College Football Wrap-Up: Week 9

The Dawgs enjoyed an open date before next weekend's matchup with Florida in Jacksonville. Saturday night was another excellent night of football!

Ole Miss at LSU
The Bayou Bengals upset the third-ranked Rebels in another classic game in Death Valley.  It was a defensive battle between the two teams that slugged it out all night before LSU took the lead 10-7 on a touchdown, with only 5:07 remaining in the game. Ole Miss had an opportunity to tie the game with a 42 yard field goal attempt. A delay of game cost them 5 yards and, instead of trying for the 47 yard FG attempt, they decided to run one more play (really, Hugh Freeze?). Unfortunately for Ole Miss, Bo Wallace made a poor throw that was intercepted with only 3 seconds remaining and LSU held on for the victory.

Photo Credit: The Advocate/Travis Spradling

Ole Miss has a championship caliber defense, but their offense was average on Saturday night and Bo Wallace seems to be easily flustered. The Rebels drop to 7-1 on the season, but they still control their own destiny. Their two toughest remaining games will be played at home -- Auburn  next weekend & Mississippi State on November 29th. Meanwhile, LSU enjoys an open date before hosting Alabama on November 8th. LSU's team is improving and would love to play spoiler again when the Crimson Tide roll into Baton Rouge.

South Carolina at Auburn
Steve Spurrier proved once again that he's still one of the best playcallers in America. Unfortunately for Gamecock faithful, their defense is probably one of the worst in Spurrier's ten seasons in Columbia. The two teams combined to roll up nearly 1,100 yards of offense in the 42-35 Auburn victory. 

In a contest that went back and forth all night, Spurrier pulled out all the stops and converted an onside kick and four fourth down plays in their own territory. On the night, the Gamecocks converted 5 out of 6 4th down plays. If it weren't for 3 interceptions, Dylan Thompson had his finest game as a quarterback with 402 yards passing and 5 touchdowns. South Carolina drops to 4-4 and will host Tennessee this coming Saturday night.

Alabama at Tennessee
Lane Kiffin made his return to Knoxville and he had Alabama's offense firing on all cylinders to begin the game. Alabama opened a 27-0 lead on the road by scoring touchdowns on 4 out of their first 5 drives. Tennessee deserves credit for fighting back to cut the lead to 10 midway through the 3rd quarter, but the Crimson Tide were too much for the Vols to handle and eventually won 34-20.

The Volunteers dropped to 3-5 on the season and will need to win 3 out of the 4 remaining games to become bowl eligible. After their road trip to South Carolina next weekend, they host a vastly improved Kentucky team and a Missouri team that currently sits at 6-2.  They finish the season in Nashville versus Vanderbilt. Tennessee hasn't reached a bowl game since the 2010 season and they haven't enjoyed a winning season since 2009.

Mississippi State at Kentucky
The Bulldogs held off the Kentucky upset bid in another SEC contest, where teams combined for over 1,000 yards of total offense. Sophomore quarterback Patrick Towles lead Kentucky in passing yards (390) and rushing yards (76) and accounted for 4 touchdowns. The Wildcats dropped to 5-3 on the season and play 3 out of their last 4 games on the road, beginning with a trip to Columbia, MO next weekend. Mississippi State, which remains as the only undefeated team in the SEC, hosts an Arkansas team on Saturday that is still searching for their first conference victory under Bret Beilema.

College Football Wrap-Up: Week 6

Saturday was a great example of why I love college football! You couldn't have asked for a more action-packed day as 11 of the Top 19 teams lost.  The action began on Thursday night as Oregon was upset at home to Arizona, and it didn't end until the early morning hours on Sunday when Utah handed UCLA their first loss of the season.  More on that later, but first let's take a look at the Dawgs.

Photo Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports 

Georgia raced to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, and cruised to a 44-17 victory at home versus Vanderbilt. Todd Gurley once again led the way with 163 yards rushing and two TDs. Oh yeah, and he also managed to complete the longest pass of the season when he connected with Jeb Blazevich for 50 yards in the first half.  Is there anything Superman can't do?



Here are some other observations on the game:

• Overall, I was pleased with the defense.  They limited Vandy to 2 out of 13 on 3rd down conversions and the game was well in hand when Vandy scored their 2nd touchdown of the game in the 4th quarter.
• It was nice to see Bowman stay at home and make a good break on his pick six. We absolutely need to create more turnovers on defense to give us a better chance of success against the better teams we have left on the schedule.
• I thought it was interesting that Brice Ramsey saw action in the first half.  Coach Richt has indicated that he may continue to play both QBs. I believe it's a good idea simply because it gives Ramsey some good game experience prior to next season when he will be the likely starter.
• I'm glad Richt & Bobo have decided to continue utilizing the wildcat formation even without the injured Sony Michel. Now that Gurley had success passing out of that formation, it will give defensive coordinators something to think about when they see Gurley lined up in that formation down the road.
• It was nice to see Malcolm Mitchell playing again. He had a very limited number of snaps but hopefully he can stay healthy and begin making a difference soon. It was also nice to see Mason air out to Mitchell, even if it wasn't completed.
• Gurley passed Lars Tate as 3rd on the list for all-time rushing yards in UGA history.  He now has 3,147 career rushing yards. He only needs 86 yards to pass Garrison Hearst and become the 2nd all-time leading rusher. Gurley is truly having a remarkable season. He leads the SEC in rushing with 773 yards and he's still averaging over 8 yards per carry.

