Hot Button, Part 2: Where would UGA rank in the ACC?
What happened when Georgia last played an ACC team? (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
A screaming comes across the sky. (Props to Pynchon.) Much of the sound emanates from the rejoicing of Georgia Tech fans, but the real wails stem from the anguish of Georgia Bulldog backers, who have just learned that their beloved team would …
Rank fourth in the ACC Coastal, second in the ACC Atlantic, fifth in the ACC overall.
That’s my opinion, anyway. I’d put Georgia behind Tech, Miami and Virginia Tech in the Coastal; behind Clemson in the Atlantic; behind all four in the overall power rankings.
A word of explanation: This whole thing got started, as whole things will, when I posed the question: Where would Tech rank in the SEC? (Fourth behind Florida, Alabama and LSU, I said.) One or two of you suggested an even better idea would be to ask the same of Georgia and the ACC. So I have. And here it is.
My rationale: I consider the 2009 Bulldogs a shade above mediocre. (Subject to change with the next few week’s results, obviously.) I’d put Georgia sixth in the SEC — behind Florida, Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Tennessee. I’d rate the Bulldogs above Ole Miss because the Rebels really haven’t beaten anybody and above South Carolina because Georgia beat the Gamecocks.
Loading ...In my view, there’s not an ACC team as good as Florida, Alabama or LSU, but several belong in the next tier. Tech is the best of that bunch, with Miami and Virginia Tech and now Clemson fitting the description. Do I think Georgia would beat any of those four on a neutral field? I don’t.
I struggled most with North Carolina. The Tar Heels have a good defense and a decent record (6-3), but their only win of substance was over Virginia Tech, which seemed to peak a month ago. In the end I decided a 5-4 Georgia with wins over South Carolina and Arkansas was superior to that. But it was a tough call.
To Georgia fans who’ve maintained that even in a down year the Bulldogs could win the ACC … sorry, I disagree. It isn’t as if this team has suffered every loss by a field goal. Indeed, only the LSU defeat was close, and it probably shouldn’t have been. This is the weakest bunch of Bulldogs since 1996 (Jim Donnan’s first year). I couldn’t see this team winning the Mountain West.
Besides, this fifth-in-the-ACC rating does contain a silver lining, Dog lovers. I’ve still got your team ahead of Duke.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Guides
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
642 comments Add your comment
Scott
November 11th, 2009
10:26 pm
Second!
Mark Bradley
November 11th, 2009
10:29 pm
Nope. You’re the first, Scott. Kudos.
Unless, of course, you don’t care to fulfill your obligations as First, in which case our runnerup would take over your duties.
Herschel Talker
November 11th, 2009
10:29 pm
MB:
You’re really bored these days.
HT
Todd
November 11th, 2009
10:29 pm
The acc is not as bad as people make it out to be. In fact, this year I believe it is better. When Ga tech beats 1/4 of the conference by next month, that will solidify my belief. Bama and Fla are only where they are because of the refs and luck. They are beatable. Tired of hearing about the lack of defense. How about the lack of offense on those teams. It will show in the bowls.
The Hot Button: Where would Georgia Tech finish in the SEC? | Mark Bradley
November 11th, 2009
10:30 pm
[...] And now, because fair’s fair: Where would Georgia rank in the ACC? [...]
jabster
November 11th, 2009
10:30 pm
The dream matchup I want to see is UGA and Duke in Music City.
JacketFan
November 11th, 2009
10:31 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
((((((((((45-42)))))))))))))))
Scott
November 11th, 2009
10:31 pm
Wow I was certain someone would beat me since I read half the column. My first first and I blew it! LOL
Todd
November 11th, 2009
10:32 pm
I would love to see the dawgs in the music city and lose to an acc team. It would almost be as much fun as when GT rolls them in 2-3 weeks.
Mark Bradley
November 11th, 2009
10:33 pm
My advice: Don’t read anything I write. Just type “first” and move on to better things.
Garrett
November 11th, 2009
10:35 pm
Here are the teams that I think would beat Ga this year from the ACC.
GT, Miami, VT, Clem, Bc, Unc Wake.
Bc wake and unc are every bit the same caliber team as sc, ga and arky.
If Ga played tech’s acc schedule, they would lose miami, vt, clem, and either unc or wake. 4-4 record.
PTC Jacket
November 11th, 2009
10:36 pm
This is actually very reasonable. I would say that you should do a follow up at the end of the bowl games to see if either teams held up (or held down, in UGA’s case) to their expectations. I honestly would think that UNC would beat UGA, but then again, no one would know unless they played each other.
mtraininjax
November 11th, 2009
10:38 pm
Mark good column, glad I asked for it. Now, can you put UGA’s mascot in a skirt and show him swarmed by yellow jackets? That might just rile up what is left of the Dawg fan base.
