Uggh

Go to hell Jon Fabris. Go to hell Willie Martinez. If either of you are employed in Athens next year, rest assured the Athletic Association does not have to worry about money coming from me.

Update: I really regret posting this at the time. My views on Coach Martinez haven't changed, but there's a civil way about doing things. Just a little FYI for all you kids, drinking and blogging don't mix.

Bye-Bye Knowshon

I think this pretty much seals the deal for Knowshon heading to play on Sunday.  With McCoy coming back, Knowshon will likely be the first or second back taken in the Draft come next April.  Due to the short shelf life most backs have in the league and the high potential for injury, I can't blame him for coming out.  Damn good Dawg, but that's a lot of money to say no to.

Mumme Poll, Week 13

After the crazy shake-up that was the weekend in college football, here is my Mumme Poll for Week 13.  The results will be up at the Senator's site on Wednesday.  Top 5 noted by asterisk with explanations to follow.

Alabama*

Florida*

Texas*

Oklahoma*

USC*

Utah

Texas Tech

Oklahoma State

Penn State

Ohio State

Missouri

Georgia

- Alabama remains in the top 5 after an idle week

- Florida remains in the top 5 after an idle week.  Wait, they played this weekend?  I thought that was a scrimmage.  They put up 70 points on a hapless FCS school?? Oh, I guess that's supposed to be impressive.  Does anyone remember the scene from "There's Something About Mary" where Matt Dillon's character is playing the group of mentally handicapped people in flag football and he just runs over everyone while stiff arming them and essentially kicking their helpless asses?  Yeah, that's what Saturday's game for Florida vs. the Citadel was.  Let's see if they put up 70 against FSU, then I'll be impressed.  It really is a joke to me that big time schools would schedule an FCS opponent this late in the season.

- Texas has hope again after Oklahoma beat Texas Tech this weekend.  In the current BCS rankings, Texas is ranked above Oklahoma so as of right now, they are in line to represent the South in the Big 12 title game.  That could change if Oklahoma beats Okie State this weekend.

- Oklahoma remains in the top five after depantsing Texas Tech on national television.  I can't remember the last time a team absolutely embarassed it's opponent like that on the national state.  Oh wait, I forgot that Georgia played Florida and Alabama this year on the national stage this year, and got embarassed both times.  I digress.

- USC switches places with Texas Tech because of Tech's loss and USC's bye week.  They take on Notre Dame next weekend in LA.  That should be the final nail in Charlie Weis' proverbial coffin.  I'd really like to see this team play Florida because I think their defense against Florida's offense would be a great matchup.  Right now it looks like USC will be playing post-season ball in either Tempe or New Orleans because it's becoming clearer that Oregon State will be in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl.

- Utah pretty much assured themselves of another trip to Tempe.  By securing a second BCS trip in four years, I believe they reached the level of national respect that most teams in the BCS conferences get.  Congrats, Utes.

- Texas Tech, where do I start with you? Garrrrr, Bob Stoops stole all your pirate gold.  Let me go ahead and sent out a big THANK YOU for going ahead and crapping your pants on national television on Saturday.  Georgia won't be the only team that did it this year.

- Oklahoma State remains in the top twelve after a bye week.  They have a big game with Oklahoma this weekend that could boost their credentials for inclusion in the top five.

- Penn State is smelling roses.  Penn State clinched its first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1994 with an utter demolition of Michigan State on Saturday.  Congrats to Joe Paterno who told the pep rally crowd on Friday that he will be returning for another year in 2009.  He underwent a successful hip replacement surgery on Sunday and should be ready for the Rose Bowl on January 1st.

- Ohio State kept Michigan in that game for far too long.  Still, their only two losses are to USC and Penn State, so all in all a pretty good year for the sweater vests.

- Missouri remains in the top twelve on an idle week.

- Georgia also remains in the top twelve on an idle week.  Things may change next week depending on how they handle the NATS.

- This took me about five minutes to compile.  The only changes were switching USC and Texas Tech in the top five.

A Pleasant Surprise

Normally, I only talk about the Georgia Bulldogs, but it's hard for me to discount my first two true sports loves.  Before I got serious about being a Bulldogs fan (and eventually an alum), I was always a die hard Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Falcons fan.  The college game didn't come around to me until I was in the 5th grade or so, so I'd always followed the NFL and specifically the Falcons.  

