College Football
Bouncing Bama
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services
Going into the college football season the top two teams were Clemson and Alabama. They met in the national championship again this year, making their fourth consecutive match up in the College Football Playoff. Most of us expected these two teams to play but the outcome was shocking.
The Tigers trounced Bama 44 – 16. This is the largest margin of defeat in the Nick Saban era in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide got out played and out coached.
Since the national title game last year, the media has hyped up Tua Tagovailoa and rightfully so. Tua has struggled against elite competition and that played a factor in the blowout loss.
He threw two interceptions that resulted in 14 points for the Tigers. The first was returned 44 yards for a touchdown only 100 seconds into the game.
The Tide also had six penalties for 60 yards.
“I just have a feeling that I didn’t do a very good job for our team, with our team, giving them the best opportunity to be successful,” Saban said. “I always feel that way, even sometimes when we win, I think there’s things we could do better or that I could have done better.”
“But particularly in this case, never really ever got comfortable with what we needed to do to win this game, especially on defense, especially the matchups we had in our secondary versus their receivers. That was something that was kind of bothering me going into the game, and as the game unfolded, it worked out that those matchups were a big difference in the game.”
Alabama came back to take a 16 – 14 lead in the second quarter before the wheels fell off. Saban seemed to feel the pressure and made some very puzzling moves.
They struggled in the red zone and ran one the worst fake field goal I’ve ever seen in the third quarter. On fourth and six they snapped the ball to holder Mac Jones and kicker Joseph Bulovas was the lead blocker (no, seriously). He ran right into Clemson’s elite defensive line to lose yards.
One big take away from this game is true freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence is a stud. I knew he was the projected top overall pick in 2020 but I thought the moment might be too big for him right now.
Lawrence threw for 347 yards, 3 touchdowns, completed 63% of his passes and did not turn the ball over. I’m expecting him to be the Heisman front runner next year.
True freshman receiver and Alabama native Justyn Ross had another huge game. He had 6 receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore running back Travis Etienne ran for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Tigers only had 1 penalty for 12 yards. They converted on 66% of third downs.
“There was a lot of talk about best ever, all year long,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “We were never in that conversation.”
This is the first time I’ve seen a team with more speed and athleticism against Alabama. Clemson looks like the team of the future but I wouldn’t panic yet if I were an Alabama fan.
They have the topped rated recruiting class coming in this year. The Tigers are also losing several senior defensive linemen.
I fully expect to see a rematch in the playoffs next season.
Groundhog Day
By: JJ Lanier
GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services
After four months, what has to be close to a thousand games, and countless hours of my life I’ll never get back listening to people complain about who made the college playoffs and how many teams should be included, we end the season right where most thought we would before it even started; Alabama and Clemson, battling it out for the national title. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I know there’s some fatigue going into tonight’s national championship game since this is the fourth year in a row both teams will have met in the playoffs, with three of those meetings for the national title. But as much as people like to compare it to the Golden State/Cleveland series, and their four straight matchups, this budding rivalry between the two premier programs in college football is much more compelling.
Throughout the season Alabama and Clemson have been the two best teams. There may have been a couple that could make an argument for a week or two, but nobody has consistently been as dominant as either of them.
It’s hard to see where the advantages are, too. Normally each team has a glaring weakness, if not two, the other team tries to exploit.
However, tonight it’s going to come down to scheme and execution. I know that’s not a very insightful analysis, but neither team really has any major deficiencies.
Both teams’ strength is their defense; they both have a strong running game that enables them to control the time of possession, as well as the ability to milk the clock when needed; and both have quarterbacks that more than lives up to the hype and are able to score points in a hurry.
As great a coach as Nick Saban is, it’s not like Dabo Swinney is the college version of Rich Kotite. Both coaches are great with in game adjustments and have obviously proven they aren’t afraid to make a gutsy decision with their season on the line.
