Two-minute drill: Danger on the road, BCS
ESPN.com’s Chris Low has compiled a list of what he thinks are the “most pivotal” away games for each SEC team this season — not necessarily the toughest road games, but the ones that could make or break the season.
For the Dogs, he sees the “fork in the road” game as the Sept. 19 trip to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas. For Georgia, that game comes “after a season-opening trip to Oklahoma State and a home game against South Carolina. … The Hogs, meanwhile, will be coming off an open date following a cushy opener against Missouri State.”
Really, there’s only one “road” game that makes or breaks a UGA season, and that takes place in Jacksonville. But a lot of folks are wary of the Arkansas game. What do you think?
Meanwhile, with all that meaningless Orrin Hatch grandstanding in Washington as a background, TCU’s Gary Patterson isn’t one of those non-BCS conference coaches who thinks a playoff system automatically would be better than the BCS bowl system. It’s all about the kids, he told Sporting News, and a bowl trip is more fun and more of a reward for them than a trip to a playoff game would be. He would, however, like to see the non-BCS conferences have an automatic berth in the BCS.
Which I’m fine with … if that automatic berth takes the place of the Big East’s current automatic spot, which they got back when Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College were in the league. Lump the Big Easy in with the current non-BCS conferences and make that the automatic berth for the highest ranked non-BCS team. Sound fair?
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78 comments Add your comment
JB
July 8th, 2009
2:45 pm
It ain’t Tech…….That will be a beat down for Tech…..m might even get gassy watching us slaughter his Bee’s……………
Andrew Miller
July 8th, 2009
2:55 pm
Arkansas will be tough. That off week is big. . . . . . . I like the idea of the Big East losing their automatic berth and it going to the current non-BCS conferences. Could we also go ahead and get all of the BCS eligible conferences to play a championship game, post-haste?
Voice of Reason
July 8th, 2009
3:07 pm
the off week is nig, but coming after their first game and that game being a cupcake, Arkansas will not have been tested until UGA arrives. UGA will have already faced tough competition and will be in their “grind” already while Arkansas will still have kinks to work out.
Voice of Reason
July 8th, 2009
3:08 pm
excuse me… the off week is big****
third quarter fan
July 8th, 2009
3:10 pm
dogs have a very good road record. However, this year there are still some unanswered questions about your ability to tackle, your limited experience at both QB and RB, your thinking about wearing the black again and your lack of a week off to prepare for the perfect option…and Tech does have a week to get ready for the invasion of bow wow.
austindog
July 8th, 2009
3:13 pm
Has GT ever played in a BCS game?
superDawg
July 8th, 2009
3:13 pm
The BCS need’s to tweek their system and vacate all the BS and admit that a playoff system is better.1)it will generate more revenue,2)create the expansion of non-playoff or BCS eligegible schools,thus ending the dispute over who is the real NC.
superDawg
July 8th, 2009
3:16 pm
austindog.NO
Maddog
July 8th, 2009
3:17 pm
For what it’s worth – 6’3” 235 pound Defensive End Brandon Burrows has decided that he will play football next fall for the home-state Georgia Bulldogs.
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
3:19 pm
Danger Will Robinson, “DANGER!!!”
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
3:20 pm
Dr. Smith screams in the background.
JB
July 8th, 2009
3:21 pm
Third Qtr fan………….well said…..you need to chime in more often…….
BurningRedBleedingBlack
July 8th, 2009
3:25 pm
HOLY CRAP! GT HAS NEVER PLAYED IN A BCS GAME WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THAT BECAUSE THEY SUCK….BAD
Huh?
July 8th, 2009
3:28 pm
I’m not getting the Arkansas hype. I’m about a buck sixty with a bad back and I could probably start in their secondary. Their defense is laughable. Dawgs roll.
Bill, if anybody should lose their BCS bid its the ACC. The ACC has the worst BCS bowl record of all BCS conferences. They never contribute any at large teams and their BCS games always receive the lowest TV ratings because not a soul cares about ACC football. I say give that automatic bid to the Moutain West which has already won as many BCS bowl games as the ACC despite 9 fewer tries. ACC football is a complete and utter embarrassment.
superDawg
July 8th, 2009
3:37 pm
Huh,I agree FSU was the only team to show any real opportunity and their record in bowl games is not that stellar.