Around the SEC

Alabama at Ole Miss
The Rebels defense played remarkably well and Bo Wallace played mistake free in arguably the biggest game ever played at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.  Ole Miss snapped a 10 game losing streak to Alabama with a 23-17 victory over the Crimson Tide.  The Rebels are 5-0 to start the season for the first time since 1962. Now can they maintain their momentum? They travel to Texas A&M this weekend. It will be a tough night game in a hostile environment against an Aggie team that's hungry for redemption.

Photo Credit: Jeronimo Nisa/Decatur Daily

Texas A&M at Mississippi State
Dak Prescott accounted for 5 TDs and Mississippi State cruised to a big victory over Texas A&M 48-31.  The Bulldogs led 48-17 late into the 4th quarter so the final score is misleading. Prescott is the possibly the best dual-threat QB in the country and, if he can continue to lead his team to victories, then he will certainly have an opportunity to win the Heisman Trophy.

LSU at Auburn
Auburn played their most complete game of the season and dominated LSU in their 41-7 blowout victory. LSU could only muster 13 first downs and 280 yards of offense. The Bayou Bengals might be in store for one of their worst seasons in quite some time. They're currently 0-2 in the SEC and their remaining schedule is difficult with road trips to Florida, Arkansas, and Texas A&M. Their remaining home games are against a quickly improving Kentucky squad, Ole Miss, and Alabama.

Florida at Tennessee
Florida defeated Tennessee for the 10th straight time with a 10-9 victory in Knoxville. Butch Jones certainly must be very disappointed after his team could not manage to score a touchdown versus a Gator defense, coming off a horrible performance two weeks ago against Alabama.  The Gators mounted a 4th quarter comeback after replacing Jeff Driskel at QB with true freshman Treon Harris. Unfortunately for the Gators, the news about Harris wasn't so good on Monday.

South Carolina at Kentucky
Kentucky is now 4-1 on the season after defeating the Gamecocks on Saturday night. South Carolina appeared to be cruising to an easy victory when they jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter. However, Dylan Thompson threw 3 interceptions, including a pick six late in the 4th quarter.  Most of the blame will be directed at Gamecock defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward after his defense was gashed by JoJo Kemp with Wildcat runs. What I can't understand is this:

In case you're wondering, Mike Davis' last touch of the game was a 13 yard run with 8:00 left.
— SportsTalk (@sportstalksc) October 5, 2014

Mike Davis had 183 yards rushing (averaging 8 yards per carry) and they lead by 14 with less than 9 minutes remaining in the game yet Spurrier would not run the ball.  This is the 2nd game in a row that South Carolina has squandered a double digit lead late into the 4th quarter.  Kentucky is 4-1 and will have an opportunity to earn a bowl trip this season if they continue to play well.

Around the Nation

Arizona at Oregon
I was so relieved to see Arizona upset the Ducks on Thursday night. Every year the national media hypes Oregon and every year the Ducks lose a game they shouldn't lose.  That was Arizona's 3rd victory over a Top 5 Oregon team since 2007. Meanwhile, Arizona went from unranked in the AP Poll last week to the Top 10 this week.

Stanford at Notre Dame
Notre Dame survived at home 17-14 after scoring a touchdown on 4th and 11 with just over one minute remaining in the 4th quarter. The Fighting Irish have an improved defense under Brian VanGorder, but the rubber will meet the road when they have to travel to Florida State in two weeks.

Arizona State at Southern Cal
I'm not much of a Pac-12 fan but this was an exciting finish and I always enjoy seeing the Trojans get beat.



Nebraska at Michigan State
Michigan State led 27-3 over Nebraska heading into the 4th quarter and eventually held on for a 27-22 victory. The Huskers nearly mounted a comeback in front of an embarrassingly emptying stadium in the 4th quarter.  The Spartans shut down the Cornhuskers vaunted rushing attack and held Ameer Abdullah to only 45 yards on 24 carries. Nebraska plays a weak schedule, so I would imagine there's a good chance that there will be a rematch of this game in the Big 10 Championship game.

Utah at UCLA
Utah kicked a FG with 34 seconds remaining to defeat previously undefeated UCLA 30-28. The Bruins had an opportunity to kick the game winning field goal twice but missed a 55 yarder and then a 50 yarder, after a Utah penalty. UCLA was regarded as having one of the best offensive lines in the country prior to the season, but they surrendered 10 sacks on Saturday. Both teams are now 1-1 in Pac 12 play.

Oklahoma at TCU
Oklahoma had an 8 game winning streak coming into the game but lost to TCU 37-33.  This was a statement win for the Horned Frogs who play another highly ranked opponent next week when they face Baylor.  Meanwhile Oklahoma faces Texas next week in the Red River Rivalry.

