Archive for August, 2009
Join the Solid Verbal Pick ‘Em Pool!
Saturday, August 29th, 2009 | Announcements, Blog | No Comments
Solid Verballers:
There’s still time to join the Solid Verbal Podcast pick ‘em pool. Though our first group filled to capacity, we’ve created a second group to accommodate additional participants. Think of it as the SEC East vs. the SEC West. Two divisions, only one Three Wolf Moon / Three Keyboard Cat Moon shirt to go around.
To enter, go to Yahoo’s main College Pick ‘Em page and create your entry. Our group ID is 16196 and our password is solidverbal. Feel free to invite friends.
Good luck!
–Ty & Dan
August Countdown: Ole Miss (8)
Friday, August 28th, 2009 | Blog, Team Preview | No Comments
Throughout August, we will be counting down the top 25 teams (as listed here) going into the 2009 season. Today, we take a trip to The Grove, a place that boasts pretty girls with southern drawls, sun dresses, and which Dan Rubenstein contends is one of the greatest places on the planet. We’ll just have to take his word for it.
(Photo by Stu in Tuscaloosa)
First Impressions
In the days leading up to the 2009 college football season, Ole Miss was pegged as this year’s darkhorse contender by a number of experts. Just a few weeks ago, Phil Steele mentioned on our program the possibility of Ole Miss having a bang-up season and potentially making a run at the SEC or national title. Lofty praise to say the least. Both polls, thus far, have agreed that the Rebels are a force with which to be reckoned, and Houston Nutt is poised to electrify the south with Jevan Snead and his tricky “Wild Rebel” offense in his second year in Oxford.
As EDSBS’s Spencer Hall put it while guest-hosting The Solid Verbal, “Houston Nutt is crazier than a sack of weasels.” And, in large part, that’s why Ole Miss could be so dangerous in 2009. Nutt has always had unpredictability and crazy formations on his side — now he’s got 16 returning starters and as favorable a home schedule as you could ever hope to have in the SEC. Let’s see if Ole Miss is for real.
Last Year
Houston Nutt arrived at Ole Miss and instantly improved the offense. His main weapon was Jevan Snead, who threw for 26 touchdowns and almost 2,800 yards. His secondary attack featured a three-headed monster on the ground in the form of WR Dexter McCluster, RB Cordera Eason, and RB Brandon Bolden, all of whom rushed for more than 500 yards. His group of receivers (including McCuster, obviously) showed the same level of balance, with three receivers gaining more than 600 yards on the season. Collectively, this lead to an average of 32.1 points per game in 2008, up 12 points from 2007. Likewise, the Rebels’ total offense went up by more than 60 yards per game, which lead to a 9-4 record, including a Cotton Bowl victory over then-No. 8 Texas Tech.
But there weren’t just improvements on offense. Ole Miss improved its defense by almost 120 yards and 10 points per game. Opponents averaged less than 100 yards rushing against a tough Rebel front, which also logged more sacks (38) than any Ole Miss team thus far this decade.
The Rebels’ M.O. in ‘08, at least at the start of the season, was inconsistency. Losses against Wake Forest and Vanderbilt didn’t seem to add up, especially after this team knocked off Florida in Gainesville only a few weeks later. But after a tough loss in Tuscaloosa, the Rebels hit their stride, rattling off six straight wins and marching into 2009 with high expectations.
People
You already know about Jevan Snead, Cordera Eason, Brandon Bolden, and Dexter McCluster. This year, you’ll learn about them, as well as highly-touted freshman WR Pat Patterson. This offense figures to pack a powerful punch behind an offensive line that averages 332 lbs, which is third in the NCAA.
Defensively, safety Kendrick Lewis returns for his senior season after a great 2008 campaign in which he led the Rebels with 85 tackles. But he’s not the only returner. Ole Miss brings back seven other defensive starters, including Kentrell Lockett, Ted Laurent, Macus Tillman, Jonathan Cornell, Allen Walker, Marshay Green and Cassius Vaughn. This defense will be experienced to say the least — starting all juniors and seniors (at least according to early projections).
