College football 2010: Georgia wins nine, Tech loses four
Washaun Ealey's Bulldogs will again run this state. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
It’s time — actually, it’s a week past due — for our annual Memorial Day college football predictions, and I begin with a word in my defense: I actually got a few things right the last time around. I said Georgia Tech would go 10-2 and win the ACC, which it did. I said Georgia would lose four games, inducing many among you to cast aspersions; the Bulldogs actually lost five games. Against that cheery backdrop, we begin:
• Georgia will go 9-3 but will finish third in the SEC East. Todd Grantham represents an upgrade. Given time, Aaron Murray will represent an upgrade. Thing is, the Bulldogs’ second game is in Columbia, and that seems a bridge too far. (More precisely, a bridge too soon.) The guess is that Georgia will be rolling come November, but that Sept. 11 loss — and one the next week against Arkansas in Athens — will keep the Bulldogs from a true breakthrough.
• Georgia’s true breakthrough? That comes in 2011.
• South Carolina will likewise lose three SEC games. It will shade Georgia in the East standings on the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Gamecocks will lose to Auburn, Alabama and Florida.
• Florida will go 11-1 because of a remarkably kind schedule. The Gators play four road games: Two against teams (Tennessee and Florida State) with new coaches and one against Vanderbilt. The Gators will lose in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 2, but they’ll see Alabama again.
• Florida will beat Alabama for the SEC title. Just one of my dumb hunches. Like the one that told me Texas would beat the Tide for the BCS crown. And the Longhorns would have except for Mack Brown’s SHOVEL PASS! (Don’t get me started.) (Alas, too late.)
• Don’t get me wrong: Alabama will be outstanding. But I recall the 2008 BCS titlist going undefeated in the regular season and losing beneath the Georgia Dome. I don’t believe the Tide in 2010 will be any better than the Gators were in 2009. And I do believe it’s tough to go through the SEC unbeaten twice in succession.
• Florida will beat a Big Ten representative for the BCS title. I’m tempted to pick the Big Ten rep, but I’ve seen that game before. I know how it ends.
• The Big Ten rep will not be Ohio State. It will be Iowa. Ask Paul Johnson about the Hawkeyes.
• Tim Tebow will win the Heisman Trophy. Whoops. Force of habit. Case Keenum — Houston QB — will win the Heisman Trophy.
• Boise State will go 11-1 but will be remembered for the “1,” not the “11.” The Broncos play Virginia Tech in Washington D.C. on Sept. 6. That’s a Labor Day “L.”
• The ACC Coastal will be the nation’s toughest division. There’s not a great team therein, but there are four good ones. Miami will be the disappointment. North Carolina will be the surprise. Virginia Tech will win the division. And Georgia Tech …
• … will finish third. I yield to no one in my esteem for Joshua Nesbitt, who had a busy offseason. (He had surgery and added two vowels to his first name.) But I cannot believe a team that bid adieu to four NFL draftees early will be quite as good. (Didn’t Georgia suffer a bit without Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno?) The Jackets will lose three road conference games: At North Carolina, at Clemson, at Virginia Tech.
• Florida State will win the ACC Atlantic. By default.
• Under Derek Dooley, Tennessee will win its final four games. The Vols will, however, lose six of their first eight.
• Southern Cal will finish fifth in the Pac-10. Lane Kiffin: Money for nothing and quips for free.
• Georgia will beat Georgia Tech. A.J. Green will catch the winning touchdown pass from Murray with 41 seconds remaining. The score will be 27-24. Paul Johnson will suppress the urge to punch somebody in the face.
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668 comments Add your comment
SimpleDawg
June 4th, 2010
9:35 am
“Stephen Garcia is the dumbest QB I’ve ever had.” – Steve Spurrier
jeff c.
June 4th, 2010
9:35 am
UNC is absolutely getting too much hype. Their QB play has been awful. You can’t count on beating opponents 10-7 all year. I see GT finishing 9-3 right behind VT for the coastal title. VT will be hard to stop with those RB’s. UGA has winnable games on their schedule, but until Murray proves something on the field, I gotta go with 8-4 for the pups.
ormewood
June 4th, 2010
9:40 am
Paul in RDU, I believe that the UNC backup QB that folks are so bullish on is Renner, not Hanson.
gdawginkalamazoo
June 4th, 2010
9:40 am
Georgia wins 9 Tech loses 4? Nice headline for a 13 game season.
gdawginkalamazoo
June 4th, 2010
9:42 am
Who does SC have for receivers this year?