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
3:44 pm
Without Saint Simons daily posts I would have forgotten the ACC plays football. Heck of a roundball conference though.
RxDawg
July 8th, 2009
3:52 pm
I agree completely with Chris Low. Normaly I wouldn’t be too worried, but the way both (UGA & ARK) schedules work out I just don’t see us winning that game if Arkansas can put together any decent football team. We should know a lot about our team after this game.
For some odd reason the Gators just don’t scare me like they probably should. I duno, I guess because of all the intangibles and the attitude of the team this year I feel like we got a pretty good shot at them.
Jefferson
July 8th, 2009
3:52 pm
It was a hellava good 3rd quarter indeed…
RxDawg
July 8th, 2009
4:00 pm
“It’s all about the kids, he told Sporting News, and a bowl trip is more fun and more of a reward for them than a trip to a playoff game would be. He would, however, like to see the non-BCS conferences have an automatic berth in the BCS. ”
Excuse me while I floss out the BS from my teeth… He doesn’t want a playoff for an obvious reason, they will not win. Maybe a one game fluke, but not a 2,3, or 4 week grind playing the best teams college football has to offer. And like the whole season isn’t “fun” for the kids. Plus ask any NFL player or Div 1-AA player if a playoff isn’t “fun”. Puhhlease, this coach has an agenda in mind. Sorry.
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
4:00 pm
I liked the first half Jefferson, I could have done without that third quarter. Good adjustment at halftime, you gotta give PJ his due.
R
July 8th, 2009
4:24 pm
Wow….the economy must have rebounded, everyone’s back to work, money’s rolling in, Iraq & Afghanistan are popular tourist havens and North Korea must have reunited with the South! Good thing Congress can spend time worrying about the BCS!!!
We have far more pressing matters to contend with people. Yes- Utah was screwed (and they beat Alabama in the process), but until the Mountain West gets to be like the SEC, any of the mid-major 13-0 teams will just have to pretend to be national champs!
BruffDawg
July 8th, 2009
4:26 pm
First time ive seen richt lose the coaching half of football. PJ gets his kudos. We won’t overlook them this year. The dawgs will be ready. Ark will be a romp. They have no defense and ours should be better. Voice is right about kinks, which is why I think we roll past usc and ark. No cupcake games early this year for us.
gbal
July 8th, 2009
4:29 pm
In the SEC, the most pivotal SEC road game is the next one,… which happens to be Arkansas. The most pivotal SEC game is the next one… S.C. Fla will be the most pivotal road game come October 25th, if we have taken care of business to that point.
Who is Gt??
July 8th, 2009
4:29 pm
Why is everyone concerned about Gt? Who cares, their irrelevant!! Always will be. Let them make their comments on here, heck they NEVER get to brag you know……………It just so happens that the stars aligned with the moon and they actually won one……..They are irrelevant and always will bee…
Dunwoody Horned Frog
July 8th, 2009
4:30 pm
“Excuse me while I floss out the BS from my teeth… He doesn’t want a playoff for an obvious reason, they will not win. Maybe a one game fluke, but not a 2,3, or 4 week grind playing the best teams college football has to offer. And like the whole season isn’t “fun” for the kids. Plus ask any NFL player or Div 1-AA player if a playoff isn’t “fun”. Puhhlease, this coach has an agenda in mind. Sorry.”
