Kirby Smart

Plenty Of Bite

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The expectations are through the roof.

The Georgia Bulldogs finished (13-1) but came up short last season in their quest to become the first three-peat national champion in modern-day history.

A 63-3 Orange Bowl win over FSU showed the nation that Georgia was good enough to accomplish the 3-peat but the system in place did not allow it.

Now, we go to a 12-team playoff in 2024, and after 8 straight top three recruiting classes Georgia is poised to be in the mix for another run at a national championship.

The Bulldogs have been known for defense during this run the program has been on, but what goes unnoticed is how productive and explosive the UGA offense has been over the past two seasons.

It all starts at the QB position for UGA. ESPN has named Carson Beck as the best returning QB in the country for this fall.

Beck passed for 3,941 yards in 2023 and had a 72.4% completion percentage with 24 TD passes. Beck is a Heisman Trophy contender going into the 2024 season and if he can lead UGA back into the college football playoffs he may just bring the Heisman to UGA for the first time since 1982 when you know who won it.

He patiently waited his turn in Athens in an era of ‘I want to play now or transfer’. That mentality won over the UGA locker room last fall, and now the decision to return for 2024 has Beck leading a team that many will predict to win a national championship.

At running back UGA has a loaded room. Trevor Etienne comes in from Florida and the expectations are high for the junior with plenty of SEC game experience.

Roderick Robinson returns, and Branson Robinson is recovering from a knee injury.

Nate Frazier leads a trio of incoming first-year students that will re-stock the running back room.

At wide receiver Dillon Bell, Rara Thomas and Dominic Lovett will lead a deep room that still includes Arian Smith and some highly touted transfer portal additions.

This is a deep group that will give Beck plenty of options in the passing game. Georgia offense put up prolific numbers in 2023, and 2024 should be no different.

At Tight End Oscar Delp takes over for the legend of Brock Bowers in Athens. Delp is productive but has huge shoes to fill. He will be the next great UGA tight end.

The offensive line is a place UGA has recruited very well and will reload.

Former Camden County Wildcat Micah Morris will compete for a starting position in the spring and summer, and the UGA coaches are extremely high on former Brunswick High Pirate Jamal Meriweather, who bulked up thirty-five pounds during his redshirt season last fall.

Jared Wilson has all conference potential at center, Earnest Greene is a budding superstar at left tackle.

For all the hype Kirby Smart gets for recruiting defensive stars he also has developed a roster of studs on the offensive side of the ball.

Nobody manages a roster better than Kirby Smart, and now with the retirement of Nick Saban the best coach in the country resides in Athens, Georgia.

Repeat after me Kirby Smart is the best college football coach in the country, and he will have an offense in 2024 that will prove it. He might just maybe have his first Heisman Trophy winner as a head coach.

Not A Big Deal?

By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The University of Georgia is on the verge of losing a five-star quarterback, who is the biggest name in his recruiting class. And the reaction from the program  is … meh?

Maybe Dylan Raiola bailing on Georgia will prove laughable. Maybe Raiola will end up being a great quarterback who dearly costs the Bulldogs. Maybe this will become part of a problem with the would-be dynasty Georgia program.  As they begin to lose power on and then off the field after coming up short of the top 4.

Right now, it seems like a bigger recruiting story than it is a Georgia story.

Of course, Georgia wants to keep Raiola. That’s why Kirby Smart, Mike Bobo and this staff pursued him so heavily in the first place, even when they already had and liked another quarterback in the same class. That’s why as of this writing the staff is still working to keep him with the knowledge that Raiola will be visiting Nebraska, per sources close to the program.,

With signing day next week, this does not bode well. Losing any big-time prospect, especially a quarterback, would sting.

On the other hand, it’s hard to think of this as a major, program-changing event .Not when Georgia just won two national championships with a former walk-on at QB1. Not when the same program just had another unbeaten regular season with a former four-star, who ranked No. 250 overall in 2020.

Georgia is a program that keeps trying to score an elite quarterback recruit, and after they wind up with an underdog from the scrap pile, they win games anyway.

Enough about the high school to college jump- In the past two years, Georgia has had eight players go in the first round of the NFL Draft. Zero were quarterbacks.

