Wow, SECe is a jumbled mess isn't it

With Tennessee going into to Nashville and beating Vandy, now the east is really a jumbled mess. If UGA can somehow beat UF in Gainesville, then UK wins at Arkansas, really is interesting battle for 2-5 seeds in our division. Of course in the west, Bama has essentially wrapped that side up with a 4 game lead, 4 games to play. The east, with Vandy losing last night, UF has basically won the division. They are up by at least 3 on everyone now. Let's take a closer look at the east standings and schedules remaining and then make an educated guess on how the division will shake out.

UF 21-5 10-2 schedule remaining UGA, @ Kentucky, Bama, @Vandy
Vandy 20-7 8-5 @LSU, @Kentucky, UF
Kentucky 19-7 7-5 @Arkansas, UF, Vandy, @Tenn
UGA 18-8 7-5 @UF, SCarolina, LSU, @Bama
Tenn 17-11 7-6 Miss State, @SCarolina, UK
SCarolina 14-12 5-8 @UGA, UT, @Miss State


So, three of the 6 teams played games last night, SCarolina got a home win against Ole Miss-they now have extra time to rest and prepare for us on Saturday, while we have the quick turnaround of Thursday-Saturday. If I were to predict how the division would shake out, it would go something like this-

UF 11-5 lose to UGA(I really think we can beat them especially without Parsons), UK, Vandy, beat Bama
Vandy 10-6 beat LSU, UF, lose to UK
UGA 10-6 Beat UF, SCarolina, LSU, lose at Bama-could flip Bama/UF as well.
Kentucky 9-7 Beat UF, Vandy, lose Ark and UT
Tenn 9-7 Beat Miss State, UK, lose to SCarolina
SCarolina 6-10 lose to UGA, Miss State, beat UT

Of course these are just my predictions but looking at it realisticially, we have played well on the road all year and so no reason for me to believe we couldn't beat either UF or Bama. The home games SHOULD be wins but I would not be surprised if we drop one of those. Worst case for us to me is 9-7 in SEC play. Tenn has the best remaing schedule to get to 10-6 but they have lost several at home as well. UK doesn't win on the road but doesn't lose at home so I think my 2-2 prediction for them is very accurate. Vandy is a solid team, I can't see them losing another home game but after blowing the big lead last night, who knows-seems we managed to blow a 14pt lead to Vandy, so guess they got a taste of that last night at home. They lost an even bigger lead when they played UT in Knoxville earlier in the year, they have to feel snakebit against the Vols. Needless to say, should make for a very interesting week and a half to close out the regular season. We just need to take care of our home court and maybe steal another road win-but winning these two home games against teams with HORRIBLE RPI's is a must.

I read this article earlier today and thought it worth sharing, about one of our 2011 recruits that has already enrolled in school. Sounds like a great kid, let's hope he can use this spring to help get ready for the 2011 season-we will need some guys to step up to help replace AJ Green, this kid certainly has a lot of potential-not only on the field but also off the field.

http://dogbytesonline.com/smith-bulldogs-wr-conley-a-man-of-many-talents-42511/


Baseball team opens the home schedule today with a 5pm game against Furman. I remember writing on this blog last week, Stetson is NOT an easy opponent-they regularly participate in the NCAA tourney and they swept us. SO, everyone is now thinking the baseball team is going to repeat last years dismal season. Well, sure it is possible but I say, WAIT a few more games before jumping ship. Baseball is a long season and Perno has brought in some talented players, and we return some solid players as well. Hopefully as the season progresses, this team will turn things in the right direction.

One last note, per the athletic association, it appears our sorry 6-7 season has not really hit the pocketbook of UGA fans. Donations are very much the same as last year, pretty close to the normal and probably will be completely normal-despite our record and the hard economic times the country still finds itself in. You can check out this article for more details. I have long ago given up my season tickets for football-I held season tickets from 1991-the year I graduated, until 2002-the year the lid was lifted off the program with first SEC title since 1982. After that season, they implemented the pay per seat rule, along with paying for the tickets themselves. My parents, thanks Mom and Dad, had been buying my season tickets as a yearly gift since I graduated but at that point, they said we can't afford to do that which I completely understood. As it stands now, my kids are involved in fall sports so I couldn't go even if I had tickets-sorry but as much as I love watching UGA football, I LOVE watching my kids MUCH more. So now I just try my best to watch the games on TV or listen on the radio. If I miss the broadcast, I will go back and watch the replay-thanks to my DVR. All this being said, I fully respect those that do fork out the money to attend the games and continue to do so even during the tough times-both on the field here recently and off the field-economy.

http://dogbytesonline.com/officials-satisfied-by-latest-donations-42507/

Oh, one more note, the Lady Dogs softball team has earned the #1 ranking in nation for the first time in the history of the program. Great job!

http://dogbytesonline.com/dogs-reach-no-1-for-first-time-in-program-history-42508/