My BlogPoll ballot has been cast (and the preliminary poll has been posted), but it remains for me to commit to paper the poll within the poll, in which I run down the list of Southeastern Conference squads and arrange them in order from best to worst. I doubt whether there will be many surprises in store, but here we go:

1. Alabama: I don’t necessarily think that the best team in the conference is automatically the best team in the country---ah, who am I kidding; of course I do---but, clearly, since I have the Crimson Tide ranked first in the land, I also have to rank them first in the league. I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop---I don’t think any team is making it through the S.E.C. gauntlet unscathed---but, for now, ‘Bama unquestionably rules the roost.

2. Florida: All right, I did not see that one coming! While I’m not entirely sure how much of that was quarterbackless, suspiciously-secondaried L.S.U. being overrated and how much was the Gators kicking their innate awesomeness into overdrive, there’s no denying what the Saurians in Orange and Blue ("S.O.B.s" for short) did on the field to the Bayou Bengals.

3. Georgia: You know, I know, and Dr. Saturday knows that the Sanford Stadium scoreboard did not reflect the thoroughness of Saturday’s thumping. With another offensive lineman lost, though, it’s doubtful that the ‘Dawgs will be able to continue playing at that level, and settling for field goals instead of touchdowns will not suffice in Baton Rouge, by the St. John’s River, or even on the Plains.

Remember: Auburn is at its most dangerous when Georgia is ranked and the Tigers aren’t. Thank goodness we get them on the road this year!

4. Vanderbilt: Were the Commodores flat, caught looking ahead, or just plain exposed? I know which answer I’m hoping for this weekend, but, in the meantime, the ‘Dores still control their own destiny in the Eastern Division. Don’t giggle. If we win this Saturday, then you can giggle; until then, you’re just tempting fate.

5. Louisiana State: The Fighting Tigers have their issues, but they’re still supremely talented and well coached. The problem is that they have little to show for their efforts thus far. I’m pretty sure they’re better than they showed last Saturday night, but how good are the Bayou Bengals?

6. South Carolina: The Gamecocks are No. 6 with a bullet after the East Coast U.S.C. started to turn a tendency to lose close games into a propensity for winning them. Don’t count out the Palmetto State Poultry, who may have a shot at playing in Atlanta in December . . . in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, I mean.

7. Kentucky: U.K. has evolved into a moderately consistent middle-tier program with not only a ceiling but also a floor. The Blue and White’s frequent displays of something reminiscent of actual defense---not seen in the Bluegrass State since, oh, the Bear Bryant era or thereabouts---have reminded us all that, in fact, you can’t spell "Wildcat" without "D."

"I am proud and pleased to accept a bid to the Music City Bowl on behalf of the University of . . . what? I have to wait for that to be official? Oh, that’s a bunch of bull . . ."

8. Ole Miss: It’s now process-of-elimination time. The Rebels beat Florida but lost to Wake Forest. Thanks a lot, guys; that’s really helping to keep the A.C.C. message boards on an even keel. Still, a .500 record with a quality conference road win helped Mississippi to rise above the muddle 20,000 leagues beneath the, um, league.

9. Auburn: Yeah, you really could throw the bottom four teams in the S.E.C. in a bag, shake it up, and pull ‘em out at random. The so-called Loveliest Village is home to the second-most dysfunctional orange-wearing, coach-firing Southern Tiger program that used to be coached by John Heisman and has been known to run off Bowdens in mid-season, but, despite having stunk up the place in a loss to the Hogs that left everyone wondering whether Bobby Petrino would be hired as the new head coach at Auburn during the postgame handshake---hey, such a move wouldn’t be entirely without precedent---the Plainsmen still managed to walk away with an overall winning record, which is more than the rest of the teams on this list can claim.

10. Mississippi State: The Croomings will continue until morale improves. The Western Division Bulldogs have assumed the role of perpetual spoiler, but they registered a big win last Saturday.

11. Arkansas: The Razorbacks bagged a big one this past weekend, albeit not as big of one as Mississippi State did. Saturday’s result attests more to the turmoil at Auburn than to the talent in Fayetteville, though . . . and there still is the matter of needing late rallies against patsy opponents to get to 3-3.

"I couldn’t be happier with this big win over a fine Auburn team and I would like to take this opportunity to announce that I have just been hired as the new head coach at Clemson, effective immediately. So long, suckers! I’m long gone like a turkey in the corn!"

12. Tennessee: No other team in the conference is 0-3 in S.E.C. play, with an increasingly embarrassing loss to U.C.L.A., to (hobnailed) boot. The Volunteers have hit rock(y) bottom.

That’s how the S.E.C. stacks up at this point, at least in my eyes, but, hey, I’m the guy who thought Florida would be exposed by L.S.U. instead of the other way around, so what do I know? Your constructive criticisms are welcome in the comments below.

Go ‘Dawgs!