With 25 players drafted overall, Bennett is the only quarterback: taken in the fourth round. For UGA, the quarterback position is critical, but it’s not the position the Bulldogs revolve around.

With that being said, Beck returning for 2024 would be paramount. Looking at the way Beck played this year and the way Bennett played before Beck, after they developed they utilized the talent beaming around them.

One might argue — because some are — that Raiola, or a great quarterback prospect like him, could take the offense to another level. Like, say, top five nationally in passing offense?

Well, don’t worry, that was Georgia this year. Or top 10 in scoring and total offense? Well, that was Georgia in each of their past three years without their fancy five-star quarterback.

If Georgia can do all that with Bennett and Beck, it can do it with Ryan Puglisi, another quarterback commit in the 2024 class.

Puglisi is a four-star from Connecticut, committed to Georgia in October 2022. When Georgia pursued and landed Raiola eight months later, many speculated Puglisi’s decommitment would follow.

The first priority for Georgia is holding on to Beck for 2024, then turning the reins over to Gunner Stockton, Puglisi or whoever is added eventually via the portal or recruiting in the always bright future of a championship contending program.

Stockton, the top-50 overall recruit in the 2022 class, the third-string quarterback the past two years, figures to be No. 2 in 2024 and could end up being the next Beck. He could be the quarterback who sticks around, learns, and develops, and leaves with a ring.

Georgia doing that with two consecutive starters at a time when every quarterback seems to be a transfer would be a sentimental nod to a seemingly bygone era of farming championship talent rather than shopping for it.

Raiola is very good. But this flip, if it happens, would hurt Georgia less than it would help Nebraska. In fact, one could argue it would be better for college football (looking at you TV execs).

That doesn’t mean Georgia should just stand aside and let it happen. Smart didn’t get to three national championship games with an “oh well” mentality. The inability to hold on to elite quarterbacks has been frustrating for Georgia fans.

Maybe QB1 still ends up being Raiola, maybe if Georgia can pull off a last-ditch effort to keep him. If not, it’s setting up Puglisi or Stockton to be the next underdog story at quarterback.

Can you understand Georgia’s reaction (or lack of one)? They still have a plan. Bennett, Beck, and Fromm can say with a straight face: Meh, it’s not a big deal.

Brock Bowers is a Unicorn

By: Joe Delaney

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Brock Bowers is a GOAT.

Yeah everyone knows what a GOAT is. Most people say Tom Brady is the GOAT of Pro Football. Pretty hard to argue with that. There is always spirited conversation between this guy and that guy being the best and that’s what makes it fun.

My GOAT is Ali. In his prime he was simply above everybody and the great thing was HE TOLD YOU SO! “I’m the greatest!” “I’m so petty and you ugly Joe Frazier.”

It was wonderful and the man backed up everything he said. In a time of great division in our country, Muhammed Ali said “I aint got no fight with no Viet Cong.” It cost him several years of his prime to do what he thought was right. He didn’t just say it, he lived it. Yeah, he was my GOAT. Pretty rarified air up that high on the mountaintop.

GOATs also generally have certain standards that they have to live up to. That means championships and carrying teams on their backs when needed. That makes me think of 2 GOATS,  Michael Jordan in basketball and Herschel in college football.

Michael won championship after championship and sometimes carried the team when he had to. He also made clutch shots when needed. Ask Craig Ehlo and the 1989 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Herschel on the other hand had a much shorter career but burst on the scene like an Atomic Bomb. Whether it was stomping on Bill Bate’s chest in the opening game of the 1980 season or routinely running away from 180-190 lb DBs.

Herschel made the 1980 Georgia Bulldogs. They absolutely don’t win the national championship without him. “MY GOD A FRESHMAN” were the words of the GOAT of all college football announcers, Larry Munson.

So how in the heck could we think some tight end of all people could be a GOAT? Because he is. Brock Bowers is simply the best tight end to ever play college football.

Sure, there is a crowded room with the likes of Tony Gonzalez, Kyle Pitts, Keith Jackson, and others. But Brock just has something different. He has been tabbed as “generational” by pundits and he is one of the reasons the Dawgs are back-to-back National Champions and going for “3 in 23”.

Has he had to carry a team, no. Would the team win without him, probably. But the guy comes to work every day, does his job, and outworks everyone. Kirby calls him a “machine.”