N. Saban
June 4th, 2010
9:43 am
OK, I’m back……..I’m starting a band……They’ll be called ” Alabama and the Pretenders”, because that’s what the rest of this league is, PRETENDERS……..wishing, hoping……Hog wash.
We’ll see one of you girls in Atlanta soon enough as we make short order of you getting ready for those sissies from Ohio State to play us for another title……….You know that will be a beat down. Do any of you know how much new trophy cases are going for? Outrageous. We’ll, gotta get in the tanning bed, then fly to Atlanta to go to the Doctor……( nothing but Vet’s here”_)……………….Gotta go…..ROLL TIDE
Herschel Talker
June 4th, 2010
9:45 am
“Georgia will go 9-3 but will finish third in the SEC East.”
Oh come now. You’re just trying to do the reverse jinx. Too obvious. With this schedule, that’s a ridiculous prediction.
Otto
June 4th, 2010
9:45 am
On UGA and GT records and standings I think you’re close
UNC will drop a terd finishing 3rd or 4th. Miami will be a surprise. Everyone will talk about how good the coastal is and until they get slaughtered in the Bowls.
Gary
June 4th, 2010
9:45 am
Has anybody checked out Idaho State’s schedule/results from last year? They won ONE game last year, and that was to the team coached by Jerry Glanville. They were outscored last year 414-142. Whoever scheduled this game should be ashamed.
MatthewH
June 4th, 2010
9:48 am
Hey MB-I just read Mr College Football’s blog and I have one question for you-if Clemson loses its QB to the MLB draft, do you still pick them to beat Tech?
Sid
June 4th, 2010
9:49 am
Hey guys/gals !!! We have to consider a lot other than talent,schemes,schedules etc.Injuries always play a vital role in how a season goes. If Murray stays healthy and the OL lives up o expectations, the Dawgs will be great.Of course if the defense improves(which it will I hope) we may go 10-2.In the meantime I’ll go trout fishing and wait till “toe meets leather”.Regardless, the sun will come out the morning after every game.
1eyedJack
June 4th, 2010
9:53 am
Lose or loose, effect or affect…spellcheck won’t help ya.
JoshUA Nesbitt for Heisman? He’ll be lucky to be able to walk half way through the season.
Louisiana-Lafayette? Puhleeeze!
SC is an early season team…we out-depth them in the smouldering heat and humidity.
Arkie hasn’t proven it can play any defense. They’ll score a thousand points and go 8-4.
Missy St. will be improved and can you find Starkville on Google maps?
Colorado = fried buffalo hump. I hear the air is thin out there.
UT? Are they going to be able to suit up 85 guys? Not a good year to be a Vol fan.
Vandy is Vandy. I hope they aren’t our homecoming opponent…could be THE trap game.
Kentucky is owed a butt whoopin’ and this is it.
Fla-Ga, all bets are off, but whichever way it tilts this year there will be no blowout. After the game Urban announces he is joining Unicef with Timmy who decides to forgo an NFL career in favor of skin-snipping African children.
Idaho State, see Louisiana-Lafayette.
Auburn War/Tiger/Eagle/Limos should be a tough game. I figure we’ve been kicking their asses sooo long that karma may take a turn.
GT…GT…Turkey neck gets to feel what it’s like to go into a really hostile environment with his OWN recruits. Maybe he should dress his team in blue and white and try to fool us into thinking it’s Ga. Southern. Al Groh retires at halftime. Yellow maggots suffer another embarrassing loss.
N. Saban
June 4th, 2010
9:54 am
And Sid, that sun will shine right on another new National Championship Trophy right here in Bammer, the loveliest village on the plain…………………..Damn Darline, That don’t sound right……..bring me my notes on Bammer sayings………..