This Year
Mississippi’s road schedule features the following juggernauts: Memphis, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Auburn, and Mississippi State. That’s it. In addition to dodging Florida, the Rebels figure to have three difficult SEC games against Alabama, Tennessee and LSU, all of which will be played in Oxford. Arkansas could be a sneaky game as the Hogs played Ole Miss tight last season, but it wouldn’t appear as though there are more than two or three losses on their schedule. At least not on paper.
Conclusions
For as promising as Ole Miss seems to be with 16 returning starters, you have to wonder if the hype can be transformed into legitimate performance. We know that Mississippi’s offense will be one of the most experienced in the SEC, and should improve upon last year’s 32.1 points per game. We know that this defense is ready to take a big step forward. But we don’t know how much of this hype is warranted. The games aren’t played on paper, and if any conference has taught us that in recent years, it’s the SEC.
It would be fantastic to see a team like Ole Miss throw its hat in the SEC circus and take the West division. A new team in the mix would be an exciting wrinkle. But the question remains: How much do you really trust Houston Nutt?
Prediction
10-2
Game Highlights Set To Symphony Music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3szJTBxq0BE
–Ty
Mystery Guest Host (8/27)
Thursday, August 27th, 2009 | Episodes | No Comments
While Dan is off frolicking in the Canadian wilderness, Ty brings in a witty guest host to take his place and discuss Mitch Mustain’s third string status, Bryce Brown’s eligibility, possible (or make-believe) corruption in the Coaches’ Poll, and the logic behind growing a mustache. Plus, voice messages and e-mails from afar. (Episode 54)
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August Countdown: Penn State (9)
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 | Blog, Team Preview | No Comments
Throughout August, we will be counting down the top 25 teams (as listed here) going into the 2009 season. Today, we take a stroll up College Avenue, stop by for a cone of Peachy Paterno, visit with the crazies at Paternoville, and close out the night with some ponies at the Rathskellar.
That’s right, boys and girls… WE ARE… PENN STATE!
First Impressions
It’s 8:00 AM on a football Saturday. You need only listen to the hustle and bustle of downtown State College to understand the electricity surrounding Penn State football. Close your eyes and listen; the sounds of the crowd tell the story. The pitter-patter of thousands of shoes wandering down College Avenue is purer than raindrops on a tin roof. The trumpets emanating from the Student Bookstore are crisper than the cool, autumn air of central Pennsylvania. The chants of students echo throughout Beaver Canyon like a megaphone in a bandshell.
It’s four hours before game time, and this is Penn State. WE are Penn State.
I proudly say “we”, because it wasn’t all that long ago that I was a student. I know that football means a lot to this place, because it built this place — it transformed the area from a small farming school in 1855 to the tier-one university it is in 2009. It’s an institution that built an institution. Its profits are the bricks for the state-of-the-art buildings that dot campus. Its coach’s impact has been, both literally and figuratively, monumental.
And so it is, again, with Joe Paterno’s humble attitude that the Nittany Lions take the field this season — for the 44th time, to be exact — in hopes of getting over the humps and bumps of yesteryear and returning back to the glory of 1986, their last championship year. A BCS championship was oh-so-close last season, but with veteran leadership returning this year Penn State lies in the weeds, lurking as a darkhorse contender, ready to pounce on an opportunity that has eluded the program for 23 years.
Last Year
Plain and simple, Penn State was one game away from playing for a BCS title. A letdown 24-23 loss at Iowa only two weeks after beating Ohio State was all it took to knock the Lions from national championship contention. Though a Rose Bowl matchup against USC was a respectable consolation prize, it was painful to be that close to the BCS Championship and come away empty-handed, especially for a exciting contingent of senior receivers named Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordan Norwood.
You could argue that Penn State played a weak schedule — and it did — but outside that disappointing Iowa game, it outplayed every single opponent, including an Oregon State team that beat USC and an Ohio State squad that almost upended Texas in the Fiesta Bowl. In a season as crazy as 2008, that feat was absolutely something of which to be proud.
The Lions used a “Spread HD” attack crafted by the much-maligned Jay Paterno to fuel its offense. Led by veteran Daryll Clark, a breakout season by RB Evan Royster, and the aforementioned contingent of WRs, Penn State averaged 206 yards per game on the ground, and nearly 250 yards per game through the air. Likewise, the Lions’ defense was just as successful, holding opponents to a mere 2.8 yards per rush and less than 200 passing yards per game.
