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
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
746 comments Add your comment
Delbert D.
June 10th, 2011
8:43 pm
charlie – I was referring to my previous post: “accerationacceleration”
1eyedJack
June 10th, 2011
8:43 pm
It Ain’t Rocket Science, I can answer that Tractor Trailer question from experience, having had the engine of my ‘72 Chevy pushed into my front seat. Luckily I was 18 years old and still flexible.
Delbert, you’re making my head hurt.
Just Me
June 10th, 2011
8:54 pm
It Ain’t Rocket Science
a 360 pound man coming off the ball, will usually handle a much smaller man, say like 285 LBS. If not every team would go for the small DT, NG and DE.
How did David Pollack do all he did for the dwags then? he was undersized too.
MattMD
June 10th, 2011
8:57 pm
Conference homerism is the lowest form of fandom.
Root for a team, pussies.
mike
June 10th, 2011
8:59 pm
dawgs will be in bcs championship game ,,,,,they will beat bama in sec game and sooners in bcs game and aaron murray be best qb in nation….lsu will not win west
tell me again
June 10th, 2011
9:09 pm
Anyone who thinks Boise has more talent than UGA needs to go to their web site and read the O line depth chart – we will eat their QB for lunch (Gathers and Jenkins will rock) and spit his bones on the 50 yard line. The D will be vastly improved this year. The offense will have to step up…….especially the O line. I think the strength and conditioning was a major problem last year and previous years. I think Coach T will have them strong and mean. I am not counting on the freshmen too much – a couple may contribute but we have a good number of 2nd year players that I think are ready to make their names known. No worries for the Dawgs – they will have a solid year and with a few breaks may have a great year. Our special teams will be good and solid – Defense much better and talented – I think CMR will have some surprises on offense this year – he has a few players that may play both ways like Branden Smith that may be used to expand the offensive schemes. I am optimistic. We lost AJ but so what – I always felt he was under utilized for such a talent. We have good receivers that should be strong enough and experienced enough to get the job done. The main thing the Dawgs have going for them? They are sick and tired of being bad mouthed after last year….watch out. And as for Auburn – what? you have one good year and all of a sudden you’re an elite SEC program? Duh. If I were an Auburn fan I would take notice of Ohio State – yep, the NCAA will be heading down south after they shut down “The U”
tell me again
June 10th, 2011
9:12 pm
As for conference homerism – I think the SEC can talk a litle smack until some other conference wins a BCS championship.
Just Me
June 10th, 2011
9:24 pm
tell me again
Until there is a playoff the SEC has proved nothing more than the Writers, Pollsters, and crazy redneck fan think the SEC is the greatest thing since Corn liquor.
The SEC is a great league but they get MORE credit that they deserve. I.E. UGA beating Hawaii and being the Pre-Season #1. I would still love to see the SEC play Michigan, Ohio St, and Wisconsin at their place in October to November. Winter Teams playing in Hotter Climate bowl games would see the same results if the locations were reversed.
curious about how teams are ranked
June 10th, 2011
9:43 pm
Do the “rankers” know nothing about boise? dogs think they are better than a team ranked in the top five. How is that?
icedawg
June 10th, 2011
9:54 pm
Mark, superb. To think that far ahead takes some thinking. I see the dogs at 8-4 or 9-3 at best. The line play on both sides is the biggest question mark. If it goes well they could do very well, if not, oh well. But inevitably the DAWGS will likely prevail against the Beeees.
sdb92
June 10th, 2011
9:56 pm
Go Dawgs! Not as optimistic as Mark, but we will beat Fl.
My only comment.
Is tech coach playing pocket pool? Sure looks like it and he is smiling. Ugh.
The Reaper
June 10th, 2011
10:04 pm
Mark, I hope you’re correct about UGA, but I hope we win them all.
pirtdawg
June 10th, 2011
10:09 pm
Ok some of this I can agree with, but you still need to have your head checked. LSU undefeated with Jefferson at QB and have you even looked at their schedule? It’s easily one of the hardest in the country.
