Bradley’s Buzz: For 2010, SI has Tech 8th, UGA 22nd
Will Georgia again outrun the Yellow Jackets in 2010? (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
You’ll never guess who’s No. 1 in SI.com’s college football power rankings for 2010. Actually, you will. Alabama is the easy choice, same as Florida was easy in preseason 2009. (And who was preseason No. 1 in 2008? Why, Georgia.) But the top spot isn’t why we’re here. It’s to focus on the locals, both of which appear in Andy Staples’ Top 25.
Georgia Tech is No. 8. Georgia is No. 22. I’d say that’s too high for the former, about right for the latter.
I reserve the right to amend my opinion in light of developments — if, say, either one finds a defensive coordinator, or if Herschel Walker forgoes his MMA dreams to reclaim that fourth year of collegiate eligibility — but I’d say, as of Jan. 14, 2010, that Tech will dip slightly in 2010 and Georgia will rise a bit.
My take on Tech: It won’t be bad on offense — quoth Paul Johnson: “I’d be stunned if our B-back doesn’t gain 1,000 yards next season” — but Demaryius Thomas is the irreplaceable part, not Jonathan Dwyer. Given the nature of his offense, Johnson isn’t apt to find another receiver half as good as Bay-Bay. (Johnson inherited Thomas, it must be noted, from Chan Gailey.)
The defense will surely benefit from a new coordinator, but not many defenses can lose its two most gifted players and spike upward in production. Through these long-range lenses, I can see Tech winning nine games next season and finishing second to Virginia Tech in the ACC Coastal.
One word of caution, however: The Coastal is going to be tough. Three other teams are included in Mr. Staples’ rankings: Virginia Tech at No. 9, Miami at No. 14 and North Carolina at No. 18. And the Jackets must play two of the three on the road.
As for Georgia: I could see the Bulldogs winning nine games if things break right. The offense could be terrific if Georgia finds a quarterback. One note: The past two times Mark Richt has entered a season with a new quarterback, his teams have finished 9-4 and 8-5. And I’m thinking Aaron Murray (or Logan Grey, or Zach Mettenberger) won’t quite have the impact Matthew Stafford did at the end of 2006.
Loading ...The defense lost a big-timer in Rennie Curran, but Marcus Dowtin should fill that tackling-machine role. At issue is how fast the new coordinator, assuming Georgia finds one, can make a difference. My guess: Soon, but not overnight.
Mr. Staples has only one SEC team rated above Georgia in the SEC East: Florida is No. 11. Only two SEC West teams are in the Top 25 — LSU is the other, at No. 23 — and Georgia doesn’t play either. If Richt can find the right quarterback and the right coordinator, the door is open. But I, as suggested in yesterday’s post that was loved by one and all, see South Carolina as the team primed to give the Gators the hardest run.
Oh, and if you’re wondering which team will win at Sanford Stadium on Nov. 27, here’s your final score:
Georgia 27, Tech 24.
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584 comments Add your comment
CowetaDawg
January 14th, 2010
10:38 pm
….8th??? really???…..GT loses 3 of its 4 “best” players & they’re ranked 8th???…WTF was Andy Staples smokin?…GT couldnt beat UGA w/ all the four horsemen in the stable…were they ranked like 13th last year???
….I like the 22 ranking for UGA…they’ll surprise ppl…just think that the Off. was still OK w/ Cox throwing INT every five seconds…I see the Off. being even better and the Def. improving (key being NO Bryan Evans!!)…not to mention the schedule is a helluva lot easier!
Charlie Pride
January 14th, 2010
10:38 pm
Mrs Martinez, does willie kiss you good mornin?
heywood...
January 14th, 2010
10:39 pm
i really do like poor willie
tho sometimes he’s a bit silly
so let’s give him a chance
cause this ain’t his first dance
maybe his next one will be a dilly
willie martinez
January 14th, 2010
10:40 pm
Mark, i have to admit, in colleg, i puffed the magic dragon a few times.
willie martinez
January 14th, 2010
10:41 pm
heywood, glad to hear from you. best, willie
preschool
January 14th, 2010
10:41 pm
WTF??? IS THIS A CHILD POETRY CLASS?
MAYBE THE AJC SPORTS WRITERS SHOULD
GIVE IT A TRY. IT COULDN’T BE WORSE!
Tom Dooly
January 14th, 2010
10:43 pm
I’m hangin down my head right now.
Tom Dooly
January 14th, 2010
10:44 pm
preschool, not knock it till you’ve tried it. AND LAY OFF THE CAPS. best, willie
willie martinez
January 14th, 2010
10:45 pm
tom, why are you doing this?