People
This season will be known as the year of Daryll Clark, Evan Royster, Navorro Bowman, and Sean Lee. Clark, who seems like he’s in his 85th year of eligibility, will need to improve his passing game in order to excel with a less-experienced group of receivers including Graham Zug, Brett Brackett and Chaz Powell. However, Evan Royster — fresh off a 1,200-yard campaign in 2008 — should help alleviate some of that pressure, running behind an offensive line that is less-experienced than last year, but still fairly solid.
Defensively, the return of Lee from an ACL injury will make the Lions’ defense that much tougher. Lee, who most definitely would’ve been a top NFL pick if not for his injury, will join up this season with Navorro Bowman, who led all Penn Staters last year with 106 tackles, 12.5 of which were for losses.
This Year
Penn State’s conference schedule is slightly more difficult than last season, meaning that another potential run at a Big Ten / BCS Title is a distinct possibility, but arguably harder. Look for the Lions to roll through September with big wins over Akron, Syracuse, Temple, and an Iowa team that ruined its season in ‘08. But as the calendar turns to October, Penn State will face its first true test on the road against an Illinois team picked by many to be a Big Ten contender. Three weeks later, the Lions hit the road again and travel to Michigan, for what should be a closer game than last year’s 46-17 massacre. November poses two challenges: Ohio State in State College and Michigan State in East Lansing.
Conclusion
Penn State should be considered a favorite to win the Big Ten championship and be selected to a BCS bowl game. However, there is no escaping the fact that the Lions lost a considerable chunk of their offense when their receivers graduated, and I just cannot see this team going undefeated, not with potential losses looming in the form of Illinois, Ohio State, and Michigan State. Consider the matchup with Illinois to be a bellwether for the remainder of the 2009 season — the Lions are 3-6 since 2000 in Big Ten road openers.
That said, there are at least 10 wins on this schedule. No question about it. The question, though, is can the Lions get back to 11 wins like they did in 2008. The Big Ten will be better in ‘09, and quite honestly, I’m just not comfortable saying they will.
Prediction
10-2
Highlights Set To Sweet Music From Varsity Blues and Aerosmith
--Ty
Lou Holtz: College Football Prophet (8/24)
Monday, August 24th, 2009 | Episodes | No Comments
Ty and Dan discuss the latest predictions by Lou Holtz, the curious three-quarterback set at Michigan, Julio Jones’ fishing trip and USC’s practice regimens. Plus, drunken voice messages!
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August Countdown: Boise State (11)
Monday, August 24th, 2009 | Blog, Team Preview | 1 Comment
Throughout August, we will be counting down the top 25 teams (as listed here) going into the 2009 season. Today, we trek into the Treasure Valley to examine Boise State. Don’t worry, I brought finger steaks from Buster’s, an ice cream potato from the Westside Drive-In, and my giant block of ice to slide down the hill next to the JR Simplot manor. How’s that for local references, Idahoans?
First Impression
Until a rogue safety throws his shoulder into your defenseless quarterback’s chin, it’s pretty impossible not to like the Boise State Broncos story. There’s the Fiesta Bowl, the innovative, precise offense, and the turf. It’s blue. You probably know that by now.
I’m fairly certain a number of programs that are considered to be traditionally strong would take Chris Peterson in a heartbeat, but he’s plenty happy in Boise, so good on him. I still don’t see him as a lifer, but I could very well be wrong.
As long as Peterson’s in charge and the Broncos are in the WAC, we pretty much know what we’ll get -- big numbers, wins in the double digits more often than not, and a team filled with passed-over players who have been expertly developed into effective players. Ho hum.
Last Year
Had Boise handled TCU in their bowl game, it could be argued that the 2008 Boise squad was the best of the decade, if not the most dominant. The win over Oregon, despite my bitter circumstantial claims, was gigantic for the program.
In conference play, the only real tests the Broncos faced were @San Jose State and @Nevada, two decent teams. As always, it would be far more interesting to see the boys in blue play in a superior conference, but the invites aren’t exactly pouring in.
Chris Peterson’s squad finished the season 12-0, which got them an invite to a bowl that felt like it was played around Thanksgiving. Despite the slap-in-the-face bowl bid, they were at least matched up against a quite good TCU team, which promptly suffocated the BSU offense.