Odds & Ends

• This past weekend was the first time in the history of the AP Poll that 5 out of the top 8 teams lost in the same week.
• Do you remember how well the 05' defense played for Georgia? That was Willie Martinez's first defense as coordinator. They were stout, but it was a result of having been coached and developed by Brian VanGorder.  I believe the we're seeing similar results for Louisville. Charlie Strong recruited and developed these players, but Todd Grantham is receiving the credit for their success. The Cardinals have the nation's #1 ranked total defense. Of course, they haven't played anyone in the Top 70 offensively. Louisville travels to Clemson on Saturday. Let's see how they fare against DeShaun Watson and company.
• I hate the hype that's associated with preseason football polls. I would prefer it if polls weren't even released until after week 4. Did you know that 5 of the teams ranked in the AP's preseason Top 15 already have 2 losses each?  That's the case after only 6 weeks of action.
• Two weeks ago Mississippi State was unranked.  Now they are third in the nation.
• I wonder how many Michigan fans would welcome back Rich Rod now? After the upset of the second ranked Ducks, Arizona is 5-0.  Michigan dropped to 2-4 on the season after their loss to Rutgers on Saturday.
• Georgia Tech is 5-0 and they've exercised demons this season with victories over Virginia Tech and Miami.  There's a good chance the Jackets will be 10-0 heading into the final two games of the regular season - versus Clemson and Georgia.

College Football Wrap-Up: Week 5

It wasn't pretty, but I'll take an ugly win, particularly when it's against a conference rival.  Georgia beat Tennessee for the 5th consecutive time on Saturday afternoon in Athens.  It started poorly (10-0 Vols) and then Georgia appeared to take control when Mason hit Chubb for a 20 yard touchdown pass to go up 21-10 with only 1:17 remaining in the first half. Then the Dawgs allowed Tennessee to march right back down the field and take the momentum back with a score to cut the lead to 4 with 18 seconds remaining before halftime. The defense held Tennessee scoreless during the 3rd quarter while the offense sputtered.  Fortunately, Todd Gurley rushed for a career high 208 yards and the Dawgs were able to hold on for a 35-32 victory.

Photo Credit: Ted Mayer/georgiadogs.com

The Dawgs have gone 11-4 versus the Vols since 1999 with the overall series now tied at 21-21-2.  Meanwhile, Tennessee has lost 10 consecutive SEC openers.

Todd Gurley is clearly the best running back in the country. After Saturday's game, I think it's fair to say he's the best player in the country.  He finished with a career high 208 yards, on only only 28 carries (7.4 avg.), and the defense keyed on him the entire day. He now has 16 100-yard rushing games in his career which is tied for 2nd with Garrison Hearst in UGA football history . He's also tied for with Hearst for 3rd place on UGA's career rushing TD records with 33.

Most impressive thing about Todd Gurley's performance is that Tennessee sold OUT for the run. More so than anyone else. Earned every yard.
— TheBlawgHouse (@TheBlawgHouse) September 27, 2014

If Gurley does go on to win the Heisman Trophy, this will be one of his many highlight plays.

Here are some other observations on the game:

• Cue the "Hutson Mason is much more like Joe Cox than he is like D.J Shockley" conversations. Dawg fans need to allow Mason to play with a full complement of receivers before they pass judgement on him.  Fortunately, Richt said after the game that Mitchell, Scott-Wesley, and Rumph will begin practicing on Monday. I believe Chris Conley's shoulder injury is more significant than the coaches have indicated. He should have made two catches on Saturday that he's normally made throughout his career. Furthermore, Brice Ramsey may be the future, but he's not going to put Georgia in a better position to win games this season than Mason is.
• The defense, and particularly the secondary, are a work in progress. However, you have to give them some measure of credit for Saturday's victory. They brought a lot of pressure on Saturday, had three sacks, and knocked Worley out of the game for a period of time. After giving up 10 points on Tennessee's first two possessions, they forced the Vols to punt or created a turnover on 9 out of the next 10 possessions. As good as Gurley played, the Dawgs don't win with Georgia's offense sputtering like it did in the 3rd quarter and early in the 4th quarter without the defense holding serve for the majority of that time.
• The secondary has so many young players and I do expect that they will continue to improve as they gain experience. However, if I'm Jeremy Pruitt, I believe I would consistently blitz and hope that your defense can create enough sacks and turnovers to offset the big plays that you're going to give up.
• If reports are true, Sony Michel will miss anywhere from 4-6 weeks with a shoulder injury. Not only does that hurt our offense, but he's been an integral part of the special teams as well.
• I was impressed with Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd. He finished with 119 yards on 24 carries and 1 TD. Unfortunately for the Vols, his fumble in the end zone resulted in a Georgia touchdown.
• A.J. Johnson, a Georgia native, led the Vols with 17 tackles. Ironically, when Willie Martinez was the defensive coordinator at Georgia, he didn't want to offer Johnson, from Gainesville High School, a scholarship. Johnson decided to accept a scholarship offer at Tennessee. Martinez eventually landed on the Vols defensive staff after stints at Oklahoma and Auburn, following his dismissal from Georgia in December 2009, and now coaches Johnson.
• Tennessee has now lost 9 straight games to Florida, 7 straight games to Alabama, and 5 straight games to Georgia. That's a tough stretch for the Vols versus arguably their three biggest rivals.