The 18 months prior to the beginning of this season were the most difficult 18 months that I believe any professional franchise has endured in the history of professional sports, save maybe the 1919 Chicago White Sox who got ripped apart by the 1918 team that was found to have conspired to throw the World Series.  It just seemed that everything that could go wrong for the Falcons did.  First, your $100M QB gets thrown in jail for making some boneheaded decisions, you have a pretty bad season, and your top-dollar coach flees by the cover of night for the brighter pastures of Fayetteville, Arkansas. 

Then comes the 2008 NFL Draft and the Falcons have a choice about whether to build along the lines (their most pressing need IMO at the time) by taking Glen Dorsey or to take what many scouts think is a franchise QB, but was pretty inconsistent and threw a lot of picks in a less than stellar conference his senior year.  Everyone knows what happened for that one.

I'll go ahead and apologize because I was one of the people very critical of the selection of Matt Ryan at the time.  Let me preface and say that it had nothing to do with Ryan himself, but as I stated earlier, I thought the Falcons were better served to build through the line by taking Dorsey.  Well, this is me eating crow and loving it.  Matt Ryan right now is playing at an unheard of level as a rookie.  People are making the Ben Roethlisberger comparisons, but I think Ryan is better at this point in his career.  Roethlisberger wasn't a vital part of his offense his rookie year, he merely had to hand the ball off to Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker.  Matt Ryan's taken this offense by the reins and the coaches trust him to run it the same as if he were Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.

The Falcons then traded back into the 1st round to take Sam Baker to protect Matt Ryan's blind-side.  Once again, I was skeptical of the pick.  Although he's out now and may be gone for the rest of the season, Baker was a force when healthy and proof that he was deserving of the lofty pick.  So far, GM Thomas Dimitroff is 2 for 2 in the 1st round, IMO.

The next three picks are Curtis Lofton at LB, Chevis Jackson at CB, and Harry Douglas at WR.  All three have contributed big time at one point or another this season, the most recent being Douglas' performance today.  By my count, Dimitroff is now 5 for 5 with his first 5 picks.

The icing on the cake was the shrewd signing of free agent RB Michael Turner early in the free agency period.  Turner, long the understudy to Ladanian Tomlinson in San Diego, is the 1st back in the NFC South this year to rush for 1,000 yards, he set the franchise rushing record with 220 yards in his first ever game, and he currently is one rushing TD away from tying the franchise record for rushing TD's in one season.  Make that 6 for 6 for Dimitroff so far.

This is a team that I didn't expect anything more than a 3-13, 4-12 season.  I figured they might upset a team  along the way, but honestly thought they were a few years away from seriously contending.  Right now, the Falcons stand at 7-4 and  one game back in the division.  No rational Falcons fan would have predicted this at the beginning of the year.  This team is the most pleasant surprise of the year to me and it certainly has softened the blow of the disappointment that is the Georgia season.  Thank you Arthur Blank for hiring the right guys and thank you Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith for bringing hope and excitement back to Atlanta at least for this fan.

Mumme Poll, Week 12

Posting's been pretty light the last week. I'm trying to wrap up an audit at one of my clients so real life has taken some precedent. Here's my Mumme Poll for Week 12. The results for the poll are located here. Top five noted by asterisk, explanations to follow:

Florida*
Alabama*
Texas Tech*
Texas*
Oklahoma*
Oklahoma State
USC
Missouri
Utah
Penn State
Ohio State
Georgia

- Florida is the best team in the country right now. They are playing at a level that hasnʼt been seen since the Nebraska teams of the mid-90s. Sure upsets can happen (see Ole Miss), but I honestly donʼt see the point for the teams left on their schedule to even show up right now. Not one team left on their schedule will stay within 21 points of this team, Alabama and whatever Big 12 team they play in the MNC game included.

- Alabama gave a scare for one half after Miss. St. went up 7-5, but ended up pulling away and blowing them out mostly due to special teams play and defense. Has there been a more unimpressive QB on a national title contender in recent years (Craig Krenzel & Matt Mauk included)?

- Texas Tech remains in the top five during the bye week. Weʼll know more about the MNC after Saturday when they play Oklahoma. They surely will be underdogs and we can see if the pirate power can stand up for one more big time game before the Big 12 championship.

- Texas took care of business against Kansas and besides Florida is still the most impressive one loss team in America.

- Oklahoma remains in the top five after dispatching a helpless Texas A&M team this weekend. They have a good chance to get back in the MNC carousel if they can beat Texas Tech this weekend. Iʼm guessing Oklahoma will be about a seven point favorite or so.

- Oklahoma State took care of a tougher than expected Colorado team and are probably the best of the two loss teams at this point.

