Bradley’s grid picks: Tech wins eight; UGA wins the SEC East
My credo. (AJC photo by Ben Gray, doctored by Mandi Albright)
Six months ago I wouldn’t have imagined this pick, but here it is: Georgia will go 10-2 and win the SEC East. And how’s that for a snappy beginning to our annual long-range look at college football?
What changed my mind about Georgia? The Dream Team. I’m not the biggest believer in recruiting rankings, but this class rekindled a fire that, after 8-5 followed by 6-7, was down to embers.
Six months ago I saw a program that had run out of ideas. (How do you not score a touchdown against Central Florida?) Today I see a team primed to seize its opportunity. The SEC East is as rickety as it has ever been: Urban Meyer is gone from Florida, Tennessee is in flux and South Carolina’s breakthrough season — the Gamecocks finally won the division — fizzled at its end.
Georgia’s schedule sets up beautifully. The Bulldogs open against a team that figures to be ranked among the nation’s top five, but the team is Boise State (meaning: less talented than Georgia) and the game is in the Georgia Dome. The next week South Carolina comes to Athens. After winning those two games, the Bulldogs will find themselves in the Top 10.
Their two losses? Even with Florida under new management, one will come against the Gators. (One Georgia loss always comes against the Gators.) The other will come against Mississippi State even though the game is in Athens. (I’m not sure the fourth-best team in the SEC West couldn’t win the East.) As for Georgia’s opponent in the SEC title game … well, keep reading.
• Georgia Tech will tighten up on offense and defense — fewer turnovers, fewer points allowed. This will enable the Jackets to go 8-4 and finish third, behind Virginia Tech and Miami, in the ACC Coastal. They’ll miss Joshua Nesbitt but profit from a kinder schedule. They don’t play Florida State. They get North Carolina, Maryland and Clemson here, and they should win two of those. They get N.C. State, Miami, Virginia and Duke on the road, and they can win at least two of those.
• Andrew Luck, the Stanford quarterback who spurned the NFL, will win the Heisman Trophy.
• Nebraska, new to the Big Ten, will win the Big Ten (now up to 12 members). Ohio State, as you may have heard, has issues.
• With Nebraska gone and Texas in retreat, Oklahoma will tear through the Big 12 (now down to 10) and finish first in the BCS standings.
I foresee a great leap forward. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
• As big as the Georgia-Boise game is to us around here, it will pale in comparison nationally to the other neutral-site game of Sept. 3: LSU-Oregon in Arlington, Texas. LSU 34, Oregon 31.
• Boise State won’t lose after Sept. 3, but from a national perspective it won’t matter. Boise State registers only when unbeaten.
• Auburn goes from 14-0 and the BCS title to 7-5 and fifth in the SEC West. That’s unless Russell Wilson, the baseball-playing quarterback who was released from his scholarship by N. C. State, chooses the Tigers over Wisconsin. Should that happen, bump the Tigers up to 8-4 and fourth. Wilson isn’t Cam Newton, but he’s good.
• Florida State will lose to Oklahoma in Tallahassee on Sept. 17 but will run through the ACC undefeated, beating Virginia Tech in the conference title game (now housed in Charlotte).
• Florida will beat Georgia and still finish 7-5. The Gators must play Alabama and LSU. (Georgia gets neither.) The odd Will Muschamp-Charlie Weis alliance will be in tatters by Halloween.
The string of losing seasons ends at one. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
• South Carolina will go 10-2 — its other loss will be to Arkansas — and lose the division title on the head-to-head tiebreaker.
• Tennessee will finish 6-6. Its new athletic director, whoever he/she is, will not be pleased.
• Utah will win the South Division of the newly configured Pac-12. Stanford will win the North because its biggest game — Oregon on Nov. 12 — is at home. Lane Kiffin and Southern Cal will finish 7-5, if anyone still cares.
• As for the SEC West … Alabama has the better schedule, but LSU has the better team. The Tigers will lose early at Mississippi State but not again. They’ll take down Alabama, which won’t lose to anybody else, in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 5. I see LSU beating Georgia for the SEC championship and Oklahoma in the BCS title game, which will, conveniently enough, be staged in New Orleans.
