CB, LSU. Played in a tough league, plays the run well, doesn’t have great speed, and doesn’t thrill me at all. Grade C

3rd Round, 84th overall pick……Harry Douglas, WR, Louisville. Skinny WR with decent skills. Decent pick. Grade B

3rd Round, 98th overall pick…..Thomas DeCoud, S, Cal. Who?? Grade D

5th Round, 138th overall pick….Robert James, OLB, Arizona State. Who? Grade D

5th Round, 154th overall pick….Kroy Biermann, OLB, Montana. Who? Where? Grade D

6th Round, 172nd overall pick….Thomas Brown, RB, UGA. Ahhhhhh. That’s a relief. Good value pick here. If TB can stay healthy, he should have a nice career. Grade B

7th Round, 212th overall pick….Wilrey Fontenot, CB, Arizona. Decent scouting report for a corner this far down in the draft. Grade B

7th Round, 232nd overall pick…..Keith Zinger, TE, LSU. Just shoot me now. Grade F

I’m reading the scouting reports of these players as they’re picked and for the life of me, I can’t figure it out. Not one of these players stands out as a future superstar. Every stinkin’ scouting report was the same. Undersized, not fast, can’t stop the run, played DE in college but will move to OLB at the next level……I forgot how many times I puked.

The Falcons had a chance for a great draft. 11 picks in 7 rounds with 2 first rounders. There were some pretty good names still on the board when we picked up the no-names in the middle rounds. The two undersized DE / OLB’s really sealed the deal. A chance to pick 20% of your entire team in one draft, and I don’t see one spot that they really nailed. Overall grade D, and that may be generous.

Best of the Best

2008-04-27T08:19:00.007-04:00

I realize that I didn’t post yesterday, but I wasn’t exactly goofing off. Here's a post of T. Kyle King proportion. (UPDATE, 6:00 PM; I just read this.....I'm not worthy. Mr. King has just earned double billing over in the sidebar>>>>>>>>>>>>>)

A couple of weeks ago, I started a series of posts on the top 16 programs in college football history. You can check those out here, just remember that the bottom of the page is first.

I’m gonna rank ‘em again, but this time only using numbers accumulated during the modern era, post 1969. Is that relevant? I think it is. Integration began sweeping college football and the NCAA actually started to impose scholarship limits. The screwed up system that awarded MNC’s was starting to stabilize a little. As a point of reference, I’ll list the MNC’s for the top 10 programs pre 1969. These are all taken from the NCAA’s website.

1. Princeton 18
2. Yale 17
3. Michigan 9
4. Harvard 8
4. Notre Dame 8
6. Minnesota 6
7. Alabama 5
8. Army 4
8. Ohio State 4
8. USC 4

Even into the 60’s, MNC’s were awarded before the bowl games and often a team had the trophy in hand and lost their bowl game. The system was also heavily biased, often using the Tom Lemming ranking system (does anyone need a heads-up on that definition?). As screwed up as our system is today, it’s the best that it’s ever been.

I’m also going to include a 17th team this time around. UCLA has posted some pretty good numbers across the board. If not for the 2 MNC’s in the last 5 years, LSU would definitely be OFF the list. For any GA TECH fans, sorry, but the overall 44% win pct in the head to head numbers went to 29% in the modern era. That don’t cut it. The only other team that was close was Texas A&M, and the numbers weren’t quite strong enough.

THE TEAMS
ALABAMA
AUBURN
FLORIDA
FLORIDA STATE
GEORGIA
LSU
MIAMI
MICHIGAN
NEBRASKA
NOTRE DAME
OHIO STATE
OKLAHOMA
PENN STATE
TENNESSEE
TEXAS
UCLA
USC

Here are the criteria that will be scored, in no particular order. The top team in each gets 17 points in each category, 2nd gets 16, ……etc.

Head to head games played
Head to head win pct
Head to head overall wins
National Championships
Conference championships
Conference win pct
BCS opponents overall games played
BCS opponents win pct
Overall number of wins
Overall win pct
OOC BCS opponents games played – higher is better
OOC BCS opponents win pct
OOC Non BCS opponents games played – lower is better

Ok, time for the first round. When these teams have played head to head, here are the winning percentages.

USC .581
ALABAMA .565
OKLAHOMA .556
FLORIDA .548
NOTRE DAME .537
NEBRASKA .526
MICHIGAN .525
AUBURN .503
TEXAS .500
FLORIDA STATE .492
GEORGIA .480
MIAMI .465
TENNESSEE .461
OHIO STATE .456
PENN STATE .441
UCLA .407
LSU .399

Of all of the stats that you’ll see posted, this is the one that I feel is the most important. Once there is a sufficient number of games played, there’s really no spin that can be put on pure winning percentages. The best playing the best, and USC wins round 1.

Every other category is heavily influenced by strength of conference, even MNC’s. If anyone has doubts on conference strengths, I’ll post this for reference. Here are the winning percentages versus these 17 teams for each BCS Conference.

The ACC
FLORIDA STATE .492
MIAMI .465
CLEMSON .328
VIRGINIA TECH .293
GA TECH .289
VIRGINIA .275
BOSTON COLLEGE .272
NC STATE .255
UNC .222
WAKE FOREST .154
MARYLAND .129
DUKE .116

Analysis
Coaching issues at Miami and FSU have them struggling recently. When they get it straightened out, and I think it will be soon, look for this to be a two horse race again. They simply have too much talent. The rest of the conference, historically, has been weak.

The BIG TWELVE
OKLAHOMA .556
NEBRASKA .526
TEXAS .500
TEXAS A&M .381
COLORADO .298
TEXAS TECH .244
KANSAS ST .211
BAYLOR .200
MISSOURI .184
KANSAS .134
OKLAHOMA ST .129
IOWA ST .086

Analysis
Since the merger of the Big 8 and SWC, this conference has 3 good teams at the top with Texas A&M lurking in the shadows. Before the merger, there were two very weak conferences. Since…….still pretty crappy, the bottom is horrid, but the top is strong.

The BIG EAST
PITTSBURGH .282
SYRACUSE .246
SOUTH FLORIDA .200
WEST VIRGINIA .164
LOUISVILLE .111
RUTGERS .049
CINCINNATI .027
UCONN .000

Analysis
This conference gets an automatic BCS bid each year. Go figure.

The BIG TEN
MICHIGAN .525
OHIO STATE .456
PENN STATE .441
WISCONSIN .284
MICHIGAN ST .254
IOWA .243
PURDUE .197
ILLINOIS .177
NORTHWESTERN .115
MINNESOTA .113
INDIANA .047

Analysis
Not to hard to see how a conference can consistently produce 12 game winners when 8 games are automatics every year. With 5 teams under 20%, that almost counts as 5 bye weeks during the season.

The PAC TEN
USC .581
UCLA .407
WASHINGTON .381
ARIZONA ST .329
STANFORD .325
OREGON .300
ARIZONA .292
CAL .260
WASHINGTON ST .226
OREGON ST .138

Analysis
I’m actually quite surprised. Of course USC is heads and shoulders above the rest, but through #6 there’s not a dog in that bunch. Far and away the 2nd strongest conference top to bottom. When I put together my original top teams list, I just shot from the hip and it just so happens to match the top 17 teams when using this stat. How far out are the PAC TEN’S 3-6? WASSOU 19th, ARIZONA ST 20th, STANFORD 22nd, and OREGON 23rd.

The SEC
ALABAMA .565
FLORIDA .548
AUBURN .503
GEORGIA .480
TENNESSEE .461
LSU .399
ARKANSAS .294
MSU .279
OLE MISS .242
SOUTH CAROLINA .209
KENTUCKY .168
VANDY .075

Analysis
The 6th place team is dominating the college football landscape. Enuf said.

As I’ve often said, it doesn’t matter how many wins you get versus Vandy, Indiana, Duke, Iowa St, or any Big East team, it’s how you do against the big boys that matter. To USC……kudos.

OOC NON-BCS OPPONENTS

Since the SEC takes a lot of heat for this subject, let’s see the numbers.
Here’s a list that doesn’t get scored, but it bears mentioning.
Division 1-AA (or FCS since well enough can’t be left alone) opponents scheduled by each team.
MIAMI 14
AUBURN 13
GEORGIA 9
FLORIDA 8
FSU 8
NEBRASKA 6
ALABAMA 5
LSU 4
TEXAS 4
OKLAHOMA 3
PENN STATE 3
TENNESSEE 2
MICHIGAN 1 and probably the last
OHIO STATE 1
NOTRE DAME 0
UCLA 0
USC 0

Sometimes when you play with fire, you get burned. 3 times as a matter of fact. Here’s the list of Division 1-AA losses by our illustrious 17.

10/16/1970; Tampa 31 Miami 14
10/6/1979; FAMU 16 Miami 13
9/1/2007; Appalachian St 34 Michigan 32

Ok, the SEC is guilty of scheduling more of these schools than the other big boys. But…..some of these 1-AA schools are better than your conference bottom dwellers, that’s for sure. Just ask Michigan.

Now for the official list of out of conference games played versus non-BCS conference members. These are the automatics that teams schedule. Many considerations have to be made for Notre Dame and the fact that they are not a member of a conference. No consideration is given in the patsy scheduling department. Texas suffers the most here because half of their SWC games got wiped out with the Big 12 merger. Remember, less is better.

The List

USC 32
MICHIGAN 39
OHIO STATE 42
OKLAHOMA 43
GEORGIA 46
UCLA 54
NEBRASKA 57
FLORIDA 74
TENNESSEE 75
PENN STATE 76
AUBURN 79
ALABAMA 87
FLORIDA STATE 87
LSU 92
NOTRE DAME 94
MIAMI 102
TEXAS 142

Once again, USC is on top. As a Georgia fan, I can defend our position on this board rather easily. The SEC as a whole is middle of the pack and should make efforts to upgrade the level of competition in the future.

Here’s the last category of the day. Head to head total games played with these 17 teams, otherwise known as opposite of the previous list. More is better.

FLORIDA 224
AUBURN 195
ALABAMA 195
TENNESSEE 159
LSU 157
NOTRE DAME 147
FLORIDA STATE 132
GEORGIA 130
MIAMI 129
USC 121
OKLAHOMA 103
PENN STATE 102
MICHIGAN 101
NEBRASKA 97
OHIO STATE 92
UCLA 90
TEXAS 77

Hah…..USC is not #1. Ok, does banging heads with the big boys make up for some softer OOC scheduling? Maybe a little. You make the call.

For those keeping score at home, after 3 of the 13 criteria, USC has the early lead.

More to come……….

How's it Hangin? Vol. V

2008-04-25T06:23:00.003-04:00

The week that was...................

UGA Football
Had some major recruiting news this week, here and here. Fall practice starts in August, exact date TBA. 128 days until kickoff.

UGA Basketball
Practice cranks back up in October. The 2008 recruiting class is full. Recruiting news here.

UGA Baseball
Went undefeated for the week, but didn’t win every game. WTF?....Yup, Sunday’s game ended in a tie with LSU. A time limit was imposed due to the SEC’s tavel curfew. So, two wins over LSU, one tie, and one win over Kennesaw State have us finishing the week at 3-0-1. A 3 game weekend set with Florida (25-15, 10-8) begins tonite @ 6:30 pm. Ok, so here’s the damage. Overall record 27-12-1, 14-3-1 SEC, currently in 1st in the SEC East, 3.5 games ahead of South Carolina.

Atlanta Braves
Chipper gets hot at the plate. Chipper tweaks a quad. Déjà vu. This time, however, he actually doesn’t miss a game. 5-2 on the week to get back to .500. Smoltzie reaches 3,000 K’s. Next up, da Mets starting tonite. Current record 11-11, 4th in the NL East, 2 games behind the leader (Florida).

Atlanta Hawks
The good news….we’re in the playoffs. The bad news…..Boston has kicked our ass by 20 in the first 2 games. We come back to Atlanta for the next 2, on Saturday @ 8 pm, and Monday @ 8 pm. Maybe some home cookin’ will help…….thazza big maybe.

Atlanta Thrashers
Season over. 3rd pick in the draft this June.

Atlanta Falcons
Have the 3rd overall pick in the NFL draft, April 26-27

A work in progress

2008-04-24T05:21:00.002-04:00

This post is a follow-up to yesterdays' regarding current Dawgs' chances of making the NFL. The 9 players listed in that post are, barring injury, locks to be playing on Sundays. Additionally, each of those players should be drafted by at least the 3rd round. But the actual number of current Dawgs that will go to the next level should be closer to 20, so I'm going to go through the contenders.

Senior possibles.

In this group, 3 would be great number, but more than likely only 2 will move on. Which 2?....I dunno. Each one of them does have this last chance to put up numbers. Seniors not on this list.......need to impregnate a NFL general manager's daughter to get a shot.

Mohamed Massaquoi - Talent alone won't get you there. A few more nationally televised highlight catches just might. Needs a big year.
Tripp Chandler - If the dropsies are truly gone, the numbers will be there.
Brannen Southerland - Helluva football player. He's a longshot due to the diminishing roles of fullbacks in the NFL.
Jarius Wynn - Big enough, strong enough, quick enough......must play enough. If he gets enough snaps, I think he'll make an impression.
Corvey Irvin - Playing behind Owens and Atkins means that you're in a big shadow. Longshot at best.
Jeremy Lomax - A bit undersized ala Marcus Howard.....will he have the same kind of year?......stay tuned
CJ Byrd - Solid, solid, solid safety. NFL caliber? It will take a huge year.
Brian Mimbs - probably won't be drafted but should definitely be invited to camp.

The next group has a very good chance to make it. They have the talent and opporturniy. They are underclassmen which means they're young and getting better. I look for at least 6 of these guys to make it.

Roderick Battle - Has shown flashes and should have a great year. (note....ran into Roderick after the Auburn game.......damn he's big)
Chris Davis - Starting on the OL as a Freshman.....the kid's good
Clint Boling - Ditto
Demarcus Dobbs - High motor + talent usually = good results.
Akeem Dent - If you start at LB for UGA, you're NFL caliber......period
Daryl Gamble - Makes plays.....enuf said
Akeem Hebron - Monster talent
Prince Miller - Starter at CB as a true freshman and has improved.

Ok, what about the guys that have the talent, but haven't played enough to get a good picture of their abilities. Realistically, 4 out of this group should make it.

Walter Hill - Coaches love him
Israel Troupe - This dude's got skillz
Justin Anderson - an All-American waiting to happen
Kiante Tripp - Back & forth from OL to DL to OL.....has found a home at OT.
Caleb King - Hey, don't shoot the messenger......he still hasn't played a down.
John Knox - Big hitter, displayed pretty good ball skills in the spring.
Aron White - Hybrid TE / WR....good speed, needs to bulk up

There's a handfull of other players that will get playing time this year and can make an impression. There's also some very good true freshmen talent hitting Athens this fall.

Ok, I'm gonna do my calcumilationz now. Realistically, 20 players or so on this years team should see the field on Sundays. Optimistically, the number could exceed 30. The talent's certainly there, but with the number of players getting playing time, it's not so easy to stand out in the crowd.

Recap

Next year's draft class looks about as thin as this year's (barring some underclassmen deciding to go pro). The 2010, 2011, and 2012 drafts should feature 7-10 guys each year based on what we have now. I know that we're a good team, but this just shows that we're still a very young team.

Superstars wanted

2008-04-23T06:41:00.006-04:00

Josh Kendall confirmed what much of the Dawgnation suspected. This will be a weak year for Dawgs in the NFL Draft.

"For a team to be as developed as Georgia is at its high level of competition and have such a small and marginal draft class is very unusual," said Frank Coyle, publisher of Draft Insiders' Digest and www.draftinsiders.com.

It's actually been a few years since we've had a great draft day.Things are looking up in that respect, if not in next years draft, then certainly in 2010. Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens have made the Outland Trophy watch list and Knowshon has made the Heisman watch list.

But more than that, after reading through several of the pre-season football mags, websites, and a few television reports, several Dawgs are on All-American or All-SEC teams. The following Dawgs made these teams from at least one of the sources.

All-American
Knowshon Moreno
Jeff Owens
Asher Allen

All-SEC
Matt Stafford
Knowshon Moreno
Trinton Sturdivant
Jeff Owens
Geno Atkins
Asher Allen
Dannell Ellerbie
Rennie Curran
Reshad Jones

Each of those guys should be 1st day if not 1st round of their draft classes.

Tomorrow, I'll give my personal opinion of which current Dawgs not on this list have a shot at playing at the next level.

Half-way Home

2008-04-22T05:00:00.004-04:00

From everything I've read, UGA expects to sign 17 or 18 players for it's 2009 recruiting class.

If Aaron Murray announces Thursday, as expected, that puts us at the halfway point......for a class that won't see the field for 16 months. 16 MONTHS.....Why do we even care about 2009's team, when 2008 hasn't even started? The answer is simple........we're a sick bunch. In my case, it's probably a terminal illness.

A few quick notes.

Chase Daniel and Todd Reesing are doing everything in their power to dispel the notion that a QB must be 6'5" tall to be successful. At 6'1", Aaron Murray, while not the typical CMR target height, will be a welcome addition if he decides to commit. He seems to have all of the tools to be successful.

I watched Washaun Ealey play 3 times last year, including the 250 yds he put on my high school in the state championship game. He's definitely the real deal. I think he had 43 carries in that game and never looked tired. He strikes me as more of a straight ahead runner and absolutely attacks the line of scrimmage. But.............he turns 20 this summer while heading into his senior season. Richard Samuel turned 17, sitting in a UGA dormitory in February. Hmmmm.....maybe this means nothing, but I'm putting a red flag by Mr. Ealey's name. Ealey just announced that he will take official visits to other schools, which gives opposing coaches (did somebody say Urban?) 10 months to convince him that being a 21 yr old true freshman 5th string RB might not be his best move. Who knows?

I know that were still going after Jarvis Jones, even though we've already picked up 2 LB's for this class. Here in Columbus, he's already reached "legend status". I know that we're not hurting in the LB department, but he's one of those kids that you'd definitely rather have on you're side, than the alternative.

Now for a question. Where does Donovan Tate fit in this class. He's a super athlete. His dad is Lars Tate. He's a lock, right?........not necessarily. He's a good QB and safety prospect, but prefers QB. UGA prefers that he play safety.

If ya can't beat 'em........tie 'em

2008-04-21T06:40:00.004-04:00

UGA's Diamond Dawgs had their SEC win streak of 10 games broken by a TIE. There are no ties in baseball!

