My intent this week was to alternate optimistic and pessimistic takes on the Georgia-Florida game. Today was going to be one on the plus side.
But then I saw that Mark Bradley, of all people, has already gone there with this.
This isn’t exactly a revelation, given that I made the prediction nearly five months ago, but here, for late tuners-in, it is: I like Georgia over Florida. Believe it or not, I’m not alone.
The many men of Scouts Inc. — Todd McShay, Steve Muench and Kevin Weidl – have declared on ESPN Insider (link requires registration) that the Bulldogs will beat the Gators 26-23. Their reasoning, conveniently enough, dovetails with what I’m now thinking. Back in May, I was thinking Georgia would simply be the better team. It hasn’t been to date, which doesn’t mean it can’t be Saturday.
From the Scouts Inc. preview:
Signs can’t always be trusted, especially in rivalry games. So don’t be surprised when Georgia turns in its most emotionally charged effort of the year. For 60 minutes, all the elite individual talent on Georgia’s defense will work together as a unit, and it will be enough to hand the Gators their first loss of the season.
So now I don’t know what to think.
Bradley does make a good point. Season-wise, the least statistically productive unit that will step on the field Saturday is the Gator offense. The catch is that Florida’s play on defense and special teams has been more than good enough to offset that.
But I sure would love to see what would happen if Florida was forced to turn to the pass to win the game.
Get The Picture 
I’m not usually a pessimist, even with this game.. but a good defense has shown that it can stop us, and the only way I have any hope, is if our Defense comes together and plays its best game of the year. I’m not saying it won’t or can’t happen.. but from where I’m sitting, I’d rather be pleasantly surprised at the end of the day on Saturday, than disappointed because I let me get my hopes up.
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Agreed with last sentence – if we can force Driskel to beat us with his arm then there is a good chance he does. But there is also a good chance he doesn’t. I think most UGA fans would be willing to roll the dice and bring another dude into run support or as a spy to keep containment.
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Also, Florida’s lacked big-play receivers ever since Percy Harvin left. Jordan Reed is a pretty good tight end but the rest of the receiving corps doesn’t really scare people.
We MUST get better push at the line of scrimmage though or the discrepancy between each team’s passing offense will be a moot point.
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We’re screwed… Bradley is a perfect inverse barometer. Having Bradley pick your team to win is almost as bad as having Lee Corso choose you to win. We’re screwed .Can I start drinking now?
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I seem to remember Corso picking SC a few weeks ago.. we saw how that turned out.
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Agree. I still remember when Bradley picked the Hawks to beat Orlando, and then they got sweeped by an average margin of 30 points a game. He loves to pick hometown teams (picked uga, tech, and falcons to win conferences/divisions). This is the worst thing that could happen to us.
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Maybe I’m just reading things through pessimism-colored lenses, but it sounds like Bradley and the Scouts Inc. guys are just saying, “There’s more than sufficient reason to think Florida will win this, but you never really know with rivalry games. So Georgia.” And given our record in this series over the past couple decades or so, that’s more laughable than it is hope-inspiring.
As usual, hoping for a win, expecting a loss, and drinking scotch instead of the usual beer.
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I’ve read the “Quote of the day” at the bottom of this page by Spurrier and wondered if he was trolling or said what he believes or simply being disrespectful to the Gators. I don’t know, really, but I do think he was speaking the truth. I am beginning to think this game will be a snot-knocking game and much closer than it seemed a few days ago. Starting to like the vibe.
Just don’t tell SJonesIII, ok…
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Who says I disagree?
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Me? I’m going with Vodka and Cranberry…
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S.J.III,
Your comment gives me hope.
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Me? I’ve loaded up on Lemon-Lime and Tropical Punch.
Go Dawgs.
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I think I’ll have that as well Spike, maybe with a splash of O.J. also.
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You would think that the sheer percentages would allow Mark Bradley to right at least now and then, here’s hoping this is the time, I agree though an onimous sign.
