It's Tuesday. It's Gameday. One. More. Time.

On the eve of the final game in 2014, I found myself wondering what life without Bobo will be like.  I have little doubt that Mark Richt will hire a high caliber guy to run our offense for 2015 and beyond.  Problem is, that guy won't be calling plays, John Lilly will, and he's never done that.  I'm emotionally preparing myself for a stagnant offense that can't move the ball or can't run the right plays at the right time.  Will Lilly be unusually conservative because he's a little scared?  Or, will he throw 3 sheets to the wind because he knows he has virtually no shot of being the play-caller in the future so you might as well run every trick play in the book?  I have a lot of questions.

• Is Louisville's run defense legit or is it an ACC mirage?  Will Lilly know what to do if they stuff Chubb like Tech did in the second half?
• Will Hutson Mason look like Tom Brady vs. a Grantham secondary?
• How is psyche after that Tech game?  The first half of the '09 Citrus Bowl was an emotional mess.  AJ fumbled.  Stafford threw a pick.  We were losing 6-3 to that MSU team at halftime.
• Can the defense get the bad mojo of the Tech second half out of them?
• Will I freeze by baguettes off?
• How bad is the Big 12?
• Will we have the edge Richt seems to have had this week?

Thinking long term, I'm still very encouraged.  These types of crises seem to be crucibles for Richt, and that usually ends up being a good thing.  There is nothing wrong with a little new blood.  I really hope we can keep Rocker around, but D players seem most determined to play for Pruitt.  I like the new strength guy already.  We have a chance to expand our horizons with the new offensive guy.  I loved Mike's creativity and style.  I never really question play calls because there's just too much we don't know.  I saw Mike Bobo check to a lot of great plays firsthand and Quincy Carter check to a bunch of bonehead plays.  It ain't always the play caller.  And sometimes you just get a look you didn't anticipate.  It happens.  If I had any criticisms of Mike's play-calling, it would be the 'seeming' reluctance to gameplan players and try to get the ball into the hands of ball-players.  Bama is not the Bama of 2-3 years ago, but they have an elite player in Cooper, and to Kiffin's credit, he ran him ragged trying to get the ball to him.

A new OC might look at Chubb, Michel, Mitchell and JSW and say, we gotta get those 4 dudes the ball as much as possible.  We seemed to have a reluctance to really, really, really put the hammer down and do things like play Chubb and Michel together, a lot.  That's what I'd like to see more of.  Sony Michel does not need to be sitting on the sidelines for 30 offensive plays a game next season.  Get him in the slot, do what we've got to do to get the best players on the field.  Perhaps our injuries have made Mark and Mike gunshy on those types of things.  We can't assume that we'll experience those kinds of injuries again.

Lastly, it was hard not to watch that Clemson game and think of what might have been.  What a weird 3 losses.  The South Carolina game had one of the weirdest delays and vibes I've ever seen.  We waited, then warmed up, went back in for 45 minutes, then came back out again.  It was just weird.  It felt weird.  South Carolina had to do the same thing, but it was just weird.  Todd's suspension.  Todd's injury.  That Clemson team is pretty good.  They lost @ UGA, @ FSU, and @ Tech.  We handled them better than anyone.  They couldn't stop Chubb and Gurley.  Arkansas couldn't stop Chubb.  Chubb broke his thumb the week before the South Carolina game and had 4 carries for 34 yards.  That actually happened.  We played 3 games with a healthy Chubb and Gurley:  Clemson, Vandy and Auburn.  The combined score was 123-45.  I don't believe in the idea that somebody is 'due.'  However, I just think Mark Richt's day is coming.  We've had some incredibly bad luck on the injury and suspension front.  Some of that is self-imposed, but not all.  Some is bad luck.  We're recruiting better and better.  Bright days are ahead.

GATA.

Bryan Allen Speaks. Mark Richt is Job.

It's really hard to believe what we've gone through the last 5 years.  I can't really fathom it all.  Maybe Mark Richt is Job.  Every team has attrition and crazy stuff that happens.  That 2009 Okie St. team we played got about 2 games out of Dez Bryant before he was suspended for the season.  They were pretty good with him.  Maybe they beat Texas and win the Big 12 that year and play Bama for all the marbles?  Lattimore got hurt at South Carolina.  But no one has gone through what we've gone through.  What if...

 

• AJ plays those first four games with our young QB in 2010.  We lost 17-6 without AJ in Columbia to the East Champion.  We lost by 1 TD to an Arky team that played in the Sugar Bowl and lost a crazy one in Starkville.  Does AJ change everything?  Sundays show he's pretty good?
• What if our 1-2 punch in 2011 is Washaun and Crowell.  Ealey was pretty dang good in 2010.  Oh, Caleb King, who looked to be in form, was also supposed to be on that 2011 team.  We were so desparate in the opener that we played Brandon Boykin at tailback...and a whole lot of Richard Samuel.
• What if Crowell is on the 2012 and 2013 teams?  Do we win back to back National Championships?  I'm not joking.  What if we have IC in Clemson to take over when Gurley pulls his hammy?  What if IC is starting against Mizzou and Vandy?
• What if Keith doesn't get hurt in 2013?  Does he rush for 1,000 yards?
• What if Tray Matthews and JHC had brains?  What would Pruitt have done with Sanders and Swann at corners and those two knuckleheads at safety?  Mauger at the star.
• What if this Gurley mess doesn't happen this year?  Reckon how many he puts up in Columbia, MO? 
• What if Sony doesn't get hurt?  We tried to beat Florida with Brendan Douglas coming in to spell Nick.  The results were laughable.  We looked a whole lot different against UK and Auburn with a better 1-2 punch.
• What if Malcome Mitchel isn't made of glass?  Does it make a difference in Columbia this year?  Sure seemed like a different offense.

Sigh.  Poor Mark Richt.  Our day is coming.  Something feels very different about Nick Chubb.

 

HATE WEEK Stat Primer

I'll probably get into some full-on Hate Week thoughts later, but a win over a cupcake seemed like a good time for some 2014 stat-mongering.

