So close but yet so far

I have not had the time or ability to post my thoughts after the SEC title game. First things first, I thought the team FOUGHT hard and did the best they could. I was PROUD to be a Dog fan and alum after watching that game, a MUCH different feeling than after watching our other loss in 2012 for sure. I felt like the coaches, especially offensively, put together a solid gameplan and we were indeed able to move the ball on Bama via the pass AND the run. Gurley played great, you have to also say the OL played a solid game, Aaron Murray played well on the biggest stage-the one INT late in the second quarter hurt bad, the WR was OPEN but he just threw the ball short-and as it turned out, the INT really DID hurt bad for Murray as the Bama player took a cheap shot at him during the run back.

Now, here are a few of the issues I have a gripe with-first, since I just mentioned the cheap shot, the penalties. I think most believed we would battle Bama AND the refs for the SEC title and I believe that did end up happening. Bama 2 penalties for 15 yards, we had 7 for 64 yards. There were countless blocks in the back against Bama on special teams, it is also hard to imagine an offense running the ball 51 times and not one holding call. Still, we battled Bama all night, and had a chance to pull it off at the very end. The second issue is with our run defense. Alabama ran the ball 51 times, they had two backs go over 100 yards rushing, we never could stop the run when we needed to but the play that broke our back was a pass play which was interesting. Still, our DC Grantham, he is a sharp mind and good coach but he inability to have enough depth (not his fault entirely) really had our D sucking wind in the second half. Alabama didn't try to trick us, they ran off tackle left, right, but the end result was gains of 7-8-9 or more yards per carry. We do have to keep in mind, Bama has the full 85 on scholarship, UGA has 69. Some of that is just bad luck but also it comes down to player evaluation-both on the field and off, as many of the kids we would have had around were not around because of off the field issues. The upcoming recruiting class SHOULD help take care of our low numbers but this has been an issue at UGA for years now, because our coaches/adminstration actually do things the right way-we don't oversign and then try to hide the kids somewhere-greyshirt, get kids already on the team to take medical hardships or strongly pressure them to transfer.

The SEC title game was a GREAT football game between what I believe was two equally matched teams-I believe the Bama depth really did eventually win them the game, along with a tipped pass at the 5 yard line. I was proud of the fact that our team fell behind twice in the game, and TWICE immediately answered the bell after they fell behind. THAT is the sign of a team that believes, a team playing with confidence AND a team that is not intimidated by their opponent. Bama wins a lot of games on who they are I believe rather than how they play the game. A lot of opponents going into games believing, wow, Bama is tough, Bama is the best etc, but I think our team went into that game saying, we can beat that team, we are every bit as good as they are, and you know what, they really were as good. If nothing else, that game showed the nation that UGA football is pretty darn good in its own right. Neutral observers came away impressed with BOTH teams, thinking wow, those teams are pretty much even. Now, we need to back that performance up with a strong performance against a very fragile Nebraska in the Capital One bowl. That will be interesting to see how our coaches can get our boys back up for that. So many of our guys will be thinking about the money they are soon to make, will they give the effort needed to get one more win for UGA? That will be my question going into that game.

So, now the season is essentially over and we start looking to next year. A few decisions by juniors will play a big part in what happens for UGA football in 2013. Aaron Murray and Kwame Geathers are the big two, as there is just no way I see Alec Ogletree or Jarvis Jones coming back-both are projected 1st round picks. But, Murray coming back will make our offense one that should be a lot of fun to watch. We will lose two WR's, TK and Marlon Brown, both fine players but the cupboard is far from bare at WR in Athens. Entire OL back, RB's coming back and should be even better, TE's coming back and both had very solid years, it will be all about what kind of defense we can field. We will still have some big pieces back, including Jordan Jenkins, Garrison Smith, Amarlo Herrera, Damian Swann, but the big key to me is if Kwame comes back. We need a big boy in the middle to make this defense work. Now, I think KG SHOULD come back and that pushes him to a sure fire 1st round pick next year, but working against us is that no Geathers has ever stayed around to complete their eligibility, can we feel confident Kwame will be the first? Our kickers both are back as well, and I think both will do better next year, not that either did bad, but I think they will continue to get better. The schedule will test the Dogs early, with games back to back against the SCarolina schools, also we get LSU on the schedule next year, but I am very optimistic about what can be next year.

Finally, lost in all this football excitement is the POOR play of the mens hoops team. I have long been a big Mark Fox fan, I thought he was a solid coach at Nevada when hired, I was worried that he had zero recruiting roots in the SE, and I am still very concerned. I think also his triangle offense is not effective with the players he has trying to run it. This team is a total train wreck right now and I honestly don't see Mark Fox making it to year 5. He took a pretty good group of talent that Dennis Felton left him, managed in year 2 to BARELY make the NCAA tourney, losing a close 1st round game to Washington. Last year was bad and this year looks worse. Take a look at what Coach Fox has done in his first 3 years-

2009–2010	Georgia	14–17	5–11	6th (East)
2010–2011	Georgia	21–12	9–7	T–3rd (East)	NCAA 1st Round
2011–2012	Georgia	15-17	5-11	T-10th
Georgia:		50-46	19-29

This year the team is 2-6, if they finish 5-11 in conference again this year, that puts them at 17 losses right there, and that is saying the don't lose another game until the conference schedule starts in Jan. They have the following games before SEC play, Iona, Mercer, Southern Cal, Florida A&M and George Washington. Before we count all of these as wins, just know that each team minus maybe Florida A&M, has wins against teams as good or better than UGA currently is. That being said, it is possible we could be 7-6 entering SEC play. IF that happens, it will be interesting to see if the team CAN improve on the 5-11 of years one and three. I honestly don't see it happening, and actually there are 18 conference games this year adding in Texas A&M and Missouri.

This stands to be McGarity first really big decision. He has been willing to part ways with coaches in lesser sports that have not been successful, but did not pull the trigger on Coach Perno in baseball last spring-that being said, the UGA baseball program has had by far more success under Perno than the basketball program has had since Tubby left. I think if this season goes as I see it going, Coach Fox will be leaving and a new coach will be coming in. We simply can't win with the talent Fox is bringing in, and he is not getting any better with time. GT hired a new coach, he is working on his second year and he is already recruiting at a MUCH higher level than is Fox. Yes, GT is in the ACC but is the ACC really that much better now than the SEC, not really although they certainly still have the reputation. It is just PAINFUL to watch UGA hoops right now and it figures to be a long winter, fans will be paying even more attention to recruiting and spring football this year.