RXDawg, you need a prescription to cure your stupidity..because you sir are an idiot. TCU has defeated 7 out of the last 12 BCS AQ team they have played…including OU (@ OU), Texas Tech, Arizona, etc. They also have finished in the Top 10 two of the last 5 years, including #7 last year. I am sure you will now argue that they don’t play anybody, but that’s not true either. This year we open @ Virginia and play Clemson two weeks later. I wouldn’t discount the Mountain West Conference quite so fast either.. If you recall, Utah blasted the SEC’s representative in the Sugar Bowl last year. Oh yea, that same team (Bama) that was obliterated by the Utes in the Sugar Bowl beat your puppies between the hedges 41-30 in 2008. The Frogs would love to play the dawgs, anytime place. Bring it.
gtfan1951
July 8th, 2009
4:31 pm
Huh? maybe the mountain west should get the SEC place after the way Uath handled Bama?
gbal
July 8th, 2009
4:34 pm
R – you may be onto something here. We could have a…
MBCS NC game – M = “Major”
MMBCS NC Game – “Mid Major”
Let the mid majors split all the TV money that they can draw. I am sure they will come out better???
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
4:39 pm
Boy them Horned Frogs rile easy don’t they. You think they would come here for a one game deal like in 1980. If we could schedule Texas AM the same year we could have a retro schedule.
clarke county entertainment
July 8th, 2009
4:44 pm
if we lose another to techies, we’re gonna care A LOT more.
Fools Gold
July 8th, 2009
4:44 pm
Yep that South Carolina games looms large because even if UGA wins pundits will analyze on how the game was won. If the dawgs struggle to this medocre football program as in past years then not much earned respect from pundits will be had. Better hope CMR starts believing in some style points along with a big big defensive turnaround this year or its SOS.
Huh?
July 8th, 2009
5:06 pm
“Huh? maybe the mountain west should get the SEC place after the way Uath handled Bama?”
Oh you got me there Techie, except for the part where the SEC still has the best BCS bowl record and haw won 4 of the past 6 BCS title games.
That’s ACC football fans for you. They can’t see the forest for the trees.
Arlo
July 8th, 2009
5:06 pm
Can we somehow get USC to play outside of California & maybe a conference championship? They always play in the Rose Bowl & they’re always a media darling, but how would they do if they had to play Vanderbilt’s or Ole Miss’ schedule year in & year out? It’s a lot easier to win bowl games if your healthy & your schedule includes The Sisters of the Blind.
gtfan1951
July 8th, 2009
5:11 pm
bulldogs only care for the bottom of the trees!
Arlo
July 8th, 2009
5:13 pm
I like what the Nebraska guy says…
University of Utah President Michael Young complained that the BCS system both stifles competition and guarantees the majority of revenue from bowl games to the traditional powers.
“If you can’t beat them, eliminate them,” he said of BCS policy.
In response, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman said the BCS system — while imperfect — is the only workable formula that ensures participation by major football powers such as his institution.
The BCS recognizes the strength and depth of traditional programs, Perlman said, rejecting Young’s argument that Utah has no chance to improve its status.
“There realistically is something Utah could do,” Perlman said. “They could play the schedule Nebraska played.”
OZZFEST
July 8th, 2009
5:14 pm
Hogs taste good.
gtfan1951
July 8th, 2009
5:17 pm
the ACC finished 37-11 (77 percent) against non-conference foes , a league record for wins and percentage. The conference also was 15-8 against opponents from other BCS schools and Notre Dame. The ACC went 6-4 against SEC teams, 4-0 against the Big 12.
chazzo
July 8th, 2009
5:22 pm
Arkansas will not be a push over. Like everyone else in the SEC, they will bruise you up even if you come out with the W. The real danger there will be complacency if the dogs squeak by OK State and SC (always play UGA tough) but especially if they win big in the first two. I always thought the BCS was more or less half measures. In a lot of ways I like the old system better. There was a lot more emphasis on being a good team than being number one.
Class of '98
July 8th, 2009
5:22 pm
The Florida game is huge, but will not necessarily “break” our season if we lose. I mean, hypothetically we could lose to Florida, but go 13-1 and win the BCS.
Probably won’t happen, but it could. The cocktail party is not EVERYTHING.
question?