Hankie Aron
June 4th, 2010
9:56 am
Mark,
I love the comment on Lane Kiffen, Money for nothing and quips for free.I didn’t know you could be so funny
Crumpy frisky in Italy
June 4th, 2010
9:56 am
N. Saban – your not funny.
Your being a total douche bag.
Please stop posting and go back to watching your VHS copy of the 1980 National Championship.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
June 4th, 2010
9:58 am
I have a hard time imagining the 2011 Dawgs as better than the chance in 2010. The offense returns 10 starters and has AJ for only this season. The OL will graduate 3 players after this season also. This is the year were Murray MUST step in a be more than a game manager and make some plays w/ the weapons that surround him.
The “key” this season lies on how disciplined the defense can be in reacting to the 3-4. Talent wise and thletic wise they have the players to do this and do it well, but historically they have been unable to stay focused for 60 minutes on that side of the ball.
I can see a 10-2 season or it can be another 8-4 season. Injury’s in the Summer may have alot to do with how the entire league shakes out so you never know.
GOOOO DAWGS!!!!
N. Saban
June 4th, 2010
9:58 am
Roll Tide Crumpy……………………
xpatHeel
June 4th, 2010
9:59 am
When all the preseason mags come out, you’ll see why MB is spot on calling the Coastal the toughest division in football. There will be 4 teams ranked in the Top 20.
And for those who think UNC has no Offense…remember this name: Bryn Renner.
Thirty Points to your Twenty-Four Points
June 4th, 2010
10:05 am
You delusional honeybees.
You all think since you won a sloppy game in Athens 2 seasons ago, that you all of a sudden have a long storied history of winning there.
The bugs list WAY too much talent (talent that lost to UGA in Bubby Dudd) and will most def be a light version of the chockers you were last season.
In case you forgot……..
(((((30-24)))))
8-1
60-39-5
we. run. this. state.
Charlie from Chelsea
June 4th, 2010
10:05 am
N. Saban – either a pathetic fleabag who is still bitter about the blackout or an even MORE pathetic barner with no teeth.
Thirty Points to your Twenty-Four Points
June 4th, 2010
10:07 am
*lost WAY too much
bruce mac
June 4th, 2010
10:07 am
My heart says 10 wins but my brain says you are correct MB. I am more excited about the Falcons. I think they will win the division and advance to NFC Championship game. At least my Dawgs continue to beat the Jackets.
HugoStiglitz
June 4th, 2010
10:09 am
For some reason I feel better about the UGA-GT game now that Bradley has picked UGA.
Zeeeeee Nachos
June 4th, 2010
10:12 am
N. Saban is a douche bag.
Thinks his lil posts are funny.
I would call him a Barner or a UGAY fan but its kinda hard to pin point what school he is a fan of since we own them all.
Charlie from Chelsea
June 4th, 2010
10:15 am
I think he went back to bed, he was up all night playing video games.
Charlie from Chelsea
June 4th, 2010
10:19 am
N. Saban ran away
Me
June 4th, 2010
10:20 am
How is it that Georgia loses 3 guys to the NFL and they get pegged for four losses (correctly), Georgia Tech loses 4 guys to the NFL and they get pegged for a setback, but Florida loses half of its team to the NFL and its coach has one foot in the insane asylum and it gets pegged for a BCS title. Give me a break. Florida will lose at least three games–including one in Jacksonville.
Gerry O
June 4th, 2010
10:21 am
According to the 2 most accurate college football rankers:
1- Georgia will finish AHEAD of South Carolina
2- Georgia will finish just ahead or just behind Arkansas
3- Georgia’s schedule is easier:
Athlon: Only play 3 top 25 teams:
Fla (#6), Ark (#17), Aub (#22)
Phil Steele: Only play 4 top 25 teams
SC, Ark, Aub, Fla
4- Florida’s schedule is harder:
Athlon: Bama, FSU, UGA, LSU
Phil Steele:
SC, FSU, UGA, LSU, Bama
Athlon says UGA will win it all if QB plays good.
Phil Steele says Georgia could go on a run if experienced O-Line stays healthy & improvements at QB/defense.
