Kentucky Wildcats: 2010 Exit Survey

2010 CFBZ Prediction: 4th in the SEC East 
2010 Actual Finish: 5th in the SEC East (6-7, 2-6)

Rich Brooks finished the last of his seven seasons at Kentucky in 2009, leading Kentucky to four straight winning seasons and four straight bowl berths at the end of his run. Joker Phillips took over the helm this year and is tasked with trying to get Kentucky over the hump in the SEC East and turn them into a contender. In Joker's debut season their were some good moments for the Wildcats (opening the season with a win over Louisville and beating SEC Champ South Carolina top that list) and there were some struggles (going 2-6 in the SEC and 1-5 on the road). After only one year on the job the jury is still out on Joker but we do know that he has some big shoes to fill on offense with Mike Hartline and Randall Cobb departing. We caught up with the Kentucky based SB Nation blog A Sea of Blue to get their take on 2010 and a sneak peak into 2011.


1. Kentucky finished the year 6-7 and 2-6 in the SEC. Do you consider Joker Phillips inaugural season a success, a failure or somewhere in the middle?

Somewhere in between, I would say. It's impossible to call a losing season overall a success, and 2-6 in the SEC just not good.

I think mostly that Phillips earns a pass on this season because most people understand that it was his first season as head coach, and head coach is not the same as offensive coordinator. Short of failure, perhaps, but certainly a disappointment. The defense was just plain incompetent, and the offense was too hot and cold.

2. What were your favorite moments of the year?

Number one would have to be defeating South Carolina in Lexington. Kentucky has suffered long at the hands of Steve Spurrier, and that long losing streak against the Gamecocks has been one of the major targets of UK football fans. It was especially satisfying to come back from down 18 at the half to win in the game's closing minutes.

Number two would be defeating Louisville for the fourth straight time. Louisville is a huge rival, and they had a 4-game streak against Kentucky between 2003 and 2006. It was really nice to get revenge for that.

Finally, seeing Randall Cobb break the single-season all-purpose yards record at UK. Cobb has been a Godsend for Kentucky football, and that feat just cemented his well-deserved legend here at UK.

3. If you could have a "re-do" for one game, which would it be?

Ole Miss in Oxford. Kentucky had every chance to win that football game, and blew it. That would have possibly put the Wildcats on a great trajectory for a special season, and we allowed it to slip away with turnovers.

4. Which players surprised you the most with their performance last year?

That's easy -- Mike Hartline. Hartline went from a player who couldn't throw a spiral one time out of 10 to the SEC's second-leading passer. It was a transformation that almost nobody in the Big Blue Nation expected, but it made the difference between a bowl season and maybe a four-win season.

5. Star receiver Randall Cobb and QB Mike Hartline must be replaced next season. Who will step up to take their place?

Good question. Morgan Newton would seem to be the odds-on favorite to take Hartline's spot, but many, including me, fear that Joker Phillips is going to give short shrift to the talented Ryan Mossakowski, who is a better pure passer and the more highly rated of the two coming out of high school. At least we do have options at quarterback, but Newton failed to impress in the loss to Pittsburgh in the BBVA Compass bowl.

For Cobb, there are no clear successors at the spot. La'Rod King showed great promise as our #3 receiver this year, but it seems a stretch for him to replace the multidimensional Cobb. Brian Adams and Matt Roark both made a few plays this year, but most Wildcat fans are skeptical about them as starters. Highly touted Aaron Boyd has been a disappointment, and hardly ever saw the field this year. It's hard to imagine him stepping up, but he has the talent if he ever gets the work ethic right.

Incoming freshman Demarco Robinson is an intriguing and overlooked prospect, and he has the kind of skills that could make him an impact player somewhat in the mold of Randall Cobb. He isn't a QB like Cobb was in high school, but he is an explosive athlete who can catch, run, and play the return game.

The player I really hope does well is junior wideout Gene McCaskill, who suffered an injury last year. He showed great promise before he was hurt, and if he comes back 100%, he could be a big playmaker at the wideout spot.

Big Recruiting Day For Georgia

It was just about a week and a half ago when Georgia landed their first three verbal commitments since August in the form of DB Damian Swann, LB Ramik Wilson and WR Sanford Seay. With National Signing Day quickly coming up on us two Georgia targets chose Wednesday to make their verbal commitments. TE Jay Rome, #18 on the ESPNU 150, and teammate WR/DB Malcolm Michell, #45 on the ESPNU 150, both announced their college intentions today but did it at different locations (which caused me to think they might be going separate ways). Jay Rome went first and announced on ESPNU that he would be attending Georgia over Alabama. I was expecting this as Rome has been rumored as a heavy lean towards Georgia for the last several weeks. And why not, Georgia has a really good recent history with TEs making it to the NFL (Leonard Pope, Ben Watson, Randy McMichael, Jermaine Wiggins). I'm not sure what kind of immediate impact Rome will have on the field as Georgia has Orson Charles and Aron White ahead of him but I think he will see the field this year and could set up some good mis-matches if on the field at the same time as Charles.

Next up was Malcolm Mitchell. Mitchell announced his intentions at a local restaurant and on a radio show. Jay Rome made it back from his ESPNU trip, which was filmed in Tallahassee, in time to be decked out in Georgia gear for the announcement. Mitchell started off by announcing that Florida was still in the mix and he thanked Georgia coaches (which is the recruiting kiss of death). But in the end Mitchell, who himself said that Alabama had led the whole way in his recruiting, chose Georgia. Mitchell is very interesting because he can go both ways on the field and Rivals has him listed as the #1 CB prospect in the Nation and #30 overall. Recruiting rankings are so subjective but it still feels good when you read that Georgia has Rivals #1 and #3 CB recruits from this years class. But will Mitchell play CB or will he play WR at Georgia? Obviously WR is a little more wide open in the immediate future with the departure of AJ Green and Kris Durham and CB is in decent hands with 3 returning players (Boykin, Commings and Smith). Mitchell caught 77 passes for 1,419 yards and 13 TDs in his senior season. His coach called him "the best athlete I've ever coached."

Also this week, Georgia scored a commitment from DB Quintavious Harrow, who just happens to be a friend and teammate of Isaiah Crowell. Harrow did not have any previous offers but did take a visit to Alabama on January 14th according to Scout.com. Harrow is undersized at DB but could be an asset in the kick game and on special teams with his 4.4 speed. Some have said that he didn't get any offers because his academic standing was in question until recently. Scout has him listed as a 2-star prospect. Harrow is not somebody who looks to contribute immediately but could be a Tim Jennings or Tyson Browning type down the road (although both of them were rated higher by recruiting services).

These two kids (Rome and Mitchell) haven't even stepped on campus and we don't know if they will be all they are cracked up to be but it was a feel good moment that Georgia needed. After a dismal season things are starting to look up with the latest flurry of verbal commitments and Texas poaching our OL coach (yes I think this is a positive, the Georgia OL has been awful the last two years and this past season was one of...if not THE...most underperforming units in all of college football). Now we await word on RB Isaiah Crowell, DE Ray Drew and NT John Jenkins. If Georgia lands 2 of those guys then this really might be the "Dream Team" that the Georgia coaches are touting.

South Carolina Gamecocks: 2010 Exit Survey

2010 CFBZ Prediction: 3rd Place in SEC East
2010 Actual Finish: 1st Place in SEC East (9-5, 5-3)

In 2010 the South Carolina Gamecocks finally reached the top of the SEC East. Thanks to down years from Florida, Georgia and Tennessee and wins over all of those teams the Gamecocks finally took their turn at the top in their half of the SEC. South Carolina had some big wins this year with the biggest coming against Alabama as they knocked off the #1 team in the country. Freshman RB Marcus Lattimore was amazing at times, finishing 3rd in the SEC in rushing yards, and showed how one guy at a skill position can really make a difference for a team. The other guy who should be singled out is Alshon Jeffrey. In a league of stud receivers (A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Randall Cobb, etc) Jeffrey led the league in receptions, receiving yards and TD receptions. 2010 ended on a sour note for the Gamecocks as they got spanked by eventual National Champion Auburn 56-17 in the SEC Championship Game and then lost to FSU in the Chik-fil-A Bowl 26-17. Those two losses might just help to keep the Gamecocks heads on straight going into next year as they challenge for their second consecutive SEC East Crown. We caught up with South Carolina blog Leftover Hot Dog to find out their thoughts on the Gamecocks of 2010.


Despite ending the season on a down note (losses to Auburn and FSU) South Carolina finally broke through and won the SEC East. What were your favorite memories from the season?

Doing the impossible...beating then number one Alabama at home on national tv, beating Florida in the "Swamp" for the first time to claim the SEC East and then taking part in the SEC Championship Game itself. Those are my favorite things about 2010 Gamecock football and what will be used to build the program.

Which player was the biggest surprise of the season?

The biggest surprise was the quick development of Marcus Lattimore. Everyone knew he was good coming out of high school but he was really good his freshman season at USC. He is one of the main reasons South Carolina had a special season. He accounted for 19 USC touchdowns and won many postseason Freshman of the Year awards. Safe to say, he is the real deal and will be a topic of conversation in 2011.

Which player are you most excited about for next season?

I could say Marcus Lattimore or potential USC recruit Jadeveon Clowney but I will go with Alshon Jeffery. The Gamecocks key passing target was another reason the Gamecocks had success in 2010 and are primed for more good things in 2011. The wideout can catch anything and has the speed to stretch the field. He had 88 catches for 1,517 yards and 9 TDs in 2010. Expect even more in 2011 as he will claim sole possession of the "Best WR in SEC" title now UGA's Green is gone.

Stephen Garcia has one more year in Columbia. Is he the man next year or will we continue to see more of Connor Shaw?

Stephen Garcia is someone you love and hate. 2010 was a great year for him as he threw for 3,059 yards and 20 TDs. But the backup QB is the most loved player and Connor Shaw has the talent to lead the team. I don't see it happening in 2011, at least to start. This is Garcia's team and he guided them to the SEC Championship. You will see Connor Shaw get a chance but I feel Garcia will get the nod to begin 2011 as the QB for Coach Spurrier. Now will Garcia hold onto the starting spot...well that is up to Garcia.