• Georgia State will go 8-3. It will, however, lose 51-10 at Houston on Sept. 24. Which, when you consider the Panthers lost 63-7 at Alabama last season, will be a sign of progress.
• After the doings of this offseason — Auburn’s trees, the Fiesta Bowl follies, the fall of Jim Tressel and the weirdness at West Virginia — the games themselves will seem almost staid. Even Tech versus Georgia will be nothing special. The Bulldogs will win by two touchdowns.
By Mark Bradley
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746 comments Add your comment
Fulmer Cup Champions 2011--Auburn Tigers
June 10th, 2011
10:57 am
AU isn’t on anyone’s radar…but they are on the scanner–The POLICE Scanner!
Tomorrow: Bradley's annual long-range college football picks … – College-Football
June 10th, 2011
10:58 am
[...] UPDATE: As threatened, here are my picks. Read them and wail. [...]
Dawglasville
June 10th, 2011
10:58 am
Dang Mark, you covered it all. I sure hope our defense is a improved as everyone thinks it is going to be. There are no guarantees that Jenkins is going to be great.
Delusions of grandeur
June 10th, 2011
10:59 am
RabidDawgFan
June 10th, 2011
10:34 am
Why do people act as if losing is the norm for Georgia? We are a traditional powerhouse. It’s a proven fact
Rabiddawgfan,
Um. No. Georgia is not a proven powerhouse. One nc in the last 50 years does not make you a powerhouse. Georgia is a good regional program but hardly a nationally elite team. They never have been a recognized elite name on the national scene except on a very rare basis here and there for a year. The 3 year run under Herschel was the only period in Georgia history where they were nationally relevant for 2 or more straight years. The nationally elite powers are names like Alabama and Florida in the SEC, Ohio State, Penn St., and Michigan in the big 10, USC in the west, OU, Texas, and Nebraska. Some of these programs are obviously down in the short term but the point is that over a 50 year time span with the exception of Florida these are the big boy names in the country. I only put Florida in there because they have been the winningest team in the nation in the past 25 years. That’s enough to put them in there. But Georgia? Good regional program but not a nationally elite name on a consistent basis.
JB
June 10th, 2011
10:59 am
@10:47………….GT will beat Georgia GUARANTEED…………………That is a nerd statement if I every read one. you can’t guarantee your next bowel movement
JB
June 10th, 2011
11:01 am
Tech will become like the Dawgs. Beat up on weaklings…..and lose to good football teams
Fulmer Cup Champions 2011--Auburn Tigers
June 10th, 2011
11:03 am
Also…if you think for a single second that the coaches or players at UGA have forgotten the absolute embarrassment to college football that was the UGA AU game last year, you are sadly mistaken. There is no way Auburn beats UGA this year. Plus after UGA loses to Florida, a victory over Auburn will almost salvage the season.
Instead of a celebration penalty…I am hoping Richt gives Big John Jenkins the greenlight to hit Trooper Taylor–either on the sideline or mid congratulatory chest bump for dirty play.
Hmm let's see
June 10th, 2011
11:03 am
lost to colorado florida cent fla WITH green kris d ealey etc and they go 10-2 this year with a couple of freshman? Some people never learn
Sir Barks A Lot
June 10th, 2011
11:04 am
Well – I have given up on the thought that UGA will be a consistent national elite program with our current leadership.
I will, however, enjoy the season – root for the DAWGS – and understand that it is what it is.
My hope is that UGA will catch Lightening in a Bottle – and win a National Title one year.
But as being an annual top 10 team will not happen.
Donnan left the program in better shape than what it is currently in.
This team could easily be 10-2 – but more likely 8-4 or 7-5.
Even if we go 7-5, I could see Richt getting one more year to right the ship.
It is what it is.
Mark Bradley
June 10th, 2011
11:06 am
I’m not big on Clemson, ClemsonBrad.
schmeckdawg
June 10th, 2011
11:06 am
Ahhhhhhh, even in the midst of a heat wave, we still get college football. Gotta love the SOUTH!!!! Thanks MB. Oh by the way, you really put a bur in ol’ Shane’s saddle…..nice job!!!
trupert
June 10th, 2011
11:08 am
Yes, Ga will win the East because we have a better qb than SC and Ga will finally have a great defense again.