The other shoe officially has dropped: Tommy Bowden has been fired.

As I mentioned in my BlogPoll ballot rundown, I had occasion to be in Clemson, S.C., on Friday, coincidentally on the day after the Tigers’ loss to Wake Forest, and I will say this for the Clemson faithful: I saw an awful lot of fans walking around wearing orange and purple, clad in gear emblazoned with tiger paws and the words "Clemson Tigers." It was a pretty impressive showing for a team that had just lost any realistic shot at a conference crown and knew that a coaching change was imminent (albeit not quite this imminent).

Let the "bring back Bobby Johnson" (native South Carolinian, Clemson alum, former head coach in the Palmetto State, successful head coach in a major conference) campaign begin in earnest!

If the predicted number of Bowden firings this season is 1.5, are you taking the over or the under?

Go ‘Dawgs!

Now that the BlogPoll has gone big-time, our draft ballots are due earlier, so the need for feedback has intensified, as we have 48 hours within which to reconsider, make revisions, and, with any luck, avoid getting singled out as the single daffiest voter in the blogosphere (which is every bit as dubious a distinction as it sounds).

Accordingly, I sincerely solicit your constructive criticisms concerning the following:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	--
2	Texas	3
3	Oklahoma State	11
4	Penn State	--
5	Boise State	2
6	Texas Tech	4
7	Southern Cal	4
8	Oklahoma	6
9	California	7
10	Michigan State	12
11	Florida	8
12	Ohio State	1
13	Virginia Tech	1
14	North Carolina	11
15	Georgia	2
16	Pittsburgh	7
17	South Florida	7
18	Vanderbilt	12
19	Wake Forest	1
20	Missouri	17
21	Ball State	5
22	Utah	13
23	Kansas	3
24	LSU	16
25	TCU	1

Dropped Out: Brigham Young (#15), Georgia Tech (#18), Northwestern (#21).

In spite of the fact that the Tide were idle, Alabama (6-0) claimed the No. 1 ranking ahead of Texas (6-0) because the ‘Horns have little heft to their record of achievement outside of their Red River Rivalry Shootout victory. Both ‘Bama and Texas beat Arkansas (3-3), so those victories essentially cancel each other out, even though (for what it’s worth) the Red Elephants beat the Hogs on the road and the Burnt Orange took care of the Razorbacks in Austin.

I tend to think that an 11-point win over Georgia (5-1) between the hedges is more impressive than a 10-point win over Oklahoma (5-1) at a neutral site, particularly since Alabama led the Bulldogs by 31 points at halftime, whereas the Sooners were up on Texas by a 28-27 margin with a little over a minute to go in the third quarter.

Even assuming that we treat the Longhorns’ marquee win as more valuable than the Crimson Tide’s most sterling victory, though, what else does Texas have to offer? Alabama’s second-best triumph was over Kentucky (4-2); surely that achievement is superior to Texas’s win at Colorado (3-3), and, even if it isn’t, the Red Elephants’ neutral site demolition of Clemson (3-3) undoubtedly is superior to the Burnt Orange’s win over . . . whom, precisely? Rice? U.T.E.P.?

By beating Missouri (5-1), Oklahoma State (6-0) vaulted itself into the No. 3 spot, beating out Penn State (7-0) by virtue of the Cowboys’ quality road victory over the Tigers. The Nittany Lions have no comparable victory which justifies putting P.S.U. ahead of O.S.U., but respectable wins over a trio of 3-3 teams (Illinois, Oregon State, and Wisconsin) were adequate to cement a spot in the top five for a Penn State squad that has dominated every team it has faced.

Boise State (5-0) and Texas Tech (6-0) claimed the next pair of poll positions by registering reasonably valuable road victories over Oregon (5-2) and Kansas State (4-2), respectively. The Broncos edged out the Red Raiders because Texas Tech needed overtime to beat a mediocre Nebraska team at home and Mike Leach’s club has faced two Division I-AA opponents.

The highest-ranked once-beaten squad is, of course, Southern California (4-1), which possesses two increasingly worthy pelts (Ohio State’s and Oregon’s) and lost a close one on the road, albeit to a Beaver team that sits at 3-3. The direction Oregon State takes will have quite a bit to say about how high U.S.C. is able to rise.

Although the margin ended up being too large truly to credit the Sooners with a quality loss in Dallas, O.U. lost a competitive game to a top two team and is able partially to offset that setback with wins over Cincinnati (5-1) and Texas Christian (6-1). The Bearcats received serious consideration for, and the Horned Frogs earned inclusion in, my top 25, but Oklahoma dropped behind the Trojans because Bob Stoops’s troops own worthless wins over Division I-AA Chattanooga and winless Washington.

