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UGA SPORTS BLOG
Talk about the Bulldogs.
Displaying 1 through 10 of 77 records found.
National Championship preview
Battle of the words has already begun
January 04, 2009 | 04:03 PM
The national championship game coming up this Thursday promises to be a true clash of Titans. Two dominant programs over the last decade, which have never previously faced each other, will look to out-slug each other come January 8th.
The battle of words has already begun between the two teams in a very uncharacteristic move for either team. Brandon Spikes began the trash talking stating the Oklahoma offense hadn't faced a good defense all season. He also noted that the Big XII defenses looked a step slower than those of the SEC. Safety Ahmad Black noticed that Sam Bradford pants always looked very white after games as he is rarely touched. Florida led the SEC in sacks with 31 while Oklahoma only allowed 20 sacks. Something's got to give.
Oklahoma cornerback Dominique Franks fired back after hearing Spikes' remarks. He said the athletes from OU would match up just fine against the speed of the Gators. He also said Tim Tebow wouldn't have been a good quarterback in the Big XII saying he would have been fourth – at best.
Franks' clearly doesn't know Tebow's history. He's been called out two times (that I'm aware of) and both times he has made his opponents look silly. The first was against FSU when someone said "Tebow's going down." Tebow torched the 'Noles with 5 touchdowns. The second was this season's episode with LSU's Ricky Jean-Francois who said they would take Tebow out. LSU lost by 30.
After witnessing Ole Miss dismantle the Texas Tech offense, I'm inclined to lean with Brandon Spikes. OK, so I would have sided with Spikes anyway, but that victory must have quite an affect on both teams mentally.
I think one key to this game will be if Florida is able to pressure Sam Bradford. Bradford isn't used to being hit and it will surely disrupt his rhythm and timing – just ask Graham Harrell. I don't think Oklahoma's defense can really rattle Tebow as he's faced great defenses all season.
I'm looking for Florida to beat OU convincingly, though not necessarily in a blowout.
James Carr - jcarr@uga.edu |
Captial One Bowl update 5
January 01, 2009 | 04:42 PM
Matt Stafford just threw another great pass to Knowshon Moreno who made a fantastic catch to score a touchdown and make the score 24-12. With just under 3 minutes to go, Georgia has 6 sacks. Where was that all season? I guess Michigan State just doesn't have the athletes at the receiver position to command double teams like the SEC does (Julio Jones, Percy Harvin etc) and Georgia was able to blitz. The defense has played extremely well all day and kept Georgia in this game in the first half.
Michigan State just missed a 4th and 22 conversion by about two centimeters. So that'll wrap up the game with Georgia winning 24-12 and finishing 10-3 on the season. As Capital One bowl winners it would be really nice if we could not get spam mail or see those ridiculous commercials for a year. The game is being wound down as Georgia runs out the clock and Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge talk about Todd's taste of the town. Please, fire yourselves.
And, just like that, Todd outdoes himself. "Well, we knew coming in this game that one of these teams would end up with 10 wins." Ya think?
James Carr |
Capital One Bowl update 4
January 01, 2009 | 04:13 PM
As I said before, Blackledge noted that Stafford should stay for a year. Stafford proceeded to complete 11-13 and score two touchdowns. He then said that he thought Stafford was better than Sam Bradford (basically contradicting himself for saying he should stay) and Stafford gets sacked for ten yards. This seals my case that Blackledge should just be quiet which I advocated after he wondered if Stafford's parents would go and "make another Matthew" during his performance at LSU.
South Carolina just lost 31-10 ending the SEC's unbeaten run. If it was any of the SEC teams to lose, I'd rather it be Spurrier than anyone else. Hate that guy.
James Carr |
Capital One Bowl update 3
January 01, 2009 | 03:42 PM
Georgia has finally scored a touchdown on a drive that started on the 4 yard line. They looked to be firing on all cylinders on that drive and hopefully will continue that trend in the next few drives. Stafford threw a beautiful touchdown pass to Mike Moore after completely faking out the safety.
The announcer for this game Todd Blackledge said he thinks Stafford should come back for another year. I don't really see that as Stafford looks more NFL ready than anyone I've seen in a long time, especially considering his offensive line hasn't been that great this season. It's a little easier to be Sam Bradford with three All Big XII offensive linemen.