I just hope Spurrier has a handler on Garcia 24-7, because I don’t want to hear any excuses if Garcia decides to drink some beers between now and the game.
Dink
June 10th, 2011
11:12 am
As earlier noted, I also do not believe Mississippi State will be as good as some seem to say. A new defensive coordinator along with several holes to plug in their fron seven. Not enough playmakers on their offense either.
SEC insider
June 10th, 2011
11:12 am
UGA Insider
June 10th, 2011
10:41 am
UGA looks to me to have the 3rd best defense in the league behind Bama, LSU and barely ahead of USCe. We have playmakers and speed finally. Nick Marshall, Damien Swann and Ray Drew will be starting by 4:30 on September 10.
Nope. John Jenkins is not the 2nd coming of Terrance Cody as he couldn’t even beat out the undersized Kwame Geathers at NT. And the dawg defense lost 4-5 starters from last year including the one defensive impact player they had- Justin Houston. This D will actually take a step back from its 40 something placed national ranking last year. And if you are banking on 3 freshman to make it a grade D then you have completely lost your mind. True freshman make big impacts but rarely. For every Eric Berry or AJ Green or Marcus Lattimore there are 20 freshman who are either redshirted or make minimal impacts. For you to expect 3 of them to become meaningful starters that can hold their own against seasoned SEC 3,4 and 5 year players is naive. Same delusional thinking that constantly leaves dawg fans disappointed every year.
Incidentally, didn’t Bradley have the dawgs going 10-2 last year also???
War Eagle!!
June 10th, 2011
11:13 am
Auburn will play as a unit – and be clicking by mid season.
We have young talent – but a much much better coaching staff.
Will beat UGA – that will not be a problem – Georgia and their stale coach has been passed by the teams that now matter in the SEC – and Tennessee is getting ready to pass Georgia as well – if not this year – then next. Georgia is maybe a step better than Kentucky – but that’s it.
Losses for UGA in 2011 will be to Boise State, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Florida and Auburn.
Possible losses will be Ole Miss (think UGA will win) and Tennessee (50/50 game – at Knoxville).
Ga Tech will pass UGA in 2012.
War Eagle!
GStateBen
June 10th, 2011
11:13 am
Thanks for the inclusion Mark! If Georgia State goes 8-3 this year I’ll be beyond thrilled. Houston is extremely potent offensively. SC State and Jacksonville State were FCS Playoff teams in 2010 and we face both on the road. ODU and South Alabama will be very difficult and should be great games.
Also, we will have a new starting QB for the first 4 games of the 2011 season, a new LB (Femi was kicked off) and a new starting Safety (Fred Barnes left the program after being suspended).
Only 84 days until Panther football!
CPJ's the Man
June 10th, 2011
11:13 am
Mark you seem to be playing the political correctness game. I agree UGA always has the talent to win 10 games but they have Richt as coach. He was good at FSU against ACC teams but simply is overmatched in the SEC. He always underperforms (recent history that repeats itself). They will beat Boise and USC but shoot they could lose to Vandy and especially UK (come on Mark…UK) but they will keep tradition by beating Tech.
Old Dawg
June 10th, 2011
11:13 am
Nice picks, Mark. I hope you’re right on UGA and GT, which will make for a great game at The Flats.
Everything I’m hearing out of Athens is about a real change in attitude and a more physical nature on both sides of the ball.
Let’s hope some of the talk is true.
Fulmer Cup Champions 2011--Auburn Tigers
June 10th, 2011
11:13 am
Delusions–while I don’t appreciate your tone, I agree. If college football were NASCAR, UGA would be driving for Earnhardt/Ganassi. And we’ll never beat Florida because they are Mark Martin–the worst Hendrick team.
They still let us race though and I’ll cheer everytime they go by!
SSIgator
June 10th, 2011
11:14 am
Mark Bradley -
Here are the snapshot interviews with some of the incoming players by Murray Poole in Bulldawg Illustrated:
Ramick Wilson: “Ramick likes to be in charge, likes to be in control”
Sorry Ramick. I guess they did not tell you that Reverend Richt and BooBoo are driving this bus – right off the cliff.
Hunter Long: “Hunter is his own person, not a follower”
Hunter, if you are not a lemming like the rest of them, you won’t last long at UGA.
