Archive for the ‘UGA / SEC’ Category

Early season report: Brian Gregory's Jackets are going up; Mark Fox's Bulldogs are going down. (Curtis Compton/AJC)

There hasn’t been much in the way of emotional real estate for Georgia Tech to lay claim to over Georgia lately.

The somewhat diametric fortunes of the school’s respective football teams and the fact Tech’s former athletic director grew weary of squeezing nickels and bolted for Clemson sums it up nicely.

So consider Tuesday some semblance of a 180. Or at least the beginning of one. Georgia Tech beat Georgia 62-54 in a basketball game at McCamish Pavilion. There is joy in Beeville.

The Yellow Jackets are 5-2 in non-conference play. It’s a bit early to start hyperventilating and tossing out labels like “ACC threat” or “NCAA dark horse.”

But forgive Tech if it milks this just a little bit. It finally has a chance to gloat. The team’s new arena is a jewel. It was sold out Tuesday night. It was loud. The Big Foot rival fell for the second straight year, the first time …

Continue reading Brian Gregory may have Tech on way to something good »

Kenarious Gates drops to a knee as Georgia lost SEC title on game's final play. (Curtis Compton/AJC)

This was the day when representatives from every other conference, when every critic weary of the SEC’s six-year-plus rule in college football, should have come to the realization, “Oh. So that’s why they’re the best.”

Georgia and Alabama looked like the two best teams from the two best conference, if not the two best teams in the nation, and they just played a conference championship that saw four lead changes in the second half and the game not decided until the game’s final play.

What would happen if Georgia and Alabama played 10 times?

“It probably would look like that every game,” Bulldogs wide receiver Tavarres King said. “And there would be several different outcomes.”

Georgia doesn’t have that luxury. The Dogs lost the SEC championship game 32-28 at the Georgia Dome. They came that close to playing for a national championship.

They had a chance at the end, with …

Continue reading Georgia earns respect in defeat, but loss not easy to take »

Jay Rome's touchdown catch gave Georgia 7-0 lead two plays after fake punt. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)

(I’ll be back with my column on the Georgia-Alabama SEC championship soon. Until then, here are my three “short takes” on the game.)

1. Great drive until the last decision: Trialing 32-28, Georgia was given a second chance to drive for a winning touchdown when an Aaron Murray interception was turned over on replay, which showed the ball hit the ground. So with the ball at the Dogs’ 28 on second-and-10, Murray then capitalized when completed passes to Arthur Lynch (15 yards), Tavarres King (23) and Lynch again (26), moving the ball to the Alabama 8. However, with the final seconds (from :09 after Lynch’s second catch) ticking down, Murray did not take the ensuing snap and spike the ball to stop the clock. Instead, he ran a play and completed a tipped pass to Chris Conley, who was tackled at the Alabama 5 and time ran out. It was a great three plays and a dreadful fourth. While it’s …

Continue reading Georgia short takes: Dogs should’ve spiked the ball »

According to various websites that I looked through while doing research for this final week of investments — not counting those that kept asking for a credit card number, age verification and automatically opened 27 new windows (Close! Close! Dang it, close!) while my wife screamed down to the basement, “Are you still looking at point spreads!?” — I came across some interesting statistics.

The chances of winning Wednesday night’s $579 million Powerball drawing were approximately 1 in 176 million. That was still far more likely than the odds of having a meteor land on my house: 1 in 182,138,880,000,000. Or about double that for the same meteor landing on the ACC championship game and hitting somebody.

Is that a meteor falling on me, or Dogs going to BCS?

Other odds I came across: 1 in 3 million chance of spotting a UFO; 1 in 11,500 of bowling 300 in a game; 1 in 649,740 of being dealt a royal flush; 1 in 20 million of being canonized; about even-money that one of those …

Continue reading Predictions: Georgia pulls upset, Tech goes down »

Aaron Murray has 14 touchdowns and no interceptions in last 17 quarters. (Curtis Compton/AJC)

ATHENS – When gazing at the nation’s leaders among college football defenses, Alabama doesn’t stand out statistically so much as it leaps off the page, stomps on cars, knocks over skyscrapers, swats away missiles and terrorizes women, children and offensive coordinators.

The Crimson Tide rank No. 1 nationally in total defense. Also No. 2 in rush defense, No. 3 in pass defense, No. 1 in scoring defense, No. 1 in red zone defense. It has shut out four opponents, held seven to 10 points or less and all except one to 17 or less.