Also, ABC played "Who Let the Dogs Out" after Georgia scored. It's a shame it had to come to that. When will it end?
James Carr |
Captial One Bowl update 2
January 01, 2009 | 02:49 PM
This game is surreal. Georgia is losing this game by a field goal. They get the ball back with a 1:30 left in the half and are lackadaisical as possible and even run two running plays. Georgia gets the first down and in a "Oh crap there's only 30 seconds left moment", Richt sprints on the field and calls a timeout. They had 3 to start this whole sequence. Then Stafford chucked three balls down the field way out of reach of his open receivers. Wonder what he was doing at midnight last night...
Stafford is 3-11 in this game. A.J. Green and Mohammed Massaquoi do not have a catch. This is pitiful.
James Carr |
Captial One Bowl update 1
January 01, 2009 | 02:16 PM
Georgia's defense is dominating this first quarter. So far, State has gained 9 yards and Javon Ringer has been going backwards.
Stafford has thrown an interception that hit off Mike Moore's hands and A.J. Green has fumbled which is the only reason this game is still tied at 3.
Unfortunately, this is quickly turning into one of those games where Georgia dominates in every statistical category but the score doesn't show it. Georgia can't afford to let Michigan State hang around for too long, especially in a bowl game where they have everything to play for.
James Carr |
Capital One Bowl
January 01, 2009 | 01:26 PM
Georgia is about to kick off against Michigan State in the Capital One bowl. Georgia should crush Michigan State the way LSU took care of Georgia Tech last night. So far, the SEC is undefeated this bowl season and I hope Georgia will continue the SEC's dominance.
The key match-up here is Javon Ringer against the Georgia defense. If Georgia learned the mystifying art of a "wrap-up tackle", they will take care of business.
Another question is whether this will be the last game for Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. The two have had great statistical seasons as they led the Georgia offense to second in the SEC.
Is there any way Mark Richt would be able to ask the president of Capital One to quit sending me credit cards? That'd be great.
I'll update as the game goes along.
James Carr |
More on SEC hires
December 19, 2008 | 06:57 PM
Let me start by saying a bit more about Gene C.
A. His name is extremely un-intimidating for the SEC. (Mark Richt. Nick Saban. Les Miles. Rich Brooks. Urban Meyer. Gene Chizick? Doesn't match up.)
B. It doesn't matter how good of a coach he is. He has stepped into an impossible situation (similar to taking any job in Iowa). Tommy Tuberville established a strong program at Auburn with a winning tradition. Tiger fans will be expecting to step back into the lime light as soon as possible. (Which would make sense, as you would only fire a coach who hasn't done well for a program and the new coach would make you better, right?) Chizick steps into a job with lackluster talent for the SEC. He's going to have to do a lot with little talent, fast. And seeing as how his last job was getting the second pickings in IOWA, we know he struggles with that. (Which is where I should now talk about Tuner Gill and how he has done that exceptionally well, but I've moved on.) Basically, GC will have to turn the program around immediately or he'll be out. There is little patience in Auburn.
C. It's not Gene's fault. Jay Jacobs is completely to blame for this mess. The guy has been messing around for a few years now dating back to the Bobby Petrino escapade. If there's someone who should really be on the hot seat, it's Jacobs, not Chizick. The fans need to give Chizick a chance. But they won't.
The final new hire in the SEC was Florida's offensive coordinator Dan Mullen heading to Mississippi State. I'm not really sure where to go with Mullen as it's always tough to predict how a first-time head coach will fare. He's certainly learned a lot under Urban Meyer for the last four seasons. But how will he delegate? How will he handle his staff? How will he handle a losing season (which they will have at State)? Basically, I have no opinion on the matter. He has a completely clean slate. One piece of advice: don't peak early or you'll be out a la Sly Croom style.
Now, you may be wondering why I'm going on about the SEC in the UGA Sports Blog. It's mainly because I have a lot of time on my hands. But I've said it once and I'll say it again, I'm a UGA fan first and an SEC fan second. It appears the team follows my lead (no, not the other way round). Here's a piece talking about the Bulldog's pride for the SEC and how they'll be rooting for all the SEC teams come bowl time. Yes, even Florida. And if Rennie Curran says it, it's law. At least on this blog. Get used to it.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/dec/18/georgia-bulldogs-backing-sec-bowls/?sports
Holla.