Pushkin
January 14th, 2010
10:46 pm
We be the best
We better’n the rest
But we smell like doo doo
Ranked at twenty two
willie martinez's wife
January 14th, 2010
10:49 pm
Charlie Pride,
No, he’s never there in the morning. If he is, then I’m not there.
william
January 14th, 2010
10:49 pm
Do your homework.Ga. was 10-3 in 2008 not 9-4 as you wrote.
preschool
January 14th, 2010
10:56 pm
refresh
Denver Dog
January 14th, 2010
10:59 pm
I bet we win the spring game.
willie martinez's wifes lover
January 14th, 2010
11:01 pm
I told you. When CMR hires me as the next DC you won’t have to leave Athens. And remember, I promised to always, always shave the hard to reach spots on your back.
Froggy the Gremlin
January 14th, 2010
11:06 pm
Pete(?) Longstreet? Not well read are you?
GT
January 14th, 2010
11:11 pm
This is a crap game. Anybody gets somebody hurt like Texas did against Alabama or Tech against Georgia and you lose games. Then there is scheduling problems, weather conditions and with parity any of these small interferences can be a game changer. I haven’t seen any team in several years that on any given Saturday can’t be beat by an average team.
willie martinez's wife
January 14th, 2010
11:13 pm
Willie, this blog is just coming to another argument between you and me. I am leaving (you).
willie martinez's wife
January 14th, 2010
11:14 pm
Lover, I’m staying with you. Will you shave my back too?
K-9 Teeth
January 14th, 2010
11:14 pm
Mark, your reverance for South Carolina for next year is misguided. Utah is not Uconn and more importantly Alabama is NOT South Carolina.
Southgadawg88
January 14th, 2010
11:19 pm
UGA will go as far as the OL will take us as usual.Greene nor Stafford had the weapons this year*s QB will have.It’s all about the OL being healthy.1-9 means Uga is just better than GT regardless of records.
Kevin G.
January 14th, 2010
11:22 pm
LMAO at everyone that thinkS UGA will only win nine games. WE SHOULD LOSE ONE GAME AT THE MOST DURING THE REGULAR SEASON. I REPEAT ….UGA SHOULD ONLY LOSE ONE GAME NEXT SEASON IF NOT RUN THE TABLE! THATS A GUARANTEE!
daddo
January 14th, 2010
11:29 pm
Oh yea, that UGA offense will roll. Ten starters back that couldn’t get the ball on the Tennessee side of the field the entire game. hahahahahahahahahahahaha……
messin with sasquatch
January 14th, 2010
11:29 pm
don’t know why we even field a team over at tech. we are really really bad. why even show up, I mean uga is so awesome. we couldn’t possibly ever compete with those numnuts. i mean we lost everyone. and that trip to the OB. that was just a reality check. we’ll never be as good as the doggsqueezers in the big metro over in clark county. and we have so much crime. and we can’t sell out the stadium. and i’m just so depressed. we’re just a bunch of nerds who get kicked around by a bunch of doggtrds. thank god the doggs post the truth on marks blog so we never ever believe that we really won the ACC this year. but at least we don’t have to compete in the AFATO conference – Alabama, Florida, and the others. thank you lord.
Kevin G.
January 14th, 2010
11:30 pm
I would rank Georgia 12th starting next season I dont really see too many teams that will beat them on their schedule. Oh and Matthew Stafford got thrown in as a true freshmen , Aaron Murray already knows the playbook in his sleep and is a better athelete and will be a better college quarterback then matthew stafford ever could be. Aaron murray will be a redshirt freshmen, same as david greene was when he lead the dawgs to a 13-1 season.
JTH
January 14th, 2010
11:51 pm
Look what the ACC did to once proud programs like Miami and FSU. What a joke that the real ACC champs are ranked behind any ACC conference team.
The UGA program will prove once again to be the strongest in the state for decades to come sweethearts. Tried not to get robbed or punched in the face because then you would be stupid or something.
Caleb King just ran through The Varsity dragging 3 Tech lineman. He even had time to stop for a chili dawg.
fair and Balanced
January 14th, 2010
11:53 pm
Sports Illustrated should stick to swim suits. GA Tech # 8? Serious? Nah! Look, this offense of Johnson is going to be in its 3rd year. Defenses are catching on to this thing. There are no Herschel Walkers at Tech. Against weak defenses in the ACC, Tech will win games. As for national ranking – when will all know that the ACC has a long way to go. GA could easily move up to #8 though the QB issue is rightly a sticking point at the moment.
Technophobia
January 15th, 2010
12:00 am
The SEC only got 2 teams in the top 20 with 2 more in the 21-25 range. Guess which two are in the top 20? Basically, the SEC has lost it’s parity and that is weakening the conference. A recruit that goes to any SEC school other than Ala, UF or, to a lesser extent LSU has little chance of winning the conference and playing in a BCS bowl. Reminds me a little of the ACC when FSU always won.