5. What does South Carolina need to improve the most this off-season to try and retain their SEC East Title?

South Carolina needs to add depth all around, improve linebacker play, get the secondary playing better as a unit, improve the offensive line and not be satisfied with what was accomplished in 2010. Do all that and hello SEC title as Carolina will return a lot of talent and the SEC East is still building so the opportunity to repeat as champs is present in 2011.

Georgia Bulldogs Notes

- In case you were bogged down by snow in the south or live under a rock then you know that Adriel Jeremiah Green has declared for the NFL draft. It's not a big shocker for anybody. A.J. is a Top 10 pick, who could even go #1 in the draft. In 3 years at Georgia A.J. made a big mark on the UGA record books. He is 3rd in school history in catches with 166, he's 3rd in school history with 2,619 receiving yards, and he's 2nd in school history with 23 TD receptions. And those stats are with missing 7 games in his 3 years on campus (4 due to NCAA suspension and 3 due to injury). A.J. will be remembered as one of the best receivers in the history of the program and most likely the most gifted. Now it's time for Tavarres King to step up and be the man...unless someone else beats him to it.

- Only one week ago it had been several months (August to be exact) since someone had told Mark Richt and Georgia that they were verbally committing to play football for the Dawgs in 2011. Now it's a week later and 3 guys have been added to the mix. I already touched on Damian Swann and added Sanford Seay to the list of 2001 commitments. The latest guy is LB Ramik Wilson of Tampa (Fla). Wilson is an athletic 6'3, 225 pounder who played LB, TE and returned punts and kick-offs for his high school team. He had 18 sacks for his State Championship winning High School team last year. He has the body and make-up to fit as an Inside Linebacker in the 3-4 but is said to be athletic enough to play other positions if needed or ILB doesn't fit him. Scout.com pegs him as a 3-star recruit and has him listed as the #28 OLB prospect in the country. Rivals also has him as a 3-star recruit but lists him as the #16 ILB prospect in the Nation. He was also offered by Florida, USC, and Arkansas among others.

- Wilson could be put into action quickly if he has the right tools as two Bulldogs have been released from their scholarships and will transfer. Nick Williams, frustrated with being switched between safety and line backer was the first given his release. The latest is Marcus Dowtin. Dowtin looked like he had an inside track on a starting position next to Christian Robinson this upcoming season but it looks like off the field issues have derailed his Bulldog career. Last week Georgia became aware that Dowtin had been involved in a bar fight and charged with second-degree assault way back in May. Dowtin was also listed as a DNP/Coach's Decision in Georgia's loss to UCF (coaches apparently were unaware of this issue when the game was played). It's tough to see a guy with the talent of Dowtin go but the program has to be cleaned up and we cannot afford guys making mistakes like this and even worse not coming clean with the coaches when something does happen. Looks like we could be seeing a lot of Richard Samuel, or a young pup, at ILB this coming fall.

- Another recruiting nugget...Much sought after JUCO DT John Jenkins has officially de-committed to Okie State. Georgia has been hot on his trail as they've visited him twice (in Connecticut) over the past month and they have him scheduled to hit campus on January 21st. Jenkins has his final 4 as Georgia, Miami (Fl), Florida, and Auburn. Jenkins is well aware of the Dawgs needs in the middle of the defense and said "I want to be that missing link they are looking for." If the Dawgs can land Jenkins he could have a major impact for the Dawgs 3-4 defense.

LINKS TO CLICK
- Fran Tarkenton voices his displeasure with the State of the Georgia football program on a local radio program.
- AJC Recruiting Blogger, Chip Towers, talks "AJC Fab 50" and lists who is committed where and who is in consideration for non-commits. Isaiah Crowell is #1, Ray Drew is #2, Jay Rome is #3- lots of top talent is still un-signed.
- Stanford commit James Vaughters (#4 on the "AJC Fab 50") is taking a wait and see attitude on Jim Harbaugh's replacement but if he re-opens his recruitment Georgia should be one of the finalists.
- UGA VIII, Georgia's brand new mascot introduced this past fall, has been diagnosed with lymphoma. He is said to be responding well to treatment.
- Pre-Snap Read has their final re-ranking of the year up (1-120) and has Georgia finishing as #55 in the country. The best 6-7 team in the Nation. The 2nd best 6-7 team in the Nation? The nerds finished #61, also 6-7. Oh, what an awful year it was.

Georgia Bulldogs: 2010 Exit Survey

2010 CFBZ Prediction: 2nd Place in SEC East
2010 Actual Finish: Tied for 3rd Place in SEC East (6-7, 3-5)

The 2010 season is one that everybody affiliated with the University of Georgia wants to forget. Everything that could go wrong, just about did go wrong. There were a myriad of off the field issues before the season started (which included one of the candidates to be their starting QB getting booted off the team). The star receiver (A.J. Green) was suspended for the first 4 games of the season for violating NCAA rules. The running backs couldn't stay out of trouble, couldn't stay healthy and couldn't hold onto the football. The highly touted Offensive Line was an epic failure. Even the new mascot, UGA VIII, who just debuted this year was diagnosed with cancer. Some thought Georgia had a chance to win the SEC East this year because Florida was thought to be preparing for a down year. But after starting 1-4 all Georgia could think about was winning one game, much less a conference title. One writer in Alabama has had Mark Richt on the hot seat for the past 2 or 3 years, well that time has come as his first losing season in Athens has just finished up. I am a graduate of the University of Georgia and I blog about Georgia for this very site so sometimes I'm not always unbiased. Because of that I went outside to get another opinion on the state of football in Athens. Once again we are joined by our friends at the Leather Helmet Blog as they give us their opinions about the 2010 season and take a quick peak at 2011.


Who were the most surprising players this past season?

Without a doubt the most surprising player for the Dawgs this year was Aaron Murray:

CMP ATT YDS CMP% TD INT RAT 209 342 3049 61.1 24 8 154.48

That stat-line says it all. When you consider he played the first 4 games without A.J. Green, Murray's performance is even more impressive. The off-season was spent planning ways to get the ball to Green. Green removed himself and Murray still produced a better passer rating than Stafford - not bad.

Alec Ogletree, a true freshman DB, became a starter after mid-season and will be a player to watch next year. There were others who were positive surprises but this was not a season that will be remembered for superlatives at UGA.

The biggest surprise for Georgia fans this year was the abject failure of the offensive line (making Murray's performance even more impressive). The Dawgs began the year with an experienced unit that had come on toward the end of 2009 and was expected to be a strength in 2010. If Georgia can not run the ball consistently there is little chance that the passing game will be effective. Richt's passing game relies on play action and play action does not work without a running game.

Many observers feel the offensive line problems (and D-line to some extent) are a result of a strength and conditioning program. S&C was allowed to become less effective over the past 4 years. Richt fired his S&C coordinator (and close friend) who came from FSU with him. We will see in the opener against Boise State if the problem was conditioning.

If you could have a "re-do" from any game this year which would it be and why?

Georgia lost seven games. There is no one game that, if magically changed to a win, would have turned the season around. However, I would have to pick the most embarrassing loss - Colorado. At least UCF was a conference champion and won 10 games. Both games were appalling failures.

Who are you looking most forward to watching in 2011?

Murray would have to be my first choice. He will build on the spectacular numbers he put up this year and that will be fun to watch. The most interesting group to watch will be the defense in 2011. There was definite improvement by Todd Grantham's defense in 2010. The second year will produce even more improvement, especially if he can land the type of body he needs for the nose position. S&C changes will bring defensive aggressiveness back to levels that Georgia fans demand. Combine better conditioning, more aggression and better familiarity with Grantham's 3-4 and there should be much better production from the defense.

Which players need to elevate their game the most in 2011?

Georgia is not in position to think that if this player or that player has improved stats in 2011 there will be dramatic improvement in the record. In the SEC games that UGA lost they were beaten across the line of scrimmage and that is where players must elevate their games. There is a contingent of Dawg fans who believe UGA is operating with a talent deficit to the elite of the SEC. Their contention is that recruiting has suffered over the past few years and poor talent evaluation is responsible for the Dawgs' problems. I do not believe that to be accurate. There are talent differences in UGA, Florida, Alabama and LSU but differences are minor and vary from year to year. Georgia has adequate talent in place or arriving in 2011. It is the coaching staff (including S&C) that will determine Georgia's fate. Coach Richt said in his end of the year presser that his team "was close." He's right but he and his staff have got to get the team in championship condition then instill the attitude of junkyard dawgs and sic 'em on Boise in September. Another year like 2010 will send Richt to ESPN.

2010 was a huge disappointment to every Dawg fan. In your eyes what are the biggest changes that need to be made in 2011?

Coach Richt has two problems to solve - offensive and defensive line play. He has to correct problems on both lines of scrimmage. With the exception of the nose position talent is in place. Both lines have to undergo a transformation in conditioning. That conditioning regime will go a long way toward putting fire back into line play at Georgia. But to get his team to ready compete for the SEC East title, Mark Richt is going to have to change. He will have to move out of his comfort zone. The competitive fire that he says is burning inside him needs to flash-over and scorch his team. His offensive linemen have to know that if it's 4th and 1 on the 2 - he is going to go for it and they had better not let anyone touch the ball-carrier before that yard is gained. Failure can not be an acceptable outcome.

I hope he is successful. I'm not betting the rent.

Georgia Bulldogs Recruiting Update

Before this week Georgia had not received a verbal commitment since August 15th. If it was scripted in Hollywood I'm not sure that this season could have gone worse for the Georgia program. It started with off-season issues (too may to list here), continued with their star player getting suspended for the first 4 games of the season for violating NCAA rules and then piled on when Georgia lost 4 consecutive games early in the season. Georgia rebounded winning 5 of 7 (including a devastating OT loss to Florida) but then laid an egg in their bowl game against Conference USA's UCF. This year ended with the first losing season in Mark Richt's era at Georgia. The Bulldog faithful are seriously doubting if Richt can turn this program around. He has made some minimal changes going into the off-season (a change a Strength & Conditioning, which was sorely needed, was the biggest change), and AD Greg McGarity says he has taken a lot of administrative duties off of Richt's plate so that he can concentrate more on his football duties. All that being said, the key to Richt's turning Georgia around and the key to Georgia getting turned around in the next four years is this year recruiting class. The talent in the state of Georgia this year is deeper than any other year in recent memory and Georgia is still in the fight for many key "Super 11" talents.