James Carr - jcarr@uga.edu |
New Hire in the SEC part 2
Gene Chizik
December 15, 2008 | 07:25 PM
Auburn hired Gene Chizik who comes with a 10 game losing streak.
Auburn hired Gene Chizik who didn't win a single game in the Big XII this season. And they didn't face Texas, Oklahoma OR Texas Tech.
Auburn hired Gene Chizik who is 5 – 19 as a head coach.
Auburn hired Gene Chizik who is already being hated on my prominent alumni.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3770769
Auburn hired Gene Chizik over Gil Turner, a coach with a winning record at Buffalo and the current MAC champions, former Heisman trophy candidate and former Green Bay Packer assistant coach.
Auburn hired Gene Chizik who played in the Peach Bowl for Florida. The Gators lost by 20.
Auburn hired Gene Chizik, the defensive guru who's defense ranked 111 out of 119 last season.
Auburn hired Gene Chizik who has never had a recruiting class better than 60.
Auburn hired Gene Chizik who fired 2 coordinators and demoted two more after this season before leaving for Auburn.
This guy is an absolute joke. He has been hired two days and has already fired all the previous coordinators at Auburn and lost two top commitments from Auburn's already depleted recruiting class. Auburn's offense will now have to get used to a 3rd offensive coordinator in just 12 months. He clearly has no accountability for his efforts as he fired his top guys at Iowa State before bolting. Sounds like he'll be able to handle the SEC pressure…
Does Jay Jacobs really think this guy will be able to compete for recruits with Nick Saban?
Here are a couple more links to some harsh articles:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=3769005&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos2
http://iowastate.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=889020
Good news for the Dawgs!
James Carr- jcarr@uga.edu |
New Hires in the SEC
Lane Kiffin looks to replace a legend
December 15, 2008 | 01:41 PM
There have been a couple of new hires so far in the SEC: Lane Kiffin to Tennessee and Gene Chizik to Auburn. I'll start with Kiffin as he was hired first.
Kiffin was a pretty solid hire considering the candidates available for Tennessee. He's a young coach who has been known for his good recruiting. He's also bringing along NFL defensive guru Monte Kiffin. Kiffin was the offensive coordinator under Pete Carroll at USC and was most recently fired by Al Davis in Oakland. He'll bring college championship and NFL experience to the job. There's not much more you can ask for.
That being said, it's going to take a lot for Tennessee to return to the national stage anytime soon. Phil Fulmer was a legend at Tennessee. His reign started to decline (and by decline I mean not perennially ranked #1 which is slightly absurd) around the same time some pretty good SEC coaches were hired. 2000 was the last time UT went to a BCS bowl game (a loss to Nebraska). Houston Nutt was hired in 1998 (3 SEC west titles), Tommy Tuberville was hired in 1999 (5 SEC west division titles, 1 SEC championship should have 1 national), Nick Saban was hired in 2000 (4 SEC west, 2 SEC championships 1 national), Mark Richt was hired in 2001 (4 SEC east titles, 2 SEC championships) to speak nothing of Urban Meyer or Les Miles who weren't hired until 2004.
My point with this is pretty simple. Tennessee is not known for producing great recruits out of high school. They typically have to recruit outside the state of Tennessee. Once these coaches were hired, it became much more difficult for Fulmer and co. to steal some prized recruits away from other states. Therefore, their overall talent went down and thus, Tennessee fell from the national stage.
Kiffin has been touted as a great recruiter. But keep in mind he was out in sunny California where USC wins the Pac-10 every freaking year. A trained monkey could get talent to come play in southern California. He was also recruiting players to come and play for arguably the best coach in college football: Pete Carroll (certainly top 5: I'd go Saban, Meyer, Carroll, Brown, Stoops). The ultimate measure of Kiffin's success will be if he is able to go into Georgia, Florida, Alabama or Louisiana and take recruits away from Richt, Meyer, Saban or Les Miles. My gut reaction: no.
In all, Kiffin was a good hire who has a very tough road ahead. Gene Chizik on the other hand, well, I'm going to have some fun with this one. I'll report soon. Let's just say that I am now finished with finals and my feeling of elation probably doesn't measure close to Chizik's. The guy finished 5-19 in two seasons as a head coach and got a huge promotion. Auburn is a complete mess:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi7Qlsy2Oo4&feature=related
That definitely happened.
James Carr - jcarr@uga.edu |
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