As great as the play on the field promises to be, the mental matchup between these two might be even greater.
I think Alabama is the more talented squad, so if they play up to the level, they’re capable of I believe Saban will walk away with his seventh national championship. The Crimson Tide will have to play that well though, because Clemson isn’t too far behind.
The Tigers are deep and skilled at every position, and are not intimidated.
When it comes to titles games, whether it’s college or professional, all you can hope for is a well-played game that has some semblance of tension at the end.
I understand fans may feel like they’re living their own personal version of “Groundhog Day” and would love to see someone else in the title. It’s hard to root for either team when they’ve already gotten an embarrassment of riches. I mean, even during all those Warriors/Cavs series, there wasn’t much question as to who the superior team was.
With all due respect to teams like Georgia, Ohio State, and Oklahoma, these have been the two best teams all year and deserve to be in this game. As exciting as their first two games were this one has the potential to be just as good.
It may be a story we’ve all seen before, but it’s a hell of a good one.
Alabama 30, Clemson 24.
Sour Sugar Bowl
By: Kipp Branch
GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia got whipped in the Sugar Bowl by a Texas team that had something to prove and the Longhorns came out and took it to Georgia; winning the Sugar Bowl 28-21. The Dawgs ended the season with two straight losses, but great lessons come from a little adversity.
Georgia went into the Sugar Bowl over-confident and it showed throughout the contest. Jake Fromm probably had his worst game in a UGA uniform. D’Andre Swift could not hold on to the football. JJ Holloman had a bad case of the drops. Richard LeCounte tackled like a Pop Warner league defensive back.
The only player that played like he wanted to be in New Orleans was Brian Herrien. UGA only had 69 yards rushing against a Longhorn defense that had leaked all season like a West Texas oil well.
Texas beat UGA at its own game, which was being physical at the point of attack. Texas is on its way back to being a national power. Great job Texas you earned the Sugar Bowl trophy.
What can UGA learn from this effort?
Social Media is not the place to vent your frustrations about not being selected for the college football playoff. Going into this game against the Longhorns’ T should have stood for Texas and not Twitter.
Take care of your business on the field and not put it in the hands of a committee. UGA lost by 20 in Baton Rouge and blew a two-touchdown lead against Alabama in the second half.
Notre Dame looked bad against Clemson, but Georgia players after the way UGA looked against LSU had no business blowing up social media after Clemson beat the Irish 30-3.
I told my wife Saturday night that UGA was in trouble against Texas. Georgia was not a focused football team in New Orleans.
You need to limit your distractions. Deandre Baker you are a DGD, but when you made the decision not to play in the Sugar Bowl then you became a former player getting ready for the NFL draft.
Best of luck to you, I and the rest of Dawgnation will be supporting you in the future. BTW, you didn’t come to UGA as a first round draft pick. Georgia helped prepare you for the NFL. You are an all-time UGA great and a favorite of mine.
Touchy subject matter here I know, but you made the wrong decision and as a leader of the football team your decision spoke volumes about how much the Sugar Bowl really mattered to the younger kids in the program.
All of those years of Outback, Citrus, Liberty, Belk, Taxslayer/Gator, and any other insignificant bowls; then this team wasn’t ready or motivated to play in the damn SUGAR Bowl.
Really? The Rose, Sugar, Orange and Cotton are the historic bowl games guys. Hines Ward, Champ Bailey, current UGA head coach, Kirby Smart, Robert Edwards, Todd Gurley, Rodney Hampton, Garrison Hearst, and the list goes on, would have loved an opportunity to play in the Sugar Bowl.
Deandre you should have followed your heart and played in the game. We still love you though #18 and always will.
Justin Fields. UGA does not hand out starting jobs. You did not beat out Jake Fromm for the QB position.
You played in 11 games as a freshman. If you don’t want to be in Athens then take your talents to another university. There are plenty of kids that are hungry for your spot.
Competition is everywhere in life. Get used to it Justin and best of luck to you. I hope you stay.