Around the SEC

Missouri at South Carolina

A year ago, the Gamecocks overcame a 17 point deficit on the road and beat Mizzou in double overtime.  This year, the Tigers returned the favor and beat South Carolina, after the Gamecocks lead 20-7, with only 7:25 remaining in the game. This game was a defensive battle until the 4th quarter.  After holding Missouri to 69 yards on the previous 11 possessions, the Tigers put together touchdowns on their last 2 drives of the game.  With the Gamecocks suffering their second SEC loss, the Dawgs again control their own destiny in the SEC East. Missouri is off next weekend so they will have two weeks to prepare for Georgia.

Texas A&M vs. Arkansas

The Razorbacks led 28-14 in the 4th quarter, but allowed the Aggies to tie it with 2:08 left in regulation. Texas A&M scored on the first play of OT and then held Arkansas from picking up a first down in their OT possession. The Razorbacks fall to 0-2 in the SEC and haven't won a conference game since October 2012.  They have a bye week before hosting Alabama on October 11th.

Vanderbilt at Kentucky

The Wildcats won 17-7 to end a 17 game losing streak in the SEC. Their QB play is much improved this season and Stoops has the defense playing more consistently. Kentucky has already won more games this season than they did all of last season and it's still September.  The Wildcats host South Carolina next week while Vanderbilt travels to Athens to face Georgia.

Other SEC Action

LSU, Auburn, and Ole Miss all defeated non-conference opponents. The action in the SEC heats up next week as three conference matchups feature ranked opponents: #6 Texas A&M at #12 Mississippi State, #3 Alabama at #11 Ole Miss, and #15 LSU at #5 Auburn. By next weekend we will have a better idea of who's a contender and who's a pretender in the SEC West.

Odd & Ends

• One of the games I'm most interested to see next weekend is Florida at Tennessee. Can the Vols reverse their fortunes versus the Gators? If so, it will certainly warm up Muschamp's seat even more. If the Vols don't beat the Gators then they will fall to 2-3 on the season.  Looking ahead, Tennessee will be favored versus Chattanooga, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt.  They will likely be underdogs versus the remainder of their opponents and would need to pull an upset in order to get to 6 wins and become bowl-eligible. The seniors on the Tennessee team have never played in a bowl game. The Vols haven't won a bowl game since the 2007 season.
• Heads (or bellies) have rolled at Kansas as the Jayhawks fired Charlie Weis. He was 6-22 in less than three seasons in Lawrence. My guess is that Brady Hoke at Michigan is probably the next head coach that will be shown the door.
• UCLA thumped Arizona State 62-27 on Thursday night and now sit at 4-0 on the young season.  They face their three toughest opponents (Oregon, Stanford, and USC) at home.
• In the least surprising news of the week, it appears that Auburn is recruiting a player that was previously dismissed by Georgia. What makes this story a little bit different is that he was dismissed by Mark Richt after punching and choking his girlfriend this past summer. With the Ray Rice incident domestic violence is becoming a hot topic in the sports world. Of course, Malzahn claims that he has a zero tolerance policy on domestic violence, but time will tell. He's also being recruited by Petrino and Grantham at Louisville - shocker, right?
• FSU fell behind North Carolina State 24-7 less than 13 minutes into the game. The Seminoles ralled to win 56-41 on the road but it wasn't an impressive victory for the top-ranked team. How bad do you think Jimbo Fisher misses Jeremy Pruitt? The Noles allowed 132 points during the regular season in 2013. They have already given up 101 points through 4 games this season.
• Deshaun Watson was impressive in his first career start versus North Carolina. Granted the Tar Heels gave up 70 points last week in a loss to East Carolina, but Watson set a school single-game record and an ACC freshman record with 6 passing touchdowns.
• Colorado State just did what Southern Cal couldn't...beat Boston College on the road. Saban's former offensive coordinator at Alabama, Jim McElwain, took over the program in 2012.  He has improved the program's record each year (4-8 in 2012, 8-6 in 2013, and currently 3-1 this season). If the Rams have a big season, McElwain may be in line for one of the head coach openings at a big-time program at the end of the season.

College Football Wrap-Up: Week 4

Georgia dismantled Troy, 66-0, to move to 2-1 on the season. As I indicated last week, this is a bad Troy football team, but it was nice to see the Dawgs put them away early and clear the bench.  It was Georgia's largest margin of victory since 1958 and the first time they've scored more than 60 points since 2011. It would have been easy to come out flat for this cupcake opponent, particularly after a tough loss, but the Dawgs cruised to a 45-0 halftime lead and never looked back.  It was the first time Troy had been held scoreless in 99 games, which dates back to when Nebraska shut them out in 2006.

