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Mark Richt has Georgia in the SEC championship game for second straight year. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)

(VIDEO ADDED BELOW)

This might stun starry-eyed middle-schoolers and high school players, who are otherwise oblivious to ancient history before 2006 in the SEC. But even the football Godzillas of this conference and, it follows, the globe, aren’t that far removed from humility (and Shreveport).

Before the last five seasons under Nick Saban, Alabama had an 11-year stretch (1997-2007) when it reached double digits in wins only three times, suffered through four losing seasons, four non-bowl years, lost to Auburn six straight years, went to the Music City Bowl twice and even was subjected to the Independence Bowl . . . three times! There’s your, “Roll Tide.”

Florida fans would like to forget the Ron Zook era of relative torment, sandwiched between Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer.

Auburn just fired a coach, Gene Chizik, who won a national championship two years ago.

LSU: You say …

Continue reading SEC title would mean Georgia’s return to elite status (video added) »

After 2-4 start, Tech coach Paul Johnson fired his second defensive coordinator. (AJC/Curtis Compton)

In his first two seasons at Georgia Tech, Paul Johnson went 20-7, including 12-4 in the ACC, and won a conference title (the whims of NCAA investigators notwithstanding).

In the 2½ years since, he is 16-16, including 10-10 in the ACC, and has lost nine of his past 13. He also just fired his second defensive coordinator, hoping to salvage a season that has some fans grumbling and wondering if those early results were some aberration.

Yet to be determined: Is this merely a step back before another eventual ACC title run (most optimistic) or ugly foreshadowing of a Bill Lewis collapse (most pessimistic).

Welcome to today’s sports world, which can be best summed up as: What a beautiful morning/Wait I felt A Raindrop/The Sky Is Falling! (Elapsed time: 12 minutes.)

For what it’s worth, the sky isn’t falling in Dan Radakovich’s office. The Georgia Tech athletic director …

Continue reading Radakovich says Johnson is ‘right person for this job’ »

Al Groh's teaching methods, schemes failed from outset. (Johnny Crawford)

Al Groh was a mistake. He was Paul Johnson’s mistake. It took about 2½ years for the Georgia Tech head coach to realize that.

Groh, who had success as a defensive coordinator in the NFL but was a disaster at Georgia Tech from the outset, was fired Monday by Johnson, who has seen the Jackets regress since Groh’s hiring in 2010.

It’s not surprising Johnson would fire an assistant. He fired Groh’s predecessor, Dave Wommack, even after winning an ACC championship in 2009. He fired a coach (Groh) whose defense had given up 42, 49 and 47 points in the last three games, collapsed late in overtime defeats to Virginia Tech and Miami and allowed 510 yards in offense to Middle Tennessee State.

The stunning part is that Johnson did this now. I had been asked several times by readers over the past two weeks whether I believed Groh would make it through the season. My answer always was yes, simply because …

Continue reading Al Groh’s problems at Georgia Tech weren’t pure ‘fantasy’ »

Chipper Jones is lone remaining Brave from the last team to win a playoff round. (Brant Sanderlin)

As much as there will be grand proclamations Friday night — because that’s just the way things function in this 24/7, hyperventilating, turbo-Tweeting sports world — let’s start with a little perspective:

If the Braves defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card game — a best-of-one? — it shouldn’t be taken as a sign that they’re absolutely destined to win 11 more postseason games and the World Series and will make people forget the ’27 Yankees, and if they lose to the Cardinals it won’t wouldn’t affirm that the Kenshin Kawakami signing has forever cursed the franchise (although that one might be worth studying for a while).

It’s just one game.

But isn’t it about time for a new script?

We’re all familiar with the mixed-emotions math of the Braves in the 1990s and 2000s: 14 divisions, 5 pennants, 1 World Series. Too small a number at the end for such a big number …

Continue reading Braves are hoping to change the postseason script »

Before getting to this week’s big game between Georgia and the S.S. Columbia, captained by Coach Queeg, we have some news related to roosters: It’s World Farm Animals Week!

I checked PETA’s website, and fortunately they did not mandate that all SEC schools with animal mascots change their names to something more acceptable, like to the Fighting Whole Grain Muffins, but it did commemorate this event with a blog that read in part: “By the end of the day, 104,273 cows, 297,392 pigs, 702,383 turkeys, and 21,261,534 chickens will have been killed in the U.S. to satisfy an old eating habit.”

"Bread. Milk. Overthrow Liechtenstein."

