John Ward was another one of those iconic radio voices that helped define SEC football who just passed away, sadly.
I mention that to set up this story, which is classic.
It just meant more.
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Category Archives: Georgia Football
“We’ve got a lot of stuff going on.”
I get asked fairly often to give a definition of the Georgia Way.
I could do worse than to suggest Greg McGarity vowing to do whatever it takes to make Georgia athletics successful while simultaneously putting off contract negotiations with some of his coaches because he’s too busy as a textbook example.
Filed under Georgia Football
The LSU game, and a factual tidbit that may matter
Given the public reaction, I may be something of an outlier on this, but count me in the group that sees the LSU game as Georgia’s biggest road challenge of the 2018 season. LSU may have questions about the head coach and its quarterback, but overall, it’s still got plenty of talent and one of the most intimidating home environments in college football.
That being said, Pete Fiutak lays out an interesting factoid that may very well turn out to be the key to the game.
The Tigers opened up the 2014 season with a tough win over a Wisconsin ground game that cranked out 268 rushing yards and three scores. Since then, the program is 0-10 when giving up two bills, including the 285 allowed in the 37-7 loss to Mississippi State, and the 206 given up to Troy in the stunner.
Florida came close – running for 194 yards and averaging over five yards per carry – in the too-tight 17-16 loss, and Auburn ran well, too – but lost. Both games were battles, though.
If there’s a team that’s built for 200+ rushing yards in a game, it’s Georgia.
Filed under Coach O Needs Another Red Bull, Georgia Football, Stats Geek!
The best laid mini-plans
I, like many of you, got this offer in my emails yesterday.
A package, I assume, that’s been put together thanks to ticket returns from the visitors… which says all you need to say about Georgia Tech fans’ wishes and hopes for the upcoming season. Chantastic!
Filed under Georgia Football, Georgia Tech Football
The latest in competitive advantage
This one’s right in the NCAA’s wheelhouse.
Georgia reported an NCAA violation involving its men’s basketball program in February.
At issue: Extra benefits worth about $30 total.
A player’s father received vouchers for complimentary meals—three valued at $9.99 each—from what Georgia described as “an unidentified booster,” when the booster handed the vouchers to the father during a game. The father then gave his wife and son the meal passes.
The date of the violation, details of which were obtained by the Athens Banner-Herald Thursday in an open records, was listed as Feb. 5.
The player involved and game the violation took place wasn’t specified. Georgia had home games Jan. 30 against Florida and Jan. 23 against Arkansas.
The father stopped in the press area and received a meal before being asked to leave by a school staff member. The mother and son went to the hospitality room.
Fortunately, it’s only a Level III violation, so McGarity didn’t feel the need to immolate the athletic department over it. Then again, Fox is already gone, so maybe he felt like Georgia had already made the necessary sacrifice.
Filed under Georgia Football, The NCAA
Hit or miss?
ESPN’s got a piece up about ten former highly ranked recruits “running out of time to live up to hype“. One of the ten plays for Georgia.
Julian Rochester, DT
- What happened: Rochester was a big recruit, literally and in the rankings. At 6-foot-6, 335 pounds, he was the No. 8 defensive tackle in the 2016 class. He signed with Georgia and has played both seasons for the Dawgs, but the impact hasn’t been as big as many expected. That’s not to say that he has been bad, because he hasn’t. But the expectations haven’t yet matched. Rochester appeared in all 15 games for Georgia last season, starting one, so many are hoping he continues to progress forward.
- The opportunity: Rochester has two years of eligibility left and there is a big opportunity along the interior of the defensive line. Nose guard John Atkins and tackle Trenton Thompson are both gone to the NFL, which leaves a lot of snaps for Rochester to grab. With some consistency in the defensive coaching staff as well, this should be an excellent opportunity for Rochester to shine and and take over the stage.
I find that interesting on several levels. For one, if you want to talk about running out of time to live up to hype, Thompson’s a better example of that than Rochester, who has, as the article notes, two years left, been through a coaching staff transition, played regularly behind more experienced players and is in a system that prefers to rotate defensive linemen constantly. He’s got time, in other words.
Filed under Georgia Football
And up at those places where all those Dawg people have got those condominiums for four days…
One of the arguments I see frequently marshaled against the Georgia-Florida game remaining in Jacksonville is that by allowing it to be played there, we’re depriving the Georgia economy of funds our fan base spends going to the game.
What that really boils down to is a complaint about Athens’ economy specifically — at least I think it does, because last time I checked, St. Simons was still located in this state.
A roughly $600,000 project to improve drainage in the Pier Village district on St. Simons Island will get underway in November, immediately following the last major event of the 2018 tourist season, county commissions decided Tuesday.
The project to improve the flow of stormwater and increase retention capacity will kick off after the Oct. 27 Georgia-Florida college football game in Jacksonville, an annual event that draws thousands of mostly Georgia Bulldog fans to the island for that weekend. [Emphasis added.]
South Georgia essentially gets one game a year. Evidently that’s too much for some folks.
Filed under Georgia Football
