Winter Break Recap

Well, it has certainly been a long break since a blog update, but with 2009 in full swing now I promise that will change.

With that in mind, I will try to summarize some things that have caught my attention (in no particular order):

1) The Yankees Free- Agent Spending Spree:

So has anyone told the Yankees that the country is currently in an economic recession? After spending nearly$424 million dollars in contracts (with the signings of SP CC Sabathia, SP A.J. Burnett and 1B Mark Teixeira) , the Yankees now have the FOUR HIGHEST PAID Players in baseball (Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira).

Now, I understand that the Yankees had some money to spend, considering $88.5 million came off the books when OF Bobby Abreu ($16 million), Jason Giambi ($23.4 million), Mike Mussina ($11 million) and Carl Pavano ($11 million) among others became free agents. However, considering how prudent some of the other big market teams that also have money to spend have been this offseason, clearly moving into the brand-new Yankee Stadium next season has made the Yankees, for a lack of a better term, "recession-proof".

It is news like this that always brings up the great debate of whether or not MLB should adopt a hard salary cap like some of the other professional sports. On one hand, one can make the argument that we live in a capitalistic society and that if you have the money to spend, nothing should stop you from doing so. On the other side of things, you can point to the NFL's implentation of the hard salary cap in 1994 and its immediate rise to the top of the sports world in the US in just 10 years.

2) UGA's 24-12 Capital One Bowl Victory over Michigan State:

The game was not pretty at times, but considering that has been the common mantra for the 2008 Bulldogs it was only fitting that it was fitting that the Dawgs ended their season on that kind of note. Clearly UGA was the better 9-3 team last Thursday afternoon, but due to the usual culprits(7 penalties for 53 yards and 2 turnovers) Georgia made the game a whole lot closer than it should have been.

Regardless, a win is a win and it was great to see the defense (six sacks and holding MSU to only 236 yards of offense and 12 points) and Matthew Stafford (20-31 250 yds and 3 TDs in perhaps his final game as Bulldog) end the season on a high note. Unfortunately, Senior WR Mohamed Massaquoi ( 1 catch 10 yds) and potentially NFL-bound RB Knowshon Moreno (23 carries for just 62 yds, though did have 6 catches for 63 yds and a game-icing TD late in the 4th quarter) did not have the kind of performances they would have liked, certainly they must be happy that the team rebounded from the surprising loss to Georgia Tech to cap the end of the regular season and finished the year with 10 wins for the 6th time in the last 7 seasons.

3) The Red Hot Atlanta Hawks:

Like the Falcons, for those of you who are not aware, the Atlanta Hawks are back. At 22-11, they have the 4th best record in the Eastern Conference and have the 6th best record in the NBA. They are off to their best start since the strike-shortened 1998-1999 season and with such a young nucleus, the future appears to be very bright for an organization that for the better part of a decade had been used as a model of how to not run a sports organization.

With the Falcons and Bulldogs football seasons coming to a close and with the Atlanta Thrashers (13-22-5 and having the 2nd worst record in the NHL) struggling mightily after winning their division for the first time in the franchise's history just two years ago, we will continue to give more exposure to the surging Hawks.

4) The Playoff-Bound Atlanta Falcons:

Yes, I know that they lost on Saturday to the Arizona Cardinals, so technically they are no longer playoff bound anymore as the season is over, but again I am trying my best to recap a month's worth of news here so give me a break!

Anyways, at 11-5, the Falcons made their 9th trip to the postseason in franchise history. What an unbelievable season, by far the biggest surprise in Atlanta sports since the worst to first 1991 Braves. Pro football is alive and well again in Atlanta and while it was a very brief run in the playoffs, like the Hawks, the Falcons seem primed for their best days laying ahead.

Next year will be a critical step for the organization, as the Falcons attempt to have back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in franchise history. Now, while I consider myself an optimist, I truly believe that the pieces are in place, with a young roster and a solid coaching staff that is backed by a front office that has been solidified by new GM, Thomas Dimitroff.

5) Utah Utes: Undefeated National Champions?

After their surprising Sugar Bowl victory over #4 Alabama, 31-17, at 13-0 the Utes will finish the season as the only undefeated team. Now, some might question their schedule, but to play devil's advocate (because I truly believe that you can make the National Champion argument for USC, Texas if they win tonight and the winner of Oklahoma-UF on Thursday) they will have beaten #4 Alabama, #11 TCU (who will finish as another Top 10 team), #17 BYU and #24 Oregon State.

To put that in perspective, even if UF beats #1 Oklahoma they would have only won three games against Top 25 teams in the final polls: #1 Oklahoma, #4 Alabama and #15 (BCS Ranking) UGA. With a win against Florida, Oklahoma would have beaten 6 teams ranked in the Top 25: #2 UF, #8 Texas Tech, #11 TCU, #12 Cincinnati, #13 Oklahoma State and #25 Missouri.

