College Football Wrap-Up: Week 2

The Dawgs had a bye week after their convincing victory last weekend over Clemson.  There was plenty of action otherwise in the world of college football.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

B1G-Time Dissapointment
The Big 10 Conference (which by the way is now comprised of 14 schools) suffered a disastrous day when conference members Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State all endured non-conference losses on prime time television.  In the national marquee game of the week #3 Oregon defeated #7 Michigan State. After leading 27-18 in the 3rd quarter, Oregon scored 28 unanswered points to win 46-27.  Michigan faced off against Notre Dame for their final game in their historic rivalry.  The Fighting Irish won 31-0 in South Bend. It was the first time since 1984 that Michigan was held scoreless in a game.  The game that I enjoyed the most was Virginia Tech's upset of Ohio State in Columbus.  Defensive coordinator Bud Foster blitzed all night long, sacking Ohio St. quarterback J.T. Barrett seven times and forcing 3 interceptions.

Big 10 fans you wonder why fans from other conferences look down at the conference? It's weekends like this. No spin or agenda just results.
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 7, 2014

Meanwhile, Nebraska needed a late touchdown at home to break a tie and put away FCS opponent, McNeese State 31-24.  In other action, Central Michigan humiliated Purdue at home 38-17, Northern Illinois defeated Northwestern, and Iowa and Illinois needed 4th quarter rallies to defeat Ball State and Western Kentucky.

So do we start referring to them as the Power Four?
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 7, 2014

 It was a pretty uneventful slate of games in the SEC.  South Carolina defeated a very respectable East Carolina team 33-23 and Vanderbilt was throttled by Ole Miss 41-3.  Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M, LSU, Arkansas, cruised to easy victories over cupcake opponents.  Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri also won in non-conference action over mid-major opponents.

Odd & Ends

• Virginia Tech appears to be a legitimate contender in the ACC Coastal division.  They avoid Florida State, Clemson, and Louisville in the regular season and they will be at home versus Georgia Tech, Boston College,and Virginia.  The division may very well be decided when the Hokies travel to Pittsburgh to play the Panthers on a Thursday night in October.
• Florida looked impressive in their 65-0 victory versus Eastern Michigan.  Yes, it was a directional school that only won 2 games last season but it's progress if you're a Gator fan. Florida rolled up 655 yard of offense and 27 first downs.  I do believe the Gators will be much improved this season.  Unfortunately, they did lose a valuable weapon for the season in yesterday's game.
• It was interesting to see a familiar face on the Notre Dame sideline last night.  Brian Van Gorder is the new defensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish and he obviously had his squad well prepared to face Michigan.  Van Gorder, as you may recall, was the first defensive coordinator Mark Richt hired when he became head coach at Georgia.  He held that position from 2001-2004 and was very successful. Since leaving Georgia a decade ago, Van Gorder has worked for 7 different collegiate or professional football teams.
• Southern Cal topped Stanford 13-10, in spite of the Cardinals out gaining the Trojans in total yardage 413 to 291. Stanford committed 2 turnovers and also missed two field goals.  The most bizarre incident in this game occurred when Southern Cal's athletic director, Pat Haden, confronted the officials after his head coach was called for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Looking Ahead: Georgia vs. South Carolina

For those of you that believe the Dawgs will march into Columbia and walk away with an easy victory against the Gamecocks, you are sadly mistaken.  There are reasons to be optimistic. 

South Carolina No. 123 in the nation in total defense after two weeks, giving up 566.5 yards per game.
— Josh Kendall (@JoshatTheState) September 7, 2014

However, I believe South Carolina will be eager to redeem themselves and gain the upper hand in the SEC Eastern Division. Williams-Brice Stadium is a hostile environment and Spurrier will have his team ready to play on Saturday afternoon. Since Eric Zeier lead the Dawgs to a 24-21 victory in 1994, Georgia has only gone 5-4 versus the Gamecocks in Columbia and their highest offensive output during those 9 games has been 20 points.  

Everyone, including Georgia's quarterback, Hutson Mason, expect South Carolina will load the box to stop Gurley and company and then try to force the Bulldogs to pass the ball.  The key will be for Georgia to keep themselves out of 3rd and long situations where the crowd noise can really become a factor.  Defensively, the Dawgs will have their hands full with Mike Davis.  If they commit to stopping Davis, then Georgia's young secondary will be matched up with South Carolina's speedy play makers at wide receiver.  Dylan Thompson didn't look very sharp, at times, during the East Carolina game, but he can certainly air it out.

Finally, I leave you with a Redcoat's eye view of Sanford Stadium

and a "feel good" story about the Dawgs reaching out to a young fan.  It will make you proud to be a Bulldog!  Until next time...Go Dawgs!