Scout says Georgia could win the SEC East, the SEC Championship with strong running game carrying team until QB matures.
gdawginkalamazoo
June 4th, 2010
10:22 am
Lowcountry, yes that unable to stay focused for 60 minutes kills me. Hopefully that will change this year.
WOW
June 4th, 2010
10:25 am
How is it that Miami will be the disappointment of the ACC? The only team with more returning starters on that side of the conference is North Carolina. Wondering if Mr. Bradley has any reasons why he thinks they will be the disappointment…..other than the fact that he is just another Miami hater.
Daniel
June 4th, 2010
10:25 am
That’s a great comment Gerry O. It’s not like they’re trying to sell magazines or anything.
Gerry O
June 4th, 2010
10:28 am
Richt is 7-2 against Spurrier. You have to like Georgia, and Richt’s road record is incredible. Georgia wins in SOuth Carolina.
Richt is 5-0 against Arkansas. This will be the hardest early game, the QB/WR’s will test the inexperienced secondary. But, Arkansas can’t play defense, so, like last 5 games, Georgia wins.
Richt is 2-7 against Florida. Georgia will lose this one.
Richt is 4-0 against Auburn. Georgia will win this one.
Florida will lose to Bama & either South Carolina/LSU/FSU
Georgia will then win the SEC East, where Richt will face Bama, who he is 3-1 against, and win that one.
Georgia will then play for the National Championship.
Zeeeeee Nachos
June 4th, 2010
10:28 am
Dont think N. Saban ran away.
Just think the lunch shift for McDonalds starts in 30 minutes.
PMC
June 4th, 2010
10:29 am
people are way overselling the rest of the ACC this year. VA tech could be good. FSU’s offense should be better but that OL how good are they? UNC’s offense is an embarassment to offense but their defense is insanely good. Miami could be fantastic or they could be average. It really depends on which Jacori Harris shows up.
I think Tech is being undersold a bit. 9 is probably a good number for Georgia but I think they win 10.
Thirty Points to your Twenty-Four Points
June 4th, 2010
10:30 am
What do Georgia Tech Football and Marijuana have in common?
They are both frequently smoked in bowls.
Spike you are a complete moron
June 4th, 2010
10:30 am
Dawgs upset the Jackets?? Are you kidding me?
This column and blog is humming right along for a Friday…
First, homer Bradley says the ACC Coastal will be the toughest division in football then some doofus follows that up with a “Dawgs upset the Jackets”.
Try this on for size Spike, UGA owns GT in Football. Do we need to post stats here??
The Dutch
June 4th, 2010
10:31 am
Bradley,
Were you commending ALABAMA when you said it’s tough to go through the SEC two years in a row unbeaten? That’s exactly what ALABAMA did in 2008 and 2009. So, I think you meant that it would be tough for ALABAMA to go through the SEC unbeaten 3 times in a row.
On the other hand, who cares, ALABAMA has the best coach in the league. No argument can be made otherwise. If not next season, it will happen again and, ALABAMA will maintain it’s double digit lead on EVERY OTHER SCHOOL in regards to SEC titles.
Georgia winning 9 games? Georgia is a mediocre blip on everyone’s radar screen.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
June 4th, 2010
10:31 am
gdawg,
Really if UGA had a QB that was SEC seasoned I think you have a team that offensively is Preseason Top 10 material. Murray must have a stat line of at least 2-1 in the TD/INT department(20/10 would seem likely).
Defensively, with the speed and size the right type of coaching can again put them back in the Top 10 in creating turnovers. It again boils down to discipline in down and distance situations. Grantham must teach an system of passive aggression eliminating offsides and pass interferance penalty’s that plagued this team the past 3 seasons.
If those things can break right UGA can have a magical season with Alabama and LSU coming off the schedule.
PMC
June 4th, 2010
10:34 am
Georgia’s offensive line is due for a healthy and solid year. If they get it, they should be fine. They’ll give up some big plays but they will create some too. Finally they have a defense that will use the athletic talent they have. It remains to be seen whether Coach Belin will be able to teach them how to tackle in his short time here…. but they can’t be worse than last year.
