Doubling down on the triple option

If it makes you feel better to fret about today’s game being a trap game, obviously, I can’t stop you.  But in reality, it’s not.  Georgia Southern is a FCS team, albeit one that runs a pesky offensive scheme, and that only goes so far.

One thing I very much like about this week’s preparation is that with the physical practices and the grumbling about cut blocking, Richt’s at least got the defense pissed off at the right target, instead of getting starry-eyed about the SECCG.  And one thing I hope Grantham’s not worried about is how long he needs to play his starters to get that really low defensive score, as he did last week.  This is a game to get up a big lead and get the starting front seven out as early in the second half as possible to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on… well, let’s hope it’s just the players’ shins.

I don’t see the point spread of almost forty being covered today, for two reasons.  That triple-option is going to eat some serious clock and I don’t see GSU throwing the ball even if the Eagles get down by four scores.  And I don’t think the defensive backups are going to handle the option as well as the starters will.  Georgia’s offense will score, and probably at will.  Look for something like 56-21.

Consider this your trusty, reliable game day thread.

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“Obviously we’re not where we need to be.”

It’s not good when they start pulling out the historical references to put your disappointing season in context.

A loss in the next two weeks would add another historically bad notch in the belt of the program’s recent struggles. Tennessee, its 49 bowl appearances third-most in the country behind only Alabama and Texas, last missed bowl games in consecutive years during a four-year stretch from 1974 to ’78. Those were Bill Battle’s final two and Johnny Majors’ first two seasons as coach, and Tennessee finished with a losing record only once during that drought.

The Vols are teetering on the brink of the program’s fifth losing season in the last eight years, and Tennessee last had three consecutive losing seasons in 1909-11.

That’s pretty sad.  UT is a three-point ‘dog at Vandy tonight, by the way.

Toss sweep

Look, I know it’s fun to indulge in the thought that Georgia Southern is going to give the Dawgs a tougher time than Georgia Tech will, but, to use a vernacular the average Jacket fan is familiar with, you can’t defy the laws of physics, man:

Georgia Southern’s starting defensive ends — Josh Gebhardt and Dion Dubose — are listed at 6-foot-2 and 236 pounds and 6-1, 235 pounds respectively.

That’s barely bigger than Todd Gurley is.  And I guarantee you those guys don’t move as fast as Gurley.