Then again, maybe it’s just Trump’s genius way of getting traffic out of downtown Atlanta.
Daily Archives: January 7, 2018
Make Stadium Entry Great Again
Please don’t hate me for mentioning You Know Whom even in passing, but I thought this bit of news might be relevant to share with those of you who, like me, are going to the game tomorrow:
CFP staff – as well as officials from the Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and area law enforcement – are involved in planning logistics for a presidential visit.
Earlier this week, the College Football Playoff issued an advisory for fans to “beat the traffic and head to the downtown Championship Campus early on Monday,” although the release did not mention a presidential visit.
Hancock underscored the suggestion that fans arrive early for the contest, which is scheduled to kick off at 8:17 p.m. ET.
“It will take longer for fans to get in,” he said, “so we’re telling people here come early. We’re going to open the gates earlier than we planned.”
Hancock said attendees need to try to depart for the stadium early and also expect a longer process getting into the building due to heightened security.
“There’s two parts of early: one part is streets being closed from traffic and then the other part is going in the building early because it’s going to take a while to get inside,” he said.
It’s going to be a bear. There are warning signs on I-75 that traffic will be an issue starting at 2PM, so plan accordingly.
I still cringe remembering how I missed the first score of the 1997 Georgia-Florida game because security was so backed up getting in. I’m not letting history repeat itself in that regard; you shouldn’t, either.
Filed under BCS/Playoffs
Help a Tiguh out.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think you’ve just been served a fastball down the middle with this rhetorical question:
If you are an Auburn fan/alumnus like myself, the past few days have brought a new personal nightmare unknown to any of us before. Yes, I am speaking of the fact that Alabama and Georgia, the Tigers’ two biggest rivals, will meet Monday in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Sigh. How did this happen? How did it go from Auburn defeating both teams when they were ranked No. 1 to these enemies playing for it all? What did Tigers fans do to upset the college football gods? [Emphasis added.]
Please clue him in.
Filed under Auburn's Cast of Thousands
BREAKING: Mike Bianchi declares a national championship.
Really, I don’t know why anyone is even bothering with a game tomorrow night.
“Hold your breath…hope for the best.”
If you can get past the occasional literary pretension — I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen the term “ousia” used in a college football blog post, or, for that matter, anywhere — there are some good breakdowns of Georgia’s offense, Georgia’s defense and how those units match up with their Alabama counterparts over at Roll Bama Roll worth a read to get a handle on how the other side thinks.
I’ll say this for those guys: they’re not taking the results for granted. That in itself tells you how far this Georgia program has come in a short time.
Filed under Alabama, Georgia Football, The Blogosphere
“I’m different than Nick in recruiting…”
No kidding. Smart had a reputation for a certain amount of ruthlessness on the recruiting trail when he was hustling for the Crimson Tide, so this story (although it’s denied later in the article by Glenn Schumann) doesn’t surprise me:
When Smart left Alabama to become Georgia’s head coach, those inside the Alabama program believe Smart took Crimson Tide recruiting evaluations and used them against his mentor Nick Saban. The belief is Smart told mutual recruits where they stood on Alabama’s recruiting board, particularly if it could be construed as negative, and parsed negatives out of the program’s evaluations to hurt Alabama’s standing with recruits. Some believe it’s the reason three-star receiver Tyler Simmons flipped to the Bulldogs late in the recruiting cycle though he’s never publicly commented on that.
Simmons, however, told DawgNation that Smart said in Nov. 2015 — before he was even offered the UGA job — “if I get a head coaching job somewhere else, I’m coming for you.”
For two years people around the program have grumbled about Smart’s ruthless maneuver to try to gain an edge on his old employer. It’s one example of many they’ll tell you to explain why Saban and Smart aren’t close though both are cordial publicly. It’s a move that goes directly against what Jeremy Pruitt, following in a similar path as Smart, said in New Orleans about valuing coaching friendships over a single recruit.
Speaking of Pruitt there, note that he just grabbed a big commitment from a kid previously headed to Alabama who’s never made a visit to Knoxville perhaps via a Rush Propst connection.
Georgia high schools are looking less friendly to Nick Saban these days, it seems.
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UPDATE: “Assuming this report is true, Kirby is an underhanded, back-stabbing hypocrite.”
Filed under Georgia Football, Nick Saban Rules, Recruiting
Textbook downfield blocking
I mentioned in my Rose Bowl Observations post how much I love Ridley’s effort on this Michel TD run…
… and after watching it for the umpteenth time, I realize that love might be an understatement.
Filed under Georgia Football
There’s a fine line between intertwined and incestuous…
… and after reading this, this, this, this and even this, I’ll be damned if I can figure out which side of the line Georgia-Alabama falls.
One thing I will say, though, is that I can’t imagine a more delicious irony if it turns out that Smart holding his team’s practice in the very same indoor practice facility over which Jeremy Pruitt publicly shamed Greg McGarity contributes to a Georgia victory.
Filed under Alabama, Georgia Football
Gauntlet, thrown
Finally, an unequivocal bulletin board statement.
Alabama freshman receiver Jerry Jeudy was trolling the Bulldogs defense during media day on Saturday. 11Alive asked about going up against the Bulldogs secondary, and Jeudy responded with a dig:
“They’ve got some great, talented DBs, but none that can hold us,” he told 11Alive’s Alex Glaze.
Kind of an interesting statement for a player on a team with one receiver in the conference’s top fifty to make, but what do I know?
Filed under Alabama, Georgia Football
On the banks of the Chattahoochee River
If you don’t read anything else before Monday night’s game (including this blog), make sure you take the time to enjoy this fantastic piece in The Bitter Southerner about the game, told from the perspectives of the mayor of Phenix City, Alabama, a former Tide player, and Dale Williams, who played on Georgia’s last team to win the national title and is now a businessman in Columbus.
This will give you chills:
“Erk had a vision for Georgia Southern, but always had Georgia in his heart,” Williams said. “We emulated Erk. Dooley was a great businessman. But everybody looked at Erk as the coach. And I’m going to say this, if I don’t say anything else: Georgia would have won at least three or four more national championships if Erk Russell was head coach [after Dooley]. I’ll go to my grave with that.”
Come Monday night, all Williams will look for just one more. It’s all his former teammates have been talking about.
“I just got off the phone with Frank Ros [linebacker and team captain], and I not too long ago talked with Matt Simon [a running back on that team]. We’re all saying the same thing: It’s our time,” Williams said. “Kirby’s been there at Alabama. He knew what he wanted to do when he got to Georgia from Day One. He has a coaching staff that makes a difference, and the kids believe in him. That’s huge. When you’ve got the players believing in you, you can get some stuff done. It’s going to be a great game, and we’re going to get it done.”
It’s a shame they can’t build a sideline big enough to house every former player who wants it like that.
Filed under Georgia Football
Get The Picture 
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