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
10:39 pm
Yep! The Dawgs are RANK alright…….
DMWC
November 11th, 2009
10:39 pm
I agree that it’s very close between UGA and UNC. Maybe they will play in the Carpets of Dalton Bowl this year, and we can sort it all out.
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
10:40 pm
6th in the SEC…right there at the Sagarin mean (or average?) for the SEC. My extensive 15 minute analysis of Sagarin’s strength of schedule methods this evening led me to think it’s best handled by a computer.
CW
November 11th, 2009
10:41 pm
Man, Mark I do love it when you stir the pot!
perk
November 11th, 2009
10:43 pm
enjoy the ride jackets……..UGA will be back and it may be sooner than you think or want.
Chardog
November 11th, 2009
10:44 pm
Mark any thoughts on whether coaching changes are coming on the Defense?
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
10:44 pm
Garrett – UNC is just plain flakey this year. Wake’s good; very close losses/OT games.
GT GRAD
November 11th, 2009
10:44 pm
Well let’s see:
If UGA had GT’s schedule:
Jacksonville State – Win
Clemson – Loss
Miami – Loss
North Carolina – Loss
Miss State – Win
FSU – Loss
VT – Loss
Virginia – Win
Vandy – Win
Wake Forest – Loss
Duke – Win
UGA – Tie (if we substitute GT here it would be another LOSS!)
Therefore UGA would be 5-6-1 or 5-7 if they played GT’s schedule this year. A 2-6 record against ACC teams would place them soundly near the very bottom of the ACC!!
PTC Jacket
November 11th, 2009
10:44 pm
Perk: Does it matter to us? You had Stafford, Moreno, and MoMass, and you still couldn’t beat us on our first year with the option.
Steven
November 11th, 2009
10:45 pm
Mark
Why are you guys so gung ho on lsu? Who have they beaten. Not one ranked team. Look at the records of the teams they have beaten. I’m going on record now and saying the sec will not look all that great in their bowl games this year. A few years of them kicking butt has many brainwashed into thinking they are so dominant. I’m not buying it. Sec loses more bowl games than it wins and fla bama don’t look good either.
Winkin Blinkin and Nod
November 11th, 2009
10:47 pm
Mark, What a sorry state of affairs for UGA to be ranked fifth in as weak a conference as the ACC. And the worst part of this is that (as a Dawg fan) I agree with you. YIKES!!
I am a little tired already of the GT fans who act as if THEY have won 7 of the last 8 meetings with UGA. And, by the way do you all mind if (just for the heck of it) we go ahead and PLAY the game on Nov. 28th before we annoint Tech the winner and greatest team of all time? You never know, there may be a surprise at the end of the assumed rainbow
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
10:47 pm
perk – enjoy yours as well. We know all about that ride. Bill Lewis, Chan Gailey, Bud Carson, etc., etc.
Steven
November 11th, 2009
10:47 pm
Yes perk. That inexperienced freshman qb next year just scares your opponents to death!
GT GRAD
November 11th, 2009
10:48 pm
For comparison, I have posted the same approach as above with GT using Florida’s 2009 schedule:
Well let’s see:
IF GT had Florida’s schedule:
Charleston Southern – Win
Troy – Win
Tenessee – Win
Kentucky – Win
LSU – Loss
Arkasas – Win
Miss St – Win
UGA – Win
Vandy – Win
South Carolina – Win
Florida International – Win
FSU – Win
GT would be 11-1 (unless the SEC referees wanted GT to be undefeated in a similar fashion as they obviously have helped Florida – if this were the case the LSU game would be a Win as well & GT would be 12-0)!
Fairly convincing even with the more realistic 11-1 record I would say!!
Important comments regarding the 38-3 LSU game played in 2008: I understand the final score was UGLY, but I am a little tired of so many people claiming LSU shut our offense down.
LSU had 324 yards total offfense.
GT had 314 yards total offense.
The difference in the game was primarily from turnovers and poor field position.
LSU had ZERO turnovers.
GT had THREE turnovers.
GT was also 2 for 6 on 4th down……….just like FOUR more turnovers.
The game got away from GT early and the snowball kept getting bigger and bigger as the desperation plays continued going in the favor of LSU.
LSU beat GT soundly (38-3) and I am not suggesting anything different; however, they did NOT shut Coach PJ’s offense down as so many people and media pundits are claiming.