Photo Credit: AJC/Brant Sanderlin

Here are some quick observations on the game:

• Sony Michel sure did have a nice afternoon with 10 carries, 155 yards, and 3 rushing TDs. Michel and Chubb are going to be fun to watch the next 3 years.
• Isaiah McKenzie had his first collegiate punt return for a TD. I have a feeling this may the first of many punt return TDs he will have in Athens.
• Another game with no turnovers. Georgia is at +4 Turnover Margin on the season through 3 games. That was a nice interception from Tramel Terry in the end zone. Hopefully he can make some strides in becoming a contributor to this defense.
• I'm curious to see if the Dawgs will try to utilize Sony Michel in the wildcat formation, or Faton Bauta under center, when they're in the red zone down the road.
• Coach Richt indicated that Keith Marshall's injury doesn't appear to be serious. I hated seeing him on crutches after the game. 

Looking ahead for the Dawgs

Tennessee travels to Athens on Saturday, after enjoying a bye week. Unfortunately, it was picked up by CBS for a Noon start. I would much prefer a 3:30 or later start, where the home field becomes a much bigger advantage. Georgia has won 4 straight versus Tennessee, and the Vols are still looking for their signature road victory in the Butch Jones era.   Hopefully, the Dawgs are focused and ready to take on the Vols. 

Through three games, Georgia's offense is averaging 7.7 yards per carry and 304 yards per game. As a matter of fact, Todd Gurley is leading the nation with 9.8 yards per carry.  However, it is critical that Georgia become more consistent in their passing game. It would be nice if Scott-Wesley or Mitchell would return to action this week, but I'm not very hopeful based on what the coaches have shared.  Justin Worley has played fairly well, thus far, and Jalen Hurd is likely a future All-SEC type player, but the Vols are average along their offensive line.  In order for Georgia to win this game, their front seven needs to win the line of scrimmage.  It will be the first time Willie Martinez and John Jancek have returned to Athens since Coach Richt fired them in December 2009.

Around the SEC

Auburn at Kansas State

Auburn survived versus Kansas State on Thursday night.  The Wildcats did a marvelous job of shutting down the Auburn rushing attack, but couldn't overcome so many critical mistakes. They missed 3 field goals, had a turnover deep in their own territory, which led to an early Auburn field goal and then there was this:

It was the first non-conference win on an opponent's home field since the Tigers beat Virginia in Charlottesville in 1997.

Florida at Alabama
Blake Sims threw for 445 yards, Derrick Henry rushed for 111 yards, and Alabama overcame 4 turnovers in the first 32 minutes of the ballgame to cruise to 42-21 victory. Alabama's 645 yards of total offense are the most they have allowed in school history. Muschamp and his quarterback, Jeff Driskel, are both in their 4th years at Florida and it seems that the Gator fans are losing faith quickly in their ability to turn around the program.

Put Jeff Driskel on the bench please, I have seen enough.
— Emmitt Smith (@EmmittSmith22) September 20, 2014

Mississippi State at LSU
The Maroon Bulldogs went into Death Valley and took it to LSU. They lead from beginning to end, but after leading 34-10 early in the 4th quarter, they had to hold off a furious rally from LSU and escaped Baton Rouge with 34-29 victory.  This was a statement game for Dan Mullen. It was their first victory against LSU since 1999 and the last time they won in Baton Rouge prior to this week was 1991.

Other SEC Action

• Vanderbilt played their best game of the season and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns but the Gamecocks held off the Commodores for a 48-34 win.
• Missouri embarrassed the SEC by losing at home to a bad Indiana team 31-27.
• Arkansas and Texas A&M cruised to easy non-conference victories.

Around the Nation

Clemson at Florida State
The game I anticipated watching the most this week did not disappoint as Florida State escaped with a 23-17 overtime victory.  Clemson went into Tallahassee and outplayed the Seminoles for the vast majority of the game. Clemson's defense, in particular, played lights out and dominated the line of scrimmage during regulation. Critical mistakes made by Clemson's offense were the difference in the game.

Clemson reached the red zone 7 times vs Florida State and scored on just 3 of those drives. #CLEMvsFSU
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 21, 2014

In summary, Cole Stoudt underthrew a wide open TE in the first quarter, which would have been a touchdown, the kicker missed 2 field goals, a high snap cost them another opportunity to score a touchdown, and then a late fumble deep in FSU's territory cost them a chance to put the game away. You cannot fault Dabo Swinney for going for it on 4th down in overtime.  His kicker badly missed those two field goals.  Furthermore, you're a heavy underdog on the road and the home team has just seized the momentum. What I don't understand is why Chad Morris decided not to put Watson under center on that 4th and 2 play.

Get. Under. Center.
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) September 21, 2014

Apparently, that sentiment was widely shared.  If you're a Clemson fan, you have to put this loss behind you. Sure, it's easy to get down after starting the season 1-2 with losses to Georgia and Florida State, but they have found a future star at quarterback and you can still have a decent season. They will likely win the next 8 games and be 9-2 when South Carolina comes to town on November 29th.