• I am still blown away by this stat.  We have won 7 of 9 vs. Auburn.  7 of 9.  Think about that.  7 out of 9.  That's not the mind-blower.  The two years they have won in nine years they ave won the SEC and played for the SEC championship.  We have not won an SEC title in those nine years.  I can't even wrap my head around a stat like that.  It makes no sense.  It is Mark Richt's sad story.  He has essentially dominated our oldest rival in the last nine years, and yet the perception is that they have done more because they played for all the marbles twice and won it once.  If a football genie offered you the chance at 2-7 the next 9 years vs. Auburn but play for two titles and win one?
• Nick Chubb is 2nd in the SEC in rushing, surely to finish at least second, with an outside shot at leading the league in rushing if he gets to play an extra Saturday in Atlanta.  He's 250 yds behind Artis-Payne, who has 91 more carries than him.  I think Artis-Payne and Chubb are your All-SEC RBs.  Raise your hand if you had Chubb in your pre-season All-SEC pool!
• Nick Chubb leads the league in TDs scored, tied with Prescott at 13. 
• Out of the top thirty rushers in the SEC, only two average more than 7 yards per carry.  Chubb is at 7.2.  The other guy is some dude named Gurley at 7.4 YPC.  Nobody handled that Auburn team like we did with Chubb and Gurley.  We saw it against Clemson, too, a pretty doggone good team.  We didn't get to see much of the magic with those 2 guys together.
• Hutson Mason has the highest passer rating in the conference at 158.1.  Second is the QB of #1 Alabama, Blake Sims, at 156.1.  Mason (3) and Sims (4) also have the least INTs of starting QBs.
• Marshall Morgan leads the league in scoring.  Bet you didn't know that.
• Arkansas is at 33.6 PPG and Mizzou is at 29.3 PPG.  Dear Lord, let Friday be an average day.  Also, Williams and Collins from Arky are 4 & 5 in the league in rushing and will probably both finish with 1,000+ yds.  That should give you some hope.  Also, Mauk is tied for second to last with 10 INTs.  Of course, to be fair, he threw at least 17 against us.
• UGA is 2nd in the SEC in Pass Defense, 3 yards/game behind #1 LSU, 8 yards/game ahead of #3 Ole Miss and 31.2 yards/game ahead of #4 Alabama.  We start a true freshman (Sanders), a walk-on (Davis), a sophomore that struggled mightily as a freshman (Mauger), a senior (Swann) and a kid that has no business playing SEC football (Bowman).  I keep thinking back to what Pruitt said pre-season about never coaching a bad secondary and he didn't plan to start now.  Midway through the UT game I thought, "Uh, you were wrong, Coach."  My bad, Pruitt.  Long live Pruitt!
• We are 9th in the SEC in rush defense.  Hello, Florida game!
• We are 5th in total defense, but that comes in at 13th nationally.  Like I said…Long live, Pruitt!  BTW, that Clemson team we man-handled in the 4th is the #1 D in America statistically.

Fun Fact:  Did you know Melvin Gordon's position coach is some guy named Thomas Brown?  Good for a DGD.  Sure would be nice for his stud to run Ohio St. out of the building. 

I'll admit it, I went to bed Saturday night and felt like we lost after that UT/Mizzou game.  The story in the statistics above is that we have had a pretty amazing season.  I was just thinking today that it's crazy we're ranked #8 in the AP and don't control our destiny, especially since we won head to head.  In fact, it's pretty amazing what we've done.  Pruitt's gonna change this program, guys.  We haven't seen games like the Mizzou, Auburn, Auburn & Clemson games in the last few years.  Aaron Murray won some huge games that he essentially bailed us out of, but that was our only formula.  We lost Todd for a 3-game stretch last year and fell apart.  We darn near should have lost 3 in a row, but Murray pulled out a miracle in Knoxville.  This year, we decided to play D and had Nick Chubb.

And since you asked…Here's what HAS to happen:

• Beat Tech
• Woooo Pig Sooey!  Mizzou Lose.
• Win the SEC Title.

And, 2 of these have to happen:

• FSU lose to Florida or Tech (when CFB has us pulling for the Gators and Jackets the last two weeks, you know we're in bizarro world).
• Oregon lose to Oregon St. or UCLA/ASU
• Ohio St. lose to Michigan or Wisconsin
• Baylor lose to Texas Tech or K-State
• TCU lose to Texas or Iowa St.

An Ole Miss victory over MSU wouldn't hurt.  There could be some bigger questions.  What if Wisky beats Ohio St., we win the SEC and the rest win out.  Do they do a Final Four with two Big 12 teams, one of which is NOT the outright champion?  And, the bigger question might be…how high can Mizzou climb in 2 weeks?  What if all heck breaks loose.  We pound Tech, but they beat FSU.  Texas beats TCU.  Either Auburn beats Bama or Ole Miss beats MSU, and Mizzou beats a 1-loss West champion.  Wisky beats Ohio St.  Who in the heck goes?  Oregon and Baylor…but who else?  Not Tech or FSU.  ACC is out.  2-loss Wisconsin?  I mean, right now the committee has Mizzou at 20 and Wisky at 16.  This thing could get CRA-ZY before it's all over.  That Indiana loss (which was non-conference) and that 34-0 thumping is a conundrum for the committee.  I don't think they see non-conf. vs. conf. loss.  34-0 isn't close, boys.  34-0 at their place.  Well, this is why we love it!

The "GEORGIA HAS NO SHOT AT THE PLAYOFF" Meme...

You know, I have really grown weary of the Sports Talk Yahoos in Atlanta and the dumb fans, because the meme is "Georgia has no shot to make the playoff" or "Georgia has a 0% chance."  A few have changed this week to, "Well, maybe there's a slight chance."  I want to make it just to prove them wrong.  What they miss is that you don't have to be #1, you just have to be #4.  And you only have to be #4 by Dec. 7.  People forget that Auburn had virtually no shot at the BCS title game last year until Ohio St. wet the bed late Saturday night.  Auburn won the SECCG and sat and prayed.  That was it.  We're not #10.  We're #7 because 3 teams ahead of us are SEC teams.  You could make an argument we're #6 because UCLA is also ahead of us.  

There are 5 teams, essentially, ahead of us:

Ohio St. (Indiana, Mich & Wisky)
Oregon (Colorado, @ Oregon St. & UCLA/USC)
FSU (BC, Florida & Duke/Tech)
Baylor (Okie St, @ Texas Tech, K-State)
TCU (@ Texas & Iowa St.)

Then...

UCLA (USC & Stanford, maybe Pac12CG)

I'm excluding UCLA.  So that's 5 teams that you think will fill 3 spots if you want the other one.  That means you need 2 of them to lose.  It's that simple.  Can Wisky win the Big 10?  Can UCLA beat Oregon in the Pac 12?  Could Florida play for Muschamp or could Texas beat TCU in Austin.

An Oklahoma St. loss to Iowa St. sent Bama in 2011.  A Stanford win over Oregon and 4-5 Baylor beating K-State gave us and Bama a chance in 2012.  A last Saturday Mich. St. win over Ohio St. gave Auburn a shot last year.  People act like crazy stuff never happens.  The truth is it happens every year.

UCLA is thinking the same thing.  They want Bama to lose so they have a shot to beat #1 Oregon.  Mizzou ought to be thinking the same thing, and they control their destiny.  Tech?  Yes, they have a shot.  They want Auburn to beat Bama and Oregon to trip up in the Civil War so they can beat #10 and then #1 on the last two Saturdays.

