Stokan denies Georgia-USC rumor
A hot rumor spread from the West Coast on Wednesday that the USC football team would come to Atlanta to play Georgia in the 2011 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. (It spread the new-fashioned way, from Twitter to message boards.) But Gary Stokan, the game’s president, denied the rumor when I called to ask him about it Wednesday night.
He said there have been talks with USC about a possible appearance in the 2011 game — but not, he said, against Georgia.
“Georgia is not a possibility for 2011,” Stokan said.
He said UGA, through former athletic director Damon Evans, expressed interest in playing in the season-opening game in the Georgia Dome at some point in the future but indicated the next few years wouldn’t work schedule-wise.
Georgia is scheduled to open the 2011 season against Louisville in Athens.
As for USC, Stokan said Trojans coach Lane Kiffin sent him a text message in February to suggest a 2011 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game matchup against his former team, Tennessee. “It’d be a great storyline,” Stokan quoted Kiffin as telling him in a subsequent phone conversation. Stokan said new Tennessee coach Derek Dooley later told him he’d be willing to play USC in Atlanta — after he has three years or so to get his program established.
The bottom line, Stokan said, is that the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game still doesn’t have a 2011 matchup.
“We don’t have an opponent [for USC],” Stokan said. “We don’t have USC either.”
Stokan does have matchups for 2010 (LSU-North Carolina on Sept. 4) and 2012 (Tennessee-N.C. State).
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Speaking of scheduling: Georgia hasn’t finalized or announced its 2010-11 basketball schedule yet, but the Bulldogs will open the season at 7 p.m. on Nov. 12 in the new-look Stegeman Coliseum against Mississippi Valley State. That’s according to a schedule posted on the MVSU website.
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535 comments Add your comment
GeorgiaDawg84
July 29th, 2010
11:38 am
Meanwhile, teams like USC schedule one big game against an SEC team and have all season to recover. Who do they play Oregon? Stanford? Oregon St?
Texas Tea
July 29th, 2010
11:41 am
HugoStiglitz,
Who has USC gone out and faced that are National Championship caliber teams? I’ll give them Ohio State, but barely, seeing as the Buckeyes play in a pillow fighting conference theirselves, and can’t seem to win a game of relevance to save their lives. But please, show me the ultimate teams that USC has scheduled? Arkansas doesn’t count, because they are a lot like Arizona State on Georgia’s end.
ToccoaDawg
July 29th, 2010
11:45 am
Georgia does play pac 10/12 schools already with oregon home and home coming up
jj
July 29th, 2010
11:50 am
uga probably isnt scared to play usc but if i was kiffin i would do the same thing. and anybody saying that it wouldnt be fair to let usc play in the game is stupid…its not a bowl game despite what some sec fans think and for the person that said they would boycott chik fil a if the game happens…sure you would? a week later u will be ordering your number 1 meal with a sweet tea
Jaydawg
July 29th, 2010
11:50 am
If none of this is going down,what’s the point of bringing it up?
haters are skaters
July 29th, 2010
11:52 am
enough with the FL talk in this kick-off game. they would never play for 2 reasons:
1. the game is not held in the state of fl
2. fl would never relinquish their patsy out of conf schedule to play a regular season game of this magnitude
Ummmmmmmmmm
July 29th, 2010
11:53 am
Well chit! You guys are some of the biggest whinners. Chick-Fil-A sponsors this game to make money, and since nobody from the SEC wants to play, why not USC. Maybe they should just make it the kick-off classic and the game means nothing (just the opening of college football season). The 2 North Carolina teams are good at best. AND GUESS WHAT, UNLESS YOU MAKE KIFFIN THE MOST WANTED MAN IN EVERY STATE IN THE SOUTH, HE”S GONNA RECRUIT HERE. THAT”S THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL KEEP HIM OUT NOW!
SOOHSO
July 29th, 2010
11:54 am
Damon was high on sniffing panties when he made the offer. Forgrt it!!!!
JMac12203
July 29th, 2010
11:54 am
for all you people wanting to play Clemson, just wait a couple of years. They are scheduled to play each other in 2013 and 2014.
Dogs?