Other Action

• Forget what I wrote about Virginia Tech after their upset of Ohio State.  They have now lost two straight home games and fall to 0-1 in ACC play, after the loss to Georgia Tech. Virginia Tech's QB, Michael Brewer, who played with such confidence against Ohio State, threw 3 interceptions versus the Jackets and now has 8 on the season.
• Oklahoma survived a tough road game versus West Virginia with a 45-33 victory.  It looks like the toughest games that lie ahead for the Sooners will all be played in Norman (Kansas State, Baylor, and Oklahoma State).
• South Carolina's week 2 victory versus East Carolina is looking stronger each week.  A week after defeating the Hokies, the Pirates took UNC to the woodshed by outscoring them 70-41. They are now in this week's AP Top 25 Poll.

College Football Wrap-Up: Week 3

Yesterday was a tough loss for the Dawgs and a big win for the Gamecocks.  With Spurrier and the Gamecocks backed into a corner and needing a victory to basically stay alive in the SEC East, they defeated Georgia for the fourth time in five years. Two years ago the Dawgs were outplayed from beginning to end.  Yesterday, Georgia had opportunities to seize control and win the game and just didn't make enough plays when it counted.  Congratulations to the Gamecocks.  They were ready to play and ultimately made enough plays to win 38-35.

Photo Credit: John Kelley/georgiadogs.com

If you had told me beforehand that Georgia would score 35 points, and be at +2 in turnover margin, I would have predicted a victory for the Dawgs. Unfortunately, Georgia only converted those turnovers into 3 points and our defense gave up 452 yards. Many of the armchair coaches on Twitter and Facebook blame the loss on Bobo's play calling, when Georgia had a 1st and goal at Carolina's 4 yard line.  I'm in the minority, but I don't believe it was a bad play call. You have to give credit to South Carolina's defensive end for staying home and forcing Mason to make a decision.  If Mason throws the ball away, then it's 2nd and goal from the 4 yard line and you still have 3 opportunities to hand it off to Gurley and score.  I doubt many of those same critics were complaining about Bobo's play calling when Georgia scored on their first possession in only 2 plays, without Gurley touching the ball.

When you go on the road in the SEC and score 35 points in a hostile environment, you have to expect that your defense can hold up their end of the bargain.  Yesterday, Georgia again improved on defense in the 2nd half but, ultimately, the Dawgs could not get enough stops to win the game.  Four out of 5 of South Carolina's touchdown drives went for 75 yards.  You're not going to win many games playing defense like that.  Furthermore, even if Georgia had scored a touchdown when they began that drive from Carolina's 4 yard line, I'm not so certain that Georgia could have held Carolina from going right back down the field and scoring again. They certainly scored at ease earlier in the 4th quarter when they ran four straight running plays.

The bottom line is that South Carolina's offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage and that was ultimately the difference in the ballgame.  South Carolina had success running the ball (averaging 4.97 yards per carry) and Dylan Thompson had all day long to sit back and carve up our zone coverage.  Jordan Jenkins and Leonard Floyd were completely neutralized by Carolina's massive OL. We put very little pressure on Thompson and Carolina's WRs exploited our inexperienced secondary. The good news if you're a Dawg fan - I doubt we see a better OL than Carolina's the rest of the season.

Here are some other observations on the game:

• Todd Gurley showed, once again, why he's the best running back in the nation. His 17 yard carry in the 3rd quarter, that went for a first down and kept Georgia's drive, alive was just unbelievable. He finished with 131 yards on only 20 carries (1 TD) and Carolina's defense was scheming against him the entire game.
• I was surprised that Georgia didn't keep Sony Michel and Isaiah McKenzie more involved in the game.  Obviously, they had the both receptions on the opening scoring drive of the game and they both had a few touches later in the game, but I fully expected that Bobo would utilize them in the short passing game all day.  As they become more familiar with the offense, I expect that both of them will see more significant playing time.
• Nick Chubb had limited work (4 carries for 36 yards), but looked impressive again. Meanwhile, Keith Marshall appears to have dropped to 4th in the rotation.
• The first holding call that negated a gain by Gurley was obvious.  However, the holding call that negated a 54 yard TD run from Gurley looked like a weak call to me. 
• The secondary is young and inexperienced (as evidenced by a true freshman and a redshirt freshman walk-on starting), but I do believe they will improve as the season progresses.
• We desperately need Malcolm Mitchell and Justin Scott-Wesley to get healthy very soon.  Conley and Bennett are valuable possession receivers but neither possess big play-making ability. The Dawgs need more speedy playmakers at WR.
• You have to feel bad for Marshall Morgan today. He sets an SEC record with 19 consecutive made FGs and then misses two critical ones that could have changed the outcome of the game. Hopefully, he can shake this loss and help Georgia win a big game later this season.

The Dawgs need to regroup and get back to work on Monday. They cannot afford to have a letdown versus Troy on Saturday.  The Trojans fell to 0-3 on Saturday so I'm not concerned about an upset, but I do hope the coaches and players rally and see it as an opportunity to get better, particularly for the defense. Tennessee comes to town and two weeks, and they have an open date before, so they will spend the next 13 days preparing for Georgia.

Around the SEC

Kentucky vs. Florida: The Wildcats took the Gators to triple overtime in the Swamp and Florida escaped with a 36-30 victory. Does this mean the 2-10 team from last season has made significant strides or does it mean the 4-8 team from last season really still stinks?  I suppose time will tell.