Ahhhh....the ol' SEC travel curfew rule. Coaches from around the SEC are scrambling to implement this into their gameplan on how to stop the Bulldogs.

Meanwhile, Perno's trying to hypnotize his players and convince them that every team is a SEC team. We seem to play great in conference games and uhhhhhh.......maybe not so great OOC. Gotta change that. Go dawgs.

Sweet 16 - Final Edition

2008-04-21T05:50:00.005-04:00

Ok, this is the last edition on the top 16 teams in college football history. I’m going to rank the teams 1-16 (and the nation eagerly awaits) based on the following criteria.

All time wins – it matters

MNC’s – 3x bonus for legitimate national championships

Conference championships – Gotta have ‘em

Wins vs Sweet 16 – tougher games count more

Win pct vs Sweet 16 – win the tough ones

Games played vs Sweet 16 – will affect overall win totals and pct drastically

Win pct in conference – sets the tone for the entire season

Games played OOC vs BCS – more is better

Win pct vs OOC BCS opponents – pretty important

Games vs Non BCS opponents – less is better, once again affecting overall wins and pct

Overall win pct – it’s why we keep score

Let me preface this with the Notre Dame factor. They get totally shut out of conference championships and conference win %. Also, they obviously were at the top of Non-Conference BCS games played. I don’t know of a “fair” way to handle this, but since they ended up close to the top of this list, I gave them the average points in those columns of the other 2 programs that were heads and shoulders above the rest. The Florida State results are largely due to the fact that the program didn’t start until 1954. The other programs had a huge head start to rack up numbers, but I did not feel that there was any basis for adjustment. Texas suffers a huge blow with the dissolving of the SWC and loses all of those BCS games played. Penn St suffers in the conference title category due to their being independent for so long. Ditto with Miami and FSU, however they racked up some pretty nice totals playing in their very weak conferences since the early 90’s.

The rules. 16 points for leading a category thru 1 point for being last. As noted, legitimate MNC’s get a 3x bonus (it may be worth more, and may have shaken the order up a little). End of rules.

The List

NUMERO UNO

MICHIGAN 163

ALABAMA 160

NOTRE DAME 159

OKLAHOMA 134

USC 133

NEBRASKA 128

TEXAS 115

OHIO STATE 114

TENNESSEE 112

GEORGIA 107

FLORIDA 89

MIAMI 88

AUBURN 85

PENN STATE 79

FLORIDA STATE 77

LSU 76

I think that the criteria used for this list is fair. How did my final rankings end up as compared to the Billingsley List?

MICHIGAN +1

ALABAMA +2

NOTRE DAME -2

OKLAHOMA +3

USC =

NEBRASKA +2

TEXAS -1

OHIO STATE -5

TENNESSEE =

GEORGIA +2

FLORIDA +8

MIAMI +3

AUBURN +1

PENN STATE -3

FLORIDA STATE -5

LSU -3

That’s not too far off. And no, I didn’t jack any team’s numbers. I did start knowing that Notre Dame, Michigan, and Alabama would be the top 3. That didn’t take any rocket science, but I was pretty sure that Alabama would end up on top. Didn’t happen.

Other numbers that I didn’t jack up (or down as the case might be) that should be taken into consideration.

Ohio St and Michigan sharing 74 Big 10 titles…….weak conference

Nebraska and Oklahoma sharing 74 Big 8 titles…..another weak conference

Texas racking up 27 SWC conference titles vs the likes of TCU, Houston, SMU, Rice, and Baylor….......need I say more?

FSU winning 12 out of 14 ACC titles from 1992-2005…..no resistance at all

FSU winning 83 of 88 conference games 94.3% from 1992-2002......8 gimme wins per year

All of this will be discussed in an upcoming post on winning national championships.

This post has been based on opinion. The rest of the series has been all fact, numbers that anyone can look up. Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion of the criteria that I’ve used, the relative importance thereof, or just your opinion of my opinions.

Since it’s going to be a long offseason, I’ll probably put together the stats and do this all again starting with the “modern era” commonly recognized as from 1970. Those numbers will probably take at least a week to put together. Will any new players reach the top 16? How will the rankings change? I’m sure that the 3 Florida schools will jump to the top, but the rest will have to wait.

But as for the Sweet 16…….that’s a wrap.

Sweet 16 - Best of the Rest

2008-04-20T05:31:00.002-04:00

Don't ya just love the offseason. About a week ago I started this series by picking the top 16 programs in college football history. This is the 4th in the series, and you can get caught up by clicking here or over on the Sweet 16 label thingy over there >>>>>.

I'm going to re-print one of the charts that I find to be the most important, the winning percentages when these 16 have played head to head.

1. MICHIGAN 58%
1. TEXAS 58% (tie with identical records)
3. ALABAMA 57.8%
4. NOTRE DAME 55.7%
5. USC 52%
6. AUBURN 51.3%
7. TENNESSEE 50.4%
8. FLORIDA 48.7%
9. GEORGIA 48.2%
10. NEBRASKA 47.3%
11. OKLAHOMA 46.8%
12. PENN STATE 46.3%
13. MIAMI 44.8%
14. FSU 44.4%
15. OHIO ST 43.1%
16. LSU 42.8%

In other words, I don't care if a team has an 85% winning pct against Kentucky, North Carolina, or Duke (unless it's in basketball)

Now for the best of the rest. The winning percentages versus the 16 teams on the list and the total number of games played.

GEORGIA TECH 44.5%, 424 GAMES
UCLA 40.1%, 152
PITTSBURGH 39%, 277
SYRACUSE 37.4%, 154
TEXAS A&M 34.8%, 241
MICHIGAN STATE 34.5%, 262
NORTH CAROLINA 34%, 155
WASHINGTON 33.3%, 131
STANFORD 32.4%, 141
ARIZONA ST 31.9%, 47
MISSISSIPPI 31.7%, 324
MINNESOTA 31.5%, 220
COLORADO 31.1%, 182
MISSOURI 31.0%, 251
MISSISSIPPI ST 30.5%, 409

Not exactly, but not too shabby

That's a wrap of all of the teams that have a 30% or higher win pct. As much as I hate to say it, Georgia Tech should have made the original list. If not for LSU and Florida's recent mega-success, they would have. Tech has an all time winning record vs. Florida, LSU, and Miami. Tech has 2 undisputed MNC's (1917, 1928) and a split title in 1990 with Colorado. Adding Tech would also put UGA's winning pct at 50.9, but a list is a list, and I'm not changin' it (and whoever heard of the Sweet 17....it just don't sound right).

UCLA is the only other team on the planet to break 40%. USC casts a mighty big shadow in LA.

Anyway, here's the rest of the BCS schools in order of win pct against the top 16. When I run across a name that's made a splash recently, I'll put up their win pct and games played for reference.

ARKANSAS

VIRGINIA TECH 29.7%, 93

CALIFORNIA 29.4%, 141

VANDERBILT

CLEMSON

DUKE

IOWA 28.2%, 222

PURDUE

VIRGINIA

WISCONSIN 26.5%, 190

BOSTON COLLEGE 25.9%, 112

ILLINOIS 25.7%, 238

NC STATE

OREGON 24.7%, 96

KENTUCKY

KANSAS 23.6%, 247

MARYLAND

TEXAS TECH

BAYLOR

ARIZONA

NORTHWESTERN

SOUTH CAROLINA

WAKE FOREST 20.6%, 69

KANSAS STATE

SOUTH FLORIDA

INDIANA

WEST VIRGINIA 18.2%, 101

OKLAHOMA ST

OREGON ST

WASHINGTON ST

IOWA ST

CINCINNATI

LOUISVILLE 11.6%, 44

RUTGERS 7.8%, 52

UCONN

I hope that all of these numbers will give a little perspective to how these programs have performed.

Anyway, I'm sorting through all of these stats and building up to my official ranking of the top 16. Right now, the Billingsley List is the most reputable that I can find since they've had a poll since 1869. I'm sure that mine won't look quite like that (hint....UGA #1...jk).

To be continued..........

Poll results

2008-04-19T08:00:00.002-04:00

About 2 weeks ago, I started a poll to see which OOC team(s) the dawgnation would like to see a home & home with. My personal preferences in order were:

OKLAHOMA
USC
MICHIGAN
NOTRE DAME
TEXAS
OHIO STATE
PENN STATE
NEBRASKA
MIAMI
FSU

Dawg fans don’t necessarily agree with me, dropping the Sooners down to #6 on the wish list. Thanks for voting. Here are the results and the number of votes.

USC (94)
NOTRE DAME (64)
MICHIGAN (58)
TEXAS (50)
OHIO STATE (49)
OKLAHOMA (31)
PENN STATE (16)
FLORIDA STATE (15)
MIAMI (13)
NEBRASKA (10)
OTHER (8)

ALABAMATHEMATICS II

2008-04-18T06:38:00.003-04:00

Extreme thanks go out to Senator Blutarsky for pointing out the recent Saban interview relating to the scholly cuts.

For anyone not aware of the numbers that Saban's got to meet, check it out here.

How many do we have to dump?........wait, you'll have to count toes too

As mentioned in that post, I hope someone keeps a detailed record of how ol' Nicky gets down to the 85. Any ammunition during recruiting season always helps.

Sweet 16 III

2008-04-18T06:12:00.004-04:00

I started this series by taking what I considered the top 16 programs in College Football history and tracking their all time records, just to see how UGA stacked up. The answer has been “quite well” but there’s a ton of information to sift through. To get caught up you can find part 1 here, and part 2 right about.........here.

Today, I’m going to post the records of the top 16 programs vs. each of the BCS Conferences. Keep in mind that I’m using the current conference alignments when calculating these stats. Here they are in alphabetical order.

ALABAMA
ACC 74-34-4, .694
BIG TWELVE 14-16-2, .467
BIG EAST 11-2-0, .846
BIG TEN 13-9-0, .591
PAC TEN 13-5-1, .722
SEC 413-185-28, .691

AUBURN
ACC 119-75-8, .613
BIG TWELVE 11-15-1, .423
BIG EAST 5-2-1, .714
BIG TEN 6-3-2, .667
PAC TEN 5-3-0, .625
SEC 309-233-22, .570

FLORIDA
ACC 108-93-11, .537
BIG TWELVE 5-6-1, .455
BIG EAST 7-3-2, .700
BIG TEN 9-5-0, .643
PAC TEN 6-4-1, .600
SEC 274-210-15, .566

FLORIDA STATE
ACC 173-74-4, .700
BIG TWELVE 30-13-0, .698
BIG EAST 28-8-0, .778
BIG TEN 8-2-1, .800
PAC TEN 6-1-0, .857
SEC 59-65-6, .476

GEORGIA
ACC 161-91-18, .624
BIG TWELVE 11-7-0, .611
BIG EAST 2-5-0, .286
BIG TEN 7-2-0, .778
PAC TEN 8-4-1, .667
SEC 342-222-24, .606

LSU
ACC 31-28-0, .525
BIG TWELVE 52-40-5, .565
BIG EAST 1-3-0, .250
BIG TEN 7-4-1, .636
PAC TEN 12-3-0, .800
SEC 313-235-25, .571

MIAMI
ACC 109-70-1, .609
BIG TWELVE 32-20-0, .615
BIG EAST 84-21-2, .800
BIG TEN 26-15-0, .634
PAC TEN 9-8-0, .529
SEC 65-82-3, .442

MICHIGAN
ACC 23-4-0, .852
BIG TWELVE 16-8-1, .667
BIG EAST 9-5-1, .643
BIG TEN 500-174-23, .742
PAC TEN 44-22-1, .667
SEC 20-5-1, .800

NEBRASKA
ACC 14-14-0, .500
BIG TWELVE 457-170-17, .729
BIG EAST 14-22-0, .389
BIG TEN 79-73-10, .520
PAC TEN 33-20-3, .623
SEC 19-6-1, .760

NOTRE DAME
ACC 75-29-2, .721
BIG TWELVE 37-18-2, .673
BIG EAST 56-20-1, .737
BIG TEN 216-111-15, .661
PAC TEN 78-41-6, .655
SEC 21-13-0, .618

OHIO STATE
ACC 14-7-0, .667
BIG TWELVE 28-4-1, .875
BIG EAST 42-11-1, .792
BIG TEN 433-186-26, .700
PAC TEN 50-23-2, .685
SEC 7-11-2, .389

OKLAHOMA
ACC 28-5-0, .848
BIG TWELVE 511-213-34, .706
BIG EAST 18-3-1, .857
BIG TEN 10-6-0, .625
PAC TEN 22-15-1, .595
SEC 19-9-3, .679

PENN STATE
ACC 89-21-2, .809
BIG TWELVE 22-13-0, .629
BIG EAST 171-77-11, .690
BIG TEN 89-64-2, .582
PAC TEN 22-11-0, .667
SEC 16-16-0, .500

TENNESSEE
ACC 100-60-7, .625
BIG TWELVE 9-8-1, .529
BIG EAST 15-4-0, .789
BIG TEN 10-5-0, .667
PAC TEN 14-11-2, .560
SEC 361-200-34, .643

TEXAS
ACC 17-9-0, .654
BIG TWELVE 313-137-15, .696
BIG EAST 6-4-0, .600
BIG TEN 11-7-0, .611
PAC TEN 22-11-0, .667
SEC 94-45-4, .676

USC
ACC 11-5-0, .688
BIG TWELVE 29-9-2, .763
BIG EAST 9-4-0, .692
BIG TEN 65-27-2, .707
PAC TEN 397-157-29, .717
SEC 17-10-1, .630

When you look at these numbers, please note that they reflect the conferences as they are today. Here are the recent major conference changes that don’t get truly reflected in these numbers.

In 1996, the Southwest conference was dissolved, with Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor joining the Big 8, thus creating the Big 12. Left out of the mix for these teams were traditional SWC rivals Houston, Rice, SMU, and TCU, all of which are now members of non-BCS conferences.

In 1993, Penn State’s athletic teams became part of the Big 10 conference. Prior to then, Penn State had been an independent.

In 1991, FSU gave up their independent status to join the ACC. Also in 1991, Miami and Virginia Tech joined the Big East. Miami and Virginia Tech then switched to the ACC in 2004, followed by Boston College in 2005, being replaced in the Big East by Cincinnati, Louisville, and South Florida.

In 1991, the SEC expanded to 12 teams by taking Arkansas from the SWC, and South Carolina from the independent ranks.

To be continued……..

How's It Hangin? Vol. IV

2008-04-18T05:50:00.003-04:00

The week that was...................

UGA Football
Very quiet. Fall practice starts in August, exact date TBA. 135 days until kickoff.

UGA Basketball
Practice cranks back up in October. The recruiting class is starting to take shape. Recruiting news here.

UGA Baseball
It ain’t always pretty, but finishing the past week 5-0 is pretty dawggone good. A three game sweep of Kentucky over the weekend and close games against ETSU and Georgia State have moved the Dawgs up to as high as 7th depending on which poll you choose. Le Dawgs travel to Baton Rouge to kick off a 3 game set with LSU tonite. Overall record 24-12, 12-3 SEC, currently in 1st in the SEC East, 3 games ahead of Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Atlanta Braves
Do we have any pitchers left? This week saw Glavine tweak a hammy and Moylan have elbow problems. The Braves avoided a sweep against Florida with a win last nite and finished the week 3-3. Two of the losses were by one run, making them 0-7 in one run games. Current record 6-9, 4th in the NL East, 3 games behind the leader (Florida).

Atlanta Hawks
Sing it with me…….WE’RE IN THE PLAYOFFS, WE’RE IN THE PLAYOFFS, WE GONNA PLAY BOSTON……oh shit. Anyway, the Hawks clinched the last playoff spot in the East despite going 1-3 for the week. 1st round opponent, East leader Boston, Sunday nite @ 8:30. Things don’t look to great but…….WE’RE IN THE PLAYOFFS, WE’RE IN THE PLAYOFFS.

Atlanta Thrashers
Season over. 3rd pick in the draft this June.

Atlanta Falcons
Have the 3rd overall pick in the NFL draft, April 26-27

Totally Unrelated to anything Georgia
Colorado beat San Diego last night 2-1 in 22 innings. 22 INNINGS!

Sweet 16 - Part II

2008-04-16T09:59:00.004-04:00

Several articles and television reports have focused on SEC home cookin’ when it comes to OOC scheduling. Much has been made of the fact that UGA hasn’t traveled west of the Mississippi River in recent memory. This year we get rid of that monkey when we play @ Arizona State this year. Personally, I don’t see that travel = tough scheduling. It’s more about “who you play” than “where you play”.

I’m continuing the theme of the “Sweet 16” that I posted here, and I’m going to look at how the other schools on the list compare with their OOC scheduling habits. Here’s the list of how many OOC games each of these teams have played against BCS opponents. Higher is better in this category.

OUT OF CONFERENCE VS BCS OPPONENTS
NOTRE DAME 741
PENN STATE 490
MIAMI 390
NEBRASKA 324
GEORGIA 309
USC 270
FLORIDA 262
AUBURN 256
TENNESSEE 254
TEXAS 240
FSU 233
OHIO STATE 208
ALABAMA 207
LSU 197
MICHIGAN 195
OKLAHOMA 149

Of course all of Notre Dame’s games are OOC. Penn State and Miami were independents for the majority of their history, so they are naturally at the top. FSU, who started their program in 1954, has the youngest program on the list and should be at the bottom.
Here’s my take on this list. The SEC is very well represented when it comes to scheduling OOC games with other BCS schools. Does it really matter if it’s vs the ACC or PAC10 as long as it’s a BCS opponent. Does it make a difference if a SEC school schedules NC State or Washington State? I don’t think so. It seems that most of the negative press on the subject has come from Big 10 country, and as this list shows, their two powerhouses are near the bottom when it comes to scheduling decent OOC games.

Here’s a look at each of these team’s OOC games against NON-BCS opponents. These are the “automatics” that teams schedule each year. Lower is better in this category.

OUT OF CONFERENCE VS NON-BCS OPPONENTS
FSU 200
NEBRASKA 213
OKLAHOMA 220
GEORGIA 251
USC 256
FLORIDA 279
AUBURN 291
TENNESSEE 294
MIAMI 298
MICHIGAN 299
OHIO STATE 301
ALABAMA 311
LSU 347
NOTRE DAME 403
TEXAS 464
PENN STATE 533

Again, FSU’s numbers are misleading due to the fact that they’ve played between 30-45% fewer games overall than the other programs on this list. Notre Dame, Penn St, and Miami don’t catch a break in this category because, independent or not, there’s no excuse for scheduling that many “cupcake” games. It’s worth noting that Nebraska and Georgia make the top of both lists. LSU is near the bottom of both.