A win over Michigan State (6-1) that looks better and better with each passing week earned California (4-1) a spot in the top ten, but a bad loss at erratic Maryland (4-2) dragged down the Golden Bears somewhat. The Spartans, whose victims include Notre Dame (4-2) and, now, Northwestern (5-1) on the road, snagged the spot just behind Cal, who handed M.S.U. the very definition of a quality loss: on the road against a good team by a close margin.

Florida (5-1) narrowly missed out on a place in the top ten because the Gators have beaten only one team with a winning record and, given the dubious resume compiled by Louisiana State (4-1), it is highly questionable how valuable Saturday night’s win in the Swamp truly is. Nevertheless, the win was a dominant victory over a top 25 team and three of the Saurians’ other four victims (Arkansas, Hawaii, and Miami) all improved to 3-3 over the weekend, but the presence of another 3-3 team (Ole Miss) in the loss column continues to arrest U.F.’s rise.

Although the Hokies’ best win (at North Carolina) is superior to the Buckeyes’ most impressive victory (over Minnesota), Virginia Tech (5-1) has yet to beat a Division I-A opponent with a record better than 2-5 by more than a touchdown and Ohio State (6-1) lost to Southern California in Los Angeles, not to East Carolina (3-3) in Greenville, N.C., so Jim Tressel’s squad got the nod.

Just behind the Hokies are the Tar Heels, inasmuch as U.N.C. (5-1) was dealt its only loss by V.P.I. Buoyed by wins over Connecticut (5-1) and the Fighting Irish, North Carolina overtook a Georgia squad whose best win was a narrow escape on the road against South Carolina (5-2). Pittsburgh (4-1) has a better marquee win (at South Florida), but the Panthers are hamstrung by an embarrassing home loss to Bowling Green (3-3). U.S.F. (5-1) checks in at No. 17, thanks to the Bulls’ win over Kansas (5-1).

All good things must come to an end, and, as some shrewd pundits predicted, Vanderbilt (5-1) fell to Mississippi State (2-4) in Starkville in a game that reminds us just how much S.E.C. teams chew one another up and spit each other out in conference outings. Still, the Commodores, like the Eastern Division Bulldogs, can claim credit for a win over the Gamecocks, so they remain in the top 20, just three spots behind Georgia.

I’m not any happier about this fact than you are, but Wake Forest (4-1) staked a claim to the No. 19 ranking with four wins over B.C.S. conference teams, two of whom the Demon Deacons beat on the road and none of whom have losing records. Ordinarily, that would get a team much higher in the poll, but a home loss to Navy (4-2) and the fact that the Deacs’ best win came against a Florida State club that is nowhere near as good as its 4-1 record limit Wake’s potential considerably.

Mizzou barely clung to a spot in the top 20 after the Tigers lost to the Cowboys because, despite Missouri’s dominance in its five victories, the team has yet to beat a Division I-A team with a winning record. Still, a neutral site win over Illinois and a road win over Nebraska (both of whom are 3-3) count for something, so Gary Pinkel’s crew remains ranked in spite of how ridiculous Chase Daniel looks on the sidelines with his hat on backwards.

I’m sure I raised an eyebrow or two by ranking Ball State (7-0) ahead of Utah (7-0), but hear me out on this one. The Cardinals and the Utes each have one meaningless victory over a Division I-AA opponent (Northeastern and Weber State, respectively) and one relatively low-value victory over a 2-4 Big Ten team on the road (at Indiana and at Michigan, respectively).

Ball State’s only win over a team with a winning record was a 12-point victory over Navy. Utah’s only win over a team with a winning record was a seven-point victory over Air Force. The Midshipmen and the Falcons have identical 4-2 ledgers . . . and Navy beat Air Force in Colorado Springs on October 4.

Also, my inability to get to sleep before 1:00 a.m. for the last 20 years is not attributable to my having spent my college days staying up late to watch a University of Utah alumnus on T.V.

Admittedly, the Utes also have a narrow escape over Oregon State one week after the Beavers’ upset of the Trojans, but there’s more to Ball State’s resume than meets the eye. The Cardinals went on the road and claimed a 17-point victory over Akron, a team that came within two points of upsetting what everyone agrees is a pretty good Cincinnati team. B.S.U. beat by 22 points in Bloomington a Big Ten team with a record identical to that of the Big Ten team Utah beat by two points in Ann Arbor . . . and Brady Hoke’s club went on the road and beat by 31 points a Toledo team that just waltzed into the Big House and beat the Wolverines by a wider margin than the Utes did. Although the call is a close one, Ball State has earned a higher poll position than Utah.

The Jayhawks have no quality wins, but their quality loss (by a narrow margin on the road against South Florida) permitted them to land one spot above Les Miles’s squad, which is giving new meaning to the question, "L.S.Who?" A Bayou Bengal squad that I fully expected to romp in the Swamp got outclassed in every way in Gainesville, and what does Louisiana State have to counterbalance that black mark on its record?

