Week 5 Mumme Poll Ballot

For one reason or another, I have missed out the last couple of seasons participating in the Senator’s genius poll, the Mumme Poll.  Not sure why, but it has always sneaked up on me.

I filled out my ballot this week, and here it is:

Top team:  Alabama

Next nine:
Clemson
Georgia
Oregon
LSU
Oklahoma
Ohio State
UCLA
Stanford
Texas A&M

Comments:

I left Louisville off.  They haven’t played anyone of merit. LSU get in over them becuase their only loss was a 3 point loss on the road.

UCLA’s win over Nebraska gets them in over Florida State.

Corbindawg

Thoughts on Saturday’s Epic Victory

When you attend a football game, there are basic and reasonable expectations you have.  On Saturday some were met, and some weren’t.

You expect your 4 year starting Redshirt Senior Quarterback to be calm, cool and collected and make the plays in the 4th quarter in a close ball game.  Check!

You expect the crowd to be actively engaged in the game and be loud and raucous.  Double check!!

When the best running back in America gets hurt and missed the entire second half against a top ten team, you expect to lose, regardless of how good your QB is.  Thank goodness that wasn’t met.

Finally, when the defense has the opposing team backed up 3rd and 22 inside their own 15, on the student section side of the field, you expect the defense not to give up a 25 yard pass to convert.

Other random thoughts about Saturday:

Les Miles showed true class and sportsmanship after the game.  I couldn’t see the exchange, but got back to my friend’s house and they already had the replay going on the DVR.  When the two head coaches met at mid field, they exchanged a man hug and a few words.  Usually coaches met and give a little handshake and move on.  Les and Richt both shared a few words and I thought it said a lot about the mutual respect both me have for each other and their programs the way they handled their business after the game.

I put this on Twitter, but Georgia is now 3-2 in the last five games against top 10 teams.  The two losses were by a combined 7 points.

In those games, Aaron Murray averaged 60% completion percentage, 269 yards and 2 TD and 1 INT.  In the two losses, he threw 61%, averaged 294 yards, and had a total of 1 TD and 2 INT.  Didn’t throw a TD vs. Clemson but rushed for one. Those TDs don’t account for rushing TD.

The worst game Murray had was the Florida game, where he threw 50% with 1 TD and 3 INT…and the team won.  So all this “Murray can’t win the big game” crap should be put to rest.  I am sure it will…until the next loss. Oh well.

Kieth Marshall had his best game as a Bulldog Saturday.  Gurley gets the praise, no doubts.  Marshall played tough and stepped up when we needed him.  He ran hard and fought for his yards, and was a couple of shoe string tackles away from busting a long one. Murray will get the attention, but Marshall had one hell of a game.

One criticism of Mark Richt during the bad times was he didn’t show enough emotion during the game.  They say he just doesn’t care anymore.  Well, I think that has always been unfair.  If anyone says that he doesn’t show emotion or that he doesn’t care, after he was so excited and pumped up during the game and after when he was barely holding his composure (even saying hell), then you are just a dumbass.   Of course, I’ll be waiting for the next Bill Shanks column making fun of him for getting emotional and saying how Nick Saban doesn’t do that.

Josh Harvey-Clemons and Tray Matthews still need some work on their coverage, but when they are in the right position, they can make plays.  Some of their hard hitting hits that jarred the ball loose. Harkened back to the days of Jones, Davis and Blue.  They made some great individual plays.

A great day on Saturday.  Great game.  Great crowd.  Perfect weather.  The only thing that was bad about Saturday was my cornhole performance at the tailgate.  The Georgia secondary played better than I did at cornhole.

Corbindawg

Fans The Difference For the LSU Game

I want to say this.

I have been, appropriately, hard on our overall fan base since the inception of this blog.  One of the first posts I ever did was about fans who boo the team the last time LSU came to town.  From the overall negative overtures, to booing, to not being loud enough at Sanford, there are many reasons for me to be critical.

I watch a lot of football on TV and have been to many hostile environments.  I find myself often thinking, “Why can’t Sanford Stadium be like this?”

However, when a good deed is done, it must be commended.  I am nothing if I am not fair.

LSU at Georgia, September 28, 2013 will go down as one of the all-time great games and crowds in the history of Sanford Stadium.

I thought the South Carolina crowd was awesome, but what happened on Saturday blew it out of the water.

This was the loudest I have ever seen a crowd.  The student section SHOWED UP EARLY.  Not an empty seat at kick off.  The alumni were standing up.  It was loud and raucous.  And whoever decided to give out pompoms, it was brilliant.  It is the little things, I suppose.  I hope that continues.  It needs to.  That provided a good visual.

I had a thought.  When it was 3^rd and 22 on the LSU 13, before they converted (more on that in later posts), I thought the stadium was going to bust at the seams.  I had a thought as the crowd was going nuts.  We were in close proximity to the Geography Building, and I thought that if UGA were to get a sack or a turnover, much less a stop, then Sanford Stadium would explode and register an earthquake like LSU did against Auburn 25 years ago.