People
While most of the national eyes were on newlywed RB Ian Johnson, it was RS freshman QB Kellen Moore’s team, especially considering the Broncos threw nearly twice as much as they ran. Moore had a 25 TD/10 INT/3500 yard season, which for a player in his first active college season, is, uh, swell.
Johnson’s gone, but junior RB Jeremy Avery, a back who had more YPC than Johnson, should figure in significantly in the effort to balance out the BSU offense, especially considering every playmaking receiver is gone.
Up front, the O-line is a patchwork project without a ton of experience, but there looks to be enough bodies around to give Kellen Moore just enough time to take spread the ball around.
Up front on defense, the Broncos lose three starters and promising DT Michael Atkinson will be suspended for the Oregon game. Never good to be without an inside presence against a dominant running team. Ever.
Similar to the number of returners on the D-line, only one linebacker, Derrell Acrey, returns. The hope is that Boise can take advantage of their athletic, younger LBs and not fall victim to a general lack of experience among the front seven starters.
The secondary appears to be the strongest returning group. Both corners, Kyle Wilson and Brandyn Thompson, have had plenty of lockdown performances to instill confidence outside, and who knows, Jeron Johnson (FS), the team’s leading returning tackler, may decapitate somebody on the field this year … so there’s that.
It should be a long year for Boise opponents. Teams seem to get down early against the Broncos and then find themselves throwing into a brutal secondary. Good deal.
This Year
It’s pretty simple. The biggest game ever played at Bronco Stadium is a week from Thursday against Oregon. I don’t see it being close in either direction. The Bronco offense will either throw all over the Ducks to pace a double digit win or will get run over and lose by double digits. Do you even have to ask where I’m siding on this one?
After this, the only notable games are @Fresno St, @Tulsa, @Hawaii, and scary Nevada at home.
Worst case scenario is probably 11-2. Not. Too. Bad.
Conclusion
IFFFFFFFF the Broncos get by the Ducks, they probably go undefeated. Kellen Moore, when he’s firing on all cylinders (generally the case) is as smooth as it gets. They’re probably a year away from as good as they were last year, but it should be, ho-hum, another dominant year.
Prediction
12-1. Boise has similar problems up front on both sides of the ball that Oregon has, but I’ll take the rebuilt Oregon lines over the issues BSU has. As an Oregon fan, though, I still want no part of Chris Peterson’s crazy play action. And I’m guessing neither does the rest of the WAC.
Game Highlights Set to Black Eyed Peas “Music”
-Dan
August Countdown: LSU (12)
Friday, August 21st, 2009 | Blog, Team Preview | No Comments
Throughout August, we will be counting down the top 25 teams (as listed here) going into the 2009 season. Today, we venture deep into the bayou, where beads are like currency, Nick Saban is the enemy, and purple and yellow is an acceptable color combination at social gatherings.
First Impressions
Les Miles is the kind of guy that doubles-down on every single hand of blackjack. If he wins, he celebrates like a teenager after his first beer buzz. If he loses, well, then you don’t want to be the dealer.
Miles has brought this mentality to Baton Rouge — a bold, crazy, unpredictable confidence that’d make you feel more comfortable staring face-to-face with a real, actual tiger. LSU thrives on riskiness, which makes the Tigers incredibly exciting to watch. Miles has balls the size of watermelons.
And he’ll need them in 2009, with the usual dosage of hard-nosed SEC football on LSU’s schedule. But if anyone can find a way to scrap together a few improbable wins and make a darkhorse title run, it is Miles.
Last Year
LSU was plagued by injuries at quarterback. Andrew Hatch gave way to the Jarrett Lee Experiment, which turned into a tire fire burning out of control. Likewise, LSU’s defense struggled at times, particularly against passing offenses, which had Sam Bradford-like time to throw the football. You can’t win like this in the SEC where a top flight defense is paramount to success.
All told, it was an off year for a perennial power, as the Tigers closed the year at 8-5 after a crushing bowl victory over Georgia Tech. After starting 2008 with a 4-0 record, LSU succumbed to Florida, then to Georgia, then to Alabama (in a heartbreaking OT game), then to Ole Miss, then to Arkansas. But young players gain important experience against a brutal SEC schedule, and it should serve the Tigers well in 2009.