Tennessee vs. Oklahoma: The Vols held their own in the first half and then the Sooners pulled away  for a comfortable 34-10 victory. The Vols are now 2-1 on the young season and will have an extra week to prepare for the Dawgs in Athens. I'm sure Butch Jones would love to gain a signature road victory in Athens.

Arkansas vs. Texas Tech: In a renewal of an old Southwestern Confernce rivalry, Arkansas rushed for 438 yards and 7 TDs in a 49-28 victory. The Razorbacks, who punted only once the entire game, have won back-to-back games for the first time in over a year.  Arkansas has an opportunity to make it three consecutive wins next week when Northern Illinois rolls into town.

Otherwise, it was a pretty uneventful week in the conference. On Thursday night, Auburn travels to Manhatten, Kansas to take on the 2-0 Kansas State Wildcats. 

Odds & Ends

• Georgia Southern overcame a 25 point deficit and led Georgia Tech late in the 4th quarter.  The Jackets avoided an embarrassing upset with a touchdown pass with only 23 seconds remaining to secure the win 42-38.  Tech is now 3-0 with victories over Wofford, Tulane, and Southern.  They kick off conference action next weekend when they visit Virginia Tech.
• Virginia Tech came down to earth quickly when East Carolina went up 21-0 in the first quarter.  The Hokies came back to tie it at 21 late in the 4th quarter only to watch the Pirates storm right back down the field and score again to win 28-21. It's difficult to play a quality opponent the week following an emotional win, particularly with a noon start.
• Boston College, led by former Florida quarter Tyler Murphy, stunned ninth-ranked Southern Cal 37-31. Meanwhile, Virginia also captured an impressive victory over a ranked Louisville team at home on Saturday afternoon. Action in other ACC games can best be described by these pictures:

Packed house ... RT @rustindodd: Kansas! Duke! Wallace Wade Stadium. pic.twitter.com/R3M4cjDvpp
— Troy Machir (@TroyMachir) September 13, 2014

.@ByCasagrande RT @DannyMartinez4: This is kickoff. Randy, Al and Sun Life Stadium have done this. I have no words. pic.twitter.com/yne7OErOD6
— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) September 13, 2014

Next week is an opportunity for Georgia to improve in all areas and hopefully it will allow Georgia to play many of the reserves who will be called on for more significant minutes later in the season. Otherwise, it should be a fun day to watch college football action. The two games I'm looking forward to the most are Florida vs. Alabama and Clemson vs. Florida State. Also, I'm interested to see how Mississippi State matches up with LSU on a Saturday night in Death Valley. Until next time...Go Dawgs!

College Football Wrap-Up: Week 13

Georgia easily defeated Kentucky on Saturday night by a final score of 59-17, but it was tough to witness Aaron Murray's college career cut short when he suffered a torn ACL in the 2nd quarter. After completing 18 of 23 passes for 183 yards and 4 TDs, Murray had to be helped off the field shortly before halftime. Murray has meant so much to this program the last 4 years and his legacy in the DawgNation is secure.  If you missed the Open Letter to Aaron Murray last week then I promise you it is well worth your time.

Photo Credit: Jason Vorhees/The Macon Telegraph

College Football Wrap-Up: Week 11

After a very sluggish start in the first half, the Dawgs pulled away from Appalachian State and won 45-6 on Saturday. There's really not a lot of takeaways when you defeat a 2-8 team, but here's what I observed:

Photo Credit: Athens-Banner Herald

• Aaron Murray now owns the SEC Career Passing TDs record, previously held by Florida's Danny Wuerrfel. Murray has 115 passing TDs, which puts him into the Top 10 all-time NCAA record book.  He is within striking distance of the 5th all-time leader touchdown passer, Landry Jones of Oklahoma, who finished his career with 123 TDs. Murray has had a remarkable career at Georgia and will leave with the SEC Career records for Passing Yards, Touchdown Passes, and Total Offense.  Let that sink in for just a moment.
• It was nice to see Hutson Mason finally get a chance to play this season.  He went 11-14 for 160 yards, 1 TD, and 1 interception.  He is going to have so many weapons around him next season.  Hopefully, his 5th season will look more like the one DJ Shockley enjoyed instead of the one Joe Cox had in 2009.
• The only thing worse than running a fake punt versus App State is running one unsuccessfully.  What was that all about?
• Jonathan Rumph made a nice debut on Saturday.  I know he actually played a few snaps last week against Florida, but it was nice to see him make catches on Saturday. He actually finished the game 2nd in receiving yards.  If not for a hamstring injury that he suffered in the preseason, he really could have made a big impact on this team with all the injuries at WR.
• Along those same lines, think about our WR corp next season: Malcolm Mitchell, Michael Bennett, Chris Conley, Reggie Davis, Justin Scott-Wesley, and Jonathan Rumph, along with promising young scholarship players like Tramel Terry, Blake Tibbs, and Uriah Lemay.  The first six I listed could be starters or major contributors at any school in the country.
• Ray Drew has developed into a very fine defensive lineman.  He leads the team with 6 sacks on the season. In case you're wondering, that's four more than Mr. Clowney.