Steven
November 11th, 2009
10:50 pm
GT grad
Excellent points. If we had bama’s schedule, we’d be 11-1 also but I don’t think the loss would be to Lsu. They are the most overrated piece of junk I’ve seen
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
10:50 pm
GT GRAD – Yes, but: Which UNC? Which FSU? The good ‘uns or the bad ‘uns?
Denver Dawg
November 11th, 2009
10:51 pm
soak it up now, Bumble Bees… enjoy this little period of UGA being (relatively) “down”… then get out your media guide and realize it’s just a temporary “blip”, and Dawg dominance will likely soon return. Sure does seem like most “posters” these days are pimply-faced teenagers, on daddy’s computer, with no idea of overall series history. UGA is the 11th most successful program in the history of college football – we’re not going ANYWHERE!
Winkin Blinkin and Nod
November 11th, 2009
10:52 pm
GT Grad, I wouldn’t be so sure about UGA losing to UNC, FSU, or Wake. I’ll give you the rest. FSU, for example seems to have UGA’s way of giving games away, so perhaps the game would go on forever!
Super Mario
November 11th, 2009
10:53 pm
Mark I greatly appreciate your daily blog output…thought-provoking to say the least. It’s funny you posted this blog today, because I just had this same discussion with fellow Tech alums this weekend. Unfortunately, included in our discussion was a member of UGA’s wal-mart alumni (i.e. a loud mouth fan that’s never been on Baxter St.). He wasn’t willing to admit that his program was having a bad year. It was always the officials (LSU), or swine flu (Okie State), or whatever talking point these myopians (kool-aid drinkers) have been falling back on all year. Memo to Bulldog fan…you’re 5-4, and you should thank the good Lord you’re not 2-7. By the time Auburn is done pulling a Spurrier on you (hanging half a hundred), Larry Munson will jump up and shout, “Look at the urine falling out of the sky!”
Semper Fi to all the Marines (especially my dad)
THWG
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
10:54 pm
I thought DAWGS were for hot dog buns!!!!
Ace
November 11th, 2009
10:54 pm
Winkin
I don’t see that. I see gt fans tired of redneck dawg fans mocking gt fans, their stadium, their record, their conference, their players, their student body, etc. Talk about an insecurity complex you guys have. You don’t have any room now to talk smack yet there’s a gazillion posts by your fans talking just that. Live in the past man. That’s what you got for now.
BugKiller
November 11th, 2009
10:55 pm
Mark,
Where would we rank if we were to kidnap The Three Stoogers (Willie Martinez, Jojhn Jancek, and Jon Fabris) before the move the ACC??? Thus forcing Richt to bring in competent coaches, as opposed to his best friends, to coach up all the talent that is currently languishing under The Three Stooges?
I also have a feeling, that much like their job prospects outside of the Mark Richt Cocoon for Terrible Coaches in Athens, no one BUT Mark Richt would actually meet any ransom demands for the Stooges.
Those guys just aren’t wanted by anyone else.
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
10:56 pm
Mark, now you’ve done it – There are going to be a lot of “whiney Tech posters” on a “UGA blog”, and a lot of “whiney UGA posters” on an “ACC blog.”
Actually, a masterful piece of work!
Steven
November 11th, 2009
10:58 pm
Yep denver, fla tenn gt aub, we are all so scared of your inexperienced qb next year! You couldn’t do squadoosh with the nfl’s first draft pick and top 3 running back yet you will be so good next year. You guys are in denial. Time to get some help. CPJ will lose maybe 1/6 against you over his tenure. Get use to it. Already lost another recruit to Tenn today.
DMWC
November 11th, 2009
10:58 pm
It was especially cruel of Mark to quote Thomas Pynchon in an article Dawg fans will attempt to read.
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
10:58 pm
The ACC is ranked #3, right behind the PAC-10. Sagarin the Savant says so.
GT GRAD
November 11th, 2009
10:59 pm
Excellent point by Delbert D.
On a given Saturday……………(as long as the referees let the players & coaches decide the outcome)
FSU & NC have been somewhat inconsistent, but both teams have solid players and can play some serious football if they show up.
How awesome would it be if FSU played the best game of the season against Florida to secure the upset and then Florida beats Alabama in the SEC Championship game. This would knock both out of the NC game…….sweet justice for all of the SEC attempts to keep both teams undefeated this year!!
Not very likely, but this scenario is possible.
perk
November 11th, 2009
10:59 pm
delbert: as you know – the ride is rough and bumpy. It ain’t fun!
PTC: again – enjoy it. PJ is bringing home the bacon for GT. everything goes in cycles.