The Fighting Tigers began the season by beating Division I-AA Appalachian State and winless North Texas. L.S.U.’s best victory was a road win over Auburn, which sounds good until you consider the facts that the Plainsmen are 4-3 overall, they are 2-3 in S.E.C. play, and they scored 21 points against the Bayou Bengals during a four-game stretch in which A.U. managed three against Mississippi State, 14 against Tennessee, and 13 against Vanderbilt. The 24 points L.S.U. surrendered to Mississippi State are the most the Western Division Bulldogs have scored against a Division I-A opponent all season.

The only thing that kept Louisiana State in the top 25 at all was the dearth of quality teams below L.S.U., which is why T.C.U., owner of a victory over Stanford (4-3) yet little else, made the grade by having beaten handily the six opponents not named Oklahoma to have appeared on the Frogs’ schedule thus far. It ain’t much, but it allowed Texas Christian to edge the Bearcats---also losers to the Sooners in Norman, but whose best victory was at Marshall (3-3)---for the final spot in the top 25.

At the end of the day, there just aren’t 25 teams that deserve to be ranked in the top 25.

Two teams that were given consideration yet failed to make the grade were Brigham Young (6-0) and Tulsa (6-0). Emboldened by Dr. Saturday’s defiant leap from the B.Y.U. bandwagon and the resultant sense that I ought to reconsider my previous reconsideration, I omitted the Cougars and the Golden Hurricane because neither has beaten a Division I-A team with a winning record, neither has faced anything resembling a quality opponent, and both had to survive scares on the road against horrible teams: B.Y.U. beat Washington (0-5) by one in Seattle and Tulsa beat Southern Methodist (1-6) by six in Dallas. Between them, the best win either of these two teams has is over Rice, and that just won’t cut it.

Florida State, Minnesota, and Northwestern did not receive serious consideration because nothing in the Seminoles’, Golden Gophers’, or Wildcats’ wins appeared even remotely adequate to overcome their respective losses, although I remain open to arguments to the contrary. Georgia Tech did not receive serious consideration because that is what a 10-7 win over Gardner-Webb will do to your credibility.

I watched most of the second half of the Florida Atlantic-Troy game on Tuesday night and the entirety of the A.C.C. field goal-fest that was the Clemson-Wake Forest game on Thursday night. Circumstances placed me in a pizza restaurant in Clemson, S.C., on Friday night for the first five minutes of the Louisville-Memphis game, which I listened to part of on the radio on the drive back before getting home in time to catch the last five minutes of the contest in my own living room. I attended the Georgia-Tennessee game on Saturday, heard the first half of the Florida-L.S.U. game on the radio on the way home, and saw a good bit of the second half of the Missouri-Oklahoma State game upon my return. During the latter, my wife informed me that Erin Andrews’s earrings were gaudy and atrocious, whereupon I informed my wife that I had not hitherto noticed that Erin Andrews was wearing earrings.

In closing, I would like to reiterate that the purpose of posting my preliminary ballot at this point is to invite questions and comments regarding unconventional rankings, of which I suspect there are many to be found. Please feel free to point out the flaws in this ballot below.

Go ‘Dawgs!

I enjoy an emotional game as much as the next fellow, but games that are about who is more fired up than whom wind up at one extreme or the other, as evidenced by the last two occasions on which the Bulldogs wore black jerseys when facing Yellowhammer State-based squads between the hedges. Because it is impossible to be emotionally inflamed for every challenging game---and the ‘Dawgs are at the point in the season at which every game is a challenging game---a team has to win some of them in strictly a businesslike manner.

So it was against Arizona State on September 20, and so it was against Tennessee yesterday afternoon. (Let us leave aside for now the fact that both the Sun Devils and the Volunteers now stand at 2-4; the Bulldogs have twice as many victories over Division I-A teams with winning records as our division rivals from Gainesville can claim.) Everywhere except on the scoreboard, Saturday’s Sanford Stadium showdown was a thumping.

How else do you describe a game in which Georgia holds the ball for over 42 minutes and gains 29 first downs to the Big Orange’s ten? How else could you characterize a contest in which the Red and Black converted more than half of their third downs (9 of 17) while holding the visitors to a one-third conversion percentage (4 of 12)?

Matthew Stafford connected on 25 of his 36 attempts for his first 300-yard passing day in a Bulldog uniform. Knowshon Rockwell Moreno became the first running back to rush for over 100 yards against the Volunteer defense this season. Meanwhile, Tennessee tallied a lone rushing yard---one; count it: one---and, even discounting Nick Stephens’s 15 lost yards on sacks, the tailback tandem of Lennon Creer, Arian Foster, and Montario Hardesty combined for 25 yards on 11 carries.

Tennessee twice threatened to climb back into the game, both times due to Georgia miscues (about which more forthwith), but the Bulldogs built up leads of 13-0 early in the second quarter and 20-7 at halftime in the course of amassing 458 yards against a fairly stout Volunteer D while holding the Big Orange to a measly 209 yards of total offense.