To be continued………….

The Sweet 16

2008-04-13T17:14:00.004-04:00

My conference is better than yours. My OOC schedule is tougher than yours. Your school sucks. My team is the bestest. That's the stuff that fills up college football tv coverage, newspapers, & weblogs. Of course all of this discussion is heavily biased, depending on the network or the area of the country. Thankfully, somebody (me) has put together some numbers that will bring closure to these discussions, once and for all.

It all begins with the "Sweet 16". That's my list of the top 16 programs in NCAA history. I came up with my list, and it matches this one with the exception of Florida taking the place of Washington, and I don't agree with the actual ranking order. Anyway, I'd challenge anyone to present a valid argument that would replace any of the teams on this list......anyone?......no?.......ok, we agree.

In alphabetical order, here's the 16:

ALABAMA
AUBURN
FLORIDA
FLORIDA STATE
GEORGIA - The bestest team in the world. All of the other teams on this list suck. We play the toughest OOC schedule on the planet and play in the best conference in college football, the SEC.
LSU
MIAMI
MICHIGAN
NEBRASKA
NOTRE DAME
OHIO STATE
OKLAHOMA
PENN STATE
TENNESSEE
TEXAS
USC

That's the list of the "cream of the crop" of college football.

During the course of the next week, I'm going to compare how this Sweet 16 has fared against the various BCS conferences. But today, I'm taking a page out of the NASCAR book and having the SuperBowl first. Forget how many times the win totals have been padded by beating up on the Iowa States, Vanderbilts, or Stanford's of the world. Let's compare these 16 teams heads up.

First, let's look at the total games played, which will obviously be weighted towards the SEC. However, this also says alot about the strength of schedule that these teams historically face.

FLORIDA 409
AUBURN 407
ALABAMA 400
GEORGIA 359
LSU 285
TENNESSEE 274
NOTRE DAME 228
OKLAHOMA 228
MIAMI 223
MICHIGAN 184
TEXAS 184
FLORIDA STATE 177
OHIO STATE 176
NEBRASKA 174
USC 161
PENN STATE 123

There can be no sane, rational, logical, or reasonable argument presented that doesn't point to the SEC having the highest strength of schedule, and these numbers show that it really isn't close.

What about winning percentages. When the best play the best, you're not going to find any of these ridiculous 80% numbers. In reality, any thing over 50 would be considered outstanding. Here's the list.

MICHIGAN 58%
TEXAS 58% (tie with identical records)
ALABAMA 57.8%
NOTRE DAME 55.7%
USC 52%
AUBURN 51.3%
TENNESSEE 50.4%
FLORIDA 48.7%
GEORGIA 48.2%
NEBRASKA 47.3%
OKLAHOMA 46.8%
PENN STATE 46.3%
MIAMI 44.8%
FSU 44.4%
OHIO ST 43.1%
LSU 42.8%

Our most recent participants in the BCS Championship Game don't fare too well historically when they play the big boys.

Finally, a list of the overall head to head records, sorted by most wins. When you look at the all-time win totals of these programs, you'll know that these were the tough ones.

ALABAMA 219-160-21
AUBURN 200-190-17
FLORIDA 194-204-11
GEORGIA 164-176-19
TENNESSEE 130-128-16
NOTRE DAME 122-97-9
LSU 115-154-16
MICHIGAN 102-74-8
TEXAS 102-74-8
OKLAHOMA 102-116-10
MIAMI 99-122-2
USC 79-73-9
NEBRASKA 79-88-7
FSU 76-95-6
OHIO STATE 72-95-9
PENN STATE 56-65-2

There's alot to read into these numbers. I guess it depends on what you're looking for. If anything jumps out in particular, leave a message in the comments section.

A Little UGA History

2008-04-12T10:33:00.006-04:00

A couple of days ago, in response to reading just a few too many quotes from the South Carolina fanbase, I posted these wonderful tidbits regarding USC's storied football history (or lack thereof).

But in the interest of fairness, here's a list of some of the historical UGA highlights and lowlights.

ALL TIME RECORDS VS SEC OPPONENTS

ALABAMA 25-35-4
ARKANSAS 8-3
AUBURN 50-53-8
FLORIDA 46-37-2
KENTUCKY 48-11-2
LSU 11-14-1
OLE MISS 30-12-1
MISS ST. 16-5
SOUTH CAROLINA 44-14-2
TENNESSEE 15-20-2
VANDY 49-18-2

OTHER RIVALS OF NOTE (MORE THAN 25 GAMES)

CLEMSON 41-17-4
GEORGIA TECH 59-38-5
NORTH CAROLINA 16-12-2

MORE STUFF

43 BOWL APPEARANCES (6th most)
24-16-3 overall bowl record (5th most wins)
9 Sugar, 3 Cotton, 3 Orange, 1 Rose Bowl appearances
2 National Championships (1942, 1980)
12 SEC Championships (3rd)

10+ WIN SEASONS

1942
1946 (11-0-0 & not recognized as NC???)
1959
1966 Vince Dooley
1971
1976
1978
1980
1981
1982
1983
1992
1997
2002 Mark Richt
2003
2004
2005
2007

SEASONS WITH ONLY ONE LOSS OR TIE (CULPRIT)

1920 8-0-1 (VIRGINIA)
1927 9-1-0 (GA TECH)
1942 11-1-0 (AUBURN)
1959 10-1-0 (SOUTH CAROLINA)
1966 10-1-0 (MIAMI)
1971 11-1-0 (AUBURN)
1982 11-1-0 (PENN ST)
2002 13-1 (FLORIDA)

Auburn with 2 entries makes them #1 on my sh!t list.

SEASONS THAT WE'VE BEEN THE LONE BLEMISH TO RUIN A SEASON

1914 AUBURN 8-0-1
1915 GA TECH 7-0-1
1920 ALABAMA 10-1
1921 VANDY 7-0-1
1927 YALE 7-1 (back in the day when Yale was a powerhouse)
1929 NORTH CAROLINA 9-1
1978 CLEMSON 11-1
1983 TEXAS 11-1
2007 HAWAII 12-1

How's It Hangin? Vol. III

2008-04-10T21:26:00.005-04:00

The week that was...................

UGA Football
The G-Day game was short & sweet. It provided a little peek at some of the freshmen that we’ll see in the fall. Spring practice is officially over and opening day is only 142 days away. It will be very interesting to see………arghhhhhhhhhh…….142 DAYS…..$%@$#. That sucks.

UGA Basketball
Practice cranks back up in October. Recruiting news here.

UGA Baseball
The Diamond Dawgs jumped into the polls at #14 and promptly swept a 3 game set from #12 South Carolina last weekend. How do ya follow that up.....by losing consecutive games to Winthrop and Tech. 3-2 for the week gives the Dawgs an overall record of 20-12, 9-3 SEC. Kicks off a 3 game set with Kentucky tonite. UGA currently leads Florida by 1 game in the SEC EAST.

Atlanta Braves
2-3 for the week with last nites game postponed due to snow. Overall record 3-6, dead last & 2 1/2 games out in the NL EAST. 4 of their losses have been by one run, no reason to panic. Closer Raphael Soriano was put on the 15 day DL retroactive to Monday. The road trip continues with a 3 game set @ Washington this weekend and heading down to Miami on Tuesday.

Atlanta Hawks
Lost to Philly, beat Philly, lost to Indiana.....The 4 game cushion for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference has shrunk to 2 games with 4 left to play. @ NY tonite, home vs Boston tomorrow, home vs Orlando on Tuesday, and closing out the regular season @ Miami on Wednesday.

Atlanta Thrashers
Finished the season with a win vs Tampa Bay. Has the 3rd pick in the draft this June.

Atlanta Falcons
Have the 3rd overall pick in the NFL draft, April 26-27

gameCOCKY

2008-04-09T23:02:00.005-04:00

I don't get around to all the SEC articles, posts, & blogs as much as I'd like.....and I should be ashamed. But when I do get to catch up, I try to concentrate on the UGA posts first and foremost, then I'll drift around to see what's goin on in the rest of the college football world.

Here's something that I've found to be as certain as death & taxes. When there's a story on UGA, there will be some South Carolina fans puttin' their two cents in. 16-12, 16-12, 16-12.......yeah, we get it. South Carolina won a football game. Be proud. Puff out the ol' chest. And shut the f*** up.

Scary.....very scary

I know that pre-season expectations are high every year in Columbia. The Ol' ballcoach has you believing that you're going to be contenders. He's convinced the University to allow....uhh.....academically challenged atheletes to enroll. He's convinced the State Department of Parole to allow your prize QB to stay on the team. There's no reason not to be optimistic.

USC Fun Facts:

14-44-2 vs. UGA.....really pitiful. But 16-12, 16-12
37-64-4 vs. Clem[p]son.......2nd best in the state is something to hang your hat on
17-24-3 vs. DUKE.....I thought I'd throw that one in because (a) it's hilarious and (b) it's true
0 SEC Championships in 16 tries
0 SEC East Championships in 16 tries
0 National Championships in 101 tries
13 Bowl Appearances overall
4-9 Bowl Record overall
0 Appearances in Rose, Orange, Sugar, Fiesta, Cotton Bowls
definitely not the best team with the initials USC
7+ win seasons since 1960......11
8+ win seasons since 1960......5
9+ win seasons since 1960......1
10+ win seasons since 1960....1 (1984 was a damn fine year)
10+ win seasons all time.........1

But, never fear. This year will be the year of the Cock just like 1984.

Opinions Wanted

2008-04-08T22:21:00.004-04:00

Things have been a wee bit hectic the last several days, so I've gotta do the "short & sweet" post.

Last week I went through my list of the OOC teams that I'd most like to schedule a home & home with. I picked out some traditional powerhouses that we rarely play, or in one instance, have never played.

Check out my picks here, then check out the poll over there somewhere>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Pick a couple of your faves and maybe we'll get an idea of where the dawgnation stands on this issue.

As always, comments are welcome.

Attention to Detail

2008-04-06T11:15:00.004-04:00

It's the little things that make a difference between average, good, and excellent.

I heard something during yesterday's radio broadcast that may have not mean alot to some, but it caught my attention.

Loren Smith mentioned a tour of the locker room with some of the members of the 1958 SEC champ Bulldog squad. He happened to be near Tommy Paris, #22 on that team when he walked up to Richard Samuel's locker.

I don't know when CMR did this, or where he got the idea, but Loren credits Richt for putting every UGA letterman's name on the locker of his respective number. So when Mr. Paris, who has to be in his 70's now, looked at Samuel's locker, he had an emotional moment when he saw "Tommy Paris #22".

That might not seem like much to some, but it obviously means alot to everyone who's put on the Red & Black. It gives today's players a link to the past and certainly links the past players to the present.

Just one of the many reasons that make me realize the program is in good hands.

Got change for a $20?

2008-04-06T08:43:00.009-04:00

The curtain goes up, the show gets pretty good........and you run out of quarters, dammit. Curtain down.

That sums up yesterday's G-Day game. The first half, while short, was pretty entertaining. The 2nd half didn't offer too much information due to all of the non-scholarship players on the field. Those guys don't get a chance to play in the fall, and it's great that their hard work is rewarded with some snaps in the spring game. It's just a shame that with the 8 minute quarters, we didn't get to see a few more series with the #1's & #2's.

The results weren't shocking at all. I was concerned with the number of playmakers on the black's offense, but a little pregame switcheration putting Caleb King and Walter Hill over there evened that out a little. The biggest problem, as I mentioned yesterday morning, was the black's O-line. 14 total games played between the 5, going against a front 7 that had 53 games was a bit of a mismatch, and it showed early and often.

The Good

Red Team
-Stafford's first drive was excellent. But, for all the talk about taking what the D gives him, he still didn't hesitate to try to thread a needle.
-Knowshon didn't look rusty at all. A couple of good runs and the cut on the screen play were all the coaches needed to see.
- The re-tooled O-line had a decent game. I did focus on Justin Anderson for a couple of plays and dayum, he moved both DT's by his lonesome.
-Logan Gray looked pretty dawg-gone good. He showed the speed and the arm. That TD pass was a laser. Did he grab the #2 qb spot? I dunno, but it's a matter of time.
-Richard Samuel did a pretty good job, although he had a chance at a TD with just Asher Allen to beat...advantage Allen.
-The defense spent more time in the backfield than Joe Cox.
-Vance Cuff made the shoestring tackle on CK that kept the UGA faithful from goin' absolutely nuts.
-Greg Blue.....oh...i meant John Knox absolutely crushed Kalvin Daniels on a dump over the middle. Knox also had a pick & a nice return for 20 yards.
-Walk-on Brian Behr boomed a 52 yd field goal at the end of the first half.
-The game ball goes to Michael Moore. Nothing like 2 TD receptions to make up for an entire spring of being left out of the headlines.

Black Team
-Caleb King's coming out party was greatly hampered by his inexperienced O-line. Overall, he had a decent day. A couple of tough runs up the middle and the "Oh what might have been" screen pass was the appetizer....dinner time is August 30th.
-I was glad to see Israel Troupe have a good day, since I've been pumping him up since he committed.
-Aron White made a nice grab between the safeties.
-Joe Cox (or any QB for the Black) had absolutely no time to throw the ball, but got some decent results.
-Kalvin Daniels, he of no scholly, no hype, & no 4 star rating had a very good G-Day. With his experience, he has to be the #3 tailback coming out of spring.
-Chad Gloer, I direct your attention to #6 on the black team roster. The kid made a couple of very good plays and deserves a mention.

The Bad

-I wasn't overly impressed with the 1st team D. In what amounts to 1 qtr of game time they gave up 17 points. The safety play (of which I have noted as a strength) must improve and is directly responsible for the 2 TD's. C'mon boys, don't make me eat crow. CMR has harped on consistency this spring. 4 great plays, then 1 bad one is enough to add up to 1 loss.
-Inexperienced depth on the O-line. I think the talent is there, but the #2's didn't mesh too well.
-The injury to Vince Vance. Reports are it's just a sprain, which is good news.......320 pounds on the sprain makes it a little worse.

The Ugly

-The Weather. Although, it could have been much worse.
-The clock. I understand the reasoning, the injuries and the anticipated weather, but we football junkies needed a little more of a fix to get us through the next 5 months.

Pre Spring Fling

2008-04-05T11:14:00.002-04:00

Whether it's a flu bug or just a virus that's sweeping my household, I'm relegated to watching today's game on the tube. I got the tickets online, 16 whole dollars, and I'm glad it's going to charity.

The G-Day roster is out, and from the looks of it, the Red Team looks to have a distinct advantage. The Black's offensive threats are Joe Cox, Dontavious Jackson, Bruce Figgins, Israel Troupe, and Demiko Goodman. They'll be facing a pretty good #2 defense with the only weak link over at one corner position. The O line has 2 guys that have actually taken a snap.THROW IT UP JOE......if you have the time.

The field is going to be sloppy, no question. As of right now (11:45 a.m.) it looks like there's a chance the rain might stop by gametime.....with a little luck. The game has been shortened to 8 minute quarters due to the number of injured players.

Stafford's coming out early, so I'm a little anxious to see how Logan Gray does running the 1st team offense.

I just hope it's not a total slogfest.

How's it Hangin? Vol. II

2008-04-04T03:09:00.004-04:00

The week that was.

UGA Football
Currently wrapping up spring practice. G-Day, Sanford Stadium, 4/5/08 @ 2 p.m. Next Opponent: Opening day at home vs Georgia Southern in 149 days.

UGA Basketball
Practice cranks back up in October. Recruiting news here.

UGA Baseball
Finished the week with a 4-1 record after taking 2 of 3 from Mississippi St and sweeping a pair from Clemson. Opens a 3 game set with South Carolina today in Athens. Overall record 17-10, 6-3 SEC. Trails Florida by 1 game in the SEC East.

Atlanta Braves
Two losses in extra innings, one loss to a walk off homer in the bottom 9th, and one win adds up to a fantabulous opening week of 1-3. Opens a series in Atlanta vs. the Mets today, then it's on the road to Colorado and Washington. And here's a newsflash......Mike Hampton gets put on the DL with a pulled pectoral muscle (chest strain)......WTF???

Atlanta Hawks
4-0 for the week. Wins over Chicago, New York, Memphis, and Toronto have widened the Hawks cushion on the 8th playoff spot from 1/2 game to 4 games with 7 remaining. Philly @ home tonight, Philly at Philly tomorrow, & Indiana on the road Tuesday. They haven't been playin against the NBA royalty, but I'll take any 5 game winning streak.

Atlanta Thrashers
Last chance to see the Thrashers this season will be Saturday nite, Phillips Arena, 7 p.m.
1-2 for the week.

Atlanta Falcons
NFL Draft, April 26-27

Better Late than Never

2008-04-03T20:49:00.004-04:00

When it hurts to read, you know it's gotta be the flu. But, after 48 hours of pure misery, I'm back among the living, if barely. Before I went into a delusional state, I was trying to point out the number of players that UGA will rotate into the game on a regular basis, regardless of the situation or opponent. I wanted to see how we stacked up talent-wise to some of the other big programs.

Here's a summary:

To get a handle on that question, let's look at the number of players that actually see the field in an important, hard-fought game....no blowouts......special teams don't count.....just offense and defense.....and make it a conference game, just to make sure that no holds are barred.My three models from 2007 are UGA vs Florida, USC vs Oregon, and LSU vs Auburn.

UGA used 52 players
Florida 51
USC 53
Oregon 47
Auburn 49
LSU 48

45 looks like a good solid number to slug it out with the big boys. These don't have to be 4 or 5 star players (although that doesn't hurt), just solid D-1A players. Having more than that doesn't seem to matter, since only 50 or so are going to play. Having less.....you may be in trouble.

I'm reasonably certain that the majority of the Dawgnation is aware of how our coaching staff likes to get alot of players into a game. But for the few who may not be aware, I'm going to list the players that, barring injury, will play in every game in 2008.

I'd like to point out that the majority of these guys will get plenty of snaps. Last year, Jeremy Lomax averaged 23 snaps per game as a backup DE. Reshad Jones finished 3rd on the team in tackles as a backup. Knowshon came off the bench for half the season. Geno Atkins did the same.
The point is that these guys don't come off the bench to give the starters an occasional breather. They are part of a rotation, and given their talent level, the Dawgs don't lose much in the way of performance.

