After reading this comment by David Hale about Joe Cox…
Cox knows what he’s doing and has a good enough arm to get the job done. He’s David Greene with less playing experience…
I’m just wondering – what do you think Georgia’s record in 2009 would be if Cox compiles these passing numbers: 2,789 yards on 192 of 324 passes (59.3%), 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions?
Those were Greene’s stats in his first year, when Georgia went 8-4.
Filed under Georgia Football
No, not these.
What potential incontinence problem, you ask? This one:
He’s hopeful for an 11-0 start for his Cowboys going into a season-closing Bedlam showdown with Oklahoma, which would mean regular-season wins over Georgia and Texas. A BCS bid might be a reality for the first time, given Oklahoma State’s high-powered offense and the hiring of veteran defensive coordinator Bill Young.
“It would be big,” Pickens said of the BCS. “I haven’t been there. It would probably make me pee in my pants.”
A Georgia win on Saturday should go a long way towards taking care of that messy possibility. After all, it did the trick the last time.
… He’s wary, remembering a disastrous visit Between the Hedges in 2007. The first thing Pickens spied as he exited his private plane was a replica of OSU’s mascot hanging from a flagpole. Things only got worse in a 35-14 Georgia win.
Filed under Georgia Football
Steve Spurrier reflects on recruiting cheatin’ in today’s SEC:
Do you think there’s less cheating in the SEC than there was in the 1990s when you were at Florida?
SS: I think there’s less cheating, but I think there’s more ‘I don’t give a damn’ about the little rules. You know, the secondary stuff. I heard a coach say, ‘If I need to call a kid, I’ll get my wife to call him on her phone. I didn’t call him, so that’s not a violation.’ That’s the kind of stuff we’re dealing with now. I don’t think anybody’s buying cars or giving cash away the way they were years ago, but the secondary things are going on more than ever.
It’s all part of the plan, as someone likes to say.
Filed under Recruiting, SEC Football
Less than a week to go, folks.
I hate to pick on David Ching to make a point, but I think he’s 180 degrees off when he says this:
… Ask yourself who wanted to win last year’s Georgia-Florida game more: Matthew Stafford or Tim Tebow. The answer to that question was clear when the Gators turned a 14-3 halftime lead into a 49-10 victory – not that Stafford alone deserves the blame for that loss.
I don’t think Matt’s problem in the second half was that he didn’t care enough. Quite the opposite – I think he cared too much. In his own way, I believe he was guilty of having the same mentality that Reshad Jones and Michael Moore noted gripped the team last year.
“That had a lot to do with our downfall,” safety Reshad Jones said. “We weren’t as one. We were high ranked. Other guys were looking at other big-name guys. We weren’t focused on the task ahead of us.”
On offense, those big name guys were Stafford and Moreno – stars who showed up in highlights and led the SEC in passing and rushing, respectively. They were guys players expected to pick up the team when it needed a boost.
“You kind of felt that you could depend on Stafford to make the throw or you could depend on Knowshon to make that one run that’s going to change the game,” said senior receiver Michael Moore…
Against a team as talented as Florida, feeling like you have to pick up and carry your team on your shoulders isn’t conducive to playing winning football. And it showed.
The only reason I mention this is because whatever kind words are being tossed Joe Cox’ way right now, nobody is expecting him to do the same thing with this year’s squad, including Cox himself. The Florida game shows that there’s an upside to that. Maybe the lows won’t be as much of a meltdown in ’09.
On the other hand, I hope we aren’t going to see moments like we did against Kentucky and Georgia Tech last year, when the defense fell apart and it was Stafford who kept bringing the team back. Because – no reflection on Joe, but he’s not going to be a number one draft pick any time soon – the highs this year at QB probably won’t be as high, either.
Filed under Georgia Football
A question popped into my head while I was getting ready to go to work this morning.
Let’s say that Georgia pulls off an 11-1 regular season, losing to a credible 10-2 LSU, but beating the 11-1 Gators in a close game.
That puts the Dawgs in the SECCG. Let’s say they go there and lose to a ‘Bama team that finishes 11-2 with the win there.
Finally, let’s stipulate that no D-1 school finishes undefeated.
My question is this: how straight faced will Herbstreit be when he argues that Florida should play in the BCS title game despite not winning its conference?
Filed under College Football, ESPN Is The Devil
For all the talk about Dez Bryant (deservedly so), take a look at this comparison between his career stats and those of A. J. Green.
Bryant’s got a year’s experience on A. J., but Green gets to go against the shakier defense next weekend. It should make for an interesting contrast at the end of the day.
Filed under Georgia Football
Phil Fulmer reflects on one very special part of his legacy:
Q.
Obviously, your successor, Lane Kiffin, has been in the news. You know those players. What do you see for this season and what they can accomplish?
A.I love Tennessee and I love those players very much. If you’re going to be brash, you better be willing to back it up. You know, I’m hopeful that they can. We kind of screwed it up last year, honestly. We should have won eight or nine. Eight at least. They’re going to have to get great quarterback play or a lot better quarterback play…
Yeah, Lane Kiffin thanks you very much for that quarterback play, Coach.
Filed under The Glass is Half Fulmer
I’m not sure if it’s possible for a head coach to be on a hot seat after only one season, but I’ve got to admit that Rich Rodriguez is giving it his best shot.
The University of Michigan football team consistently has violated NCAA rules governing off-season workouts, in-season demands on players and mandatory summer activities under coach Rich Rodriguez, numerous players told the Free Press.
I don’t know how big a deal this is, to tell you the truth (Chris Brown does a nice job breaking that down, if you’re interested), and Rodriguez denies the charges, but at a minimum, Michigan is going to have to deal with an internal look at this which may in turn lead to an NCAA investigation and Rodriguez continues to deal with players who have issues with his coaching style. Neither of which sounds like a particularly good thing, especially when you’re coming off of a 3-9 season.
Plus, if it turns out that NCAA guidelines were violated, it’ll be hard to characterize Rich Rod as anything other than a blatant liar (unless he’s got some serious plausible deniability built into whatever went on, in which case he’ll merely make himself and the school look foolish).
Bottom line – it’s hard to argue with this:
A final thought: Going into this year, I thought the people who claimed that Rich Rodriguez was already on the hotseat in just his second year at UM were crazy. Now, I am not so sure. He better win some games.
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UPDATE: More on that player friction concern here.
Filed under Big Ten Football, The NCAA
If you check around the 13:40 mark on ESPNU’s College Football podcast from August 26, you’ll be treated to Beano Cook’s reasoning as to why Mark Richt will be on the hot seat after this season.
To his credit, Maisel knocks that down with one quick point, but still…
Filed under ESPN Is The Devil, Georgia Football
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