Even if Brantley starts for the Gators, Georgia’s still favored
Yes, here's that picture of John Brantley again. No, I couldn't find a better one. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
The Vegas folks waited a while before posting a line on Georgia-Florida because they wanted to see if Florida quarterback John Brantley is apt to play. On Monday, the Gators classified Brantley as “probable.” And Georgia has been made a three-point favorite.
Which makes you wonder: If Brantley had been listed as “doubtful” or even “questionable,” would Georgia be a seven-point favorite?
There’s no doubt Brantley makes some difference for the Gators. Florida was 4-0 and had taken an early lead on Alabama — which admittedly didn’t last long — the night he suffered his “lower leg” injury. They’ve scored a total of 17 points in two games since.
Brantley has been better under Charlie Weis than he was last season. Had he thrown enough passes to qualify, he’d be second in the SEC in passer-efficiency rating behind Jarrett Lee of LSU. (Brantley’s at 152.6; Georgia’s Aaron Murray is at 150.3.) But I don’t know that Brantley is a Tebow or a Wuerffel or even a Kerwin Bell or a Rex Grossman. He’s a good college quarterback. His presence will give Florida a fighting chance. That said …
Alec Ogletree will return at linebacker for Georgia. That’s a pretty big deal in itself.
Oh, and if you care to chart an intriguing bit of line movement, watch what’s happening with Georgia Tech and Clemson. The Tigers opened as a 4 1/2-point road favorite. They’re now favored by 3 1/2 points, which means: Some speculators out there like the Jackets’ chances.
By Mark Bradley
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304 comments Add your comment
Kb
October 26th, 2011
11:39 am
Richt isn’t resigning or getting fired if there’s a loss to UF, Auburn or Tech.
Angry Mobster
October 26th, 2011
11:41 am
And if a frog had wings he wouldn’t bump his arse on the ground when he hopped either…
JAWJeRDAWG
October 26th, 2011
11:41 am
Angry Mobster
Unless I’m wrong, Geathers and Williams are being penalized a half-game suspension by the SEC for their on-the-field personal fou; penalties, not for any post-game ‘follies’.
GT Dude
October 26th, 2011
11:41 am
Mark, you are wrong, Bear Bryant was the biggest sand bagger of all time
Angry Mobster
October 26th, 2011
11:42 am
If he loses all 3 I’ll bet he gets fired, possibly tortured and staked as well…
rduck
October 26th, 2011
11:44 am
Lex- got any predictions for this week on UGA and TECH?
I’ll go- UGA-24 UF-21
Clem-34 GT-38
Hopefully both teams will be playing good ball come Thanksgiving weekend….
GT Dude
October 26th, 2011
11:45 am
you fire Richt people are crazy, the man will be there even if he loses to UF, AU, and GT
His “dream team” class has already saved him for next year!
Ted M
October 26th, 2011
11:45 am
Vince Dooley tried to have everyone believe that their current opponent was the new greatest team of all time.
KBP
October 26th, 2011
11:48 am
Herschel . . . I respect Boise and Chris Petersen, but wait until he has to play 8 competitive teams every year before elevating him to the great coach status. Boise has enough talent to beat anybody in one game with three weeks to prepare. How do you think they would fare in this year’s SEC east? Think they run the table? I have less of a problem with Richt than I do with the play calling. Too many 15 yard passes on 3rd and 4. Too much Carlton Thomas on dives. Not enough draws and no screens since SC game. Ultimately it’s on Richt as head coach but I would change OC before I lose my job as HC.
Abnerish
October 26th, 2011
11:50 am
Now Lou Holtz was pretty darn good at talking up the other team. I’d say in his prime, Holtz was every bit as good as Dooley at doing that.
Mark Bradley
October 26th, 2011
11:53 am
Vince once described Vanderbilt as having “the greatest kickoff coverage I’ve ever seen.” Not that Vanderbilt was doing much kicking off.
Evansdawg
October 26th, 2011
11:54 am
Go Clemson! No way I’m pulling for Tech.
KBP
October 26th, 2011
11:55 am
Mike . . . Come on now. Our defense only looked bad against Boise. S Carolina did not score 45 points against our defense. Vandy played well as they typically do against us. Who have the Gators beaten? Brantley has been out but not your top defensive players. Surely you are not raising questions about our defense are you?
just sayin'
October 26th, 2011
11:57 am
3-18 over last 21 years…that is NO rivalry. Gators own UGA and will make it 3-19 this year. Close, but dogs will find a way to lose it.
harold
October 26th, 2011
11:57 am
THE GATORS HIRED A POOR COACH THAT WILL BE FIRED WITHIN THREE YEARS JUST LIKE ZOOK WAS. FLORIDA HAS A VERY POOR FOOTBALL TEAM THIS YEAR.
