An ESPN-fueled buzz gathers around the Georgia Bulldogs
Isaiah Crowell hasn't played a collegiate down but casts a long shadow. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
More and more folks are thinking warm thoughts about the Georgia Bulldogs, and some of those folks work for ESPN. (Which makes their thinking significant, given that ESPN runs the part of college football Mike Slive doesn’t.) Citing cases:
• Bruce Feldman of ESPN Insider lists Georgia as his No. 8 best-value choice to win the BCS title. (Link requires registration.) Not the SEC East, not even the SEC — the BCS.
By “value,” he means getting long odds in Las Vegas on a team that has a legitimate shot. Feldman notes that Georgia opened at 40-1 to take the BCS but is down to 25-1 already. Feldman’s rationale for including UGA:
If the Dawgs were still at 40-1, they’d probably be a spot or two higher on this list. I’m on record as picking them to win the SEC East. I expect QB Aaron Murray to emerge as a star and for Isaiah Crowell, the nation’s top-rated RB recruit, and a healthy Caleb King to boost one of the SEC’s worst running games. They have talent on the defense, and it’s Year 2 in Todd Grantham’s 3-4 scheme.
• Esteemed former colleague Mark Schlabach, also of the worldwide leader, has Georgia rated 17th in his post-spring Top 25. That’s up one spot from his post-Signing Day ranking, but the bigger news lies elsewhere. Schlabach now places the Bulldogs ahead of South Carolina, which he drops from 15th to 19th.
See, Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia has been suspended again. Which leads us to …
• KC Joyner, also an ESPN Insider, puts Garcia’s presumed replacement Connor Shaw atop his list of shaky spring game performers. (Link requires registration.) I’m not sure how much weight should be placed on any spring game, but Joyner studied film and graded Shaw poorly.
All of which reinforces a notion that has been stirring these past couple of months: The team that finished 2010 by losing to Central Florida will enter 2011 as a team with buzz attached to it. Part of this has to do with the Dream Team. Part has to do with Georgia’s schedule: No Alabama, no LSU, no Arkansas — plus South Carolina and Mississippi State and Auburn at home. A bit of it has to do with Garcia and the Gamecocks.
Add it up, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see the Bulldogs considered the favorite to win the East by the team SEC Media Days arrive. And I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see them actually go out and do it.
By Mark Bradley
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
652 comments Add your comment
JB
May 12th, 2011
9:58 am
I’ll say this about ANY Pre Season predictions. Look at last years and see how wrong they are.
Seth Emersons Bulldogs Blog Killed the anon posters
May 12th, 2011
9:59 am
Hartman Fund Donors have not bought up their allotment for both Boise and Tenn games.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
May 12th, 2011
9:59 am
Nice Dig on Auburns Payroll, good thing they don’t have a salary cap for Auburn or else they would have to pay a luxury tax.
DawginLex
May 12th, 2011
9:59 am
Ealey got booted off the team. Richt told him goodbye, not the other way around.
Richt, being the nice guy that he is, orchestrated a easy way out for Ealey to save face by allowing him to say he wanted to be the premier back. That way Ealey does not have to say what really happened-that he got kicked off the team for not following the rules.
Jeff Monken is no idiot either. That’s why Ga southern won’t talk to Ealey.
DawginLex
May 12th, 2011
10:00 am
53,000 seats(all available) bought for Boise game. Tenn game is an away game. Hartman donations are up.
Liar
kenlev
May 12th, 2011
10:03 am
DAWG fans never learn. The GAMECOCKS are going to kick your butts again this year. You are putting your hopes on a second year quarterback that struggled at times last year and a freshman running back, not to mention the defense that couldn’t put pressure on a five year old.
JumpHook
May 12th, 2011
10:03 am
Most had Georgi at #18 in 2010 pre seaosn.
Finished #64.
So should be the same this season.
http://blogs.ajc.com/barnhart-college-football/2010/08/17/countdown-to-no-1-should-georgia-be-higher-or-lower-than-no-18/
King Gator
May 12th, 2011
10:04 am
Georgia always does well when picked high in the preseason polls??? This should end well, for the rest of the SEC. Go Gators!
JumpHook
May 12th, 2011
10:05 am
Ealey said he left, becuase he didn’t feel the vibe, and didn’t buy into rotating with with 3 other backs.
claytondawg
May 12th, 2011
10:06 am
I, for one, have NO clue as to what’s going to happen this Fall. However, the first two games are definitely the key to UGA’s success on the field. The last few years have been an abomination at best. If things go like they have over the past few years, then it’s time to clean house immediately. Mediocrity should not be an option.
Gator Gus
May 12th, 2011
10:06 am
Please keep Murray. Although he went 0-6 against winning teams in 2010, don’t give up on him. PLEASE start him against the Gators.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
May 12th, 2011
10:06 am
kenlev,
Early to award idiotic post of the day, but you just made the front runner list. Who is going to be your QB? Shaw 1st year starter. Who put you in the SEC Championship game last year? A Freshman RB. So really, ya might wanna think before you post dribble.