- USC remains in the top twelve after fighting off another scare from the Cardinal and pulling away in the second half. This teamʼs defense could keep it in the game against just about anyone. Iʼd love to see them play Florida if both miss out on the MNC.

- Missouri is in the top twelve after dispatching of Iowa State pretty handily on the road. They still have a chance to throw a wrench in the BCS if they should win the Big 12 title game.

- Utah destroyed San Diego State and the only thing between them and a BCS-at large bid is a game next week against BYU at home.

- Penn State stays in the top twelve during an idle week.

- Ohio State beat the Fighting ʽZookers on the road and other than the crap your pants effort at USC, this team hasnʼt looked half bad this season.

- Georgia is the last team in. It was a toss-up between them and Boise State for me. Boise State struggled on the road with a hapless Idaho team while Georgia struggled on the road with a hapless Auburn team. Iʼm more impressed by the Auburn struggle than the Idaho struggle, therefore Georgia gets the final spot. This team better spend the next two weeks learning to tackle or Jonathan Dwyerʼs going to make them look silly.

-I spent about 5 minutes compiling this as my ballot didnʼt change from last week.

It's Pirates Galore, GARR

Looks like they let Mike Leach get loose in Somalia.

It's getting feisty over there...

This thing has certainly been interesting to watch. Hooray for hate week?? I thought that was when we played Florida. I don't hold the level of disdain for Auburn as many that commented on that post. I guess it just depends on what part of the fan base you run into. I've always experienced gracious winners (I played flip cup with a bunch of Auburn folks before and after the game in 2005) and gracious losers (many a fan shook my hand in 2002 and 2006 in Jordan-Hare Stadium). A lot of those responses seem to give credence to Buzz Bissinger's tirade this past year. Many post under the veil of Internet anonymity and leave rude comments and take shots that they would never be man, or woman, enough to say to that person's face. Here's to being cordial and acting like adults.

An early look at Auburn

Just some SEC rankings for fodder:

UGA - #1 in total offense, Auburn - #7 in total defense
UGA - #8 in total defense, Auburn - #8 in total offense
UGA - #2 in scoring offense, Auburn - #4 in scoring defense
UGA - #11 in scoring defense, Auburn - #10 in scoring offense
UGA - #5 in rushing offense, Auburn - #9 in rushing defense
UGA - #3 in rushing defense, Auburn - # 6 in rushing offense
UGA - #1 in passing offense, Auburn - # 4 in passing defense
UGA - #10 in passing defense, Auburn # 9 in passing offense

Don't know what these numbers really tell me. Looks like UGA's passing defense won't bite them in the butt this weekend as the forward pass is something that hasn't been seen in Auburn since 2005. Both teams are getting lit up on the scoreboard this year. Auburn is middling in all offensive categories while UGA is middle to bottom in all defensive categories except rushing defense. At the beginning of the year, Auburn was supposed to have the meanest D in the land, but the numbers don't seem to back that up. Right now, UGA's offense has been putting up some monster stats that aren't always translating to the scoreboard. More analysis to come later this week. The big stat that can't be mistaken is the fact that this is going to be the Raycom Sports game. Auburn tends to not wake up in time for those games as they start at 11:30, local time.

Some people take this way too seriously...

I see stuff like this, and I don't understand how someone can get this serious about a game played by kids. Most of us that participate in this online discussion are grown men that probably have a real problem because we let the outcome of football games affect us like they do. I do, however, believe most of us are rational enough to not take it to the level this fellow did. In the end, this is just a game and in the grand scheme of things is not what should be most important to us in this world. We all have families and faiths that trump anything "insert your favorite college football team" does on 12 Saturdays in the fall. Going forward, I hope we all can keep it in perspective and enjoy the things that truly do matter while mixing in a little college football on the side.

Georgia 42, Kentucky 38; Post Knee Jerk Reaction with some thought put into it

After taking a step back from my earlier position and doing some real thinking, I feel a little bit better about this weekend. I put a Fan Post up over at Dawg Sports that was ripe with emotion, but lacking logic. After reading some comment from others at Dawg Sports and some self-reflection, I've stepped back from my initial position. It doesn't help that Mark Richt makes it completely clear that he feels it's not the coaches' faults. There have been numerous breakdowns in Special Teams and untimely offensive turnovers that have contributed to the numerous points layed on this defense in the last two games. Thankfully, none of the turnovers against Kentucky came back to bite Georgia in the proverbial butt.