I have said it time and time again, but it is time for a playoff system. It will never happen (at least not in the immediate future), but the incompetence of our current system is very frustrating. The first three BCS games' average victory margin is 13.67 pts and it wasn't pretty last year either (20 pts).

Finally, on Thursday night, as tempted as you may be now that Alabama lost, DO NOT root for Florida. It really does not make any sense to root for arguably your most hated rival. Forget all of that " Well they are in the SEC, so we ought to root for them" crap. Instead of ranting on and on about why you are wrong to do so, I will let the guys over at the Georgia Sports Blog "educate" those of you who are delusional to root for Florida: http://georgiasports.blogspot.com/2008/12/enemy-of-my-enemy.html

The Eighth BCS Is Out...UGA #15

Well the regular season has finally come to a close after three-plus months of games. After the dust has settled, we have Oklahoma and Florida duking it out for the National Championship in Miami on January 8th (which ironically is the first day of Spring classes).

1. Oklahoma
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. USC
6. Utah
7. Texas Tech
8. Penn State
9. Boise State
10. Ohio State
15. UGA

Did the system get it right? In one man's opinion, no it did not. While I have no beef seeing the Gators in the Championship game (well, I mean I do not WANT to see them there, trust me, but based on merit they should be unfortunately) I must say that like UGA last year, Texas got the short end of the stick.

Last time I checked, Texas also lost one game all year, on the last play of a stretch of four games in which they played FOUR STRAIGHT TOP 11 Teams (Missouri was ranked #11, hence I did not say Top 10, but still an arduous schedule). They BEAT #1 Oklahoma by double digits (10) on a NEUTRAL FIELD. As mentioned on the blog last week, under any other three-way tie-breaker scenario used by other conferences, Texas would have been the one who would have been playing in the Big 12 Championship Saturday night and if the regular season is any indicator (which by the way, Texas thumped Missouri 56-21) Texas would be in the National Championship game.

But, this is the system we have. It is without question, extremely flawed and really has only produced the right championship matchup only a few times in its dubious 10-year history. This is the same system that one year says that in order to be able to play in the National Title you MUST win your conference, but yet the following year is very willing to send a team that did not (aka Texas this year if Oklahoma had been upset by Missouri Saturday night).

Anyways, here is the rest of the BCS lineup:

Rose Bowl
#8 PSU vs. #5 USC

Orange Bowl
#12 Cincinnati vs. #19 Virginia Tech

Sugar Bowl
#6 Utah vs. #4 Alabama

Fiesta Bowl
#3 Texas vs. #10 Ohio State

Last, but not least, as I have said for quite some time now, UGA will be playing BCS ranked #18 Michigan State in Orlando, FL in the Capitol One Bowl @ 1pm on New Years Day. A Top-1o win season is still a possibility with a win and quite honestly I think we would all be very, very disappointed in nothing less considering the great expectations we had placed on this team coming into/throughout the season.

As a final footnote to this post, I must say that while I have enjoyed ranting about college football throughout this Fall Semester, I do look forward to discussing some of the other local sport teams (aka the Men's and Woman's basketball teams and of course the Falcons, Hawks and Thrashers) in the upcoming weeks with college football wrapping up. While I do realize that this school loves college football #1 and as a result that is what most of you really want to read/discuss, I do wish that I and the rest of the staff gave some of the other sports some love (especially the hopefully playoff-bond Falcons).

The Seventh BCS Is Out...UGA falls to #16

The second edition of the BCS poll was released last night and the Top 10 was virtually unchanged...except for one big movement: Oklahoma is now #2, Texas is now #3.

1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. Florida
5. USC
6. Utah
7. Texas Tech
8. Penn State
9. Boise State
10. Ohio State
16. UGA

This is critical, because according to the Big 12 Tie-Breaker rules, in the event of a three-way tie, the team ranked the highest in the BCS will win the division. In this case, because Oklahoma is now #2, Texas #3 and Texas Tech #7, Oklahoma will play # 20 Missouri in the Big 12 Title Game. The interesting thing about all of this is that out of the five conferences that are broken into divisions (ACC, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference (MAC) and SEC), it is only the Big 12 rules that would have Oklahoma play in their conference title game. The other four conferences' three-way tie-breaker rules would have had Texas instead.

Anyways, after last wekeend's games, things have become very clear from a National Perspective.

The ACC Champion will be either #25 Virgina Tech or #17 Boston College. Those two each won their perspective divisions by winning last weekend and will play each other in the conference title game for the 2nd straight year (with this year's game being moved to Tampa Bay). The winner will play Big East Champion Cincinatti in the Orange Bowl.

The SEC winner will be either #1 Alabama or #3 Florida. Those two will gut it out next Saturday afternoon in Atlanta. The winner of this game will go to the National Title.

The Pac-10 scenario is pretty simple. If #5 USC goes on the road and beats 4-7 UCLA, they will play Penn State in the Rose Bowl. If they lose, they will fall into a three-way tie that will actually give Oregon State the Pac-10 crown and trip to the Rose Bowl.