Gator Gus
May 12th, 2011
10:07 am
Although 55% of UGA fans Georgia needs a new coach, please keep Mark Richt.
http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2010/09/26/theres-no-other-way-to-say-it-mark-richt-is-in-trouble-at-uga/
T3
May 12th, 2011
10:07 am
Like I correctly predicted back in January, King and Ealey (either or both).
would be gone after Spring practice.
One down. One to go.
Rumors have been flying on boards since late last Fall
that King was in serious academic trouble back then.
Big shock, right?!
Those rumors have escalated even further in the past 8 weeks.
His future at UGA is very much in doubt at this point.
And now it appears there are questions about Jenkins status.
I’ll predict that Jenkins gets cleared to play.
The only question is how much money will it take to “clear” him.
I also expect Murray to have experience the ubiquitous “Sophmore slump.”
UGA to win the SEC. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Not likley.
The SEC East will be a joke in 2011. I look for USC to to beat UGA in week 2,
and barely win the SEC East.
LSU or Bama will be the SEC Champs. My guess is Bama.
I also add my stadnng prediction: Auburn will be in serious trouble by Sept 1st.
Alabama | MrSEC.com
May 12th, 2011
10:08 am
[...] international trip this summer as expected.2. Coming off a 6-7 season, many ESPN’ers think Georgia has a good shot at bouncing back big.3. Former Georgia and Kentucky basketball coach Tubby Smith says he’s free of prostate [...]
JB
May 12th, 2011
10:08 am
KenLev…………..If you think Carolina is going to see the same D as last year, You’ve been out of the country..Not back to Georgia standards yet, but a lot better than last year.
Gator Gus
May 12th, 2011
10:08 am
Mark,
You said last year Richt qwas in trouble.
55% in thispoll said UGA needs a coach.
Please don’t fire Richt.
http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2010/09/26/theres-no-other-way-to-say-it-mark-richt-is-in-trouble-at-uga/
DawginLex
May 12th, 2011
10:10 am
Please play Brantley the entire season gators. He was outplayed in the spring game by Murphy yet he will still be the starter.
UGA
May 12th, 2011
10:10 am
Every year, I can see us winning the National Championship. Since Coach Richt invented the term GATA, it has proven even more motivational than black jerseys! WOOF WOOF.
DawginLex
May 12th, 2011
10:11 am
Nice idiotic comment by T3 about how much money it will take to clear Jenkins.
Do you know how stupid a comment that is?
Good lord son, at least come up with something real if you are going to bash.
tide roll
May 12th, 2011
10:11 am
Mark, There is no way. Bobo and Richt are bringing in the 9th rated offensive line class in the CONFERENCE (Per Rivals), and with the pending departure of A. J. Harmon, there is no offensive line depth. All the in-state talent that could have alleviated the problem is at Alabama, South Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee – the very teams Richt/Bobo need to beat to retain their jobs. They simple refuse to get it! It’s going to be more of the same, The Richt/Bobo machine throwing it all over the place, including short yardage situations, while a worn out, out of shape defense is giving up huge plays left and right!
T3
May 12th, 2011
10:12 am
BTW, I’ll add a guaranteed prediction:
MIke Tamburro gets a full UGA scholarship by Augsut 1st.
UGA will beat Boise State.
DawginLex
May 12th, 2011
10:12 am
Richt has never won less than 10 games when returning a starting QB while at Georgia.
Kinda throws that sophomore slump prediction out the window.
JB
May 12th, 2011
10:13 am
Gator Gus…..can’t believe who lifted your head out of the swamp with all of ya’lls problems. 1. Going to a pro type offense with NO proven tailback. 2. Do you have a FB on the roster? 3. You won’t be running a jailbreak offense anymore, any WR’s that can run a pass route?4. A NEW head coach.5. A hangover from losing 5 games last year with all that talent.
really?
May 12th, 2011
10:14 am
I’ve heard this before…Hey weren’t they preseason #1 just 2 seasons ago? ..maybe it was 3. UGA is going to win a national championship every Spring, but come Fall, it just doesn’t translate.
Wonderful Ohio on the Gulf 'Dog
May 12th, 2011
10:15 am
Considering Richt’s remarks about King in Greenville last night, it seems inconceivable that King is in imminent danger of academic ineligibility.
What coach in his right mind plays up a guy he knows is out-of-there?
Unless. of course, all these guys postting here know more about King’s grades than Richt does.
DawginLex
May 12th, 2011
10:15 am
really? Where do you see any of us predicting a national title?
Really??
Where?
JB
May 12th, 2011
10:17 am
really is an unemployed or under employed TECHIE.