Which begs the question: All except one?

Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin relatively humbled Nick Saban three weeks ago with his hyperventilating, no-huddle offense. The Aggies upset then No. 1 Alabama 29-24, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions, accumulating the second-most yards (418) and the most red zone possessions (five) of any Tide opponent.

The …

Continue reading Georgia’s best chance vs. Alabama may be to step on gas »

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) »

Dogs accept Governor's Cup after the win, but they're after something bigger. (Brant Sanderlin)

ATHENS – This is new ground. Or, more accurately, new air.

Georgia had never reached this elevation before under Mark Richt — not in BCS ranking at this point of the season, not in perception of championship potential.

It didn’t feel like this even during those two SEC titles early in Richt’s tenure, when Georgia already had been cropped out of the national pictured. It wasn’t this real when a Sugar Bowl win left the Bulldogs with a postseason ranking of No. 2, after they already had been leapfrogged in the BCS and left out of the national title game.

Never before in late November under Richt could we look at Georgia and legitimately think: That team can win it all.

Now we can.

Georgia didn’t just beat Georgia Tech on Saturday. It humiliated the Jackets 42-10. The tilt on the scoreboard would have been even greater if Richt hadn’t pulled starters with more than 10 minutes left in …

Continue reading Georgia playing at level we haven’t seen under Richt »

Bacarri Rambo (18) stripped David Sims' of ball, set up touchdown. (Johnny Crawford/AJC)

ATHENS — I’ll be back with my column off of Georgia’s win over Georgia Tech shortly. Until then, here are my three “short takes” on the Bulldogs’ performance.

1. Bacarri Rambo is in a groove: The Bulldogs’ senior free safety was suspended for the first four games of the season and struggled along with the rest of Georgia’s defense when he initially returned. But he has been playing his best football of the season in the past five games. He had an interception and a sack against Florida, an interception at Auburn, and owned the first half against Georgia Tech: two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and 49-yard return to set up the Dogs’ second touchdown and an interception of Vad Lee followed by a 27-yard return to set up Georgia’s fourth TD. It’s no coincidence the improvement of Georgia’s defense has paralleled that of Rambo.

Aaron Murray, Todd Gurley and Georgia's offense seemed to be …

Continue reading Short takes (UGA): Rambo’s ascent, Gurley’s comfort »

The early scene from Sanford Stadium, site for the final regular season game for Georgia and Tech.

ATHENS — Good morning. Before we get to the game, I have a small request: Let’s be civil.

I understand emotions (and beer) often cause sports fans to jump the rails a little bit. Because we will have both Georgia and Georgia Tech fans on this blog, the chance for a verbal inferno becomes even greater.

But the same rules apply: no profanity, no profanity that is cleverly disguised with punctuation marks, no racist comments, no sexual innuendo, no stealing of screen names to give the impression that somebody wrote something when they really didn’t, no … well, you get the idea. You can praise, mock, laud and criticize all you like. But let me share something an old editor of mine once told me: If you have to ask, “Can I write this?” the answer is probably no.

Fair enough?

OK, onto the game. Georgia and Georgia Tech is, first and foremost, always about 364 days of bragging rights. …

Continue reading LIVE: Bulldogs, Jackets vie for more than bragging rights »

From Tech's 2008 celebration: Roddy Jones, Troy Garside and Marcus Wright. (Brant Sanderlin)

During the course of a five-minute interview, Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson referenced Georgia’s No. 3 ranking in the BCS three times, just on the chance that we didn’t know.

“It’s not often you get a chance to play the No. 3-ranked team in the country,” he said.

“We haven’t beaten them in three years — that should be motivation enough. And they’re the No. 3-ranked team in the country,” he said.

“It’s an important game — and we also know that it’s the No. 3 team in the country,” he said.

So, just for clarification, Georgia is ranked No. 3 in the country, correct?

“I think so,” Johnson said, smiling. “That’s what somebody told me.”

Welcome to the view from the other side. Johnson is perceived as the other coach of the other team in the other conference. On Saturday, his Yellow Jackets will face the Bulldogs in their annual feud in Athens. Johnson understands the backdrop. Georgia has …

Continue reading Upsetting Georgia would give Tech needed boost for future »