ESPN hates UGA! No, wait! ESPN loves UGA! (Ah, clarity)
Don't fret, Dog-lovers. ESPN says you've got the edge in coaching. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
There are times when fans of every college team seem to believe ESPN is Out To Get Them. Tennessee backers have long held this to be true, insisting that the Worldwide Leader’s blather was the reason Charles Woodson won the 1997 Heisman Trophy over Peyton Manning. Georgia supporters, still recalling how Kirk Herbstreit dismissed the Bulldogs’ case for inclusion in the 2007 BCS title game, aren’t above such suspicion, either.
Not to rain on anybody’s conspiracy parade, but it could just be that the Worldwide Leader’s problem is that it employs every pundit in the world. When you have so much being said/written by so many different voices/scribes, you’re bound to tick off everybody at some juncture. This weeks offers an schizo case study.
Georgia’s game with South Carolina will be aired by ESPN, which knows no bounds when hyping itself. There has been so much written about the game on ESPN.com — and hey, it’s only Thursday! — as to boggle the mind. Here we cite specifics:
- KC Joyner, an ESPN Insider, has labeled Georgia “a flawed and overrated squad” that does not belong in the nation’s top five. (All these links require registration.) His reasons: The defense is lousy, the special teams are worse and the Bulldogs are flagged for too many penalties.
- Rod Gilmore, an Insider who also does commentary on broadcasts, calls Georgia one of three teams — West Virginia and Notre Dame being the others — who are “false kings.” He rips just-returned-from-suspension defenders Alec Ogletree and Bacarri Rambo for their play against Tennessee, writing that they “took poor pursuit angles or were slow to recognize and diagnose plays.” Whoa, Nellie!
Those were the first two Georgia-based assessments posted on ESPN Insider this week, and they were enough to induce a Red & Black lather. (Speaking figuratively. I’ve never seen lather come in such bold hues.) But wait!
- The Scouts Inc. analysis — it’s compiled by Todd McShay, Steve Muench and Kevin Weidl, and it’s detailed — on ESPN Insider picks Georgia to beat South Carolina 28-25. Its gives Georgia the advantage at quarterback (about whom more later), wide receivers, offensive line, linebackers, defensive backs — and coach! In related news, Steve Spurrier is seeking to have Scouts Inc. fired.
- Phil Steele, whose idiosyncratic yearbook Georgia fans enjoy and quote ad nauseum when he picks Georgia to do well, picks Georgia to beat South Carolina in his weekly post for ESPN Insider. (Here we pause to wonder: With everyone in creation seemingly an Insider, who’s left Outside?)
- Brock Huard, a former quarterback turned — you guessed it — an ESPN Insider, calls Aaron Murray the SEC’s best quarterback and writes that Murray’s long-sought “marquee win … should be coming Saturday night.”
It’s entirely possible that I’ve missed something on ESPN.com this week, but those five entries should suffice. Moral of our story: ESPN is large, and it contains multitudes. And if you happen to hate some point of view the Worldwide Leader espouses, wait 10 minutes and a differing take will rumble past.
Update: On cue, here’s another. In his Man Vs. Machine Upset Picks, Insider Will Harris – I assume he’s the Man in question – has South Carolina winning 28-20. I’m not sure how that’s an upset, seeing as how the Gamecocks opened as a favorite. (Though the betting line has narrowed considerably, which means pro-Georgia money is pouring in.)
By Mark Bradley
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266 comments Add your comment
disgruntled
October 4th, 2012
2:01 pm
any SEC team thinking ESPN is “out to get them” is laughable. those guys talk just to hear themselves talk, and they keep adding ‘insiders’ to their empire at a rate that would make Mr. Ponzi proud.
Jimmy Crack
October 4th, 2012
2:04 pm
Absolutely correct, Mark, so many of these “insiders” that tease the reader with an alluring title and then dump them to a registation page. Not a chance with me. I see that little “i” surrounded by a yellow stain and I go find another article to read. These online sports writers and their self-importance.
Mark Bradley
October 4th, 2012
2:07 pm
Let me defend the writers. They’re not the ones who decide which content is free and which goes behind the pay wall.