The Special Teams play was atrocious. A 96 yard kickoff return, a blocked punt, and a punt for 18 yards all set up scoring drives for Kentucky with the short field. It's hard to hold the short field against the defense, but I'd certainly be a little happier if those scoring drives were 3 points instead of 6. Maybe my post should have been titled "Fire Jon Fabris Now", instead of "Fire Willie Martinez Now".

Knowshon Moreno was singledhandedly a red-zone beast this weekend. Hard to believe that in all the years of Georgia football only he and some other guy you might have heard of are the only two RB's with back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons. As I mentioned post-game Saturday, I think Matthew Stafford must have forgotten he played in the SEC and thought he was playing for one of those Big 12 teams. He ended up throwing for a career-best 376 yards with 3 TD's and zero INT's. The offense in total rolled up 520 yards and 42 points. The offense was six for six in the red zone.

Demarcus Dobbs decided to pull his best Thomas Davis in 2002/Charles Johnson in 2006 impression and cause a last minute turnover that sealed the game for the Dawgs against inferior opposition. What scared me most about this weekend was the fact that Kentucky was running nothing more than a variation of the triple option and gashed the defense for over 220 rushing yards. I believe we play some team in a few weeks that is known for its option offense. Anyways, I hold hope that Coach Martinez can rally his troops and maybe they will magically start wrapping up tackles and stopping the run again.

I don't do this very often, but I do take exception to Coach Richt's comments regarding what he sees as likely the casual or uninformed fan. As a person that believes he knows a little about football, I'll go on record and say that my complaints aren't scheme based or lack of blitzing. My complaint is this team just doesn't have that killer instinct that defenses in the past have had, and it seems fundamentally undisciplined (see missed tackles, poor execution, etc.). Of all people, Coach Richt should know best that having a bad defense can get you run out of Athens. I may be wrong, but that's how Coach Richt got his current job. Now, I appreciate Coach Richt for taking this sleeping program and "blowing the lid" off it in 2002. It seems the program has a sense of complacency over it and isn't doing what it takes to get to that elite level. I just don't want to see the team become mired in mediocrity like FSU the last few years due to unwillingness to address needed change. I just ask that Coach Richt doesn't allow Coach Martinez to become our Jeff Bowden if it reaches that point.

We've got two more regular season games and a bowl game. This team can still reach 10 wins and achieve another top 10 ranking. The goal at this point has to be to send the senior out the right way. Three out of four versus Auburn, extending the streak to eight against Tech, playing in a third New Year's Day bowl, winning 10 games three out of four years, and finishing in the top 10 three out of four years. Certainly the setbacks have caused this season to be something of a disappointment, but we can still finish the season strong. Let's hunker down and GATA!

Mumme Poll, Week 11

I participate in a weekly polling over at the Senator's site. For an explanation, here is the basic premise for the poll. Below is my Mumme Poll for Week 11. Top 5 are noted by asterisks, explanations to follow. Also, note that my teams are ranked in no particular order, so just because they're the last team in the list doesn't mean I think they're the worst of the top 12 and vice-versa for first in the top 5:

Alabama*
Texas Tech*
Florida*
Oklahoma*
Texas*

Utah
Southern California
Penn State
Oklahoma State
Missouri
Ohio State
Georgia

- Alabama won the type of game that championship teams usually have one of during the year. A game that they grinded out despite playing fairly poorly.

- Now that Texas Tech is running the football and playing defense, they might have a claim to the best team in the country.

- Florida obliterated Vanderbilt on the road clinching the SEC East. They have no real challenges between them and Miami outside of the SEC Title Game. They are clicking on all cylinders and Tebow is trying to make another case for the Heisman.

- Oklahoma gets in the top five over Southern Cal because the loss to Texas is not nearly as bad as the loss to Oregon State. Oklahoma has practically quit playing defense this season once their LB Ryan Reynolds went down, but the offense hasn't let up at all. Should they beat Texas Tech, the tiebreaker for the Big 12 title game gets interesting.

- Texas remains in the top five after taking care of business against Baylor. I can't fault them for losing on what was essentially the last play of the game against Texas Tech.

- Utah is in the top twelve by virtue of their game against TCU last week which was a real slug fest if you watched it. You could argue they were the beneficiary of some missed field goals, but they're still undefeated and still beat the team that beat the OMG Best Team Ever.

- Speaking of the OMG Best Team Ever, Southern California remains in the top twelve with virtually no shot of moving into the top five the rest of the season. They've played no one of value since the Oregon State game and I'm penalizing them as such.