July 8th, 2009
5:30 pm
Does Huh? have brown eyes? (he is soo full ofit)
Utah Man
July 8th, 2009
5:32 pm
Honestly I don’t know where the ACC or SEC get off claiming any superiority to Utah. While Bama just got rocked last year. Who can forget a 7 win Utah team kicking the crap out of Georgia Tech in the Emerald Bowl, while the Techsters claimed they didn’t bring the right shoes. I’m not sure if Bama or Tech had the weaker excuse. As for playing Nebraska’s schedule, I’m not sure we could meet the level they show of playing Western Michigan, San Jose St and North Texas plus those annual battles with Iowa St and Kansas. Hell even Texas or Oklahoma don’t have a bigger win on their schedule than Alabama. So I ask, what is keeping Utah out other than a big ole pile of nonsense.
Huh?
July 8th, 2009
5:34 pm
“The ACC went 6-4 against SEC teams…”
Can I have whatever drug the Techies take to erase all unpleasant memories from my mind? Here’s a little College Football 101 for you Techie: Bowl games count. Let me repeat that so that you can write it down: BOWL GAMES COUNT. Counting the bowl games, including the one where the Joke by Coke got pounded 10 feet in to the Georgia Dome turf by a 5 loss SEC team, the ACC went 6-6 against the SEC last year, not 6-4. I know, I know. 6-6 is really impressive and ACC football is awesome because it split its games with the SEC for once. Feel free to make a ring Techie.
Rick
July 8th, 2009
5:36 pm
Tech surprised UGA last year. In almost every sport.
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
5:37 pm
gtfan, have you noticed that this is a blog that is devoted to the Bulldawgs and therefore SEC football? I got a lot of respect for your program and I am an admirer of Bobby Dodd. But in here you are John the Baptist. You can spout how the ACC did this and the ACC did that til you turn yellow. But how many BCS bowl bids did the ACC get last year? How many the year before? When was the last time the ACC got more than one BCS bid, the automatic one? When was the last time the ACC won the crystal football for the MNC? I will hang up and listen.
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
5:47 pm
Rick, I bet our Gymnasts can beat up your World of Warcraft team.
Rick
July 8th, 2009
6:00 pm
Few women, no Gymnasts.
Rick
July 8th, 2009
6:02 pm
Cuz, If you want to talk History, count your Football National Championships and compare it to Techs.
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
6:09 pm
Rick, did you miss my praise of Bobby Dodd? It is at 5:37.
Long Dawg
July 8th, 2009
6:29 pm
I agree with voice of reason. By the time the Dawgs go to Arkansas they will have been tested hard twice. Joe Cox will have his sea legs, kinks will have been worked out of the defense and the hogs will pay the price. This one will be close early, the Dawgs take the lead before halftime and slowly pull away to a comfortable victory 27 to 10.
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
7:09 pm
And now my favorite portion of the show, “The Hot Drunk Chick Wants To Know”. This one is from Mindy McBride, a Delta Delta Delta from Newnan Georgia.
“Woohooo, Tri Delts rule! Go Dawgs, woohooo, yeah, yeah. Oh my question? Yeah okay. Uh, I want to know since the first home game is uh late, what? Oh yeah a night game. Okay so like it will be over like real late, I mean like real late. Maybe even around dawn, yep daylight for sure. So like Mrs. Ogletree is like our house Mom. Best Mom ever, wooohooo! Oh not counting you Mom. Uh what was I saying? Oh yeah, since the game is going to be over like noon on Sunday, will you like cover for me Mrs. Ogletree if my Mom calls? Wooohooo, Mrs Ogletree you are the best! Sure I’d like another beer. Are those shots over there? Shots, shots, shots, shots, woohoooooo!
Back to you Coach.
Mitch Cumstein
July 8th, 2009
7:16 pm
Talked with none other than Tony Bua over the 4th and he says Arkansas is real weak on both lines. Dawgs shouldn’t have any problems with the Hogs IMO, and Tony’s.
In case you’re wondering, Tony Bua is that bad-ass dude that played linebacker for’em in the early 00’s.
question?
July 8th, 2009
7:28 pm
Which team won the state champ game?
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
7:34 pm
4-AAAA, 4-AAA, 4-AA or 4-A?
Me
July 8th, 2009
7:38 pm
Keep your new recruit. With his torn acl in both knees the injury excuse will lead to more “wait till next year” posts.
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
7:41 pm
Wait til next year. FIRST!!!!!!