Bowers is out of Napa, California. His game highlights tape included videos of him running up and down the California hills. The Georgia staff was impressed. They offered, and Brock thought he’d look great in Red and Black. The rest is history.

The 6’4” 240lb tight end made a mark the first week he was on campus. Especially when he began running away from DBs in practice on one of the best defenses ever in college football.

By the season opener it was apparent that he was special. That chiseled frame moved along at a 4.5 40 clip. He was one of the fastest dawgs right out of the gate.

Brock’s 2021 season was amazing. He racked up 56 receptions for 882 yards for a 15.8 avg. and 13 TDs.

Add to that, 4 carries for 56 yards and another touchdown.

In 2022, he was just as good if not better. As a focal point of the offense, he was often double teamed and bracketed by DBs and LBs.

It didn’t matter. Sixty-three catches for 942 yards. A 15.0 avg and 7 TDS. Nine carries for 109 yards and 3 TDS. And let’s not forget that the man blocks like a maniac.  He won the John Mackey award as the best TE in the nation along with first team everything! The pro scouts are drooling.

Barring injury, 2023 will be a repeat and then most likely it’s on to the NFL where many have him listed as the number two overall player in college football behind only last year’s Heisman winner Caleb Williams.

Enjoy this year Georgia fans and make sure you appreciate what you have in number 19. Throw in his ‘team first’ attitude and first guy in and last guy out of the football facility at Georgia and it’s easy to spell his name. Brock Bowers is the GOAT.

GO DAWGS!

Calm The Fluff Down!

By: Jeff Doke

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

I’m not the most prolific of Tweeters.

In fact, after 14 years on TwitterX, I have less than 300 followers. I’m okay with that. In fact, on January 14, 2022 I did something that limited my already miniscule reach. I threatened to unfollow all political accounts.

 

https://x.com/jwdoke/status/1482069924856184841?s=20

 

You see, back in the heady days following Georgia’s first Natty, TwitterX was a Red and Black wonderland. Video clips of the season, highlights of the game, montages of the celebration that followed. It almost made up for the 41 years of frustration that Dawgnation had endured (except for the Spurrier years. I’ll never be over that).

So, I *sort of* did what I threatened; I made a separate account for political musings, and left my main account to revel in all things Dawg (and to a lesser extent until the second half of last season, all things DUUUVAL). And lo, it was a glorious Twitter feed for the better part of two years.

The first championship season was followed by a second and topped off with a 65-7 massacre – the biggest bowl win in college football history.

To borrow a phrase from another program that won’t be needing it for a while, it’s great to be a Georgia Bulldawg.

But then the 2023 season started, and someone that hadn’t been around in a while showed up at the tailgate – Negative Nancy.

I don’t have to tell you that the back-to-back defending champs have suffered slow starts in their first few matchups. It’s well documented, no more vociferously so than Dawg fans themselves. You would think that we hadn’t won a game, that the sky was falling, or worse – it was the Jim Donnan years again.

Of course, the brunt of the armchair quarterbacking is heaped upon Kirby’s long time friend and teammate, returning OC Mike Bobo.

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve read the words “fire Bobo” in the last month, I’d be able to buy season tickets. Everyone and their brother is suddenly a world class evaluator of college talent and is ready to give Bobo the heave-ho.

Two words to that; Just Stop.

Maybe it’s because the season ended last year on a blow out, maybe it’s because we’ve lifted Stetson Bennett into the highest levels of DGD status (rightfully so, but that’s not the point right now). Or maybe – just maybe – it’s because Dawg people have really short memories.

Todd Monken’s offense last year, though prolific, wasn’t always firing on all cylinders.

The “closer than it should have been” Kent State game and the “almost a road loss to a team that shouldn’t even be in the SEC” Missouri game come to mind.

Need I also remind you of the high octane offensive juggernaut that brought us the 16-6 victory over Kentucky?

In short, when it worked it worked, but it wasn’t always a blow out.

Coach Smart had to point out a few weeks ago that the offensive system this year is the same as last year. Bobo hasn’t reinvented anything.

The numbers back this up. Run plays vs. pass plays, play action, play action on 1st Down, throws of 20+ yards, Almost every offensive metric is within a few percentage points from last year to this. Seriously, it’s the same dang offense, people!

