Haterz gone hate.

Georgia is a 10-point home underdog to Auburn, the largest such margin in twenty years.

One step ahead of pay-per-view

The Louisiana-Lafayette game will be broadcast at noon, on ESPN 8 – The Ocho the SEC Network Alternate channel.

And now for something completely different.

Well, this is an unexpected development.

Special teams coordinator: Shane Beamer (Georgia)

Georgia went 4-for-4 on field goals, including the game-winner as time expired to win at Kentucky. They also averaged 41 yards on five punts, with two landing inside the 20. Kentucky started nine drives at its own 25-yard line or back, as Georgia won the field position battle.

It’s all coming together, right?

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“They got 90 days for no good reason.”

Pity the poor McGarity.

Last spring, UGA Athletic Director Greg McGarity complained that UGA’s athletics department had to work through mountains of records requests, almost 100 in the past four months. I called Atlanta police. They get 4,000 a year. And they answer in three days. McGarity did not respond to my request to talk.

He’s too busy winning.

Observations from the armchair, Georgia-Kentucky edition

Overall, this game had a familiar flavor, as we’ve seen Georgia struggle in Lexington often.  But I’ll take any conference road win gratefully, especially with the way the Dawgs had been struggling coming into this one… not to mention that Kentucky appeared to be riding a little momentum coming in.

As Ted Nugent might say, I’ve got your bullet points right here.

• It’s only fair to start by saying what special teams taketh away, it gaveth back Saturday night.  Yes, the McKenzie fumble was brutal, but Blankenship was money and Long’s punting was improved.  Nor did Kentucky bust any big returns.  I’ll take it.  Perhaps the most underrated special teams decision was that of going after the opposing punter harder than I’ve seen all season.  (If you’re not going to block to set up returns, why not?)
• One of those small key moments that are easy to overlook:  Malkom Parrish’s effective rush on the field goal attempt that led to a holding call pushing UK out of field goal range.  Might have made a big difference down the stretch.
• Another one:  Kirby’s timeout during Snell’s barrage of runs out of the wildcat formation.  Some ass got chewed and the defense stiffened to keep the ‘Cats out of the end zone.  Again, that was a big four points that never made it to the scoreboard.
• Weird night from the offensive line, as Eason wasn’t sacked, but Kentucky had seven tackles for loss.
• Deandre Baker is living proof that even when beaten, a defensive back should never give up on a play.
• Speaking of Parrish, at some point quarterbacks are going to realize he’s pretty good covering taller receivers trying to haul in fade passes in the end zone.
• They don’t throw the ball enough to Terry Godwin.
• I felt bad watching those Chubb fumbles, especially the one resulting from his trying too hard to get that extra half-yard.  And Michel had a terrific game.  But Chubb’s biggest problem is that Georgia hasn’t really had one of those games since North Carolina when it can just use him to bludgeon the other team’s defense into submission.
• Eason’s still got work to do on his mechanics, but one area of his play that’s improved over the course of the season is his play action fake.
• I probably say this every week, but Isaac Nauta is going to be a special player.
• I probably also say this every week as well, but Georgia’s defensive line is going to be hell on wheels in another season or two.  Two starting defensive linemen missed much or all of the game, and they still held Kentucky’s running attack in check most of the night.  Rochester in particular stepped up and played well.
• When’s the last time before Roquan Smith Georgia had an inside linebacker who wasn’t a liability in pass coverage?
• Overall, the biggest flaw in the defense is a lack of consistency at the worst times.  Kentucky’s offense had been on a roll coming into the game and was considerably slowed down, in large part because the Dawgs played shut down ball on third downs.  But in the red zone, there simply wasn’t enough resistance, as they allowed three touchdowns and four scores in four opportunities.
• I wonder if they keep fighting letting Eason play out of the shotgun and pistol, or if Chaney’s finally decided to give in a bit.
• Give Kirby Smart some credit.  After Jacksonville, it would have been easy for Georgia to fold its cards in the face of adversity, but he kept his team focused and together.
• So, Brent Musburger’s watching other football games and horse racing in the booth during the game.  That explains a lot.

It’s a good win.  It may even be a confidence booster.  Considering this week’s opponent, they’ll need all the confidence they can get.

