Saturday Football Fever

By now, you’ve probably read that UGA is going to pull the “blackout” for the Alabama game this weekend.  You’ve probably also read all the other hoopla surrounding the blackout.  Here’s my take on the blackout and the game itself.

First of all, when the black jersey’s were used in the Auburn game, it was a great way to get the team and the fans hyped up.  And to some extent, it psyched out the Tigers.  Then the black was used in the bowl game and it wasn’t quite as exciting.  Now its being used for the Bama game and it seems to have lost a little bit more of its luster.  I’ve even talked to many UGA fans who agree.

There’s a resaon that Notre Dame only wears the green jersey’s (and not just because they lose when they wear them) – it’s because they are meant to jack fans and players up for the game every few years that is hugely important to the program.  For UGA, that was the Auburn game was last year – it helped keep the momentum going after the Florida win and carried the team for the rest of the season.  But three times in the span of nine games?  That takes something away from the experience.

What it really comes down to is who is the better, more prepared team.  And both teams are good and will come in well prepared.  Honestly, I think the media is reading too much into the give and take between Saban and Richt.  They are just two coaches having a little fun, trying to keep things light going into a big game.  In the end, laundry will have no bearing on this game.

Breakdown

UGA - The offense is solid.  Moreno takes a load of pressure off Stafford with his ability to run the ball and AJ Green has emerged as a reliable threat at receiver, which UGA hasn’t had in several years.  That being said, I’m still not sold on Stafford as the “best NFL QB prospect in the country”.  From what I’ve seen of him this year, he still makes bad decisions and struggles against good defenses.  You also have a young offensive line that is still trying to figure out how to play with each other after a rash of injuries have caused some shuffling of positions.  The defense has been solid, but they haven’t faced a very good or balanced offense yet.  The Dawgs are also the most penalized team in the SEC, averaging almost 11 per game, which is double the next closest team.

Bama – The offensive line is mean, nasty and is dominating.  Andre Smith, Antoine Caldwell and Co. open up huge holes for the running game and they make John Parker Wilson look like Tom Brady with all the time they give him.  Mark Ingram is the bruiser and Glen Coffee is the speedster and they combine to make one of the best RB tandems in the conference.  Julio Jones and Nick Walker are excellent targets for JPW.  The defense has been stingy this year, allowing only 9.2 points per game.  They are lead by the disruptive Terrance “Mount” Cody, a 365 pound beast in the middle.  The linebackers, while young, have been solid and the secondary has been good.  Javier Arenas is the X factor on special teams, having already returned one punt for a TD and averaging 18.7 yards per return.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I’m a Bama alumni and psychotic Tide fan.)

Prediction

I think this game will be closer than either side wants to believe.  It will be physical and relatively low scoring.  In the end, I think penalties will kill the Dawgs and special teams will be the difference.  Leigh Tiffin will kick the winning field goal in the final minute and Bama will win 27-24 in a thriller.

Filed under: Game Thoughts

Tags: aj green, alabama crimson tide, andre smith, antoine caldwell, auburn tigers, florida gators, georgia bulldogs, glen coffee, javier arenas, john parker wilson, julio jones, knowshon moreno, leigh tiffin, mark ingram, mark richt, matthew stafford, nick saban, nick walker, terrance cody

Some random thoughts about week after having a day to digest everything.

- Washington got screwed. I understand that the excessive celebration penalty was called as it is stated in the NCAA rule book, but I think the spirit of the rule was not upheld.  Did Locker toss the football in the air?  Yes.  Did he do it to taunt BYU or excessively celebrate?  No.  He was charged up from scoring in the final seconds of the game to seemingly send the game to OT and give his team a chance to win.  There is a lot of emotion in college football and as long as Locker wasn’t doing it in an unsportsman like manner (and he wasn’t), then it shouldn’t be called.  The game should have been decided on the field and not by a poor call by a referee.

- Why were Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno still playing late during their blowout of Central Michigan?  My guess is that it had something to do with padding their stats for thier Heisman campaigns.  But doesn’t Richt know what can happen when a coach foolishly leaves in his best player late in a blowout?  That was a dangerous move to keep those two in the game, especially when UGA is trying to make a title run.

- Notre Dame looked BAD (3-12 on 3rd down, 4 turnovers) against San Diego State. Jimmy Clausen didn’t look very good and they didn’t run the ball very well (3.1/carry).  And I LOVE it!!!!!  I HATE Notre Dame.  They won 3 games all of last year and they got more coverage than teams like BYU and Cincinnati, that actually had winning seasons.  This year, its more of the same.  They are undeserving of all the hype and media attention they get.  And I hope they fall on their faces again.  HARD!

- Miami is on its way back to being a dominant program.  They played Florida tough, but just ran out of gas at the end.  That is attributed to their lack of quality depth, but that will be solved with a few more recruiting classes like this past one.  Randy Shannon is going to turn them around.

- How about East Carolina?!?! They knock of their 3rd consecutive ranked opponent (going back to the bowl game last year) and their first top 10 team since 1999.  And they didn’t just squeak by West Virginia – they DOMINATED them.  Looks like Skip Holtz could be on his way to a Conference USA title and giving BYU a run at being this years BCS buster.  Keep your eye on ECU.