The Big 10 will now more than likely get two teams in the BCS, due to Oregon State's home loss to #19 Oregon. #10 Ohio State appears headed to the Fiesta Bowl (more than likely playing Texas), while Penn State will represent the conference in the Rose Bowl. If USC loses Saturday to UCLA, the Big 10 might only have Penn State go to a BCS game, because USC still might earn an at-large bid over Ohio State.

With Ohio State likely playing in a BCS game, it appears that #21 Michigan State will be Georgia's opponent in the Capital One Bowl. Despite the loss Saturday to the now #15-ranked Yellow Jackets, UGA will still likely get the nod over 8-4 Ole Miss or 7-5 South Carolina or LSU.

As for the National Championship, it appears that it will be Oklahoma vs. the SEC winner. I cannot see Oklahoma losing to Missouri in their conference title game. If they do lose, however, then with a win Saturday, USC would play the SEC winner. If both Oklahoma AND USC lose on Saturday (a very, very unlikely scenario) then the BCS would be in complete turmoil, as Texas, Utah and Penn State would all make compelling cases to play the SEC champion.

Georgia Tech- Georgia: The Biggest Game of the Year? Depends On Who You Ask.

If you were to ask any student on campus, which game you were looking forward to the most/which team is our biggest rival, the majority would say "Florida". Sure you would get some, "Auburn" or "Tennessee" or perhaps some "South Carolina" for those of you that just really hate Coach Spurrier that much, but few to none would say "Tech". Now, if you were to ask your father, grandfather or really any middle-aged alum who they circle on their calendar every year and almost everytime it's one team: Tech.

Despite Georgia's dominance over the course of the history (UGA holds the all-time series 59-38-5, including a 33-11 record since Vince Dooley took over the program in 1964), the older alum still hate nobody more than our closest and in-state rival. That might change over time, but until then you can still hear those that say that they would have no problem going 1-10, as long as that lone win is against Tech.

While some may say that besides pride, Georgia does not have a lot on the line this Saturday, here is something to consider: a win Saturday, would give Georgia 8 straight wins over Tech, matching the Yellow Jackets' streak from 1949-1956 as the longest in the series. On top of that, if would give UGA's its 6th 10 win or more season in the past 7 years. Off the top of my head, only Ohio State, USC, Oklahoma, Texas and Boise State (though, of course, they never play anybody) can match that kind of success.

However, it not not be easy, especially if history has anything to say about the outcome. From 1991-1997, despite having 2 losing seasons and a 6-6 season, UGA still managed to beat Tech 7 straight times. In 1998, Georgia came into the game 8-2 and faced a 8-2 Tech team in a game that was played in Athens. Unfortunately, Tech won a close won 21-19 and it began a stretch in which Tech won three straight against the Dawgs (something that had not happened since 1961-1963).

One thing that concerns many, including Mark Richt publicly, is Tech's new triple-option offensive attack. Georgia has not seen an offense like this since the 2004 season opening 29-7 win over Georgia Southern (who ironically was coached by Georgia Tech's new head coach, Paul Johnson). What makes it tough to stop is that it is the kind of offense you do not see very often and a result it is very tough to pick up with such a limited amount of time between one game and another. Georgia does have the luxury of having two weeks to prepare, but as Coach Richt mentioned the other day, the scout team will not be able to run it in practice nearly as well as Georgia Tech will be able to run it Saturday afternoon in Athens.

With the new offense in place, Tech is 4th in the Nation in rushing, averaging 270.8 yards a game on the ground. Defensively, they are giving up 78 points less than Georgia, which is just over a touchdown fewer than the Dawgs per game. In my opinion, with a confident Tech team that just rolled up 518 yds of offense against the previously ranked Miami Hurricanes last Thursday night on ESPN, this ought to be a very close, low scoring affair, much like the 2005 (14-7 UGA win) and 2006 (15-12 UGA victory) games.

If the Dawgs had to play Tech last week, I would probably pick an upset here. But, after a week off to rest and reflect on the season a bit and to now play a home game (the first in six weeks) after four straight games on the road, I think Georgia will be up to the challenge. It will be close and it will not be pretty, but give me UGA 21-Tech 17.

The Sixth BCS Is Out...UGA Still #11

Well a week after not a whole lot of movement in the Top 10, we got plenty of action as 5 out of the top 7 spots saw new teams take hold:

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida
5. USC
6. Utah
7. Texas Tech
8. Penn State
9. Boise State
10. Ohio State
11. UGA

Oklahoma's unbelievable 65-21 thrashing of previously unbeaten Texas Tech allowed the Sooners to jump Florida into the #3 spot. They are now just behind Texas and with a road game @ #12 Oklahoma State this weekend, it appears that with a win this Saturday the Sooners are in a prime position to jump #2 Texas (who plays lowly Texas A&M on Thursday) and win the Big 12 South (due to the potential three-way tie, the Sooners would win the division by virtue of being the highest ranked Big 12 South team).