GEORGIA WINS IN A CAKE WALK 31-17!
Gatortime
October 26th, 2011
12:01 pm
@DawgInDFW- a little advice- the line moving down means people are taking Tech and the points- if the line was moving up it would mean folks are betting on the Tigers- Safe bet to make money this weekend- take the Gators! Money every year in our JORTS!
JB
October 26th, 2011
12:02 pm
It’s Florida. Even Florida folks think we win……But it’s Florida….and Richt…We’ll see.
JAWJeRDAWG
October 26th, 2011
12:03 pm
harold
Is that really YOU, predicting something positive about the Dawgs?
Quite frankly, I’m shocked!
But I hope you’re right!
JB
October 26th, 2011
12:03 pm
What about Muschamps guarantee? What’s it worth?
JB
October 26th, 2011
12:05 pm
Harold. Look on your keyboard on the far left and half way down. There is a button that say’s “caps lock”….Now press it one time…..Thanks.
Angry Mobster
October 26th, 2011
12:06 pm
Losses to your 3 biggest rivals coming off a losing season = fired.
OkieDawg
October 26th, 2011
12:07 pm
Wild Willie Muschump, Captain Outrageous, will eat his words out of a doggy bowl.
JAWJeRDAWG
October 26th, 2011
12:08 pm
JB
All caps is Harold’s way of shouting his point!
GT Dude
October 26th, 2011
12:08 pm
I don’t usually agree with Richt, but in this case I do, If you flip the schedules (UGA plays UF schedule and UF plays UGA schedule) the records would also be flipped.
The game will be closer than most think, but UGA wins overcoming at least two unsportman penalties
Angry Mobster
October 26th, 2011
12:08 pm
I’ll say 27-24 Gators and Walsh misses 2 field goals.
Angry Mobster
October 26th, 2011
12:10 pm
I’d have replaced Walsh already yet Richt praises him and says he’s confident in him. Unreal.
Sam Robards, Dawg Fan
October 26th, 2011
12:11 pm
To somewhat clarify my belief in a convincing UGA victory Saturday, let me say that this team reminds me a lot of the ‘07 squad. We have a team with a very good QB and RB that lost two games early and had a nail-biter with Vandy before getting an off-week before UF.
We all know what the ‘07 team did, and I think the ‘11 team will do just as much, if not more (SEC Championship Game).
I don’t think we’ll go to the Sugar Bowl because ‘07 overall was just too bonkers. I mean, the three best teams in the nation at the end of the year (LSU, UGA and Southern Cal) all had 2 losses? Crazy, man.
Go Dawgs!
dawg man
October 26th, 2011
12:14 pm
Dawgs run gators off field!!!!! We are still goin to be National Champs, this year and the next 5, Crowell will run for 200 and be Heismann the next 4 years !!!! Richt is the cleanist coach around. Bet Kentucky forfeits rather than be humilated by the dawgs!!!!
JB
October 26th, 2011
12:17 pm
The chatter and outlook on the Gator message boards is as low as I’ve seen it. Most on there feel that a loss to us will just be the icing on the cake of a nightmare season. My prediction. Foley fires Muschamp sometime in year 3. Boom is just that. Boom.
JB
October 26th, 2011
12:18 pm
dawg man……they drug test where you work?
Gordon
October 26th, 2011
12:19 pm
This loss to Florida is going to hurt even more than usual.
AceDawg
October 26th, 2011
12:22 pm
The Dawgs on paper should be favored by a couple points – if we were to ignore that it is Florida they are playing. Frankly, I’d make UF about 10 point favorites as a default starting point each year and then assess the teams from there. In that scenario, UGA would be 7 point underdogs.
BurytheBone
October 26th, 2011
12:27 pm
I for one don’t want to make any predictions. My heart is with the dawgs. But emotions don’t win football games. I will make the trip down and enjoy Friday night, because Saturday night……well you know. The last time we won I got stung by a wasp 30 minutes before the kick-off. So i will see if i can’t find another red wasp nest to bump into. Superstitious yes
Dean
October 26th, 2011
12:27 pm
I’ve seen this story enough. Untill Georgia actually can prove with some level of consistency that they can beat Florida, I say Florida wins this game. It’s painfull to type that but it’s come to it. They win with better teams, they win with worse teams. Untill that changes I’m apt to say that on Sunday we will be wondering what went wrong again.
OkieDawg
October 26th, 2011
12:30 pm
Unbelievable, Fox News just cut away from an LA car chase to cover Pres. Obama’s speech on college affordability. Oh sorry, off topic…..Dawgs win by 3…..go Dawgs!