The question is…"What do they do with 11-1 Mississippi St.?"

Wrapping up the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry

Well, I finally saw the replay courtesy of the SEC Network.  Couple national thoughts.

• Kind of fascinated with Bama at #1.  Very interested to see what happens w/ Miss. St.  I really hope they don't get in if they don't win their division.  If there are other one-loss conference champions, they need to get in.
• The Nebraska and Arizona St. losses were huge.  Now, Oregon and Ohio St. are going to play 2-loss teams in their championship games.  And Ohio St is going to play a beast in Melvin Gordon.  And you kind of like your chances w/ UCLA or USC vs. the Ducks rather than the Sun Devils.
• If Carolina beats Duke Thursday night, Tech gets in the ACC champ. Game.  Strangely, that could be good, big and huge for us.  Not only do they have the best shot at knocking off FSU, if they do, we'd have just beaten the ACC champ who just beat the last undefeated team.
• This is real.  We're #10 with a whole lot of football to go, a date with #18 in 2 weeks and a potential date with #1.
• All you NW GA boys can say what you want about Saturday night, but I'm inviting Phil Fulmer, Johnny Majors Al Wilson and Payton Manning over to watch the game.  I'd invite Travis Henry, but I'm not sure I have enough room for all his children.  We need the Vols to win in a big way.  I really don't want it to come down to Arkansas in Columbia on the day after Thanksgiving.  I trust Bret Biliema about as far as I can throw him, which is to say I'd try to pick him up and he'd just sit on me.
• It just feels like this team deserves a chance.  We have fought through a season in the most profound way.  I just want to see Hutson Mason get a chance in the Dome.  Something tells me he'll be ready.
• I'm calling a TCU loss in Austin on Thanksgiving night.  A K-State victory over Baylor would be nice too.
• You want a crazy scenario?  Texas over TCU, K-State over Baylor, FSU loses to Tech in ACCCG, Wisky beats Ohio St. and UCLA/USC beats Oregon.  Then we beat Bama.  Heck, we might be the #1 seed :)

From the game:

• I've decided to take the attitude to just be thankful we had Todd Gurley for what we had him.  I'm not going to be sad, just thankful.
• I had the most bizarre feeling ever during the game:  I began to feel we were more dangerous with Nick in the game than with Todd.
• Speaking of #27…I'm floored and amazed at how good that kid is.  I mean, he's got a shot, and I mean a shot at some large records in his career.
• Jay Rome.  Hey, he plays for us.
• Jonathan Rumph is on the Kickoff team.  Okay.  Maybe we could throw him some more passes.
• Hutson was throwing dimes.  The deep balls were beautiful.
• Malcolm was a real difference maker, though it didn't show up in the stat sheet.
• I'm really excited about Kimbrough, but let's not lose sight that #51 and #52 can FLAT.  OUT.  PLAY.
• Was that not the most awesome fake punt ever?  A pump fake throwback?  Just awesome.  The flag was straight out garbage.  It was an awful call.  It was one of those calls that really makes you raise your eyebrows.  It's one thing to miss a call.  It's another to make one up out of nothing.  I don't even think Kublanow was even 3 yards, much less past it.  No way you make that call.
• We essentially played a nickel, but played Leonard at star instead of a DB, knowing they were going to run it most of the time.  I can't wait to see what Pruitt dials up for the Techsters.
• I really dislike Gus in an unhealthy way.  It's fun to watch him lose.  Very, very fun.  The bloom might be off the rose, too.  They're going to have some HUGE question marks next year.
• Marshall Morgan was money, and it mattered.

Richt's comments about Keith were very interesting.  He's basically in 2012 Hutson Mason mode.  We're going to try and redshirt him, but we get to that Dome and something happens, we ain't gonna try and beat Bama with Brendan Douglas.  I'll just say that for the Coach.  That's what he meant to say.

I really, really love this team.  They have Hutson's personality.  I really value the leadership he, Boss, Ramik, Swann and Marlo have given to this team.  We have stayed together in an amazing way.  It didn't hurt to have Nicholas Chubb. 

That SEC Bias Though

Ohio St. in 2007 is the last B1G team to ever play for a title?  That was 7 years ago!  Wisonsin lost to a 3-loss (for now) LSU team and might win that division up there.  Ohio St. lost to a terrible VaTech team.  Mich. St. lost to Oregon.  It doesn't matter if you can beat every other team in your league if you can't beat other teams.  That tells us more about Rutgers, Maryland, and Iowa.  

Bama beat WVU.  UGA beat Clemson.  South Carolina beat ECU (something VaTech and UNC can't say).  LSU over Wisky.  Auburn over K-State.  Ole Miss over Boise.  And they're going to leave our champion out if we were to have a two-loss champ and the B1G had a one loss champ?

 

Gosh, have you thought about what conumdrum they'd be in had Clemson beat FSU?  What would they be ranked?  But you can't put them in over us.  We beat them like a rented mule in that 4th QTR.  That's where all this is a mess.

What to Watch for on Saturday Night

Remember that we went to Auburn 2 years ago and trounced them 38-0.  We simply thought we had won the east.  That was it.  We were happy with that.  We didn't know any better.  We woke up for a nooner vs. Southern the next Saturday, and all heck broke loose that Saturday night.  Baylor steamrolled K-State and Oregon's FG clanked off the upright.  Suddenly, we were #3 heading into Tech.  That was a 3-5 Baylor team that I don't believe went bowling.  Stuff happens.

 

There's A LOT of football to be played.  4 things could VERY EASILY happen on Saturday night, as all these are home games:

 

UGA beats Auburn @ home

A&M beats Mizzou @ home

Wisc. beats Nebraska @ home

Miami beats FSU @ home

 

I'll take the first one and be happy.  The second one and be elated.  The third one would be a clear path.  The last one would just be fun to pile on top.

Hide your wallets.  Nick Marshall's going to be in town.

The Playoff System...

We're going to blow up the system the first year.  Just think about how it plays out by Dec. 6, especially if Bama beats MSU in a slobber-knocker and beats Auburn.  What will the rankings be?  

Probably…

1. FSU
2. Bama
3. MSU
4. Oregon
5. Big 12 1-loss
6. Big 10 1-loss

You wake up that day and it's pretty clear.  Then what if 10-2 Georgia beats Bama in the Dome?  What happens?  Do they take the SEC champion?  We've got #2 and #3 in the land and we just beat #2?  You can't take Bama.  They just lost, have the same record as us and we beat them head to head.  Do you take MSU, who has only one loss but didn't win it's conference title?  Do you take FSU, Oregon, TCU and Mich. St. and leave the SEC out and watch the entire Southeast NOT WATCH the playoff?