Today might be the first step in Georgia closing out strong in recruiting this year as CB Damian Swann has verbally committed to Georgia at the All-American bowl in San Antonio. Rivals has Swann listed as the 5th best recruit in state, the 8th best Nationally at his position and 56th in the Nation. Scout has Swann listed as 6th Nationally at his position. He was also offered by Alabama, Florida, Ohio State and USC so you can tell how highly thought of he is just by those that wanted him. Depending on the decision made by Brandon Boykin (I feel it would be in his best interest to return for his senior season) he could be put into the mix in his first year. Swann also has the talent to return kicks and play on the offensive side of the football.

Looking at who the Bulldogs have left to target there are a few guys that I think would really make an impact at Georgia if they committed. RB Isaiah Crowell of Columbus is a 5-Star guy that is down to Alabama and Georgia. Crowell has the opportunity to come in and play and make an impact immediately at Georgia. Crowell is listed at #5 on the ESPN 150. Ray Drew is a 4-Star DE from Thomasville who fits a need at DE or OLB in the 3-4 and could come in and challenge for playing time immediately. Drew is listed as #5 on the ESPN 150. Getting 2 of the Top 5 guys on the ESPN 150 would be great news for the future. Another huge need for Georgia is help along the DL and although he's committed to Oklahoma State, Jonathon Jenkins (a 4-Star JUCO) is the type of player who could come in and give the DL an immediate boost. Florida, Auburn and Georgia have all been in to visit this guy recently, he's an impact player. If they can't get Jenkins they have to get an answer at DT because right now it doesn't look like the answer is on the roster.

A guy that might not have a huge immediate impact because of the depth at his position but could be a huge get for the future of the program is TE Jay Rome out of Valdosta. Rome is a 4-Star guy that ESPN has at #18 on their ESPN 150. Rome would fit in nicely with Georgia's history of quality TEs that have gone on to NFL success. WR Malcolm Mitchell, another 4-Star guy from Valdosta, could also come in and have an instant impact at Georgia. Georgia has some talent at WR with Tavarres King, Marlon Brown, Logan Gray and Rantavious Wooten but I think 1 or 2 young guys will be able to come in and add depth at WR and secure some consistent playing time. And last but not least is 6'7" OL Xzavier Ward from Moultrie. It's hard for a OL to come in and play immediately but this is a position of need for Georgia because of how much the current OL under-performed this year.

Those are the six guys that I really see as the most important right now for Georgia. In my wildest dreams Georgia won't get all of those guys but if they can get 4 of those 6 they could help Georgia start it's turnaround. So did I miss anybody that could be an immediate impact at a position of need?

Here is a quick look at who is currently committed to Georgia for the 2011/2012 season:

QB- Christian LeMay
Matthews, NC
Scout.com Star Rank- ****
Scout.com Position Rank- #8
Rivals Star Rank: ****
ESPN 150: #79
Committed: 4/30/10

CB Damian Swann
Scout.com Star Rank- ****
Scout.com Position Rank- #6
Rivals Star Rank- ****
ESPN 150: #90
Committed: 1/8/11

LB- Amarlo Herrera
College Park, GA
Scout.com Star Rank- ****
Scout.com Position Rank- #12
Rivals Star Rank- ****
Committed: 2/15/10

S- Corey Moore
Griffin, GA
Scout.com Star Rank- ****
Scout.com Position Rank- #10
Rivals Star Rank- ****
Committed: 1/30/10

S- Chris Sanders
Tucker, GA
Scout.com Star Rank- ****
Scout.com Position Rank- #20
Rivals Star Rank- ***
Committed: 1/30/10

WR- Chris Conley
Dallas, GA
Scout.com Star Rank- ****
Scout.com Position Rank- #34
Rivals Star Rank- ***
Committed: 4/16/10

C- David Andrews
Norcross, GA
Scout.com Star Rank- ***
Scout.com Position Rank- #6
Rivals Star Rank- ***
Committed: 2/22/10

CB- Devin Bowman
Rossville, GA
Scout.com Star Rank- ***
Scout.com Position Rank- #37
Rivals Star Rank- ***
Committed: 4/17/10

WR- Justin Scott-Wesley
Camilla, GA
Scout.com Star Rank- ***
Scout.com Position Rank- #54
Rivals Star Rank- ****
ESPN 150: #99
Committed: 5/5/10

DE- Sterling Bailey
Gainesville, GA
Scout.com Star Rank- ***
Scout.com Position Rank-#34
Rivals Star Rank- ****
ESPN 150: #134
Committed: 5/14/10

DB/QB/ATH Nick Marshall
Rochelle, GA
Scout.com Star Rank- ****
Scout.com Position Rank (CB)- #12
Rivals Star Rank- ****
Committed: 6/9/10

OT Watts Dantzler
Dalton, GA
Scout.com Star Rank- ****
Scout.com Position Rank- #21
Rivals Star Rank- ***
Committed: 6/19/10

OG Hunter Long
Eads, TN
Scout.com Star Rank- ***
Scout.com Position Rank- #40
Rivals Star Rank- ***
Committed: 6/23/10

OT Zach DeBell
Tarpon Springs, FL
Scout.com Star Rank- ****
Scout.com Position Rank- #29
Rivals Star Rank- ****
Committed: 7/16/10

OL Nathan Theus
Jacksonville, FL
Scout.com Star Rank- **
Rivals Star Rank- **
Committed: 7/16/10

DT Chris Mayes
Griffin, GA
Scout.com Star Rank- ***
Scout.com Position Rank- #50
Rivals Star Rank- ****
Committed: 8/22/10

WR Sanford Seay
Leesburg, GA
Scout.com Star Rank- **
Scout.com Position Rank- #181
Rivals Star Rank- ***
Committed: 1/6/11

Tennessee Volunteers: 2010 Exit Survey

2010 CFBZ Prediction: 5th Place in SEC East
2010 Actual Finish: Tied for 3rd Place in SEC East (6-7, 3-5)

Around this time last year Tennessee's Head Coach Lane Kiffin exited stage to go coach USC. The Tennessee fans who had defended all of his shenanigans did not take the news well. The program was left embarrassed and in very bad condition. Tennessee hired Nick Saban disciple Derek Dooley, who was coming off of a 4-8 season at Louisiana Tech. Needless to say Tennessee had some huge question marks coming into the season. Despite going 6-7 Tennessee probably exceeded a lot of people's expectations by finishing in a tie for 3rd in the down SEC East. Tennessee found a couple of answers during the year in freshmen Tyler Bray and Justin Hunter. It will be interesting to see how Dooley builds on this year and if he can get the Vols back to the top tier of the SEC. We talked to the Tennessee Blog Vols In the Fall to find out their take on the 2010 Volunteers and get a quick peek into 2011.


At the beginning of the year you said that a 6-6 season (and a bowl) would be a successful year for the Vols. With the season over and the Vols finishing 6-7 do you consider the season to be a success, a failure or somewhere in between?

It is hard to believe that a Volunteer would consider a 6-and-7 campaign a success, but I do. When Lane Kiffin left Knoxville in January 2010, it was the beginning of a couple of very tense weeks. New coach Derek Dooley didn't have much time to (1) recruit before National Signing Day, (2) attempt to save previous commitments, and (3) assemble a coaching staff. This was all on top of the fact (known to those in the know) that 2010 would be a season with much less in the tank than 2009. That proved to be the case. This was the least talented and thinnest squad since 1977, Johnny Major's first team at UT (which finished 4-7).

When we were at 2-and-6 going into November, the end of the world as we knew it was in our sights. But, Dooley made some tough choices, and the players never, ever quit. They had already made progress, partly seen in the way they were beginning to "play 4 quarters" even though they were losing games by buckets full of points. November was the litmus test. Even with a relatively easy schedule, the team could have tanked, but they kept improving on their way to a perfect November (including extending the streak against Kentucky to 26) and a bowl game.

The great disappointment of the bowl loss to North Carolina notwithstanding, the season was a success because of the way the coaches and players dealt with adversity from January through October 2010. Vol fans as a whole are not satisfied with a losing record, but there is a load of optimism. Think about this: if LSU and North Carolina had not been granted a final play in their games against Tennessee, the Vols would have finished with an 8-5 record. That's how close we were to respectability.


If you could have a "re-do" for one game which would it be?

That's easy - the game against LSU in Baton Rouge. We stopped the Tigers near our goal line and the clock ran to 0:00, with Tennessee ahead. Players, coaches, and fans were going bonkers with an upset of mega proportions. Unfortunately, the Vols had 13 men on the field for that last play. LSU got one more play and scored on a 1-yard run to win. It was the most heartbreaking loss I can remember, with the possible exception of the loss to North Carolina under oddly similar circumstances only more than two months later.


What were your favorite moments from the 2010 season?

Most of them occurred in November, when we rattled off four consecutive wins to salvage the season. The game of the year was the destruction of Ole Miss in Knoxville. Our offense went wild, scoring more than 50 points for the second consecutive week. It was a beautiful fall afternoon drenched in sunlight, and the Vols played near perfect football against a fairly good Ole Miss squad that went on to lose out.

Which player was the biggest surprise of the season and on the flipside who was the biggest disappointment?

The biggest surprise has to go to freshman QB Tyler Bray. Matt Sims was the starter for the first 8 games, replaced in the second half at South Carolina by Dooley in favor of Bray, who then started the remaining 5 games, including the bowl game. He was a godsend - he sparked the entire team with enthusiasm, and gave the offense a giant flamboyant passing attack. In only 5+ games, he threw for 1850 yards, 18 TDs, and 10 INTs. He threw for over 300 yards in 4 of his 5 games that he started. All of a sudden, it was pass, pass, pass...