July 29th, 2010
12:02 pm
Notice the kickoff people saild they had plans to invite USC but no plans to invite Ga
RambleOn84
July 29th, 2010
12:02 pm
UGA is a powerhouse SEC team? I just spit milk out of my nose I’m laughing so hard…
harold
July 29th, 2010
12:04 pm
IF DOOLEY IS WAITING 3 YEARS TO GET TENNESSEE ESTABLISHED HE MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER PLAYING NORTH FULTON. CURRENTLY HE IS NUMBER 54 IN THE COUNTRY RECRUITING & HASN’T SIGNED A SINGLE FOUR OR FIVE STAR. TENNESSEE IS IN TROUBLE. KIFFIN & FULMER HAD TOP TEN CLASSES. DOOLEY WILL BE GONE WITHIN 2 YEARS UNLESS RECRUITING TURNS AROUND QUICKLY!
Kim
July 29th, 2010
12:08 pm
T3: “MIAMI vs FLORIDA (This would be THEEEEEEEEEEE ONE !!!!)
(Too bad the Gators aint got the balls to play this one)”
B. Please. We did play this one, as recently as 2008, when we beat the sh*t out of Miami 26-3. In fact, we had 2 or 3 years in the 00s when our schedule was bookended with thugs (1st game: Miami, last game: F$U). Try & keep up.
Wherr ma panties is?
July 29th, 2010
12:14 pm
I actually spit a Corona out of my nose when I read that UGA powerhouse crap.
Delbert D.
July 29th, 2010
12:15 pm
“Meanwhile, teams like USC schedule one big game against an SEC team and have all season to recover. Who do they play Oregon? Stanford? Oregon St?”
USC plays #11 Oregon, #15 Oregon St., and #25 Washington (SN top 100 rankings.) Plus, they play their traditional rival Notre Dame (generously ranked #29) every year.
I guess this year will be the last of the PAC-10 round-robin schedule.
dawgfan13
July 29th, 2010
12:16 pm
I like a Miami vs Georgia matchup in 2013. Both programs shouldbe solid at every position and Richt is a Miami graduate. This game would be huge!
SKB
July 29th, 2010
12:19 pm
In the state of Georia, there is one powerhouse: Georgia State, they got All star QB, plently of good players transfering. UGA got a freshy as a QB with no expereince beside high school, Aaron Murray or w/e. Tech is a fluke college, they even got manhandled by the UGA. Too bad Florida and Alabama owns those schools.
Call IT
July 29th, 2010
12:19 pm
Then again my Gators played a weak schedule last year and then when they played Bama in the SECCG they got punched in the mouth because they weren’t prepared for a good football team
Wherr ma panties is?
July 29th, 2010
12:21 pm
And yes I am an alcholic drinking beer at noon!
ClemsonDude
July 29th, 2010
12:22 pm
Clemson Vs Florida in the Dome Or Clemson Vs. Georgia…an old rival that needs to be renew every season.
Wherr ma panties is?
July 29th, 2010
12:25 pm
UGA does have the most wins over the last 10 years in the SEC I believe so yes that would consider them a powerhouse! It would only make sense to call them that after looking at their win lose record.
Texas Tea
July 29th, 2010
12:25 pm
Delbert D,
Why don’t you post the last five years records for all of those programs you ranked so generously. With the exception of Oregon, you have no argument. Notre Dame is a complete joke, Washington is only ranked that high because of the possibility of Jake Locker going #1 in the draft, Oregon State has some talent, but always loses momentum, and did I mention that Notre Dame was a freaking joke?
kevin
July 29th, 2010
12:28 pm
Rambleon84,
The only SEC team that has won more games that UGA in the past 10 years is FL. So, I would say that legitimizes UGA as powerhouse team.
You drink milk. That’s funny.
JACKETNATION
July 29th, 2010
12:30 pm
I agree regardless of losing Nesbitt and the rest of the starters, GT should play Bama, Auburn. FL, LSU or TN, set the game up, let’s play in the Dome
ryan
July 29th, 2010
12:32 pm
I would like see UGA vs Norte Dame or UGA vs Oklahoma or UGA vs Ohio State those would some exiting games to watch. USC is no longer power house with Stanford and Oregon .
Paul
July 29th, 2010
12:38 pm
It was supposed to be Auburn vs UCLA this year, but Auburn said no.
kevin
July 29th, 2010
12:40 pm
USC is more of a powerhouse than Notre Dame. That said, the last thing UGA needs to do is play a powerhouse team out of conference. I like the Notre Dame idea. Great exposure and I think we’d destroy them.