Just win. 

Whether we get in (and a 1-loss Big 10 champ doesn't), they take an MSU team that didn't win their division or don't take and SEC team…it's going to blow up the system.  I've said all along that if we're going to do this, let's do it right.  6 teams.  5 conference champions and 1 at-large.  Ohio St. vs Mich. St. would be bananas this week because it really is for all the marbles.  Arizona St. vs. Notre Dame would be ginormous.

I like 4 because I like really elite teams being in it, but if we win the SEC at 11-2, do you really think in this league that we don't deserve to go?  Do you know how much better Arkansas is than the bottom feeder teams in other leagues.  UK is the 12th worst team in our league, just above Vandy and Arky, and we've got a war on our hands Saturday.

"Every Once in a While a Team Has a Game Like That..."

"...You don't want that to happen. I doubt if we played them five more times any one of those games would go like that." - Mark Richt.

It happens.  I don't know, maybe I'm softer in my old age, but that quote is just it.  It was Florida's day.  We've had a bunch of those.  Tennessee 2003 (they were going in to take the lead at half!!!), LSU 2004, Auburn 2006, Auburn 2007, Tech 2009 (they were so much better than us!), Auburn 2011, Heck, Mizzou 2014.

That's not a great Florida team, but it's a team that looks like it might go anwwhere from 6-5 to 8-3.  Probably a 7-4 team.  They still have talent.  They played for Muschamp and I didn't think that would happen.  The ball got rolling their way and we couldn't stop it.  For me, those just don't hurt as bad.  The close ones hurt worse or losing to a team that we are much more superior in talent. 

Just thought that quote from Richt was telling.  He didn't know how to stop it on Saturday.  It's obvious Pruitt didn't either.  That's a frustrating spot to be as a coach.

Our Fans

I am AMAZED at the people who want to blow it all up after a bad day in Jax.

Our secondary would look at lot better with Marshall, Chris Sanders, JHC, & Matthews.  Swann might come off the bench or be the nickel guy.  We had a bad group.  The Dream Team had some bad apples, to say the least.

Malcolm has had unbelievable bad luck, and what has happened during Todd's career is, well, crazy.  

Right now, we are ranked #3 in recruiting rankings for 2015.  Florida is #61, just behind Western Michigan.  I'd rather have beaten them like a ragdoll, but if Muschamp stays, Foley is nuts.  He can't recruit or coach.  He can build a D, but that's about it.  We are already #9 for 2016, but we will possibly move up to #1.  Eason will probably grow into the #1 recruit in America, and we're signing a stud left tackle to protect him.  Pruitt has changed our recruiting culture, and that's what matters.

Saban is really a terrible gameday coach.  They make a lot of mistakes, but their talent takes over.  That's the story for most teams.  Players win games.  We need more players.  We were pretty doggone good in 2012 because of JJ, Murray and Gurley.  That's a lethal trio.  People are dumb.  The internet is just proving it.

Boy, what I'd give to sneak in this thing with 2 losses and run roughshod over everyone.  I said I wanted to go to NOLA the first round.  Well, if we go, we're going as the #4 seed.  We might control beating the SEC west champ.  If FSU rolls, their #1 and host us in NOLA.  Oregon vs. Big 12 champ in Rose.  We probably want FSU to lose just for chaos' sake.  Still, that'd be sweet.

• Win out
• Mizzou loss
• Boy, it'd be great if that Big 10 champ had 2 losses.  MSU/OSU this week.  Would help if Wisky beat Nebraska, then that division beat the MSU/OSU winner.
• Notre Dame loss
• Pac 12 has Oregon & ASU at 1-loss in opposite divisions.  Interestingly, ND plays ASU.  ASU could lose that, then beat Oregon to win that conference.
• K-State is 5-0 in league play, but still is @ TCU, @ WVU & @ Baylor.  We need them to win one of those against TCU or Baylor.  That Auburn loss could prove huge because they could win that league with 1-loss but have 2 losses, the other a home loss to a team we beat.
• Baylor is at OU this week.  They still have OSU, TT, and K-State as well.  That OU game is one to watch.

It's going to be fascinating.  What if Clemson continues to slowly climb the polls.  Sooner or later, everyone is going to have 2-3 losses, and they could only have 2.  Or what if Tech handles clemson and comes to Athens at 9-2 and ranked about 12th?

There is A LOT of football to play.  Win the one in front of you.  All you can do.  Someone has to lose each week.  It can't be us now.  I said when it came out that the playoffs would be kind to Mark Richt.  For whatever reason, we haven't seemed to get the luck.  The 13-1 season that got no bones for a natty, DJ's injury at 7-0, the fiasco in 2007, and the tipped pass in 2012.  Heck, even the injuries last year in a season we could have easily won the SEC at 12-1 if we'd have stayed healthy.  But, 13-0 isn't necessary anymore.  It just isn't.  Essentially, pull for anyone outside our conference that has 1 loss to lose.  And we probably want Miss. St. to look absolutely dominant the rest of the way, then stone them in ATL.

I said it in 2011 and was thinking it at hafltime,  "With the way LSU has dominated this season and the national love, what if we keep rolling in this 2nd half?"  Do they really, really, really put LSU or Bama in above us?  Back then, it was computers.  It's not now.  It's humans saying, "we think the champion should go."

And I'm not the only one who sees it that way…

http://espn.go.com/ncf/notebook/_/page/EliminatorWeek10/eliminator-college-football-week-10-victims-survivors

Welp.....

Just a short public service announcement this morning, as I'll have more time to dive into stats and thoughts later on.  Just some general thoughts:

Our fans are the biggest bunch of sissies.  Actually, a better way to say it is that they are out of their minds.  I've chosen to stay away from talk radio for a few days because I can't stand the idiocy.  We lost a game.  It was ugly.

