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Monday, October 20, 2008
It’s put up or shut up time for Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Five things we learned over the weekend:
1. It’s put up or shut up time for Georgia: I mean that in a nice way but here is the reality. Georgia is a good team that has battled through some significant injuries on the offensive line and is 6-1. But the media and those who vote in the polls still have some doubts about the Bulldogs. They see Georgia’s obvious talent at the skill positions. They see a speedy defense that doesn’t give up a lot of big plays. But they wonder why Georgia can dominate games statistically but can’t put teams like Tennessee and Vanderbilt away. Part of that can be chalked up to life in the SEC. Alabama couldn’t put away Ole Miss despite a 24-3 lead. We who live in SEC territory understand that. The folks on the other side of the Mississippi River don’t. Bottom line: Georgia’s staff and its players have managed the season well to be 6-1 at this point. But the preliminaries are over. The next two weeks against LSU and Florida are Showtime. As a player all you want is this kind of opportunity. Now it’s time for Georgia to perform. If Georgia believes that it is one of the elite teams in the country, the time has come for the Bulldogs to state their case.
2. Texas-Bama on collision course for championship but…..: This much we do know about the first BCS rankings. If No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Alabama win out, they will play for the national championship on Jan. 8. Voters don’t like to admit this, but there are brand names in college football and as long as a brand name keeps winning, you don’t drop them in the polls. Besides, Texas and Alabama play much tougher schedules than No. 3 Penn State. So if the Nittany Lions are the odd man out in this deal, tell them to call Auburn and Tommy Tuberville. They know what it feels like to go 13-0 and get shut out. But understand this: Only once in the 10-year history of the BCS have the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the first standings gone on to play for the championship. That was Southern Cal and Texas in 2005.
3. Georgia Tech can win a whacky ACC: With only a three-point loss on the road at Virginia Tech blemishing their record, the Yellow Jackets of Paul Johnson look like the most stable team in the ACC. How do you explain Maryland, which lost to Middle Tennessee State, beating Clemson (20-17) on the road, losing to Virginia 31-0 and then beating Wake Forest 26-0? Virginia appeared to be done when it lost to Duke 31-3 on Sept. 27. But now the Cavaliers have won three straight and are tied for the lead in the ACC Coastal. Georgia Tech (6-1, 3-1) needs to take a care of its business but it also needs for Virginia Tech (5-2, 2-1) to lose again. That could happen on Saturday when the Hokies go to Florida State.
4. Tennessee needs to unleash the “Wild Berry” on Bama: Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer has very logical reasons why the Vols can’t use sophomore defensive back Eric Berry very much on offense. It’s a matter of limited practice time and getting Berry enough reps on the plays so that they are effective. I get it. But I also know that Berry, the sophomore from Fairburn, is one of those special talents that comes along once in a generation. He does extraordinary things when he gets his hands on the ball. He is halfway through his second year and he is already the SEC’s all-time leader in interception return yards. All I know is that I once saw Georgia’s Champ Bailey on the field for 100 snaps in one game. It can be done and with the way Tennessee’s offense is struggling, Fulmer and his staff need to find a way to make sure Berry touches the ball several times against Alabama.
5. You can’t criticize Pete Carroll: I want all of you Southern Cal fans to read this very closely. Understand exactly what I am about to say. Saturday night a bunch of you went nuts on my man Tim Brando after our College Football Today show on CBS. That’s because you didn’t listen to what he said. This is what he said and what I am about to say: I am not saying that Pete Carroll ran up the score in Saturday’s 69-0 win over Washington State. Washington State just might be the worst team in Division I-A. What I am saying is for those who would want to criticize Carroll because you THINK he ran up the score.
You can’t. Oh you can criticize all you want about coaches rolling up big numbers but understand this is simply the new world of the BCS. In the old days coaches could limit the score to take care of their coaching buddies. But as long as the national championship game is basically decided by humans voting in polls then style points matter. Coaches can be criticized if they don’t have their backups in the game at that point. Carroll did.
The BCS has changed the college football world. Coaches have recognized it. The fans need to recognize it too.
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