HugoStiglitz
July 29th, 2010
12:42 pm
Texas Tea, with the stupid round robin schedule the Pac 10 likes to play USC only has 3 games it can schedule every year. Notre Dame always gets one of those games because of tradition. The last three years they have also scheduled Ohio St twice, and Nebraska when they were a top 15 team. Also, Ohio State just won the rose bowl, would that not be considered a game of relevance? Are you one of those SEC fans that thinks that all college football outside of the southeast is meaningless?
T3
July 29th, 2010
12:43 pm
Miami vs Florida (since 2000):
2001: Miami beats Florida 37-20 in Sugar Bowl
2002: Miami beats Florida 41-16
2003: Miami beats Florida 38-33
2004: Miami beats Florida 27-10 in Peach Bowl
2008: Florida beats Miami 26-3
The 2008 Florida win was the FIRST win over Miami since 1985.
From ESPN:
“They(Miami & Florida) used to play every year, but the Gators dropped Miami in 1988 because they wanted to play a “more national schedule.” Florida promptly replaced the Hurricanes with Montana State.”
Gators have not wanted to play Miami because…
…they AINT GOT THE BALLS FOR IT. And Jeremy Foley KNOWS it.
kevin
July 29th, 2010
12:46 pm
Since 2005, FL would have destroyed Miami. Like I (and others) said prior, for the last 5 years, FL would kill Miami–just like 2008.
what would dogs do about suspensions?
July 29th, 2010
12:47 pm
Use delayed sentence?
Texas Tea
July 29th, 2010
12:57 pm
HugoStiglitz,
No I am not one of those, but I do believe the SEC is the best brand of football in the country. Ohio State is 0 for the SEC, and has lost how many National Title games? And they are always overrated. When was the last time they had a big marquise win? Beating Texas, when Texas lost to Kansas State and Texas A&M that same year isn’t huge, but I’ll accept it. Nebraska is working it’s way back to relevance, but has yet to prove they can hang like in the Tom Osborn days. Please come back to the table when you have a legitimate argument as to why you believe USC is so much better than the SEC.
76-Dawg
July 29th, 2010
12:57 pm
Every big name school in the SEC needs to schedule easier opponents the 1st 2 or 3 games until their teams get use to playing again. UGA would be fools to schedule a big name opponent in the 1st game. This has nothing to do with being scared but with the conferences outside of the SEC only having to play 2 or 3 real hard games all year let them schedule the kick off game. If the big name schools of the SEC wants to play another big name outside the SEC it ok later in the season. But don’t lose your 1st game because the team isn’t quite set yet and at the end of the season the polls have you ranked 5th or 6th and out of the championship game because teams like Utah, Boise State or any team from an easier conference are undefeated .
Captain
July 29th, 2010
1:00 pm
Some of you guys have been drinking way too early in the day.
I was born and bred in the South, family has been here since the 1840’s, yet I always thought USC was Univ of Southern California. To me South Carolina is South Carolina. I believe Southern Cal has rights to USC and SC for which South Carolina pays rights to use.
As for Georgia playing Southern Cal, I say let’s do it. S Cal will NOT be a force, they are already down to 71 scholarshipped players due to transfers, backouts, injuries. It will only get worse from here. 2011 will be a loaded season for the Dawgs.
For those proposing GT, get real!!! When GT sells out that cracker box 50,000 seat stadium and can attract a TV audience get back with us. GT and Fish Fry don’t want to play in the Dome, if they did they would agree to play Georgia in the Dome, which they refused to do. Stokan tries to bring in “top flight” programs, GT doesn’t fit that criteria.
LMFAO
July 29th, 2010
1:01 pm
Make all the excuses you want. To anyone who doesn’t live in the south it’s obvious the esss eeee cccc wants a pansy and they don’t want no part of USC. The game is aptly named; your a bunch of chickens.
Texas Tea
July 29th, 2010
1:01 pm
HugoStiglitz,
And Oregon has yet to prove they can hang with anyone else in the country besides the lousy Pac-10. They got demolished by Boise State, and were outlasted by dang Stanford. So throwing them out there isn’t like a Florida, LSU, Alabama, or Georgia. once Georgia beats them down in a few years, it’ll be known the Pac-10 is a joke. Just remember we beat Arizona State, will beat Colorado this year (Pac-12 member next year), and will see Oregon in 2013 I believe.