Now that my rant is over that Sugar Bowl loss could be a blessing in disguise for UGA.
With 88 players who are freshman or sophomores this team will learn from this, and will be a huge coaching point for Coach Smart and the staff.
Georgia has more talent than anyone in the country and a great head coach and staff are in place.
Georgia is in transition from being a good program and on the cusp of being a great program. The lessons learned from the last month will help define that greatness just on the horizon.
The Richt Time
By: JJ Lanier
GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services
The Urban Meyer retirement I saw coming; the Mark Richt retirement, I did not.
Whenever you have a coach as young as Richt abruptly retire, the speculation automatically turns to poor health, albeit with him or someone in his family.
I’m sure over the coming days and weeks more info will come out of Coral Gables as to the reasons why; it will also give us a little more clarification as to whether or not there’s a possibility Richt follows the aforementioned Meyer and returns to the sidelines any time soon.
Rather than try and guess any of those things, I want to take Richt retirement at face value, assume he is done coaching and talk about what legacy, if any, he leaves behind.
Since he had only two head coaching stops during his 18 years as a head coach, 15 of which were spent in Athens, your opinion of his coaching is probably based on whether his tenure at Georgia was successful.
Regardless of how you felt about Richt at the time he ceased to be Georgia’s head coach, he did have a successful run there. He took a program that had been struggling to find some consistency, amid high expectations from alumni and fans and was able to bring in some of that much sought after stability.
Georgia went from a good program to one that people outside of Athens thought could be title contenders on a regular basis.
Miami was in even more dire straits when Richt took over three years ago, and although this year didn’t live up to expectations, he was bringing that program back to respectability.
Unfortunately, despite what he was able to accomplish, I’m not sure that’s exactly what Richt will be remembered for.
As soon I wrote that his team in Coral Gables didn’t live up to expectations this year, I admit I thought “Well, isn’t that kind of his thing?” I mean, for all the triumphs he had as a head coach, his teams never quite seemed to be able to reach their potential.
When you look at all the talent that came through the program while he was there, it’s a bit surprising he didn’t win more big time games during those 15 years, isn’t it?
It’s hard to knock someone who won 2 conference titles and had the misfortune of coaching in a league with both Urban Meyer and Nick Saban, but it still always felt like Georgia could have been more.
This seems to be even more exacerbated by the success Kirby Smart has had since taking over for Richt. Smart has been more successful on the recruiting trail and was able to take them to heights- mainly being a national championship game- that Richt was never able to do.
We all like to talk about how difficult it is to follow a highly accomplished coach on any level, but sometimes it’s more damaging to the reputation to be outdone by your successor.
I have no idea if Richt will ever return to coaching, or if he even has the desire to. I imagine if he chooses to comeback at point down the road, there will a number of college football teams interested in his services. He is a good coach that seems to have a knack for elevating the level of the program he is leading. Just don’t expect him to bring you to the top of the mountain; as you’ll probably remember, that’s not exactly his forté.
A Bowling We Go
By: Kipp Branch
GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services
It’s that time of year again where the cream rises to the top and the really good bowl games start.
The bowl season to date has been a huge disappointment. Georgia Southern won on the last play of its game and Georgia Tech looked like hot garbage in getting blown out by Minnesota in Paul Johnson’s retirement party.
Here goes my NY6 Predictions:
Saturday, December 29, 2018 – Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA): No. 7 Michigan (10–2) vs. No. 10 Florida (9–3).
The Gates led by Dan Mullen have a shot to win 10 games in what was considered a rebuilding year in Gainesville. Michigan with rumors swirling of Jim Harbaugh’s departure to the New York Jets are coming off getting 62 points hung on them by Ohio State.
Shame on the bowl system for not matching up Florida against UCF. Give me Michigan 24-20 in a close contest. Harbaugh ends up staying in Ann Arbor.