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My prediction for the game is a repeat of AU 2006. But just in case…
630AM Saturday morning on Victoria Street = crown and coke.
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You know, you can get out cheaper by shooting everclear and eating a bag of sugar… :b
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Player for player, I believe our D has equal or better talent than fu. And we definitely have more playmakers on O. Their O line and special teams are much better. So it comes down to coaching, aggressiveness, and which way the ball bounces. Bradley is still employed?
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Any analysis of play on the field leads you to pick FU, and by 2+ TDs. They have played that much better on defense, and with STs. But any CFB fan knows passion/determination can make up a difference like that. And a closer look will show the UGA defense is capable of much more than they have shown, if they ever decide to man-up. Florida’s offense has gotten better, but they still are not that good so a strong effort by the Dawg defense can neutralize the gator offense.
Like the SC game, if the OL gets gouged our offense has no chance, but if we can scheme some way to limit penetration our passing game can easily keep up with anything the UF offense is capable of. Big if, but let’s not put this FU team at the top of the collegiate game, they are not that talented. They trailed TN, LSU, and A&M. There are 5-6 teams, at least, better than FU. Not saying they aren’t good, or that they shouldn’t be favored, just that having a defeatist attitude makes no sense.
I am predicting a UGA loss this weekend, not because we aren’t capable of beating them, and certainly not for that most stupid reason of all…the last 20 year record, but because I have patiently waited for this defense to show up and they simply haven’t, except for a wimpy Vandy offense. If tghe D were to somehow awake from their 2012 slumber, UGA is very capable of winning. It is on the players, they either have pride or they deserve all the criticsm and jeers they have been getting. Keep the tough talk to yourselves, using twitter is a dumb way to sound off….prove it on the field. It started this summer, and it continues this week. Enough already, let your play on the field prove how good you are.
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I don’t want to be pessimistic but my concern is that no matter how well the Dawgs play the crooked SEC refs won’t allow them to win. It has been my premise for quite some time, stated frequently on this blog, that the SEC is fixing games to maximize BCS bowl revenue which requires that at least 1 SEC team play in the BCSNCG. The best way to make that happen is for at least 1 team to emerge from the SECCG unbeaten and the best way to insure that happening is to have 2 unbeaten teams in the SECCG. Hell, the SEC has been so good at this that last season SEC teams filled BOTH slots in the BCSNCG. How do they do it? By making sure that upsets of the best teams do not occur. So in 2009 when Bama is highly ranked and late in the game an LSU DB intercepts a Bama pass deep in Bama territory near the sidelines it gets called “out of bounds” even though the replay clearly shows the player was in bounds. So also in 2009 when Arkansas looks like they are going to beat Florida, the SEC refs flag Florida all the way down the field to take the lead with penalties so bogus that there is an uproar massive enough for Tim Brando to announce on national TV, “What’s wrong with the refs in the SEC?” This was one week after the bogus “celebration” penalty called on AJ Green by the same crew that cost UGA a win over a favored LSU squad. That was when Slive suspended the Marc Curles crew for one week, remember? (Had to for publicity purposes–Note, Curles didn’t get fired did he?) There are countless examples. I didn’t believe this at first but a friend tipped me off and–damn!–you can actually see it if you watch for it! They have gotten more cagey about it lately and are using no-calls more now. Look carefully. You’ll see what I’m talking about, It doesn’t happen in every game but it does happen in every game where the likely conference champion is threatened. For a long time it was Florida. Then for a while it was LSU. Later it became Bama and Florida together. I used to think UGA had been singled out for bad treatment (and maybe some, like Wagers, were doing that on their own) but now I realize it is just about maximizing $$$. If Ole Miss looked like a world-beater the refs would cheat for them.