However, what makes things very funny for all three Big 12 teams (Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech) is that none of them control their own destiny. Texas essentially needs to beat A&M and have Texas Tech lose to Baylor in order to win the division. Under this scenario, Texas would play in the title game, because it holds the tie-breaker over Oklahoma.

Oklahoma needs to beat Oklahoma State and have Texas Tech beat Baylor to maintain a tie between them and Texas Tech/the three way tie in general.

Texas Tech needs to beat Baylor and have Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma. If this were to happen, Texas Tech would win the South division, since they have the tie-breaker over Texas. With all of those scenarios in mind, it ought to be a very interesting/important weekend for the Big 12.

In the Pac-10 it is simple: if Oregon State beats Oregon, they win the Pac-10. If they lose, USC will win the conference and go to the Rose Bowl.

The ACC is almost as simple. If BC beats Maryland, they will win the Atlantic Divison and either play GT or VT in the championship game. If they lose, then FSU will win the division. In the Coastal Division, if VT beats UVA this weekend, VT will play either BC/FSU in the championship game. If they lose, GT will go.

The Big 10 season is completed, with Penn State winning the title for the first time since 2005 and will be making their first Rose Bowl appearance time since 1995.

The SEC, as many of you know, has already been simplified to the winner of the #1 Alabama/#3 UF gets the title and the Big East crown is essentially down to 4 teams (Cincinnati, West Virgina, Pitt and Rutgers) but there are too many hypotheticals regarding that one so I will pass on going into to them...plus, who cares, it is the Big East, the worst of the major six conferences.

As for Georgia, from just about every media outlet, it appears that they are locked-in to the Capitol One Bowl at this point, win or lose Saturday against GT (unless, of course, Alabama or UF lose their last two games, in which case we would end up in the Sugar Bowl again). The one thing we do not know is who UGA's opponent will be: Ohio State or Michigan St.

This will be determined by who wins the #23 Oregon-#17 Oregon State game. If Oregon State wins, then the Pac-10 will send two teams to the BCS and we will get #10 Ohio State. If Oregon wins, then the Big 10 will get two teams into BCS games and we will get #19 Michigan State.

The Fifth BCS Is Out...UGA #11

Sunday brought the college football world one step closer to the end of the regular season, by releasing the fifth edition of the BCS poll. Due to no upsets amongst the Top 10, the poll is virtually unchanged, with only Ohio State's jumping of Georgia being the only movement in the Top 10:

1. Alabama
2. Texas Tech
3. Texas
4. Florida
5. Oklahoma
6. USC
7. Utah
8. Penn State
9. Boise State
10. Ohio State
11. UGA

BCS matchups remain up in the air, with so many hypotheticals still possible. This weekend's games ought to shake things up, especially when #1 Texas Tech goes to Norman, OK to play #5 Oklahoma. This game has major, major implications not just for the Big 12, but for the National Title game picture.

If Texas Tech wins, Texas and Oklahoma will be eliminated from the Big 12 and National Championship picture. However, if Oklahoma wins, then things are wide open in the Big 12 as there would be a 3-way tie in the Big 12 South between Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma with only one game left in the regular season. According to Big 12 rules, in the event of a 3-way tie, the team that is ranked the highest in the BCS at the end of the regular season will play in the Big 12 Championship.

In another big game, #23 Oregon St. travels to 6-4 Arizona. If Oregon St. can beat Arizona this weekend and Oregon (8-3) next week at home, they will play in the Rose Bowl (thus eliminating any chance #6 USC has of getting to the National Championship).

The Big 10 picture will finally be complete, when #15 Michigan St. travels to Happy Valley and Michigan plays #10 Ohio State. The scenarios are quite clear in this conference:

1) If #8 Penn State beats Michigan St. they will win the Big 10 and go to the Rose Bowl
2) If Penn State loses and Ohio St. wins, they will win the Big 10 and go to the Rose Bowl
3) If Ohio St. loses and Michigan St. beats Penn State, Michigan State will win the Big 10 and go to the Rose Bowl.

Whoever wins the Big 10 will certainly help clear the picture for Dawg fans regarding potential bowl opponents. Assuming Georgia beats Tech in two weeks, they will likely play whoever finishes 2nd in the Big 10 in the Capitol One Bowl (though the Cotton Bowl against a Big 12 opponent is also a strong possibility).

Finally, the battle between #14 BYU @ #7 Utah should reveal which nonautomatic-qualifying conference team will earn a spot in the BCS. If Utah wins, they are in. Lose, and they must hope for #9 Boise St. to get upset in one of their final two games.

The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry Continues: Dawgs Shoot For 3rd Straight Win

If one were to think back just two years ago, this game would appear to be very similar, with only one subtle difference...a complete role reversal. In 2006, as the 6-4 Dawgs, coming off two embarrassing losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky, came to Auburn to play the 8-1 #5 Tigers, many were expecting a pretty one-sided affair (hence the game got a 12:30 EST kick-off time, much like this matchup).