Hope you guys are 10-1 going into the regular season finale
Winkin Blinkin and Nod
November 11th, 2009
11:00 pm
Ace, I actually have enjoyed watching GT this year. CPJ is a tremendous coach and every UGA fan I know (and I know a lot) have all the respect in the world for him. But the Jackets have their flaws and those flaws WILL be exposed this year. And this year, Ace is the present.
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:03 pm
GT GRAD – Remember the FSU-Miami game? It came down to one last pass in the end zone, just in front of the knees of the FSU receiver.
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
11:04 pm
Why does any GA fan think we will have to beat Ga on Nov. 28. They will beat themselves!!!!
SEC OFFICIAL
November 11th, 2009
11:06 pm
Combined ACC/ SEC Rankings
Alabama/Florida- to be determined
LSU
GT
Clemson
Tennessee-(based on how they have played in the past 4 weeks)
VT( would be higher if they had not faltered late in the season)
Miami
South Carolina
Auburn
Arkansas
Ole Miss( if they played all their games at home-would be 7-2) it called POTENTIAL never realized
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Georgia- may move up a spot with a win on Saturday or drop down with a loss
Miss. St
Florida State
Kentucky
Duke
Boston College
Virginia
N.C. State
Vanderbilt( yes higher than Maryland)
Maryland
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:07 pm
Winkin – The flaw is the one all UGA opponents have: the cone of invincibility around AJ Green. May have to spot UGA 4 TDs on that one. I think he’s from Smallville, not Summerville.
News Flash
November 11th, 2009
11:08 pm
UGA and Tech are actually going to play. I know the hypothesizing is SO much fun but we can actually know for sure which has the better team. Please get a life…
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:08 pm
i cant believe it. all these comments and none bashing me. finally the world sees my gifts.
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:09 pm
del, lets just hope joe cox doesnt get a j killed going over the middle for a high pass thrown behind him.
Winkin Blinkin and Nod
November 11th, 2009
11:12 pm
Touche’, GT For You And Me. We UGA fans absolutely agree that we will probably beat ourselves. I am an empiricist (how’s that for a big word for a UGA fan). I believe that the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. That doesn’t bode well for my Dawgs.
However as Skip Caray said, “That’s why they play the game.”
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:13 pm
Hey Steven – LSU beat Miss. State 30-26 on the road!
Oh, I forgot, Tech beat them 42-31 at their place, too.
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
11:13 pm
Willie: Richt says you will be back next yr………..
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:14 pm
dog fans, join me at the varsity after the win over auburn. chili dogs are on me.
murfdawg
November 11th, 2009
11:14 pm
Mark,
When was the last time three freshmen scored for UGA in one game? Or one season?
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:15 pm
GT, that’s correct. but at a much higher salary.
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:15 pm
willie – From the games I’ve seen, most of the passes are like that. That kid can catch a ball with one hand and his helmet ear hole.
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
11:17 pm
That’s correct,also,Willie………
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:17 pm
CMR has told me in his words that i will have one of the most important jobs in sanford stadium next year: toilet flusher coordinator. brings tears to my eyes to have that kind of responsibility in my hands.
fldawg
November 11th, 2009
11:17 pm
for all the techies, how many times in the last ten years has tech beat UGA?, It seems in the lil tech mind that they have already beat UGA this years. Reality will set in and by DEC.1st all will know that UGA would have won the asissi conf.Enjoy the next two weeks losers, and UGA will not buy rings to celebrate, why lil bees, because WE HAVE BEEN THERE!!!!!!!
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:18 pm
del, i hate for a j to get sacrificed like that.
Denver Dawg
November 11th, 2009
11:18 pm
Nice comment, Stevie… especially masterful use of the word “squadoosh”… Like I tried to say before, look at the history and educate yourself. UGA has won 80+ games in the last 8 years. You think we’re going to suddenly go hide our heads in the sand? How utterly Tech-like! We’ve won the SEC with a one-year starter (2005), with RAY GOFF as our QB, for goodness sake (1976), with plenty of others in between. How many ACC championships has this supposedly unconquerable Yech team won in the last generation? If you don’t mind, we’re gonna show up in Atlanta on Nov 28 and give it our best shot anyway. Enjoy this one year, Stumbling Bumbles… you’ve got 2 weeks of fun left.
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:19 pm
Denver Dawg – History is vastly overrated. It’s SO last year, dude! Now where’s my pimple squeezer thingie….
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:20 pm
GT, i try to explain to richt that if my guys stop half the other teams’ drives before scoring a td, i’m still batting .500. i’d be a shoe in for cooperstown with an average like that.
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
11:21 pm
fldawg: Come back and apologize on Dec. 1……….
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:23 pm
let you folks in on a little secret for the auburn game: the offense is going to wear red helmets and the defense black helments. it will confuse the hell out of auburn!