Well, hope all that read this blog are enjoying the season, and will have a very happy holiday season. I am not sure how much or little I will blog moving forward but I do thank those that stop by and read on a regular basis.

To be the best, gotta beat the best

So here it is, the final two games of the season approaching. Up next, a game against #2 Alabama, win that and we get #1 Notre Dame. In this era of everyone wanting a playoff in college football, this year comes pretty close to offering just that. Granted, I myself would rather see a 16 team tourney, with conference champs the top 8 seeds and then 8 at large-which could include champs of smaller conferences-but in my mind the SEC, Pac12, Big12, Big10, ACC, BigEast, and then maybe Mtn West and then best Independent, those would be top 8, then have 8 at large-that would be the ideal system becuase it would allow more SEC teams which I think is what needs to happen-this year is yet another example of that. But, I am sure people could poke holes in my thought process so I will not waste time going any further. Back to what I was saying before, first up is #2 Bama, then if we win, #1 Irish.

I am one that firmly believes UGA has a great shot to win tomorrow. I am fully aware that Bama is a very good team, not only that, but they played and won a national title last year-some could argue though they should have NOT received that second chance to play LSU. But, for some reason, maybe because I bleed red and black, I just think we match up well against Bama. Our former QB Zach Mettenberger a few weeks back nearly threw for 300 yards on them, Johnny Manzell, or Johnny football, threw for over 250 yards on them. I think our QB passing wise, is better than those two, I also believe our backs, WR's and the emergence of our TE combo, all are better than LSU or Texas A&M. I also believe our defense is better than those two schools, so I guess I am drinking the kool-aid but honestly, I think UGA can and will win the SEC title. This game reminds me a lot of the game this year in Jax, both teams we are facing were/are ranked #2, very few give us a chance to win the game, but yet we did win that game and when you go back and look at that game and remember all the HUGE plays in that game, to see how we have played since the Rambo pick of Driskel right before half, you just see a dominant team. Rambo picks that ball off, if not we are looking to be down 9-7 at the half, instead we remain up 7-6. In the second half, Murray throws zero picks, is an efficient 10-16 for just over 100 yards, throws a TD pass, and we win the game. You look at the pass INT called rightfully on UF to keep a drive alive, Mitchell catching passes on the TD drive, including the TD grab itself in which he split defenders and then outran the UF defenders to the endzone. Then you have the Jarvis Jones play to clinch it, ever since that game this team looks much like that 2007 team that we all hoped would get a chance for the title but didn't, reason being because we didn't play in the SEC title game that year.

The key to this game to me will be the play of the OL, along with Aaron Murray. The OL did a good job against UF for the most part, after struggling against SCarolina. But remember, against SC, we were down 21-0 and the offense had only run 5 plays, one of which was a tipped Murray pass that was picked off. Down 21-0, that TOTALLY changes your gameplan and of course it allows SC DE's who happen to be two of the best in the nation, to know what you are doing most plays, throw the ball. Also keep in mind, that was the week we lost Michael Bennett who to that point had been Murray's security blanket. Bama has a STRONG front 7 but I personally don't believe their front 7 is any better than the two tough oppponents we have played thus far in SC and UF. I think Bama has shown to be suspect in the secondary, and again, if Murray has time to throw and doesn't turn the ball over as has been his norm in big games, he can and WILL pick Bama apart. Also of course, we need Gurley and/or Marshall to give the offense just enough balance with the run game to keep Bama guessing. We have to avoid crucial penalties and turnovers obviously as that always goes without saying.

Our defense will go from facing the option two weeks in a row back to a normal pro style offense with a high emphasis on the power run game. The way Jarvis Jones, Alec Olgetree and Bacarri Rambo typically play in BIG football games, I feel comfident they can stop Bama. Bama also just lost their most experienced WR, they will rely on a FR WR to provide them balance on offense, I just see our D playing a very solid and complete football game. We have so much talent and leadership on that side of the ball, I just think we can hold Bama to around 20 points.

Prediction, I say UGA 24-20. I was 11 years old when UGA last won a national title, little did I know I would have to wait until I was 43 to potentially see the next title. We played for a title in 1982 against Penn State, so I was really 13 the last time UGA played for a title, but that would still make it 30 years for me. For all the Dog fans that have never experienced this, it is a special time to be a Dog fan. My 8 year old son attended his first game this year, how cool for UGA to win the title the year he first attends a game. There are just so many reasons to be excited about the CHANCE. If we fall short, it will be disappointing, because we have waited so long. But, we can at least say we finally go the shot again. I personally think we will win, and then go beat the Irish and claim the title. I just have a feeling and I hope that feeling turns out to be what actually happens. Time will tell now, as I type this, we are nearly 27 hours until the biggest game for UGA football in 30 years. I can't wait to see how it turns out, win or lose, always a Dog fan. Hope you all have a great weekend. GOOOOOO DOGS!!!

We must protect the house, win the state title before we start talking BCS titles

As I sat home last Saturday night, flipping back and forth between Kansas State-Baylor, and Oregon-Stanford, I thought wow, there is no way both these teams will lose tonight. Now, I did feel like Stanford had a team that could give Oregon fits, but figured with the game at Oregon, the Ducks would win. I had watched Stanford against Notre Dame and also against Southern Cal and come away impressed with how they play. I believe Stanford plays football in their conference as close to the way an SEC team would play in that conference, solid run game, good defense and steady play at QB. As I watched that game, I kept thinking, this game IS going the way the Cardinal want it to go, low scoring, and that defense is having its way with the high powered offense. Flipping back to KST, I knew Baylor came into the game with a high powered offense but a HORRIBLE defense. I also knew that they were 4-5, 1-5 in their conference but they were at least playing at home. Still, KST had played a pretty good schedule and although they had Texas the next week, surely they could beat Baylor, I mean RG3 is not QB at Baylor this year. After I watched half of that game, I figured it was as good as over. It was just one of those games where you sensed it was Baylor's night, reminded me of our game with SCarolina this year, just seems there are sometimes a game or two where everything goes against you, while all goes right for the other team. KST experienced that against Baylor. So, knowing that BCS #1 and 2 had lost, while #3 Notre Dame had won as well as #4 Bama and #5 UGA, it left me wondering, WILL we move ahead of those two and be #3-sure enough Sunday night that did happen. What that means of course is simple, we win against GTU and Bama (assuming Bama beats Auburn), UGA WILL play for a national title in Miami on January 7th. Yes, the same UGA team that got embarrassed in Columbia, SC, 35-7 on October 6th, 3 months almost to the day could play for a national title.