SamoanDawg
July 8th, 2009
7:50 pm
Mitch Cumstein, I remember Tony Bua very well. He was a heck of a LB. He had a nose for the ball.. I hope he’s right about their lines. I still think they’ll give us fit.
bocagator
July 8th, 2009
7:51 pm
Annual Puppy Whoopin 3:30 Oct 31st. Georgia will already have a few losses.
bocagator
July 8th, 2009
7:57 pm
GT and UGA have the same # of Football National Championships so I am not sure why the UGA fans think they are so superior. Not since 1980!!!
Mitch Cumstein
July 8th, 2009
8:03 pm
Boca-lizard, I’ll assume you’re from Boca Raton. What a hole! Regular rat’s mouth. (pun intended)
Although I’ll grant you homos the right to talk smack, unlike the nerds, you’re being awful presumptuous with that prediction. I’d say the lizards may have a loss or two as well. Isn’t Ole Miss on the schedule?
If you’re old enough, you’ll recall the days when we used to spank ya’ll around the feild. If you’re not old enough and can read, take a look at the series history and get back to me.
And remember, humilty is indeed a virtue!
SamoanDawg
July 8th, 2009
8:12 pm
Dammn.. Tanner Strickland is out for the ‘09 season. That sux! I was looking forward to see him contribute this yr. He must’ve pushed too dang hard on the bench. He’s one of the strongest guy on the team.. benches ab 500 squatt 600+.. if I remember correctly. Crap, here we go again. I know injury happens, but we can’t seem to catch a break.
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
8:13 pm
boca do you mean UGA and UF? I believe that GT has a few more MNC’s they can claim than UGA. Watch out for Charleston Southern, I hear they have a picture of the crystal football on all their players lockers. I also hear that Florida International has a ring ordered that says “State Champs”. Better get one of those Brinks Home Security guys to put in a warning system. Yes, we are all right. The preseason ranking scared them off.
Uhhh
July 8th, 2009
8:24 pm
GT does not have the same number of championships as Georgia. Unlike UGA’s lone national championship, GT’s program has real history. They’ve won 4 official ones, as recent as 1990 (10 years more recent than UGAs’ lone championship and, unlike UGAs’, within the lifetime of most of the annoying young dogs who spend all day talking smack on here).
Second, for all this talk of ACC v. SEC, wasn’t the ACC 6-6 against the SEC last year? Taking out teams not named Florida or Alabama, ACC was 6-3 against the SEC last year. AND Duke (a team that was 1-7 in the ACC) beat Vandy, a team with a .500 SEC record – good enough for fifth best in the SEC. AND the SEC was the school that lost in a BCS game, not the ACC. UGA, arguably the third best team in the conference, got embarrassed in the second half against a “high school” team that is a “joke,” despite the fact UGA had 2 of the best players in college football.
Look, I’m all for a good ole fashioned rivalry, but you guys have your heads too far up your own @$$es to realize that all 12 ACC schools as a whole were at least on par with, if not better than, all SEC schools not named Alabama or Florida. If all of you dawg fans out there really want to proclaim how great Florida and Alabama are, good for you. I hope you guys bought the commemorative national championship jean shorts.
You can yell all you want about how Tech is a joke and the ACC is a joke… I’m still wondering how that joke made you look so bad in the second half and how a joke of a conference could go 6-6 against the best conference ever…
superDawg
July 8th, 2009
8:48 pm
uhhh you really don’t know your history very well.I say keep up the idea that you have about tek,because in late nov.you will evaporate with all your buddies,and as a UGA BULLDOG I won’t have to rub it in because I know you will be crying where ever you are.Go online and educate yourself and get back to us.
SamoanDawg
July 8th, 2009
8:55 pm
Uhhh, Ok, we got it.. Tech/ACC is the team/conference in the nation. There, are you happy now? cheeesh!
RxDawg, I agree. I think we’ll have a good chance of beating those lizards.
Cuz
July 8th, 2009
8:59 pm
Uhhh, you must be the Bizzaro Huh!
Don’t take this blogging so seriously. Breathe deep, breathe deep. Oh and a few shots of your favorite lighter fluid will help also.