@GTBob
October 4th, 2012
2:09 pm
Sports Illustrated has the power rankings as:
1- Alabama
2- Oregon
CHDawg
October 4th, 2012
2:09 pm
Before the Vandy game, the haters were predicting an upset. We beat them badly, and Vandy instantly became terrible. Tn was very explosive in taking NC State apart on National TV; we beat them and now they were overrated. Sports Illustrated and others picked Missouri to beat us, but now they are a terrible team. Conclusion: if we beat the chickens, they will instantly become the most overrated team in America….you get the drill. The only way to shut the talking heads up is to keep winning on the field. Talk is cheap on ESPN; it is free on the AJC Blogs. Go Dawgs.
dick whiskey
October 4th, 2012
2:12 pm
fatboy grantham’s D don’t usually look so hot when they actually play somebody,which has been rare the last two years,but the fatboy fooled them enough to get the big fat raise though
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
2:15 pm
Tn was very explosive in taking NC State apart on National TV; we beat them and now they were overrated.
Tn is a good team because they beat NC State? Am I reading that right? NC State also lost to Miami and barely squeaked out a win over UConn. You have some low expectations if beating them is an accomplishment.
done
October 4th, 2012
2:15 pm
Mark- I hope you can expense the cost to be an ESPN insider. Total waste of money
MFranklin
October 4th, 2012
2:16 pm
The whole problem with ESPN is that they have basically hijacked this sport; college football. They pretty much own the right to call kickoff times and their desk jocks pretty much own the BCS rankings by voting on a system based on style points as opposed to wins and losses.
The NCAA, as well as the SEC, have sold their souls to this broadcast demon at the expense of the schools, athletes and the fans. If one needs to ask ‘why’ ESPN is so roundly hated… then someone is being less than honest in that looking to begin with.
Sports Illustrated
October 4th, 2012
2:16 pm
Power Ranking:
1-Alabama
2-Oregon
3-FSU
4-UGA
5-LSU
6-Kansas St
7-S.Carolina
8-West Virginia
9-Oregon St
10-Texas
11-Notre Dame
12-Oklahoma
13-Florida
14-Clemson
15-Ohio St
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
2:17 pm
Sports Illustrated has the power rankings as:
1- Alabama
2- Oregon
I would agree that those two are currently the two best looking teams in the country.
Chris
October 4th, 2012
2:19 pm
I’m not sure how many people at ESPN actually watch the games. I can’t count how many times I saw reference to ‘defense allowed 44 points to Tennessee…’
That’s usually about the point I stop caring what they write.
Mark Bradley
October 4th, 2012
2:21 pm
I do get reimbursed, done. But I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy the content.
Steve
October 4th, 2012
2:23 pm
GTBob if UGA wins Saturday:
“Well SC is overrated. Who have the beaten?”
GTBob if SC wins Saturday:
“See I told you UGA was overrated.”
Can’t win when it comes to a moron! If UGA gets to the SEC Championship and wins it against Bama or LSU, he will still come up with something. Gotta love the jealousy Tech fans have.
Long-time Dawg
October 4th, 2012
2:23 pm
Once again–that is the reason they play the game.
ELEPHANT SQUASHES (your team's mascot here) EVERYTIME
October 4th, 2012
2:26 pm
This is the ultimate great weekend for me as a Bama Backer. My team is off so no stressing about us losing. There are about as many good games this weekend as happen during conference championship weekend. These games feature teams I care nothing about and cheer on regardless as they make for great contests. UGA vs South Carolina, LSU vs Florida, WVU vs Texas are at the top of my must view along with the Braves playoff games. Loving it. Come on weekend. By the way, two teams in the SEC are about to be E3d (EXPOSED, EXPLOITED, and EXCUSED) from National Championship contention. Look forward to sitting back and watching them all.
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
2:29 pm
If UGA gets to the SEC Championship and wins it against Bama or LSU, he will still come up with something.
UGA is already guaranteed to be in the SEC championship. If they do somehow beat Bama then I will finally give them some respect. Beating South Carolina really wouldn’t be as big as you guys are making it out to be.
CHDawg
October 4th, 2012
2:31 pm
Long-time, not only that, but remember last year that Bama got beat by LSU and lost the West, but came back and beat them badly in the BCS. Even the same two teams can perform differently at two different venues and times. Got to wait till Saturday night. All the talk in the world isn’t going to decide it.
Under The Bleachers
October 4th, 2012
2:31 pm
The issues of some always trump the bigger issues of others. Some UGA fans always feel like victims, those choose to be victims. But do you know what turns that victim status around? Wins. Yep, Wins puts others on the defensive and elevates a team, a program, players and coaches and they become the big bad team on the block.