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Please! SEC refs are among the worst over the past 15 years but they while they are inconsistent, and miss obvious calls, there is no conspiracy. Do certain refs have a bone to pick with certain coaches/fanbases that may swing a close call, possibly. But we have no major, justifiable rant that would top any other team. I can recall two lost UGA games that were the direct result of a badly missed call: the Sanks fumble against GT, and the pathetic celebration call against AJ in the LSU game. The Ok State game had two horrendous calls (first down spot at the goal line that was over a yard off, and the PF call against us on the pass play to keep their drive going) but I cannot say they directly caused us to lose. Crying about a conspiracy from officials makes any fanbase look like delusional babies, on par with Spurrier and SC fans..
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I said very clearly it wasn’t directed at UGA per se. I watch a lot of football particularly SEC games but also games in other conferences and some NFL games. I see a lot of bad calls but I never get the feeling that an outcome is being determined by the refs except in SEC games and under the circumstances described in my post. The feds caught an NBA ref fixing games a couple of years ago and sent him to the slammer. The BCSNCG pays out $40 Million. You don’t think that’s enough to motivate someone to cheat? This “behavior” by the refs also appears to have started about the time Slime…er…Slive showed up in the SEC office. Why don’t you start looking for it for a while first before you decide that it isn’t happening.
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Jack Arute is right, refs should be sanctioned by the NCAA, I fully support assigning refs from outside the area, and I certainly support having someone train them consistently so we don’t see one set of rules in the PAC12 and another in the SEC. No disagreement there.
Now to the other, why don’t YOU put some facts forward to back up a major claim, one that would rock the sport. Apparently only you and a few others who have been taken to the Mothership are convinced something like this exists. In the Southeastern United States, it is impossible for such a conspirarcy to exist and not result in full scale rioting. I submit your outlandish claims of an officiating conspirarcy are as empty as your feelings about neutrality in JAX, but their has to be at least 20-25 others who fell the same way. Not many more than that could fit on the spaceship.
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“In the Southeastern United States, it is impossible for such a conspiracy to exist and not result in full scale rioting. ” My response to that assertion: Cam Newton. How many people were in on that payoff for Auburn yet nothing was ever proven because the Aubies kept the lid on it. In the SEC ref situation how many really need to know? It seems that only one of 2 or 3 crews always seem to be working the games where funny business appears to be going on and all of the official don’t have to be in on it, just the ref and the Line Judge, plus maybe one more. Then there is the head guy giving the orders. Not many have to be in the loop. Certainly fewer than the number involved in the pay for play operation on the Plains.
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I might add that Jack Arute (I’m not saying he was endorsing what I said above) made the suggestion on his SiriusXM show that all refs should be employed by the NCAA and assigned to games at random and should never be employed by the conferences. I think Jack was expressing concern over the “home cooking” problem that rears its ugly head from time to time. That phenomenon is what the Dawgs experienced in Edmond, OK in 2009 that you described above.
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Tinfoil is on sale at Wal Mart, Mayor.
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As a greeter, you would know. Nice to see you put that degree from UF to such high use.
Your boss is an UGA grad.
Gators suck.
Yeah…I DO feel better.
P.S. /choke sign
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I already have a hat made of the stuff. I put it on every time I read one of your posts. 🙂
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+1000 The SEC refs are the greatest no call refs in football. They are doing it more this year with no calls in the pass rush. I have never seen such terrible holding ignored in my life. They used to call it if the guy was tackled but now its just grab and hold on.
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Another SEC ref favorite is the phantom false start. There is almost always some minor movement by O-linemen while they are in their stances before the ball is snapped that doesn’t effect anything and doesn’t get called–a turn of the head to see the ball, looking right or left, etc. The whole game that isn’t called but when the underdog is threatening the favored team, suddenly flags start flying for even the slightest head movement by a guard or tackle. I used to play guard. I know what a false start is and that ain’t it.
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Mayor….you’re damn right!
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Another favorite call when the refs are doing what I suggested above is the “not enough men on the line” call. All game long the tackles will be off the LOS by about a yard (they are supposed to be allowed that much) and no flags. If the underdog is driving to tie or take the lead late in the game all of a sudden that call is made, often when the underdog has made a big gainer on O. A drive killer.
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Now all you guys need is for Lee Corso to pick your team to win and you will be all set.
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