The day was far from perfect, of course, as evidenced by the Bulldogs’ 12-point margin of victory. After the indignities of the past two seasons, in which U.T. drubbed the ‘Dawgs once in Athens and again in Knoxville, this game could and should have been, at a minimum, 35-0.

A.J. Green just flat dropped a touchdown pass at the goal line for no good reason whatsoever. The defense missed a couple of shots at contest-clinching interceptions and failed to force a turnover all game. The penalties, which appeared throughout much of the first half finally to be under control, once again got out of hand in the second half, to the tune of 76 yards surrendered on eleven flags.

Stafford threw more interceptions (2) than touchdown passes (1), and both of the Georgia quarterback’s picks ended what would have been Bulldog scoring drives and led to what became the only Volunteer scoring drives; absent those two bad passes, the final score would have been, at worst, 32-0.

While I appreciate, respect, and even agree with the argument that it is better to be beaten deep than dinked and dunked to death, it isn’t any fun watching it happen to your team. My hope for Prince Miller is that he will turn out to be a latter-day Bruce Thornton---picked on unmercifully while experiencing growing pains before turning into a first-class defensive back---but, for now, it is painful watching him struggle in pass coverage.

Not all of the adversity the ‘Dawgs encountered was their own doing, of course. The unfortunate loss of Vince Vance was no one’s fault, naturally, nor was the fact that the S.E.C. officiating crew that sets new standards for incompetence set up the Bulldogs with third and goal on the three after a penalty that is supposed to produce an automatic first down.

In the end, though, there was much more to like than to dislike in Saturday’s performance. Mohamed Massaquoi had a great day and Demiko Goodman had a good one. The forward wall of the Georgia offense kept Stafford upright and able to throw, which was very impressive, considering the attrition in the Georgia ranks and the quality of the Tennessee defense.

In a not unrelated item, Brannan Southerland’s overdue return proved well worth the wait, and, not to be outdone, Shaun Chapas stepped up his game. Asher Allen remains Asher Allen and C.J. Byrd made some nice plays, as well.

While it’s unfortunate that Blair Walsh had to attempt four field goals, he split the uprights on all four of them, even though one of them was a bit harrowing and I’m not altogether convinced that the wind rendered it wise to let the third quarter expire before letting the true freshman try a 41-yarder at the other end of the field. Brian Mimbs returned to the form he displayed against South Carolina and we appear finally to be getting away from this nonsense of placing kickoffs anywhere other than the end zone.

I could have done with a few more touchdowns and I carry some sense of dread that another such effort of dominance on the stat sheet but not on the scoreboard will not suffice against L.S.U. or Florida or, heck, Vanderbilt. Nevertheless, the ‘Dawgs did what they had to do, converting critical third downs and closing the deal when the chips were down.

Clinging to a 13-7 lead and facing third and eight at their own five yard line, the Classic City Canines moved the chains to spark a drive that went 97 yards in nine plays, culminating in a touchdown with nine seconds remaining until halftime. After the Georgia defense later forced the Vols to go three and out, the Red and Black ran the ball 14 times in their next 16 plays, covering 76 yards and tacking on the game-icing field goal after taking eleven minutes off of the clock.

The Bulldogs played good football and moved the ball well on what is still a stout S.E.C. defense. I will admit that I am not unbiased upon this point, since my wife teaches with this particular walk-on’s father, but, for me, the emblematic play of the game is one you probably didn’t notice. On what I believe was Georgia’s last kickoff, Chad Gloer nearly made---arguably, should have made---the tackle that would have left the Volunteers with particularly poor field position, but, having missed his chance the first time, he got back up, gave chase, and made the tackle the second time. It wasn’t perfect, but it showed a refusal to let up and it got the job done.

The final score, while disappointing, was not surprising, particularly if you happened to read this weblog before the game. (Heck, I even picked the honorary game day captain correctly!) If you want to win a football game, you have to out-think, out-tough, and out-play your opponent. Georgia did that, and, anytime you can walk away from an S.E.C. football game with a win in your hip pocket, you’ve had a good day. I, for one, am not going to fret (for now) that the good was merely good and not great. When good is good enough, I’ll take it.

Go ‘Dawgs!

The Mark Richt Victory Watch returns this evening following far too lengthy an absence, as we once again have the opportunity to tick off yet another Bulldog win en route to Coach Richt’s eventual overtaking of Vince Dooley atop the all-time Georgia victories list.

The Mark Richt Victory Watch now stands at 77. Coach Richt needs just 124 more wins to tie Coach Dooley for the school record.

With 97 games under his belt, Coach Richt now has a 77-20 won-lost record to his credit. No previous Bulldog head coach has possessed as impressive a ledger after as many outings, as Harry Mehre (58-34-5), Wally Butts (70-25-2), and Vince Dooley (65-28-4) all trailed Mark Richt at the same point.