Got a feeling the UGA/ USC is going to much like the Romney/ Obama debate. One is going to come out aggressive the other is going to muddle around looking like a deer in headlights looking for answers and a exit.
Playing at home is a big big deal for the USC team, and just have to think that advantage alone with young freshmen on the Bulldog team will lead to missed assignments and errors.
USC 41 UGA 27
Weyman C. Wannamaker Jr. (A Great American)
October 4th, 2012
2:32 pm
KBP… they tend to run into that problem on the Radio & TV blog when people try and use the name Joe C0cker…. so you have to improvise.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 4th, 2012
2:35 pm
GT Bob
Is the Tech nation finally getting a clue about Turkey Neck
Steve
October 4th, 2012
2:36 pm
Yea, SC sucks! Winning there would mean nothing. Should be a cakewalk! 49-3!
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
2:39 pm
Is the Tech nation finally getting a clue about Turkey Neck
I think Tech Nation now knows that he has done a pretty poor job of hiring defensive coordinators.
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
2:41 pm
Yea, SC sucks! Winning there would mean nothing.
There is a good chance that South Carolina won’t end up in the top 15 or maybe even the top 25. I would be careful about making judgements about them before they even play anyone.
NorthGaDawg
October 4th, 2012
2:41 pm
By the way, what was that Vandy/USC score again compared to the UGA/Vandy score……….
SC in GA
October 4th, 2012
2:43 pm
First GTBob, if Ga beats SC on Sat, and that’s a BIG if, it will be something,GT would give up 60 points to either SC or Ga, and both of those two teams second string defenses could shut down tech, so get some perspective.
Speaking of perspective, I see GA and SC fans have lost their minds again, and yes I’m a SC fan by saying that either team will blow the other one out.
I hate to quote facts, but I do beleive that 7 out of the last 8 games between these two teams have been decided by seven points or less.
Why will this year be any different???? It won’t, GA has a great offense, but as good as GA’s offense is, SC’s defense is probably second to only Alabama right now.
Ga has the big names on defense, but all I can say is scoreboard folks, stats don’t lie.
Big names don’t win games, playing well does, and Ga’s defense has looked average at best this year.
Again, look at stats of both defenses, and SC has the CLEAR advantage.
Ga has the advantage on offense, but I won’t say that a team that is averaging over 36 points on offense is something to be taken lightly.
I know GA fans hate SC and Spurrier, and at times I get tired of his antics, but to throw out stupid statements just to put them out there, well don’t we have enough of that with politics this year??
I’ll keep it real and say SC wins another close one 20-17.
SC in GA
October 4th, 2012
2:45 pm
GTBob, I know one team who will never be in the top 25, down there on Bobby Dodd way.
Steve
October 4th, 2012
2:47 pm
More proof that GTBob knows nothing about college football. SC may not end up in the Top 25? They have 4 hard games left, UGA, UF, LSU, and Clemson. Odds are good that they will win one of those and end up 9-3 at the worst. Pretty sure they will be in the Top 25 at least. Wonder where Tech will end up?
SC in GA
October 4th, 2012
2:47 pm
NorthGaDawg- comparing what two teams do against the same victim(Vandy in this case) is as pointless as your post
Old Dawg
October 4th, 2012
2:47 pm
ESPN has become nothing more than a circus, ala Barnum & Bailey. It promotes games like freak shows, with little journalistic integrity or caution for historical relevance/accuracy. I also compare it to the fluff and gruff of professional wrestling, with all disrespect intended.
I only watch games on the network. Everything is produced for ratings points and suckers are born every minute to gobble up the slop.
It would be easy to write 4 or 5 books on this sham of a network. Alas, I need to return to work.
Nice column, MB.
Vegasdawg
October 4th, 2012
2:48 pm
Odds here in Vegas – DAWGS 27 USC 20..Offense and Defense will beast is up. GO DAWGS!!!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 4th, 2012
2:48 pm
GT Bob
Can I enlighten you?
Coach Turkey Neck can hire Nick Saban as D coordinator and your defense will still be bad; how is that? Its simple, when your Defense hardly see’s normal offensive schemes during practice they arent going to be good during games.
You cant continue to practice against that stupid middle school offense he runs and expect to go out and stop offenses like UGA etc
Enjoy the loss againts Clemson
SC in GA
October 4th, 2012
2:50 pm
I hate to be the voice of reason, especially when I’m talking to fanatical GA and SC fans, but seven of the last eight games have been decided by seven points or less.
So now this year it’ll be different??? Don’t think so, but all I have is history and facts on my side to back up my point, and that is that this will be another close game.
