AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October > 23
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Can the UGA O-Line protect Stafford?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Five burning questions as we head into the weekend:
1. Can the Georgia O-Line give Stafford just a LITTLE protection?: If they can, Georgia has a real shot to win at LSU on Saturday. Many times we try to make football more complicated than it really is. But Saturday’s game in Baton Rouge really comes down to how well Georgia’s banged-up, baby-faced offensive line can play against the best defensive line this side of Georgia Tech’s. Florida gave Tim Tebow pretty good protection back on Oct. 11 in Gainesville and he sliced and diced that rebuilt LSU secondary. Matt Stafford and the Georgia receivers can do the same. But if the UGA O-Line, which is on its fourth starting left tackle, cannot protect and give Knowshon Moreno a little running room it will be a long afternoon for the Dawgs. One other thing: Georgia cannot give up on the running game, even if it’s not working in the first half.
2. What will the Auburn offense look like tonight?: Head coach Tommy Tuberville has been playing his cards pretty close to the vest during the off week. When he let OC Tony Franklin go two weeks ago, there really wasn’t enough time to make a lot of changes before the Tigers played at Arkansas. So what does Auburn do tonight at West Virginia? Do they go back to the I-formation and power running game? Do they take the redshirt off true freshman Barrett Trotter? Do they have enough offense of any kind just to win the game? Is Tuberville, who has beaten Alabama six straight times, really in trouble? If Auburn wins tonight, does the criticism lessen?
3. Will Saturday night be Phillip Fulmer’s last stand? Saturday night’s game against Alabama will be Phillip Fulmer’s 200th as the head coach at Tennessee. This is Fulmer’s 16th full season as the Volunteers head coach. Saturday night’s game could well determine if he is around for No. 17. There is no way to sugar coat this: It has been a bad season on Rocky Top for Fulmer and his offensive coaching staff. There is this nagging sense that if the Volunteers (3-4) lose and drop to 3-5, it’s going to be hard for Fulmer to survive. I’m going to Knoxville Saturday night because I want to see the mood of the crowd. They will be jacked up at the beginning of this game because it’s Alabama and there is an opportunity to beat the No. 2 team in the land and salvage something from this disappointing season. But what happens if the game turns ugly and Tennessee gets embarrassed? Or what happens if Tennessee wins? Either way, it’s going to be an interesting evening at Neyland Stadium.
4. What kind of crowd will turn out for Georgia Tech-Virginia?: I can’t tell you how many Georgia Tech fans have told me over the years that they would go to the games if the team would just give them something to get excited about. Well, how about this: If Georgia Tech beats Virginia on Saturday and Virginia Tech loses at Florida State (which could certainly happen), the Yellow Jackets will control their own destiny in the ACC Coastal. Paul Johnson is well on his way to becoming the ACC Coach of the Year. The ACC is completely wide open and Johnson has the Jackets contending for the championship. Given the way Virginia is playing this is one of the biggest games in the country on Saturday. This team deserves a sellout or at least close to a sellout.
5. Will Texas and Colt McCoy finally cool off?: I picked Missouri to beat Texas last week because the Longhorns had invested so much and played so well in the 45-35 win over Oklahoma the week before. I reasoned that the Longhorns had to have a letdown against a good Missouri team. I was wrong because I didn’t take a couple of things into account: 1) Missouri is not that good; 2) Right now Colt McCoy is the hottest quarterback I’ve ever seen. McCoy has completed a staggering 81.2 percent of his passes (160 of 197) for 1,894 yards and 19 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Last week he completed 29 of 32 passes (90.6 percent). Two of the incomplete passes were drops and the other he threw away. Now Texas and McCoy face another Top 10 team in Oklahoma State Saturday in Austin.
