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Monday, August 22, 2005
Some early answers about football season
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
About college football, everybody has questions. Few have answers. This space, lucky for you, provides both.
Q: Which quarterback will have the better year â€â€? Georgia Tech’s Reggie Ball or Georgia’s D.J. Shockley?
A: Shockley. He plays for a quarterback-friendly coach whose offense includes a lot of easy completions (meaning screen passes in the red zone). Chan Gailey’s offense, such as it is, calls for Ball to make more downfield throws, which can get intercepted. But Ball will be pretty good himself this fall and, come midnight on Sept. 3, he’ll be 2-0 against Auburn.
Q: Which team will win more games � Auburn or Georgia Tech?
A: Neither. Each will win seven. That’s bad for one, good for the other. You can guess which is which.
Q: Which legend will resign by season’s end â€â€? Bobby Bowden or Joe Paterno?
A: Both.
Q: Roughly how many times a game will Georgia align itself in the wishbone?
A: Three. And the Bulldogs will still throw screen passes two of the three times.
Q: If Bobby Bowden indeed quits, will Mark Richt leave for Florida State?
A: No. He has a better job already.
Q: If Richt doesn’t take the FSU job, who’ll get it?
A: The Seminoles will look long and hard before deciding on the caretaker approach and promoting Mickey Andrews. By the way, the caretaker approach never works.
Q: Will double coverage prevent Calvin Johnson from being a game-changer?
A: He could see quintuple coverage and still be a factor.
Q: Which of Georgia’s many running backs will have the bigger season?
A: Thomas Brown will start fastest, but Kregg Lumpkin will finish strongest.
Q: How long into the season will it take for Steve Spurrier to suggest he made a mistake in taking the South Carolina job?
A: Ten days, or right after the Gamecocks lose 31-10 in Athens.
Q: How long into the season will Florida fans start saying they prefer Urban Meyer’s spread offense to you-know-who’s Fun ‘n’ Gun?
A: One day. Fans are, as we know, rather fickle.
Q: If Mack Brown wins the national championship, will Texas fans finally admit the guy’s a pretty good coach after all?
A: Fans are fickle, but not that fickle.
Q: Which Tennessee quarterback will get most of the snaps?
A: Erik Ainge, not that it matters. The Vols quarterback’s chief responsibility will be to turn around and hand the ball to Gerald Riggs Jr.
Q: If Paterno indeed quits, who gets the Penn State job?
A: Bob Stoops will get the customary calls, but Kirk Ferentz will actually say yes.
Q: How long before Bobby Petrino leaves Louisville?
A: He’ll have closed on a house in Iowa before Ferentz touches down in Happy Valley.
Q: P.J. Daniels led the ACC in rushing in 2003. Will he lead Tech in rushing in 2005?
A: No. Tashard Choice will.
Q: How long will it take for some Georgia fans to proclaim Brian VanGorder “the real brains” behind the Bulldogs’ recent success?
A: Seven minutes and 37 seconds into the opening game, by which time Boise State will have taken a 10-0 lead.
Q: So Georgia will lose to Boise?
A: No, Richt will think of something. (Fewer screen passes, perhaps.) And so will Willie Martinez, who’ll do just fine in VanGorder’s stead.
Q: How many of these answers will prove correct?
A: I have every confidence my success rate will equal that of the screen pass in the red zone.
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