First things first, we have to beat the pesky insects, inside Sanford Stadium this Saturday. Now, GTU comes into this game on a 3 game winning steak. They have whipped Maryland, North Carolina and Duke after suffering their 5th loss of the season against BYU. Now, while they have been rolling up points and wins against those three ACC teams, we need to also realize, Maryland is 4-7 on the year, 2-5 in ACC play. Their wins this year, against William and Mary 7-6, Temple 36-27, Wake 19-14, and Virginia 27-20. Their offense has scored more than 20 points only 4 times in 11 games this year, course Tech faced a converted LB playing QB against them. UNC, they are 7-4, 4-3 in the ACC. Wins against Elon, East Carolina, Idaho, VT, Miami, NCST and Virgina, losses against Wake, Louisville, Duke, and GT. Duke, they are bowl eligible, but look at their wins-Florida International, NC Central, Memphis, Wake, Virginia, and NC. Losses to Stanford 50-13, VT 41-20, FSU 48-7, Clemson 56-20, and GT 42-24. Can you say NO DEFENSE for the Blue Devils, WOW!! Not like we have played powerful teams down the stretch-but UF, Ole Miss, even AU, and GSU, would have a fighting chance against those three ACC powers. Tech will also play for their conference title, with a 5-3 record since Miami self imposed no bowls this year, VT is having a dreadful year, UNC also can't go to a bowl, that basically leaves that division up to GT and Duke and GT beat Duke last weekend to essentially win that division-again, WOW!

I am concerned about this GT game though because of all the BCS talk. We can't afford to come out and ASSume a victory against this group. While they are not the most talented team Paul Johnson has brought to Sanford, that would be his 2008 team that beat a very talented UGA team I might add, this team IS good enough to beat UGA if we don't take this game seriously, commit turnovers and penalties. All we have to do is look at just one week ago, the game I mentioned above-KST against Baylor. Course that game was at Baylor while we host the Nerds, but still, it proves that a team that has an offense and gets rolling, can cause a team problems. Once things start going bad against this option style offense, you can get in trouble. Why, because this offense is designed to chip away the clock, essentially play keep away. You have to make stops and get your offense back on the field. All this being said, I can't help but think that us playing a similar offense in Ga Southern last week will at least help a little bit in controlling this offense. Let's face it, we have as close to an NFL defense as just about any team in college football. Just take a look at our starters for a minute on the defensive side of the ball-

DE Garrison Smith-will be an NFL player IMO
NT John Jenkins-potential to be 1st rounder
DE Cornelius Washington-pro potential
OLB Jarvis Jones-potential #1 overall pick
OLB Jordan Jenkins-will be a #1 pick IMO
ILB-Tree-will be a 1st round pick
ILB-Hererra-has NFL future
CB-Swann-has NFL future
CB-Smith-COULD make NFL roster
S-Shawn Williams-NFL player
S-Bacarri Rambo-NFL player

Also, Kwame will play pro ball and so might Abry Jones, as well as a few others that are not getting major reps yet.

You would have to figure if this group can just focus on doing their jobs, we can stop that offense enough to win the game. Our offense, if Murray is on passing, we should be able to score 30+ on the Tech D, considering we have scored 30+ in every game since UF, and the Tech defense is not any better than Ole Miss, AU or Ga. Southern. This is where Murray's leadership needs to come into play, and the OL needs to block and give him protection as well as give our backs some running lanes. Murray needs to play like he has from the second half against UF up until now.

One thing I have noticed over the past several games, with AU being the lone exception, we are not playing great football in the first half-that has really been an issue for much of 2012. That being said, we play VERY well after the break. The thing about this week is, we have to play solid from the start, build a lead and make them try to play catch up, which that offense is not designed to do. I will be curious to see if Johnson tries to throw the ball more having Vad Lee this year, a kid that Techies have been drooling about for two years now. He is a better pure passer I have been told than is Washington but still doesn't run the triple option as well as Washington. I expect they will go with Lee pretty quickly against us figuring the only shot they have is to be more verstile on offense, if we prove to be shutting down the option that is. It all comes down to execution though, we are more talented but that doesn't matter if our guys don't do their jobs on defense-I think they will.

Assuming we get the win against Tech, of course no one will give us any chance against Bama, but I do think we have a good shot, if Murray is given time and doesn't wet the bed. But I will discuss that next week. I hope our guys have learned a valuable lesson from watching these top teams get beat-first it was Bama two weeks ago at home, then KST on the road, finally Oregon at home, you have to be ready to play at all times or you can and will get beat. GTU would love nothing more than to ruin our season, we were very similar to them in 2009, they were 10-1 at home and we were 6-5, we went over to Atlanta and beat those guys. It can be done if our guys don't prepare and play football how our coaches are teaching them. I am worried but also confident our boys know how much is at stake, they will fight the good fight and beat the Nerds on Saturday.

My prediction this week is based on a few things-first, the Tech defense is not very good. Second, our defense will be the most talented group Tech has faced this year, and the games where they have faced a decent defense, they have had trouble. BYU statisticially would probably be the best D they have faced this year until our game, they lost at home 41-17. Get this, they only had 157 total yards in that game-117 rushing. VT they lost with only 288 total yards. Also if you look at Tech's passing game, it is really amazing-Washington and Lee are a combined 82-143 for 1,505 yards, 10 TD's and 4 INTs. That is an average of 137 yards per game passing, which is actually higher than I thought it would be but still very low. Add to that the health of Tech's best back-both rushing and receiving in Orwin Smith-he is scheduled to play but he has an ankle injury-he might play a few plays and tweak it, plus they do have bigger fish to fry the next week so they might hold him out. Anyway, I just believe we have a HUGE talent gap across the board this year, I actually think our talent gap on them continues to grow as long as Paul Johnson hangs around, so I just think we will win this game and be right there along where the spread is set, maybe a tad higher. These games have been close during Richt's tenure, we have had a few blowout wins but most are within a TD or 10 points. I think this year we score 38 and Tech scores 21.