Well one-sided game they got, only it was Georgia that was on the good side of it, shocking everyone with a 37-15 thrashing of Auburn. Georgia went on to knock off Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech to finish the year 9-4 and set themselves up for last year's memorable season (which included the 45-20 Blackout victory over the Tigers).

So, while this years match-up may not live up to the preseason hype it received with both teams getting preseason ranked inside the Top 12, it still should make for a very good game. For Georgia, a win would give them three straight wins over Auburn, something they have not done since 1980-1982.

It would also close the all-time series gap, which Auburn currently holds 53-50-8. For Matthew Stafford, a third win against Auburn would also be quite an achievement. If the Dawgs win on Saturday, he would become the first Georgia QB to beat the Tigers three straight years in a row since Johnny Rauch from 1945-1948.

From Auburn's point-of view, while they are only a shocking 5-5 on the season, this game still holds quite some signifigance. In order to avoid missing the bowl season for the first time since 1999, the Tigers need a win against either #10 Georgia on Saturday or two weeks from now @ #1 Alabama.

So, what's going to happen Saturday? Well last time I offered a prediction, Georgia got its butt-kicked against the boys from Gainesville, but despite this I am feeling relatively confident in this one. Give me Georgia 24 Auburn 17.

The Fourh BCS Is Out...UGA Back in the Top 10

On Sunday, the 4th Edition of the BCS Poll was released. Minus #3 Penn State's shocking upset to Iowa on Saturday and #2 Texas Tech thumping #9 Oklahoma State, there was not too much movement overall in the poll:

1. Alabama
2. Texas Tech
3. Texas
4. Florida
5. Oklahoma
6. USC
7. Utah
8. Penn State
9. Boise State
10. UGA

Despite Georgia's narrow 42-38 victory over 6-4 Kentucky, the Dawgs jumped up 3 spots, including over Ohio State who crushed previously-ranked Northwestern. The computer poll's love for Georgia (#7 avg. rank) over the aforementioned Buckeyes and Missouri Tigers (who the computers both rank at #12) is the biggest reason for this, despite the fact that both of those teams are ranked ahead of Georgia in the Coaches and Harris Polls.

Unfortunately, like I stated last week, unless Georgia gets some help (aka Alabama or Florida would likely have to lose twice), no matter how high Georgia is in the BCS, they will not be eligible to be selected in a BCS bowl.

In fact, figuring out who will actually get a BCS bowl bid is a bit complicated right now. The basic set-up of the BCS is that the six champions of the major conferences get a bid along with four other at-large selections. The only major rules that come into play are

1) No conference can send more than two teams to BCS games

2) The champion of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference or the Western Athletic Conference will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either:

A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or
B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.

The Pac 10 has an interesting scenario. While USC is the conference's highest ranked team, it is Oregon State (the only team to beat USC this season) that actually controls its own destiny. If Oregon State can win its final three games, they will win the Pac-10 and play in the Rose Bowl, not USC. USC would then need to earn one of the four at-large bids to go to a BCS game.

That pool would include the loser of the SEC and Big 12 Championship games, Utah, Boise St., Miami of Ohio and Ohio State. Essentially six teams fighting for four spots.

With just a few weeks to go, it out to be a very interesting finish to the college football season. From Georgia's perspective, if they win out, a trip to the Capitol One or Cotton Bowl (both New Years Day games) appears to be on the horizon.

The Third BCS Is Out...UGA #13

Last night, the 3rd BCS Poll came out. After Georgia's big loss against Florida, it is no surprise to see that UGA fell out of the Top 10, checking in at #13. They are the third highest 2-loss team, behind Ohio State and Missouri. Texas Tech was the big mover, jumping up five spots from #7 to #2. This was quite a surprise, because many figured that with Texas' loss, Penn State would move up one spot to #2. Now, it appears that even if Penn State wins their three remaining games, they will still need either Alabama or Texas Tech to lose.

Without further ado, here are the new rankings:

1. Alabama
2. Texas Tech
3. Penn State
4. Texas
5. Florida
6. Oklahoma
7. USC
8. Utah
9. Oklahoma State
10. Boise State
13. UGA

With a quick glance, one would think that with three weeks to go, if UGA won out and finished 10-2, they should crack the BCS Top 10 and therefore have a great shot of going to a BCS game as an at-large team.

Unfortunately, due to the BCS policy that a maximum of only two teams per conference are eligible to be selected to BCS games, no matter how high UGA is ranked they will more than likely not be invited to a game.

This is because Alabama and Florida are currently ranked ahead of the Dawgs in the BCS and considering both teams beat Georgia pretty handedly in front of a national audience, the selection committees of each of the bowls will likely pass over Georgia for one of them. Those two will likely be representing the SEC in the BCS games, one as the SEC champion and the other as an at-large bid selection.

Dream Destroyed: UF Routs UGA 49-10, SEC/National Championship Hopes Gone

On August 1st, UGA was preseason ranked #1 in the Coaches Poll and shortly thereafter the AP writers also voted the Dawgs #1. With the way the team finished last year and given the expectations of the media, this season had more hype to it than any since the Hershel Walker days roughly twenty-five years ago. On November 1st, the dream season that countless envisioned came to a bitter end.