Yes, there is a reason that we have a depth chart. The starters earned their positions. But the guys that come off the bench on Saturdays are pushing those starters everyday in practice.

Ok, before I slip back into my flu-like delusions, here's the list.......
Safety (3) - Reshad Jones, CJ Byrd, Quentin Banks
Corner (5) - Asher Allen, Prince Miller, Bryan Evans, Remarcus Brown, Vance Cuff
Linebacker(6) - Dannell Ellerbe, Akeem Dent, Rennie Curran, Darius Dewberry, Daryl Gamble, Akeem Hebron
D-Tackle (4) - Jeff Owens, Geno Atkins, Kade Weston, Corey Irvin
D -End (4) - Roderick Battle, Jarius Wynn, Jeremy Lomax, Demarcus Dobbs

O-line (8) - Vince Vance, Josh Davis, Chris Davis, Kiante Tripp, Trinton Sturdivant, Clint Boling, Justin Anderson, Chris Little.
Tight End (3) - Tripp Chandler, Bruce Figgins, Aaron White
Wide Receiver (7) - Mohamed Massaquoi, Kris Durham, Kenneth Harris, Demiko Goodman, Tony Wilson, Michael Moore, Walter Hill.
Fullback (2) - Brannan Southerland, Shaun Chapas
Tailback (2) - Knowshon Moreno, Caleb King
Quarterback (1) - Matt Stafford

Thats a total of 45 players that look to share the bulk of the snaps in a close game this season. By the time opening day rolls around, I look for 8-10 more players to add their name to the list, especially on defense.

If I've missed someone who obviously should be on the list, leave a note in the comments section.

Rising to the Top - Part II

2008-04-01T22:28:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I posted the top 20 schools as they rated in signing 4 & 5 star recruits since 2003, which would have made them 5th year seniors in 2007. Now I've thrown away the 2003 class and counted 2008 and the numbers look like this.
(1) USC 79
(2) FLORIDA 77
(3) FSU 75
(4) LSU 71
(5) OKLAHOMA 66
(6) GEORGIA 63
(7) TEXAS 62
(7) MIAMI 62
(9) MICHIGAN 59
(10) OHIO ST. 54
(10) ALABAMA 54
(12) TENNESSEE 52
(13) NOTRE DAME 49
(14) AUBURN 46
(15) CLEMSON 37
(16) S. CAROLINA 36
(17) PENN ST. 35
(17) CALIFORNIA 35
(19) NEBRASKA 34
(20) TEXAS A&M 33

As a point of reference, I'll include these teams that finished in the top 10 on the field; Missouri 14, WVA 7, Kansas 5.

I'll say it again, these are not the numbers on the actual rosters. Some have graduated, jumped to the NFL, and some never made it to school. UGA for example has 51 of the 63 players on it's 2008 roster. 11 of the missing players have used their eligibility and 1 never made it to campus. Maybe I'll track down the actual players on each team's roster in the future, cuz it's gonna be a boring summer.

There's several ways of breaking down the information on this list. Do you need a ton of highly rated recruits to compete? What does it mean when the super talented teams under perform? Why don't the top 10 on the list equal the top 10 in the rankings? I'm just going to look at one for right now - How many good players does a team need to compete at the highest level?

To get a handle on that question, let's look at the number of players that actually see the field in an important, hard-fought game....no blowouts......special teams don't count.....just offense and defense.....and make it a conference game, just to make sure that no holds are barred.

My three models from 2007 are UGA vs Florida, USC vs Oregon, and LSU vs Auburn.
UGA used 52 players
Florida 51
USC 53
Oregon 47
Auburn 49
LSU 48

45 looks like a good solid number to slug it out with the big boys. These don't have to be 4 or 5 star players (although that doesn't hurt), just solid D-1A players. Having more than that doesn't seem to matter, since only 50 or so are going to play. Having less.....you may be in trouble.

Tomorrow, I'll try to put out the list of UGA players that will likely have legitimate playing time in the close ones.

Does the Cream Rise to the Top?

2008-03-31T22:27:00.004-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, SMQ posted this article showing that percentage wise, recruiting services have a pretty good eye for talent. It also shows that they can't pick out every diamond in the rough, but when they label a kid as a 5 star or 4 star recruit, that player will definitely have the measurables that would allow them to succeed on the collegiate level.

Early in the 2007 season, several message boards were started regarding talent levels at different schools. Out of curiosity, I went on rivals and started counting 4 and 5 star commits to most of the D-1A programs since 2003, which would have made them 5th year seniors. I didn't count the players that weren't on the 2007 roster, that's not really necessary for this comparison. It simply shows which schools are gathering the most talent. Anybody want to guess in the blind what the list looks like?.....

Here ya go, 5 & 4 star commits to these universities since 2003

1. LSU 76
1. USC 76
3, Florida 75
4. Florida St. 69
5. Oklahoma 67
6. Texas 62
7. Georgia 58
7. Miami 58
9. Tennessee 56
10. Michigan 55
11. Ohio St. 48
12. Auburn 47
13. Notre Dame 38
14. Alabama 36
15. Nebraska 35
15. Penn St. 35
15. South Carolina 35
18. California 34
19. Texas A&M 32
20. Oregon 29

And for quick reference, the final Coaches Poll top 10 with the number of 5 & 4 star commits:

LSU 76
USC 76
GEORGIA 58
OHIO ST 48
MISSOURI 15
WEST VIRGINIA 7
KANSAS 5
OKLAHOMA 67
VA TECH 23
TEXAS 62

Looks to me like Kansas, WVU, Missouri, and to some extent Va Tech are being "coached-up" pretty well. On the flip side, Miami and FSU are.....uhhhhh.....mmmm.......sucking? I'll have the numbers for the 2008 5th year senior class sorted out in the next couple of days.

Recruiting Tightrope

2008-03-30T11:26:00.003-04:00

UGA's latest commitment and the suspected small overall recruiting class are noted in this article by AJC's Carter Strickland.

Coach Garner seems a little worried about the number of scholly's that will be available and how many offers that we can make.

Uncle Urban wants YOU.....and YOU......and YOU.....oh, and YOU too

Never fear. The simple solution regarding the number of offers is provided by Urban Meyer. Likewise, Nick Saban is the resident expert on the actual number of players that can sign LOI's.

You guys look smart.......academic schollys are in your future

After all, it's simple math.

Roll Tide?

2008-03-30T09:40:00.004-04:00

A full moon + delusional fans = High Tide

Some humor in an otherwise overcast day.

ESPN poll question "Will Alabama win a BCS bowl game this season?"

Personally, I think the better question would have been "Will Alabama MAKE it to ANY bowl this season?". But anyhoo, here's the linkage to the very surprising results. Also notable is that more than 100 households in Mississippi have internet access.

tOOC

2008-03-30T07:55:00.004-04:00

I was recently having a debate with a very good friend, who happens to be a tOSU grad, on the relatively weak OOC games on each team's schedule in previous years. The final conclusion, after 4 hours and more than 4 beers, was that money would always be the driving force when the schedules are set. Let's face it, giving up a home game with 100,000 paying customers is not something that an AD can overlook.

But if we could overlook the financial windfall, and schedule anyone in the 3 open slots on our yearly schedule, what match-ups would have the most interest for UGA fans. Personally, I'd like to see us play all of the traditional powers, especially ones that we rarely play or have never played.

Here's my list.....feel free to add yours in the comments section

All time record vs UGA......zero wins, zero losses, zero ties

Oklahoma: Never played 'em. We need to. 'Nuff said.

USC: 0-3 all time with last meeting in 1960.

Nebraska: 1 meeting, a loss in 1969

Michigan: Last meeting 1965. 1-1 record

Notre Dame: One meeting, one win, one MNC, 1980

Penn St: One meeting, one loss, one missed MNC, 1982

Texas: 1-3 all time record. Last meeting 1984 cotton bowl

tOSU: 1993 Citrus Bowl is the only meeting.....add one in the W column

Miami: Last meeting 1966. 7-4-1 all time

FSU: Last meeting 2003 Sugar Bowl. 6-4-1 all time

It'd also be great if we could renew the yearly game with Clemson. That game was the casualty of the SEC expansion and I always enjoyed the extra chance to wear the "I HATE ORANGE" t-shirt. The 47-17-4 all time record doesn't hurt either.

A look ahead at noteable OOC games tentatively scheduled for the next few years....

2008 Arizona State

2009 Arizona State, Oklahoma State

2010 Colorado

2011 Louisville

2012 Louisville

2013 Clemson

2014 Clemson

2015 Oregon

2016 Oregon

Of course we always have Georgia Tech, and it's not realistic to see any other big schools being added through 2016. If we can, I hope they're on my list.

Give and Take

2008-03-29T07:42:00.005-04:00

Just a few impressions on the reports from Friday night's scrimmage.

Offense
Out of the approximately 100 plays, 49 were passes. The QB's had a very good night going 26 for 37, for 400+ yards, 5 td, 1 int.........and 12 sacks. Richt hinted that the starting O-line played pretty well but the 2nd unit struggled. 12 sacks. I know that the QB's are wearing the green jersey and just maybe some of the "sacks" were borderline, but 12 freakin sacks. There's only 2 good explanations for that.....(1) The O-line looks like swiss cheese or (2) Willie Martinez was the only person on the field allowed to blow the whistle.

The O-line was called out again for poor blocking in the run game. Dontavius Jackson popped a 40 yard run, ".......made a safety miss out in space and took it to the house....." . Richard Samuel had a 40 yd touchdown catch and "...made some nice runs out of nothing...". Knowshon Moreno is still being limited in his reps in order to keep him healthy but did turn a screen pass into a 70 yd td.

Mohamed Massaquoi and Kenneth Harris, the two current starters at WR were held out with minor injuries. Michael Moore, 3 catches - 77 yds - td; Walter Hill, 4 catches-74 yds- td; and Israel Troupe, 4 catches - 48 yds took up the slack. Tavarres King also hauled in a 42 yard td.

Defense
12 sacks......and by my count, allowed at least 4 plays of over 40 yards. A major case of "feast or famine".

Justin Houston (RFresh) was credited for 3 sacks.
Daryl Gamble, 7.5 tackles
Reshad Jones, 1 int

Ramarcus Brown is reported to be pushing Prince Miller for a starting spot at CB.

Both Richt and Martinez pointed out that this was the worst perfomance by the defense so far this spring.

Special Teams
2 blocked punts

GATA punt block team
Get your sh*t together punt team

Are we placing enough emphasis on special teams? More thoughts on that here.

Overall
Regardless of 2nd or 3rd string players getting tons of reps at these scrimmages, the O-line is beginning to look "suspect" at best. Coach Searels worked wonders last season and I've gotta believe that this unit will vastly improve by opening day.

On a positive note.......
The qb's completion percentage up (70% overall, Stafford 67%).
The offense making big plays.
The D picking up 12 sacks.

Bad news
The secondary allowing too many completions.
The D giving up too many big plays
The O-line giving up 12 sacks.

Strange how that works when you're playing yourself.

Men of Troy

2008-03-28T06:46:00.003-04:00

USC rules the college football world. At least that's the general consensus by 99% of the national media and coaches. Pete Carroll took over the reins of a program that didn't have a top 10 finish in over a decade and has turned them into a powerhouse.

Carroll has basically locked down the borders when recruiting in the talent rich state of California. He also has done quite well recruiting on a national level, picking up selected 5 & 4 star recruits at will. All-Americans and NFL 1st rounders are flying out of there by the dozens. Pre-season #1 rankings are a given. USC has it all. 6 straight national championships.........wait a second, according to this, they have ONE? How could that happen. They certainly have more talent than anyone on their schedule. The coaching staff is solid. The schedule itself isn't brutal.

Of course if you ask any USC fan, they'll tell you that they have 2 MNC's in that span. I've done the research.....USC is a member of the BCS. The BCS members have agreed to recognize the winner of the BCS Championship game as the MNC. USC has 1. I'm certainly not going to belittle the significance of winning one, just pointing out that the facts often are overshadowed by the general impression presented by the media.

The moral of the story.

UGA may enter the 2008 season as #1. They certainly have as much or more talent than anyone. The coaching staff is solid. The schedule IS brutal. Along with the usual SEC suspects, we pick up a pretty good ASU team at their house. I see comments all too often stating "UGA always seems to lose a game that they shouldn't". Fact is, you could insert any elite team into that statement. I like our chances this season, but finishing #1 is much more difficult than starting there. Just ask the Men of Troy.

How's it Hangin?

2008-03-27T20:49:00.003-04:00

I've decided to do this every Friday. A quick recap of the week in the Georgia sports teams that I give a damn about and upcoming events. It'll help me keep up with it, and hopefully you'll find something of interest.

UGA Football

Currently wrapping up the 3rd of 4 weeks of spring practice. G-Day, Sanford Stadium, 4/5/08 @ 2 pm. Next Opponent: Opening day vs. Georgia Southern in 156 days.

UGA Basketball

One and done in the NCAA tourney. Recruiting news here.

UGA Baseball

Finished the week 3-2 winning 2 out of 3 vs Tennessee and splitting a pair with Kennesaw State. Opens a 3 game series with Miss. St. in Starkville today @ 7:30 pm. Overall record 13-9, 4-2 SEC

Atlanta Braves

Opening day @ Washington Nationals on 3/30. Home opener vs Pittsburg on 4/1.

Atlanta Hawks

Currently holding a 1/2 game lead over New Jersey for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Finished last week 2-1 with wins over Orlando and Milwaukee at home and a loss @ Chicago. Upcoming games: Today vs Chicago, 3/30 vs New York, 3/31 @ Memphis

Atlanta Thrashers

Officially eliminated from playoff contention after going 2-7-1 in their last 10. Upcoming games: Today @ Carolina, 3/31 @ Tampa Bay, 4/1 @ Florida

Atlanta Falcons

Upcoming events: NFL Draft, April 26-27. Michael Vick parole date....TBA

The Coaching Committee

2008-03-27T19:57:00.003-04:00

I guess that I haven't given it much thought, but UGA doesn't have a coach whose sole responsibility is special teams. Instead, various members of the coaching staff are assigned a different unit, i.e. kickoff return, punt return, punt, field goal, etc.

Jon Fabris, Tony Ball, and John Lilly are involved and probably more. Maybe someone in the Dawgnation can help me out on this one. I'm also not certain if any one coach would be classified as the "head of the committee".

The special teams have been pretty solid in the CMR era. A few hiccups every now and then, but that can be expected anywhere. I'm guilty of taking the special teams for granted.

I was just thinking about the Joe T vs UF game and the Sugar Bowl vs WVU and those damned fake punts keep sticking in my mind. Both times we gained momentum and got the stop with a little over 2 minutes left. Both times I was screaming that they couldn't afford to give us the ball back. Had to be a fake........and it was......both times. Successful......both times. They proceeded to run out the clock.......both times. There's no doubt that the WVU fake was a direct result of the first one.

I don't know if one coach whose sole focus was on special teams would've handled the situation any differently. It's just a thought.

Somewhere over there>>>>>>>>>>>>>
is a poll for you to give your opinion, or as always, feel free to leave a comment.

Catching Up

2008-03-26T20:05:00.004-04:00

Exactly what are the attributes of a great receiver? Are you born with them? Can they be coached? How do the items on this list rank in importance?

Speed - You certainly can't have too much but "world class sprinter's" speed isn't a requirement. Is straight line speed, top end speed, or an explosive first step more important?

Agility - Running good routes, being "shifty", snatching the ball out of the air, the ability to get yardage after the catch, having a good vertical leap.

Height - Randy Moss is 6'4"......Wes Welker is 5'9". Both are effective.

Strength - Definitely a plus against a physical corner playing press coverage.

Hands - Not every great athlete has soft hands.

Eyes - Coming out of a break and picking up the ball in a fraction of a second.

Focus - Blocking out everything around you except the ball.

Desire - The ball belongs to ME.

This man knows a thing or two about catching the ball

I recently watched a documentary featuring Jerry Rice and Cris Carter. I don't think that you can find someone with more expertise at the position than these two. When asked what are the most important attributes of a wide receiver, both placed alot of emphasis on the last two.

& This one knows the rest

It's a given that UGA's group of wideouts possess a great deal of the physical attributes, but how many have the focus and desire to be a standout. Are any of them capable of taking over a game?

Of course our guys aren't professionals. They don't get paid monstrous salaries to catch a football. However, they are playing at an elite level and can reasonably be expected to make all of the easy catches, most of the tough ones, and a few of the highlight reel verson. All too often, that hasn't been the case.

This report gives me some hope that our guys may be turning the corner. It's great to hear that balls aren't hitting the ground. I'm sure that everyone's seen the AJ Green highlight video, and he seems to be the total package.

For our offense to be consistent, we can't afford to drop the easy ones. We like to run the football, which results in many 3rd and medium yardage situations. We've gotta catch the ball to move the chains. It's my personal opinion that we could have avoided one of our losses in 2007 by simply catching the "easy" ones. To avoid repeating history, we need to catch all of 'em that we should. Anything above that will be a bonus.

****Update****

No b.s.

I finished this post about 10 minutes before I saw this.

Advances in Technology

2008-03-25T21:37:00.004-04:00

Hear ye, Hear ye all brave supporters of the train wreck that is sometimes known as Yellow Jacket Nation.

In these times of adversity, it is common to lash out at your adversaries, to hide behind great deeds of times long gone. John Heisman, Bobby Dodd, Pepper Rodgers, Bobby Ross….those were simpler, better times. Greatness is but a distant memory and the future can be described as “bleak” at best. It can be a bit disheartening at times.

You have lost your mojo and it currently resides some 75 miles northeast, wrapped in one of Mohamed Massaquoi’s dirty game socks and buried in a time capsule, which will one day be unearthed and rightfully returned….in slightly less than mint condition.

You must not waver in your resolve. You must not simply accept the verbal barrage that is dumped upon you in seemingly unlimited quantities. What you really need is……ammunition. A quick retort when confronted with unflattering facts, an edge that will reverse the tides and give you the upper hand in any argument. I offer that to you now, as a gift, with humility, and ask for nothing in return.