The ACC coastal division, by itself has 4 in the top 20. Imagine how the SEC east would puff out their chests if THEY were the ones with 4 teams in the top 20.
bob
January 15th, 2010
12:13 am
I dont see tech even getting 8 wins next year so if they are 8th then SI is insane
feverdawg
January 15th, 2010
12:20 am
The search is over, we got Grantham baby. It’s gonna be a great hire
Correction Nazi (Savannah Jacket)
January 15th, 2010
12:26 am
“Only two SEC West teams are in the Top 25 — LSU is the other, at No. 23″ – Which is the first team, you frickin’ moron? Damn, I can’t even believe that the Cox sisters pay you a dime. DO YOU EVER PROOFREAD? You must have gone to UGA? For that matter, did you even graduate high school? Please post the proof now.
Tech Man
January 15th, 2010
12:28 am
I think Tech will do very good,IF AND SAY IF they get a lot better on D!!
Mark Bradley
January 15th, 2010
12:28 am
William, I wrote that Georgia was 9-4 and 8-5 in the last two seasons Richt has gone with a new quarterback. Which would be 2006, in which Georgia was 9-4, and 2009, in which it was 8-5. I did my homework.
Mark Bradley
January 15th, 2010
12:30 am
Coach Willie, do you pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?
Tech Man
January 15th, 2010
12:35 am
Ga fans,GET OUT OF LA LA LAND.YOU ARE NO WHERE IS GOOD AS YOU IMAGINE YOU ARE!!!CPJ will have tech ready to play for the next level!!The D will have to get a lot better I know,but as for the O they will be fine.
Technophobia
January 15th, 2010
12:41 am
Feverdawg, take some tylenol. That fever is making you hallucinate. Grantham just signed his bar tab, not a contract.
Technophobia
January 15th, 2010
12:44 am
Hey Mark, are you surprised that Clemson was left out of the top 25?
Tron Carter
January 15th, 2010
12:47 am
The only thing tech will excel in in 2010 is giving away free food and lack of fan support. How you can’t fill a high school stadium in downtown Atlanta with a top 10 (BWAHAHA) team is beyond me.
The DAWGS will also humiliate tech again on the hardwood next year.
30-24
73-66
60-39-5
Hey orange mountain douches – tick tock tick tock Recruits bailing every second
The corrupt showboat douchenozzle staff you wanted to win at all cost is now picking you apart
So many of you were talking trash last year about how great orgeron recruits——BB….BB..B…
BBBBBBBBBBBBWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAHHHHHAAA
bsg
January 15th, 2010
12:48 am
Yeah!!! Seems to me like Grantham took the job, that is a RELIEF especially if you’re a dawg fan
Mark Bradley
January 15th, 2010
12:48 am
No, I wasn’t, Technophobia.
Tron Carter
January 15th, 2010
12:55 am
Nukeeseville in shambles
Not even David Cutcliffe with all of Kiffin’s helicopters and girls for hire can save the damage
tick tock tick tock
Recruits bailing each second
No gas station is safe
Tech Man
January 15th, 2010
12:55 am
Again..The pup nation is mad beause Tech is higher in ranks and we are getting more attention.What a bunch of cry babies.GET USED TO IT!!CPJ has just got started and CPJ said I have a short memory when it comes to this TECH ga rivalry.
Technophobia
January 15th, 2010
12:58 am
Hey Tron, nice to see ya. How’s Dave Chappelle doin?
FullMetalJacket
January 15th, 2010
1:00 am
Who was the last pro coach on a potential Super Bowl team to take a coordinator position in college before the playoffs were over?
FullMetalJacket
January 15th, 2010
1:02 am
I think that Tron is more likely to be close with “Mens on Roundball” than he is Chapelle.
Tech Man
January 15th, 2010
1:02 am
Tron Carter..He is definitely one of those cry babies I was referring to and lives in a make believe bubble of imagination!!
FullMetalJacket
January 15th, 2010
1:05 am
It is amusing when the thin-skinned pups turn away from humping the legs of Tech fans to hump the legs of objective parties, like SI, when they suggest that the pups aren’t as good as they’d imagined themselves to be.
FullMetalJacket
January 15th, 2010
1:08 am
Indeed, Tron is about as clever as Uga—the dead one, that is.
Technophobia
January 15th, 2010
1:11 am
Fullmetal, what was really amusing was the game time UGA blogs this year. Total schitzo. In the Auburn game they were ready to fire everybody at the start but by the end of the game they were talking future NC. The Kentucky game was the exact reverse.
matt
January 15th, 2010
1:43 am
sooooo rivals says grantham. what the deal.