I hope you all have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING, next week I will post about the upcoming SEC title game and might throw in something about the mens hoop team. I have some opinions there so might take the time to write next week or just wait until after the SEC title. Anyway, hope everyone has a great holiday with family and friends. GO DOGS!!

SEC Eastern Champs once again

Wow, didn't even blog before the big Auburn game, guess that is what happens when you enter an Auburn game in a year where Auburn is winless in the conference. I expected a win but didn't expect it to be over basically after the first quarter. It is always nice to beat the folks from Auburn and I still remember very well two years ago, with Cam the Scam playing QB and blowing kisses, Fairley spearing Aaron Murray while Troopah Taylor celebrated with him, waving his towel and acting like the total JOKE that he is. So therefore, I do NOT feel one bit sorry for that team, for those coaches, for that school. They cheated two years ago, got away with it and I feel this year is payback for all of that.

Along with the win on Saturday, Bama lost to Texas A&M, which is a bit of a surprise based on the fact Bama was playing at home and everyone just thinks so highly of the Tide. They really were outplayed and got lucky to beat LSU the week before, so it was not a shock to me to be honest. It was a potential letdown game coming off the LSU game, and A&M has a good team this year, especially the QB. I think the past two weeks have shown that good balance, a solid D, and limiting turnovers, can lead to a competitive game against Bama and they ARE beatable for sure. I just hope that Murray can make smart decisions against them and our D continues to play to the level they have the past three games, ever since Shawn Williams made his comments about the D being soft, they have turned the corner.

The next two games for UGA are ground oriented, triple option offenses, so they both will be tests for our defense. What I like though is that we have BIG boys in the middle to blow those plays up, we have speed on the ends and outside LB's to contain the plays, and then we have two safeties that can flat out tackle folks themselves, which is crucial going against this style offense-we all remember too well the last time UGA lost to Tech, the missed tackles were critical to that loss. Our guys will have to again remember to stick to their assignments and I think we will be ok. I don't think either Southern or GT can stop our offense, so I can see us scoring at least 30, probably in the 40's both games. It will just be a matter of whether the D can hold them under 20 points. Both games are kicking off early, GS at 1:30, GT was just announced at noon. I honestly like those times better because the SEC title game will be at 4 on December 1st, so I am glad especially the GT game is noon, get that game over with and then start turning attention to Bama.

I now go back to the Ole Miss game, the game in which I took my son to his very first UGA game. We had a bday party to attend at 11:30, so we left Gwinnett around 12:30 or so heading to Athens. From my house in Lawrencville to Athens is around 35 miles, and I live very close to Sugarloaf pkway which extends to 316, so a very easy drive, exception being missing a lot of the traffic lights along the way. I headed to the East Campus parking area, which is where I had parked for years when attending UGA games-problem though, since we got there around 1:30, lots were full. SO, we ended up parking at the intramural fields and that was not a bad thing at all. Like the East Campus lots, they offer a shuttle to the stadium, and we took advantage. Our seats were great and we got there in time to see the guys warm up without pads, which is interesting because you truly get to see how big some of these guys are-pads of course make them all look big, but without the pads, you can see how muscled up these guys are. The game started out pretty bad, 10-0 before the big David Greene fake play that worked yet again to Marlon Brown. From there the Dogs got the HUGE TD to King right beforeh the half and the just kept it going in the 3rd. It was a great way to spend the afternoon with my son, the weather was PERFECT, although we looked into the sun the first half and it was actually hot, but just hated that Marlon Brown got hurt. He was having a very good season and a GREAT game, just really a shame. Also a shame was the drunk couple behind me. I have no problem with social drinking for a football game, but I DO have a problem with drunk and obnoxious people acting like a fool around me, and especially around my 8 year old son. I know it comes with the territory of taking children to a big time sporting event, but this couple behind me were just total idiots. First of all, the drunk lady was busying mixing up her drink behind me, poured what I think was vodka in my son's sprite-I had pushed it under my seat to keep the ice from melting in the son and to keep us from kicking it over. She was pouring her drink out and poured it into his drink. I told her THANK YOU for ruining my son's drink, she pleaded she had nothing but sprite, but you could obviously SMELL that was not all she had. Her drunk husband was smarting off to me and the guy next to me, TRYING to start a fight. I just decided to ignore them and sure enough about 10 minutes later they staggered off. All the folks around me were very happy, several made a point to apologize for the couples behavior, one nice lady said she reported them to security, which I would have done if my son had not been there. Bottom line I wanted it to be a special day for him and for us, and when those two idiots left, is right about the time UGA started coming back in the game, so it was VERY NICE!!

One final note, my son's team will be playing in there tourney this week and it will be the last 3-4 games he will play until next fall. He has made such strides this year, it really makes this Dad proud. My daughter completed her cheer season this past Saturday and now is on to middle school basketball cheering before moving to HS cheering next year. I am really proud of my kids, it is always a pleasure to go watch them in their activities, I miss some UGA games in the process but I truly do believe, going to the activities, watching my kids grow up is much more important than watching UGA football. Yes, I love the Dogs and want them to win every game they play, in every sport, but I love my kids so much more. I believe more of these "fans" that are so quick to bash and so quick to judge need to step back and realize what is truly important in life-which is your belief in God, your love of family and friends, your health, and then, just then might be the Dogs. I am thankful that we have a football coach in Athens that sees the big picture and actually conducts his business the way it SHOULD BE conducted.

I might blog again later this week but if not, GO DOGS, beat Southern!!