Looking the part

Confession time:

"We've got a damn good field goal kicker" – Kirby Smart on Rodrigo Blankenship pic.twitter.com/Y06N4gLJlS

— UGA Football Live (@UGAfootballLive) November 6, 2016

There’s a part of me that wonders how this guy isn’t kicking for Georgia Tech.  There, I said it.

Making plays with play makers

Jason Butt tosses out an interesting statistic.

It’s a statistic that shouldn’t hold too much significance. But it sure is still one of note.

When receiver Isaiah McKenzie scores a touchdown, Georgia is 5-0. When he doesn’t, the Bulldogs are 0-4.

Sure, it’s a matter of correlation, not causation.  But it’s also indicative of something that happened on offense Saturday night that gave me some grounds for optimism.  No, I’m not talking about moving Jim Chaney off the sidelines.

I’m talking about what appeared to be a greater focus on getting the ball into the hands of Georgia’s best offensive play makers.  Chubb and Michel got 40 carries Saturday night.  After zero touches against Florida, McKenzie had two catches, including that electrifying touchdown reception.  Terry Godwin had three.  (He did have five against the Gators, so at least they never lost sight of him.)  They seem to have figured out that they have a weapon in Wims, who led the team in catches and receiving yards.

Things still aren’t as smooth as they could be — Ridley’s sudden brush with butter fingers being the best example of that — but it sure felt like the offense performed more capably than it had in weeks.  No doubt the quality of Kentucky’s defense played into that, but, still, take it as a promising development.  Now, they just need to build on that against Auburn.

SEC Power Poll, Week 10

I can’t wait to hear what the coach of the team that wins the SEC East has to say about playing in the SECCG.

1. Alabama.  I keep saying it, but it’s the Tide’s world and the rest of the conference is merely playing in it.
2. Auburn.  Didn’t exactly roll by Vandy, but a win’s a win.
3. LSU.  No matter how good your defense may be, you can’t beat Alabama without a quarterback.
4. Texas A&M.  Two straight conference losses means the end of any shot at winning the division.
5. Arkansas.  If the Hogs were in the East, they’d likely be running away with it.  Which doesn’t mean they’re that good, of course.
6. Ole Miss.  Kelly’s gone for the season, they’re still last in the division and they’ve got three conference games left to play (two of those on the road).  Karma coming?
7. Mississippi State.  Nice win, but with Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss left on the schedule, they’ve got a hard row to hoe to reach bowl eligibility.
8. Tennessee.  If you’re a Vol fan, November isn’t the cruelest month.
9. Florida.  I get the Gators struggling to score, sort of, but giving up almost 500 yards to Arkansas’ offense?
10. Georgia.  I swear I could hear Munson marveling “do you realize we just saved ourselves?”.
11. Kentucky.  The ‘Cats may have lost, but they’re still second in the division.  I’m afraid that says more about the East than Kentucky.
12. South Carolina.  Don’t look now, but Boom’s got himself a quarterback.
13. Vanderbilt.  Game effort against Auburn.  That plus five bucks will get you that proverbial mocha latte at Starbucks.
14. Missouri.  Man, it’s hard to believe this program is just two years removed from back to back division titles.

Fabris Pool results, Week 10

Two man tiebreaker this week…

STANDINGS for WEEK 10

Rank	Selection Name	Standings Adjustment	W-L	Pts	Tie Breaker Game 10-0
1	Pulpwood Smith	Adj	9-1	9	30-13**
1	darnolddawg	Adj	9-1	9	31-20

Congrats to Mr. Smith for the win and the handle.

Meanwhile, the seasonal race continues on.

SEASON STANDINGS through Week 10

Rank	You	Selection Name	W-L	Pts
1		Boomshakalaka	60-39	60
1		wilcodawg	60-39	60
1		Gravidy Picks	60-39	60

Down to the wire.

Today, in I’ll bet you didn’t know…

Care to guess which SEC offense has cracked the 500-yard mark more than any other in the past three seasons?  I bet you won’t get it on the first try.

Full list. # of 500 yd total offense games by @SEC last 3 years. Entire West ahead of East, led by @HailStateFB 16 under @CoachDanMullen. pic.twitter.com/MNT4FxnB11

— Bill Martin (@MSUBillMartin) November 6, 2016

Say what you will, but when it comes to offense, Dan Mullen can coach a little.