The true Robert
June 10th, 2011
10:09 pm
What a joke! The dream team is only the latest in a long line of over rated Dawg recruiting classes. There is no way they will win the East. And that retarded freshman running back is in no way a second Herschell.
GTALUM
June 10th, 2011
10:18 pm
I see they don’t call you Bark Madley for nothing
GATORSTUD
June 10th, 2011
10:24 pm
No way fraud dawgs win the east. Gators will struggle too, I’d take 8-4 at this point. Gamecocks will take the east again. Georgia needs to cut Richt loose. He just can’t get them over the hump. Doesn’t quite have the drive of meyer or saban.
Telligent Dawg
June 10th, 2011
10:28 pm
Last!
Dawg Squeeze
June 10th, 2011
10:33 pm
Any predictions on how many dawgs will pass quantum physics?
Dawg Squeeze
June 10th, 2011
10:34 pm
Probably the same number as dawg fans who can spell physics.
Just Me
June 10th, 2011
10:46 pm
quantum physics?
Isn’t that doing a dr..k fat chick after a football game?
S'paw_99
June 10th, 2011
10:48 pm
Mark, how about GA Southern? I think they’ll be the best team in the state for the 2nd yr in a row.
JON
June 10th, 2011
10:54 pm
LOOK FOR UGA TO HAVE THE NUMBER 1 DEFENSE IN THE SEC WITH A NEW ALL AMERICAN NOSE GUARD AND BLOCKING/RUNNING THREAT AND A QUARTERBACK TO OPEN UP THE RUNNING GAME WITH GREAT PASSING. A DEFENSE CANNOT STOP THE RUN AND THE PASS….JUST ONE OR THE OTHER. GEORGIA’S THREAT IS REAL WITH A STRONGER-QUICKER TEAM. NOW IF THE COACHES WILL GO WITH LIVE DRILLS WHERE THE TEAM WILL BECOME HEADHUNTERS. MUCH LIKE ERK RUSSEL DID WHEN THEY PLAYED “BULL IN THE RING” BEFORE EVERY GAME.
Snake Doc
June 10th, 2011
10:54 pm
Bradley has put the curse on UGA. By picking them to go 10-2 he has guaranteed they post a losing record.
On the bright side the CEO will be fired at season end and UGA can find a real football coach to lead this team!
Rick
June 10th, 2011
11:08 pm
I’m a big Georgia fan, but I don’t think Richt is a good enough coach for us to win 10 games next season. Maybe he’ll prove me wrong. I think Boise is a lot better than our fans give them credit for and their only big losses from last season are their top 2 receivers. Their running game is still very solid. We have a chance to beat Florida, but we have choked plenty of times, so I wouldn’t put it past us to have another 4 turnovers. I think we will beat South Carolina in a close game.
Rick
June 10th, 2011
11:09 pm
I don’t see us beating Boise, Georgia almost always is rusty the first game of the season. Hopefully I’m wrong though! I do think we’ll take down South Carolina.
Steven
June 10th, 2011
11:10 pm
This is your last chance Richt- do something this season!
SEC Homer
June 10th, 2011
11:11 pm
UGA’s schedule set up perfectly like Auburn’s this past year….Don’t laugh but I think UGA could have an Auburn type season..13-1 or 14-0….people it has been 30 plus years since they have had an undefeated season, it may happend this year….UGA beats LSU in SECG…
Steven
June 10th, 2011
11:11 pm
Alabama is loaded on defense.
hairydog2
June 10th, 2011
11:16 pm
Everybody loves predictions this time of year but look at the Ga offensive line against Boise State defensive line also look at the Boise State offensive line against ga d line.. No comparison,,,,Period Out sized out speed. Should Ga win yes will they don’t know . But talent pool is on Dawgs side. Fact are facts. Remember when Boise State came to Athens a few years ago off a great year and everyone was worried, well check the score……
AltamahaDawg
June 10th, 2011
11:21 pm
For all the talk of Lattimore, SC was still in the lower half of the SEC in rushing last year (and every other offensive category for that matter), barely above Georgia.