Lunchtime links: Masoli’s untold story | GameDay Weekly
July 29th, 2010
1:02 pm
[...] the rumblings, Georgia and Southern California will not be meeting in the 2011 Chick-fil-a Kickoff Game. However, the Trojans remain a strong possibility to play somebody in Atlanta in [...]
KJ
July 29th, 2010
1:03 pm
Poor journalism for any AJC writer/blogger refer to Southern Cal as USC. When I read the title I thought for some reason UGA’s annual first SEC game with S. Carolina was off, because in this region of the country USC refers to the University of South Carolina.
kevin
July 29th, 2010
1:03 pm
LMFAO,
You’re totally right. The SEC are a bunch of pansies. It’s not like we’re 7-0 in BCS championships and have won the last 4 in a row. Moron.
76-Dawg
July 29th, 2010
1:03 pm
As far as playing Southern Cal nobody in the SEC should play them until they get off probation and then the SEC should only agree to play them in a bowl game. Most years Southern Cal is cowering in the
Contractor
July 29th, 2010
1:05 pm
LMFAO,
Yeah, the last four National Championships just goes to show how chicken the SEC really is. Go put your head back in the sand.
joe robby
July 29th, 2010
1:11 pm
I wonder if any of the Big 10 teams have had serious discussions about playing in this game? Considering the lack of ACC vs. Big 10 matchups in bowls, that would be an ideal type of matchup.
Same with SEC vs. Pac 10 as far as no bowl matchups go. However, we’ve had quite a few regular season series involving teams from those conferences in the last decade.
LMFAO
July 29th, 2010
1:14 pm
Maybe if you wait another year or so the sanctions will weaken USC to the point you could compete with them. 2012; 2011 is to soon.
I will not be the next head coach at Alabama. I am the head coach of the Miami Dolphins
July 29th, 2010
1:15 pm
Do the UGA critics talking about Arizona State, OK State, and Colorado being lower half of conference teams not realize most OOC are booked years in advance? It could be that when these home and home series were agreed upon that ASU, OSU, or CO were having better years. Take our upcoming series with Louisville. When we booked that, Louisville was having their best run ever, I believe. Who can help that they have taken a step backwards, recently? At least when we book these games, there is a chance that the teams will be quality teams. As opposed to scheduling consistently weak teams, which seems to be the standard at many schools.
Delbert D.
July 29th, 2010
1:16 pm
@Texas Tea
July 29th, 2010
12:25 pm
“Delbert D,
Why don’t you post the last five years records for all of those programs you ranked so generously. With the exception of Oregon, you have no argument. Notre Dame is a complete joke, Washington is only ranked that high because of the possibility of Jake Locker going #1 in the draft, Oregon State has some talent, but always loses momentum, and did I mention that Notre Dame was a freaking joke?”
I didn’t rank them, The Sporting News did. I Googled “College Football Rankings” and SN was the hit.
The only comments that I made were that USC traditional rival Notre Dame was generously ranked at #29, and that the PAC-10 will probably not do the round robin schedule in the future.
Spew your venom elsewhere, please.
kevin
July 29th, 2010
1:16 pm
LMFAO = not having a clue.
Still@theBAR
July 29th, 2010
1:17 pm
How about GT v Cal. The famous “WRONG WAY RIGELS” TD that gave Tech the 29 Rose Bowl could be avenged by Cal maybe. Hell, Cal can come out early and practice on Tech’s field they named after that game. Rose Bwol Field can be used by the Bears for a few days to get ready for the Ga Heat.
Still@theBAR
July 29th, 2010
1:20 pm
UGA can’t play a real team until they get all their players out of jail or off suspension. Why do they play easy game LIL SISTERS and USC as their first 2 games typically?
kevin
July 29th, 2010
1:25 pm
Still@thebar,
Wow, the get the players out of jail bit–mighty original of you. Who cares. Tech fan I presume. USC would beat you most years.
SickandTired
July 29th, 2010
1:29 pm
Mark the Mild wants no part of a quality opponent on the schedule. The Dawg Nation would have you believe the Ok. State game last year was a stupid thing for UGA to do. They are afraid to schedule a prominent non conference opponent. No balls, no glory, no head coach and no disciple. It’s great to be a Georgia Bulldog.