- Penn State drops out of the top five, but remains in the top twelve after the mind-boggling loss at Iowa. I'm blaming it on the pink locker rooms. How do you think the Rose Bowl feels about it's potential Rose Bowl match up of Penn State-Oregon State right now? For those that have forgotten, Penn State beat Oregon State 45-14 in September.

- Oklahoma State remains in the top twelve despite getting pretty much annihilated by Texas Tech. The game they played at Texas carries a lot of clout in my mind. I just think Texas Tech is playing at another level right now, so I'm not holding that against the Cowboys.

- Missouri gets back in the top twelve based on TCU's loss. Missouri's two losses are better than TCU's right now and they've pretty much wrapped up the Big 12 North.

- Ohio State is in the top twelve after a win against Northwestern this weekend. The only blemishes to date are to the two potential Rose Bowl participants, so their resume doesn't look too bad right now, but not too great either.

- Georgia sneaks back into my top twelve after a gut check win in Lexington. Honestly, if the only other team with a top twelve argument were anyone but Ball State, the Dawgs wouldn't be in my top twelve. This team has some serious issues on the defensive side of the ball right now. In the end, their two losses have come to the #1 and #3 ranked teams in the country right now. If I'm not going to hold Texas Tech's annihilation against Oklahoma State because Tech is playing at another level right now, then I reserve the right to use the same rationale for Georgia getting destroyed by Florida.

- This week's poll took me a little longer this week to work on, approximately 45 minutes.

- There's no room in my poll for any Big East teams or ACC teams at this point of the season. North Carolina came closest, but they've got this ugly losses against Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Let me know what you folks think, agree or disagree.

UGA 42 Kentucky 38; Initial kneejerk reaction with no thought put into it

Georgia wins today in Lexington. After last week, this game did not provide the soul soothing blowout that Georgia fans were looking for. The Dawgs have serious, serious problems on the defensive side of the ball. There's absolutely no reason an injury-depleted, freshman-laden Kentucky team should put up 38 points on the scoreboard. I've been a Willie Martinez apologist for a few years now, but this game was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. FIRE. WILLIE. MARTINEZ NOW. Not tomorrow, not at the end of the season, not in 30 minutes, I mean now! Special teams looked lackluster at best. The offense turned the ball over at untimely moments that allowed short field for Kentucky to work with. Sound familiar??? On the bright side, Mo Mass made up for two fumbles with a huge 77 yard reception to set up the final score. The defense did bail out Mo Mass's fumbles with two 3 and outs. Matt Stafford didn't turnover the ball once and looked like a Big 12 QB out there throwing for 376 yards with 3 TD's. Knowshon broke 100 and rushed for 3 TD's. I guess in the end, a win is a win, but I'm not inspired at all by this team's play. Many have said, but I'm now convinced that SEC referees are out to get UGA. I mean, how many momentum changing penalties can be called on one team?? I suppose it could be worse. You could be these guys. More on this game tomorrow. I'm too emotionally worn down for anything else.

Around the SEC this week

I've already covered Georgia's trip to Lexington this weekend, so let's take a look at the rest of the conference:

Wyoming at Tennessee, 1:00 PM, PPV; Knoxville, TN

The mood at Neyland Stadium should be really strange for this one. As everyone knows, Phil Fulmer was told that he wouldn't be coming back to UT earlier this week. He announced it to the world in one of the most gut-wrenching press conferences you'll ever see. Surely, this has been a big distraction this week, but they are playing Wyoming. Hopefully, Phil's boys go to war for him in his next to last home game as head coach. Tennessee wins, but they don't cover the 26.5.

Tennessee 30, Wyoming 10

Arkansas at South Carolina, 1:00 PM, no TV; Columbia, SC

Looks like Bobby Petrino finally has his team play reasonable competitive football. Still, Columbia is no picnic to walk into. Spurrier has what may be his best defense since he's been at South Carolina and Stephen Garcia brings some competency and excitement to the OBC's offense. South Carolina wins in a game that is not as close as the score indicates, but does not cover the 13.5.