Just consider……

(1) Since the Falcons have come to Atlanta, your football team has never been ranked lower than 6th in the state. In all honesty, most of those years, the Jackets can claim the prestigious 3rd spot. Sure, I know that occasionally a program of Georgia Southern’s caliber will knock you out of that spot. Maybe Valdosta State or Parkview or Lowndes County will sneak in every once in a blue moon. But, in general, you will consistently rank a solid third. You can take pride in the fact that in that same time period, UGA can only claim the top spot 15 or so times. Sometimes the Falcons are actually better than the Dawgs, but no one can diminish your accomplishment of consistently finishing in the top 5.

(2) You have a new coach that will bring a new space age offensive system with him. Trust me on this one, defensive coordinators are already experiencing sleepless nights in anticipation of facing the Techsters this season. Try dazzling your persecutors with your newfound knowledge of the triple / quintuple / multiple option power run, run, and run machine and watch as they tuck their tales and run, run, run away.

(3) This one’s the absolute clincher. Be forewarned, it takes some intestinal fortitude. If you’re going to sell this one, you have to reach down and grab your stinger, lower the estrogen level just a bit, because you know as well as I, it’s coming. There’s no avoiding it. You will be harassed by a Dawg fan….. “7 in a row, 7 in a row, 7 in a row”. I can’t stress the importance of maintaining your composure at this point, but it is key. This is your chance to stifle that obnoxious co-worker, friend or relative once and for all. You’ve gotta suck it up, look ‘em eye to eye, and repeat verbatim “So freakin what….FSU’s got 12 straight on us & runnin…..Yeah, that’s right, who’s our daddy now?”

Guaranteed to work every time. Glad I could help.

Turnabout is Fair Play

2008-03-24T22:12:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I took a shot at tOSU. Sue me.

But in the name of fairness, I'll admit that the Dawgs have avoided the Big 10 like the plague. 8 games against a conference with the history of the Big 10 isn't something to be proud of. A 7-2 all-time record on the other hand, is. (ok, that makes 9 but I threw in the pre big 10 loss to Penn st.).

How do the Dawgs fare all time vs. the rest of the BCS conferences? Note: It would take a MIT grad a couple of weeks to break down the conference merry-go-round of the Big East and ACC and who was in which conference when etc etc.......so I'm goin with where they are now.

ACC........................152-91-18
Big 12.....................14-7-0
Big East.................2-5-1
PAC 10..................8-4-1

####.......we're getting hammered by the Big East. We needa change that.

A Fragment of My Imagination

2008-03-24T20:16:00.005-04:00

.........or is it?

Is it just my opinion, or do the fans of tOSU have a major complex when it comes to the SEC? On any SEC related thread or message board, it seems that at least one true blue Buckeye will become extremely irate to the point of being hostile. Of course, that's half the fun of message boards. I fully understand tOSU and UM throwing barbs at each other and I'll admit, they show absolutely no mercy towards each other (that adds up to great family fun). I just can't see the extreme dislike for the SEC.

In the 100+ years of OSU football, they've only faced a SEC team 20 times. That's certainly not enough times to create any sort of rivalry. 9 of those games have been bowls.

Other than that minor blemish, their record is a stellar 7-2-2. How does it break down vs.

Alabama 0-3-0

Auburn 0-1-1

Florida 0-1-0

Georgia 0-1-0

Kentucky 3-0-0

LSU 1-1-1

South Carolina 0-2-0

Tennessee 0-1-0

Vandy 3-1-0

They haven't played Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Miss St.

While I'm pretty sure tOSU's AD doesn't regularly receive calls from his SEC counterparts requesting a regular season home-and-home, I'm just as certain that he doesn't have any of our AD's on speed dial either (with maybe the exception of KY and Vandy).

I feel better now.

Spring Update

2008-03-23T22:06:00.003-04:00

Spring practice opened 3 weeks ago and we have 2 weeks left. That puts us at the halfway point.......with the week of spring break.

Position Battles

When spring practice opened, there were only 5 starting spots that were really wide open.
1 defensive end
2 offensive line spots
1 wide receiver
1 placekicker

Jeremy Lomax was listed as the starter at DE opposite Roderick Battle. Lomax hasn't been singled out to this point but two of his counterparts have drawn praise, Jarius Wynn and Demarcus Dobbs. Look for this battle to get pretty intense as we start to focus on G-Day.

With so many offensive linemen banged up or out for the spring, a great opportunity has been given to the guys that are healthy and ready to go. Justin Anderson has been solid so far and Ben Jones has been moved up to the #2 center spot. This may turn out to be the most wide open race of the spring.

To my surprise, the wideout receiving the most praise to this point is Kenneth Harris. I'll admit that I didn't see that one coming. Tony Wilson is reported to have shed a little of the bulk that he put on last year and his quickness and agility have improved. Israel Troupe has entered the mix with a few nice sessions. Mohamed Massaquoi, while not fighting for a position, is having an excellent spring.

The placekicker position of course won't be decided until fall.

Other Notables

Matt Stafford has been singled out a couple of times for showing improvement in his decision making.

Logan Gray's name is coming up almost every day and Joe Cox's name......none. Look for the #2 QB spot to become hotly contested.

Caleb King continues to have a good spring, but maybe not a great one. Dontavius Jackson impressed during Saturday's scrimmage. Knowshon Moreno, as widely reported, is not getting alot of reps.

Tripp Chandler has looked good so far. Figgins has been banged up a little.

Reshad Jones and Quentin Banks are standing out at the safety position. John Knox is also having a good spring.

Darryl Gamble used Dannel Ellerbe and Rennie Curran's absence in the scrimmage to make a statement for more playing time at LB. Gamble finished the scrimmage with 6 tackles and 2 picks (one for a TD).

Saturday's Scrimmage

The scrimmage was closed to the media. Coach Richt had other duties following the scrimmage and turned the press conference over to the capable hands of Coach Willie Martinez.

Defense good then Defense not so good
Offense not so good then offense good

I hereby ban Coach Martinez from all future press conferences.

Bumps & Bruises
OG Chris Little is out until fall after having surgery to repair bones in his foot. OG Clint Boling will miss the rest of spring practice with mononucleosis. OL Tanner Strickland has been nursing a sore ankle. OL Kevin Perez has missed several sessions. TE Bruce Figgins recovered from a high ankle sprain over the spring break. WR Demiko Goodman (leg) also returned to practice after spring break. LB Darius Dewberry had surgery to relieve pressure on a tendon in the groin area and will be out until early summer. Marcus Washington had surgery to repair a damaged shoulder and anticipates missing the 2008 season. QB's Matt Stafford (thumb, non throwing hand) and Logan Gray (ankle) have not missed practice.

A Quick Hoops Note

2008-03-21T06:52:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate the Dawgs hoops team for at least making it to the dance. While this should not be a major accomplishment in and of itself, the circumstances that led up to it made it very special.

The team has been in basketball purgatory since our beloved Michael Adams vetoed the evil Vince Dooley and chose Jim Harrick to oversee the program. How'd that turn out? For extra credit, how many halves are in a game? Maybe Coach Felton and the team have turned the corner and making the dance will become an automatic.

Checking out the rivals 150 for 2007, 2008, and 2009, the the State of Georgia ranks 2nd, 1st, and 2nd of the home states represented. Maybe winning the SEC will be a building block that allows Felton to at least grab a handful of the top in-state talent.

Felton also has to take his fair share of the blame for the current state of affairs. Maybe his staff could have performed a more thorough background check on some of the kids that have come thru lately. Of course, I'm sure that the top recruits in the country haven't exactly been beating down the door to come to UGA.

Hopefully, this is the first step to bringing stability to the program.

Knockin at the Door

2008-03-21T04:44:00.004-04:00

Chasing the crystal ball. There's a handful of teams that can realistically expect to have a shot at the trophy at the beginning of every college football season. It requires hard work, dedication, a negotiable schedule, a veteran team in most instances, a "fortunate" bounce (or two), and on occasion it just falls into the hands of our knowledgeable and unbiased cfb media personnel.

For the last 6 years, UGA has been hangin around the top 10 and doesn't have the hardware that they need to complete this team's resume. UGA has 5 top 10 finishes in the last 6 years. I thought that I'd check out other top programs to see how the Dawgs compare.

Everybody's got six shots, here's the list, crystal ball owners are highlighted.

6 - USC
5 - OHIO ST, GEORGIA
4 - LSU (2), TEXAS , OKLAHOMA
3 - IOWA, MICHIGAN, VIRGINIA TECH, WEST VIRGINIA
2 - AUBURN, LOUISVILLE, MIAMI, WASHINGTON ST
1 - FLORIDA, ALABAMA, BOISE ST, CALIFORNIA, FSU, KANSAS, KANSAS ST, MISSOURI, PENN ST, TCU, UTAH, WISCONSIN

Analysis
Just pencil USC in every list until further notice.
UGA is sticking out like a sore thumb at the top of the list.
Iowa has fallen like a rock.
Mike Price is a pretty good coach with an excellent eye for talent. (nsfw, maybe)
Florida got the most bang for their buck.
Nebraska, Tennessee, and Notre Dame, oh wherefore art thou?

How finicky is college football......the ten years prior to this list, Nebraska would have 8 appearances to USC's.......zero.

We've been knockin at the door for 6 years. As Bum Phillips would say "It's time to kick the damn thing in".

Grinding it out

2008-03-20T03:01:00.005-04:00

You must run the ball to win. That old statement doesn't ring as true as it once did, but an effective running game should equal positive results even in this "age of the spread offense".

If you read enough articles that are devoted to the UGA offense, you'll often see the word "balance" being used as a goal. Balancing the run with the pass is the objective, but the numbers in 2007 show that the desired balance was not achieved. While having 874 offensive plays in 2007, 509 of those plays were running plays, which puts the total at 58.2 %. Of course, the opposing defensive personel and the scoreboard have a large influence on those numbers.

Anyway, this entire line of thought got started when I looked at the 2008 schedule and wanted to see what our opponents' offensive balance has been. I'm factoring in the new coordinators and head coaches in the list.

Here's the breakdown of how often they ran the ball in 2007:

Georgia Tech 85.5 %

Georgia Southern 75.2 %

LSU 58.1 %

Vandy 57.5 %

Florida 57.4 %

Arizona St. 56.2 %

Alabama 50.9 %

C. Michigan 48.2 %

Kentucky 47.9 %

Auburn 47.2 %

S. Carolina 46.3 %

Tennessee 46.2 %

The first 2 on the list believe in the old saying "when you put the ball in the air, 3 things can happen, and 2 of them are bad". I think Paul Johnson will be forced to throw a little more often if he is to enjoy success in the ACC.

Central Michigan, Florida, and Auburn will run a spread option with the QB being a large part of the running game.

Tennessee, South Carolina, and Kentucky like to spread the field also. They don't utilize the option, but use the pass to set up the run.

Alabama, LSU, Vandy, and Arizona St. will give more traditional looks the majority of the time. Arizona St will likely spread it out more than the others in this group.

The way the schedule breaks down, it seems that every week the opponents' offensive tendency's will shift from one extreme to the other. It's enough to make Coach Martinez pull his hair out.

I rest my case

Coincidence?

2008-03-20T02:28:00.006-04:00

Coach Mark Richt now has 7 full years in the books as Head Coach of UGA. Having married into a family of FSU alumns, I take great pleasure in pointing out the paths each of these programs have taken since Richt came to town. So, I decided to chart the results just to get a better picture. I'll put this post in the catagory "Because I Wanted To Know"

In the 7 years prior to Richt's arrival in Athens, UGA never topped FSU in wins in any season. In the 7 years since, the opposite has been true. Helluva coincidence, I'd say.

Just for Kicks

2008-03-19T18:00:00.007-04:00

Let's face it. Settling for a field goal basically sucks. Unless, of course, you nail one to win it at the horn. 2007 vs. South Carolina........field goals suck. 2007 vs. Vandy.....field goals rock. I'm confused, but whichever the case, Brandon Coutu was very reliable when he was healthy.

Looking foward to the 2008 season, the position of placekicker has me worried more than any other. Coutu is gone and when we need 3 points, it's going to be on the shoulders (or foot) of a true freshman. This is the last of a series in which I've gone through the UGA roster, position by position. Today, we'll be looking at special teams, and kicking off the topic is none other than........
Blair Walsh (Fr, 5-10, 163) That's one hundred and sixty-three pounds. I hope about 30 pounds of that is in his right foot. DO THEY FEED YA'LL BOYS IN SOUTH FLORIDA?? Get your butt to the dinner table, son. I want you looking like Janikowski (without the felonies) when you hit Athens in August. Gottit?

Walsh must now learn to do the "Gator Chomp"

Walsh is listed as the #7 kicking prospect by rivals.com, #1 by scout.com, and #7 by espn. One of the three services seems to know what they're talkin about. Anyway, at least we know that he can kick. He attempted a 69 yarder last year and missed.......wide right. Yup, it was long enough.

That's good enough for me. Prior to that, he made a 59 yarder in back to back games. Now the question becomes can he hit 'em when the lights come on and the camera starts rollin'. Kicking in high school doesn't quite compare to some of the nasty places that we travel. Can he nail it when 90,000 drunks wearin orange are screaming at the top of their lungs? That's the real question.

Walsh seems to have a great attitude and the mentality to succeed at the next level. He's got a monster leg that comes in handy when kicking off and from all reports has a great work ethic. Of course he'll have to perform on the field, but it seems the placekicking job is in good hands.

The Punter

Hopefully, this guy will be this year's "Maytag Repairman"

Brian Mimbs (Sr, 5-11, 205) had a fantastic season in 2007, his first as a starter. The Dawgs have a history of playing tight ballgames and field position battles are always at a premium. Having Mimbs cranking out his average 42 yard punt takes a great deal of pressure away from our offensive and defensive units.

Plan B(utler), Drew (Soph, 6-2, 205), son of Kevin. Sorry folks, he just punts. Pretty well too from published reports.

The Return Game

Mickey Henderson and his electric punt returns are gone. Thomas Flowers also had pretty good success in the punt return game and.......he's gone too. Asher Allen has 5 career punt returns with decent success, but we really need someone to step up at this position. My personal choice (which to date hasn't mattered) is Israel Troupe. He returned punts in high school and prefers to take the ball upfield rather than go sideline to sideline.

Asher Allen is our most experienced kickoff return man also. He has a solid 23.6 average and will pop a long one every once in awhile. Ramarcus Brown also showed some potential in the Sugar Bowl with a 90 yarder.

Incoming freshman RB Carlton Thomas also returned kicks in high school. He was the featured return guy in the UA High School All-American Game. In a previous post on the running back position, I noted that Richard Samuel and Dontavius Jackson have a head start on Thomas since both enrolled in January and are currently getting reps in practice. However, Thomas should have a great shot to earn a roster spot in the return game. Personally, I hope he does as it would take our starting corner out of one of the more dangerous situations in the game. If Thomas does make it in the return game, look for one of the other freshmen RB's to get the redshirt.

Thats a wrap. A look at the entire pre-season depth chart, and it only took me two weeks to do it. How's that for bottled lightning?

Every Train Needs an Engineer

2008-03-18T23:45:00.011-04:00

No, not the kind that you'll find at the North Ave Trade School. I'm referring to the driver, the person that calls the shots, makes the decisions......the Quarterback.

While I don't necessarily believe that the quarterback has to win it by himself, a la Vince Young, there have been several instances of the qb throwing it away. The qb needs to be the game manager. He's gotta protect the ball and make solid decisions. Experience is definitely a plus at the position.

Alot of hopes and dreams ride on Matt Stafford's right arm

Matt Stafford (Jr, 6-3, 237) made great strides in his sophomore season in each of those intangibles. I think it's safe to assume that he will improve even more in 2008. After the severe growing pains that Matt went through as a freshman, he rebounded well last year by improving his td-int ratio to 2:1 on the plus side. Let's face it, every qb makes bad decisions on occasion. Matt greatly reduced that number last year as compared to his first. He's proven beyond any doubt that he is the leader of our offense. A recent article noted that Matt would like his completion percentate to increase to 65%. That would be great, but I don't think that will be the deciding factor on the success of the season. What I've stated for the last 2 seasons was mentioned by Matt and the coaches. It's all about footwork. When Matt plants the right foot and steps into the throw, there's no other qb in college football that will throw better. It truly is a thing of beauty.

Matt has proven to be a winner. He knows what it takes to get it done. It's definitely time to step up and deliver.

Joe Cox has been solid when called upon

Joe Cox (Jr, 6-1, 208) came from an elite high school program and found himself in the race for the starting job in 2006 as a freshman. He came off the bench to lead UGA to a win over Colorado and actually started the Ole Miss game before stepping aside for Stafford. He doesnt' have ideal height but he does have some talent and is an adequate backup.

Is Logan the future?

Logan Gray (RFr, 6-2, 185) drew rave reviews from the 1st team defense while running the scout team in 2007. A legit 4.45 in the 40 and a good arm, Logan is more suited to the offense that we ran with DJ Shockley. Coach Bobo has designed a few plays to get him on the field this year, maybe as a wideout. Coach Richt has since stated that Logan will get reps only at qb for awhile in order to get a better grasp on running the offense. Logan would seem to be the heir apparent to Stafford at this time.

I can't recall the last team to win a MNC with a backup QB. I'm sure it's happened sometime along the way, I just don't remember when. It's extremely important to the success of the program for Matt to remain healthy throughout the season.

A King and His Court

2008-03-17T18:16:00.004-04:00

caleb king....Caleb king.....Caleb King......CALEB KING.....have you heard of this guy? Who's getting more hype coming into this season, King or AJ Green? Coaches are impressed with Caleb King. The players are impressed with Caleb King. Caleb King is impressed with Caleb King. There's only one wee little problem. He's second on the depth chart to.........

KNOWSHON MORENO (RSoph, 5-11, 207) 1st Team Freshman-All American, 1st Team All SEC, 1396 yards (2nd SEC), 14 TD's, and is on a short list of 2008 Heisman Candidates. He is a sophomore. He has started a grand total of 6 games.

Where's this Tre Blackmon fella I keep hearin' about?

We've had the good fortune of having some very good running backs over the years. Kregg Lumpkin and Thomas Brown were good backs. Musa Smith and Lars Tate were good backs. Tim Worley and Horace King were good backs. But there's another level of running back. Herschel, Garrison Hearst, Robert Edwards.......when they touched the ball, something electric usually followed. That's Knowshon Moreno. Moreno has the combination of quickness, determination, peripheral vision, and pure instinct that makes him better than good. He can hit the hole in a split second, cutback when necessary, picks up blitzes in pass protection, catch the swing passes and screens, and oh my.......the spin move. Every play is full speed ahead. After being tackled, Moreno pops up and sprints to the huddle faster than any Auburn Wideout at full speed. The one thing Moreno is not is....superman. That title belongs to Timmy Teebone. Moreno would not last the season if he played every snap. Therefore he needs...........