And I know what you heathens are thinking: Does that come with fries? Because I’m pretty sure if cows, pigs, turkeys and chickens were sitting at the top of the food chain instead of on the right side of the menu, they would pull into a “Bones” (same name) and ask: “Does the Spurrier chops come with a side? Actually, never mind. They had a weird …

Continue reading Predictions: Dogs over Darth Rooster, Falcons over Skins »

For two coaches of top-ranked programs, Steve Spurrier and Mark Richt seem to reside at opposite ends in perspective and their respective dealings with the media. (Phil Skinner/AJC)

Over the past few seasons, Mark Richt has had no shortage of reasons to put his fist through a wall, terrorize secretaries and assistant coaches or erupt in a news conference, as if Athens’ own little Mt. Vesuvius.

He has suspended players for poor academics, poor driving habits and poor choice of herbal supplements (in or outside of brownies). Several prize recruits have been excommunicated for assorted acts of dumbness. His job security has come into question. He works in a conference where five other schools have won BCS titles. And, on a lesser note, his athletic director was fired for drunk driving.

But notice something about Mark Richt? He seldom seems stressed. He isn’t storming out of news conferences when he sees a columnist he doesn’t like (really?), or blathering on the radio about …

Continue reading Spurrier should take lesson from Richt on handling criticism »

Are the 4-0 Falcons for real? Are the Georgia Bulldogs SEC title contenders? What can we expect from the Braves in the playoffs? CineSport’s Tara Petrolino and I discuss them all in this week’s video blog.

Somehow, Georgia Tech did not make it into the conversation.

– Jeff Schultz

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Some recent typings and videos

• Medlen becomes an unlikely key to Braves’ postseason

• Georgia has uncomfortable mix of highlights, slapstick

• After celebration, Chipper Jones admits he was an emotional wreck

• Chipper Jones: Braves lose a legend, fans lose a hero, I lose reason to open laptop

• Weekend Predictions: No ‘bagels’ but Dogs and Falcons win

• Video blog: Are Falcons NFL’s best team (after 3 weeks)? We debate

• Falcons are looking special, and it starts with Matt Ryan

• Falcons’ defenders preferring Mike Nolan to Brian VanGorder

• Predictions: Dogs win cage match; Falcons upset Chargers

• Goodell is in ‘fantasy’ world if he doesn’t believe product being …

Continue reading Video: It’s Winnersville! We talk Braves, Falcons, UGA »

The Falcons are 3-0. That includes two road victories (Kansas City and San Diego) and a home victory in ESPN’s coming out part for Peyton Manning. They have been impressive. But are they the best team in the NFL? I discuss this topic in living color with CineSport’s Noah Coslov.

And, action …

By Jeff Schultz

Here’s a link to previous CineSport videos

Continue reading Video: Are Falcons NFL’s best (after 3 weeks)? We debate »

Before getting to this week’s investment advice, we have an important announcement from Weekend Predictions Storm Central: About 16,000 dead rats, and I’m not sure who actually counted, have washed up on the Mississippi coast since Hurricane Isaac. Officials are withholding names of the rodents until next-of-kin can be notified, although it’s believed none yet have been identified as Jackie Sherrill.

Two from UGA’s recruiting class.

Mississippi officials assured all that dead, smelly rats on the beach posed no health risk — I am not making this up — but decided to clean them up anyway because they thought the atmosphere at their “Cruisin’ The Coast” event in October might be slightly marred by the carcasses. Now THAT’S thinking ahead! Unlike Sheldon Richardson. (Aspiring writers: This is a transition.)

Richardson did about the dumbest thing a Missouri player could do before the school’s first SEC game. He said he watched some of Georgia’s game on TV last week but turned it …

Continue reading Predictions: Dogs, Falcons win, ‘Sack’ video update »

As we’ve learned here in the South, college football never really stops. The teams just stop playing games for several months. But the season begins again this week, and I discussed the expectations at Georgia and some of this week’s games with CineSport’s Noah Coslov. Noah also selected a few games so he and I could go head-to-head in picks each week as a sort of sidebar to the “Sack Schultz 2012″ contest. (If you haven’t signed up, there’s still time. Register here.)

By Jeff Schultz

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Last 10 from the writing jukebox

– College football, Week 1: Somehow it keeps getting better

– Predicting Georgia Tech’s season, game-by-game

– Isaiah Crowell ‘happy,’ seeking fresh start at Alabama State

– “Sack Schultz 2012″:Hawaii, tickets, gift cards … I want it all!

– Da’Rick Rogers suspended, and Dooley still cleaning up

– Now on Internet: It’s Mike Vick Injury Bingo! (ouch)

– MLB’s drug policy too soft — teams should be docked wins

– VIDEO: Augusta National forges ahead into the …

Continue reading Video blog: Talking Georgia, Georgia Tech, ‘Sack Schultz’ »