South Carolina 24, Arkansas 17

Alabama at LSU, 3:30 PM, CBS; Baton Rouge, LA

Hey, I bet you didn't know that Nick Saban used to be the head coach at LSU. I didn't realize he left them and went to the NFL only to return to one of their biggest division opponents, Alabama. In case you couldn't guess, that comment was laden with sarcasm. Seriously, this one is shaping up to be an 234 on a 10 point hate scale for LSU. Saban is taking a physical, dominating Alabama offensive line down to the bayou to play an LSU team with a front 7 that is as talented as anyone else in the country, but they are very inconsistent. Alabama has played down to inferior competition and throttled its opponent in all its big road games. I'll never understand the hatred that LSU fans carry for Saban. The man did win you a damned national championship and left the program in great shape. He wanted to take on the NFL challenge. Nothing wrong with that IMO. If someone wanted to triple my salary, I'd probably take a stab at it too. I think Alabama is too fundamentally disciplined to give this one away, and they've shown no signs of losing focus at any point this season. Take Alabama to cover the 3.5 and the over/under on broken windows on the Alabama bus is 20 right now.

Alabama 24, LSU 10

Florida at Vanderbilt, 8:00 PM, ESPN; Nashville, TN

Is there any team in the nation playing better than the Gators right now? Fans in Lubbock, Tuscaloosa, and State College might argue otherwise, but I don't think there's any team better. Since losing an ugly turnover-marred game against Ole Miss on September 27th, the Gators have outscored the opposition 201-43 for an average margin of victory of 39.5 points. They aren't going to wow you on offense like Tebow's Heisman campaign, but are a solid, well-coached team that takes advantage of all its opportunities. This team has to be flying high after depantsing LSU and Georgia in the same season. Vanderbilt has promptly erased all the goodwill it accumulated earlier in the season when it started 5-0. They've since lost to three in a row to fall to 5-3 and still seeking that elusive sixth win to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1982. It seems like we've seen this movie before. This one should be over quick and won't be close at halftime. Gators win easily and cover the 23.5.

Florida 45, Vanderbilt 13

That's it folks, happy viewing this weekend.

Georgia vs. Kentucky, 11/8/2008

UGA at Kentucky, 12:30 PM, Raycom Sports; Lexington , KY

It's been a long week for the Bulldog nation following the hangover from last weekend, but it's time for us to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and get ready for Kentucky. Hopefully, nobody's forgotten what happened the last time we visited Lexington. It was at this point that the team hit the proverbial rock bottom. This was also the the most horrific game of Matt Stafford's career, last week not withstanding. I essentially see this game as the defining game of this team's season. It's time for us to take charge and send our seniors out the right way (by beating Auburn 3 out of 4 times, never losing to Tech, and going 3 of 4 in bowl games). On the note of seniors; we are going to really miss MoMass next year. The guy has been a warrior and he really stepped it up his senior year. I hope the rest of our young guys will grow into their roles as well as he has over the last few years. We're going to find out how they handle the adversity of having their goals absolutely demolished last weekend in Jacksonville. We're going to find out about the senior leadership, if any, on this team this weekend. At this point, the team can still win 10 games and go to a bowl in Florida to take on the second or third best team in the Big 10. Certainly, not the bowl game we originally wanted to attend in Florida, but 10 wins is nothing to sneeze at. It's certainly encouraging as a fan base to see the disappointment and hurt coming from the Bulldog nation. We now expect to contend for SEC and national championships on a yearly basis. That is a far cry from when I came of age as a fan during the early to mid 90's when we were just happy to win 6 or 7 games and have the occasional upset.

Here are some of my keys to the game:

-Short memory: The Dawgs need to forget what happened last week and move on. No doubt last week was an utter disappointment, but they need to make sure the same team doesn't beat them two weeks in a row. This team's playing for pride right now.

-Contain Randall Cobb: If you haven't heard of him, you will on Saturday. He's a freshman currently rotating with Mike Hartline at the QB position. He's also fifth on the team in rushing, active leader in receiving yards after the injured Dicky Lyons, and second on the team in punt returns. This guy can do it all. The defense has got to keep him from using his athleticism to beat them.

-Ball Control: Kentucky has a pretty atrocious offense up to this point in the season. If Georgia can hold the ball with healthy doses of Knowshon and Caleb King, they can keep the Kentucky defense (which is its strength??) and not give them a chance to ever get in this game.

-Turnovers!!?!?!: I only have one request for the Dawgs this weekend. Please hold onto the ball and throw it only to your teammates. Anyone that watched the game last week realizes that Florida was the better team out there. Were they 39 points better? I don't think so. You can win by 39 points if the team gives you the ball inside their 20 twice though. Turnovers at inopportune times have been the Dawgs Achilles heel this year. They've got to shore up the turnover/takeaway ratio or we could be in for a long game.

-I'm tired of repeating this, but will one more time for emphasis: Quit kicking field goals and turning the ball over in the red zone!! This has been painful to watch. It's been a combination of miscommunication, poor execution, predictable play calling, and a young offensive line all rolled into one. For whatever reason, the Dawgs can't seem to put it together once they get inside the 20. This has got to change as we need to put Kentucky away early and often.