College Football Wrap-Up: Week 6

Another nail-biter and the Dawgs escape Knoxville with a 34-31 OT victory!  It was a game that left you with mixed emotions.  Obviously, SEC road wins are hard to come by and it’s always nice to beat Tennessee so you certainly appreciate the victory but on the other hand the Dawgs lost some huge playmakers to season ending injuries.

Overall it was a very gutsy performance, particularly for the offense.  I said before the season that this was a trap game because it’s tough to maintain playing at such a high level after the gauntlet we faced with our September schedule.  It was on the road in a tough environment and you knew that Butch Jones was eager to get his big signature win.  You enter the game without your two best playmakers (RB Todd Gurley & WR Malcolm Mitchell) then you lose your starting RB (who had his best game last year vs. Tennessee) in the 1^st quarter followed by losing 2 of 3 remaining top receivers in the 3^rd quarter.

With less than 2 minutes to go in regulation, down by 7, with the home crowd going nuts,  Aaron Murray takes the Dawgs down the field and scores a TD with just 5 seconds left on the clock.  First and foremost, that was an unbelievable drive by Aaron Murray knowing that he was missing so many playmakers.  Then consider this: 62 yards out of that 75 yard drive were picked up by true freshman playing in their first ever SEC road game.

While you have to give the offense a lot of credit the defense is becoming increasingly frustrating.  After playing a very decent first half it seems like they regressed in the 2^nd half.  The DL and LB play have improved for the most part but the secondary is still struggling.  I understand that the defense is young but there is plenty of talent and Grantham is one of the highest paid coordinators in the business.  With all the injuries the offense has sustained you cannot continue to rely so heavily on the offense to carry the team for the remainder of the year.

Grantham’s defense has been built around disrupting the QB and creating TOs.  So far this year we’ve only picked off one pass and our 3^rd down defense is dead last in the league.  Georgia has some legitimate playmakers on defense with Ray Drew, Leonard Floyd, Jordan Jenkins, Sterling Bailey, JHC, Tray Matthews, etc. but we haven’t seen anything resembling a very solid game yet.  This coming Saturday would be a good time for the defense to step up and play big.

Another game, another costly special teams mistake.  Marshall Morgan has proven to be a threat with his leg.  The rest of the special teams units leave a lot to be desired.

Congratulations to Aaron Murray on becoming the All-Time Passing Yards leader in SEC history.  3 of the top 5 in conference history are now Dawgs – 1) Murray 2) Greene and 5) Zeier

The Dawgs have now won 4 in a row versus Tennessee and 5 out of the last 6 in the series.  Since Tennessee won 8 straight versus the Dawgs in the 90’s Georgia has gone 10-4 since then.

The one-handed catch that Chris Conley made in the first half for a TD is as good as you will see in college football.  As a matter of fact, it was the best catch I’ve seen since AJ Green made that spectacular one-handed catch against Colorado for a TD in 2010.

Georgia Tech dropped their 2^nd straight game and now Paul Johnson’s record at Tech versus Virginia Tech, Miami, Clemson and Georgia is 6-16.  As a matter of fact, he’s only beaten Georgia, Miami, and Virginia Tech one time each.  The athletic director that hired Paul Johnson is now the AD at Clemson.  You have to wonder if the new AD will make a coaching change after the season if Tech doesn’t either upset Clemson or Georgia.

Auburn beat Ole Miss on Saturday and unless they totally fall apart should make a bowl this season.  That’s a big step forward from last season when Auburn went 0-8 in the SEC.  Ole Miss has lost two in a row and next they have to face Texas A&M.

It’s beginning to look like a soap opera in Columbia with Clowney and Spurrier.  First, Clowney appears out of shape to begin the season and now the OBC is questioning the severity of his injuries while he sits out ballgames.  He’s obviously a very gifted football player but he doesn’t really help his team’s chemistry.  It will be interesting to see how he finishes the season.

FSU exposed Maryland while Northwestern broke my heart by not beating Ohio State.  More and more I’m beginning to believe that the SEC’s run as claiming the National Champion may come to an end in 2013.  Honestly, in the final year of the BCS I really won’t be surprised to see 4 unbeaten teams at the end of the year.  I know these things typically work themselves out but who is going to beat Ohio State or Louisville.  Oregon and Stanford play each other so one of those teams will knock the other out and the same holds true for FSU and Clemson.  Alabama is still #1 and undefeated but I could certainly see them losing before the end of the year.  There are still several weeks left to play so we’ll l see what happens.

The Dawgs face a serious test this weekend.  Missouri rolls into town with a 5-0 record and ranked #25 in the polls.  Their schedule has been weak but their offense appears to hitting on all cylinders.  Georgia has to find a way to plug in new players at RB and WR and continue scoring points.  Gurley is 50/50 to play and if he can’t go the Dawgs will rely on two true freshmen.  Both players have been impressive but consider this: when they signed JJ Green in February they had intended on him playing WR or DB.  Brendan Douglas only received a scholarship offer from UGA with less than 2 weeks to go before signing day.  They played very well on Saturday combing to rush for 154 yards on 27 carries so let’s hope they can continue to carry the load until Gurley returns.