• This is not the worst Florida team in 25 years.  That was last year's team.  This team is now poised to go 7-4 at worst it seems (would be 8-4 but they didn't play Idaho).  That doesn't make it better, but people should stop saying stupid stuff.  They have talent on D.
• We do not have the talent we need on D yet.  Pruitt is recruiting like crazy.  We're better than we've been in a while on D in flashes.  We had a bad game.  This is no surprise to Pruitt and he won't make excuses.  I think he came to Athens to build a winner and a nasty D.  That will take some time.  Devin Bowman should not be playing, nor should Aaron Davis, but they're all we've got.  BTW, I don't know where Langley was.
• It was a bad loss.  All losses are bad to me.  I don't really judge them per margin of victory, because I don't judge wins that way.  We're trying to win every game.  That's the goal.  No coach thinks, "Let's blow these guys out."  Not a single one.  The goal is to win the game.  The 2008 Bama game and 2012 USCjr. Games were much different.  Those games we got stonewalled from start to finish.  This was different.  But even blowouts have moments that can flip a game.  Arky was in our redzone 2 times in the final 5 minutes of the half and we came away with 7 points and they came away with zero.  It's a funny sport.
• Every time you take the field, most BCS teams can beat you (and certainly an SEC team) if you don't handle your business.  We didn't handle our business and that team on the other side played fantastic, probably the best game they've played since whipping FSU in 2012.
• I honestly don't know how to respond to people that say they are tired of the 'faceplant' games and we've got to get a coach that won't do it.  "This is unacceptable" and "We settle for mediocrity"!  Do people watch the sport?  LSU got NAILED two games this year.  NAILED!  Auburn got NAILED by LSU last year.  Johnny football went into T-town in 2012 and stormed to a 21-0 lead.  A terrible (as we know now) A & M team boat-raced South Carolina in the opening week, and now they can't beat anybody.  Auburn came out asleep against MSU and would have gotten killed if Dak had remembered they were wearing the maroon jerseys, as that's the only thing that kept it close.  I have sat through every one of Mark Richt's losses.  They all hurt.  I would like to find the magical formula where that won't happen and we come out with our hair on fire for 12 weeks.  No one does that.  Most teams have a face-plant every season and a couple other sleep-walking games.  The key to a championship is to win them.  I just can't find this mystical team where this doesn't happen. 
• And this is the biggie:  How would Oregon have fared w/o Mariotta @ UCLA, vs. Washington, @ Cal, vs. Stanford?  How would MSU have fared vs. Auburn, @ Kentucky, vs. Arkansas, vs. UT-Martin without Prescott?  How would FSU have fared @ Syracuse, vs Notre Dame, @ Louisville, vs. Virginia without Winston?  That's who those teams played in the stretch where we've lost Todd.  Oh yeah, we also lost Todd's top back-up (Sony) in that time-period.  So, how would those teams have fared without their best player AND his top back-up?
• Were we still better than that Florida team?  I think.  I don't know.  At one point last year during the Vandy game I was thinking…we've got Aaron, but they've got better skill players than us right now.  We have no running back and no play-maker at WR.  Nick is fantastic.  So proud of him in this stretch.  But Matt Jones is good, too.  They spelled Jones with Taylor, who is remarkably better than Douglas.  How equal are our defenses?  Florida's is better.  Plain and simple.  Hutson is better than Harris, but they didn't need him to do much.  How is our O-line w/o Boss?  Not as good.  We still could have won the game, but some of that caught up with us.  We still have way better athletes than Mizzou and Arky.  That is not the case with the Gators.  And our best and another top 5 athlete didn't play.  It hurt us, finally.

I think I'm done.  Onward and upward.  Go beat UK and let's see what happens.

RUNNING THE BALL IS THE ANSWER

Here's some fun stats:

Rushing Offense

2008 

1. Florida (SEC & national champ)
2. Ole Miss
3. Bama (SEC west champ)

2009 

1. Miss. St.
2. Florida (SEC east champ)
3. Bama (SEC & national champ)

2010 

1. Auburn (SEC & national champ)
2. Miss. St.
3. Ole Miss

2011 

1. Bama (national champ)
2. LSU (SEC champ)
3. South Carolina

2012 

1. Texas A & M
2. Bama (SEC & national champ)
3. Florida

2013 

1. Auburn (SEC champ & national runner-up)
2. Mizzou (SEC east champ)
3. Arkansas

2014 

1. Georgia (Leads east - ranked #9)
2. Miss. St. (Leads west - ranked #1)
3. Auburn (ranked #5)

You know, we say that the league has changed and that Spurrier and then the spread changed things.  They certainly did, but it ain't all that different.  You gotta run the ball to win.  In fact, what is unequivocally true is that the SEC champ has finished in the top 3 of the league in rushing in the last 5 years.  Many times, both division champs were in the top three.  BTW, we were #4 in 2012.  It really shows what a mess that 2010 season was.  It is the outlier as South Carolina finished 8th and won the East at 5-3.  It was an unheard of year.  We finished 7th in 2011, too. But that year was a weird one, too, in which the best team in the nation didn't even go to the SEC.  Shows you how good Aaron Murray was that year because South Carolina finished 3rd and was a superior team to us in a lot of ways.  Pretty much, if you want go to the SEC championship game, you need to finish in the top 4 in rushing.  If you want to WIN the SEC, you pretty much have to finish in the top 3.  Alabama is 5th this year.  Hard to imagine that top four deal won't continue to hold form.  That doesn't bode well for Ole Miss, which currently ranks 11th.  Their stuffy defense might can offset that, but my guess is that it will catch up with them, maybe Saturday night down where Dreams Come to Die.

It ain't changed much from Dooley, Bryant, Vaught and Jordan's day.  You wanna win in this league, you better run the football.  BTW, I so want the first play in Jax to be Wild Gurl w/ Chubb as the offset back.  Does it give it or keep it?

Feeling Chubby

Let's pretend it's August 25th.  I look into a crystal ball and tell you that JSW and Mitchell don't play the first four games, and JSW barely sniffs the field even in the first 7.  Jay Rome is banged up.  We're going to lose 3 more DBs to dismissal or medical issues, Marshall is out after the Troy game for about 4-5 weeks.  Sony gets hurt vs. UT and is out a month.  And Gurley is out after the Vandy game and misses the road trips to Mizzou and Little Rock.  Moreover, I tell you that 7 games in Hutson hasn't thrown for over 200 yards in a game.  You tell me the record.  It ain't 6-1 heading into the bye week.

Mark Richt is a fine coach.  He got a win in a place we couldn't in 2001 then knocked the lid off the program in 2002.  He cobbled together an O-line to somehow win the east in 2003.  He won the SEC in 2005 when no one expected it.  He pulled the team out of a pit in 2006 for maybe our best finish ever.  He turned the tables in 2007.  He set his jaw on a cold night in Bobby Dodd in 2009, and turned around a program after an 0-2 start in 2010.  He somehow - SOMEHOW - salvaged a team ravaged by injuries in 2013 to win more than we lost.  But 2014, so far, is Richt's finest hour.  We have had every reason to be 5-2 or 4-3.  We're not.  We'r 9th in the country with winnable games ahead of us.  And we're getting healthier and in rhythm…quickly.  I can hardly remember a 2-week stretch like this.  This is what we were supposed to experience vs. Mizzou and Vandy last year.  Had we won those 2 games, we win the East, even with the play of which we never speak in Lee County.  Who knows how that thing turns out.  Who knows if the same play call is played against UK and Murray ever gets hurt.  Who knows?  Alas, Nick Chubb was playing for the Cedartown Bulldogs and not the Georgia Bulldogs last fall, which reminds me…