Superman dat

Caleb King (RFr, 5-11, 202) - There's not alot that I can add here. I've seen the video's and read the clippings. One of the very best high school running backs in the 2006 recruiting class. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see him play in high school. I actually had a game penciled in for late in the season, but he broke his leg and only played in 6 games as a senior. He's had a full year to rehab the leg and learn the offense. I'll admit to being very eager to see him hit the field for G-Day on April 5th.

Coronation date: April 5th

Due to the lack of depth at rb, UGA recruited hard at that position last year and brought a ton of talent in.

Richard Samuel (Fr, 6-2, 215) is a straight up runner that looks like Darren McFadden or Adrian Peterson on tape (same style). He has already enrolled and is currently on the spring roster. Samuel has stated that he actually prefers defense but the coaches have decided to have him play offense this spring. If rb doesn't work out, maybe linebacker or safety is in his future. Samuel will compete for a spot on the roster this fall. OBTW, he turned 17 in February.

Dontavius Jackson (Fr, 5-10, 190) is just like Caleb King.......he broke his leg in his senior season too. He has also enrolled early and seems to have recovered from his injury. Jackson is also going to compete for a roster spot.

Carlton Thomas (Fr, 5-7, 159) - CMR says that Thomas is the "Warrick Dunn type" back that he's been looking for since coming to UGA. The other 2 freshmen have a head start on Thomas which will more than likely mean a redshirt.

Ya can't do a running back piece without giving a little love to the fullbacks.

Brannan Southerland (Sr, 6-0, 240) - The hardest working man in show bizness has 18 career TD's to show for his efforts.

Shaun Chapas (RSoph, 6-2, 236) - Gives Brannan a breather every now & then. Also had some reps as RB.

Fred Munzenmaier (RSoph, 6-2, 233) - Fred's a pretty good ball player, likes to have a few drinks (even though he's not 21 yet), and will tell a cop to kiss his ass if the mood strikes him. That adds up to a 2 game suspension to start the season.

Quick Recap -

Knowshon's a known commodity.

Caleb King is the next big thing.

Alot of true freshman talent will be on campus this fall. Who redshirts, who doesn't?

Brannan Southerland will continue being a badass.

Pitch & Catch

2008-03-16T22:09:00.006-04:00

This is the 8th post in an 11 part series in which I’m breaking down the Dawgs by position for the 2008 season. It’s time to discuss the wideouts and what to expect from this unit when August rolls around. There’s a lot of buzz and anticipation in Athens that has been generated by the new commits at the position, but I’ll get to that later.

Sean Bailey, Mikey Henderson, and A J Bryant are gone. Bailey was a legit deep threat and really liked that black jersey. I’m going to remember Mikey for the “one and done” in the Alabama game and the thrills in the return game. Bryant was the phenom who never quite lived up to the hype due to injuries and various other reasons.

We return 6 guys that actually have at least one reception –

Always a Tech Fan Favorite, MoMass assumes the leadership of the WR's

Mohamed Massaquoi (Sr, 6-2, 198) will take on the role as the leader of this group in ’08. MoMass has 100 career receptions and is far and away the most experienced.

Kris Durham (Jr, 6-5, 200) has been a very effective possession receiver in his first two years. Kris has 16 career receptions.

Kenneth Harris (Sr, 6-3, 215) saw his production drop last year. Harris finished 2007 with only 4 receptions after having 11 and 15 in his first two years. With his height and size, it would be nice if Harris can return to form.

Demiko Goodman (Sr, 6-2, 190) is also on the UGA track team and is a bonafide lightning bolt. He’s also shown willingness to come across the middle and has pretty good hands. Goodman finished the year with 7 receptions that averaged 17.7 yds.

Tony Wilson (RSoph, 5-11, 198) is a guy that has huge potential for YAC. The coaching staff ran some plays especially designed for Tony in ’07 and he should get more touches next year. Wilson finished the year with 14 receptions.

Michael Moore (Jr, 6-2, 188) received a great deal of praise from the coaches as the year progressed, however the on-field results never came. Moore had 3 catches in 2007.

We also have 2 redshirt freshmen and 1 early enrollee who will be fighting for playing time this fall.

Israel Troupe (RFr, 6-1, 215) is a homerun waiting to happen. Literally. He splits his time with the UGA baseball dawgs. The kid has great speed and the ability to create in space. I actually saw him play 3 times in ’06 and he was an absolute terror to defend.

Walter Hill (RFr, 6-4, 214) has received praise from the coaching staff and the players as being a threat for the Dawgs this year. Asher Allen says “He’s hard to defend when he gets his big body in position”.

Tavarres King (Fr, 6-1, 172) has enrolled early and impressed also. One defender compared him to Percy Harvin of Florida. That may be going a little too far, but it sounds promising.

The talent is there for the Dawgs to open up a little more this year with the passing game. Stafford’s growing pains are over and there’s reason to hope that he’ll be getting more balls into the hands of these wideouts than in the previous two years.

We’ll be checking out the running back position in the next post.

Oh yeah, one more thing………A J Green is a BEAST

Riches to Rags.......Tight Ends

2008-03-16T10:12:00.005-04:00

Maybe it's not that bleak of a picture, but if you'll recall just about 2 months ago............

UGA returns 4 scholarship TE's for the '08 season and has a commitment from highly touted Dewayne Allen to add to a very talented group. After having recently put our fair share of quality tight ends into the NFL...Randy McMichael, Ben Watson, and Leonard Pope.....the outlook for this year's crop looks as good as ever.

My, how things have changed. Of course Dewayne wavered on the fence before choosing Clemson on signing day (baffling, considering that the tiggerz don't include the tight end in their offensive scheme) and Naderris Ward decided to transfer. That leaves us with 3 scholarship TE's on the roster and makes this the only position, other than QB, that we don't have considerable depth.

I'm not going to dwell on what we don't have. Here's what we do have.

Nike's new super sticky gloves.......I highly recommend them

Tripp Chandler (Sr, 6-6, 263) - Tripp was the starter going into 2007, although he did serve a one game supspension to open the season. Last year was basically a tale of two seasons for Tripp. The first half of the season was filled with dropped passes and missed opportunities. As a team built to run the football and the tight end being featured in 3rd & short to medium situations, Tripp's miscues often were highlighted. A couple of crucial drops in the SC game gave the boo-birds plenty of fodder and Tripp heard them early and often. Tripp received tons of sarcastic cheers for making any catch for a period. Thankfully, he turned his season around by mid year and actually made some crucial catches for the Dawgs. Chandler finished the season with 21 catches and 2 TD's. The sarcasm is gone, the cheers genuine, and his senior season has a bright outlook.......GATA Tripp.

Starting my first game as a true freshman.......it doesn't get better than this

Bruce Figgins (Soph, 6-4, 254) - Due to Chandler's opening game suspension, Figgins started in his very first game as a Bulldog, collecting his only TD catch in the process. He did play in each of the 13 games and finished with a modest 3 receptions. Figgins was the least heralded of the young tight ends and to earn a spot over the talent that was on the roster at that time, this should be considered quite an accomplishment.

Aaron White (RFresh, 6-4, 228) - A bit of a hybrid TE/WR, White now finds himself exclusively at TE. Reports are that he has good hands and very good speed for the position. He'll have to bulk up some to handle the everyday chores at the position and hopefully, his speed won't suffer to greatly as a result.

As mentioned earlier, there isn't alot of depth here. In situations that require 3 TE packages, a tackle or one of the fullbacks will more than likely be used as the 3rd. We just can't afford an injury to one of these guys.

Disclaimer

2008-03-16T09:36:00.004-04:00

Any images used on this page that have been reproduced are considered to be the sole property of the original photographer. There is no intent to profit from these images in any way and I will gladly remove them if notified to do so by the owner.

The content and opinion included in the contained posts are mine, unless linked to another source. I make no claims to be an expert journalist or privy to exclusive information on any subject matter that relates to these posts.

The majority of the posts on this site are the result of some fairly intensive research of available print media and video outlets. Otherwise, these posts are based on opinion and should be treated as such.

If you happen to disagree with anything that is contained in these posts......you're probably wrong.

I knew I shouldda been a freakin lawyer......second choice of course would have been a comedian

The Big Uglies

2008-03-16T07:15:00.006-04:00

You’d have a better odds playin roulette at your favorite Vegas nightspot than nailing down the starters for this year’s O-line. Not necessarily the players that will start, the question is at what position. There’s quite a few scenarios being bounced around and it all boils down to the Center position. The easiest way to make any sense out of the situation is to start with the facts and then go down a subtle road into pure speculation.

First……the facts. Just hours prior to Colt Brennan being rubbed into the Superdome carpet as a permanent splotch around his own goal line, our O-line consisted of 2 seniors, 2 redshirt freshmen, and 1 true freshman. Just a few months prior to that, we opened fall practice with 2 seniors, 2 juco transfers, and a bunch of kids that had never taken a college snap. How that ragged group morphed into a very effective line last year has to be credited to 2 things…..talent and coaching. It’s a real credit to O-line coach Stacy Searels when we consider how well that line played by midseason. So, with the 2 seniors gone, who do we have coming back?

Seniors – a big whopping zero, zip, zilch, nada

Juniors –
Vince Vance 6-8, 320 played in 11 games last season at tackle

Sophomores – (R) =redshirt
Josh Davis (R) 6-6, 293 played in 10 games last season at guard
Chris Davis (R) 6-4, 292 started 13 games at guard
Kevin Perez (R) 6-3, 270 saw action in 6 games at center
Kiante Tripp(R) 6-6, 270 played in 8 games at tackle
Trinton Sturdivant 6-5, 293 started 13 games at right tackle
Clint Boling 6-5, 290 started the final 11 games at guard

Freshmen –
Tanner Strickland (R) 6-5, 328
Ben Harden (R) 6-3, 310
Justin Anderson (R) 6-5, 328
Chris Little (R) 6-6, 330
Ben Jones 6-3, 300 true freshman enrolled in January ‘08

The spring depth chart has the starters listed as:
LT – Trinton Sturdivant
LG – Vince Vance
C – Chris Davis
RG – Clint Boling
RT – Kiante Tripp

That lineup looks good to me…….let’s run with it. No can do. The Center position, it seems, may not be finalized until this fall. Depending on the outcome, a domino effect could take place throughout the line. I guess the best thing for now is just to breakdown the positions and wait for the outcome.

Easy on the facemask bud......Freshman All American Trinton Sturdivant

Tackle –
Trinton Sturdivant earned freshman All-American honors in 2007 and is a stone cold lock at left tackle.
Kiante Tripp has moved from OL to DL back to OL in his short career and would seem to have a handle on the RT starting job.

Kiante Tripp has found a home at OT

Depth is provided by Josh Davis, who can play guard or tackle, and Vince Vance (currently listed as starting LG).

Clint had 11 starts as a redshirt freshman

Guard –
Vince Vance and Clint Boling are listed as the current starters. Boling seems to have a stronger grip on his position. Chris Davis would take one of these positions if he doesn’t start at center.
Justin Anderson is also pushing hard to take one of these spots. Chris Little (foot surgery, out for spring) should return in the fall to compete.

Chris Davis started every game as a redshirt freshman......he's a lock to start in '08, but where?

Center –
Chris Davis is listed as the starter. Ben Harden, Kevin Perez, and Ben Jones are expected to compete for the job.

Ben Jones, the true freshman that enrolled in January, has been pumped up by the media, and even the coaches to some extent, as a favorite to earn the starting center job. Jones basically came out of nowhere with his performance at the UA High School All-American game. He consistently handled the best of the best H.S. defensive tackles throughout practices and during the game. The first day of contact this spring, Jones was reminded of the fact that these guys aren’t high schoolers. The AJC noted that Ricardo Crawford pretty much tossed him around like a chew toy.

Other newcomers to Athens this fall:
Cordy Glenn - rivals 16th ranked OT

A.J. Harmon - rivals #2 ranked OG (currently listed by UGA as D-lineman)

Jonathan Owens - rivals 49th ranked OG

Ok, here’s the super condensed summary of the OL for 2008.
Guaranteed starters –
Sturdivant, Tripp, and Chris Davis

Possible Starters -
Vince Vance, Clint Boling, and …..Ben Jones?

Very close and haven’t been ruled out yet -
Josh Davis, Justin Anderson, Kevin Perez and Chris Little

Will see limited playing time –
Tanner Strickland and Ben Harden

With 12 scholarship OL seeing playing time this year, Glenn, Harmon, and Owens are headed for redshirts.

What does it all mean? This year's OL should come out of the gate much stronger than in '07. The loss of the seniors will be more than offset due to the experience of the entire line as a group. If Jones does nab the starting center position as a true freshman, you can bet he's as much a badass as advertised. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of sophomores who have some talent, some experience, and a track record of success to build upon for 3 more years.

A-Dime-a-Dozen

2008-03-15T16:33:00.004-04:00

That's the attitude that alot of UGA fans have toward the Defensive End position. It seems like it doesn't matter who we plug in at DE, they make the opposing qb's life hell. Pollack leaves, in steps Quentin Moses. Charles Johnson breaks out in '06. Marcus Howard steps up in '07. Who's next? That could turn out to be an interesting question.

Ahhh.....Reggie Ball.....fond memories......my bad, Marcus Howard, DGD

I would argue that Howard's loss to the NFL will be the most difficult hole for the UGA coaching staff to fill this season. Howard was the SEC's sack leader in '07 with 10.5 and turned in a verified 4.47 forty at this year's NFL combine. At 6'2", 250 lbs. that just ain't right.

Talent-wise, the DE position looks to be very good for 2008. We also have 5 guys that actually saw some playing time last year. Whereas the speed rush was so successful for Howard, the guys fighting for that spot are pretty evenly divided between speed vs. power. Here are your candidates.

Roderick Battle R-Jr, 6-4, 261
Jarius Wynn Sr, 6-5, 275
Jeremy Lomax Sr, 6-4, 247
Demarcus Dobbs R-So, 6-2, 266
Michael Lemon R-So, 6-4, 274
Neland Ball R-Fr, 6-6, 232
Justin Houston R-Fr, 6-3, 240

Roderick Battle........A lock at one starting position?......i think so

Roderick Battle started opposite Howard in every game last year. He hasn't put up huge numbers (24 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles), but he has been very solid. He also played in each game in '06 (4 tackles, 2 sacks....gotta love that percentage). CMR has stated that Battle's starting spot is not guaranteed ( a little motivation, perhaps?), but I'd be surprised if he's not starting on one side when fall arrives.

Jeremy Lomax.......Always gives 100%......will that get him the job?

Jarius Wynn and Jeremy Lomax, both seniors, seem to have the inside track on landing the other starting spot. Wynn is the power guy, Lomax has the quickness. Lomax has 5.5 career sacks vs Wynn's 1. Both played a good number of snaps last year, Lomax averaged around 23 per game. The winner of this battle is gonna have one helluva spring. My hunch is Lomax.

Jarius Wynn......size, strength, talent, experience......is that enough?

Demarcus Dobbs played sparingly in 13 games last year, but he's not likely to compete for the starting job. He's a "high-motor" guy that coaches love and his reps this fall should reflect that.

Michael Lemon has all of the measurables to be a beast at this position. The knock on the kid coming out of high school was his tecnique. He has a huge wing-span and better than average quickness. Michael played in 7 games last season, recording 7 tackles. Maybe he'll continue to develop and reach his potential.

Neland Ball and Justin Houston are both quick, undersized, redshirt freshmen. That does not equal a large number of reps. Houston is learning the position this spring after switching from OLB.

The new guys:

Toby Jackson
Jeremy Longo
Cornelius Washington

Toby Jackson is listed as rivals #5 strongside defensive end. Opinion varies however on whether he'll end up at DE or DT. When UGA D-line coach Rodney Garner was asked to clarify the situation with Toby, he replied "God blessed him more than he blessed some". Ya think he like's him? On a side note, I actually went up to Griffin to watch a game this year and Toby played MLB ???? Seems like teams ran away from him when he was on either end, so the coaching staff came up with the solution.

The skinny on Jeremy Longo is just that well.......he needs to bulk up. The scouts have praised his technique. Jeremy will have this redshirt season to get ready for 2009.

Cornelius Washington comes in as rivals #3 rated weakside defensive end. A few scouting notes....great speed but needs to work on his first step......needs to develop technique, needs more strength, has relied on speed only to this point......has plenty of room on his frame to add bulk. Hit the weight room hard, make at least 3 trips thru the buffet line daily, & GATA in '09.

Of the three, Toby would seem to have the best shot at playing as a true freshman. Personally, I hope the guys that are here already will perform at a level that would put the redshirt on his back.

As it stands, Battle, Lomax, & Wynn should share the bulk of the snaps. Dobbs & Lemon should continue to develop and see action in every game. Ball & Houston may get some mop-up duty.

Will anybody step up to fill the shoes of Marcus Howard.........stay tuned.

D-Line.....the Tackles

2008-03-13T23:06:00.003-04:00

This is the 4th of 5 posts breaking down our defense for the 2008 season......position by position.

Time to take a look at the DT's, and it's really quite simple.

Both starters return from last year and should be considered for all-SEC honors.

Jeff Owens....could move into the 1st round with a solid senior season

Jeff Owens (Sr) got all of last year's pre-season hype from this group, and had a pretty good season to back it up. Ya gotta love his high motor and the way that he plays "through the whistle". Owens started all 13 games, picking up 27 tackles, 4 tfl, and 22 qb pressures.

Kryptonite

Geno Atkins (Jr) grabbed the other starting spot midway thru '07. The coaching staff had no other choice. Atkins finished with 7 starts, picking up 41 tackles, 14.5 tfl, 7.5 sacks, 37 qb pressures, and probably saved kittens from a burning building along the way. If Atkins can put up the same kind of numbers while starting the entire season, All-American isn't a stretch.

Kade Weston (Jr) and Corvey Irvin (Sr) will be the first ones off the bench. Both played in every game last year with Weston having started the first 5. Weston picked up 19 tackles and 2.5 sacks, while Irvin had 13 tackles. Both are extremely solid and the coaches have no problem with either being in the game, no matter the situation.