Saturday, December 29, 2018 – (CFP Semifinal) Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, FL): No. 1 Alabama (13–0) vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (12–1).
Tua says he is at 80-85% for the contest with his injured ankle. Oklahoma has Kyler Murray the best player in college football, but a defense that can’t stopping a dripping faucet.
Alabama has Nick Saban, and a defense that is pretty solid and that should get past the Sooners 38-24 to advance to the title game.
Saturday, December 29, 2018 – (CFP Semifinal) Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (Arlington, TX): No. 2 Clemson (13–0) vs. No. 3 Notre Dame (12–0).
Clemson may be without some starters due to testing positive of a banned substance.
Doesn’t it seem like every time ND is involved in a big game the NCAA steps in and creates some controversy that will benefits the Irish?
I know ND is 12-0 and the record says they should be in the playoff, but this team played a weak schedule and struggled with Pitt, Vandy, and a 7 loss USC team. I think Clemson has more talent, better head coach, and a better QB.
Clemson beats ND 35-21 and plays Alabama for the national championship.
Tuesday, January 1, 2019 – PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ): No. 8 UCF (12–0) vs. No. 11 LSU (9–3).
UCF is another overrated 12-0 team that plays in a weak conference with the likes of Houston, and Memphis. Houston just had 70 hung on them by Army. LSU has a good defense, but they are not so great on offense. 25 game winning streak comes to an end when LSU whips UCF along the line of scrimmage and wins 34-17.
Tuesday, January 1, 2019 – Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (Pasadena, CA): No. 6 Ohio State (12–1) vs. No. 9 Washington (10–3).
Big 10 Champ Ohio State got left out of the playoff and they will take it out on the Huskies in the Rose Bowl. Urban’s last game. Washington has no shot. OSU rolls 42-24.
Tuesday, January 1, 2019 – Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA): No. 5 Georgia (11–2) vs. No. 15 Texas (9–4).
Will the Dawgs have an SEC title game hangover? Will Justin Fields stay, go, or play in the Sugar Bowl.
Texas is on its way back. Georgia is a national power. Fromm, Holyfield, Swift, Godwin, Hardman, Ridley and company will provide too much firepower for the Horns to match. Dawgs win the Sugar Bowl 41-28.
Enjoy the NY6 Bowls everyone and Happy 2019.
Wide Open Fields
By: JJ Lanier
GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services
As fans, we always want to believe the teams we root for are in the right. When other teams are caught cheating, we want to think our team would never do that. When a player chooses to sign with the program, we like to tell ourselves he or she made that decision because they bleed the school colors.
So, when a program is caught being less than truthful, or in the case of Justin Fields, there are rumors a player may leave the program, we tend to not handle it very well.
When news broke that Fields was considering a transfer, there may have been a sense of betrayal within the Georgia fan base, but for those of us whose two favorite colors aren’t black and red, it wasn’t that much of a surprise.
It’s nothing against Fields, who has the potential to be a very good college quarterback when given the opportunity, but rather says more about Jake Fromm proving that he deserves to be the starter.
I know there have been a lot of comments regarding Fields lack of intestinal fortitude, to put it nicely, when it comes to battling for the starting job. I’m sorry, but that’s ridiculous.
Yes, he could stay and battle it out against Fromm during the spring, but unless Fromm were to completely lay an egg in the Sugar Bowl, it would be a huge gamble- on the field, as well as on the recruiting trail- to sit him in favor of Fields.
Benching a two-year starter, who has put up good numbers while leading his team to two of the most successful back to back seasons in program history, is just a bad look.
Saban was able to navigate through it this year because one, he’s Nick Saban, but also because it was a bit of a different situation. Jalen Hurts was always considered to be limited and once Tagovailoa performed the way he did in last year’s championship game, it was obvious who the starter should be.
This has nothing to do with Fields being “scared” to battle for the position, but instead being realistic on the probable outcome.