It’s great to be a Georgia Bulldog.

Go ‘Dawgs!

You know the drill: game day is upon us, there is much to discuss, and the conversation takes place in the comments below. Have at it, ladies and gentlemen.

This is also the point at which this week’s Dawg Sports honorary game captain is announced. Naturally, the selection is specific to the opponent, as a Bulldog who has proven himself against that day’s foe invariably is chosen.

On a day on which a Mark Richt-coached team is looking to rebound from an early conference loss and make a statement about where this program now stands, the choice seemed obvious:

Continue reading this post »

With the Tennessee game fast approaching, it is time for my weekly rundown of statistics, minutiae, and assorted odds and ends. Because you’re already being provided with actual (and excellent) analysis by the likes of, say, Doug Gillett, I’m not going to waste your time by duplicating what you’re already getting elsewhere; instead, I’m going to run through a few of the fine points in the course of giving you not a dash of detail or a dollop of data, but instead . . . Too Much Information.

• Defensively, the ‘Dawgs play equally well before and after intermission. Over the course of the season so far, the Red and Black have surrendered 48 points in the first half and 48 points in the second half. The Volunteer offense has scored more points in each quarter than in the quarter before, but the Big Orange still rank tenth in the league in scoring offense. The team ranked ninth just fired its offensive coordinator.



• Georgia has lost back-to-back home games only once in the Mark Richt era.



• The Bulldog offense averages an S.E.C.-best 6.8 yards per snap. The Volunteer defense allows a league-low 3.9 yards per play.

How well is Tennessee’s defense playing? Gains by the opposing team are measured using one of these.

• 2008 is the fourth season in Bulldog football history in which the Red and Black have played both Georgia Southern and Tennessee. In the three previous campaigns in which the Classic City Canines crossed paths with both the Eagles and the Vols, the ‘Dawgs were 0-2 against the Big Orange in those seasons in which Georgia came into the Tennessee game undefeated but the Bulldogs were 1-0 against the Volunteers in the lone autumn in which Georgia came into the Tennessee game with one loss.



• The Vols have yet to allow an opponent to convert a fourth-down attempt against them, but they allow the other team to pick up the requisite yardage on third down 39.7 per cent of the time, marking the worst conversion percentage permitted by any S.E.C. defense outside of Fayetteville, Ark.



• This will be the seventh season in which Georgia plays a Tennessee team that had a losing record five games into the fall. On the previous six such occasions (1906, 1909, 1910, 1988, 1994, and 2000), the Bulldogs were 4-1-1 against the Volunteers.

The foregoing bullet points mark the only times I have ever made favorable references to the 2000 season. No, seriously. I’m not kidding.

The Feel Good Stat of the Week: Last year, Hamp Tanner asked me to investigate Phil Fulmer’s won-lost record following a U.T. open date and the results were as ugly as the game. Now, the shoe is on the other foot. Following a regular season bye week, the Bulldogs are 10-2 under Mark Richt, and, in those dozen contests, Georgia scored 30 or more points six times.

The Bottom Line: This year’s game represents a complete role reversal from last year’s game. In 2007, the Vols were playing at home after an idle Saturday and needed the win to put themselves back on track to finish first in the Eastern Division. Now, all of those cards (home field advantage, open date, sense of urgency) are in the Bulldogs’ hands.

This is not to say that there are not concerns. There is no underestimating the importance of the injuries to the Red and Black’s season so far or the impact of personnel issues upon our pass rush. There appear to be issues concerning leadership, as well.

However, the other side has problems, too. The Volunteers will be playing without a pair of suspended linemen. Tennessee’s season is teetering on the brink. The Big Orange’s star tailback insists upon speaking in pterodactyl.

A pterodactyl? That makes no sense. Everyone knows a triceratops would make a much better running back!

You want the bottom line on the bottom line? Tennessee’s biggest returnee is the latest in the long line of Fabulous Punting Colquitts. Georgia’s biggest returnee is fullback Brannan Southerland. It wouldn’t surprise me to see both of those players named the M.V.P. for their respective teams on Saturday.

By the way . . . I’ve been exchanging frantic e-mails all week with DAve Akins---yes, that DAve Akins---and I have good news: DAve finagled a ticket to tomorrow’s game. The Bulldogs are between the hedges and all’s right with the world.

My Prediction: Georgia 26, Tennessee 17.

Go ’Dawgs!

You may be spending your Thursday night watching the national game of disinterest, but I have spent my evening preparing tomorrow’s edition of Too Much Information, watching the game with the sound muted, and being interviewed by Rocky Top Talk’s Joel regarding Saturday’s game between the hedges and whatever else happened to pop into our heads.

We experienced some technical difficulties, but Joel honored my request to be interviewed in pterodactyl and here is how our conversation went:

Go ‘Dawgs!