Georgia opened at -3 and stayed that way all week.  Vegas was saying on a neutral field, the teams would be even.  Look at the box score.  Everything-total yards, time of possession, turnovers, penalties, etc. were pretty much even Steven.  If that game had been on the road, I bet Georgia would have lost.

But Georgia won by 3.  Vegas nailed it.  And the fans delivered.  In an epic game with two heavy weight teams going toe to toe, the atmosphere was the difference.

Kudos to the fans.

Corbindawg

 

LSU Big Game For the Program

Back in August, I posted that the LSU game was the biggest game of the big stretch we had in the first month of the season.

It is turning out to be right.  Georgia needs this win to help advance in the SEC and to keep any National Title hopes alive.

Also, if we want to beat Alabama, LSU plays a similar style of football to the Crimson Tide.  LSU will be a measuring stick to see how we would stack up to Alabama.

But this game is big for another reason.

The perception in the region and nationally that the SEC is the best conference in football.  I can’t disagree with that.  The further perception is that there is LSU and Alabama (you migh can even put Florida in this category due to their recent success nationally).  Then you have Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas A&M in that close but no cigar tier.  Then there is everyone else.  I can’t really disagree with that.

I think Georgia is at top 10 or even top 5 team.

But for the program to advance to that upper tier, someone has to beat the big dogs and make a statement. Georgia is perceived to be not ready for prime time.  It is justified in some regards.

A loss on Saturday still keeps the SEC hopes alive.  I honesty won’t be despondent if we lose.  Hell, there is no shame in losing to worthy opponent.  It would suck.  Believe me, it would suck.  I want to win in the worst kind of way.  But it won’t be embarrassing like the losses to Central Florida or Colorado were (unless, you know, we are embarrassed).

Georgia has got to beat one of the prime time players to be considered among the SEC elite.

A victory puts the Dawgs among the nation’s and SEC’s elite.

A loss just shows we still aren’t quite ready for the big stage.

Corbindawg

Preview for LSU

I remember sitting in a class in Connor Hall before the 2005 SEC Championship game.  I was reading an article in the Red and Black.  The gist of it was that since 2001, LSU and Georgia have played in every SEC Championship game minus one.  This was the second time in three years the two teams have faced off in this game, and the fourth time overall since 2003.  It was saying how these two teams were the class of the SEC and would continue this rivalry throughout the rest of the decade.

Oh boy.

We know what happened from there.  LSU continued to be very good, getting to the Sugar Bowl in 2006 and winning the BCS title in 2007.  Though having some very good seasons, Georgia went on a hiatus from the SEC Championship game until 2011, where they were dismantled by the Bayou Bengals.

I guess meeting three times in nine years for the SEC Championship is still pretty good, but in the early to mid 2000s, UGA and LSU were the two best teams in the conference and it seemed like they were on a path like Florida and Alabama were in the early days of the SEC Championship Game.  UGA did not hold up their end of the deal to keep this “rivalry” alive.

Tomorrow, we should expect a hard hitting, physical, classic SEC game.

I watched most of the LSU-Auburn game. I took away one thing:  make Mettenberger under pressure, and you can slow down their attack. I mean, if you put Peyton Manning under pressure, you are going to slow down the Broncos.  I get that.

But where Georgia is traditionally weak at defensively is a spread offense.  More pro-style offenses (aside from Alabama last year), Grantham is usually better equipped for.  The last four games against real competition, the defense has struggled.  Three of those teams ran some sort of a spread offense with a mobile quarterback.

Mettenberger is like a Wheeler County pine tree.  He can’t tuck it and run like Connor Shaw or Taylor Martinez.  He doesn’t have great feet like Tajh Boyd.

Reflect back on the South Carolina game.  I thought the pass rush made it to Shaw several times, but he was able to be elusive.  Shaw had 16 carries for 75 yards (4.7).  Mike Davis had 16 carries and 149 yards (9.3!).  South Carolina ran for 226 yards.  If you take out, and just go along with me, if you take out Shaw’s number and the one long sweep play that gave Carolina 75 yards, Carolina only had 76 yards on 19 carries.

LSU won’t run their QB like South Carolina.  That will help the Georgia defense stop the run.  It isn’t misdirection plays-the line up in an I formation and pound  you.  The defensive line is undersized compared to years past, but they don’t offer the challenges that we saw against the Gamecocks.

I think that if Georgia can make Mettenberger escape the pocket and have to throw, the defense will be moderately successful.

Offensively, UGA can mix it up and is as diverse as any team in the country.  We can go power with a full back, we can go 4 or 5 wide.  We have tailbacks who can bruise you up the middle and we have a tailback who can fly out in space.  Both can catch it out of the backfield.  Give it Gurley, set up the play action, throw it to one of our many talented receivers.

For all the ridiculous talk of Murray not able to win a big game, this type of stage is no stranger to him.  And certainly not this season.

I hate making war analogies to a football game, but Dawgs are battle tested.