...which in part was because of the running game, the biggest disappointment of the season, along with the kicking game. It's hard to fault Tauren Poole, who ran for more than 1,000 yards, 5th in the SEC. But it was a massive struggle for him to get that far, and in most games, our running attack was more liability than strength, going quarters/games with little ground yardage. Most of the problem was the offensive line - with three true freshman, there was little in the way of effective run blocking. The kicking game was equally disappointing. Tennessee went through punt returner after punt returner because it seemed nobody could/wanted to catch the ball. And, our kickoffs were generally very shallow, giving the opponent needless advantages.

What does Tennessee need to improve this off-season to get back into the SEC East race?

The running game has to get resurrected via recruiting, coaching, and strength training of OL and RBs. Running the ball has been a staple of Tennessee football for the last decade-plus. It will be necessary for that part of our game to recover for UT to be competitive. We are fairly well-stocked at WR and DBs for next season, but could also use improvement at LB and DL, in addition to the inadequacies of the OL and RBs.

Don't look for Tennessee to be anywhere near the top of the SEC East in 2011. Instead, look for another season around the .500 mark (7-and-5 seems like my pre-season pick right now). But if all continues to improve, 2012 and 2013 could see The Big Orange competing again for a conference title.

Georgia Ends Season With Embarrassing Loss to UCF

There is really nothing more that you can say about the Georgia Bulldogs 2010 season other than it was an embarrassing disappointment. Despite going 8-5 last year and 6-7 this year Mark Richt still owns a career record of 96-34 at Georgia. The major question this off-season is if he can save his coaching tenure with his performance in 2011. It's obvious that the administration has some confidence in him but the fanbase has definitely turned against him after this latest embarrassing loss.

The Liberty Bowl loss to UCF is the worst loss in recent memory for Georgia. Georgia's defense, which has been up and down this year under 1st year DC Todd Grantham, played good enough to win. When you only give up 10 points to your opponent you should win 100% of the time. Former Georgia Bulldogs National Championship QB and current 680 the fan personality Buck Belue summed up Georgia's performance pretty well in one of his latest blogs:

   Here is what I witnessed, sitting on the thirty-five yard line. There guys whipped our guys. And I know the popular criticism is to slam the Georgia coaches, but I start my criticism with the players. The 'Dogs lost too many individual battles across the board. Especially with the game on the line in the 4th quarter. Let me count'm: Trinton Sturdivant chop blocks on the next to last possession, which put them in a 1st-and-25 situation. Final drive: Tav King has a key drop. Aaron Murray took some bad sacks---late in the game the QB has to get rid of it and not take a sack, or order to stop the clock. Those were rookie mistakes. The O-Line couldn't give Murray a clean pocket late. Sturvidant got whipped by Bruce Miller.

   Georgia players did not step up. Bulldog players got whipped by UCF players. That's what I saw. This wasn't about getting "out-coached." We got outplayed. We did not look strong, or physical. 

And that's where we sit after a 6-7 year with more than our share of 3-star and 4-star talents and some 5-star guys sprinkled in. The biggest disappointment for me this year has been the OL and DL inability to win individual battles. The OL was the biggest sore point in the UCF game as they just got beaten up by guys smaller than them. Aaron Murray didn't have time to throw and the running game never developed. We supposedly have 3 or 4 guys talked about as having NFL type talent on the OL but none of them have lived up to their potential this year. On the DL, we are undersized and in desperate need of a JUCO DT or two (see also: Auburn and Alabama success with this) to plug in to take up space.

Going into next year I see Georgia's major weaknesses on both lines of scrimmage and in the backfield (specifically at RB and FB). The loss of Shaun Chapas is going to hurt more than you think. Can Georgia address their OL and DL this off-season? Can they add a play-maker at RB (like South Carolina did with Marcus Lattimore)? Those are the major questions that need to be answered if Mark Richt can save his job in 2011.

Georgia Bulldogs Pre-Bowl Season Grades

It's hard to imagine that the 2010 season for Georgia would have ended up with 6 wins and 6 losses. It seemed that everything that could go wrong, did go wrong early in the season. Whether it was kids getting trouble, Georgia turning the ball over at the most inopportune times or guys cramping up at pivotal moments of the game. Georgia started off an unthinkable 1-4 losing heart breakers to Arkansas and Colorado and fumbling away games to South Carolina and Mississippi State. Georgia bounced back on the second half of their schedule going 5-2 losing another heart breaker in OT to Florida and losing to the #1 team in the Nation. Georgia has a lot of work to do to get back to being a top tier team in the SEC and in the SEC East. Georgia is now 14-11 over the last two years so let's take a look at the report card for this season and see where Georgia needs the most help in getting back to the top.


QUARTERBACK:
For most people, myself included, this was the biggest question mark for the Bulldogs offense coming into the season. During the off-season Zach Mettenberger was booted off the team for misdemeanor sexual battery and lying to his head coach (but hey, he found a landing spot with LSU and Les Miles) and it left Georgia with only 3 scholarship QBs, one of which would move to WR after losing the QB race. Redshirt Freshman Aaron Murray was chosen as the starter and Georgia fans were excited but didn't really know what to expect. So how did Aaron Murray do? He was flat out, bar none, the best freshman QB in the NCAA this year. No disrespect to guys like Taylor Martinez, Jake Heaps, Jeff Godfrey, Danny O'Brien, or Nathan Scheelhaase but Murray was the man. Murray finished with 24 TDs versus only 6 interceptions (his 24 TDs tied him with the likes of Eric Zeier and D.J. Shockley in Georgia folklore and he is fast on the trail of Matthew Stafford's junior season). Murray also rushed for 4 TDs. Murray finished with a 61.8% completion rate and had an efficiency rating of 162.72 (which ranked him in the Top 10 Nationally for all QBs ahead of guys like Ricky Stanzi, Dan Persa, Tyrod Taylor, Terrelle Pryor, Brandon Wheedon, Christian Ponder, and Jake Locker). It's hard to imagine Aaron Murray having a better freshman season. It really makes you wonder how bad everyone else was that caused us to be 6-6.
GRADE: A+

RUNNING BACK:
Going into the season I was pretty excited about our tandem of RBs but my excitement didn't come to fruition. Washaun Ealey and Caleb King both had off-field problems that kept them from playing in all of the games and neither guy really found themselves this year. Both guys showed flashes of being very good SEC caliber RBs and both guys fumbled the ball at critical points in games causing us to have the record that we do. The only reason that the Georgia RBs don't get an "F" from me on their grade is because Shaun Chapas is such a great FB.
GRADE: D

WR/TE:
The biggest disappointment here was having A.J. Green miss the first 4 games of what is basically his "senior" season. It's so difficult because as a fan you have to play the "What If" game. What if we had him against Arkansas? What if Colorado wasn't his first game and he didn't cramp up in the game due to inactivity? I think if we had A.J. that minimally we are 8-4 but we didn't have him. Once A.J. got in the games he was amazing. Despite missing 4 games he still tied for 5th in the SEC in catches and his 9 TDs tied him for 1st in the SEC (a league with Alshon Jeffrey, Julio Jones and Randall Cobb). The breakout star this year of the WR corps was Kris Durham. Durham averaged an SEC best 21 yards per catch and it just seemed like he came down with every tough catch that he needed to. Tavarres King also had a decent year with 23 receptions, an average of 20+ ypc and 3 TDs. TE Orson Charles started to break-out towards the end of the year and finished with 24 catches and 2 TDs. The new Strength & Conditioning coach has told Orson that he's going to put 50 pounds on him AND make him faster. Looking to next year, Georgia needs Tavarres King to step up and be the #1 receiver and they need guys like Marlon Brown and Logan Gray to step up and be #2 and #3 targets unless a freshman comes in and takes the world by storm. I would also like to see more Brandon Smith and possibly some Nick Marshall at receiver next year with the absence of A.J. and Durham. Overall, I can't really think of the receivers letting us down more than once this year (this is where I don't mention Aron White's drop against Florida that became an interception). I'm very satisfied with the play of our receivers, I just which we would have had A.J. and would have utilized Orson more in the offense.
GRADE: B+

OFFENSIVE LINE:
Going into the year this was the position that everybody thought would be the biggest strength of the team. Well, they were wrong. The OL for the first half of the season was terrible. The biggest issue was the run blocking as they couldn't open holes for anybody and just got whipped at the line of scrimmage. Some changes were made and in the second half of the season they seemed to play pretty well but you still had plays where the RBs were getting blown up as they got the ball handed off to them and that should never happen. This unit needs significant improvement next year.
GRADE: D

DEFENSIVE LINE:
They say that the game is won in the trenches, on the OL and on the DL. Those were the two aspects of the game where the Dawgs got whipped the most this year. The likes of South Carolina, Mississippi State and Colorado just whipped the Dawgs on the line of scrimmage. The biggest issue for Georgia is that they simply didn't have the bodies to play Todd Grantham's 3-4 on the line. Georgia is in desperate need of help from the JUCO ranks to bolster the DL and DE positions (just ask Auburn/Alabama how a great DL/DT JUCO guy can make an impact for your team).
GRADE: F

LINE BACKERS:
I thought Georgia's LBs played pretty well this year and got better as the season went on and they got more accustomed to the 3-4 defense. Justin Houston made at least one All-American team and finished as the SEC sack leader with 11. Akeem Dent blossomed into a defensive leader and finished with 121 tackles, which although aided by not being able to get off the field on 3rd down was 2nd in the SEC. I also thought that Christian Robinson and Marcus Dowtin played well at times. The biggest opportunity for next year is finding a replacement for Houston if he goes pro and finding someone to play opposite him if he stays. It should also be noted that next year we will see the greatest tandem of LBs in the history of the Georgia Scout Team, Richard Samuel and USC transfer Jarvis Jones, getting a chance to break the starting line-up. I have a feeling that Jones could be special.
GRADE: B-