While the season as a whole is technically not over for another month (at least the non-bowl part), Georgia's chance to play for the SEC and potential National Championship essentially ended in an embarrassing 49-10 defeat to Florida Saturday. You have to go back to Jim Donnan's first season as the Dawgs head coach (1996, with a team that went 5-6, the last UGA team not to go to a bowl game) that lost 47-7 to the eventual National Champion Gators to find a defeat worse defeat (which happens to still remain as the worst loss to the Gators). With the win, Florida needs a win either this week @Vanderbilt (5-3) or at home vs. South Carolina (6-3) in two weekd to clinch the SEC East and more than likely play #1 Alabama for the SEC Championship in Atlanta next month.

The sad thing for Dawg fans comes with the fact that in many ways, Georgia beat themselves. Now do not get me wrong, clearly with or without the Dawgs help, Florida was the better team Saturday. But when you consider the fact that Florida scored 21 points on UGA turnovers and Georgia missed two very makable field goals (from 37 yds and 27 yds out) in the first half that swung the momentum, some might change their perception of the game to a certain extent.

Florida's scoring began on a drive that should have ended twice in my opinion. First off it was extended on a questionable spot on a Tebow run on a third and short that was challenged by Georgia. Then later in the drive while Tebow was throwing an interception, there was a personal foul call on a Georgia defensive lineman on the contact he made with the helmet of a Florida offensive lineman.

The rule should be that the penalty should be assessed on Georgia's offense (by backing them up 15 yards from the end of the play), because the penalty had nothing to do with the interception. But, that is not the case and by a technicality the drive continued resulting in a touchdown. The next Florida another scoring drive that was set up on a failed onside kick. If there was one that will be forgotten in this game it was the performance the UGA defense had in the first half. They gave up just 130 yds and due to the negated-interception drive and a drive set up by a failed on-side kick gave up 14 points.

The turning point of the game was without question Stafford's first interception of the game. With about 8 minutes to go in the 3rd Quarter and UGA on the UF 30 yd line, Stafford's interception that was returned to the Georgia one yard line turned the tide. Had Georgia not turned the ball over and either made a field goal or touchdown on that drive, the score would be been 14-6 or 14-3. Instead, after a 1 yd Tebow run , the game swung to 21-3. After a Georgia three and out, UF got the ball on their 44 yard line and marched down the field to put the game away 28-3.

On the next drive a bad toss by Stafford to Moreno, resulting in Florida getting the ball at the UGA 10 yard line. A few plays later the game became 35-3. Throw in another Stafford interception on the UF 11 a few drives later that gets returned to the UGA 25 and one-play later it is 42-3. A quick recap of my summary will find that on five of Florida's seven touchdown drives, UF started the ball on their 44-yard line or closer. Three of those drives started on UGA's side of the field (including two inside the UGA 10). It does not matter who you play, you turn the ball over that much and give any team that kind of field advantage, you will get burned.

At the end of the game, the defense gave up 373 yds and while it did not play its best game, it deserved a better fate than the 49 points that show up in the final score. UGA actually outgained UF, putting up 398 yds of offense (only 30 yds below its season average), but only had 10 points to show for it due to far too many costly mistakes. UGA turned the ball over FOUR times in roughly ELEVEN minutes of game time (from roughly 8:00 to go in the 3rd Quarter to 11 minutes to go in the 4th Quarter).

The dream is over. For Georgia, they must re-adjust their goals and focus on finishing as high as they can. They are 7-2 with three games left in the regular season, plus a bowl game. If they win out, Georgia will be going into the bowl game 10-2 and will likely make an appearance in either the Cotton, Outback or Capitol One bowl. They win that and UGA will likely end up inside the Top 10 for the 6th time in 7 years. However, first thing is first and Georgia must move on past this disappointing lost and travel to Lexington next weekend and beat UK.

Showdown In Jacksonville: Biggest GA-FL Game Ever?

The stage is set. Both teams are coming off big wins (UF's 63-5 dismantling of Kentucky and UGA's 52-38 dominating road win against LSU) and playing their best football of the season. With the winner of this game unofficially clinching the East (the winner would have to lose their two remaining SEC games to not take the division) and giving themselves a very legitimate shot at getting a crack at a National Championship Game appearance, the stakes arguably cannot be higher. From a historical perspective, this is arguably a fact.

The following are other notable GA-FL games in which both teams came into the game highly ranked:

1976 #7 UGA vs. #10 UF (UGA 41-27)
1983 #4 UGA vs. # 9 UF (UGA 10-9)
1984 #8 UGA vs. #10 UF (UF 27-0)
1985 #17 UGA vs. #1 UF (UGA 24-3)
1997 #14 UGA vs. #6 UF (UGA 37-17)
1998 #11 UGA vs. #6 UF (UF 38-7)
1999 #10 UGA vs. #5 UF (UF 30-14)
2000 #13 UGA vs. #8 UF (UF 34-23)
2008 # 6* UGA vs. #8* UF (TBD)

*BCS Rankings

From purely a rankings standpoint, besides the 1983 game (#4 UGA vs. #9 UF) there has not been a year in which the two teams have been ranked higher. Not to mention, you can even make a case that this years' game is equal to that game rankings wise if you use the AP Poll's rankings (UF is ranked #5 and UGA is ranked #8).