Granted, there have always occasionally been serious head scratchers of calls from Coach Bobo- that disastrous pass play on 1st & goal from the 5 comes to mind – but all in all, Mike Bobo was not the reason why the Coach Mark Richt era didn’t break the championship drought.

His offense, more seasons than not, produced 40+ points per game averages, but were paired up with lackluster if not disastrous defensive squads.

Bottom line, Kirby trusts him, ergo I trust him. Same thing with the Stet/JT controversy from two years ago. My response is the same; Let Kirby cook.

And as far as the slow starts this year, there’s a viral GIF of Kirby out there where he’s telling a player to “calm the fluff down” or something like that. I’m not good at lip reading. Go look that up next time we have to punt in the first half.

Now can we please talk about something else? As long as it’s not Coach Prime, that is…

Threepeat?

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

How many Georgia fans remember the 1980 jokes?

Kirby Smart is entering his 8th season as the king of the bulldog nation. With an 81-15 overall record that includes 2-SEC Titles and 2- back-to-back National Titles.

Georgia currently is the premier football program in the country and the consensus preseason number one team in the country.

Years of consistent top 3 recruiting classes are paying off now for the program as UGA has become a major pipeline for the NFL.

Carson Beck has won the starting QB job and looks to have a breakout season. Beck has patiently waited his turn in the transfer portal era, and it should pay off for him.

The offensive line is the best in the country. The WR room is the best the program has ever seen, and then you have TE Brock Bowers who just may be the best player in the country.

The RB room is banged up and must get healthy by the South Carolina game on 9/16.

On defense, two words Kirby Smart. As long as Kirby is running things in Athens then UGA will be elite on defense.

Let’s look at the schedule with my predictions:

Sat, Sep 2        vs UT Martin: UGA a lot and UT Martin a little. 1-0

Sat, Sep 9        vs Ball State: Thanks SEC for canceling the Oklahoma game and making UGA scramble for a replacement. UGA 49-10. 2-0

Sat, Sep 16      vs South Carolina: UGA is the last team to beat UGA in Athens back in 2019. The country will be hyping Carolina in this one, but UGA will look like a national champion contender in this contest and win 35-17 to go to 3-0.

Sat, Sep 23      vs UAB: UGA tunes up for Auburn 42-17 to go to 4-0 on the season.

Sat, Sep 30      @ Auburn: Auburn has rebuilt their roster in 2023 through the transfer portal. I have already seen the pundits attempting to call for an upset here. Hugh Freeze will be a problem for UGA while he is at Auburn. He is already turning Auburn around on the recruiting trail. UGA’s next trip to Auburn in 2025 will be a monster game, but Auburn is not there yet in 2023. UGA wins 31-17 to go to 5-0.

Sat, Oct 7        vs Kentucky: UK has won once in Athens in 45 years, and they play annually. Not happening. UGA 27-14 to go to 6-0.

Sat, Oct 14      @ Vanderbilt: Last two years combined score is UGA 117-0. 7-0 going into the bye week.

Sat, Oct 28*    @ Florida: Florida is another school that is in rebuild mode. Billy Napier has a top five recruiting class in the works for 2024. Florida will be a lot better on defense, but offensively the Gators aren’t there yet. UGA goes to 8-0 with a 35-21 win over Florida. I’ll be in Jacksonville for the festivities.

Sat, Nov 4       vs Missouri: I’m putting UGA on upset alert here. Mizzou is sandwiched in a tough back end of the schedule for UGA. I’m worried about this one as Missouri could be a top 3 team in the SEC East. UGA wis 24-20 to go to 9-0.

Sat, Nov 11     vs (22) Ole Miss: Lane coming to Athens will have Kirby’s full attention. UGA wins 42-24 to go to 10-0 on the season.

Sat, Nov 18     @ (12) Tennessee: Ok Tennessee you have been beating your gums all off season about this contest. Joe Milton is the most hyped QB in the country. Vol fans conveniently forget that Milton was the starter two years ago and lost his job to Hendon Hooker. I’m not buying the hype and Tennessee is not better than UGA on both lines of scrimmage. UT has been horrible in the secondary as well.  Statement game for UGA as they beat Tennessee 34-20 to go to 11-0.

