A few bowl game thoughts

The big question for this Saturday, of course, is how much the coaches and players will care about the game.  As Seth Emerson notes, things are a little weird right now.

John Lilly, one of the symbols of the weird transition going on with the Georgia football team, walked through a hotel lobby here on Sunday night still wearing a Georgia hat. He will serve as the team’s offensive coordinator in the bowl, but he has already cleaned out his office back home in Athens.

Other players and staffers began streaming in on Sunday. It officially was reporting day for Georgia’s final week, but more than a few coaches and players on this year’s team will be no-shows.

The former head coach is in Miami. The new head coach is still with his former team. The interim head coach is only with the Bulldogs one more week until he joins South Carolina. The former defensive coordinator is also back at Alabama, already in his new job. The former offensive coordinator will not be here, nor will one other defensive assistant. The quarterback who started this year’s previous game in Jacksonville has already transferred and found a new school.

All that served as the backdrop Monday as the Bulldogs return to practice, preparing for a match-up with Penn State in the TaxSlayer Bowl that many have deemed irrelevant.

Yeah, just a little.

I don’t think the coaches will mail it in, if only for reasons of professional pride.  But I can see how the players might struggle with motivation.  If only Penn State had a coach capable of pissing off Georgia folks… oh, wait.

By the way, as a side note, did you know Marshall Morgan has a chance to set a conference career scoring mark?  Or that, if Georgia wins, Greyson Lambert would tie D.J. Shockley for the highest win percentage (.833) among starting quarterbacks in the Richt era?

Like I said, things are a little weird right now.

24 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football

24 responses to “A few bowl game thoughts

  1. DugLite

    Bizzaro World.

    Like

  2. Scorpio Jones, III

    Its liken unto a Whiskey Wind has blowed through the coaching staff…Bluto you gotta put up a coaching roster so we’ll know who to complain about.

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  3. Bob

    Feel like I have wasted money by going to this game. This whole transition process has been an embarrassment.

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    • @gatriguy

      Succession planning and transitioning in any organization is tough. I think all things considered, they’ve done ok. The only thing that I think really looks horrible is naming BMac interim and then him leaving. In retrospect, it should have been Rocker.

      Like

    • GaskillDawg

      Bob, please don’t feel that way. It is still your team playing against the other team. Go and have fun.

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    • I agree with Gask…the novelty of the situation should at least create some interest?

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  4. Lots of strange things listed in that post, I am still pulling for the Dawgs to embarrass the natty lions.

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  5. Gravidy

    So, he top three scores in SEC history are GA kickers, huh? I know that’s a good thing, but…

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  6. Bulldog Joe

    So you’re saying we finally have a chance to win in Jacksonville? 😉

    No pressure and no fake juice this time. It should be fun.

    BMac gets an opportunity to show what he can do as a head coach and Sherrer and Lilly get another opportunity to show what they can do as coordinators.

    There is motivation for Georgia.

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  7. Debby Balcer

    I hope the seniors win their 40th game. I hope fans show up to support them. The team has gotten the short stick in this transition.

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  8. Bright Idea

    Gasp! The players may finally have to win a damn game!

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  9. Normaltown Mike

    In another segment of our bizarro Dawgs, I saw CBS at church in Athens on Christmas Eve.

    Seemed quite happy.

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  10. PaloaltoDawg

    I’m looking forward to the game. Let’s see what we can do w/ our apparently superior talent and a hopefully creative plan. I agree that motivation could be an issue however often teams play harder when a new coach takes over as they are effectively trying out for future playing time.

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  11. W Cobb Dawg

    Ya know, since this is a multi-million dollar enterprise, UGA ought to create a position of authority in the athletic program. Someone who looks out for the team’s interests. Makes sure screw-ups like this never happen. Someone we can look to who takes responsibility when something goes awry. Somebody who has good management and p.r. skills…

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  12. Semper Fi Dawg

    I’ll probably just watch the Under Armour All-American Game live on ESPN2. its the same time as this bowl game.

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  13. Will Trane

    Blame it on Shottenheimer. He blew it all up.

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    • Will Trane

      If I had been Coach Smart I would let me two new hires and grad assistants do the bowl. Could be ugly, but I would have taken this time to start getting my system in place.

      Like

  14. Russ

    Man, in 25 years or so, people are going to look at the Lambert numbers (completion record, winning %) and talk about how great the Lambert era was.

    Like

    • Dylan Dreyer's Booty

      No, we’re not. But then you knew that. OTOH, it really isn’t his fault entirely. I can’t think of a game where he just lost the game for us. But back in the summer when he transferred, I was hoping for something like this to happen:

      Like

  15. Debby Balcer

    All of you not interested in watching the team play need to consider if you are really fans of the team.

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  16. JT (the other one)

    Well I almost went to the UA game in Orlando as I have free tickets but being as though one of the kids playing I helped walk on…I will watch on TV…8 hours of driving yesterday after the Christmas visits is enough time in the car for me…

    Like