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.