If it were not for #1 Texas playing at #7 Texas Tech, ESPN College Gameday would be making its first trip to Jacksonville for the game since 2005. With the present day media exposure/hype and the fact that this game makes or breaks both team's seasons, in my opinion, this game is the biggest GA-FL game ever. Adding to the fact that the UF fans, players and coaches are now holding an apparent "grudge" against the Bulldogs after "The Celebration" that took place on the field last year and you have the elements for the perfect storm.

Despite the constant reminders from Gator fans that even after the Dawgs win last year, the Dawgs are still just 4-15 against UF since Dooley retired in 1988, I personally look at the numbers in a different way. Taking a much more recent sample size, I like to point out the fact that after last year's win the 5th year seniors on this team have gone 2-2 against the Gators in their career. None of these players were around when UF dominated the Dawgs throughout the '90s and first few years of the 21st Century. In their experience against the Gators, they have beaten Florida just as often as Florida has beaten them.

This year, amongst the players and UGA faithful, from Georgia's perspective, this is a much more confident bunch. While everyone certainly respects how good of a team the Gators have this season and the fact that they have the reigning Heisman Trophy winning QB, Tim Tebow, still running their offense, I do not feel like the Gators have the psychological advantage that they have used to their advantage over the years.

After sitting in the stands and watching Georgia put together its best performance of the season so far last weekend in Baton Rouge, in my opinion, I think they have their swagger back from last season. Despite all the injuries and the daunting schedule thus far that has worn out this team at times, I think the Dawgs are on the verge of playing their "A" game and putting it all together for four full quarters against an opponent. Much like last year when UGA busted out its first "A" game of the season against the Gators, in this all-or-nothing showdown Saturday afternoon between these two rivals, call me optimistic, but I think the Dawgs are going to once again rise to the occasion.

UGA 31 UF 27

The Second BCS Poll Is Out...UGA Is Up to #6

Last night, the second BCS poll was released to the public and despite the lack of upsets among the Top 10 teams, there was still a bit of a shake up in the standings:

1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Penn State
4. Oklahoma
5. USC
6. UGA
7. Texas Tech
8. Florida
9. Oklahoma State
10. Utah

UGA's road win against LSU (who is now #19 in the BCS) moved the Dawgs up a spot to #6. Penn State's road win against the Buckeyes (it's first win @ OSU since 1978) helped close the gap between them and Alabama, while USC's less than impressive 17-10 road win against 5-3 Arizona dropped them a spot back to #5. Florida's impressive 63-5 home beatdown of Kentucky pushed them up two spots to #8 and despite the close 28-24 loss @ #1 Texas, OK. St. is still in the Top 10, only dropping 3 spots.

Two games this week will really shake things up: #1 Texas @ #7 Texas Tech and #6 UGA vs. #8 Florida.

The winner of the Georgia-Florida game should become the highest ranked 1-loss team, which could put one of them as high as #3 if #7 Texas Tech beats #1 Texas in Lubbock. The biggest reason this is not a guarantee is that no one is sure what the ramifications of Saturday night's Texas-Texas Tech showdown will be. Texas Tech could jump into the Top 3 if they knock off the Longhorns, but if Texas avoids the upset the GA/FL winner will probably check-in at #4 next week with the Top 3 (Texas, Alabama, Penn State) staying the same.

Georgia Storms Through Baton Rouge 52-38...Showdown in Jacksonville Next

(Knowshown Moreno telling the LSU Student Section To Keep Calling Him)

It appears that just like last year, the Dawgs are beginning to hit their stride right before their annual trip to Jacksonville. Without question, Georgia's surprising 52-38 win was easily their biggest and most impressive road win since their 2006 37-15 upset of #5 Auburn.

After LSU students and fans got word of Knowshown Moreno's cell phone number and called it so much throughout the week that he disconnected the number, it was only fitting that after his 68-yd touchdown run that put the Dawgs up 38-17 late in the 3rd Quarter that Knowshown took the time to acknowledge his "admirers".

The game started with a bang on LB Darryl Gamble's 40-yard interception return for a touchdown and was essentiallay wrapped up on yet another Gamble INT TD , tying an NCAA record for interception returns for touchdowns by a linebacker in one game.

This was by far Georgia's best performance of the season. While the defense did get extremely complacent after going up 38-17 by giving up 21 points and 262 yards of offense in the final 19 minutes of the game, after holding LSU to 17 points on just 237 yards in the first 41 minutes, you cannot argue about the entire body of work.