Corey Moore: “… a lifelong dream for Corey to play at Georgia”
Well Corey, you picked the right place. UGA is where all the “dreamers” go – to wither away.
Sterling Bailey: “… he’s ready to step up and take charge”
Good deal Sterling. You can be in charge of wardrobe selection and picking out the music and dance routines for the players.
Amarlo Herrera: “Amarlo is actually a pretty good cook”
Perfect. Amarlo, you can take over the KoolAid blending from Richt’s wife. Poor woman is about to wear herself out.
bgloyd
June 10th, 2011
11:15 am
Im a Tech fan. There is no way we win 8 games this year. Our bowl streak ends this year, unfortunately.
Delbert D.
June 10th, 2011
11:16 am
I’m going to print out these predictions and read them every night before I go to sleep. Sweet dreams for the rest of the summer.
SEC insider
June 10th, 2011
11:16 am
Dink
June 10th, 2011
11:12 am
As earlier noted, I also do not believe Mississippi State will be as good as some seem to say. A new defensive coordinator along with several holes to plug in their fron seven. Not enough playmakers on their offense either.
Dink,
Not sure what planet you live on but MSU has 16 starters returning. Their only losses last year were to national champion AU, LSU, Ark, and Bama. 3 of those opponents finished in the top 10 in the final standings and Ark finished 15th I believe. Also, the AU and LSU games were very close- MSU could just as easily have won both those games. If MSU played in the east they would go unbeaten this year in the division.
Gdawg
June 10th, 2011
11:16 am
puppykiller…did yall get out that checkbook again on the plains??
Heck keep doing it until yet get caught…..you had ole Pat Dye on tape cheating and it didnt cost you much!
BigTimeTechFan
June 10th, 2011
11:17 am
Here are some of mine:
BCS Game: Oklahoma St vs Alabama
Final top 10
Alabama
Ok State
FSU
Nebraska
Oregon
Heisman Trophy Final 3:
Justin Blackmon Ok St WR
Luck Stanford QB
Dyer Auburn RB
UGA – 6-5 (losses Auburn,USC,Hogs,UF,GT)
GT – 8-3 (Win Coastal, lose to FSU in ACC title)
MW
June 10th, 2011
11:17 am
Interesting predictions so far, but you act like no other school plays football in the state of Georgia. What about the other programs around the state? We deserve a little news about them as well.
CPJ's the Man
June 10th, 2011
11:17 am
Tech has far too many questions. New QB unless Washington wins out but entire D; Special Teams; and OL are huge question marks. 6-6 or 7-5 are much more likely. Shoot this could be a terrible year on the flats with 3 or 4 wins and the beginning of CPJ’s ending or they could over perform again and win as many as 8 or 9 games. More likely they return to the Gailey years with 7 wins.
Georgia Tech Fan
June 10th, 2011
11:17 am
I DON’T BELIEVE YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT.
YOU WOULDN’T PLACE A BET IN VEGAS WITH 2 WEEKS PAY-CHECK THAT UGA WINS THE EAST, BRADLEY.
1eyedJack
June 10th, 2011
11:18 am
I predict that Steven Garcia will be suspended/reinstated at least once more before the season starts and South Carolina will implode by years end.
I predict that Bobby Petrino’s hogs start 1 and 3, Petrino photocopies his goodbye note, pastes it to the players lockers and bolts into the night.
I predict that Les Miles and/or Derek Dooley will have clock management issues.
I predict that Charlie Weiss eats Will Muschump.
I predict that Awbun will get their tooth knocked out and their smile will turn upside down.
I predict that if Alabama don’t win the National Championship Satan will get a brick heaved through his picture window.
I predict that Ol’ Miss will change it’s mascot to the Fightin’ Brown Sissy Weasels, and Houston Nutt will sign 38 players next February.
I predict the Blowflies will continue being our envious little brothers, Coach Fishfry will be caught on camera saying something stupid, and that it will be discovered that Al Groh has actually been deceased for two years.
Gdawg
June 10th, 2011
11:18 am
SEC insider, Miss State goes back to reality, if they dont Mullen is gone!
Tide Rising
June 10th, 2011
11:18 am
SSIgator,
Your constant needling of the dawg fans never ceases to amuse me. I think you have fast become the bane of their existence. Too funny. Keep it up.