SECONDARY:
The secondary started 3 new guys this year at the beginning of the year and one of them (Jakar Hamilton) lost their job towards the end of the year. First of all the good, true Freshman Alec Ogletree started getting more reps as the season went on and started the last few games. Ogletree has a build similar to Reshad Jones but I think he's got the skills to end up being a much better player for us. Another pleasant surprise was Sanders Commings. Commings came on strong at CB after Brandon Smith got hurt and Vance Cuff didn't step up. Commings brings a physical stature and play that the rest of our CBs don't and I think he's a good fit for what Grantham wants to do. The most up-and-down guy in the secondary was Bacarri Rambo. Sometimes Rambo looks great and sometimes he's just horribly out of position. It should be noted that he's only a sophomore and I still have confidence that he can be a really good player for us as early as next year. The last of the secondary is Brandon Boykin. Boykin is our best player in the secondary but didn't really stand out this year good or bad. Maybe that's because other teams stayed away from him. Needless to say I hope he stays in Athens for his senior season. Next year, we could be really good with a secondary of Commings/Boykin/Smith/Rambo/Ogletree and with a couple of top notch recruits coming in. But this year it just didn't feel like our secondary got the job done, although statistics might not agree with that as Georgia finished 20th in the Nation against the pass in terms of yardage (but did give up 7.8 yards per attempt which was 95th).
GRADE: C

SPECIAL TEAMS:
Georgia is blessed to have two of the best kickers in the Nation in Drew Butler and Blair Walsh. Walsh was very consistent as he hit 18 of 21 and all of his xtra points but one. Butler averaged 44 yards per punt. In kickoff returns we actually took a small step back this year in averaging about a yard less and only had 1 return for a TD versus 3 from last year (although one of those was in the bowl game last year). We also averaged about a yard less in Punt Returns but Brandon Smith averaged 14 yards per returns versus Prince Miller's 11 ypr last year. One huge improvement was kickoff coverage as our opponents only averaged 19 yards per return this year versus 25 yards per return last year and also in punt coverage where our opponents only averaged a paltry 5 yards per return (versus 10 from last year). Overall the Special Teams was very good this year.
GRADE: B+

COACHING:
Grading the coaching is probably the toughest aspect of this. Overall, I don't think that the one the field coaching reflected our 6-6 record this year. I really can't remember any spots where coaching cost us on the field. I guess the biggest aspect of this would be in personnel, like having Washaun Ealey on a critical 3rd down trying to pass block for Aaron Murray against Arkansas. I thought that Mike Bobo did a pretty good job this year. Sure we all want more from our coordinators but Georgia put up 34 ppg this year. I think the biggest knock on Bobo and the Georgia offense was the lack of killer instinct. Georgia got up big on teams like Kentucky, Georgia Tech and Auburn. Georgia held on against Kentucky and GT but Auburn came roaring back and won that game fairly convincingly. When Georgia got multiple TD leads they tended to go conservative instead of stepping on the other teams throat. From a defensive perspective I think most of us are disappointment in how the defense performed overall. I think it's obvious that Todd Grantham does not have all the pieces to fit this defense. I guess the biggest fear is how long it will take to get those pieces. The two biggest areas that seem to need to be addressed right now is recruiting and strength & conditioning. A change has already been made in the S&C department so we will see how that affects our on the field play next year.
GRADE: C

Why Malzahn Taking the Vandy Job Is A Smart Move

It's being reported in several places that Auburn Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn has accepted the offer to become the Head Coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores. On the surface the question is why would such a high profile coaching prospect take a job that looks like a very tough turnaround. I don't see it that way. The way I see it Gus Malzahn's stock will probably never be higher as a HC prospect than it is right now. Next year Auburn will most likely (barring some type of miracle) lose Cam Newton and with that will go the unstoppable Auburn offensive attack. Auburn could still have a very good offense next year without Cam but they would not have the intangibles that he brought to the field this year. So Malzahn's stock is most likely to go down after this year even if Auburn's offense still performs at a high level.

Another very important thing to remember about Gus is that he's never been a Head Coach at the collegiate level. By accepting the Vandy job he goes to a school that has a very low level of success in it's history so he doesn't have to win a Conference or National Championship every year (like he would if he held out for a higher profile job at one of the bigger SEC institutions). By going to Vandy he basically gets to learn how to be a Head Coach without being thrown into the proverbial fire. He gets to make mistakes without each one of them being over scrutinized by the blogosphere, the twitterverse, talk radio and the media. He will be taking over a Vanderbilt team that has won 4 games in the last two years. He's not going to be expected to be a miracle worker. And if Malzahn gets Vandy to be a respectable team and gets them bowling then he is considered a success and he puts himself in position to ascend to higher level jobs and when he's ready for them he will have the experience of being a Head Coach and will be more prepared for that opportunity. So, sorry Vandy fans but you are a stepping stone in the game that is College Football. If Malzahn turns around your program then enjoy it while it lasts and hope he grooms a good replacement if he's successful. And if Malzahn is not successful then he has his millions to turn to and I'm sure that somebody out there would pick him up off the scrap heap and make him their OC.

How successful can Malzahn be out of the gate? That's a good question. The timing is good for Malzahn as the SEC East is going through a down phase right now. Florida, Georgia and Tennessee (the perennial Top 3 teams of the league) are all having trouble. South Carolina had their best team in years but are only 9-4 (although they will have Lattimore and Jeffrey back next year). Kentucky looks like they looked under Rich Brooks, they are a good team but not ready for prime time. It's the right time for a move. Vandy will have some offensive weapons like Zac Stacy, Warren Norman and Brandon Barden. Maybe Malzahn's offense is the right answer for soon to be senior Larry Smith or maybe Aaron Rodgers brother is a good fit. This is also a great time for Malzahn to make the move because he can sit down in front of elite QBs and tell them that his offense brought Cam Newton the Heisman Trophy in his first year in that offense. Now that's impressive. Only time will tell if Malzahn will be the right guy for Vandy or if Vandy is the right job for him but in my eyes it's a good move for both sides. From an Auburn perspective you have to be worried about the upcoming National Championship game as coordinators moving into Head Coaching opportunities that are also coaching in the National Championship game doesn't always work out.

Will Muschamp to Florida

If you would have told me last week that the Head Football Coach of the University of Florida would be Will Muschamp I would have laughed in your face. But sometimes reality is wilder than fiction. On Wednesday Urban Meyer abruptly resigned as Head Coach of Florida. Then rumors swirled as names like Dan Mullen, Charlie Strong, Bob Stoops, Bobby Petrino, Chris Petersen, and Jon Gruden were mentioned as contenders to the job. Hell, Bobby Petrino was probably in Florida petitioning for the job. Then out of nowhere Florida announced that their new hire was former University of Georgia Defensive Back and Texas Longhorn Coach In-Waiting Will Muschamp.

It's a very interesting hire because Florida is one of the best jobs in the country and they could have basically hand pick their coach outside of a handful of guys and they chose an unproven guy who has never been a Head Coach at any level. Don't get me wrong, Muschamp was a great coordinator and might end up as a fantastic Head Coach I just find it strange that Jeremy Fowler would choose to go with someone who is unproven. Muschamp does know the SEC as he played at Georgia and coached at Auburn and LSU and has also spent time learning under Nick Saban. Despite attending the University of Georgia, Muschamp did grow up in Gainesville Florida so he has roots in the community. Another interesting note is Muschamp's ties to the fertile recruiting ground that is Texas. It will be interesting to see if he can successfully recruit the best of Florida and pluck a few of the gems from Texas every year.

From a Georgia Bulldogs perspective (as I can't hide my fandom) this has been a weird couple of years for former Georgia players who the fanbase looks at as potential coaches for the University down the road. Last year Kirby Smart basically used his alma mater to get more money from his current employer. I'm all for getting all the money you can but when you are using your alma mater it's a bit despicable. Now Will Muschamp has gone and joined the evil empire. You can't blame the guy for taking one of the best jobs in the Nation but as a Bulldog it hurts a little to see him take the job at a primary rivals school.

The next chapter of this story is what happens to Muschamp when Urban Meyer decides to un-retire after coaching in the bowl game. No, just kidding (or am I). The next step is who Muschamp will rely on as coordinators. The Gator fans will just be relived when Steve Addazio goes bye bye but honestly these are critical hires. For a guy who has never been a Head Coach on any level, the job of a Head Coach at a University like Florida is more than he can imagine. I hope Muschamp finds success and comes in second place in the SEC East every year.

Keys To Victory: Georgia at Auburn

What a wild ride it's been for Georgia this year and for Auburn this last several days. Georgia comes into this game at 5-5 but having won 4 of their last 5 ball games. Auburn comes into the game undefeated and ranked #2 in the current BCS Standings. Auburn was having a dream season (and still could be) but has recently seen it start to derail due to allegations over Cam Newton and his father. This is the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry" as they have played 113 times with Auburn leading the series 53-52-8. This series has been so close that Georgia leads in total points scored in the series by only 56 points after 113 games! Auburn comes into this game as the odds-on favorite as they are a National Championship contender and Georgia has faltered and has only won half of their games. That being said, Georgia has won the last 4 games in this series and Mark Richt is 6-3 against Auburn with a 3-1 record at Auburn. Here is what Georgia needs to do to win this game:

ESTABLISH THE RUN AND CONTROL THE CLOCK

Georgia's best defense against Auburn's high powered attack and Cam Newton might just be to keep them off the field. Statistically Auburn is pretty good against the run as they are 18th Nationally giving up 114 yards per game. That being said, Georgia is ranked 14th Nationally and we've seen them give up some big yardage on the ground to the likes of South Carolina, Colorado and Mississippi State. Georgia needs to establish Washaun Ealey and Caleb King early and then work off of the play-action pass and get the ball to it's playmakers: A.J. Green (85 rec yards/game and 7 TD in 6 games), Kris Durham (9th in the Nation at 19.7 ypc), Orson Charles and Tavarres King (3rd in the Nation at 20.4 ypc). Redshirt Freshman Aaron Murray has shown a lot of poise and moxie this year and is currently the 18th ranked QB in terms of passer efficiency in the nation. Murray had a tough first half against Florida but battled back to come very close to leading Georgia to a come from behind win. Murray has to come out poised and settled in the first half of this game as the atmosphere will be wild. The more Georgia can control the clock the more it's defense will be rested and fresh when Cam and Auburn have the ball.

WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE

Georgia has done a much better job this year than they did last year in terms of turnovers. In 2009, Georgia finished 118th out of 120 teams. This year Georgia is 21st in the country in turnover margin. Unfortunately, Georgia lost the turnover battle against Florida and that was the single deciding factor in their loss in Jacksonville. Georgia turned the ball over 4 times and got just 1 turnover and they lost the game in Overtime. Georgia needs to protect the ball against Auburn and not put themselves in a position where they have to defend on a short field.

FINISH DRIVES 

When you are playing an undefeated team that is in the National Championship hunt there is no settling for Field Goals. Georgia needs to attack and they need to score Touchdowns. Auburn's defense has given up some points this year (43 to Arkansas, 34 to Kentucky, 31 to Mississippi) as they rank 55th in scoring defense. Georgia has had 47 red zone attempts this year but has settled for a FG in 27% of these situations. This is a game where Georgia needs to go for the jugular when they smell blood.

I think those are the 3 biggest things Georgia can do to win this football game. I also think it's important for Georgia not to get down early. The Auburn fans are looking for an opportunity to let out their emotions. If Georgia can get up early they could calm the beasts that will be in the stands on Saturday. If Auburn gets up by a score or two early it will be total pandemonium. I also think Special Teams will be very important. Georgia needs to get points out of their Special Teams, and I already mentioned that I don't want them to settle for FGs so that means that Brandon Boykin and Brandon Smith need to make something happen. I think Georgia has a legitimate shot to win this game but right now I am leaning towards Auburn winning this game by about 10 points. Despite losing 5 games this year Georgia has only lost by a total of 35 points and their biggest loss came by only 12 points. Georgia will be in this game. Can they make the plays to shock the Top 25 and their rival?

Five Questions: SEC Edition

Will Auburn go undefeated and run the table into the National Championship Game?

Brandon: No.  I feel that Alabama is still the team to beat in the SEC, I think the Cam Newton train comes crashing to a halt during the Iron Bowl, specifically if Auburn ever gets down by more than 10-14 Points. 

Chris: Right now it's hard to bet against the Tigers. I am probably one of the last people not COMPLETELY sold on them, but I still recognize that they are an elite team. However, I will pick Alabama to knock them off in the Iron Bowl. I know that since South Carolina beat the Tide, there has been a game-plan established for how to beat them. It's not that teams haven't tried to replicate it, it's just that they haven't been able to. The Tigers will be tasked with shutting down the Tide's backfield duo, something that nobody except the Gamecocks did. I don't expect lightning to strike twice, therefore, I see the Tide coming out on top and ruining Auburn's shot at the NC game.

J Martin: I'd like to be wrong, but my gut feeling is yes. Cam Newton is playing like one of those quarterbacks I used to create to cheat in NCAA Football when I was kid. You know, Speed = 99, Acceleration = 99, Break Tackle = 99, Arm Strength = 99, etc. Just snap the ball to him and start running around. It was unstoppable. Well, life imitates art. I really don't see a scheme that can slow him down. Primarily because so much of what he does isn't based on scheme. He's at his most deadly whenever what's supposed to be happening on a given play breaks down and he just takes off. He gets into the open field and makes it a game of athlete vs. athlete, and the 6'6", 250 lb guy moving at 4.5 is going to win that more often than not. If you can stop him, you win. But the only team left on Auburn's schedule with the athletes to stop him is Alabama. And as the resident Bama expert, I have to admit I don't have a lot of faith in this bunch's ability to get the job done.

Kevin: It's taken me a long time to come around on Auburn and I still don't think I'm there yet. I just don't think they have the defense to get past Auburn. If you asked me last week I thought that if Georgia could get past Florida that they would have a good shot at Auburn. 2005 was the last time Auburn beat Georgia but I think Auburn beats the Dawgs 52 to 38 but then slips up against Bama.

Ross: No.  Auburn will lose to Alabama in the Iron Bowl, but their consolation prize will be a trip to the Sugar Bowl, which isn't so bad.

Who will win the East?

Brandon: Florida.  I think each team will take the other out, and they will come out on top of this whole mess.

Chris: Nobody. That's a distinct possibility at this point, right?

J Martin: Barring a fluke Gator loss to Vanderbilt, it's coming down to South Carolina @ Florida.  If you asked me before this past Saturday, I would've said South Carolina without a second thought.  Now, I'm leaning towards Florida.  For whatever weaknesses they've shown this season, they reasserted their dominance over the SEC East by topping a Georgia team that smelled blood coming in to the game.  And just as the Bulldogs couldn't take advantage of a down year for the Gators, I'm thinking Spurrier & the precocious Gamecocks will find themselves subjugated to Urban Meyer, yet again.

Kevin: It's Florida. Time To Die South Carolina! Carolina has a chance because they have Lattimore and Alshon but they also have Stephen Garcia and Steve Spurrier and I really have no confidence in that duo to beat Florida.

Ross: Easy answer: whoever wins the South Carolina-Florida game.  But, seriously, even though Florida showed some offensive competence against Georgia, I still favor South Carolina slightly.  They're better defensively than Georgia and they have some very potent offensive weapons of their own (Alshon Jeffery, Marcus Lattimore, Stephen Garcia).  They've also already proven capable of winning a big game this year.

Can the winner of the East upset the West in the SEC Championship Game?

Brandon: This  is going to sound strange, so bear with me…IF the East Champion plays Alabama I think that they can upset them, as it happened earlier this year, but if the East Champion plays Auburn, then I don’t think they would have enough.

Chris: If that team believes in voodoo and puts a million hexes on the team from the West. Oh, and those hexes have to work.

J Martin: This is the tricky part.  If it's South Carolina, they can win it.  They've already proven they can beat Bama, and they came within a boneheaded Spurrier QB change of possibly beating Auburn.  Even if LSU were to sneak in to the title game, you'd have to like SC's odds.  But if it's Florida representing the East, I say no way.  We already know the Gators don't belong on the same field as Alabama right now.  And it's difficult to imagine Florida's scatter-shot offense keeping up with Cam Newton for 4 quarters.

Kevin: No they can't. If it's Florida they simply don't have the offensive firepower to keep up with Bama or Auburn and if it's South Carolina then Bama will be out for blood and Auburn already took their best shot and will adjust. 

Ross: Sure. Whoever wins the East will be a talented squad in their own right and in a winner-takes-all setting like the SEC Championship Game, anything can happen.  If South Carolina emerges from the East, they'd definitely have a realistic shot at winning the game, considering that they've already defeated Alabama and took Auburn to the limit.  If anyone else emerges, I'd like their chances slightly less.  That said... WILL they upset the SEC West champion?  No, I don't think so -- Auburn and Alabama are simply playing to too high a level right now.

Will Georgia become bowl eligible this year? 

Brandon: Yes.  I think they beat Idaho State and Georgia Tech.

Chris: Um...They'll beat Idaho State, get Auburn in a trap game, so an upset IS possible here for an unsung Georgia group, and a Georgia Tech team who has been too inconsistent to predict. They could go 3-0, they could go 2-1, or they could go 1-2 and miss out. I say they barely make the cut by beating Georgia Tech.

J Martin: Yes, but it'll be a nail biter.  It will take the Bulldogs all the way to the Georgia Tech game to pick up #6.  While they will probably be able to put some points on Auburn, Georgia is just 1-4 away from home this season, and Aaron Murray seemed to catch a case of stage-fright early in the Florida game that cost the Bulldogs some opportunities.  It's difficult for me to imagine them showing up to play (likely) a night game at Jordan-Hare Stadium, which has become one of the wildest environments in college football this season, and pulling out the win.  #6 is going to have to come at home vs. the Yellow Jackets.

Kevin: I like the confidence you guys have in the Dawgs to win 2 of their final 3. The saddest thing about Georgia's season is that their best victory is against Kentucky. They way Georgia Tech is playing the Dawgs could beat them and our best victory will still be against Kentucky. Like Chris said Georgia could go 3-0 (almost impossible) but they could also go 1-2. I think we will get bowl eligible. If we don't then it could get ugly around these parts. 

Ross: Yes.  They'll beat Idaho State and Georgia Tech.  They'll have a realistic shot at beating Auburn, given Auburn's defensive weaknesses and Georgia's offensive firepower, but ultimately I think Cam Newton will pull out a little more magic to get them by Georgia.  Georgia Tech looks eminently beatable, though.

Will Tennessee go winless in the SEC this year?

Brandon: No way.  Tennessee DOESN’T lose to Vandy under any circumstances, so I think they will spring an upset on them and salvage their SEC season with at least one win.

Chris: No, as much as I would like to see it happen, the Vols will not go winless in the SEC. The Vols SHOULD beat Mississippi, although the Rebs are playing somewhat inspired football right now (even in losing their last 3 games) against murderers row in the West (Alabama, Arkansas and Auburn with the first 2 of these 3 on the road) and putting up a fight. If the Vols somehow stumble on that opportunity, there is an absolute certainty (or as close as you can get) that the Vols will wear down the Commodores of Vandy with their superior athletes. Then they will finish out the season losing to Kentucky.

J Martin: No. Tennessee is bad, but Vanderbilt is worse.  The Commodores were just lucky to catch Ole Miss early enough in the development of the Jeremiah Masoli experiment to steal a win.  The Vols should at least be able to spare themselves the indignity of losing to their in-state "rival."  I wouldn't even count them out in their other two remaining conference games.  They should be competitive.  They'll be even more competitive the longer they can keep that 7th loss of their record and the bowl dream alive.

Kevin: Everybody thinks Tennessee wins one. I'm going to say they don't. Houston Nutt and his buddy Jeremiah Masoli will beat the Vols, Kentucky will beat the Vols so that leaves Vandy. Robbie Caldwell will use his expertise from working on a turkey farm and will somehow turn that into motivation for his team to beat Derek Dooley and his bunch of turkeys. Seriously, how do you not get suspended when you are in a bar fight and a dude got kicked off of the SAME team earlier this year for getting into a bar fight. 