People
Jarrett Lee might not be at the bottom of the Mississippi right now, but he sure as hell won’t be playing quarterback after last season. This year, that title belongs to sophomore Jordan Jefferson, who was too green in ‘08 to make any serious impact. Jefferson has looked solid this spring and figures to give LSU much more stability at QB in ‘09. Or at least they’d hope--the passing game was LSU’s biggest problem on offense last season.
As usual, skill positions won’t be a problem. Jefferson’s target will be talented WR Brandon LaFell, arguably the best receiver in the country who finished just shy of 1,000 yards in 2008, probably due to tenuous quarterbacking issues. Charles Scott returns at RB fresh off an 1,123 yard campaign last season. With monster linemen like Ciron Black leading the way, Scott should have an even better year in 2009.
Defensively, LSU is as stacked as ever with quick, solid defenders at just about every position. Names like Perry Riley, Rahim Alem, Drake Nevis, Harry Coleman and Patrick Peterson are ones for which you should listen. This unit has crippling potential, and should be a force all season long.
This Year
Though the Tigers play their normal brand of creampuffs throughout September, the schedule toughens up in a hurry with a trip to Georgia (a Solid Verbal sleeper) on October 3th and a major test against Florida a week later. The Tigers must also travel to Tuscaloosa and Oxford before the year is through. The SEC West looms large in the BCS Title hunt, and if LSU can emerge from this gruesome road schedule with two wins, it should feel good about its chances of playing for an SEC crown.
Conclusions
It feels like there are four potential losses on LSU’s 2009 schedule (all of which are mentioned above). Figure on losses to three of those four teams, but all in all, a much improved team from last season.
Prediction
9-3
Highlights Set To NSFW Tupac Music:
--Ty
Big Eastin’ It with David Fox
Friday, August 21st, 2009 | Episodes | No Comments
Ty and Dan talk with David Fox from Rivals.com about the Big East’s national profile, the impact of Greg Paulus on Syracuse’s football team, the trajectory of the West Virginia program, and the impact fantasy players in the conference. Plus, multiple voice messages and a MONSTER mailbag to help kill your Friday in celebration of the Solid Verbal being spotlighted by iTunes! (Episode 53)
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August Countdown: California (13)
Thursday, August 20th, 2009 | Blog, Team Preview | 1 Comment
Throughout August, we will be counting down the top 25 teams (as listed here) going into the 2009 season. Today, we break out the pachouli oil, impressive SAT scores, and our loudest protest bullhorns as we take a seat on Tightwad Hill to catch a glance at this year’s Cal Bears squad. Somewhere, Adam Duritz is totally feeling our vibe.
First Impression
Cal is and should always be a good football school. There’s a good amount of talent in Northern California and a great amount in Southern California. The school boasts academics that almost nobody else around the country can. God help the entire Pac-10 if they ever get impressive facilities. Could you imagine if they actually cared about the program up there? Yikes.
Moving on, Cal has become a consistent preseason second tier national program over the last five years, and there are games in which they absolutely deserve it. As good as Jeff Tedford is as a QB guru, QB play has been inconsistent, and at times, downright odd.
In light of Ty continually calling Cal “Clemson West,” eventually they won’t have the usual Cal lull, win at least ten games again, and justify the yearly hype. I think. Maybe.
Last Year
The season started out with a back and forth win over Michigan State (solid scheduling) that highlighted a tremendous running game in which Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen both notched hundred yard games. They then flew east to Maryland and played at what felt like 6:00 A.M., got down early and lost. Quite simply, the Bears weren’t prepared and they dun’ brain farted in College Park.
Two painless wins over Colorado State and ASU begat a third quarter at Arizona that may have been the worst quarter played by any Top 25 team all year. UGLY. 28 points later, Tucson chewed up and spit out Cal’s case for Pac-10 contention. Woops.
A win over UCLA led into a sloppy victory in the rain over Oregon. Quarterback play on both sides was abhorrent against the Ducks in Berkeley, and Cal even did all they could to hand the game away, but Oregon refused to do enough to win on a sludgy field. Cal wisely accepted the win and moved on. Clearly, I haven’t.
