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
Alphare
October 4th, 2012
4:18 pm
Yes, I agree ESPN cost UGA the crystal ball in 2007, and gave it to BAMA in 2011.
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
4:18 pm
GTBob is like a baby that wants something (i.e. a football team worth cheering for) but he can’t have it
If I really cared that much then I would become an Alabama fan.
Dum-Bass
October 4th, 2012
4:18 pm
Bone, you are correct. I have noticed that. Also, if it’s ANYTHING to do with the Yankees, ESPN is all over it. Lately, too, every time I turn to ESPN or even MLB for something on the Braves all I ever see is the American League, and the Yankees or Boston, etc. They are so biased and partial it’s pathetic! They do it so shamelessly too!
Murray is too short
October 4th, 2012
4:19 pm
Everyone hates my doggies! ESPN hates us, Herbreit hates us, Reece Davis hates us, Lou Holtz hates us, Mark May hates us (well maybe it is true), Corso hates us, Fowler hates us, Jesse Palmer hates us (but sure loved playing against us), Desmond Howard hates us, Erin Andrews hates us, Charles Davis hates us, Spurrier hates us (maybe he does), Mark May hates us(yea he does actually), and all SEC refs hate us.
Gary
October 4th, 2012
4:20 pm
GTBob – 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.
Ok Bob, I know it is difficult with the whole GT perspective but when a team wins and does NOT loose they tend to get built up. SC has not lost a game in a while. They also got their best player / possibly the best running back in college football back this year. They also have one of the best coaches in football. I am pretty sure that is why people are talking about Carolina and why dog fans a nervous. There are only three teams that have beaten Bama (by all measure the bast team in college football) in the last two years and this is the only one that has not played for a national title. SC is the real deal. Georgia on the other hand has something to prove this season. They have to beat a top ten team.
Murray is too short
October 4th, 2012
4:21 pm
Even Pollack says we won’t go to the NC Game.
Steve
October 4th, 2012
4:22 pm
Very true Big Earl! Sit tight though and wait for his comment to your comment or my comment since that is all he does. Can you imagine being him? No life, woman, or friends AND being a Tech fan? Wow.
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
4:23 pm
Tech, however, doesnt recruit anyone but option players on offense.
So every player that GT recruits only played in option offenses in high school, only know how to play in an option offense, and are not capable of even simulating a pro style offense?
dawgfan
October 4th, 2012
4:23 pm
“Yes, I am telling you that. It is not hard for a group of walkons and red shirt freshman to simulate a pro style offense for scout team purposes.”
Actually it is Bob when you’ve got a 5′10″, 170 lb. true freshmen trying to imitate pro style passers on the scout team like Georgia Tech does. And then you geniuses wonder why your defense gets lit up like a damn Christmas tree in games. The stupidity of the typical Georgia Tech football fan is hilarious.
Thanks Bob.
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
4:24 pm
No bobby Im not saying UGA doesnt use its scout team
I am glad you acknowledge that because UGA uses them frequently.
Alphare
October 4th, 2012
4:25 pm
One way ESPN hates UGA is obvious: they hire some UGA graduates that cannot talk, in order to embarrass a UGA education. Those UGA graduates are totally overtalked by graduates of other schools.
Big Earl
October 4th, 2012
4:25 pm
Spurrier definitely hates us…no maybe about it. Does Erin Andrews really hate us? I’m crushed!
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
4:28 pm
And then you geniuses wonder why your defense gets lit up like a damn Christmas tree in games.
I don’t wonder that at all. Its not hard to see why we get lit up. It has nothing to do with the scout team or Paul Johnson’s offense.
Verdawg
October 4th, 2012
4:28 pm
Sure is fun to watch GTBob get the Bulldawg Nation all stirred up on this blog. What’s even better is that he’s one of the more intelligent posters that show up on here. Most of what he says is pretty accurate. And he’s not dillusional about HIS alma mater either.
That being said, the Dawgs have a lot work ahead to prove they belong in the top five. I know they have the offense, even with the unfortunate loss of M.B. The D will have to step it up, especially in J’ville and special teams are still a work in progress. I believe we’re headed in the right direction again and quite possibly, in store for a special season!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 4th, 2012
4:32 pm
Alphare
Really; cant talk
LOL
Tom Lugie-Bill 1-9 at Tech is a knowledgable expert isnt he
Reality
October 4th, 2012
4:32 pm
Give em heck, Bob….
Mike S.
October 4th, 2012
4:33 pm
@GTBob – dawgfan explained it as good as anyone. The speed, size, athleticism, and strength arent there. Its not even close. So then your D gets into a game, and all the sudden passes are zipping in in where they dont expect, routes are being run with precision and speed they havent seen, offensive lineman are executing schemes with far more power and strength than they have seen, and RBs are at a totally different level than what they practice against.