SC wins, but it should be a great game
DOGS
October 4th, 2012
2:50 pm
GTBOB,
I would seriously have Brookwood and Parkview over Georgia Tech.
8AAAAAA maybe a thought for GT to join them.
Maxwell the free-range chihuahua
October 4th, 2012
2:51 pm
@dick whiskey
fatboy grantham’s D don’t usually look so hot when they actually play somebody,which has been rare the last two years,but the fatboy fooled them enough to get the big fat raise though
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
you nailed it…..SC all but guaranteed at the very least 35 points, using the Grantham-Richt Scale…
SC in GA
October 4th, 2012
2:54 pm
Ga does have the better offense, but SC has the better defense.
And for you GA lovers, don’t give me the names of all of the starters on defense, I already know them.
Big names doesnt mean you have a big defense. Again I’m looking at the stats and facts, SC defense is MUCH better than Ga’s, despite all of Ga’s big names on D.
SC in GA
October 4th, 2012
2:54 pm
Ga does have the better offense, but SC has the better defense.
And for you GA lovers, don’t give me the names of all of the starters on defense, I already know them.
Big names doesnt mean you have a big defense. Again I’m looking at the stats and facts, SC defense is MUCH better than Ga’s, despite all of Ga’s big names on D.
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
2:54 pm
They have 4 hard games left, UGA, UF, LSU, and Clemson. Odds are good that they will win one of those and end up 9-3 at the worst.
They could easily lose all of those and lose to Tenn also though. SC hasn’t looked very impressive this year. I’m not sure why they are being built up so much.
DOGS
October 4th, 2012
2:54 pm
GTBOB is a UGA wanna be…Probably tried to get into school in Athens and was denied.
GT is easier to get accepted …..
facts….
NCDawg
October 4th, 2012
2:54 pm
Everyone crowning Bama as the de facto National Champions need their heads examined. They haven’t played anyone. Michigan would have trouble with Vandy. Lets see if they can move the ball on a real defense and stop a real offense before we start the repeat chant. EVERY team is flawed. Sometimes the flaws don’t show until some pressure has been exerted against them. It’s called stress testing.
How you handle and correct those flaws is what makes or breaks a team. Tennessee will move the ball on everyone. Question is whether their defense can stop the opponent. The Dawgs are trying to reconfigure their defense mid season. I look for a much stronger showing Saturday.
Give David Pollack a few seasons on the air and he will freely show his Pro UGA bias just as all the other sportscasters there do for their teams.
Dawgs win and it will be by more than a field goal.
PS- You have to admire the gall of the poor garbage can scavengers that come on these boards and try their best to diss the Dawgs. Anyone that loses to MTSU… gets destroyed by MTSU… has no basis to diss anyone other than their own team. Face it Tech sux. Paul Johnson is killing your program. When he gets fired, it will take years to recruit enough talent to make you viable again. I could almost feel sorry for ya’ll but my Red and Black blood will not allow me to commit such an atrocity.
Steve
October 4th, 2012
2:55 pm
Gotta love the jealousy GTBob has. Poor little boy.
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
2:55 pm
You cant continue to practice against that stupid middle school offense he runs and expect to go out and stop offenses like UGA etc
Do you really think our defense practices against the triple option every week?
SC in GA
October 4th, 2012
2:56 pm
GTBob, compared to GT , and I think you’re a GA fan in hiding, you’re right SC has doesnt a thing compared to those Jackets
RNB
October 4th, 2012
2:56 pm
Mark
KC Joyner nailed it. I am a huge UGA fan but no one has confidence in UGA football any longer. They need to earn it. Tell me where I am wrong.
SC in GA
October 4th, 2012
2:57 pm
GTBob, dont use words and phrases that you don’t know the meaning of, like triple option.
DOGS
October 4th, 2012
2:58 pm
I saw where one of those academies that run the triple, stick it up the bees tail a few years ago.
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
2:58 pm
GTBOB is a UGA wanna be…Probably tried to get into school in Athens and was denied.
I was accepted by UGA for undergrad and grad school. I decided to go with better options.
DOGS
October 4th, 2012
2:59 pm
One can dream!
SC in GA
October 4th, 2012
2:59 pm
GTBob, Devry college isn’t a better option
DownInAlbany
October 4th, 2012
2:59 pm
GTBob wrote: Do you really think our defense practices against the triple option every week?
No, my guess is they don’t practice at all…