The ACC is just as good last year as the SEC minus Alabama and Florida. Okay, I will spot you two teams next year also. Evidently you think as we do that the ACC as a whole is not as good as the SEC. I think the ACC had a good run versus the SEC last year, yet you still got one BCS bowl bid. And that one was automatic, otherwise, no BCS bowl.
Dude, I think you have the best basketball conference in the NCAA bar none. Football, not so much. Two plus two still equals four. And yes Saint Simons, 45-42 is still the final score.
bamadawg
July 8th, 2009
9:13 pm
59 & the wake up GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Paul Finebaum
July 8th, 2009
9:23 pm
I am stupid and my opinion means absolutely nothing. But thanks for listening. And make sure to listen next Tuesday…there a storm brewing in Athens!
Bill King
July 8th, 2009
9:41 pm
Cuz,
My wife the Tri-Delt isn’t going to like that …
Ali Akbar Allah
July 8th, 2009
9:47 pm
Tech will go 14-0 this year – book it!
Cuz
July 9th, 2009
12:21 am
Bill, next time I will pick on Phi Mu. A Tri Delt, dude you went way above your pay grade. Congrats. And the Tri Delts have always been hot, at least since 1978. Kenny Rogers was married to a Tri Delt. Oh my God, I figured it out. Bill King is really Kenny Rogers. Just look at the picture. Bill what was it like singing with Dolly Parton?
Denver Dog
July 9th, 2009
12:25 am
The most pivotal game for UGA this year is UT, UGA will be at a crossroads there. They will be playing for the East, or not. If they are, they have to win, and UT wants to win. If they are not playing for the East, they will be playing for pride. If they are playing for pride, UGA will have to win and UT will want to win. This year, that will be the first water mark of the season.
Denver Dog
July 9th, 2009
12:26 am
Hey Cuz, at least since 1969 for the hot DDD.
UGASlobberknocker
July 9th, 2009
4:32 am
to the poster “Uhhh” above who thinks the Acc is equal to the SEC..
Please, get back on your medication before someone gets hurt.
Saint Simons
July 9th, 2009
9:45 am
45-42!!!!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
SWGa HAWG
July 9th, 2009
10:43 am
Offense should be the strength of the Arkansas team this year. We finally have QBs that can throw the ball with some accuracy and depth. Defense is the big worry though. Arkansas normally does not do well coming off of open weeks early in the season. Hate to say it, but I think the Dogs will pull out a win in Fayetteville.
Long Dawg
July 9th, 2009
10:57 am
UHHH, are you kidding? Your logic is totally flawed. Since Alabama and Florida are in the SEC why wouldn’t we count them? LSU was a five loss SEC team last year and pounded Tech 38 to 3 and it wasn’t even that close. It was over at halftime. The SEC has four National Championships since 2000 and Georgia finished #2 in 2007. When was the last time the ACC won a National Championship?
The top teams in the SEC are better than the top teams in the ACC. The weakest teams in the SEC are better than the weakest teams in the ACC. The middle tier of the SEC stacks up pretty even with the top teams of the ACC. The 6 and 6 record vs the ACC means nothing because look who played who. Vanderbilt and Mississippi State were 50% of the losses to the ACC, The Wake Forest win over Ole Miss was a miracle and Georgia basically self distructed after pounding Tech in ther first half. The truth is the two conferences are not even except in your dreams.
Long Dawg
July 9th, 2009
11:04 am
For the gator fans on the blog there has never been a better year than this to uspset the Gators. Anytime you mark a game down as a sure thing the strangest thinks happen. On paper Florida looks great/unbeatable but the Ole Miss game last year is a good example that anything can happen. The Dawgs are going to be better than last year even without Knowshone and Stafford. Every other aspect of the team will be better and you can bet the preperation will be better.
Bill King
July 9th, 2009
11:54 am
Cuz,
You gotta know when to hold ‘em …
Kendawg
July 10th, 2009
11:32 am
Perhaps the Big East and the ACC should lose their automatic bids to a BCS game. Neither conference is on a level with the other four conferences.