Ross: No. They'll win one of them -- probably the game at Vanderbilt.

Georgia/Florida: Keys To Victory

It's been 31 years since Georgia and Florida meet on the gridiron and neither team was unranked. These teams seem to be meeting on different paths. Georgia started off the season 1-4 committing mistakes and turnovers at the worst possible time in every game. Since then Georgia has reeled off 3 straight dominant victories and appears to have found itself. Florida started off the season shaky but was able to navigate it's was to 4-0 before dropping consecutive games to LSU, Bama and Mississippi State managing only single digits in two of the losses. Florida comes off a bye and has re-vamped the offense and will get two offensive play-makers back (Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey). Can Florida right their ship or will they continue to fade as Georgia comes on strong? Here are my keys to the game.

GET OFF TO A FAST START

The team that scores first has a big advantage. Florida has a bruised ego and they need something to go right early in this game to get them thinking they are back. Georgia is on a roll but when it comes to Florida they always have doubt in the back of their mind. If Georgia comes out firing like they have in their last 3 games it could give them the confidence and momentum they need to carry them to victory.

WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE

After ranking 118th last year in Turnover Margin, Georgia appears to have turned a corner this year and is ranked 17th Nationally. In the 4 games Georgia has lost it has lost the turnover battle by a total of 3 turnovers. In the games they've won they are +10. Over the past three weeks Georgia has been taking other teams mistakes and turning them into points. In Florida's 4 wins they are +8 in turnover and in their 3 losses they combined to post a -6. Looking at those numbers I think it's pretty easy to say that the team that wins the turnover battle will win this game.

MAKE SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIAL

Florida leads the SEC in KO return yardage but Georgia leads the league in least amount of yards allowed. Both teams have returned a KO for a TD this year. The big news might be that Florida kicker Caleb Sturgis will not play in Saturday's game. In his absence Chaz Henry has gone 0 for 3 in the last 2 games. Florida is only 4 of 9 on FGs this year. Georgia is 2nd in the SEC at 82.4% on FGs but Blair Walsh has struggled in the last couple of games missing a kick against Vandy and one against Kentucky. The team that makes the least amount of mistakes in the Special Teams game has a huge advantage in this game.

ESTABLISH A RUNNING GAME

John Brantley has struggled a lot more than expected this year at Florida. A lot of fans just expected Urban to plug in Brantley and he would continue right where Tebow left off. In two of it's three losses this year Florida was held to under 100 yards rushing and were held to under 3 yards per carry. With the off-week Florida looks to plug in Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey and get their ground game going. In 3 of Georgia's losses it's Defensive Line has gotten controlled and time of possession has been used against the Dawgs. Despite these 3 losses Georgia somehow leads the SEC in Rushing Defense. Over the last 3 games Kentucky rushed for the most yards against Georgia posting a meager 70 yards. Since Georgia re-vamped their offensive line a few weeks ago they are getting better blocking up front and the runners are responding. Last week, Washaun Ealey tied a Georgia record by running for 5 TDs against Kentucky. Ealey is a little banged up but says he's ready to go and he will be joined by Caleb King who is back from suspension after being arrested for not paying a speeding ticket. Look for Georgia to try and establish the run and for Aaron Murray to look for A.J. Green and Kris Durham on play-action and look for Florida to look to the run game for big plays. The team that finds the run and stuffs the run should stand tall at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

As a Georgia fan it's hard to ignore Florida's dominance over Georgia in the last 20 years. Georgia has the momentum on their side as they have dominated their opponents during their 3 game winning streak and have a large amount of confidence on their side coming into this game. I think this game comes down to who comes out of the gate quicker. If Florida puts two touchdowns up quickly then Georgia will start to push and will turn the ball over. If Georgia can come out and establish the run and Aaron Murray can find his receivers and make plays with his feet then it could be a long day for Urban Meyer and Florida. I like Georgia in this game, especially because Dan Mullen and Charlie Strong are coaching elsewhere. Despite the records in this game this Saturday should be one to watch.

Prediction: Georgia 31 Florida 20

Georgia handles Kentucky; Awaits Florida

For the third consecutive week the Georgia Bulldogs have looked more like the team we thought they would be than the team that lost 4 straight. Georgia went on the road to play a dangerous Kentucky team and jumped on them 28-3 and Georgia put it in cruise control to pick up their first road victory of the season. The story of this game was Georgia's defense causing early turnovers and the offense capitalizing on them. Now that Georgia has discarded the SEC East also-rans of Kentucky, Tennessee and Vandy it looks to a much bigger fish, the University of Florida. Florida has long been a thorn in the side of the Georgia Bulldogs and Mark Richt. Believe it or not Georgia actually hold the lead in the all-time series 46-39-2. Despite their lead in the series, Florida has dominated recently and is 2-7 against Mark Richt with Georgia only winning in 2004 (31-24 behind David Greene's 3 TD passes) and 2007 (42-30 behind Knowshon Moreno's 188 rushing yards and 6 sacks of Tim Tebow).

This will be a different Georgia/Florida game than usual. It's been 31 years since these two teams met on the field and both were unranked. The momentum is in Georgia's corner as they are playing their best football of the year and things seem like they are coming together in Athens. The rest and preparation is in Florida's corner as they have had an off week for Urban to re-vamp the offense and get some players healthy and back with the team. Right now I'm leaning towards Georgia taking this one but I think this one could come down to the wire since both teams are truly fighting with their backs against the wall.

Georgia Notes:
- UGAXIII is now 2-0 since his debut against Vandy.
- Justin Houston picked up 2.5 sacks against Vandy and is leading the SEC with 9.5 sacks. Kentucky coach Joker Phillips said about Georgia "It's the best pass rush team we've seen, no question about that."
- Washaun Ealey ran for 157 yards and 5 TD against Kentucky (tying a Georgia record). Georgia's rushing attack is coming on as they've had a 100-yd rusher in the last 3 of the last 4 games.
- Aaron Murray continues to be one of the most impressive Freshman QBs in the land (not as jaw dropping as Tayler Martinez) but the most impressive thing is his TD to INT ratio. He has 12 passing TDs to just 3 INTs (it should also be noted that he has rushed for 4 TD on the year).
- Kicker Blair Walsh has struggled lately. He's going to need to hit some kicks in Jacksonville for the Dawgs to come out victorious.
- Branden Smith will play for the first time in 4 games. I like the combination Brandon Boykin and Sanders Commings at corner so hopefully Smith will fit in nicely at nickel as we've had trouble covering on 3rd down and long (not sure if it's the LBs playing too shallow or the Safeties playing too deep but we have to tighten down on 3rd down). Look for AJ Green to still get some shots at punt returns despite Smith being back in the line-up.

I will have more thoughts later in the week as the game approaches.

Georgia vs. Tennessee: Playing For Pride

“We’re pissed off...That’s our thing right now. We’re pissed off right now. We’re 1-4. We’ve got a lot of fans saying this, a lot of fans saying that. And I mean, we just want to make everybody happy. We want to be happy. We’re tired of walking around the locker room, quiet, coaches yelling at us all the time for no reason, because we’re losing. So we’re just going out there and to get our respect back. We’re pissed off right now...I’m speaking for everyone at Georgia...We can’t change the past. We’ve gotta move forward. The main thing is we’ve gotta stick together.”

- Orson Charles, Georgia, Sophomore TE (credit: Seth Emerson from The Bulldog Blog)

I did a piece earlier this year that looked at Georgia's most competitive rivals during the Mark Richt era and it turned out to be Tennessee who has the evenest series with the Dawgs as Georgia leads 5-4. On Saturday, you have two teams that have been evenly matched through the last 10 years. You have a Georgia team that got embarrassed at Tennessee last year. We have a snakebit Georgia team the has fumbled away or missed a key block that directly led to 3 losses and one fumble that kept them from getting back into a close game. Georgia is 1-4 with their only victory being a dominated of Louisiana. Tennessee is coming off of a heart-breaking loss to crazy Les Miles and the LSU Tigers. Tennessee is 2-3 with wins over Tennessee-Martin and a UAB Overtime win. This game is going to be about who wants it more on the field. I would expect Tennessee to try to mash the ball down the middle of the field (following the blue print that worked for South Carolina and Colorado) with Tauren Poole and David Oku. The question is if Georgia has enough heart and enough pride to step up and stop the Vols and win a game that on paper they should.

Other Georgia Notes:
- Look for true freshman Kenarious Gates to line up at right guard on Saturday. Josh Davis appears to be out of the mix, he's the guy that missed the block that caused Caleb King to get hit at the point of hand-off and fumble away the game at Colorado.
- Mega recruit Isiah Crowell of Carver High School in Columbus appears to be inching towards Alabama over Georgia. But with Dee Hart making his decision between Alabama and Michigan will that have an effect on Crowell?
- Georgia practiced in full pads on Monday, the first time during the Mark Richt era that this has happened.
- Branden Smith has his second concussion of the year and will miss Saturday's game. Might this open up punt returns for A.J. Green?
- It looks like Caleb King will still start at TB despite his fumble at the end of the game against Colorado (which honestly should be credited more to the OL than to him).

Georgia Fumbles Away Another Game

For the 4th straight week Georgia has self-destructed and cost themselves a victory or a chance at a victory. Georgia was driving down the field to set up a FG in the last two minutes of the game and was already inside kicker Blair Walsh's range (although Walsh did have a rare miss in the first half). Georgia called a running play and the Offensive Line got completely blown up and Caleb King got hit right as he was getting the hand-off and fumbled the ball and the game away. This doesn't happen to good teams. Good teams control the line of scrimmage and actually make solid attempts to block during the game and especially in crunch time. The fact is that this Georgia Offensive Line is going to go down as one of the most over-hyped, under-performing units in the history of the Georgia Bulldogs and in the SEC.