BG
June 10th, 2011
11:18 am
Tech will be very lucky to win 8 games. My guess is 6 or 7 wins.
1eyedJack
June 10th, 2011
11:21 am
I predict that Steven Garcia will be suspended/reinstated at least once more before the season starts and South Carolina will implode by years end.
BG
June 10th, 2011
11:21 am
SSIgator are you a homo?? I know it stings inside that UGA still LEADS the series with your gaytors. The gaytors are still playing catch up to the Dawgs and that my little buddy will never change.
Always a Jacket
June 10th, 2011
11:21 am
Mark.. thanks again for keeping us awake until September.
UGA easily has the talent to go as predicted, but that could be said almost every year. A few years ago, I would have agreed with your prediction, but Richt has lost his mojo. UGA’s season will all depend on first two games. I predict 0-2 out the gate, then bedlam in Athens until firing Richt at end of season.
Tech is impossible to predict. PJ is the X factor. If we can work his magic with the offense, they could really do some damage in the ACC and likely beat UGA as they will be too busy finallizing the list of coaches to replace Richt.
1eyedJack
June 10th, 2011
11:22 am
I predict that Bobby Petrino’s hogs start 1 and 3, Petrino photocopies his goodbye note, pastes it to the players lockers and bolts into the night.
1eyedJack
June 10th, 2011
11:23 am
I predict that Les Miles and/or Derek Dooley will have clock management issues.
Dink
June 10th, 2011
11:23 am
SEC insider
State defeated Arkansas in 2010. You omitted a blowout loss to Houston.
http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/analysis_sec_missst.html
1eyedJack
June 10th, 2011
11:24 am
I predict that Charlie Weiss eats Will Muschump.
Buckeye
June 10th, 2011
11:25 am
Ohio State? Issues? Really?
Ohio State will outrank the dogs at season end.
Vandy will spoil more than one SECville party. Mark my words.
The ONLY Dome game uga play is against Boise.
My money’s on Lattimore and Co. Go Cocks.
I bought aj green's jersey
June 10th, 2011
11:25 am
remember when you revisited your picks from 2010 and they were……just a bit off?
Craig
June 10th, 2011
11:25 am
I still say Auburn will field a darn good team. At least the best that money can buy.
1eyedJack
June 10th, 2011
11:27 am
I predict that Awbun will get their tooth knocked out and their smile will turn upside down.
GT45
June 10th, 2011
11:28 am
I believe Uga wil be worse and Tech will surprise!
1eyedJack
June 10th, 2011
11:29 am
I predict that if Alabama don’t win the National Championship Satan will get a brick heaved through his picture window.
I predict that Ol’ Miss will change it’s mascot to the Fightin’ Brown Sissy Weasels, and Houston Nutt will sign 38 players next February.
1eyedJack
June 10th, 2011
11:31 am
I predict the Blowflies will continue being our envious little brothers, Coach Fishfry will be caught on camera saying something stupid, and that it will be discovered that Al Groh has actually been deceased for two years.
Buckeye
June 10th, 2011
11:31 am
Ohio State? Issues? Really?
Ohio State will outrank uga at season’s end.
The ONLY Dome game uga plays this season is in September.
Vandy will spoil more than one SEC party – mark my words.
My money’s on Lattimore, The Man, over Isaiah, The Annointed One II.
Fulmer Cup Champions 2011--Auburn Tigers
June 10th, 2011
11:32 am
@ War Eagle…keeping the Nascar Analogy going, Auburn is whatever team cheats the most.
I think you are overlooking the most important factor in college football: emotion. UGA will have that advantage come AU game time.
I wouldn’t be sad to see 5 or 6 of our guy ejected as payback from last year. Plus you won’t be undefeated this year so the refs will not be as sympathetic…overlooking dirty dirty play to make sure the SEC has an undefeated team at the end of the season.
I am looking forward to this game more than any other on our schedule because you clowns have ruined my favorite rivalry in the SEC.
Fulmer Cup Champions 2011--Auburn Tigers
June 10th, 2011
11:33 am
Buckeye–you are probably right. Free cars and tattoos are good motivation for poor college kids!
Buckeye
June 10th, 2011
11:34 am
Julio will have a greater impact than AJ.