Sat, Nov 25     @ Georgia Tech: UGA has not lost in Atlanta since 1999 and will not in 2023. UGA wins 45-24. 12-0.

Regular season 12-0 and favored to win SEC and National title for the 3rd consecutive year in the playoff era. Enjoy the mountain top UGA fans.

Bad Rep

By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Star defensive tackle Jalen Carter became the third member of Georgia’s 2022 national championship team to be charged with reckless driving.

A fourth bulldog was charged with a DUI and the fifth was reported to have gone 34 miles over the speed limit at the time of arrest.

In total, nine Georgia players have been arrested in the last 13.5 months.

These arrests don’t have to be blamed on Georgia. There’s nothing that’s come to light that suggests it is. With that being said, these incidents still reflect poorly on the program’s image, as a charge reflects poorly on all five player’s criminal records.

All of these are misdemeanors, but Georgia’s program is at their highest media coverage nationally in the history of college football. The microscope is more zoomed in than ever, and narratives will be longer if these habits continue.

The car crash that took the lives of Devin Willock and Chandler LeCroy is a terrible tragedy. The other parts of the story have always seemed irrelevant: I don’t care about staffers socializing with athletes. I don’t care very much about a university car being used. I don’t care that they were at a strip club.

I do care what directly led to the crash. Now, Kirby Smart should talk with his program and take a leadership role in athlete risk aversion.

Smart needs to get a handle on street racing and reckless driving. Police report the cause of the car crash to street racing and reckless driving.

A coach can’t take away anybody’s ability to drive, but they can take away a starting roster position. An athletic director may set an example by suspending or dismissing players for criminal offenses while eligible.

Smart has indubitably built an athletic powerhouse in seven seasons in Athens, going for his third consecutive National Championship next season. However, after their latest title win, the team has been marred with bad morale and criminal news headlines.

The one thing that could bring down Smart and the Bulldogs’ dynasty is legal actions and a criminal reputation. Anybody remember the facelifting SMU and Miami have been doing after their debacles?

University of Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks stated that neither Willock, nor the driver of the car was on “athletic department business” at the time of the accident.

Brooks added that his department “[conducted] a thorough review, in coordination with appropriate legal counsel, to fully understand the circumstances surrounding this tragic event.”

This sounds like Brooks is trying to minimize sue damage. In a wrongful death case involving a motor vehicle accident, it is sometimes possible to hold an employer responsible if their employee’s negligence was responsible for the fatal accident. This is a vicarious liability under Georgia law.

Georgia follows a “comparative fault” standard in all personal injury cases, which includes wrongful death claims. Basically, this means that when the negligence of multiple parties led to an accident, a judge or jury must apportion the blame accordingly. The judge will then reduce the victim’s damages to account for their determined percentage of fault.

Willock’s family has not filed any legal action arising from his death. High-profile accidents like this one often raise a number of questions regarding the law in this area. Dave Willock, who is the father of the late Devin Willock, said that he was not planning a lawsuit at this time.

“Georgia is working with us,” Willock told the AJC. “We have no reason to do that (sue Georgia), because they are compensating us 100 percent.”

I have a feeling that in the near future lawsuits will be filed, but until then, Smart and Georgia’s athletic department have to clean up their public image.

In scenarios like these, a little bit of prevention is worth a whole lot of cure- Georgia got lucky, but it won’t matter if these incidents keep happening.

Ch-Ch-Changes

By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The problem to be solved with the Florida Gator football team runs deeper than Dan Mullen’s hubris. Yes, please fire him (hiring Todd Grantham much less keeping Grantham for another year is a Nussemeier on staff levels of incompetence) but the administration just doesn’t get it.

Florida doesn’t need an X’s and O’s coach; they need a CEO type that knows what it takes to build a program. I have no doubt in my mind that Coach Mullen wants to be successful at Florida, but it takes a lot more than wanting it, especially at Florida.

Someone who “gets it” is Kirby Smart. He sacrifices so much time with his family and so much of his free time to recruit. Kirby demands so much from his assistants, you ask yourself, why the hell would anyone do that?

How do you recruit so hard, you rival Nick Saban in relentlessness and even beat him on the trail consistently? What drives a person to do something that makes many normal men insane?