7576Dawg Eats Idiots Sandwiches
June 10th, 2011
11:52 pm
Georgia beat the Gators on the field last year? But the Gators won the game again didn’t they?
dd
June 11th, 2011
12:00 am
I love my Dawgs, but I smell 8 & 4.
We’ve got a coach that hasn’t prepared the last few years and needs to utilize his time better.
Cutting the Ford commercials is a start.
He also needs to rethink some of his hires
There’s just too many things about the entire football program that need to be fixed.
It’s late and I’d be typing for quite awhile explaining it, so I’m going to bed now.
Chow!!.
shmoe
June 11th, 2011
12:08 am
sorry no dice. will lose to SC as well, no tiebreaker
aarh
June 11th, 2011
12:11 am
ted williams head- Boise’s a good team, but nobody in there right mind who isn’t biased can say they have more talent than UGA. Boise doesn’t play as tough of a schedule as UGA. Any idiot knows if UGA played Boise’s schedule would be a lot better than it is. I’m not saying that Boise may not be a threat, but just that UGA has the talent to win that game, & especially w/ I being in the GA. Dome. I know UGA lost some good players from last yr., but Boise lost a lot of starters too.
Ed (The Original)
June 11th, 2011
12:18 am
Of course Boise is less talented than Georgia, but their coaching is so superior it makes up the difference. I too see another infuriating loss to Florida, a staple of the Richt era.
Dawgs2011
June 11th, 2011
12:57 am
Mark Bradley: Why do you think Georgia would lose two years in a row to Missy St? Last year made sense… mediocre Georgia team on the road in the land of cow bells but this year too?
We HAVE to be better this year and it’s in Athens. I give Mullen a lot of credit for what he’s done but I just don’t see them coming into Athens and taking a piece of the hedge w/’em at the end of the day.
Anne
June 11th, 2011
1:09 am
Good luck with that prediction.
This Just In...
June 11th, 2011
1:11 am
The AJC begins drug testing its employees…Bradley loses his job!
Tommy
June 11th, 2011
1:11 am
I think I would be happy with Tech going eight and four after last year being so disappointing. I think there offense will again be hot and cold like last year and struggle some. I think there defense will take a step forward and be a top defense and can possible bell out the offense some as they did the first part of Johnson’s first season at TECH.
10 and 2 is a little bright for UGA. I think Murray will again be awesome at QB, but I think they will again have some struggles with players getting in trouble and injuries. I still think UGA has some motivation problems too. I think the dream team is nothing more than hype. Sure this was a top 10 recruiting class. What seperates this top ten recruiting class from the last 10 years? UGA always recruits well. The dream team will be used by opposing coaches for the next four years as a pregame speech. In other words: the dream team will work against them like a target on there head. Georgia under CMR is becoming the Clemson of the SEC. Great recruiting, Great hype, Great expections, but at the end of the season we are left wondering what went wrong?
I think Tech and UGA will again be banged up and maybe even struggling a bit by the time they play. Due to the history it is easy for me to pick UGA in that game. Whoever I don’t see much seperation.