Cal then lost to the top two teams in the conference on the road (at the time), USC and OSU, before closing out the season with two straight home wins and a home bowl game win over Miami.
The year was essentially defined by the emergence of Jahvid Best, a surprisingly stout defense (over the second half of the season), and Nate Longshore agonizing epilogue.
People
The first name in Cal football is now Jahvid Best. He’s the most dangerous open-field runner in college football. Luckily, and this is just a prediction, but the Pac-10 will almost assuredly only see him at 75-80% for a good period of time. Simply put, he gets beat up.
Kevin Riley fully takes over for a (thankfully) departed Nate Longshore. Riley’s shown flashes of being really good (see: 2007 Armed Forces Bowl), but has also shown a knack for being really average. Touted RS freshman Brock Mansion has been challenging Riley during the offseason, but Riley has been the consistent #1 at camp.
Every worthwhile skill position guy is back, and the addition of RS freshman Marvin Jones to the receiving corps should add flash to an already decent group (Nyan Boateng, Verran Tucker).
The big places where the Bears take an equally devastating hit are at center and linebacker. Alex Mack was generally considered to be the best center in the country last year, and Cal’s experienced, focused LBs anchored a defense that carried the team throughout the second half of the season. Plus, LB Worrell Williams apparently doesn’t like me, so I’m happy he’s out of the state.
The defense will need to get lockdown performances out of Syd’Quan Thompson (9th year senior) and the rest of the secondary, but as stated before, it’s a running league this year, so much of the pressure should be off of the defensive backfield.
This Year
Cal will blow at Maryland the first week of the year. Book it. The very next week, I could see Eastern Washington taking down Cal. Ok not really, but I’ll do my best to predict Cal’s bonehead loss(es).
Minnesota has certainly improved, and even though the game is in Minny’s new stadium, the Gophers only seem to beat up on bad teams, which the Bears certainly are not.
Here’s where it get’s tricky. Cal gets another road game, this time at Oregon, which is one of their two hugely difficult tests. Lucky for Cal, defensive coordinator Bob Gregory has schemed superbly against Oregon’s spread the past few seasons, and the Ducks are coming off of a September schedule that includes games at Boise State and against Utah. Cal finally goes down here.
It doesn’t get any easier the next week, but at least USC comes to Berkeley this year. By this point, USC at home may be more attractive than the Ducks in Eugene, especially since I’ll be in Autzen Stadium, giving the Ducks that extra something. Ok, the Dan Rubenstein shoehorning ends here.
The rest of the season should be fairly easy to navigate: UCLA is better, but still building; ASU can say the same; Oregon State is always able to develop and insert players (and beat Cal); Arizona is tricky but comes to Cal; Stanford is fiesty, but breaking in a new QB; Washington is abysmal.
Conclusion
Is this the year Ty stops calling Cal “Clemson West?” Maybe. USC is as vulnerable as they’ll ever be. The schedule isn’t brutal. other than LB, and the middle of the offensive line, there’s experience everywhere. That said, there’s still a part of me that knows that they’ll beat a good team and lose to one, and then they’ll beat up on a bunch of lower teams and then lose to one or two. Oh Jeff Tedford, we know ye too well!
Prediction
9-3. They lose to Oregon, USC, and Stanford. I think. Ok, I have no idea, but it feels right.
Game Highlights Set to Unfortunate Music
-Dan
August Countdown: Georgia (14)
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 | Blog, Team Preview | No Comments
Throughout August, we will be counting down the top 25 teams (as listed here) going into the 2009 season. Today, we travel deep within SEC territory to Athens, Georgia, a place that hates Ty Hildenbrandt and will have its opportunity to seek barbaric revenge when he visits on September 26th.
First Impressions
Two seasons ago, I penned the following line regarding Georgia football in an effort to draw a parallel between the Bulldogs and the great WWF star “The Ultimate Warrior“:
Hulk Hogan once described The Ultimate Warrior as a “flat character.” Is that not Georgia? Other than a wild touchdown celebration against Florida, the Dawgs have no real defining characteristics. Likewise, they continually fall short of being THE team to beat in college football, content on going 8-4, 9-3, or 10-2 every season.