Well, Kirby is a Georgia alum who spent his playing days being consistently clobbered by Steve Spurrier coached Florida teams. It’s almost like his very identity revolves around Georgia Football. He is Mr. UGA!

Kirby was born and raised in the South and knows the culture. I think that’s why a lot of recruits gravitate to him.

Would you ascribe the same “X factor” about Dan Mullen? This is what recruits think: Some dorky Northeasterner who talks too fast and isn’t funny or relatable, and who thinks Publix cakes and some tastefully Jordan sneakers can woo recruits on their official visits.

Mullen has been quoted as saying “I want guys who want to be Gators”, but at this point as a program when you have the likes of Kentucky and Missouri out-recruiting you. You have to wonder if the brand has lost its’ sheen after the lost decade.

In order to compete with the Elite (hell to even remain relevant in the SEC East) in the present day, you HAVE TO GO ALL IN. There is no half-ass in the current recruiting landscape. The push to become a top 5 public university is great but all these young men have dreams to play in the NFL.

Mullen has some of the top attributes I would seek in a head coach. He can game plan and coach offense, quarterbacks and call plays, but he has to reflect on just about every other part of the program at this point and make some really big changes.

I do believe there will be some significant staff changes this offseason. Todd Grantham being gone is all but a foregone conclusion.

The following coaches have their contract set to expire after the recruiting cycle ends February 8th: John Hevesy, Billy Gonzales, Tim Brester, Greg Knoz and David Turner.

Change is coming Gator fans, but you are not fixing the roster issues overnight and simply replacing coaches is not a guaranteed fix.

“If you don’t recruit, there’s no coach that can out-coach recruiting, I don’t care who you are.” Kirby Smart definitely understands how to build a program.

The Time Is Now

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Let me go ahead and get my next statement out of the way.

The Georgia Bulldogs are a big, fast, talented, well coached, and most of all a hungry football team.

Kirby Smart has built the program into a national powerhouse. Who knows if UGA will win a Natty in 2021? That seems to be the measuring stick the national media has placed upon Kirby.

I never recall that same measuring stick applied to Dabo Swinney at Clemson. Swinney’s Clemson program didn’t play for a national title until his 8th season at Clemson, and didn’t win one until his 9th season at the school.

Smart’s UGA program played for one in only his second year with the program. The better question for UGA is can it beat Alabama when it matters the most?

By my reasoning Alabama has cost UGA three national championships over the past nine years in 2012, 2017, and 2018. Smart enters year six at UGA with a 52-14 record.

UGA is loaded across the board. Let’s look at the position groups:

QB: JT Daniels could be the best returning QB in the SEC along with Matt Corral at Ole Miss.

Daniels does not turn the ball over that much, and throws the deep ball well. Daniels is the best pure passer that Kirby Smart has had during his tenure at UGA.

RB: UGA has the best RB back room in the SEC. Zamir White, James Cook, Kendall Milton, Kenny McIntosh, and Daijun Edwards. I don’t think I need to comment further here.

OL: UGA has recruited well in this position group. Jamaree Salyer leads a talented group that includes former Brunswick High Pirate Warren McClendon, who will start at Right Tackle for the second straight season.

WR/TE: Another deep group that will be led by Kearis Jackson, and Jermaine Burton.

Arik Gilbert came in from LSU and may dominate at whatever position he lines up at. What if George Pickens returns from his ACL injury by late season?

DL: Jordan Davis will be a first team All- American. Another deep position group that includes Travon Walker and Devonte Wyatt. Maybe the most underrated position group on the roster from a fan standpoint.

LB: Adam Anderson, Nakobe Dean, Nolan Smith. Five Stars everywhere.

DB: Talented but untested. Many say the weakest link for UGA this is the group. Tykee Smith, a transfer from West Virginia, will play the Star position, and Derion Kendrick, a transfer from Clemson, will start at one of the corners. Kelee Ringo could end up being great at corner but must get some game experience.

P/K: Former Glynn Academy PK Jack Podlesny and P Jake Carmada give UGA maybe the best kicker combo in the SEC or maybe the country.