• I am amazed at Nick Chubb.  Really…amazed.  I'll admit, I thought going into Mizzou that if we had one of these freshmen, I'd rather have Sony.  They're sooooooo different.  But, Chubb runs a kind of hard that I don't know that we've seen.  He is totally HEAVY as they say.  He's going to be really, really, really special.  He's way faster than I realized and has fantastic vision.  He's a baller.  He's been the difference.  It's been clear that the game plan has been to ride that kid, and man has he risen to the challenge.  Richt speaks of him with a kind of reverence.  Woooweeee, 27 and 1 are going to be a load for a couple of years.
• Speaking of Chubb and the running backs.  There's a lot of chatter going on that the Gurley deal is 4 games.  What does that mean?  I'm reminded a little bit of the 1995 Nebraska teaam.  Lawrence Phillips was suspended the first 5 games (much different deal as he was a complete thug).  Nebraska leaned on freshmen running back Ahman Green, who rushed for over 1,000 yards.  I really want Gurley back for Florida, but if he is indeed suspended the next two games, there's a very good chance that Nick and Todd are both going for 1,000 yards this season.  Phillips returned in game 7 and they proceeded to thrash everyone, including a 12-0 Florida team that I thought was the best Spurrier ever had at Florida.  If Nick can carry us two more…watch out.
• I'm loving me some Dominick Sanders.  That kid is going to get better and better and better.
• We are flying around on D like we haven't seen at least since mid-2012 and maybe more like 2011.  It's surely fun to watch.  People are getting open some on the middle, but not much.  People were open the entire 2013 season.  I still can't figure out why anyone actually ran a running play against us last year.
• Don't tell anyone, but we can run block.
• Amazing how Conley and Bennett get more open with #26 on the field, isn't it?
• Izzy makes football more fun.  I never think anyone is going touch him, much less tackle him.
• So proud of Hutson.  I keep waiting for a breakout game (and Saturday could have been one), but Nick Chubb and Todd Gurley keep telling him not to worry about it.  Seriously, why throw it 25 times when you don't have to?
• Are we recruiting a punter?
• Best I've seen Marsall hit kickoffs all year.
• Man, those outside linebackers can get after a QB can't they?  We're starting to get some guys you have to game plan around, and Ramik is really flying around.\
• I love our white socks on road games.
• Arkansas fans are the cockiest 0-16 in the SEC group I've ever been around.

Early Florida stuff:

• They are bad.  I can't believe Foley didn't fire him today.
• I always have that worry in the back of my mind that they'll start the freshman QB and roll out some new looks and get us down by a couple of scores and bad things will happen.
• Then again, have you seen their freshman QB?  Not exactly Joe Montana.
• I do worry about their Defense, which seems legit.  Can we really grind them to a pulp like we did Mizzou and Arky?  Then again, Blake Sims looked like Tom Brady against them.  And Henry rushed for 111 on them.  Blake Sims.  Yes, THAT Blake Sims.  445 passing yards.
• I worry about kicking it to DuBose and him getting a cheap one.
• I worry about a lot of stuff.
• I worried about stuff going into the 2012 game at Auburn, because Auburn has stopped us from winning so many SEC titles.  And I remember the look of a team that has quit on it's coach.  We left that one 38-0.
• We get up 17-0, that team won't put up much of a fight.

Go Dawgs!

Well, at Least We Own THAT Columbia

Whew, what a weekend.  Dawgs stun the nation with their performance while Auburn, Tech, and Florida lose.  That's a good weekend fellas.  First time in loooooooooong time I watched one from the easy chair.  Yes, it was weird.  It feels like it didn't really happen.  Considering what we saw from the Dawgs, it's a legitimate question anyway -- did that really happen?

• Don't look now, but Hutson Mason is 5th in the nation in Completion Percentage.  Isn't that what matters most for us?  There aren't a lot of errant balls and wasted downs.  Six games into the season, he has 3 picks.  If he throws 6 for the whole year, we're going to be very pleased.  DJ threw 5 in 11 games in 2005, and that was a banner year. 
• We have won by an average of 27.5 points in 2 trips to Columbia West.  That's 4 TDs.  Not too shabby.
• Brendan Langley might be the craziest mid-season story in the history of Georgia Football.  Then again, I'll bet Pruitt was just delighted to have a kid with size and speed who had started a few SEC games at corner, because we've been playing a bunch of kids that have NEVER started before Aug. 30. 
• To me, that looked a lot like Georgia Football from late 2001-2003.  It looked a lot like David handing off to Veron or Musa and a stifling defense.  It totally changes your play-calling when you believe your D is going to hold them.  My guess is we're going to see Bobo get a lot more conservative in the next year and a half, but we WILL get more explosive with some players back.  In our heyday from 2002-2005, Teddy and I used to talk about our ho-hum 19 point wins.  We seemed to be everyone by 19 points, weather it was South Carolina/UT or Vandy/UK.  That's what we can/will look like with a competent defense.  At this point, please remove your hat in honor of Matt Stafford and Aaron Murray, whom we never really gave a competent D.  When we gave them half-way competent Ds, we looked pretty good in 2007 and 2012.
• Glad to see Leonard and Jordan looking dominant.  I was very impressed with Mike Thornton.  #88 can play a little bit, too.
• I've watched Mauk against Indiana, USCe, and UGA.  Color me not impressed. 
• Boy, did their backs look average compared to Chubb.
• Speaking of Cedartown Nick…man, does he run hard.  He's a little bit Marshawn Lynch to me.  I still can't put my finger on a UGA back he reminds me of.  Gurley is like Worley and #34.  Michel is Garrison Hearst 2.0.  I don't know if we've had a kid like Chubb.  He got so many first downs after contact I lost count.  You can tell Mark Richt loves him.  Boy, are he and Michel going to be a handful for a few years.
• MoneyMitch made those screens look a little more dangerous.  He's gonna get rolling here soon.  Good news is it looks like Ramsey will have 2 deep threats next year to show that arm off with.
• Kudos to Bobo for understanding the feel of the game and keeping Hutson in there. 
• Michael Bennett sure looks open when 26 is out wide.
• We need to get Izzy some more touches, simply for my enjoyment.
• I've been saying this since Troy:  we're covering better.  We covered UT and Vandy better.  Worley made some great throws to beat coverage, but they weren't wide open like we've seen in the past.  We saw that bear fruit on Saturday.  We were in position to make plays.
• Interceptions are fun!
• I'm fascinated to see Mizzou go to Gainesville this week.
• Gurley would have run for 250 before the 4th QTR.  I'm not joking.  It would have gotten ugly.