BAMA dude
October 26th, 2011
12:30 pm
To somewhat clarify my belief in a convincing UGA victory Saturday, let me say that this team reminds me a lot of the ‘07 squad.- Sam Robards
I don’t know, man. This team isn’t awful but it has some real flaws. You talked about defense earlier in the thread- you’re still giving up over 100 yards on the ground and over 20 points per game. I think Richt had it right- UGA is probably the favorite in the East because of some scheduling luck, not the quality of the team. Only team in the SEC to miss all three of Bama, LSU, and Arky.
North Georgia Dawg
October 26th, 2011
12:31 pm
I’ve learned from the past that I can never be overly confident about Georgia beating Florida; The mental mistakes we make most years are too obvious to ignore. But with that being said, I think we’ll win this one, 27-20. For the first time in years, I can say that I’m confident in our defense. If our offense struggles early, we will still be in the game, because our defense will keep us in it. Now, if the D plays bad and we get in a 14-0 hole, I don’t see any chance in coming back, but that shouldn’t happen.
Three big differences for the game this year:
1. Georgia’s defense is good.
2. Georgia has balance on offense, so Murray won’t have to carry us like last year.
3. Urban Meyer isn’t coaching for Florida, so Georgia isn’t in as big of a coaching disadvantage.
fayncdawg
October 26th, 2011
12:31 pm
I’d be a lot more concerned if Burton was taking the snaps. He gave the Dawgs fits last season! Brantley is garbage! Bottom line: IF CMR can’t coach this team to a victory over a rookie HC w/ a bad QB then CMR doesn’t deserve to be the HC!
ath hound
October 26th, 2011
12:33 pm
First, Georgia wouldn’t cover against Coastal Nebraska if they were favored by 2, so throw out the ‘line’, and I don’t care if we win 3-2 as long as we win for a change. We’ve had the better team several times over the last ten-fifteen years, and always find a way to lose, just as the ‘gator’ did during Dooley’s tenure.
Second, I have been impressed with our defense. A breath of fresh air after the ‘06-’09 defenses. I am curious to see how we do against the ‘gator’. Admittedly, we have looked good against extremely poor teams. Vandys success against us kinda scares me a bit.
Bottom line…if we win the trench battle, O and D, we’ll win. If we don’t, we’ll lose. Same as it ever was.
North Georgia Dawg
October 26th, 2011
12:33 pm
dawgman, I hope you are joking.
North Georgia Dawg
October 26th, 2011
12:37 pm
Less than 3 turnovers and we have a good chance to win. With Ogletree, Jarvis Jones and Washington together at linebacker, we should limit Florida’s run game, which is the key to their success. Brantley isn’t good enough to win it by himself. Should be a good game.
ath hound
October 26th, 2011
12:37 pm
Chew on this, btw. IF we lose to Fl and Aub and CMR were to resign, which I hope DOES NOT happen, as he’s a good man and coaching changes always set you back a couple of years, I’m just saying IF…
do you really think Urban Meyer would rather corch in Ohio or Michigan than the best conference in the country? Do you really think he’d leave his friend G Mc, our AD in the lurch? Do you really think he’d rather live in 20 degree weather than our 70 degree winters? Do you think he’d look really nice in red? I do.
McDawg
October 26th, 2011
12:41 pm
Larry Munson was the greatest sandbagger ever
ga gator
October 26th, 2011
12:43 pm
Gainesville Sun states that 2 more players a 5 Star TE and 4 Star WR just quit the Gators. This reminds me of Urbans 05 team with the player defections and losses.
McDawg
October 26th, 2011
12:44 pm
Trey Burton won last year’s game not too worried whether Brantley plays or not
actually i hope he doesn’t play b/c i want him 100% for the USC game
ga gator
October 26th, 2011
12:45 pm
ath hound, Urban personality makes him love to stick it to people and if some miracle happened on Saturday and UF wins and then Richt is fired; Urban would take the job in a heartbeat if offered.
Send in the (UGA) clowns... AGAIN!!!
October 26th, 2011
12:46 pm
Florida 31, Georgia 17
The usual humiliating beatdown in Jacksonville.
Kb
October 26th, 2011
12:52 pm
Gatortime, that isn’t the case in the tech vs Clemson , most of the money (88%)is being bet on Clemson but the line is moving down, reverse line movement, Could have something to do with Ellington being dinged up or ? Clemson playing poorly on the road.
82Dawg
October 26th, 2011
12:54 pm
@ga gator…post link to the 2 players that quit from the Gainesville Sun. Can find it anywhere and Pat Dooley isn’t talking about it either…
ga gator
October 26th, 2011
12:57 pm
Here you go 82Dawg. Even when UGA has been favored I always had hope going down to Jax but not this year; the team is a trainwreck.
http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20111025/ARTICLES/111029748?tc=cr