BIG WIN, now avoid the letdown

I blogged last week that I really did have a gut feeling UGA would beat UF last week. I am no expert on college football but I did know enough to think all the love for UF was a little too much. Yes, they beat South Carolina badly, but when you really looked at South Carolina for that game, did you really expect Florida to NOT win. The game was at the swamp, SCarolina had just played UGA and LSU back to back, with LSU also being on the road. Marcus Lattimore was not 100% and in fact played very little in this game-and I hate to see what happened to him against Tenn last Saturday. The kid is a GREAT player and seems like an equally great young man, I hope he is able to come back and play again. Back to that game, you couple those factors I mentioned with the fact SCarolina also had three quick turnovers-not just turnovers but giving the ball up twice inside their own 5, you are asking for trouble. They get behind by 21 points and just as what happened with us against SCarolina, it totally changes the gameplan and the confidence level of the team behind-you are behind by 21 points on the road, against a tough defense, good luck with that.

I also had a sneaky feeling the defense would come to play, and getting Jarvis Jones back in itself improves that defense big time. Also, it appears Grantham got my memo wanting Jarvis and Jordan Jenkins in the game at the same time. I really like Jenkins, he will take over for Jarvis next year, he is a great young player. It also helped that UF, despite all the hype, was just not a great offensive team. They don't have what I consider a great OL, backs or QB, certainly not WR's either. This is not to say they don't have talent, just that if I were to look at our offense and compare to UF it would go like this-OL even, TE-advantage UF with Reed, WR's UGA, RB's UGA, QB UGA. Driskel is a pretty good runner but not a great passer-we hit him early and often and got in his head. They could NEVER establish a run game against us, they only gained 81 yards on the ground and UGA out rushed them 123-81. The UGA defense sacked Driskel 5 times, while Murray was not sacked. Of course the big story line was the turnovers, 6 for UF and 3 for UGA. Both defenses really did hold up strong despite the turnovers and quite possible the biggest one of the game, along with Jarvis strip of Reed at the 3 yard line, was the Bacarri Rambo INT just before the half, when UF was probably one play away from taking their first lead of the game into halftime.

I had no idea Aaron Murray would struggle so badly, with his 3 INT's, but to his credit, he did a MUCH better job in the second half-and I think you have to credit that to Murray himself being an experienced kid and a smart one on top of that, and also Coach Richt and Bobo. Both those guys are former QB's and could certainly personally relate to what Murray was feeling, and both being QB's, I am sure could probably see something that Murray was doing causing him to make the mistakes. Murray this week admitted to make some poor decisions with checking down-Richt mentioned that at the half, also his footwork was off as well. Something not metioned but I do think WAS a factor in the passing game, the wind. I believe the win did have a factor in the passing game, maybe not a huge impact but enough to mention. This game just continued to fuel the, Murray can't play against top level defenses. What I do believe this is showing Murray and probably for sure NFL scouts, he needs to stay for one more year. Reason I say that, if he is having trouble dealing with top defenses in college, what does that say for his prospects playing in the NFL with even better talented defenses and defensive coaches. Like I mentioned though, you have to give him credit for how he played down the stretch, and the fact our coaches had the confidence in him to call the pass plays in a game that was 10-9 mid 4th qtr.

If you go back and look at that drive that gave us for the moment at least, a little breathing room, a critical play was a defensive holding play on 3rd and 10. Check out the drive chart courtesy of ESPN website-

1st and 10 at UGA 25		Aaron Murray pass incomplete to Marlon Brown.	9	10
2nd and 10 at UGA 25		Todd Gurley rush for no gain to the Geo 25.
3rd and 10 at UGA 25		FLORIDA penalty 10 yard Holding on Dominique Easley accepted, no play.
1st and 10 at UGA 35		Aaron Murray pass complete to Marlon Brown for 18 yards to the Fla 47 for a 1ST down.
1st and 10 at FLA 47		Aaron Murray pass complete to Malcolm Mitchell for 12 yards to the Fla 35 for a 1ST down.
1st and 10 at FLA 35		GEORGIA penalty 15 yard Unsportsmanlike Conduct on Malcolm Mitchell accepted.
1st and 10 at UGA 50		Aaron Murray pass incomplete to Tavarres King.
2nd and 10 at UGA 50		Aaron Murray pass complete to Malcolm Mitchell for 5 yards to the Fla 45.
3rd and 5 at FLA 4		Aaron Murray pass complete to Malcolm Mitchell for 45 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.

There you see it, if not for that holding penalty-which was a very legit/good call, we are punting from our 25 only up by 1. You see what happened in this drive though, 7 out of 8 plays were pass plays. So, Aaron Murray after a horrible first half, with all the negativity surrounding him as far as winning big games, I think this drive SHOULD put that to bed. Sure, he still needs to play an entire 4 quarters of strong, mistake free football against the better teams but this says a lot about the trust of our coaches to put the ball in the hands of your leader and let him lead you.

This week presents a challenge in trying to put what was a HUGE victory, as mentioned before, the first time since Dooley last coached and Goff was just starting that UGA has beaten UF two years in a row. We now play what was preason picked to be a BAD football team. Ole Miss went 2-10 last year, 0-8 in conference play. They now sit at 5-3 on the season and are 2-2 in conference play. If you look at who they have played and where they have played, you get the sense that this team is one that is getting better and better as the season has played out. They started out with two non conference wins, before getting run over by the Texas Longhorns, 66-31. Now, it is hard to give up 66 points in a game, and that one was in Oxford as well. they also gave up 676 total yards including 350 on the ground. Next up was non conferene Tulane and another win, so they are 3-1 entering SEC play. Their first two conference games, at Bama and home vs. Texas A&M. Yes Bama beat them but the score was only 33-14, they followed that up with a 30-27 loss to A&M, a game Ole Miss lead 27-17 in the 4th quarter only to let A&M rally for the victory. Up next they hosted Auburn, yes, Auburn is awful this year but still, this was Ole Miss that had lost 14 straight conference games, they beat up AU 41-20, and then last week went on the road to Arkansas and got a road SEC win 30-27. I think one common element exists in all the losses for Ole Miss this year, it is turnovers, especially INT's. Their QB is JUCO transfer Bo Wallace, he has 10 TD's on the season but also 9 INT's, and in the three losses, he has thrown 2 INT's in all 3 games. This is a fast paced, spread offense that we are going to have to get off the field and a good way to do that is ball control on offense, and then play good solid D and force 3 and outs. This offense does have a nice RB in Jeff Scott, and some really talented WR's, especially Moncrief, so we will face a much different style of offense than the week before against UF. If our D is back to where we all hoped, they need to set the tone early by getting pressure on Wallace and having a player like Rambo make a quick INT and maybe even scoring. I truly believe this is one of those weeks where the Dogs need to come out FAST and make a statement early, or leave a team that is gaining more and more confidence hang around, and risk losing a game you really shouldn't lose.