Bubba
May 12th, 2011
10:17 am
GT is a NFL Mill
JB
May 12th, 2011
10:17 am
GT is a mill for India for IT support
rabundog
May 12th, 2011
10:18 am
What are these folks smokin – we MIGHT back into the east but that’s it
DawginLex
May 12th, 2011
10:19 am
Richt said yesterday grades come out Monday. I guess we will know about King then. If he has to take 18 hours this summer, he is most likely done.
Guess we will find out Monday.
BYRDDAWG
May 12th, 2011
10:21 am
WOOF WOOF
JB
May 12th, 2011
10:22 am
Anyone know where the roster stands on walk on RB’s or depth chart no names?
Gator Guy
May 12th, 2011
10:22 am
It’s May. Time to talk about how great the Dwags are!
irondawg
May 12th, 2011
10:23 am
We will find out soon enough about the Dogs. We will find out if they are like Auburn of two years ago, or Fl of last or like auburn this year. I think they will be a solid Dooley of the 80s outside of the Walker years. For all you Richt bashers, he is better than Vince Dooley. Only one coach I would trade him for and that is Nick Saban. Maybe Mack Brown, but ultimately I would only trade Richt for Saban. Yes, Richt needs to win somewhat big, to maybe keep his job. We will see soon enough. Ga biggest problem this aint the ACC or the Big Ten. This is a cutthroat BIG BOY league, again we will see. Just glad our coach does play with flowers
JB
May 12th, 2011
10:23 am
It’s 2011. It’s time to talk about what the Gators once were.
Auburn Fans are horrible.
May 12th, 2011
10:23 am
You realize that no matter the topic of the blog, the comments are almost identical everyday–right?
Same old idiot tech fans changing their name spouting the same old garbage. Same old Florida fans begging us to keep richt and start murray. Same old alabama fans boring us with Oline deficiency talk…adding that all of the Oline talent has left the state. And inexplicably the same old UGA fans that seem to want our team to fail…predicting failure with the same reasons every single day. Exact same agenda…different day.
It is hardly worth reading. Very few people discuss the actual article…it is frustrating. I feel like I am forcing myself to dig, fill, dig, and fill the same hole in the yard everyday.
I just about have my mind right!
JB
May 12th, 2011
10:26 am
Florida Football. Winning Championships and kicking Butt since 1990. ( don’t ask about the 80 years before that)
Latest Bama News 5/12/2011
May 12th, 2011
10:27 am
[...] Latest Bama News 5/12/2011 An ESPN-fueled buzz gathers around the Georgia Bulldogs Reply With Quote + Reply to Thread « Previous Thread | Next [...]
KeepDreaming
May 12th, 2011
10:27 am
I would be surprised if the AJC published articles WITHOUT typo’s in them!
JB
May 12th, 2011
10:28 am
@ 10:23……….It’s called unsupervised employment.
Auburn Fans are horrible.
May 12th, 2011
10:29 am
Florida is the Charlie Sheen of College Football. They both had it all for a while…and the downward spiral is one hell of a show to waatch!
Harvey Updyke
May 12th, 2011
10:31 am
roll dam tide
JB
May 12th, 2011
10:31 am
We know more about Obama’s college grades than we know what’s going on with the Florida football program, Kinda quite down there.
JB
May 12th, 2011
10:32 am
Sobering up from Bama this AM.
Chuck
May 12th, 2011
10:32 am
Love all the snark from the haters, but they will be gagging on crow this season.
I said last season that we would be terrrible, and fade late in games and I was 100% correct.
I have as much faith that we will go on a rampage this season, and it’s all about offseason conditioning. We were underfunded, understaffed, and had a program in neglect, being run by a man who rarely was able to make in, and in his place the program was being run by two malcontents who let the players do whatever they wanted, or not do whatever they didn’t.
It was a diasterous situation that has been reversed, and the difference on the field is going to SHOCK the naysayers.
Mark it down.
Jim
May 12th, 2011
10:32 am
Hipe, Hipe, and more hipe. As much as I would like to see the dogs do well, and the fact I like the coach. Nothing changes the fact that he is an average coach and will only win an average amount of games each year and hipe just won’t change that. I more interested in who the blame will be laid on this year for yet another average season.
irondawg
May 12th, 2011
10:33 am
dont like the cheese ball, jort wearing, mullet styling, gold chain, jersey shore gators, but can not talk trash in terms of football because they have stomped a mudhole in the dawgs and walked dry.
T3
May 12th, 2011
10:33 am
Richt never had a losing season either, until 2010. Oops.
It would be very very bad PR for UGA if King gets canned.
It will leave yet another stain on UGA if the 2 “highest rated” RBs
in recent years both get canned at almost the same time.
Looks real bad when your “star” 21 year-old Sophmore RB gets canned.
Looks even worse when your 23 year-old “star” Senior RB also gets canned.
Bad bad PR.
To avoid the PR hit, I imagine Michael Adams will be meeting with King’s academic advisor over the weekend to “splain” things. I think King just might squeak by. But, King will be given scrub duty in the Fall.