And because players with the talent that Fields has don’t pick a college with their heart- no matter how much we wish they did- it makes perfect business sense for him to look elsewhere.
Playing for your dream school only matters when you’re getting the playing time you think you deserve. If you think you can further your career at another school, your childhood dream school goes out the window. As a Duke fan, I feel like this way of thinking has become an annual conversation I have with myself.
Like most things in college athletics, this whole situation is fluid. As I mentioned above, if Fromm and Fields have a Hurts/Tagovailoa moment in the Sugar Bowl, this could all change. I have to believe part of Fields hesitation to announce his intentions, whatever they may be, is because he wants to see how the bowl game plays out.
Regardless of whatever Fields decides, it has nothing to do with his competitive drive or his feelings for Georgia; it has everything with showcasing his talent and getting to the NFL.
So, if he decides to stay, forget his inclination to leave and enjoy his time in Athens.
If he chooses to go though, wish him luck and hope everything turns out for the best; it’s what you would do if this were happening to any other program.
Sugar Sweet For Dawgs?
By: Kipp Branch
GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services
It has been an interesting football season. Georgia won the SEC East and came up just short in the SEC title game against Alabama. Georgia led Alabama for 58 minutes and 51 seconds and just missed the college football playoff.
Texas has a proud football history, but has struggled as of late. Tom Herman is building the Longhorns back into a national brand. The Longhorns lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game 39-27. Texas beat Oklahoma during the regular season.
The two blue bloods meet in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Night in New Orleans.
Georgia is coming into the game as a 13 point favorite against the 9-4 Longhorns. The last time the two teams matched up was the 1984 Cotton Bowl where Georgia beat Texas 10-9.
Both teams have just finished signing top 10 recruiting classes during the early signing period.
Georgia is led by QB Jake Fromm and a pair of 1,000 rushers in Swift and Holyfield. Will Georgia feel the effects of the SEC title game loss, or the saga of Justin Fields and his potential transfer?
Sam Ehlinger has given the Longhorns a consistent, quality player at quarterback for the first time in 8-10 years. He was responsible for 38 touchdowns. Only Longhorn legend Vince Young has produced more in a single season.
He’s smarter with the football (only five interceptions vs. seven last year) and he’s a great option in the run game, using his legs to get many key first downs.
Texas has two big-time receivers on the outside in Collin Johnson and Lil’Jordan Humphrey. They are two big, physical pass-catchers who have given opponents problems all season. It’s still on Ehlinger to get the ball to them, which he has done consistently.
Georgia is going to run the football in this contest and Texas, like most teams in their conference, struggles at time against the run. Georgia has the best defense Texas will see this season.
Texas is looking for its first 10-win season in almost a decade, and I think the Longhorns will come in highly motivated to show the country they belong in this contest. Texas is always going to have great athletes and UGA better come into this game expecting a 60-minute fight to the end.
Keys to the game: The Texas run defense. Can Texas slow down the power run game of UGA?
Georgia’s motivation. Will the Dawgs be motivated to play at peak level?
Can Texas exploit the Georgia secondary?
Will Georgia open up and attack the Longhorn secondary?
I think this will be a great contest that UGA wins 41-28 and finishes 12-2. This may set up a national championship run in 2019.
Texas is on its way back in being a national power. UGA is a national power. Enjoy these times Dawg Nation.
Rambling Wreck To Quick Lane Bowl
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services
One of the best things about the holiday season is bowl games.
We all know the prestigious bowl games are played closer to the start of the New Year like the Rose Bowl or Orange Bowl. Then we have the games that occur prior to that.
That takes us to the Quick Lane Bowl played the day after Christmas. I’ve always heard it was lovely in Detroit in late December so this is a great location.
Georgia Tech and Minnesota will square off in this game. Several Tech players felt disrespected by this bowl selection and took to social media to express that.
“Feels like a slap in the face,” offensive lineman Scott Morgan tweeted.