I really do like our offense against this Ole Miss D. They are smaller and have less depth, we should be able to move the ball and score on them. It then becomes about our D and if they can play as intense and aggressive as last week. I also think the fact the game is at home-it has been a LONG time since UGA had a home game, NONE in October, and a 3:30 kick will help out. I expect the fans (and I will be there with my 8 year son attending his first ever UGA football game) to be loud and give the guys a needed energy boost. Bottom line and the players have said as much this week, yeah the UF win was nice but if the team doesn't win the next two games, the UF game will not matter nearly as much. I see the Dogs coming out and continuing the momentum built up last week, Ole Miss might score on us but I think we score to much for them to win. I see it UGA 38 Ole Miss 24.


Finally an update on the 8 year old Rams-as I just mentioned, my son and I will be going to the UGA game this Saturday which of course means we lost last weekend. The Dacula team was amazing, size, speed, you name it, they had it. Course that is what happens when you have an all star team-stacked and players coming from other areas of the county to play on one super team. They are really good and we just couldn't keep up, they won 33-13, but hey we scored the most points on them than anyone, with two TD's, they had give up 12 points before but one of those TD's was a KO return. We are the first team to score two rushing TD's on them all year, our boys fought hard but just didn't have enough. 7-3 to finish is a great season and we will be back for more next year. Next up for most of our players, the Abigail Grace Memorial Charity tourney, held locally in Gwinnett to benefit benefit the Dream House for Medically Fragile Children, located in Lilburn, Ga.

This tourney is a weekend tourney November 15-18th, with each team guaranteed 3 games. We did this last year and there is nothing like game experience for young boys learning football. Last year we lost our final game in OT when a boy picked off a pass and returned it for the games only TD, 6-0 loss for us. If we had won that, we would have played the next day to make 4 games in 3 days as we had to double up on the Saturday (which of course I think had a big impact on us losing that second game of the day 6-0). It should be a lot of fun and we have already started practice. I will make one final 8 year old update after that tourney and then turn my attention to basketball season.

Everyone have a great weekend, and as usual, GO DOGS!!

Cocktail Party up next, last week was NOT pretty but a W

Tomorrow of course is the next biggest game of the season and it truly is a HUGE game for many reasons which I will discuss further in this blog post. But first, lets take a look back at the game last week which became HUGE win the Gators stomped on the Gamecocks, putting UGA back in control of their destiny.

I am old enough to know that UGA does NOT typically play well in Lexington, Kentucky, especially at night. Take a look at these scores from over the years in Lexington, starting with games in the 70's which is when my UGA history as a fan began.

1970 19-3 W
1972 13-7 W
1974 24-20 W
1976 31-7 W
1978 17-16 W
1980 27-0 W
1982 27-14 W
1984 37-7 W
1986 31-9 W
1988 16-10 L
1990 26-24 L
1992 40-7 W
1994 34-30 W
1996 24-17 L
1998 28-26 W
2000 34-30 W
2002 52-24 W
2004 62-17 W
2006 24-20 L
2008 42-38 W
2010 44-31 W
2012 29-24 W

It is clearly obvious that we have had some close games up there, sure we have blown out the Cats a few times here and there but most games have been very tight. That being said, this year was different. Kentucky is a HORRIBLE football team. They are playing most FR and SOPH's they have lost their top QB and RB for the year, they are a below average offense and defense. We were coming off a bye week, we got beat badly the week before that bye, we knew before KO that Florida had beaten SC and thus given us new life, all that and yet we still came out, let UK go 80 yards running the ball primarily right up the gut and they scored a TD, their first opening possession score since 2010!! Luckily for us, Aaron Murray in particular came ready to play, tossing for 4 TD's and over 400 yards of passing. Our run game was ineffective, but we did give Murray time to throw and he picked the Cats apart. But our OL's run blocking, and continued bad play of our DL, well, that is a cause for great concern this week against a team that has a power run game/more of zone read but they will pound the football on a defense. I simply can't figure out what the problem is with our D but I have a few thoughts.

 First of all, our DL is underachieving in a big way. The injury to Abry Jones doesn't help matters, but our play at NT and DT, well, those guys are not getting much push it appears to me. I thought Geathers actually played a pretty good game against UK, but John Jenkins did very little except almost pickoff a pass. Jones was not doing all that much before his injury but needless to say, these guys get ZERO pass rush and then can't get off blocks to make stops in the run game-leaving it to LB's or even safeties to make the first contact with the RB, 5-10 yards down the field. The DL play is making it hard for us to ever generate ANY pass rush from our LB's, or DL, becuase one OL is able to block one DL-they have 5 OL to our 3 DL, 6 if they have a TE in the game-this means OL a free to pick up blitzing LB's.

Second, our guys just seems confused on the field all the time-they seem out of position or appear to be yelling at each other after plays are over, like you were supposed to be in this spot, why were you not where you were supposed to be. This was voiced during the bye week with players saying, we have to communicate better and we have corrected that now.

Our secondary is not very good in coverage. Whether it be because they are not doing what they are supposed to do-communication, or they simply are just not that good in coverage-which honestly no secondary is very talented when the pass rush is as bad as it has been, especially if Jarvis Jones is not playing, as he was not last weekend.