- If Alabama is going to be taken seriously, then they’ll need to have more games like the Clemson game and less like the Tulane game.  They didn’t score a single offensive TD and only had 172 total yards.  Sure, they were missing some O-Linemen, but they need to execute better to be able to beat the heavy weights in the SEC.

- The ACC didn’t do much to redeemed itself after being beat up in week 1.  Maryland was whipped by Midde Tennessee State, Duke lost to Northwestern in the Turd Bowl, Virginia managed to only put up 16 points against FCS team Richmond and Miami was beaten by Florida.  When they added BC, VT and Miami back in 2004, they expected to beocome the new superpower in college football.  We are still patiently awaiting that moment.

- Sam Bradford continues to put up better numbers than Matthew Stafford agasint similar (if not better) competition.  Why does he still not get as much Heisman love?

Filed under: Weekly Thoughts

Tags: acc, alabam crimson tide, bcs, big 10, big 12, boston college eagles, byu cougars, central michigan chippewas, cincinnati bearcats, clemson tigers, conference usa, duke blue devils, east carolina pirates, fcs, florida gators, heisman trophy, jake locker, jimmy clausen, knowshon moreno, mac, mark richt, maryland terrapins, matthew stafford, miami hurricanes, middle tennessee state blue raiders, mountain west, mwc, ncaa, northwestern wildcats, notre dame fighting irish, pac 10, randy shannon, richmond spiders, sam bradford, san diego state aztecs, sec, skip holtz, sun belt, tulane green wave, uga bulldogs, virginia cavaliers, virginia tech hokies, washington huskies, west virginia mountaineers

If you had asked me 4 years ago if the Gamecocks would lose to Vanderbilt 2 years in a row, I would say you’re crazy.  A Steve Spurrier fall to the Comadores twice in a row?  No way.

But that’s exactly waht happened last night.

The Gamecocks have looked terrible in both games this year.  Sloppy QB play has really hurt them.  Really, their whole offense has looked out of sync.  It reminds me of watching a high school football game.

And I can’t believe the this is the best product Spurrier can field.  If you look at the quality of the teams he’s fielded and his body language, I would guess that Spurrier’s heart simply isn’t in it any more.  Gone are the visor throwing and headset smashing days.  Now Spurrier just stands on the sidelines looking crestfallen after each Chris Smelley INT.

Unless the Gamecoks turn can get their act together and play better on offense, they’ll be below .500 on the year and Spurrier will hang it up at the end of the season.  And it doesn’t get any easier with games against UGA, LSU, Florida and Clemson.

And the Gamecock fans will be wishing that they hadn’t let Skip Holtz leave with his father.

Filed under: Game Thoughts

Tags: chris smelley, clemson tigers, florida gators, georgia bulldogs, lsu tigers, sec, skip holtz, south carolina gamecocks, stever spurrier, vanderbilt comadores

The question was posed to me today – “Can Georgia Tech succeed in the ACC running the triple option that Paul Johnson employed at Navy?”

I say yes it can.

Just about any offense can succeed in college football if you have the right players, the right coaching and excellent execution (except for the West Coast offense…but that’s another story).

We already know that Johnson can coach. Anyone who can make Navy football semi-relevant again has to have some coaching skills. He doesn’t have the perfect players to run the triple option, but that is easily remedied through recruiting (which will take a few years). And once he’s go the players, it’s simply a matter of repetition and good coaching and they will have the execution part down as well. So yes, you can succeed running the triple option.

The big knocks against the triple option are that A) you can’t recruit players for that offense (i.e. no one wants to play in that offense) and B) there is too much speed in the major BCS conferences to be successful.

The first point is ridiculous. Go watch any 5 high school games in your area on any given Friday night. You know what kind of offense they are running? A variation of the triple option. Nebraska was able to recruit top high school players to run that offense until they stopped running it in 2004. There are always going to be good players who will fit into and are willing to play in the triple option. And if Johnson can convince a kid to play football at Navy (and thus, enroll in the service) then I think he can convince a kid to come to Georgia Tech (despite the 600:1 guys to girls ratio).

The second point is even more ridiculous. Nebraska was successful up through 2003 (they won 10 games and even played in the 2001 BCS championship game) running a variation of triple option. The Big 12 has lots of speed and Nebraska was successful. If the speed thing were true, then all those spread options would fail as well. They are both based on the quarterback’s ability to read the defense and either pitch the ball or run with it. With the right QB, you can neutralize much of the speed issue with any iteration of the option.

What it boils down to is that Johnson can flat out coach, he’ll get the players to run the option and he’ll be successful in the ACC running the triple option.

If you don’t believe me, remember this: everyone said that Urban Meyer’s spread option wouldn’t work in the SEC because of all the speed on defense.

And I think things have turned out pretty well for Urban Meyer and his Gators thus far.

Filed under: Conference News

Tags: acc, bcs, florida gators, georgia tech yellow jackets, national championship, navy midshipmen, nebraska cornhuskers, paul johnson, sec, spread option, triple option, urban meyer, west coast offense

Urban Meyer took his goal of having the “fastest team in America” to new heights at this year’s spring game. He made the bold prediction that if a student from the Gator population could beat one of his players in a foot race, he’d give them a full scholarship.

After some shady race officiating, the Gator players came out on top. And Urban Meyer came up with another creative way of widening his recruiting base by having ESPN there to broadcast the whole thing.

Filed under: Conference News, Spring Practice

Tags: espn, florida gators, urban meyer