Brandon Wood and Ricardo Crawford, both redshirt sophomores are talented and each had their SEC initiation last year. Wood saw duty in 6 games, while Crawford saw snaps in 5.

Our coaching staff loves to keep fresh players in the game, so look for all 6 of these guys to play in every game.

We have a couple of very highly regarded recruits coming to campus this year at this position.

Deangelo Tyson ranks in the top 5 DT's in every recruiting service. A very humble kid that grew up in a foster home, cranks it up at gametime. I didn't have a chance to see him in person this year, but the experts rave about his athleticism. Tyson stated in an interview that with the status of our depth chart, he fully expects to redshirt this season.

A.J. Harmon comes in after being highly rated as an OT, OG, and DT. Harmon's preference is to play DT and Coach Garner has made a deal with him...."I told A.J. that if he can report to camp at below 300 pounds, that he will work with the defensive line. Over 300 pounds, he's going to the OL."

We'll see if Harmon has more love for the defensive line or the buffet line. Either way, he'll redshirt.

Linebacker U

2008-03-12T23:12:00.002-04:00

We actually can't claim the name "Linebacker U", but at last count, we had 7 lb's earning a check on Sunday's......not too shabby.

Anyway, I went over some of our linebacking situation for the coming year in this post, so I'll keep this one short.

All of our starting LB's are returning for 2008.
Dannell Ellerbe - SR - 11 starts in 2007. The leader of the 2008 Defense

Rennie Curran - Soph - With this talented group, becoming a starter as a true freshman says it all

Akeem Dent - RSoph - Passed Brandon Miller for the starting Sam slot in 2007.

Key backups
Marcus Washington - SR - Had 6 starts in 2007.
Darius Dewberry - JR - 5 starts in 2007
Daryl Gamble - RSoph - Played in 13 games in 2007
Akeem Hebron - RSoph - Super talent returns after the 1 year suspension.
Charles White - RFr - Impressed the coaching staff last fall while redshirting.

New signees, each rated 4 stars by rivals
Marcus Dowtin
Christian Robinson
Nick Williams

No way any of those guys see the field this year.

8 solid linebackers to fight for pt this year. It's going to be a helluva spring.

Cornerstones

2008-03-12T20:50:00.011-04:00

Quality play from the cornerback position has become more and more essential with the advent of the spread offense. A shutdown corner not only can take the opponent’s star receiver out of a gameplan, he also allows a DC to take a few more chances with some blitz packages that may not be available otherwise. I’m trying very hard to come up with an example here, but I’m drawin a total blank…..maybe…uhhh…maybe…CHAMP F’N BAILEY!! DGD

Bonafide Badass

The Next Generation, Asher Allen

Asher Allen returns as our version of the shutdown corner this year. A very highly sought after recruit in 2006, Allen was thrown into the fire as a true freshman and performed quite well, getting playing time in all 13 games, recording 24 tackles. As a starter in 2007, Allen finished 2nd on the team in tackles with 64 tackles, had 3 picks, and 2 sacks. He is a strong candidate for All-SEC honors next year as a true junior.

Prince has improved weekly

The other side of the field is patrolled by Prince Miller, another true junior. Miller earned the starting role midway thru 2007, taking over for Bryan Evans. This position was supposed to be filled by All-American Paul Oliver, but due to a wee bit of a GPA problem (gone in the supplemental draft), was basically relegated to cornerback by committee. Miller has played in every game since he became a Dawg in ’06, which should say something about his talent level. He has struggled somewhat, especially in run support, but did improve throughout the year and finished with 24 tackles and 1 pick.

Bryan Evans

The aforementioned Bryan Evans, after 2 starts last year, will be the #1 nickelback. Evans played in 12 games in 2006 gathering 26 tackles that included 1 sack. Last year, Evans had 17 tackles & 1 pick while playing in a total of 11 games. Evans is a redshirt Junior.

Step it up Mr. Brown

Ramarcus Brown started 9 games in 2006 registering 39 tackles and 1 forced fumble. He went into spring 07 as the starter, but was 3rd on the depth chart by the time the season started. He did play in 11 games and pick up 10 tackles, but 2007 was a major disappointment for him. It's quite a luxury to have this amount of experience stashed this far down on the depth chart. GATA and get those reps up.

Only the beginning for Vance Cuff.......monster talent

True freshman Vance Cuff earned his way into the corner rotation and played in 12 games with 6 tackles. At 6' 2" with a 4.4 forty time, this kid has lights-out potential.

This looks to be a very strong group and each of the 5 will get extensive PT throughout the season. There is a chance that new signees Brandon Boykin and Makiri Pugh could see some action if they impress the coaches enough this fall.

Time will tell.

It's a deep subject

2008-03-11T22:24:00.007-04:00

We're taking a break from spring practice and got a peek at the spring depth chart.

I want to take a look at each position and see how we stand right now and speculate a little on changes that may take place in the fall. Today, I'm tackling the Safety position. Over the course of the next few days, I'll take a look at CB, LB, DE, DT, OL, WR, TE, RB, QB, & special teams.

By taking what we know based on performance and from just a few of the coaches observations that have come out this spring, we can get a pretty good picture of how these Dawg's are stacking up as they begin a very tough schedule.

SAFETIES

Kelin Johnson is one of a handful of starters that we lost, but he's leaving his position in the excellent hands of Reshad Jones. Jones ranked 3rd on the team in tackes last season while backing up Johnson. He picked up 3 tfl and 1 pick. Oh, did I mention that he was a redshirt freshman? A 5 star recruit listed as the best safety prospect in the country in 2006, Reshad certainly didn't disappoint when he hit the field this year. He's a ballhawk and a playmaker. Look for the int total to go up this year.

The other safety position is manned by returning starter and senior C.J. Byrd. Byrd had a solid season starting all 13 games, racking up 44 tackles, 1 pick, and 1 fumble recovery. Rated as a 4 star athlete in 2005, C.J. came up big when he finally took his place as the starter in '07.

We have some pretty good talent backing these guys up, but not much experience.

Quentin Banks - RSoph - played in 12 games recording 8 tackles

Donavon Baldwin - RJun - no significant playing time

John Knox - RFr - the coaches seem to like the progress this kid is making

As far as incoming freshmen, Xavier Avery would seem the most likely prospect to see any time at all this year. Baccari Rambo is a real longshot. Both are likely to redshirt.

As it stands, the starters will be very strong, with Banks giving both a breather while gaining experience to take Byrd's spot the following year. Knox and Baldwin will see some time in select situations also, gaining valuable experience in the process. A little insurance doesn't hurt.

(h/t ching, cstv)

Where have I heard that before?

2008-03-10T19:07:00.006-04:00

Straight from the Orange and Blue Hue (not on my normal reading menu, but I clicked one too many damn times)

Okay, so UF returns incumbent Heisman winner and part-time superman Tim Tebow. But with that being said, it’s time for Tim to impress the NFL draft scouts. Even with a trophy case of awards, the pros still have some concerns about #15:

* Criticism of Meyer’s system. After all, he did coach a first overall draft pick in Alex Smith, who has yet to reach his potential. And Tebow is cut from the same cloth as Smith.
I've been preaching that for the last 6 months.

* His rushing must drop, but not disappear. NFL teams hit harder, bigger, and faster than in college, and with sixteen games in an NFL regular season compared to twelve in college, scouts are worried that he’ll land in a hospital.Also, they want to see a slightly more elusive running style. Ideally, he’ll be a more athletic Ben Roethlisberger or Donovan McNabb.
Ditto that........the well publicized shoulder boo-boo and the broken hand are the ones that we know about. Those things have a tendency to accumulate.

Oh Oh Oh.....easy on the arm fellas

* His mechanics. Scouts would like to see tighter spirals and a slightly higher release point to take advantage of his height.
Ok, my take on this one has been the he throws alot of ducks....same thing

I call this my "Tim Wakefield" delivery

* Intangibles. Not everyone will view Tebow’s emotional displays after wins or losses as an asset.
I've called it "cryin like a bitch"

If Tim can do all of that, he’ll be in good shape for the draft should he choose to turn pro. But based upon his priority list, I think he’ll stay another year, get his degree, and only then turn pro.

But if he’s not careful, he might wind up switching positions on an NFL roster. Think it’s impossible, Tim?

Ask Antwaan Randle-El.
Ok, dude, you just entered the twilight zone.

That last comment really knocked me out. How in the bloody blue hell does Tebow resemble Randle-El in any way? Teebone's not slow, but he's not NFL caliber WR talent either. Tight end or safety, maybe. Let's keep it real.

******************************UPDATE**********************************

For the record, he'll still be a QB in the NFL

SAMS Club

2008-03-10T18:18:00.006-04:00

Senator Blutarsky points out the diminishing role of the SAM linebacker as a result of more teams going to a spread offense. Basically, it requires the use of a nickel package and the SAM linebacker is the odd man out.

Looking to the '08 schedule, no less than 6 of the teams that we play use the spread as their primary formation.

Central Michigan

South Carolina

Tennessee

Florida

Kentucky

Auburn ( the Spread Eagle _________________) insert appropriate comment

You'll also see a great deal of it from everybody else with the exception of Ga Southern & Tech.

Breaking up the gang?

I'm mainly disappointed due to the fact that we have alot of depth at LB and it's a shame that the PT has to be split up so many ways. Dent & Gamble have been getting time at MLB but that still gives us somewhat of a dilemna. Do we really want Ellerbe and Curran off the field any more than necessary? If Hebron has atoned for his transgressions (and all reports are that he has), he's a monster talent that needs some reps too. Good luck to the coaches that are trying to work it out.

Just Because

2008-03-09T22:25:00.005-04:00

I wanted to see how UGA stacked up in the win column this decade vs. the rest of the SEC. I wasn't shocked to see where we are on the list, but there were a few suprises overall.

WINS THIS DECADE

LSU 82
UGA 80
AUB 75
UF 74
UT 71
ARK 58
USC 54
UA 53
UM 42
MSU 33
UK 32
VAN 25

I guess Alabama being in 8th is the biggest shocker for me. Now we've just gotta bump LSU out of that top spot. GATA

As a footnote, here's how we stack up against the rest of the BCS

WINS THIS DECADE

OKLAHOMA 90
TEXAS 85
LSU 82
USC81
OHIO ST 81
GEORGIA 80
VA TECH 79
MIAMI 76
AUBURN 75
FLORIDA 74
LOUISVILLE 74
MICHIGAN 73
TENNESSEE 71
FSU 69
WISCONSIN 69
BOSTON COLLEGE 69
WEST VA 67
OREGON 66
NEBRASKA 65
CLEMSON 63

Timing is everything

2008-03-08T22:31:00.005-05:00

UGA doesn't have a MNC to show for their efforts during the Richt era. Going into the '08 season as one of the contenders is reason for hope, but there are alot of factors that must go our way just to make it to the dance.

Consider this list of SEC champions and their records for the season in this decade

2000 Florida 10-3
2001 LSU 10-3
2002 UGA 13-1
2003 LSU 13-1 MNC
2004 Auburn 13-0
2005 UGA 10-3
2006 Florida 13-1 MNC
2007 LSU 12-2 MNC

Three MNC's for the SEC this decade for arguably the best conference in cfb, but it also shows that having a great season doesn't necessarily guarantee you a shot at the crystal ball. Hell, winning 'em all doesn't even guarantee it.

The Theory of Evolution

2008-03-08T17:18:00.013-05:00

Sometimes.......most of the time.........nope, make it EVERY time a message board gets started involving UGA, the swampdwellers must appear to point out their dominance over the Dawgs.
Let's face the facts, it has been quite ugly. What was once an automatic win has been a pure nightmare for the last 17 years or so. In fact, if you were born after the mid 70's, you probably don't have a recollection of it being any other way. But trust me, once upon a time, it was a different story.

The most common line of reasoning behind this momumental collapse is that Dooley retired and UGA hired a bonehead while UF hired the Evil Genius and a mismatch was formed. Where there's smoke there's fire and those two events happening in the same timeframe didn't help.

But, more importantly, and the largest underlying reason for the trainwreck that has become the UGA / UF rivalry is simply the "Florida Factor". We too often think only of the University of Florida when we recall the recent history of this series. You have to look a little deeper to find the entire story. A history lesson follows.

The State of Florida is home to 3 BCS schools; Florida, Florida St., Miami. A study of the history of their programs, prior to 1980, is a study of futility for the most part. Miami had limited success in the 40's & 50's, Florida was actually a top 10 program in the 60's but struggled otherwise, and FSU didn't have a team prior to 1954.

(OK, technically 4 bcs schools but USF doesn't have a history at all)

Times change and the state's population exploded.

Why does Canada produce more superstars in hockey than the USA ?......it's what they do

Why does everywhere else in the world produce more superstars in soccer than the USA?.....again, it's what they do

Why do inner-cities pump out elite basketball players.........ride thru & count the number of basketball goals vs. baseball fields vs. football fields.........or in simpler terms, it's what they do

What do the best male athletes in Florida do?.......they play football.
Couple that with the population explosion and all of a sudden, you have mucho college eligible talent. Those two roads crossed in the early 80's. Add great coaching to tremendous talent, and the "Florida Factor" is born. Major beatdowns follow shortly thereafter.

The top program and #10 program of the decade are included for comparison.

Hopefully, you can see quickly that it wasn't just UF that has been kickin ass for the last 25 years or so. The 3 big Florida programs made the entire country their personal whippin posts, especially in the 90's. The only joy the rest of the country could garner was when we could watch these 3 beat up on each other.

Thankfully (for everybody else), things seem to have planed out a little. It only takes 20 years or so for the rest of the SEC and the nation to realize that recruiting Florida = success. Based on the numbers provided by the major recruiting services, either Florida or Texas (always very close) provide the highest number of elite college football recruits. California is usually not far behind with Georgia 4th and actually taking the 3rd spot on occasion.

Ok, back to UGA/UF. 15-3 over the last 18 meetings. Pure unadulterated hell. Especially when it follows a period that UGA had gone on a 15-4 run. Those were better times. Then came the 90's. The ol' ballcoach came along and had us outmanned and outcoached. Jacksonville, commonly referred to as "Athens South", now became the Swamp from Hell. Our starting 22 may have compared favorably with theirs, but hell, they had 40 more on the sidelines that were just as talented. In the 90's we won 1 freakin game........ONE!! Six of those losses were absolute behind-the-woodshed ass whuppin's of Biblical proportions.

Times change. We've closed the gap talent-wise to the point of being even, and probably deeper in alot of areas. Our coaching staff stacks up favorably with anyone. The 2-6 record this decade still sux, but 4 of the losses were 7 points or less. A couple of those games we lost due to the fact that our team didn't believe that they could win. Maybe this little gem will change that attitude.

Better days are ahead.

Baseline

2008-03-07T13:15:00.000-05:00

Ok, the new blog is up & running.

I've uploaded some old posts. Hopefully, between the kid's practices and work, I'll have time to add on a reasonably frequent scale.

Thanks & enjoy

Recruiting 101.........or is it 151?

2008-03-07T12:39:00.006-05:00

I'm still waiting for my offer

Ok, so I'm a month behind, but crap like this interests me, so you've gotta suffer through it too.

I was looking through some recruiting numbers and noticed that UGA offered 60 scholarships this year and signed 23. That made me a little curious to see how many scholly's were offered by other schools. Quite an eye-opening experience. Before long, I had poured through the top 25 recruiting classes as listed by Scout.com and found a very wide range from top to bottom.

The most shocking number was the 151 offers made by Florida while signing 23. Are you kiddin' me? Talk about putting out feelers. If a kid has a pulse, he has a UF scholly offer. I'm a little pissed that I didn't get one.

On the flip side, Texas offered only 33 while signing 20. UT definitely has a lock on the State of Texas.

This is not a list that ranks the recruiting classes. It simply shows how many scholarships that the schools offered this year. Also, there's a couple that are not top 25 classes (i.e. North Avenue Trade School & "the other USC"), I was just curious.

1. Florida............................151
2. Nebraska.......................145
3. LSU................................137
4. Tennessee......................125
5. South Carolina...............120
6. Alabama.........................119
7. Auburn...........................113
8. Michigan........................111
9. Oregon...........................110
10. Clemson.......................106
11. Arizona State................104
12. FSU..............................100
13. Miami............................95
13. Arkansas........................95
15. Illinois............................91
16. Georgia Tech.................88
16. Oklahoma......................88
18. Boston College.............. 84
19. Virginia Tech.................68
19. Washington....................68
19. Texas A&M.....................68
22. Georgia...........................60
23. UCLA..............................59
24. PITT...............................58
25. USC................................55
26. Notre Dame................... 53
26. Ohio State......................53
28. Texas..............................33

Looking at the numbers, it seems that there's alot of competition for recruits in the southeast (go figure), with the SEC taking 6 of the top 7 spots. However, it also shows that there is more than one successful recruiting philosophy.

The Florida approach - Throw out a huge net and see what we catch. I don't prefer that method because it seems like they aren't targeting specific needs. However, it seems to be successful for them.

The Texas approach - Identify your needs, interview the prospects, decide their level of interest, make the offer. This method requires an excellent eye for talent by the coaches, and again, has been successful.

The USC method - #### it, we're USC. Make the offer, they will come. Very successful.

The Notre Dame method - Magic. There's no other explanation for a recruit wanting to play there at this point in time.

The Auburn method - Lower your standards because Saban grabbed all of the top local talent. Preach to the media that recruiting services don't know what kind of heart your recruits have.

Different strokes for different folks. There's no 1 "right" way to recruit. The proof is 3-5 years down the road.

ALABAMATHEMATICS

2008-03-07T12:26:00.006-05:00

A recent pi$$in match between a Michigan blogger:http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/02/13/nick-sabans-the-real-snake-oil-salesman-around-these-parts/

and an Alabama blogger;http://www.rollbama%20roll.com/story/2008/%202/14/9229/08863

With all due respect to the Alabama faithful, I've gotta side with the Wolverines on this one.

Columbus, Georgia (my hometown) is on the Georgia / Alabama state line, and Auburn University is a 30 minute trip. Georgia / Alabama / Auburn fans are very well represented here and college football trashtalk is a year round affair.

I've taken a little time to count'em up, and here's the latest numbers regarding the recruiting classes for these 3 teams. The number of scholarship athletes that are used for each team are taken from last year's rosters, minus seniors and players who declared themselves eligible for the draft.