Grantham is also a problem, I don't buy into him being controlled like a puppet by Mark Richt or Greg McGarity. He still has PLENTY of fire when I see him on the sideline, but the man has yet to figure out how to stop a QB that can run, which is a great fear this weekend of course. Honestly, the D this year looks a LOT like his first defense at UGA in 2010, dreadful in most cases, unrealiable to make a crucial stop when you need it. Our offense put us up 29-17 in the 4th qtr, what happens next, the D let's UK drive straight down the field to make it 29-24 and set up what was almost a succesful onside kick. IF UK gets that ball, I can tell you I would have had NO CONFIDENCE we could make that final stop and win the game. For all the Bobo bashers this year and years past, I don't hear enough people on Grantham. He just got a contract extension and raise, he returned almost his entire defense, plus some key reserves and this unit looks like it is made up of true FR and Sophs, it just beyond disappointing to me and I am sure a lot of UGA faithful.


So, this Saturday is the big game against the Gators, with the winner in great shape to rep the east in Atlanta against likely Bama, although if LSU beats Bama, they likely will go. If UF wins, they clinch a spot. If UGA wins, we still MUST beat Ole Miss next week at home, and then at AU on November 9th. Both should be wins but with how this team has played this year, NO GAME is a win until the scoreboard has triple 0's. A lot of people simply look at scores and believe this is an easy win for the Gators. But I really look at this a lot different-here is why.

UF is a pretty one dimensional offense-granted, the zone read/QB option is an offense we have struggled with since Grantham has been here, but I am hoping the Shawn Williams call out of the Dogs, will inspire this defense. UF can throw it but they prefer not to, that being said, I bet they try early on us because we will expect the run. We need big games out of Williams and Rambo, along with Smith and Commings-all seniors, all leaders of this D-we need the safeties as both help to cover the WR's but also help to contain the QB Driskel and his runs. The D really needs to get the ball back to our offense because I think a key to this game for us to win is keeping the UF defense on the field and getting them tired. Because UF is a ball control offense, their D is fresh and ready to go, creating turnovers and then of course the UF punter is great at flipping the field. The better our D is early in getting 3 and outs, the better shot we have later in this game.

Our offense HAS to have some balance. Granted the UF defense is very good, but I don't think they are any better or as good as the SCarolina D we already faced. Keep in mind that SEC teams in general this year have been MUCH MUCH better at home than on the road-just look at SCarolina, looked great at home against us, not so much against LSU and UF on the road. UF struggled on the road at A&M, were tied with UT at the half before sprinting away in that game, only up by 7 against Vandy in the 4th qtr on the road. This game being neutral takes away the huge edge UF has enjoyed playing in the swamp. Back to our offense, we completely stopped trying to run against SCarolina, despite a few early good runs by Gurley. Course when you are down 21-0 in the first qtr, it does take away from your gameplan. But, to beat the Gators we have to have balance and keep them guessing. IF we can do that, Murray can have some success throwing the ball. UF has been a STRONG second half team so I think it is very important we have some early success and even take the lead early, we need to force UF to play our style game rather than them dictate to us. This will be the second BIG game in row for the Gators, 3rd in the past 4 weeks, can they get up and stay up emotionally the entire game this Saturday.

I think this game represents a big moment in time with Coach Mark Richt. I firmly believe if we get blown out in this game, there is a good shot we lose another game this season, could be either of the next two SEC games. I think this team is fragile emotionally right now, they expected to be playing BETTER than they are and are getting frustrated. This is a game where I see the ship heading two different directions, a win can right the ship and get us headed toward what could be a very successful season, a loss could really sink the Mark Richt ship. I honestly believe if we lose this game badly, and struggle down the stretch, Mark Richt MIGHT resign, or be fired. I think McGarity is going to give him the ability to resign rather than get fired, but I just get the feeling reading quotes from Mark lately, that he has had enough and is ready to move on. The expectations he had for this team, and for sure the fans had for this team, have made this a win at all cost type year and if we come up short, he might very well just walk away and not look back. Let me also say I HOPE this does not happen because I still and will always want CMR to have the ultimate success in Athens because he is a good guy, a nice guy, a Christian man that does things the RIGHT way. The old saying, nice guys finish last, I HATE that because I too am a nice guy. I am cheering for Richt to win one for the nice guys, to say yeah, many times nice guys do finish last but sometimes, nice guys finish first. I think UGA can and will win this game, I am not sure why but just a feeling I have in my gut. I will say Dogs win 24-17, pulling ahead early, and then holding off the Gators down the stretch. This group of Dogs/Gators have played close games the last two years, UF winning in OT two years ago, and UGA winning a tight game last year. I expect it to be close either way.

Finally, a report on the 8 year old Grayson Rams, we won our first playoff game last week, 33-7 over Mountain View. It was our best effort of the year without question. This week we take on the #1 see Dacula Falcons, our boys get to play on the Grayson HS football field which will be a really special treat. This Dacula team has not lost on the season and has only give up one TD or less in all games except one, in which they gave up one TD and one KO return TD. Our offense is going to have trouble moving the ball because Dacula has so much speed. Our D is going to have to play sound football, do their jobs and tackle well as this team has the top RB in the 8 year old division-just a very tough, talented and VERY FAST back. I am going to call for the upset here picking with my heart, but honestly, if we come to play we can beat this team, they are only 8 and you just never know-this team has yet to be behind all year so if we can jump them early, we could stun them. I say Rams 13-12 over the Falcons. If our season does end, it has been a great ride and we will be playing in a post season tourney in a couple weeks so football is still not over for me regardless of the outcome on Saturday.

Hope you all have a great weekend and as always, Go Dogs and Rams.