The Offensive Line
In the pre-season most of us knew that Georgia might struggle on defense with the installation of a new 3-4 defense but we were hopeful. The one thing that everybody knew was that the Offensive Line would be the strength of this team. Georgia returned the most starts in all college football and Phil Steele (I'm not calling him out because a lot of people were on the bandwagon) tabbed Georgia as the #1 Offensive Line Unit in the entire nation. Everything we thought about the Offensive Line is wrong. In every game we have played except the first game they have been out-manned and out-muscled. Does this fall on the OL Coach, the strength & conditioning coach, the OC or the Head Coach. Or should everybody share the blame equally? I think it's beyond obvious that our Strength & Conditioning program is not operating at an SEC level. We are getting blown off the ball on both sides of the line of scrimmage and that comes down to guys doing the work in the weight room and doing the proper work.

The Defensive Line
Right now we simply don't have the right guys and right body types to play the 3-4 defense that Todd Grantham wants to play. We are getting beat up on the line of scrimmage. Grantham needs to be hitting the junior colleges and high schools and getting some big thick bodies and telling them that they can play tomorrow and be integral part of the defensive re-vitalization of the University of Georgia. Kwame Geathers did get some playing time and seemed to play well while he was in there, he has to see the field more. The biggest problem right now with the Georgia defense is getting off the field on 3rd down as it's just not happening. Colorado was 7 of 15 on 3rd down conversions. The funny thing is that Georgia actually averaged more yards per rush (5.9 vs 5.0) than Colorado did, we just couldn't make stops when we had to.

The Rest of the Season
For all intents and purposes this season is over for the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia is 1-4 and would have to go 5-2 in their last 7 games to be bowl-eligible (who would have thought I would be typing those words earlier this year). Here are Georgia's next 7 games: Tennessee (2-3, 0-2), Vanderbilt (1-3, 1-1), at Kentucky (3-2, 0-2), Florida (4-1, 2-1), Idaho State (1-4), at Auburn (5-0, 2-0), and Georgia Tech (3-2, 2-1). Georgia has the talent to go 5-2 against those teams but the way we've been playing 2- 5 sounds more likely.

What Happens After the Season
If Georgia does tank the rest of the season that brings us to the tough decision that is facing new Athletic Director Greg McGarity. Does he blow out Mark Richt? Richt has been a very successful coach at the University of Georgia but the last two seasons simply has not gotten the job done and is heading for one of the most embarrassing seasons in recent Georgia history.

T Kyle King of the SB Nation site Dawg Sports tries to find some perspective of Richt's current losing streak:

• In his first 122 games as the Bulldogs’ head coach, Wally Butts went 84-33-5. At one time during his first 122 games at the helm at Georgia, Coach Butts endured a four-game losing streak during which the Red and Black’s worst loss was by 20 points.
• In his first 122 games as the Bulldogs’ head coach, Vince Dooley went 79-38-5. At one time during his first 122 games at the helm at Georgia, Coach Dooley endured a four-game losing streak during which the Red and Black’s worst loss was by 39 points.
• In his first 122 games as the Bulldogs’ head coach, Mark Richt went 91-31. At one time during his first 122 games at the helm at Georgia, Coach Richt endured a four-game losing streak during which the Red and Black’s worst loss was by twelve points.

Some interesting stuff but the climate of today's athletics are just not the same that they were back in the days of Wally Butts and even in the days of Vince Dooley. In today's world it's win now. If Georgia does not reach bowl eligibility I think it would be hard, almost impossible to stand by Richt. If we keep him and allow him to re-vamp his coaching staff on the offensive side of the football then what happens if we fall lower than expectations again?

I consider myself a Mark Richt fan (although it might not sound like it in this blog). That being said, it's almost impossible not to start formulating a list of who is out there that can turn around this team. Is it time for a cahnge and fresh blood to come in? In my opinion, we will find out in the next 2 games (Tennessee and Vanderbilt). It time to circle the wagons and win some football games.

AJ Green
Lastly, let's take a look at a positive for Georgia yesterday. A.J. Green played in his first game of the year and showed us why he is the premier Wide Receiver in all of college football. The first time he touched the ball he took a reverse 40 yards. The next time he touched it he was in the end zone. A.J. cramped up in the 2nd half and only ended up playing about 2 and a half quarters (and the offense struggled when he wasn't in the game) but he finished with 7 receptions for 119 yards and 2 TD. He quite simply is the difference maker on this team. Take a look here at his highlight reel TD catch via YouTube.

The Agony of Defeat

I've been trying to think of what to say after the debacle that was the Georgia/Miss State football game. It would be easy to come out and call for somebody's head and to blame players and coaches but honestly I'm not exactly sure what is wrong with this team. The biggest issues right now are the offense having no idea how to score inside of the red zone (and Washaun Ealey's knack for fumbling at the opponent's goaline), the offensive lines refusal to live up to expectations, the defensive line not playing consistently and blown assignments on the defensive side of the football. Georgia is 1-3 and 0-3 in the SEC (Georgia has lost 3 games in a row for the first time since 1990). ESPN blogger Chris Low notes that Georgia is just 2-7 in their past 9 SEC games.

Georgia hasn't been blown off the field by any of their opponents. South Carolina controlled Georgia on the lines of scrimmage but Georgia was within a fumble on the goal line of bringing that to a 1 pt game in the 3rd quarter. Arkansas beat Georgia on a last minute drive where they probably only had the football because of a poor play call on 3rd down by Georgia and poor blocking in pass protection. Despite the score, Miss State didn't run Georgia off the field either and if Washaun Ealey doesn't fumble on the two yard line again it might be a completely different football game. That being said, with all due respect, we are talking about South Carolina, Arkansas and Mississippi State here. This isn't Florida, Alabama and LSU. Georgia has lost to 3 consecutive teams (that while improving) have spent the better part of their SEC history being middle of the pack and worse teams. The fact that Georgia has just lost to all of these teams is very troubling and perplexing.

One third of the football season has passed. I'm no math major but that means that we have 8 games left to get this thing turned around as much as possible. Mark Richt is feeling the heat more than he ever has as a coach or player. He understands that his team is in a worse position than it's ever been with him at the helm. The Georgia coaching staff and players have a lot of soul searching to do. The next game is at Colorado this Saturday. At this point Georgia has to take it one game at a time, one drive at a time, one play at a time. This year has quickly turned into a nightmare. The upcoming schedule is favorable (at Colorado, home versus Tennessee and Vandy and then on the road at Kentucky). It's time to step up and be men or be left behind. In all my years as a Georgia fan I've never looked so forward to the start of the college basketball season.

Arkansas/Georgia Thoughts

This one is a little harder to swallow than the South Carolina game because Georgia fought so hard to get back and were in position to take control of the game late in the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, depth reared it's ugly head. Going into the game Georgia knew that it would be without star receiver A.J. Green (NCAA Suspension), starting FB Shaun Chapas, starting TB Caleb King and two-way speed merchant Branden Smith. With the game tied Georgia had a 3rd and 4 or 5 at mid-field, Aaron Murray dropped back to pass and just got destroyed by an Arkansas end before Murray even had a chance to think. The culprit? Washaun Ealey missed a key block that gave Arkansas the ball back and led directly to Arkansas's winning TD drive. I'm not here to throw Washaun Ealey under the bus. He's a good RB and does a lot of things better than Caleb King. But King is a much better blocker and would have been in the game in this position if he was healthy and he would have made that block. After that who knows? Maybe Murray completes the pass, maybe he doesn't. I'm not here to play what ifs. The point is that Georgia doesn't have the depth right now to compete for an SEC title and that needs to change. In addition to Ealey's missed block, Branden Smith's replacement Sanders Commings made a big mistake on the Arkansas wheel route that went for the game winning TD as he bit down on the underneath route leaving the deep guy open. Football is a game of inches and while that play was far from inches this game was in Georgia's grasp and we just didn't finish the drill.

The positives that I take away from this game for Georgia is the heart that they showed down 14 points in the 4th quarter to come back and tie up the game. The receivers stepped up and had good games. Kris Durham made some great plays (5 rec for 101 yds) and Tavarres King stepped up as well (4 rec for 91 yds and a hard fought TD). The DL played better and I thought the LBs played better against the run. Aaron Murray continues to develop. At times he looked like a freshman, but at times you see his upside potential and you see the star quality that he has (15 of 27 for 253, 1 passing TD, 1 rushing TD, 1 INT). Murray's QB rating is 44th in the Nation right now and that puts him ahead of guys like Jacory Harris, Landry Jones, Christian Ponder, Taylor Potts, John Brantley, Blaine Gabbert, Jeremiah Masoli, and Jake Locker (if you put stock into that statistic).

The negatives are the holes in the secondary (aka blown coverages; which also happened against South Carolina but Stephen Garcia wasn't good enough to take advantage of it). Obviously, we knew that we would give up some plays against Arkansas because their bread and butter is the passing game. But we gave up too many. Losing Branden Smith hurt but it wasn't the reason that we played so poorly. The fact is that Brandon Boykin is the only returning starter in the secondary and we have a new scheme that the guys are learning. If our guys can't learn this scheme and perform then we need to see Derek Owens and Alec Ogletree in the game learning and gaining valuable playing time.

Where do we go from here? When I looked at the schedule I knew that the beginning of the schedule would be tough. Arkansas and South Carolina are good teams but I thought that at worst Georgia would win 1 game of the two and be 2-1 and in a position to compete in the SEC East. As it stands now Georgia is 1-2 (0-2 in the SEC East) and it would take some luck (and Georgia basically running the table) to get back into the race at this point. Georgia needs to get healthy as we just can't afford to be without key guys right now (on a side note we need a really good recruiting class this year to get back some depth as it appears we don't have guys ready to come in and fill in where needed). Georgia is not that far away but is just far away enough that we have two losses. Georgia is one fumble (inside the 5 yard line) away from basically tying the game against South Carolina in the 2nd half and one block away from having a great chance to beat Arkansas. Georgia has a must win road game at Miss State in Stark Vegas this week where both teams are playing with their backs against the wall. In terms of Arkansas, this was a huge win as it got the monkey off of their back regarding playing on the road. Arkansas now has a tough stretch of games as they play Alabama (loss), Texas A&M (win) and play at Auburn (probable win).