RED DOG 77
June 11th, 2011
1:21 am
@SEC Homer……..Son, I couldn’t agree more. This 2011 edition of the University of Georgia BULLDOGS quite possibly could be the year we win the BCS National Championship !……….Yea, Yea, Yea…….I could tell you all how we are going to get er done, but the bottom line is this : Though the “Dream Team” for the most part will be on the sidelines, the emotion, spirit, competition, and most importantanly……..The Chemistry that this group of young pups are going to bring to Coach Mark Richt’s team will be overwhelming………Granthams defense is already geared up to rip heads off come September……….and frankly I could care less what folks say about our Oline……..we have a butt-load of talented linemen ready to step-up and play some ball………..Don’t forget Austin Long and Brent Benedict…….they will be ready for Summer practice, and either one or both are capable of being freshman All-Americans………….Yup, BULLDOG NATION this could quite possibly be our year !……….Just remember what our record was in 1979……..then what happened in 1980…….seems a real possibility to me………….Regards, RED
It Ain't Rocket Science
June 11th, 2011
2:19 am
Just me,
I think Pollack was a linebacker wasn’t he. How many times did he line up on the ball across from an opposing center or tackle? A 360 pound linebacker might be at a disadvantage now don’t you think? When he had to encounter a lineman, that guy had already hit his initial block or had been faked out, or schemed out, so he was not specifically targeting a line backer in most cases. Even if he was a pulling guard, Pollack worked the middle so his job was to get behind the block, not take it straight on.
DodgerDAWG
June 11th, 2011
2:59 am
Alabama: I see Alabama going 11-1, with a slight possibility to go 12-0 if they can beat LSU Nov 5th. I don’t see that happening so a great year, but second in the West.
Arkansas: 9-3 with losses to Bama, LSU and most likely the 3rd will come at the hands of South Carolina, not a given win for the Gamecocks; Fayetteville is hostile. Not a favorable schedule for the Hogs as the have potential for losses against Texas A&M and Auburn, but have given Arkansas the nod in those games because they play at home. So 7-5 to 10-2, but like 9-3.
Auburn Tigers: 7-5. Think the schedule and key losses will strike harder than most people think. Losses come at the hands of South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU, UGA and Bama. I give them a shot in the Carolina and Arkansas games, and maybe another loss at Mississippi State. So while 9-3 to 6-6 is not out of the picture…go with 7-5
LSU: I see LSU as the Champions of the West Division. Good possibility to go 12-0, possible hiccups against Oregon (but it is in Death Valley) and on the road at Bama. I don’t see them losing both of those games, maybe one…but the schedule and the open week before Bama make me think that if there is a stumble it will be week 1. 11-1 potential, but a strong 12-0.
Mississippi State: Auburn, LSU, UGA S. Carolina, Alabama and Arkansas all point to a 6-6 record for the Western Division Bulldogs. 9-3 is about the best fans can hope for.
Ole Miss: Getting better but not ready to challenge the elite of the west. Like their state partners I see 6-6.
Florida: What will Will’s first season in the swamp look like? About like a swamp. Murky, cloudy and somehow still picturesque. I am going to go with 8-4. Losses to Bama and LSU are almost locks and I am going out on a limb and picking UGA and S. Carolina to push the Gators into 3rd in the East. I see two predicted wins that should a crucial fumble or missed field goal could be losses: Auburn and FSU and I see Florida beating UGA and Carolina should the pigskin bounce a certain way. So while 10-2 and 6-6 are all possible for the Dawg turned Gator, I think he will have to settle with a 8-4 record and eating crow on his promise to Florida faithful in Georgia.
UGA: Go ahead a scream HOMER here. Yes I am a DAWG fan, but I am optimistic about the football year. From Fulhum Cup Camps to zero arrests. Yes they did loose AJ to the draft as well as some other quality players, but I see the departure of Ealey as a benefit. First two games will set the tempo for the rest of the season and for what looks like a nice schedule to follow. I am not only picking UGA to win those two, but stand a good chance of joining LSU in Atlanta on December 3rd as one of the top 2 teams in the nation at 12-0. Yes UGA can run the table this year but 9-3 is also just as likely if they stumble in Atlanta against Boise. But I see them as a likely 11-1 maybe 12-0 SEC East Champ, have to find a way to break the Florida curse.