UK in Lexington up next, eye on UF/SC, 2013 schedule released

So after a week off to ponder the what if's, or maybe the why or how the 35-7 loss to SCarolina happened, we finally have that next game to look forward to. By the time the Dogs get a good sweat worked up Sat night in Lexington, they will truly know if they have a very legit shot to get back to Atlanta this year, as the Gators and Gamecocks play Saturday at 3:30 in Gainesville, Fla. SCarolina came back down to earth last week in Baton Rouge, losing 23-21 to LSU. Now, normally that would be considered SCarolina playing a very good game and just coming up short, but this year, with how good SCarolina looked against UGA and how bad LSU has played  recently, that to me is a game that SCarolina probably wishes they could have back. Here is the deal though, for all those folks that were raving about SCarolina's play against UGA, it is funny to hear those same people failing to mention a big key to the events of the past two weeks-playing on the road in the SEC, against good competition is BRUTAL. It is tough to win on the road in the SEC, thus all those people thinking SCarolina was a real national player this year, you only need to look to a couple games this year, at Vandy and at LSU, heck even their game at UK where they trailed 17-7 at the half to see, SCarolina is a MUCH MUCH better team at home than on the road. Same goes for UF, they struggled at Texas A&M and also struggled at UT and even at Vandy last week, but they have played well at the Swamp. This brings us to the games that matter this week in the SECe. First is our game, plain and simple, our team SHOULD be very mad and ready to play this week against a beat up and less talented UK team. Even with this game on the road, it is easy to see why UGA is a 28 point favorite I truly expect us to win by at least 28 points. This is a game that is on the schedule falling at a time where our team needs to get their confidence back. Typically, games at night in Lexington have been tough for the Dogs, but this year is different. As I mentioned before, by the time the first quarter is over, you can beat the announcer or the scoreboard in Lexington will let the Dogs know the outcome of the UF/SC game. I expect that if our players know that UF won, that will charge their batteries even more than before, and the game could get VERY UGLY by the half. Even if SC wins, I still see us winning this game in big fashion. Back to the game in the Swamp, SCarolina has played UGA, LSU and now UF, back to back to back, and you see the impact it has had on them-Lattimore is doubful with injuries, several other players are doubtful to out for the game, meanwhile UF is getting back a handful of key players for this game. SCarolina without Lattimore is a very stagnant offense. Connor Shaw looked like a world beater, like Joe Montanna against us, but that was because our defense was so concerned about stopping Lattimore, they didn't take him seriously. If they don't have Latt to hand the ball to, Connor Shaw is very similar to Joe Cox, except he CAN actually run while Joe couldn't. But, Connor trying to run against a defense like UF's, he is risking a serious injury. UF is NOT in my opinion a great offense team. The most points they have scored on the year was against UT up in Knoxville, 37. In case you haven't noticed, UT gives up a fair amount of points to every team they play. They scored 31 against Vandy, one TD came on a fake punt. 24 against Bowling Green, 20 against A&M, 14 to LSU, ok here you go, 38 against Kentucky!! They are a solid team but I don't see them being an explosive offense against a solid SCarolina D. But, UF has a VERY good defense, most points they have given up this year is 20 against UT-which has a pretty solid offense. 17 to A&M and Vandy, 6 to LSU, 14 to Bowling Green and zero against UK. This game matches two solid defenses against two average offenses in my opinion. But, you take away SCarolina's best offensive playmaker and there is no doubt who should win the game at home. A win by the Gators, UGA taking care of its business in Lexington, next week becomes the SECe play in game for a shot at Bama more than likely. SEC games left for UGA after this week-Ole Miss and @Auburn. Either of those teams COULD beat UGA but you have to like our odds. SCarolina's remaining SEC schedule-home games against UT and Arkansas. UF will only have one SEC game left after us, at home against Missouri.

The 2013 SEC schedules were released yestereday-UGA will be tested EARLY and often next year. I do like the fact that regardless of if Murray comes back for his SR year, we will have an experienced OL and solid RB's next year. Ball control offense will be a big factor in our early success with a lot of new faces on the defense. The game at Clemson starts it off-and against a high powered offense like they have, it will be very important that we control the ball and keep our defense fresh. South Carolina is back to week 2, let's hope we avoid the usual suspensions for next year. North Texas is a good lead in for LSU, then the two Tennessee trips are split up with a home date with Missouri. I like the open date before UF, also like the Appy State between UF and AU-and we play AT Auburn two years in a row which is very odd. Getting UK at home before GT is also good. Like I say, the first 4-5 games of next year, we will know if we are a contender or pretender.


2013 Georgia Football Schedule
August 31 - at Clemson
September 7 - vs. South Carolina
September 14 - Open
September 21 - vs. North Texas
September 28 - vs. LSU
October 5 - at Tennessee
October 12 - vs. Missouri
October 19 - at Vanderbilt
October 26 - Open
November 2 - vs. Florida (Jacksonville)
November 9 vs. Appalachian State
November 16 - at Auburn
November 23 - vs. Kentucky
November 30 - at Georgia Tech

Finally as usual, an update on the Grayson 8 year olds. We LOST badly last week to Peachtree Ridge, not the way you want to close out the regular season and head into the playoffs. That being said, the playoffs are here and now it really doesn't matter what happened in the regular season as it is one game at a time, lose and go home. Ridge beat us last week 19-0 in a game that was really dominated by former UGA and Dallas cowboy star, Randall Godfrey's son. The kid was just all over the field, making tackles, running the ball, he certainly has a lot of talent for an 8 year old boy. He is probably the fastest kid for that age that I have seen. One play, (keep in mind we play on an 80 yard field), he took a handoff, cut into a hole in the middle of our DL, then split three defenders and raced 72 yards for a TD. Once he broke through the LB's, he just left our boys in his dust-and we have some FAST little guys but he got moving and just pulled away. He scored two TD's on the day for Ridge. The other TD was the first score of the game, we tried to throw a screen and our QB didn't get his feet set, also we had two boys lined up outside and the lined up incorrectly, the boy blocking was supposed to be in front of the boy catching the pass so he could hit the corner and spring the play. Well, the boy that was supposed to catch it lined up in front, the corner for Ridge jumped in front and when the pass sailed out there, EASY pick 6 and the early 6-0 lead. Our team does NOT handle being behind, our boys are so used to being in front they panic and there you go.

Anyway, our playoffs start Saturday against Mountain View-a team that we have never faced before, they are like us, 6-2 on the regular season. They are a very well coached, disciplined team but they don't have a ton of speed. If, an this is a big IF when talking about 8 year old boys, our team will just do their jobs this week, on offense and defense, we will win this game by two TD's. I will predict a final score of 19-6. IF we win this week, we are the #8 seed, waiting for us next week would be the #1 seed Dacula who finished 8-0 and just dominated every team they faced-the Alabama of the GFL if you will. We will worry about them after we beat Mtn View but needless to say, that will be a very BIG challenge.

All for now, hope you all have a great weekend. Go Dogs and Rams!