Schedule:

9/4 vs Clemson in Charlotte: Clemson does not strike fear in UGA. The Tigers lost their best QB and RB in school history to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Their best WR Justyn Ross missed all of 2020 with a spinal condition. Question to the masses is how will Clemson be better in 2021 than they were in 2020? They won’t and UGA will win that game 31-21.

Wins over UAB, South Carolina, Vandy, and Arkansas.

10/9 @ Auburn: A game UGA fans always worry about. Auburn plays great when they have no expectations. 2021 is one of those years under a new coach when many pick the Tigers as low as 5th in the SEC West. I’m worried. UGA 23-20 in a war.

10/16 vs. Kentucky: Don’t get caught thinking about Florida, Dawgs. UGA wins 34-21.

10/30 vs Florida in Jax: No Kyle Trask, no Kyle Pitts, no Kadarius Toney, and no Trevon Grimes. How will UF be better on offense in 2021? Quick answer is they won’t and UGA will be much improved on offense. UGA wins this game by two TD’s 31-17.

11/6 vs Missouri: Upset alert, upset alert, and upset alert. UGA has one of these types of games every season.

JT Daniels leads UGA from behind in the 4th quarter for a 35-31 win over a very good Missouri squad that will finish second in the SEC East.

Wins over Tennessee, Charleston Southern, and GT.

Regular season record 12-0. Plays the winner of Texas A&M and Alabama in the SEC Title game.

The Quarterback Room

By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The eighth ranked Florida Gators topped the #5 ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday in the World’s Largest Cocktail Party, taking control of the SEC East at the midway point in the 2020 season.

Florida was led by Senior quarterback Kyle Trask. Trask completed 30 of 43 passes for 474 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception. Trask became the first quarterback in SEC history to throw for 4 plus touchdowns in 5 consecutive games.

Trask was a low three-star quarterback coming out of Manvel, Texas, where he played behind D’Eriq King. Trask’s composite score was 0.7984 and ranked the 2123rd player in the country.

Georgia’s starting quarterback Stetson Bennett was a high three star with a composite score of 0.8304. Bennett was replaced by four-star quarterback D’Wan Mathis, whose composite score was 0.8992.

After the game on Saturday, whining Bulldog fans were making excuses for the loss.

Some were saying ‘we would have won but we have five players out with injuries and a walk on quarterback’.

Another said I really miss Jake Fromm. I also heard Bennett could not start for Valdosta State University. Injuries are part of the game, but the quarterback position at Georgia is another issue.

Georgia’s quarterback issues started when Justin Fields transferred to Ohio State. The Georgia coaching staff selected Fromm over Fields and the rest is history. Fields is currently the front runner for the Heisman Trophy.

In January, Jamie Newman, the Wake Forest graduate transfer, announced he was transferring to Georgia. On September 2, Georgia’s projected starting quarterback opted out of the 2020 season.

Many speculated that five-star transfer from USC J.T. Daniels would assume the starting job. Daniels has yet to see the field due to medical clearance on his knee. Daniels was the 18th overall in the 2018 class and threw for 2,672 yards as a true freshman in 2018.

D’Wan Mathis started the opening game against Arkansas but was benched in the second half for former walk-on, Stetson Bennett. Bennett has done a very serviceable job for the Bulldogs leading them to victories over Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky. Bennett gives UGA the best chance to win.

Georgia’s quarterback problems can be traced to a couple factors: coaching, development and offensive systems.

Georgia’s offensive coordinators/quarterback coach under Kirby Smart have been Jim Chaney 2016-18, James Coley 2019 and Todd Monken 2020. Three coordinators in three years, how can a player be developed?

The product on the field in big games prove that UGA quarterbacks are not being developed or coached up to their true strengths.

Kirby Smart has brought in three different coordinators to run a spread offense in Athens, but Smart’s football DNA is to run the ball and play stout defense. The strength of this team is its defense and running the football.

However, it appears offenses have finally caught up to Georgia’s defense. LSU sliced and diced the Dawgs in last season’s SEC Championship Game and Alabama did the same three weeks ago.

Florida handed Georgia their second loss of the season by a score of 44-28.

The defeat also makes it very unlikely for the Bulldogs to claim its fourth straight SEC East title.