Ptc dawg
October 4th, 2012
4:34 pm
Win or lose Saturday, the East is far from decided.
phil
October 4th, 2012
4:34 pm
We are not going to win on Saturday night.
We don’t win games like this.
Ever.
Give up now and it won’t be as hard to endure as it happens.
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
October 4th, 2012
4:36 pm
UGA will beat USCe
UF will beat LSU
How many games did UGA lose in 2007? Try and remember your so called best team beat Bama in OT while ULM beat Bama in regulation.
ESPN is a liberal punk promoting gay and minorities as best they can!
ESPN had a blast making fun of the Saban hire at Bama and all 92k of us that showed for the spring game. One year later they’re all standing inline for their turn to kiss Nick’s azz and all the other schools were trying like hell to beak the 92k record. Bama has been voted and ranked #1 at some point each year in the polls for 5 in a row with 2 glass balls (one broken). Bama owns ESPN but hell we share and that is a good thing for you good folks. We don’t share with auburn so you barners can you Clint Eastwood yourself!
Mike S.
October 4th, 2012
4:36 pm
I dont think its a coincidence we are on the second DC for Johnson, and neither has been able to stop anyone.
ga gator
October 4th, 2012
4:37 pm
I agree Ptc dawg as us, UGA and SC all play each other + SC plays LSU before they play us.
GTBob
October 4th, 2012
4:41 pm
The speed, size, athleticism, and strength arent there.
That is always a concern for a scout team, but it is more important to give the starting offensive and defensive units an accurate look at plays and formations that they will be going up against. UGA used scout teams for the Tennessee game. Did those teams even come close to emulating Bray? No, but it was important for the defense to get some kind of look similar to what was ahead.
Rodster
October 4th, 2012
4:52 pm
Rod Gilmore is an A$$hat. He’s total PAC12 homer. Hard to believe ESPN can’t find someone better.
Dontavious Supremo
October 4th, 2012
4:53 pm
ESPN adores Southern Cal, UCLA, Oregon, plus all the so-called “Big”-10 teams. All the rest of us (ALL of us) out in the hinterlands of the south need to just shut up and let them dominate football.
dinopolis
October 4th, 2012
5:06 pm
dogs win easy—sc is overrated. the Dog’s O will light it up. Dogs 33 sc 16
HUH?????
October 4th, 2012
5:16 pm
Enter your comments here
HUH?????
October 4th, 2012
5:16 pm
There’s no reason for ESPN to hate UGA. It’s not like UGA has been relevant in college football over the last 30 years.
HUH?????
October 4th, 2012
5:17 pm
“ESPN adores Southern Cal, UCLA, Oregon”
Notre Dame, Alabama, LSU, WV, Florida…… teams that win.
HUH?????
October 4th, 2012
5:19 pm
“I agree ESPN cost UGA the crystal ball in 2007″
Not meant to be a factual statement. UGA lost 2 games, didn’t win their division and lost to two unranked teams.
Suck it, loser.
Brokebackvol
October 4th, 2012
5:22 pm
I don’t really have a dog in this fight, but I’ve never seen a chicken beat a dog. GO DAWGS ( I HATE SPURRIER!)
WyoDawg
October 4th, 2012
5:32 pm
Kirk Dumbstreak lost any and all respect from me when
he boasted his Ohio State team is the best and should move up while saying Georgia wasn’t worthy and didn’t belong in the game in 2007. He said the same thing about Florida and was very disrespectful toward them while hyping his weak buckeyes again. Florida ended up in the game and beat Ohio State, Goergia did not but would have trounced the overhyped weak buckeyes. Voters who control the BS system conspired to vote Georgia way down as far as 16 on some ballots when they should have moved up from three like Ohio State moved up from two. Lots of politicking late that night reminding everyone that Georgia’s strength of schedule would propel them ahead of the other contenders in the computers so they had to vote Georgia way down on the ballots and did. The BS is a joke and proved it big time in 2007.
Tony Brainfart also lost all respect from me that year when he joined the ESPN eradication of Georgia siding with ESPN’s ridiculous explanation instead of reporting the truth. He sold out his soul and ole Georgia to further his carreer as a national media person. Never cared for him after that.
Big Ten Stinks, Delany All Mad
October 4th, 2012
5:33 pm
Middle Tennessee State just scored again.
chase
October 4th, 2012
5:38 pm
HUH?????