I apologize for the fact that I am a little bit behind in bringing this to you, but the times, they are a-changing, so it took a little longer than usual to point and click my way to the relevant data, for reasons which will become apparent forthwith.

This week’s S.E.C. Power Poll and BlogPoll are available for your perusal, with the latter now appearing at CBS Sports, right alongside the sportswriters’ poll. (Insert your cheap shot at Buzz Bissinger here.)

Oklahoma occupies the top spot in the BlogPoll, with Alabama ranked second. Georgia is ranked tenth, behind No. 5 Louisiana State but ahead of No. 11 Vanderbilt and No. 12 Florida. The S.E.C. Power Poll has the top five teams in the conference arranged in the same sequence: Tide, Tigers, Bulldogs, Commodores, Gators.

With respect to the BlogPoll extracurriculars, my ballot was a non-factor in the running for Mr. Bold, although I placed second in the standings for the Straight Bangin’ Award and Mr. Manic-Depressive. Yes! I managed to avoid drawing the sort of attention to myself that would have guaranteed increased site traffic here at Dawg Sports. Wait . . . hold on . . . dang, I should have left B.Y.U. languishing at No. 22, then I could have been right up there with Dr. Saturday. . . .

As an aside, I should add a brief note regarding the BlogPoll’s founder and administrator, MGoBlog’s Brian Cook, who may or may not be rolling in cash today. I defended Brian (partially) against a commenter’s criticism, and I am glad to know that my faith was (again, at least partially) confirmed, as his announcement of the BlogPoll’s move to CBS Sports closed with these words:

This would not have been possible without the enthusiastic support of voters new and old, even the ones I regularly battle over their voting philosophies, and I’d like to thank everyone for their participation.

O.K., so the praise there is not exactly effusive, but it’s something, so credit deserved to be given where credit was due.

Go ‘Dawgs!

I’m sure that, from the outside, being a BlogPoll voter and an S.E.C. Power Poll voter looks like it’s all glamour. The hefty salary . . . the country club membership . . . the throngs of adoring fans and paparazzi who follow us everywhere we go . . . but don’t be fooled by the luxurious lifestyle and the groupies; the burdens of exercising the college football franchise are real and they are daunting.

For instance, there are all these questions in need of answers, and who, dear reader, is going to answer them? Analysts? Athletes? Common ordinary citizens who spend their free time interacting face-to-face with fellow human beings? I think not; if you want a question answered expertly and insightfully, you need a blogger.

Below are my answers to the most recent roundtables hosted by Doug Gillett for the S.E.C. Power Poll and by Snarky Barking Carnival for the BlogPoll. My advice to you is to put on your sunglasses before reading these answers, lest the unfiltered glare of my illuminating brilliance blind you:

What's your prediction for the matchup in the SEC championship game, and has that changed at all from what you were predicting in the preseason?

I’m picking half with my head and half with my heart when I say Alabama and Georgia will meet in the Dome in a rematch of the so-called "funeral" to determine whether there is life after death. Obviously, I’m sticking with my preseason pick in selecting the ‘Dawgs, but, in August, I thought Auburn and Louisiana State would finish in front of the Tide. Of course, I didn’t foresee Tommy Tuberville firing Tony Franklin halfway through the season.

Knowing what you now know about your team, how have your expectations for this season changed? What would constitute a successful season in your eyes, and what would be a disappointment?

My expectations haven’t changed in the sense that all of the Bulldogs’ goals (except for an undefeated season, of course) remain intact, but the reality is that Georgia has suffered too many injuries truly to be the team we all anticipated. As much as I wanted (and still do not rule out) a national championship this year, success and disappointment are defined as they always are: an S.E.C. championship would make the season successful; not appearing in Atlanta on the first Saturday in December would make the season a disappointment.

If your team has Vanderbilt coming up at some point on its schedule, are you worried? If not, which team should be the most worried?

I’m actually less worried about the Commodores than usual, and here’s why: Vanderbilt has played several upper echelon S.E.C. squads tough in recent years, most definitely including Georgia. Vandy’s stellar record this autumn ensures that the ‘Dawgs will not overlook the ‘Dores, so I expect a more focused Red and Black effort at homecoming than we ordinarily see.

Other than perhaps Alabama's season-opening win over Clemson, the SEC doesn't really have any marquee non-conference wins thus far, and a couple of traditional powers (Auburn and Tennessee) are struggling in high-profile fashion. Is it too early to call this a "down year" for the conference?

Yes, it is, for three reasons. First of all, many of the league’s best out-of-conference matchups occur late in the season, when Georgia takes on Georgia Tech, Florida faces Florida State, and South Carolina tangles with Clemson. Secondly, the S.E.C. scheduled some marquee non-conference matchups; it’s not our fault that Alabama’s win over Clemson, Georgia’s win over Arizona State, Kentucky’s win over Louisville, and Florida’s win over Miami (Florida) were devalued by the fact that those teams stink. Finally, while it’s fair to say that the conference is having a down year offensively, the league’s defenses generally are acquitting themselves well. What’s wrong with being good at the phase of the game that wins championships rather than at the phase of the game that sells tickets?