It also created questions at the quarterback position moving forward.  Who should start at quarterback: Bennett, Daniels, Mathis or Carson Beck (true freshman for Jacksonville)?

Wait until next year when another five star comes to Athens in Brock Vandagriff.

Bulldog fans, accept your loss to the better team last week and stop making excuses! It is embarrassing!

The Big Dawgs

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

UGA is loaded in 2019. Kirby Smart is a recruiting machine.

Smart enters the 2019 season with an overall record of 32-10.

UGA won the SEC in 2017 but lost the National Championship game to Alabama and lost the SEC Title game to Alabama in 2018.

Jake Fromm leads the offense; JR Reed and Monty Rice will lead a faster more athletic defense in 2019. Andrew Thomas will lead the best offensive lineman in the country.  The Swift/Herrien/White/Cook running back rotation will beat teams to a pulp.

Georgia’s talent across the board is well documented. This team should contend for a National Title this season and next season if Jake Fromm returns.

My game by game predictions:

Aug. 31: at Vanderbilt: Season and SEC opener at night in the Music City.

Vandy will be sky high and UGA has not always played so well in Nashville. Jake Fromm and a solid run game will spell doom for the Dores as UGA takes care of Vandy 38-13. George Pickens starts making a name for himself at Wide Receiver.

Sept. 7: MURRAY STATE: UGA drills Murray State 52-7.

Fromm and company will be discussing which band to go listen to downtown after the game midway through the second quarter.

Sept. 14: ARKANSAS STATE: Tougher than expected for a half then UGA pulls away in the third quarter and wins 45-14.

Sept. 21: NOTRE DAME: Athens, Georgia will be the center of the college football universe on 9/21. The Irish roll in and it will not be a cakewalk like most UGA fans expect.

This one will be a war. Zamir White has his coming out party as UGA eats up yards and clock to put ND away 27-17.

If UGA wears the black jerseys, then put the Dawgs on upset alert right now.

Oct. 5: at Tennessee: UT is still two recruiting classes away. Dawgs win in Knoxville 38-17, and UGA takes the lead in the series for the first time in 30 years.

Oct. 12: SOUTH CAROLINA: Carolina’s schedule is brutal, and Muschamp is trying to get them back in the mix in the SEC East. UGA has too much talent and wins at home 41-14 to stay undefeated.

Oct. 19: KENTUCKY: UGA blew out UK’s best team in 40 years in Lexington last year, and UGA is better in 2019. Kentucky is not as good as they were in 2018. Dawgs win 49-17.

Nov. 2: vs. Florida (Jacksonville): Dan Mullen has been popping off about UGA all “Talking Season”.  Kirby isn’t much on talking but look for UGA’s best effort of the season in this one. Dawgs win the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party 35-20 over a good Gator squad.

Nov. 9: MISSOURI: Kelly Bryant didn’t get a national title ring from Clemson last year and he won’t get a victory in Athens either. Dawgs win 38-21.

UGA clinches the SEC East for the third straight year.

Nov. 16: at Auburn: Unbeaten UGA rolls to the Plains and I smell trouble brewing for the Dawgs. Auburn will be solid on defense, but will they be good on offense?

Will Gus still be employed by November? If he is then I smell upset. Auburn upsets UGA 24-21 in Jordan Hare.

Dawgs fall to 9-1. History tells us that UGA lays an egg against someone every season, right? Enjoy this November contest folks. Auburn lobbied the SEC and won and now the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry moves to October in 2020 and beyond.

Heck, maybe with that pansy move UGA rips Auburn a new one, 35-17 and stays unbeaten on the season.

Nov. 23: TEXAS A&M: Everyone is jumping on the Aggie bandwagon. Not me. The Aggies lost their leading rusher and leading tackler, nor am I sold on Kellen Mond at QB.

Senior Day in Athens as UGA rolls 38-24. UGA goes to 11-0 on the season.

Nov. 30: at Georgia Tech: Jackets go to a pro-style offense with option attack players. Georgia Tech will get better fast by focusing on the Atlanta area in recruiting. Dawgs go to 12-0 with a 42-17 blistering of the Jackets.

SEC Championship: UGA finally breaks the Alabama jinx and beats the Tide 31-24 in another title game classic between these two teams.

UGA goes into the College Football Playoff as the #1 team in the country.