Plus, they have the Mad Hatter.  But it appears we have Evil Richt.  Good Richt is a top ten coach in America.  Evil Richt gives Saban a run for his money.

I like the Dawgs to win on Saturday.

31-23.

Go Dawgs!

Corbindawg

Sad News About Paul Oliver

Bad news about Paul Oliver.  Don’t know what was going on with him that made him take his own life, but we just hope and pray for peace and comfort for his family and loved ones.

 

 

Murray’s mom speaks up

Best College Football Jobs

A long ride in the car with Uchee the other day led to some interesting conversations, as they always do.  I have had the pleasure of spending 12 hours in the car with Uchee before, and our conversations never get old.  So spending 4 hours in the car with him the other day was a breeze.  Our talks turned to the ridiculous rumors floating around that Nick Saban would entertain the thought of taking the Texas job.  There are much more plausible rumors out there. But, that led to our own ranking of the top 10 jobs in college football.  We used a a broad selection criteria, such as prominence, tradition, fan support, facilities, ease to winning a national title, if it was a nice place to live, etc.  Lots of different factors.

Our old friend Kensington even got in on the act.  Here are our top 10 jobs, and like always, it is just our own opinions.

Corbindawg:

1. Texas
2. Florida
3. Ohio State
4. USC
5. Alabama
6. Florida State
7. Oregon
8. LSU
9. UGA
10. Michigan

Honorable Mention:  Clemson, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State*, Texas A&M

Ucheedawg:

1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Florida
4. USC
5. Ohio State
6. Oregon
7. LSU
8. UGA
9. Michigan
10. Florida State

Honorable Mention: Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Auburn, Arizona State

Kensington:

1.  Texas
2. Alabama
3. LSU
4. Florida
5. USC
6. Ohio State
7. UGA
8. Florida State
9. Texas A&M
10. Notre Dame

Honorable Mention-Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Oregon, Auburn

Richt Needs Adversity To Be Successful

I have wanted to say this since after the South Carolina game.  But I haven’t had a chance to sit down and articulate it, and it is topical as we head into LSU.

Let me start off by saying this is not an anti-Richt post.  I am as a big a fan or supporter of our head coach as anyone without the surname Richt.

But I can honestly say what our head coach ‘s biggest flaw is, and how that will help the Dawgs going forward.

Richt can’t motivate the team…without adversity.  He is an excellent motivator when things are negative.  He is great at lifting the team up and rallying. He fails, though, when he needs to bring them down a little.

Look back at 2007.  After an up and down start of the season, the Dawgs were humiliated vs Tennessee before narrowly escaping an upset loss at Vanderbilt.   The rest is history, and honestly no team in America could stay on the field with the Dawgs by the end of the year.

The success of 2007 parlayed to being ranked preseason #1 in 2008.  Needless to say the Dawgs fell way short of expectations and did not live up to all their hype.

In 2011, the Dawgs infamously started off 0-2.  After a horrendous year in 2010, and losing two high profile games to start off, Richt was squarely engulfed on the hot seat. The team then rattled off 10 straight wins en route to the first SEC East crown since 2005.

Last year the Dawgs went through September undefeated, though looked shaky at times. They then ran into a buzzsaw in Columbia, then looked awful against Kentucky.  The Dawgs then beat #2 ranked Florida and came just short of winning a National Title.

Even go back a little further to 2006, which was in my opinion a very underrated season and one of Richt’s best coaching jobs.  Not only did the team rally to finish a respectable 9-4, but Richt made two crucial decisions:  he fired himself as play caller and decided to ride the lumps of a true freshman QB and help him develop.  After struggling against Colorado and Ole Miss, Georgia was humiliated at home by Tennessee and Vanderbilt, narrowly beat Mississippi State, then lost to Florida and lowly Kentucky. The team rebounded to beat Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech, and in doing so, beat three teams ranked in the top 15 in consecutive games for the first time in school history.

Now, I’d prefer not to have to go through this drama or adversity.  But, I think we just have to come to terms with the reality that Richt needs some adversity to get his team motivated.

It seems like when Richt has a good team, they fiddle fart around then put the foot on the gas after some troubles, then it’s Katy bar the door.

I had these thoughts walking back to the car after we defeated the Gamecocks.

After a loss to open season, the team and coaches put on a positive face.  I wasn’t freaking out.  But still, the team had to have a speed bump before getting some traction and blowing past the Gamecocks.

Now, LSU is on the horizon with yet another colossal showdown between top ten teams.  Athens, Georgia will be the epicenter of the college football world.  College Gameday will be in town.  Athens is the place to be this weekend.

I am confident that the Dawgs will win.  Why?

If for no other reason, they will be ready to play.

They have done had their adversity, and now they have momentum and wind in their sails.

This is where Coach Richt is at his best.

Corbindawg

 

Ready For The Weekend

Well, if your week has been anything like mine, you can relate to this:

and also probably this at around the 2:31 mark (NSFW):

 

Ready to kick back and enjoy some great college football games this weekend to go to bed.

Corbindawg