Kentucky: A down year for the wildcats. I see them ending the year at 5-7. And only winning 1 game in the SEC. Losses at the hands of Florida, LSU and Carolina in three straight weeks will break down the morale of the team and give in to further losses to Miss. St, Ole Miss, Georgia and Tennessee
South Carolina: Hope the Visor enjoyed the East crown for the past year…it gets taken off the second week of the season when the Gamecocks come into Athens. And for Carolina fans that is a shame because the rest of the season looks fairly good. I am going to say that 10-2, 9-3 are the likely end results, but 11-1 as well as 7-5 are options as well as they could stumble against Auburn, Miss. St, Arkansas and Florida.
Tennessee: Derek gets to enjoy the efforts of Kiffin again this year. All the adverse media, all the scandals and still worry about playing football. Straight to a .500 record at 6-6. Losses at Florida, Bama and Arkansas will be coupled with home losses to UGA, LSA and Carolina.
Vanderbilt: They provide some great doctors. Not a bad year for the Harvard of the South, but not a great one in terms of SEC play. I see Vandy beating Elon, UConn, Army (though a stumble could make this one a L) and Wake. And for a school that doesn’t have an athletic department should a 0-8 record in the SEC surprise anyone? 4-8 for the Commodores out of Nashville.
And just to show that I am not a complete HOMER, LSU beats UGA in Atlanta on 3 December and goes on to make it 6 straight BCS Championships for the SEC by beating Oklahoma in New Orleans.
CarefulNow
June 11th, 2011
3:13 am
It’s enough that country preachers try their hands at prophecy; now sports writers are taking a stab at it. It’s best to not prognosticate at all, but if one must, they should at least wait until the season is underway by at least a couple of games. One would enjoy far greater credibility if reasonable rational were given for these predictions. It would be just a foolhardy to dismiss this forcast except for the mere possiblity that it could, in fact, happen exactly this way. Or it could be completely wrong and UGA could win the BCS title or …..go completely bust and implode with an even worse record than last year. Neither history nor statistics seem to help with this matter. I hope UGA enjoys a much improved season. The season itself will reveal this year’s team. As a matter of experience, UGA’s season is not likely to go exactly as Mark has predicted. I would bet a pocketful of rocks that something else happens. But, for the sake of a little fun, this prediction does stir the summer boredom of UGA fans. Let’s hope most of it is true.
gtfanfrom1951
June 11th, 2011
3:17 am
What in the world have you been drinking?
Kevin
June 11th, 2011
3:42 am
After the Boise state lost where we play like Pop warner league we lose to steve spurriers Gamecocks 0-2….and panic in athens land over Richt and be wanted him fired….As for Georgia tech Nice try 9-3 mark no acc title again..and same crowds at Grant field aka Bobby dodd stadium…No shows again it hard find there stadium at Tech but they can find the Varisty real good…Auburn will win nplay LSU in SEC championship in atlanta….sorry dawgs fans that the pick deal with it
Kevin
June 11th, 2011
3:51 am
I see my comments were not allowed….figures i change me mind U stink as a AJC reporter u cause us lose NHL team u claim Ga will be 10-2…Um Boise state is far better then us i hope i wrong Auburn may lost Newton but 11-1 season anyway fla will be 10-2 this year and alabama be Tide n wash out any dirt left on…..GT yellow jackets 10-2 only lost to Georgia n V.Tech Hokies…..Georgia state 8-4 Georgia southern 12-1….and the atlanta hawks be in Vancouver playin NBA games..
Snoop Dawg
June 11th, 2011
4:01 am
I wonder how Mark Richt’s been doing studying up on the game of football lately. Remember, McCavity relieved him of his administrative duties where he could spend more time studying the game of football.
What a joke @ $3M per year…
WAKE UP PEOPLE…
SLCDawg
June 11th, 2011
4:07 am
Hope springs eternal
Truly study the game of football, the trends, and what's going on.
June 11th, 2011
4:15 am
….. and also truly study how to beat the Florida Gators.
Snoop Dawg
June 11th, 2011
4:34 am
I hope da Preacha Man Richt will be studying the employment section of the AJC here soon…