What I think will really happen:
I'd like to be wrong, but I really think last week destroyed this team's will. They have nothing of major significance left to play for except to beat an average team in an average bowl. Sure, GA Tech is still a big game, but only for bragging rights. With all the expectations heaped on this team this year, anything short of the ultimate goal was going to be deemed a disappointment. I don't think Georgia will blow out this Kentucky team as many fans want to see. It will probably be a sloppy game that Georgia wins ultimately due to talent. Since the game's in Kentucky, Macondawg has provided a nice concoction for those so inclined. I suggest drinking it because this one is going to be ugly. I don't see Georgia going down in an upset, but I don't see them covering the 11 points either.

My prediction: Dawgs 21, Kentucky 17

Things aren't as fuzzy anymore

Guess who won't be in my Mumme Poll come next week.....

One Time Only

Other than this one post, I'd like to keep politics out of this blog because it tends to lead to irresponsible posting, name-calling, and just plain silliness.  I think that in light of the election this week I should make my thoughts known.  I commented on Doug's site this week regarding some of the fears and criticisms I've heard regarding our new President-elect.  Trust me, I don't like Socialism anymore than the next person, but I feel some of this criticism and fear is unfair and unwarranted.  Below is what I posted to Doug's site.  

(BTW, I didn't vote for Obama before anyone starts ripping me for my below comments.)

"The South Park episode last night really hit the nail on the head.  There's extreme jubilation on one side, and extreme fear on the other.  It's sad to me that America has become so polarized.  I will preface this comment by saying that I don't see eye to eye with most of Obama's beliefs, but to judge a man's performance before he's ever been given the chance is just silly.  Many people cringe when Supreme Court justices are assigned, but if you follow history, those that were tagged as "too liberal" tend to be more conservative, and vice-versa.  Obama said it best when he said we are not identified by Republican/ Democrat/ white/ black/ gay/ straight.  We are all Americans.  If you think Obama is wrong for the country, let him prove it himself and vote him out in four years.  He has at least earned that chance.  I just ask that people give the man a chance to succeed.  When we look back in four years we should ask ourselves the same question Ronald Reagan posed to us in 1980, "are you better off than you were four years ago?".  If not, then vote him out.  But if you are better off in four years, then a lot of this early criticism is just silly."

That was my post.  Some will agree, many will disagree.  I just think that people have forgotten that in the end, we are all Americans and not just "conservatives" or "liberals".  We're in this thing together.

Okay, off my soap box now and back to more important things like Georgia football and hot women.  That's the last serious political reference you'll get from me on this site.  All others will be in jest and humor.

Update:  Ally has a nice take over at her site.

Come on Coach

This post is a couple of days behind, but I figured I should get my .02 in on it.  Most of you saw this report coming out of LA this week.  Let me preface my thoughts by admitting that this isn't the first time Carroll's mentioned that he thinks "the BCS stinks".  It just seems that his cry got a little louder this past week when his team dropped from 5 to 7 in the most recent BCS standings despite pitching another shutout.  Well Coach, I've got a little advice for you.  Quit losing to teams that you're favored to beat by 20 points and we won't have any issues!!  I'm sorry Pete, nobody is that impressed by you shutting out and blowing out Washington State or Washington this year.  Those two might be the worst two teams in the history of the BCS era.  Wazzu has given up 60+ points in 4 of its conference games this year for crying out loud!  Coach, if you had not lost to Oregon State back in September, we wouldn't be having this convo.  If you were undefeated and you dropped a couple of spots after last weekend, then you might have some legitimate beef.  On the other hand, you wouldn't have dropped if you were undefeated because USC is considered the OMG Best Team Ever in the voters' eyes.  I appreciate your frustration Coach.  My alma mater, the Georgia Bulldogs, dropped from preseason #1 to #3 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls this year despite destroying the first two teams played this season.  Those voters are a fickle bunch.  I've got some news for you though. It ain't the voters hurting you, it's the computers.  You of all people should know that your team can't afford to lose a game in the cupcake that's better known as the Pac-10 because your SOS is terrible (see the shaft your team got in 2003).  Oh, I know you play those real difficult out of conference games against mighty heavyweights like UVA and Notre Dame to enhance your reputation.  In reality, the ACC is a conference mired in mediocrity without a truly elite team, and Notre Dame is still coached by Charlie Weis, which means they're average at best.  Sure, that Ohio State demolition was impressive, but we all know that Ohio State decides to stink it up anytime the spotlight is on.  In closing; you can't lose to a 4-3 Pac-10 team that was destroyed by Penn State and lost its season opener in convincing fashion to a pretty damn mediocre Stanford team and have any beef with the current BCS system, okay??