In 2007 – the team that ESPN promoted and jumped over Georgia – one of them anyway, was LSU who had 2 losses including the last game of the regular season to Arkansas
and in 2011 Alabama did not win their division either
Gamecock Hater
October 4th, 2012
5:39 pm
The lamecocks have no chance! Georgia 28-17
SC in GA
October 4th, 2012
5:40 pm
For all you DAWG LOVERS, again seven of last 8 games have been decided by 7 points or less.
As for SC never beating GA 3 times in a row, well as Lou Burdett said in “Major League”, ” we’ve won two in a row, if we win three in a row, that’s called a winning streak, it has been known to happen.”
And it will Sat, SC in a close one, history WILL BE MADE, it will happen.
Hairy Dawg
October 4th, 2012
5:46 pm
We’ll see what we’re made of in Columbia and in Jacksonville. If this is a special year, we’ll win both. If it isn’t, we’ll lose both and have another slip-up or two.
2011champs
October 4th, 2012
5:49 pm
@dino, maybe SC is overrated, but so is UGA. When have they beaten anyone ranked? GT in 2010 maybe? Their signature win of 2011?? Again, GT, the only team they beat that won as many as 8 games. Right now, judging by the games played, they are maybe a top 15 team, but #5….gimme a break. They look like Georgia Tech in that they HAVE to keep putting points up because there is no guarantee the lackidasical defense will stop anyone. (UT gained nearly 500 yards, including 200 rushing,and they can’t run a lick against anyone else). Oh yes, and SC has the superior coach, who just loves to beat UGA. I am not a fan of either one, but yeah, Carolina wins for the 3rd year in a row. Then on the 27th, Florida also wins, and then you can book a trip back to Orlando or Tampa.
Paddy
October 4th, 2012
5:54 pm
Mark………who on the AJC staff will be the beat writer for the new Bikini Basketball League? The Atlanta Fleet must be covered or uncovered as the case may be!
Pitbull
October 4th, 2012
5:55 pm
ESPN stinks.
WhoCares?
October 4th, 2012
5:56 pm
ESPN has almost as many opinions as these blogs. And some of them are every bit as poorly thought out or pointlessly argumentative or cluelessly partisan. Doesn’t mean they aren’t fun to read and complain about. Me? I’ll take Ga in a close one, FL the same, and have a hunch GT will play Clemson much closer than expected. But then I’m clueless too
Under The Bleachers
October 4th, 2012
5:56 pm
Victims in sports are victims due to own actions. Do you know what stops victims from being victims in sports? Winning! Winning it all nd looking down on other programs.
USC has made UGA their victim for two years and will continue that trend for one more year.
Festus
October 4th, 2012
5:56 pm
I don’t have a clue who’s going to win. That’s why I’m watching it.
@chase
October 4th, 2012
5:58 pm
They did win the National Championship by beating the no #1 team soundly…keep whinning but that will never change.
Dean Tate
October 4th, 2012
6:07 pm
Open Memo to David Pollack:
We love you buddy, but you gotta stop dissing your homeboys in order to appear unbiased. Herbstreit and Howard (not to mention Grandpa Lou) make no attempt to conceal their biases, and neither should you.
Hank Hill
October 4th, 2012
6:08 pm
Spurrier is a dork.
Wille UGA
October 4th, 2012
6:33 pm
I think PR has it right on…..Win and all is well in Dawgnation
marcus
October 4th, 2012
6:38 pm
georgia is going to win the sec and therefore have there shot at oregon in the bcs championship game; two (2) reasons, the freshman running backs. they have this change of pace in their games that other defenses can’t match game day. hate to admit it because i’m a die hard tar heel, but these guys are good! add to that a good qb, decent receivers and a defense that is just going to get better as the season progresses and that spells trouble for darth vader and his tuscaloosa troopers.
VJ
October 4th, 2012
6:40 pm
KC Joyner is the “genius–expert” who predicted Murray was the “most overrated player in the NCAA” preseason, to which Murray is now ranked #3 in the NATION in pass efficiency, completing near 68% of his throws, so KC Joyner KNOWS NOTHING about UGA.
If you look at UGA 2012, and compare them to Auburn 2010, you’ll find the offense is scoring a td more per game, and putting up 40 more yards per game, and leading the SEC in rushing, just like the Auburn 2010 did. You’ll also find the UGA defense is is holding teams to LESS points in the 2nd half, and 4th quarter, than Auburn 2010 did.
KC Joyner doesn’t know his SEC history. If he did, he’d remember Auburn beat South Carolina by 40 points in 2010 with a ‘lousy” defense, and poor special teams.
Vampire Bill
October 4th, 2012
6:43 pm
Any news on Watts Dantzler or even Kolton Houston? UGA offensive line will win or lose this game for us. GO DAWGS