Zero turnovers, going 6-14 on 3rd down (including some key third and long conversions), doing a better job of keeping penalties to a minimum (the 7 penalties for 59 yds were the 2nd fewest amount of penalties/yds the Dawgs had acquired all season), giving up only one sack against a veteran LSU defensive front, constantly pressuring LSU's QBs which lead to three turnovers, producing two sacks on defense and putting up 52 points @ LSU (the most points they had allowed at home in 15 years) all added up to a great road win.

At 7-1, UGA controls its SEC destiny. With 4 games left (three in the SEC), Georgia still has National Championship hopes. Despite the big win in Baton Rouge, those hopes and dreams begin and end in Jacksonville next weekend against the #8 BCS ranked Gators (6-1).

Make or Break Game For The Dawgs: Must Beat LSU To Keep National Championship Hopes Alive

As several pundits have stated this week, this game is essentially an elimination game. While the loser of Saturday's game will not be eliminated from the SEC Championship race, any hopes of playing in the National Championship will essentially be gone.

As history has shown, last year was an anomaly with a 2-loss team playing in the National Championship Game for the first time and while there have been plenty of upsets this year there is practically no chance that we will see a repeat of last year's craziness. Since LSU and UGA have already suffered an early season loss, to have a shot at the National Title game both have to run the table the rest of the way.

What makes this game even more intriguing is the fact that neither team has yet to post a signature win this year. Arguably, both team's best win came on the road against 5-3 South Carolina. Yes, some Dawg fans can certainly make the argument that the Vandy win last weekend was more impressive, though considering that Vandy has now lost two in a row and currently is not ranked, it's debatable. The same could said about LSU's early win @ Auburn (who is now 4-4 after tonight's loss to West Virginia), which looked impressive at the time but hindsight has suggested otherwise.

Both teams are loaded with talent, but in their biggest games thus far (LSU lost 51-21 @ UF and UGA's 41-30 loss at home to 'Bama) both teams have been disappointing. Whether it has been injuries (in Georgia's case) or the pressure of being the defending National Champ breaking in a freshman QB (for LSU), both teams find themselves at a crossroad. Win and you keep your hopes alive for getting to the big game. Lose and you must begin to refocus your season's goals.

Saturday afternoon should give a good indicator of what kind of teams UGA and LSU really are at this point. It was at this time last year that UGA put it all together in their stunning 42-30 win over UF and got the ball rolling for the Dawgs to finish the year the way they did. A year and three days ago, LSU had a stunning 30-24 win over Auburn at home that kept its National Championship hopes with a late touchdown in the 4th Quarter.

Historically, UGA is 11-14-1 against LSU, with LSU winnning the first 7 games of the series. UGA, however, is 5-2 in the past 7 games, with the last meeting being at the 2005 SEC Championship Game (a 34-14 Dawgs win for those of you with a short-term memory). This will be Georgia's first trip to Baton Rouge since the 2003 season. In a low scoring game, the Dawgs (ranked #11 at the time) lost a heartbreaker to #2 (and eventual National Champion) LSU, 17-10.

This game figures to be a similar game in my opinion. Much like the South Carolina game, look for this one to be a tough, low-scoring battle. And after falling short during their last trip to Death Valley, look for the Dawgs to pull out a close one, 21-17, and set the stage for a showdown against the Gators next weekend in Jacksonville.

The First BCS Poll Is Out...What Does It Mean For the Bulldogs?

Yesterday at 4:30pm, the first edition of the BCS Standings were released to the public. For those of you who have not seen them, take a look at the Top 10:

1. Texas

2. Alabama

3. Penn State
4. Oklahoma
5. USC
6. Oklahoma St.
7. UGA
8. Texas Tech
9. Ohio State
10. Florida

As you can see, UGA is checking in at #7, despite being ranked #9 in the Coaches and Harris Polls. The reason for that is due to the computer's ranking of the Bulldogs (6th). Surprisingly, despite being ranked ahead of the Dawgs in both the Coaches and Harris Polls, UF is ranked #10. The computer's #12 ranking of UF (with one computer ranking them #20) is the biggest reason for this.

A lot can happen over the coarse of the rest of the season, so it is hard to take this first poll too seriously. However, if history has any impact on how this year is going to turn out, here are some facts and figures (courtesy of Brad Edwards' ESPN.com column today):

• Nineteen of the 20 teams to reach the BCS National Championship Game were ranked in the top six of the initial BCS standings. LSU won the 2003 title after being ranked 12th in the first standings.

• In each of the past nine seasons, at least one of the top two teams in the initial BCS standings has gone on to play in the championship game.

• Only twice in 10 previous years of the BCS has the initial No. 1 team gone on to win the national championship (Florida State in 1999, USC in 2004)

Initial BCS rankings of eventual champions

YEAR	BCS CHAMPION	INITIAL BCS RANK
2007	LSU	4
2006	Florida	6
2005	Texas	2
2004	USC	1
2003	LSU	12
2002	Ohio State	6
2001	Miami	4
2000	Oklahoma	2
1999	Florida State	1
1998	Tennessee	3