An early look at Kentucky

Just some SEC rankings for fodder:

UGA - #1 in total offense, Kentucky - #7 in total defense

UGA - #9 in total defense, Kentucky - #8 in total offense

UGA - #4 in scoring offense, Kentucky - #6 in scoring defense

UGA - #10 in scoring defense, Kentucky - #7 in scoring offense

UGA - #5 in rushing offense, Kentucky - #8 in rushing defense

UGA - #2 in rushing defense, Kentucky - # 8 in rushing offense

UGA - #1 in passing offense, Kentucky - # 5 in passing defense

UGA - #11 in passing defense, Kentucky # 7 in passing offense

Don't know what all that means, but these teams are pretty average in a lot of categories.  UGA ranks in the top half of all offensive categories, but in the lower half in all defensive categories except for rushing.  Kentucky is pretty much middle of the pack in all major statistical categories.  On paper, this game looks like it shouldn't be close.  But as the old saying goes, "That's why they play the games".

Hopefully we won't see that Saturday.  More on this match up tomorrow.

Mumme Poll, Week 10

Hopefully any Dawg fans out there are reading the Senator. If not, shame on you. He has a weekly poll that he started in reference to the absurdity that was New Mexico coach Hal Mumme's final 2007 poll. The details of how voting works are spelled out here. Anyways, here's the Mumme Poll I submitted for Week 10. Top 5 are noted by asterisks, explanations to follow. Also, note that my teams are ranked in no particular order, so just because they're the last team in the list doesn't mean I think they're the worst of the top 12 and vice-versa for first in the top 5:

Alabama*
Texas Tech*
Florida*
Penn State*
Texas*

Oklahoma
Southern California
TCU
Utah
Georgia Tech
Oklahoma State
Ball State

- Alabama remains in the top five because they took care of business like they were supposed to.

- Texas Tech moves into the top five after pretty much dominating Texas for the majority of the ballgame on both sides of the ball and I'm finally a pirate believer now.

- Florida might be the best team in the country right now. They don't wow you with offense like last year, but they are well coached and like Vanderbilt earlier this season, will make you pay for all your mistakes (see Georgia and Kentucky games).

- Penn State remains in top five being idle. 

- Texas played horribly for three and a half quarters, but put it all together near the end. They have an argument with Florida as to who is the best one-loss team in America.

- Oklahoma stays in the top 12, but doesn't crack the top five. Just from the eyeball test, it looks like they've quit playing defense this year. If their offense ever sputters, there are a lot of teams that could beat them.

- Southern Cal remains in top 12 after posting another shutout. Seriously, is their defense this good, or have they not played a real offense yet? I think it's that good.

- TCU & Utah are riding together in the top 12 from the Mountain West looking to become BCS busters.

- Georgia Tech gets in after an impressive win over Florida State aided by a timely defensive goal line play that caused the game-ending fumble. Who would have thought that of the two major teams in Georgia, Georgia Tech now has the only realistic shot at a BCS bowl?

- Oklahoma State is in the top 12, and they're closer to the top five than being out of my ballot entirely. That loss to Texas was not bad and they'll get their shot against Oklahoma and Texas Tech in the coming weeks to prove they belong in the top five.

- Ball State rounds out my ballot merely because I couldn't justify putting Ohio State or West Virginia in.

- I spent about 25 minutes compiling this.

- I dropped Georgia this week from my ballot. I can't put my finger on why Georgia is fast becoming the Ohio State of the SEC, but this is becoming rather embarassing to show up for big games and continously get your ass handed to you.

Here's Why I Hate Gregg Doyel

This guy tries to pass himself off as a "journalist" when his whole premise is similar to that of a blog troller. He throws out ridiculous arguments just to incite other people's rage, and then he publishes what these people send him in a weekly segment called "Hate Mail". The fact that he publishes this "Hate Mail" segment is complete proof that his whole tactic is to exploit people's emotions to get himself published.  To quote Keith Olbermann, "You sir, are the worst person in the world.".

BTW: Not really a big fan of Olbermann the political pundit, just thought his segment is funny.

Here we go again

And for the second time this football season I've let personal items take the forefront and haven't been able to post much here. Hopefully that will change, but I make no promises right now.