On to Little Rock:

• Arkansas' QB will make you get on your knees and thank the good Lord of Hutson Mason.
• Bama shut their backs down.  I'll believe it when I see it when it comes to their running game mashing us.  I just don't think a team can line it up and run it on Ramik and Amarlo.
• If Gurley plays, it will be ugly.  If he doesn't, we'll still win.  I think they kind of spent their energy on that Bama game.
• Would love to get Keith back and see him bust one on the Hogs.

The National Scene:

• Awesome defensive performance from defensive mastermind Gary Patterson on Saturday.  I'm not exactly sure how you score 58 in regulation and lose in regulation.
• Really, we wanted Baylor to win that one and now want to see OU beat Baylor.
• I never thought I'd live to see a day when South Carolina travels to the Plains and it's the 3rd Saturday in October game and Verne and Gary are in Lexington for the MSU vs UK game, but that's exactly what's happening on Oct. 26.  Hey, UK beat USCjr and has a better record (even if they lose in Baton Rouge Saturday night), and MSU is undefeated and #1 and beat Auburn (and they're off this week).  That's all just crazy to me.
• MSU must be for real.  Hard to believe what they've pulled off.  They can lose @ Bama and still win the West.  They just need Bama to drop one to LSU, UT, A&M, or Auburn.  That seems likely, frankly.  I'm still not THAT impressed with Prescott.  His passing is below average.  He's an unbelievable runner, though.  It's just like Cam and Tebow.  Get them behind the sticks and get them in 3rd and long.  Get them down by a couple scores and they'll struggle.
• Ole Miss was the shocker for me.  I was sure they'd lose at A&M.  Bloom is off that Kenny Hill rose.  Ole Miss has a great D.  I'm impressed with them.  Fasinated to see if UT can muster a fight against them.  That game's in Oxford, but that seems like one UT could get.  Boy, if they lose that one, that's 4 losses with @ South Carolina, Bama, and Mizzou and Kentucky.  They'd have to go 2-2 in those games to make a bowl.
• Boy, the Gators sent me to bed happy.  They can find a way to lose a game like I've never seen.  They're turning into Kentucky.  It's beautiful.  I'm not convinced it's as easy to win there as we think.  Spurrier did, but we'd all agree he's a one of a kind.  Urban did on the back of Tebow, and Urban is a top 5 or top 10 coach in CFB in the last 15-20 years.  They've got a weird fanbase and ugly stadium.  When they fire Muschamp, who in the world is going to go there?  Is Dan Mullen REALLY going to leave Starkville and start all over.  He's #1 at MSU and he's a lot younger than Miles and Saban.  Why leave?  He's a hero there.  I just think they're in trouble in Gainesville in big ways.  I think they'll go after Spurrier and try to get 5 years out of him.  I'm not sure he's got it in him to put in that work.
• Speaking of the Gators.  They've got 2 losses.  They've got Mizzou, UGA, South Carolina and @ FSU.  They have to win one of those.  If not, they finish 5-6 and don't go bowling.  Let's face it, based on the Georgia Southern game last year, there's no guarantee they beat Idaho.  Wow…that was fun to type.
• Auburn's luck is catching up to them.  Those 2 WRs are awesome.  The awesomeness ends there.  Nick Marshall still can't throw, but he's fast as lightning.  Those back just aren't as good as Mason, and it makes them look a lot less dangerous.
• Thank you, Duke.  Sincerely, Georgia.
• Did Nick Saban make that obligatory reference call to Pat Hayden or just wing it this time?  He hated him so much at USC that he fired Kiffen on the runway in LA.  You'd think Nick would have thought of that. 
• Bama simply isn't as talented as before.  The QB play is not good and the RB play isn't as elite.  Yeldon dances, and when they can't get the ball to Cooper they really stagnate.  Me?  I'd hand it to Henry 30 times one game and see how that goes.  That dude is still huge.

Well, it's going to be a week of waiting, isn't it?  We can win Saturday without #3.  I think the game being in LR helps us in many ways.  Smaller and older crowd than Fayetteville.  But, I'm fully ready to say this:  I ain't skeered of nobody.  Obviously, we're sitting here hoping for the best with #3.  But, I think we've all got the assumption that he's going to return at some point.  We can win this thing with him.  I mean the whole thing.  This could prove to be THAT catalyst that our team needed.  Apparently Hutson went all Shawn Williams in pre-game, and this might be the turning point.  Maybe it clicked.  "We whipped a decent team by playing this way without Todd.  What could we do WITH him?"  I sure hope so.  The NCAA is in a sticky mess with this.  I can't imagine they want the bad publicity their getting.  It's very fascinating.  Manziel and Cam were so polarizing and people couldn't stand them.  Not so with Todd.  Everyone loves Todd.  Everyone.  This isn't criminal.  It runs against the American fabric.  I'm fascinated to see how it plays out.  I'd imagine they want this to go away quickly.  They COULD have done us the biggest favor ever.  It COULD be the turning point of a season and even coaching career. 

 

I'm thinking Shawn Williams speech in 2012. 

I'm thinking Richt's rant about stomping on The Star in Nashville after Coutu's game-winner in 2007. 

I'm thinking Michael Johnson's catch in 2002.

 

This felt like vintage Richt lid-popping.  It felt like Bobo trusting his D-coordinator for the first time ever.

 

It felt like the beginning of something in the middle of the season.

Inside the Numbers: Missouri

South Carolina: 30 carries, 142 yards, TD
Indiana: 44 carries, 246 yards, 3 TD
Toledo: 15 carries, 148 yards, 3 TD
SDSU: 17 carries, 103 yards, 2 TD

That's what four of Missouri's five opponents (tailbacks) did against them.

I'm telling you, Gurley's going for at least 2 bills, maybe 250.

I really, really want Sony to get heal, but I keep thinking about 2007.  We
had Stafford, but we took off by getting #24 lathered up.  Same goes for
2002.  DJ got hurt that South Carolina game, and we were forced to play
David the whole games vs. Bama and UT.  David HAD to play that game in
T-town that year.

Gurley had 10 carries for 65 yards and 1 TD in 2012 vs. Mizzou.  In this 2nd
game.  In which he knew 5 plays.  We gave Ken Malcome 7 carries and Keith
Marshall 12.  What will happen if Gurley gets 25 and Chubb gets 10?

Tre Mason rushed for approximately 7,228 yards in Atlanta against them.  I
know we had #11 to loosen things up last season, but not much with that group of WRs we
were throwing out there, so I'll leave you with these numbers:

JJ Green - 12 carries, 87 yards
Brendan Douglas - 14 carries, 70 yards

They will deliver Todd the Heisman at the Columbia Airport.

WHAT. A. WEEKEND.