Never in my life have I been so afraid. This statement resonated throughout Dawg Nation like a crying baby in a crowded church. And I was inundated, relentlessly, with messages from angry fans, all of whom contested every syllable of the three sentences I had inadvertently used to launch a pseudo-controversy. It was undoubtedly the closest I had ever come to being beaten by an angry mob while attempting a joke about a once-superstar in an imaginary sport.
It was then that I realized what Georgia football was all about. Though I stand by those initial statements — Georgia still hasn’t gotten over that proverbial hump on the national stage — I realize that Georgia sees it differently. Georgia doesn’t lower its standards when it falls short; if anything, it raises them. (And its fans sure as hell didn’t appreciate me poking a stick in their wound.)
That’s where we’re at with the Dawgs in 2009. Only a year ago, this team was loaded for bear with Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno on offense, and a preseason No. 1 ranking to its credit. But as losses amassed against Alabama, Florida and Georgia Tech, it became clear that Georgia was somewhat overrated. It also became clear that Georgia, at least under Mark Richt, thrives better when it can fly under the radar. And, well, hello 2009.
As Stafford and Moreno were both first round NFL picks, and the focus in the SEC has shifted to teams such as Florida, Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss, Georgia again finds itself lurking in the weeds, perhaps an upset or two away from making an improbable run.
Last Year
Georgia started the 2008 season as the preseason No. 1 team in the country behind Matthew Stafford’s arm, and Knowshon Moreno’s legs. But it simply wasn’t meant to be. After starting the year 3-0, Georgia was downed in Sanford Stadium by Alabama, dashing their dreams of a march through the SEC, and launching another title run, indirectly, for the Crimson Tide.
The Dawgs, however, got their act together and hammered out three consecutive wins against Tennessee, Vanderbilt and LSU (in Baton Rouge), setting up a showdown in Jacksonville with another one-loss SEC team: Florida. But that wasn’t meant to be, either. The Gators had Georgia on their mind after Mark Richt’s premeditated antics in 2007, and subsequently rolled up a 49-10 blowout victory, which essentially stole the Dawgs’ soul in the second half, and for the remainder of the season. Two-loss Georgia was out of contention.
And that was pretty much that. Georgia mailed it in. In its final three regular season games, the Dawgs survived two back-to-back road scares against Kentucky and Auburn, before eventually succumbing to Georgia Tech to end its season. Though Georgia won the Capital One Bowl over Michigan State, 2008 was a huge disappointment.
People
Though Georgia loses its two biggest names, the team, as a whole, returns 15 starters. Get used to names like QB Joe Cox, RB Caleb King, and an underrated group of WRs led by AJ Green and Michael Moore, and a veteran group of defenders led by Geno Atkins, Rennie Curran and Reshad Jones. Coach Mark Richt will again be in charge of navigating the ship through treacherous SEC waters. This is the kind of underdog squad with which he is known to excel. However, one of his most important tasks will be trying to drive a better turnover differential — the last two times Georgia’s differential has been in the black, the Dawgs have qualified for a BCS bowl.
This Year
Georgia will be tested early when it travels to Stillwater to square off against Oklahoma State, arguably the second-best team in the Big 12, on September 5th. More importantly, it will provide a very early glimpse at what Georgia’s defense can do against a high-powered offense, which has been a concern over the last few years (the Dawgs’ average points allowed has steadily increased from 16.4 to 24.5 since 2005).
The biggest challenge, however, will be maneuvering another grueling year in the SEC. This schedule is littered with potential landmines, and quite simply, there are no breaks. After Okie State, Georgia is looking at South Carolina, @Arkansas, Arizona State, LSU, @Tennessee, @Vanderbilt, Florida (in Jacksonville), Tennessee Tech (OK, this might be a break), Auburn, Kentucky, and @Georgia Tech. Such is life in the SEC. The good news is that the Dawgs have a favorable home schedule; the bad news is that LSU, Florida and Georgia Tech could all be major flies in the ointment.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for Mark Richt will be finding better harmony between offense and defense. Simply put, the offense cannot be asked to win every game, and the defense MUST step up and do its share if this season is going to exceed expectations.
Conclusions
Georgia is surprisingly deep in 2009, and in a familiar role in which it has succeeded before under Mark Richt. Mark me down as a believer that this team will be extremely competitive in every single game, with losses only against Oklahoma State and Florida.
Prediction:
10-2
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