First let's get the rules straight.
1. A division 1A football program may give as many as 25 scholarships per year.
2. A division 1A football program may have no more than 85 scholarship athletes.

Very simple math........unless

Dinner at 7? Ok.....btw, do you have a calculator that I can borrow?

AlabamaRoster...................68 scholarships
Signing class.......................32 (is that more than 25?)
Total..................................100 (what happened to 85?)

AuburnRoster......................68 scholarships
Signing class........................29 (just in case they change the 25 rule)
Total....................................97 (hey, Auburn IS a math school)

GeorgiaRoster......................62 scholarships
Signing class........................24
Total....................................86 (damn calculator malfunction)

Ok, so how do these teams get to the 85 scholarship limit?
Good question, glad ya asked.

The first ones, I consider the minor sins........

1. Academics - Some of these signees may not make their SAT or ACT score. Some (hopefully very few) of the upperclassmen may become academically ineligible. Last year, UGA lost Paul Oliver over the summer to the NFL supplemental draft for this reason.

2. Medical Scholarship - A player who is physically unable to play again due to injury. UGA's Antavious Coates has been given a medical scholarship after 2 ACL surgeries on each knee.

3. Voluntary transfer - For whatever reasons, lack of PT, location, coaching changes. UGA recently lost TE NaDerris Ward as an example.

4. The Back-count - If a player graduates early from H.S. and enrolls mid-year, his scholly count's against last year's 25 limit.

now a little more harsh........

5. Academic scholarship - Son, you suck, but the University of Alabama (oops) is going to honor our financial commitment to you. You're off the team. Good luck.

and the really bad.......

6. The Grayshirt - We have a wee problem with oversigning. We can't offer that scholarship, but if you'll pay your own way this year, we'll get you that scholarship next year for sure. Really. No, seriously. Have we ever lied to you?

7. Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya (for upperclassmen) - Son, I don't know what the hell Mike Shula was thinkin' when he offered you a scholly, but I think it's best if you give Division II a shot.

8. The offer retraction (new signing class) - Son, were sorry, but your name was mistakenly placed in the "good players" stack on my desk. We're withdrawing our offer.

Read'em & weep. If your team just had a major oversigning year, these are the realities of what goes on. Justify it however you like.

I truly hope that someone documents how the numbers get crunched at Alabama this year just to see how the casualties pile up.

The very last Hawaii bashing........I promise ;-)

2008-03-07T12:02:00.002-05:00

Damn, dude, I thought you'd be........bigger

i don't remember who posted this link, but i wanna thank them

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/4867%20-College_Football-Ge%20orgia_Bulldogs_Football-Sugar_Bowl_Preview_Hawaii_vs_Georgia

In following several message boards prior to the game almost anything that any UH fan brought up that had any factual basis was stolen from this article

The author would comment on UGA and you'd almost think he had a crystal ball.

Then, he'd switch to UH and start the "what if's", "but's", and "maybe's".

In the end, he screwed it all up and got the islands in a frenzy by picking the Warriors.

"I've read tons of writers and bloggers who said, "If UH played our schedule, they would only finish with a .500 record at best". I might agree to this sentiment, but it can"t just be taken at face value. This has got to be the stupidest thing I have constantly read over the past month or so. The reason is because if UH played in the SEC, they would have an SEC type budget, with SEC type facilities, and be able to recruit top flight, blue chip, NFL quality players."

At least 50 UH fans stole that one and it's also untrue. Other than the fact that Herman Frazier would have no idea on how to appropriate the funds, SEC recruiting is regional. To make the above statement true, you'd have to move the islands to the Southeastern U. S.

However, since this guy put so much time & effort to delve into some important questions, I feel the need to expend the same amount of effort in answering his questions.

1. Can Hawaii stop UGA's running game. NO

2. Can UGA capitalize if UH commits 8 or 9 men in the box? YES (although I think the play action pass was implied here, we just ran straight through)

3. Can UH adjust to the speed of a SEC defense? NO

4. Who wins the time of posession battle? Hawaii (surprised?)

5. Can UGA stop the UH offense? Is a bullfrog's ass watertight?

6. When UGA gets to Brennan for sacks, will he hold on or fumble? OR JUST CRY

But here's my favorite part of this article.....

UGA Coaching - HC Mark Richt, DC Martinez, OC Bobo of UGA have a total of zero years coaching in the NFL.
UH Coaching - HC June Jones has 12 years and McMackin has five years in the NFL.

Don't underestimate this point. Although having NFL experiene isn't a prerequisite to success in college football, I think it can be a factor. Why is this important? Giving NFL quality coaches one month to game plan is huge. I am not discounting coach Richt's ability, but I think no one brings this up because UGA is just more physical and fast, plays in the SEC, and Richt has had success over his seven seasons as a head coach, but I think game planning will play a big role.

Just as an example, recently UGA HC Richt said at their Monday press confrence that they have looked at "several" UH games on tape. Both the end zone and coaches tape, as well as the TV tape.

Then I came across a quote from the UH DC McMackin saying that he has charted every single one of UGA's offensive plays that they ran this year. He said that UGA ran a total of 807 offensive plays this year and broke it down into percentage of runs to the left, right, and between tackles to passes on first, second, and third downs. Now that is paying attention to details and analyzing what they are up against. That was the first 2 days after the match up announcement. What will they do with the rest of the month?

I MIGHT KNOW THIS ANSWER

I have access to the notes from the December 9th meeting between Coach Mark Richt and defensive co-ordinator Willie Martinez.

CMR "This is the highest scoring team in the country, have you been working on a game plan?"

WM "I've watched a couple of games on tape."

CMR "A couple? They've played 12."

WM "I know, but there's no tape available on the other 10. In those games neither team had video equipment, & they certainly weren't on tv."

CMR "So, based on these tapes, do you think you can predict what their offense will do in different situations?"

WM "I do."

CMR "Ok. 1st & 10"

WM "They throw it."

CMR "2nd & 4"

WM "They throw it."

CMR "3rd & 1"

WM "They throw it."

CMR "They have a huge lead."

WM "They throw it."

CMR "Big defecit"

WM "They throw it"

CMR "What if they're trying to melt the clock?"

WM "They throw it."

CMR "It seems that you've done your homework. Do you think our scout team can simulate their offense?"

WM "I've got a plan."

CMR "Ok. How do you simulate their heisman candidate QB?"

WM "Logan Gray, true fresman, scout team QB. We make him wear 20 pound ankle weights to slow him down and make him throw a water-logged football so it cuts down his arm strength. That should be pretty close."

CMR "What about their 4 very talented wideouts?"

WM "I've arranged for the Athens Police Dept to loan me four inmates as part of a work-release program."

CMR "Ok, the final piece. How are you going to simulate their offensive line?"

WM "Simple. Wait until the end of band practice & borrow the trombone players."

CMR "Brilliant."

If the shoe fits.......

2008-03-07T11:58:00.002-05:00

A great shoestring catch?

APPLICATION FOR SIDELINE ADMISSION - UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS - FOOTBALL

1. Have you ever played football, even recreationally?

2. Have you ever had a relationship with someone of the opposite sex?

3. Are your current job duties necessary for the UT football team to function properly?

4. Do you happen to know the basic rules of football?

5. Do you know what the big white line that encompasses the playing field represents?

6. Do you know the reason that the officials in a game have whistles?

7. Do you know of any reason that 22 men in tight pants would have for scrambling over each other while chasing a bouncing football?

8. Have you ever been employed in a position that was not created for you by your parents?

If you answered "NO" to all of the above questions, you will be allowed to access the sidelines of all UT home games, select road games, and bowl appearances.

It wasn't just the money

2008-03-07T11:49:00.002-05:00

I love these colors, if only I could change the logo.....

close enuf

newsflash from rivals.com

Before the news broke in the national media, Terrelle Pryor, a star quarterback from Jeanette, Pa., told Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell that Rodriguez was heading to the Wolverines.

"Add Michigan to my list," Pryor said early Sunday afternoon. "Rich Rod is headed to Michigan. I just spoke to him earlier this morning and he told me he's gone."

"We talked at 10 a.m. this morning and I told him Michigan just got on my list," Pryor told the AP on Sunday night.

Hmmm......

That's a true class act to discuss this with a recruit before meeting with his own team.

However, due to the fact that Rich Rod (as the 18 yr old phenom calls him) borrowed a cell phone from his good friend Houston Nutt, I have used the FOIA to obtain a transcript of that conversation.

RR "Son, we'd really like to have you at West Virginia. This is my hometown. I love this program. I'd give my life for my team. You'd really like it here. We have plans for a Hall of Heroes and you could be the first person inducted."

Pryor "Coach, I like your offense, but all of the recruiting services say that I deserve a bigger stage. I really like Coach Oscar Mayer down in Florida."

RR "Son, Oscar Mayer is a hot dog. Or Bologna. The Coach at Florida's name is Urban, and although he may fit that description..........let's not get off track. Are you saying that there's no way you will come to WVA?"

Pryor "Sorry, Coach, I just can't see myself playing in the Big East. I want TV time that isn't on Thursday nights."

RR " Well, I guess that's settled........wait a minute, the Michigan coaching job's open. Big stage...check. ABC/ESPN kissin your ass at every opportunity.......check. Ridiculously easy conference........check. Would you play there?"

Pryor "I haven't given Michigan any thought. You think that you could get that job?"

RR "At this point they'll take anybody. I'll just make some promises that we'll beat Ohio State and it's a done deal"

Pryor "Well, coach, I can't guarantee anything, but if you took that job, I'll at least put Michigan on my list"

RR "That's good enough for me then. I've got a couple of calls to make. Talk to ya later."

High School Game of the Decade......or at least of the Week

2008-03-07T11:24:00.006-05:00

Preamble

Us, We, "The Good Guys" ...............Wilcox County Patriots
Them, They, "The Bad Guys”............Lincoln County Red Devils

Us...........Good program since the mid-80's
Them......Great program since the late 50's

Us...........0 State Titles
Them......13 State Titles and defending back to back champions. Coach Larry Campbell is Georgia's winningest coach @ 414-70-3 with 11 of those championships.
Did ya think Valdosta's Hyder & Bazemore had good records?

Head to Head Series record (Each game was a playoff game)
Us...............0
Them..........4

Former players of note
Us........Alfred Rawls (3rd in SEC rushing yds for Kentucky as a senior) early 90's, Ronnie West – a brief cup of coffee in the NFL.
Them.....Garrison Hearst, the most famous of several NFL players; current Dawg Jarius Wynn, & a host of other D1 scholarship players.

NFL great Garrison Hearst, a damn good dawg

This year both teams enter this game with 11-1 records & who knows how either has lost a game. Wilcox is the big play team having won a playoff game 48-18 while running only 17 offensive plays for the game. Lincoln County is........well they're Lincoln County.

Date: 11/30/07
Game Time: 8:00pm
It's a 2 1/2 hour drive from Columbus to the ole hometown. It's gonna be crowded. I squirm into a seat at 7:15. There's 4000+ expected to be at the game which is huge by Class A standards.
A little pre-game posturing by both teams, lots of noise, & a UNC Tarheel recruiter wading thru the stands to talk to the local phenom's mom and we're ready for kickoff.

We win the toss & get the ball. Go 3 & out.......snap rolls to the punter, kick is blocked, they have the ball on the 8. Three plays later it's Lincoln 7-0.

That's ok, we average 40 points a game. We start the next series from the 25. Reverse to the phenom for a 75 yd TD......oops, clipping, back to the 12 yd line. They pick a pass on the next play and return it to the 2.
1 play later it's Lincoln 14-0.

Ok, that's not good. We start the next series from the 30. 3 & out, we punt, they return it for a TD.
Lincoln 21-0

Did I mention it's a 2 1/2 hour drive to get here. It's also 2 1/2 hrs back.

Our guys have to keep their chins up. We start the next series at the 12 after another penalty. 1st down....nuthin. 2nd down.....sacked at the 2. Illegal motion, back to the 1. We're down 21-0. It's 3rd & 21 from our own 1. They have absolutely stuffed every play that we have tried (with the exception of the called back TD, and to their credit, the clip was the block that allowed that to happen). They're Lincoln County. It's a long drive back hom......

The pass was for 38 yards.

I don't have stats to back this up, but I'll bet that in the last 50 years, Lincoln County has not lost after being up 21-0. It should be noted that Lincoln had 21 points on 10 yards total offense. That's still a ton of points to try to overcome though.

The pass was for 38 yards.

If the pass is dropped, batted, or otherwise incomplete, we're punting from our own endzone and if you've paid attention, punting is not what we do best. A sack for a safety is better than having to punt. We're staring down the barrell of 28-0.

The pass was for 38 yards.

The legend lives on. This is Lincoln County. They live for this time of year. Who the hell do we think we are, even remotely entertaining the thought of winning this game.

The pass was for 38 yards

Our receiver has a step, the ball hits him in stride, on the sideline, a little juggling act and.......it's a catch.

The pass was for 38 yards.......complete ........first down. I have just watched the highlight again. You can see the scoreboard with the down and distance from the camera angle. Unbelievable.

We're out of the shadow of our own goal line. The rest of the yardage comes in chunks. We have our first TD, of course the kick is blocked but it's 21-6.

END OF FIRST QUARTER
We kick off (it's a wonder that they didn't block that too) and stop 'em in 3 plays. They punt & stop us in 3 plays. We punt......well, we tried. On a good day, our punter can probably reach a snap that's 9' high, this one was 12. They recover on the 10. The defense stiffens, they lose yardage and settle for 3.
Lincoln 24-6 on 10 yards total offense.

We start the next series from the 35.

Domination: \da-mi-nay-shun\ 1. To Dominate 2. supremacy or preeminence over another
3. exercise of mastery

After one first down it's a 57 yd strike for the TD. 2 point conversion good.
Lincoln 24 Good Guys 14

Another 3 & out from them. We get a couple of 1st downs & a 31 yd strike for the TD. 2pt conversion good.
Lincoln 24 Wilcox 22.

HALFTIME
Momentum buster. I hate having to give them a chance to re-group. Well-coached is an under-statement for these guys. And they get the ball first.

Small schools are great. They open the gates and the surrounding school buildings in order to relieve the overflowing lines at the restrooms. Bless them for saving my life.

Halftime stats (un-official)Total Offense Us..........300 Them.....70

START OF 3RD QUARTER
They get the ball on the 25. One first down to the 40. One, two, three plays and it's 4th and less than 1 at the 49. Here's where I have a problem. They punted. I wouldn't have. Was it respect or fear. Whatever, it was a bad move. We have the ball and the chance to take the lead.

The drive was methodical. The kind that de-moralizes a team. A time consuming drive. Running backs gashing, quick slants, option plays, 5-6 yds per play. They couldn't stop anything. Except the 2pt conversion. It was good but called back on a penalty to put us on the 8. (Damn near made it the 2nd time too) They got us at the 1.

The clock reads 3:21 left in the 3rd.
The score reads Wilcox 28 Lincoln 24
The game is over.

I know, I know. It's never over till it's over. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. That's why you play 4 quarters. I know. But, they have not had a drive of more than 19 yards, we can't be stopped. It's over. I hope the fans that traveled from Lincoln know it's over. I'd be shocked if they get another first down and damned......
They start passing. 1st down.1st down. They're on our side of the 50. Who do they think they are, Lincoln County?

Oh. Anywhoo, it's now 4th & 1 from our 35, they have switched to the Wild Hog formation, direct snap to the tailback and.....he slips, untouched, loss of one. Our ball.

Another long time consuming drive, 4th & 1 from the 4......2 yard gain = 1st & goal. 1 play later it's Wilcox 34 Lincoln 24

Fast foward to another long drive ending in the red zone with 13 seconds to play and we have a classic come from wayyyyyyyy behind victory over one of the most storied programs in the state.

Lincoln County's a class act. Congratulations to my Patriots. There was no way it could happen, but......

The pass was for 38 yards.

Just a few notes.......

2008-03-07T11:09:00.002-05:00

In a pre-season post, I listed 7 major things that this team needed to do to be successful. It's late in the season now and I have added comments to the 7 things based on our results. Sure, there are other factors, but these are my list of the most important. I'll try to keep'em short.

(1) Incorporate the running game in the shotgun formation. CMR ran the ball out of this formation in his early years. I love the i- formation and it should be our basic formation. However, if we sprinkle the running game with the shotgun formation, it will keep the opponent (UT and USC come to mind) from loading up the box to stuff the run. Just go back 10 years or so to the UF vs FSU national title game to see the effect that moving the QB to the shotgun can have. Call it "Plan B" when the original gameplan just isn't working.

(2) Matt Stafford - SET YOUR FEET. Few qb's throw as crisp as Matt when he has good footwork. However, in recent games, the picks have been results of floaters thrown off the back foot. Bobo could help alot when Matt is out of rythym (UK) by using medium range passes, short drops, and screens when the deep ball is not working for the day. Get him in rythym, then throw the long ball. Mix up down & distance calls to give him a chance.

(3) Never run a gimmick play when the margin is one possesion. The potential to let the other team take the lead or take us out of a scoring chance is not worth the risk. It seems that our gimmick plays have backfired the majority of times and it crushes our momentum.

(4) If it ain't broke, don't fix it......If Knowshon is ripping up the D, give him the ball. Don't get cute. Don't bring in TB. On the flip side, if Matt's hot, throw the ball early and often.

(5) Beware the fake punt. Ok, it's been a non-issue so far this year, but I only have to go back 2 years (UF and W VA) to find two fake punts that crushed us.

(6) ALWAYS rush the passer with at least 4. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS. This year, the only game this has become an issue in was BAMA. In general, if you give a QB 7 seconds to throw the ball, he will find somebody open. It's ok to back off our db's in prevent, but we have to put at least marginal pressure on the qb.

(7) Can we match our pre-game planning with our half-time adjustments? Once again, whether by our half-time adjustments or conditioning, our second half scoring margin is awesome. Does the UF celebration count as pre-game planning? What about the blackout?

For clarity's sake.......I am not bashing our coaching staff or our players. Coach Dooley's best 7 year stretch (1980-1986) netted 65 wins.

Wally Butts (1941-1947) 60 wins.

CMR 72 and hopefully counting.

Outside the Herschel years, our team is enjoying unprecedented success, and Coach Richt has already climbed to the top of my all-time UGA coaching list. I think the competition is tougher now, and CMR doesn't have the single most dominating player ever to play college football to pad his numbers. Here's hoping he sticks around another 20 years or so.