Will there be any fall-out from Georgia’s lackluster performance in yesterday’s Liberty Bowl? In Coach Richt’s post game press conference, he talked about “making changes” and making sure this (losing record, getting taken out by a C-USA team) does not happen again. Jeff Schultz writes a damning indictment of Richt’s program, and I have to begrudgingly admit that I cannot disagree with his assessment.
The Dogs didn’t necessarily look emotionless. They just looked pointless.
Central Florida, coached by the familiar George O’Leary, smacked them in the mouth. Georgia didn’t look equipped to smack back. They couldn’t run the ball. They couldn’t get tough yards. They couldn’t make a big play when they needed one. They were 3 for 14 on third-down conversions.
I am not ready to say that Richt has run his course at UGA, but I am almost ready to jump on that bandwagon. The problem Georgia faces – if they fired Richt, where do they turn next?
Let’s just hope that Richt figures things out by kickoff time next year against Boise St. or Dawg fans can look forward to another miserable year.
SEC Lays 3 Rotten Eggs
Tennessee (North Carolina), Georgia (UCF), and South Carolina (FSU) laid eggs, giving the SEC a nasty 0-3 Bowl record going into today’s match-ups. Granted, no one really cares about these lower tier games, with the exception of the Chick-fil-a Bowl, which is turning into a top flight experience.
After today’s SEC/Big-10 clashes – Alabama (Michigan St.), Florida (Penn St.), Miss. St. (Michigan) – the best the SEC can hope for is to break even, but I have a sneaking suspicion that SEC will not run the table.
Would you believe a dirty little secret of mine is that I have not necessarily been pulling for SEC teams this Bowl season. With the exception of Georgia, how in the hell would I pull for the others? Tennessee – no way. Fighting Chickens? You must be the Dancing Queen.
Today’s games are not really any different. There is no way on God’s Green Earth that I will pull for Florida, and Saint Nick is too damn smug for my taste. I will however pull for the Western Bulldogs to hammer Michigan.
Pessimism Abounds
From an SEC fanboy perspective, I think it looks good for the conference when the SEC does well, but I am really down on college football right now. Part of my doldrums can be contributed to having ATL Falcons season tickets, but this feeling has been building for a long time. The A.J. Green four-game suspension at the beginning of the year rubbed my nose in it. It is ridiculous that Georgia and Texas A&M split $1.1 million in last year’s Independence Bowl, but an athlete cannot cash in on his jersey.
Of course Bush giving back the Heisman and Cam having to do the same thing in a few years, once all the evidence comes out, is just the tip of the iceberg. I think the NCAA is out of control – not the athletes and institutions. I could write on this all day, but there is no need to get my blood pressure up before 8AM on New Year’s Day!
Love Me Some Buckeyes. No Really.
Long time readers will chuckle at the thought of me pulling for Ohio St. Tuesday night to embarrass Arkansas, but this should not be a total surprise if you kindly remember the following. As much as I cannot stand the yearly artificial hype from the media perching Ohio St. on the BCS Championship leader, I despise Bobby Petrino and find Arkansas the most unlikeable fan base in the SEC. So there; done. Buckeyes in the Sugar!
Tigers and Wildcats
This year’s Cotton Bowl features a Friday night clash between regional rivals LSU and Texas A&M. Shouldn’t college football be over by next Friday? I really do not like the Tigers from LSU, but that is only because every once in a while they beat my beloved Dawgs. Texas A&M is a different matter. They are arch rivals of Texas, so I should immediately hate the Aggies in this one, however I may just pull for state ties and bloodlines. Once a Texan, always a Texan? At least I have a week to decide who I want to lose.
Kentucky is playing on January 8 against Pittsburg in something called BBVA Compass Bowl? Seriously; that was a question. WTF is wrong with the Bowl game lineup powers that be for supporting a Bowl game this deep into the year on a NFL Playoff Sunday?
BCS – Ducks over Tigers?
The SEC could lose all there other Bowl games and I am not sure anyone would care. Thanks to the advent of the BCS, except for the large paydays, most of the other Bowl games have been rendered irrelevant by a game played over a week after the Rose Bowl. All is right with the world when an SEC team sits atop the Championship ladder, however, life in these parts would be unbearable if Auburn closes out the season with a win.
This is shades of 2009; the Tide fans were even more obnoxious than is typical for the Roll Tide sorts. I guess it comes with the territory living minutes from the Georgia/Alabama state line, and just 45 minutes from the Plains of Auburn.
At least last year was easy – Texas all the way. This year is not so easy, and I really don’t want to hear the Auburn cheated arguments. Regardless of what happened with Cam off the field, any shenanigans and likely paydays did not help Cam or Auburn win games.
With all that said, I think I am still going to pull for the Ducks. I would rather a PAC-10 team win it all than having to put up with an off season full of “War Eagle” cries.