Unless, of course, we’re talking about the kind of offense that can win a game with one arm tied behind its back. . . .

Please observe the latest ESPN Heisman Watch. What gridiron presence draws your suspicion and ire?

Graham Harrell. Yeah, he threw six touchdown passes last week; the Red Raiders also threw the ball twice as many times (60) as they ran it (30). The guy’s a system quarterback. How can he be the country’s most outstanding player if he’s doing what literally every one of Mike Leach’s quarterbacks has done?

In World War I, British troops were famously characterized as "Lions Led By Donkeys." What Donkey leading a college football team of Lions is leading his troops into the Somme again this Saturday? Who should replace him after the court martial?

Unquestionably, the answer is Clemson’s Tommy Bowden. Need proof? In the Tigers’ season opener against ‘Bama, James Davis got six carries and C.J. Spiller got two. Yes, I know the Crimson Tide shut down the run, but, when you have that kind of talent in the backfield (recall that Spiller returned the second half kickoff 96 yards for Clemson’s only touchdown), you don’t take the ball completely out of your best playmakers’ hands. Who should replace Tommy when ESPN unveils its three-man "all-Bowden" game crew? I believe the answer to that question . . .

. . . is abundantly clear.

It’s conventional wisdom that it is "good for the game" when certain NFL teams - Dallas, Pittsburgh, Green Bay - or certain NBA teams - LA, Boston, New York - are strong. Others would contend that this is the arrogant self-importance of the traditional elite. With the resurgence of historic programs like Alabama and possibly Notre Dame (now believed to be turning-the-corner in 12 of its last 15 seasons) is it good for college football when certain name programs are strong? If not, why not?

While you wouldn’t want all of the sport’s traditional powers to be downtrodden all at once, I don’t know that there’s anything particularly mission critical about having certain storied programs at the top of the polls. I’m just as content to see Oregon and Missouri making noise in their respective conferences as I am to see Southern California and Nebraska being the dominant league powers, and I certainly was happy to see Boise State beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl and Vanderbilt beat Auburn last weekend. The rise of nouveau riche programs like the Sunshine State schools (none of whom had any meaningful national tradition prior to the early 1980s) and the waning of former national powers like the Ivy League teams and the East Coast service academies don’t seem to have done the sport any harm.

A related question: what team with some record of success could fall off of the face of the earth and CFB wouldn’t miss a beat? Who fancies themselves a name brand, but aren’t?

You really could pick any B.C.S. conference team from the state to the south of the one in which I live, but at the top of the list stands Florida. Although many younger fans mistakenly consider the Gators a longstanding power, the fact is that they did not win a conference championship they were permitted to keep until 1991 (50 years after Mississippi State captured its only S.E.C. crown) and they did not win a national title until 1996. The Saurians’ success has been compressed into a remarkably short span of time, which causes many fans to forget that, prior to Steve Spurrier’s return to Gainesville, Florida’s football heritage was one great big Ron Zook era (minus the .667 winning percentage over Georgia, of course). Speaking as someone whose alma mater has had a winning tradition since the early 1890s, I’m pretty sure we could afford to lose a program with a winning tradition since the early 1990s.

Saying Florida was expendable? That wasn’t right. It was a bad deal. And it will forever be in the mind of Urban Meyer and in the mind of his football team. So they’ll handle it. And it’s going to be a big deal.

Texas/OU in Big D. Okie State @ Mizzou. Penn State @ Wiscy. LSU @ Florida. We have Longhorn, Cowboy, Badger, Tiger - which dog is most likely to get it done?

See, this is exactly what I mean. The Bayou Bengals are underdogs? On what planet? As a coach, Les Miles is at least the equal of Urban Meyer, and, since a defensively-driven championship campaign in 2006, the Gators have been much more mediocre than L.S.U. I think Florida goes down and goes down hard this weekend.

What currently unranked team will we be hearing about soon?

Going by the BlogPoll top 25, I’d have to say Cincinnati. Deep, deep down, we’re all still convinced that the Bearcats are a M.A.C. team and that the Big East is dominated by Louisville, Rutgers, South Florida, and West Virginia, but it just ain’t so. Brian Kelly is building a real program and that fact will be given its due recognition eventually.

I am contractually obligated to follow up on all references to Cincinnati with an amazingly dated reference to a ‘70s sitcom about a radio station coincidentally set in that selfsame city.

What ranked team will finish outside of the Top 25?

Again using the BlogPoll, I’m going with current No. 20 Michigan State. The Spartans’ pattern is simply too well established either to ignore or to deny.

That is how it looks to me, but, by all means, please feel free to offer your own responses in the comments below.

Go ‘Dawgs!