Looks like that weekend might be the kind that is in order this year.  There's more ranked games this week, and we'll find out about MSU and Auburn.
The National Scene:

• Nick Saban never goes to a place like Oxford and loses.  Spurrier never loses to Kentucky.  Except they did.  Don't look now, but Coach Superior is 3-2 in the last 5 tries vs. the 'Cats and lost 2 of 3 in Lexington. 
• Saban doesn't allow special teams mistakes…except when your 3-year starting KO and punt returner fumbles a KO.  I honestly wonder sometimes if people actually watch football games.  Stuff happens.
• Boy, we all have our nits to pick on playcalls with Bobo from time to time, but Spurrier completely lost his mind in Lexington.  Mike Davis was gashing them for about 15 yards a pop, until Spurrier decided he didn't want to run the ball anymore.  I keep saying it.  11-2 with 1 INT by Connor Shaw.  What happens if Thompson throws 12 INTs?  He's working on it, and one against us should have also cost them that game.
• Thank you, Southern Cal, for making the Prayer in Jordan-Hare look like the 2nd worst defended Hail Mary.
• Watched a little Auburn replay last night.  Nick Marshall still has no idea what he's doing in the passing game, despite what the prognosticators want to tell us.  He cannot read coverages and only throws it to wide open guys.  His best play is scrambling around and throwing it as far as he can, which we can attest to.
• Wow, how LSU has fallen.  Who in the world wins with them and Florida this week?
• Boom is a moron in the first degree.  I hope we give the Gators what's coming to them.  I'm always happy to get a win of any kind in J'ville, but we need to hand them one of those seal-clubbings like they gave us back in the day.  I think that's a possibility.
• Mark Dantonio was hilarious after the Mich. St./Nebraska game.  I've never seen a coach so relieved that his team mananged to not fart away a game.  They came awfully close.
• Someone please beat Notre Dame…twice.  If they get in the playoff versus an SEC team, it will again be ugly.  They can't score.  BTW, don't count on my Tarheels being one of those teams this week.  ND goes to Tallahassee, so one of them is going to lose.  They also are @ Arizona St., host Louisville, and @ SC to close the season.  Gotta think they lose 2 in there.  Them and FSU are the two worst of the whole bunch of 'elite' teams to me.
• Butch is looking for bricks if you have any.
• Good for TCU.  Always liked Patterson.  They play Baylor this week, so someone is getting their come up'ns.
• If you haven't seen the video of the Okie St. track star returning the KO for a TD, go find it.  Holy moly that joker is fast.  I've never seen a player pull away from guys like that.  He runs a 10.1 100-meters.  That is smokin'.
• Since ESPN started Thursday night college football, it always seems an upset on Thursday night can set the tone for the weekend.  It did this week.
• The playoff prognostications are driving me nuts.  Hey, nimrod, MSU, Ole Miss and Auburn aren't all going to the playoff…because they all play each other.  The playoff doesn't start today.  It's stupid.  Alabama gets A&M, MSU and Auburn in Tuscaloosa.  I wouldn't go to sleep on the Tide just yet.
• Oh, the polls are the most meaningless thing ever now.

Georgia Fan:

• Read on a comment board:  "Where in the world is Keith Marshall?"  This is how little our fanbase knows about our team.
• I like how our fans give credit to other teams for having good players but we don't get credit for Gurley.  "Without Gurley we're a mediocre team."  Um, except we do have Todd Gurley.  Without Amari Cooper that Alabama offense looks pretty average.  Without Mariota, Oregon is 8-4.  Isn't that kind of the whole point, to have and get good players.  Without Prescott, MSU is MSU.
• "How can Ole Miss and Miss. St. be this good and we're not?"  Did I miss something?  When Ole Miss and MSU start rolling into road games and winning in tough enviroments and pull off an 11-1, call me.  Who would you take on a neutral field?  I'll take Todd Gurley and crew.  What I know is that we have the same number of losses as Alabama and A & M, who both lost tough road games. 
• Dawg fans need to look north and west.  Tennessee, Michigan and Texas can't beat anybody, and I mean anybody.  Florida can only beat Tennessee.  Hard to believe how those teams have fallen.

Dawgs:

• You know, our secondary is making a few plays.  Teams are not wide open like last year or South Carolina this year.  We'll get a real test this week.
• This team we're playing lost to Indiana.  Yes, they beat South Carolina.  They lost to Indiana.
• I think Todd Gurley is going to rip them a new one. 
• Why have Todd throw it vs. Vandy?  Because he can.  The Wild Gurl is going to be deadly at about the 4-yard line.
• It would be nice to have JSW and MM, you know, back.  We do not have elite WRs out there, and that's hurting our passing game more than I think we realize.  MoneyMitch sure did look good for a few plays out there.
• Jeb Blazevich is going to be awesome. I mean, that dude is going to be unstoppable in a couple of years.
• I'm not as concerned about Mason as others.  We look a lot like 2002 UGA, but our D is worse and Gurley is much better than Musa.  David was average as grits in a lot of those games.  He flat out stunk it up vs. Clemson and South Carolina.  We scored like 18 vs. Tennessee.  We kept Billy Bennett's leg warm that season.  David played great in some key moments, and we need that from Hutson.  We DO need to get better to beat some teams down the road.  I think we're gonna do it, but I hope we're not down 7-0 and give the ball to Ramsey on our own 13 in the 3rd series on Saturday.  We are what we are.  We just need to hope #14 can make the few plays we need him to make.  #3 will make the rest.
• Izzy is just going to be fun to watch.  Think about this:  He'll be our senior punt returner in South Bend in 2017.  We are getting every ounce out of that kid.

Saturday was #105 in a row for the ol' coach, and the streak will end there.  That noon start is tempting me to head to Mizzou, as I could make it back by about 3 a.m., but I'd be a dead-man walking on Sunday and just can't do it.  I've never watched a UGA game on TV with my boys.

Oh, and in the "OMG what if that happens" category this week.  I love thinking about this stuff.  There is a really good chance Tech goes 10-0 heading into the final two games vs. Clemson & UGA.  What if we win out and are 10-1 heading into Tech and Tech beats Clemson in Atlanta to go 11-0.  Auburn is 10-1 and Bama is 10-1 heading into the Iron Bowl.  Gurley is the front-runner for the Heisman, and Tech would be ranked in top 5 by then and we'd be in there, too above Auburn. Does CBS DARE take the Tech/GA game over the Iron Bowl?  That ACC is wretched.  I don't think Tech is THAT good.  I think VaTech and Miami are that bad.  They avoid Louisville and FSU.  They have Duke, UNC, Pitt, Uva, and State left before the last two.  That's embarrasing. 

Go Dawgs!
Beat Mizzou!