Tech has all the ingredients they need to still be very effective on offense, and their defense who struggled with injuries in the secondary all last year will bounce back under Groh.
JoeMac
June 4th, 2010
10:35 am
When the dust clears on Nov. 27, GT will have an equal or, more than likely, a better record than the mutts. Then I want to hear all the mutt-a-philes explain what happened since this is supposed to be a easy schedule this season. I tend to think it will be a whole lot harder everyone thinks. SC, Ark, are being underrated, and Kentucky will be very hard to beat because it is at Commonwealth the week before the annual Jax beatdown, and the mutts will be looking ahead and forward to their annual whipping, and the Wildcats will jump on them. Oh yeah, GT reloads, not rebuilds, this season.
PMC
June 4th, 2010
10:37 am
Florida won’t win the SEC this year because they are breaking in too many new players and their offseason has been very stressful. They are still the most ready to win the SEC East on paper…. but they aren’t better than Alabama right now.
jz times
June 4th, 2010
10:37 am
With the 155 starts, the O-Line for UGA is the nation’s best. With Ealey, Smith & King in the backfield, no one can stop them.
By the Florida game, the QB position should be stabilized and be able to pass enough to beat Florida. Richt will stop turning the ball over at Florida, he wil win, as Georgia has almost gained as many yards as Florida every game. All but 2 of the 7 losses were close. The inexperience of Brantley and the poor running game will be exposed against Grantham’s genius. Florida won’t be able to run against Garner’s D-Line & Belin’s ILB’s, Florida won’t be able to pass with Grantham’s OLB’s, and Lakatos’ DB’s and Safeties.
Clay
June 4th, 2010
10:39 am
I agree about the UGA-Tech game. The Tech faithful have become delusional about their ability to keep up with the in-state flagship program because of one win a couple of years ago. History does not support your beliefs; and, neither does your team.
bruce mac
June 4th, 2010
10:42 am
JoeMac, when the smoke settles, you will have been smoked once again by the Dawgs so you will have nothing to say about it like always. 9 and 3 gets CMR on the hot seat for 2011.
GT Alum
June 4th, 2010
10:43 am
Gotta love prognosticators who base their predictions on stuff like, “They’re due to win one”, rather than the actual on-field match-ups.
MB, you mention that Tech lost 4 players to the NFL, but you seem to have forgotten that Clemson lost by far its best player. I know Parker performed nicely last season, but, seriously, how much would Clemson have scored without Spiller? And there’s a chance they lose Parker to baseball.
And UNC’s been getting some love since they started pulling off some wins in 2008. As this point, I think their offense needs to prove they can score more points for themselves than they give to the opponent before we started picking them to win anything.
RunningDog
June 4th, 2010
10:45 am
Do you predicts scores to purposely look silly? Who can predict the score of a game in November?
TommyP
June 4th, 2010
10:46 am
Mark: So much to ask based on these predictions….
#1: How will Arkansas stop Georgia? Can they stop anyone???? In Athens, right?
#2: What you’re saying with your Florida BCS pick (horrible, by the way) is that Tim Tebow was not that great and Charlie Strong didn’t have that much of an effect on Florida’s defensive success. Seriously, you lose arguably one of the top 3 college football players of all time and they are going to IMPROVE?
#3: So the loss of Willie Martinez will not automatically improve Georgia? Never mind that Grantham replaces him… Losing Willie doesn’t make Georgia’s defense better?????
#4: 6-6 for UT? That’s much better than the Vol Nation believes will happen.
JoeMack=NERD
June 4th, 2010
10:48 am
Keep dreaming loverboy… Go tune your graphing calculator.
David
June 4th, 2010
10:49 am
I do think these are good predictions. I also think Georgia will go 9-3 (the optimist in me says 10-2). However, I don’t think Georgia will lose to both SC and Arkansas in consecutive weeks. I think they’ll lose one of those, but not sure which one. Also think Auburn will be a loss (just can’t see us beating them 5 in a row) and can’t really predict a win in Jax until we win down there more consistently. I think 9-3 or 8-4 for Tech, mostly based on the talent they lost.
N. Saban
June 4th, 2010
10:52 am
Darline, This tan looks pretty good……………..