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:23 pm
Denver Dawg – I’ll see your Ray Goff and raise you a Pepper Rodgers.
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
11:23 pm
Willie,I’ll chip in on your raise……
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:25 pm
and the d will wear black pants with red jersys inside out. zeier will be calling rennie curran narruc einner. (and wont notice the difference)
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
11:26 pm
I say the DAWGS win,if they show up in the prettiest Bikinis……….
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:26 pm
willie – those helmet combo mixes are gonna make the special teams look…well, special.
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:26 pm
gt, i appreciate that. instead of making your check to the bill hartman educational fund, make it out to the willie martinez pac.
btw, pac doesnt mean political action committee. its poor ass coach.
Best, willie
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:28 pm
del, on special teams we will alternate red helmet, black…
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:28 pm
willie – narruc einner sounds like a Pakastani Belgian.
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
11:29 pm
That’s Swahellie talk!
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:30 pm
plus richt is going to dye the left side of his hair black and the other half red. he asked me to do the same but there are some complications involved with me.
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:30 pm
willie – did CMR put you in charge of the helmet swapping? Is he gonna be mad if it results in a delay-of-game penalty? Who’s he gonna yank out of the game then?
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:32 pm
shaun chapas would be sapach nuahs. i think that was the name of a recent israeli prime minister.
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
11:32 pm
Willie: Tonight,you earned your raise,now tell Richt you want the head job,because you have earned that to……….
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:33 pm
del, i put an end to the yanking people out after commiting a penalty. drove me crazy after i ran through the third string defense.
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:34 pm
Good ‘un, willie
How about neerg ja ?
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:34 pm
bryan evans would be nayrb snave which means in swahilli could guard your grandmother.
Denver Dawg
November 11th, 2009
11:35 pm
Delbert – thanks for making me smile. Truth is, my first UGA game was in 1974, in the pouring rain, against a Pepper Rodgers-led Tech team that beat us pretty badly ‘tween the hedges…
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:36 pm
willie – you need to study some just-in-time-replacement inventory theory. You can get that at Tech.
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
11:36 pm
Willie: You definitely earned you raise tonight. Time to apply for Richts job!!!!!
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:36 pm
del, i think it would be eneerg j a. which means runs like a cheetah but hates qbs that throw behind him.
Mark Bradley
November 11th, 2009
11:36 pm
I wouldn’t put Wake Forest ahead of Georgia even though I admire Jim Grobe very much. Georgia just has better players.
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:38 pm
del, i prefer the fifo method of inventory. first in first out.
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:38 pm
Bradley! i thought you were busy putting the girls to bed!
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:39 pm
Denver Dawg – by the time I got back from the Navy, plus 5 years as a hostage in southern New Jersey, Pepper was gone. I rejoined the Old Gold in 1980.
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:40 pm
GT, i’ve been trying to get damon and mike adams to see that richt is the systemic problem with our program. after we play these next games i might have them convinced.
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:41 pm
del, you are a tech?
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
11:42 pm
It’s obvious Mark,when it comes to GA,the better player question is not a good point. That’s obvious by GA’s record…..They would probably tie in the rankings…..
atl xmen
November 11th, 2009
11:42 pm
this is too funny…any acc team would finish about dead last in the sec,,,the sec players are just that much better..the recruiting classes every year show that the sec have the best players and more times than not the better players win…every year there might be a fluke win, like ga tech last year over uga, but the acc best team would finsh around where vandy and kentucky finishes…not even close…. college football is mostly about match ups and the acc teams dont match up well with the top 9 or so teams in the sec. thats why the acc hasnt even had a a team sniff the NC game…
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:43 pm
willie – well, Old Gold was not my favorite brand of cigarettes.
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:43 pm
i guarantee all you uga fans out there that tim tebow will never win another game against the university of georgia. nenver!
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:44 pm
you hid it well del.
perk
November 11th, 2009
11:45 pm
Delbert: was a big jacket fan growing up in Atl – almost went to GT…saw the light and went to UGA. pull for gt except when they play UGA and when the idiots appear. I remember parking in a church where the AT&T building was with my Dad.
would also say that MB had taken a page our ot Terence Moore’s repetoire on getting the masses stirred.
Go Dawgs
willie martinez
November 11th, 2009
11:45 pm
wake forest must be god awful
Delbert D.
November 11th, 2009
11:46 pm
atl xmen – for your information tech not only sniffed NC they beat them…oh you didn’t mean north carolina i bet
GT For You And Me
November 11th, 2009
11:46 pm
Willie,I would lobby for you anyday!!