A-back Qua Sercy: “How do we finish FOURTH in the ACC and get the lowest bowl in the ACC!!! HOW!!!”
Quarterback TaQuon Marshall: “I’m baffled at this bowl game.”
The Belk Bowl seemed like the most likely destination since it’s played in Charlotte and they would have played an SEC team. Virginia was selected to that game despite losing to the Ramblin Wreck. They also were not picked for the Pinstripe and Military Bowl over teams they beat (Miami & Virginia Tech).
One thing that played a factor is attendance. The Yellow Jackets average home attendance (43,087) is the lowest since 2001, which was before Bobby Dodd Stadium’s capacity was expanded. It will be Tech’s first bowl game outside of the Southeast or Texas since playing in the Humanitarian Bowl in 2007 in Boise, Idaho.
This is the first game between Minnesota and Georgia Tech. The Golden Gophers (6 -6) were 3-6 in Big Ten play. This should be a good way to send Paul Johnson out with a win. The Jackets will be short one player, quarterback James Graham who is academically ineligible. He is the backup behind Marshall and No. 2 Tobias Oliver.
Tech is healthy and should have all available weapons for the bowl game.
“I’ve tried to approach it like every other game,” Johnson said. “It’s more about the players. They’re the ones who won six of the last eight games and we want to try to give them a good plan to get ready to go play and certainly (we) want to go out as a winner if we can. That’s been all my effort.”
Tech leads the nation in rushing, averaging 335 yards per game. This is the final game using the triple option so we can expect a heavy dose of the ground game. Minnesota is ranked 63rd in total defense so I don’t expect them to stop the rushing attack.
The Gophers have some explosive weapons on offense. Wide receiver Tyler Johnson leads the team with 1,112 yards, 10 touchdowns and averages 15 yards per catch. Freshman running back Mohamed Ibrahim has 936 yards and 7 TD’s. They had an injury to starting freshman QB Zack Annexstad back in October and he was replaced by Tanner Morgan. They’re almost identical statistically, both throwing over 1,200 yards.
This should be a high scoring game but I expect Georgia Tech to win.
Coming In Flocks
By: Mike Anthony
GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services
Bowl games often promote themselves as an entire week of fun and a celebration of what the competing teams have accomplished over the course of a long season.
Maybe some teams and fan bases out there play favorites with their bowl games and destinations, but for a Georgia Southern team that suffered through a pair of losing campaigns that ended without a postseason, there was never a doubt that the Eagles’ bowl would serve as an early Christmas present to everyone.
Well before the season had ended, Georgia Southern fans were making their bowl plans. As soon as the Eagles hit the six-win mark, hotel rooms in Mobile, Montgomery, New Orleans and Orlando began to fly off the shelves. The destination was ultimately Montgomery and Eagle Nation paid its first visit to Alabama’s capital city.
Montgomery could have easily been mistaken for Statesboro over the weekend. Not only did Georgia Southern set a record for Camellia Bowl tickets sold through a school’s athletic department, but most corners of downtown Montgomery were sporting blue and white, both before and after the game.
The party started before most fans even set off for Montgomery. In fact, it was how some fans made the trip that grabbed the early headlines.
When a bus chartered for students by Georgia Southern head coach Chad Lunsford quickly filled up, Eagle alumnus and country music star Cole Swindell stepped in and got another bus in on the action. And then a GSU booster chipped in for even more seats to be made available. By the time all was said and done, it wasn’t just bus seats, but also tickets and t-shirts that had been donated by various sponsors and organizations.
Montgomery got its first taste of the full force of Georgia Southern 24 hours before kickoff. A week’s worth of soggy and cool weather did nothing to dampen Eagle spirits, nor did it keep anyone from taking full part in the festivities.
According to one Twitter account, an Eagle fan made his way to a designated fan meetup following a Friday evening pep rally for the team. In keeping with a competitive nature that seems to bridge the gap between Eagle players and fans, the supporter was about to ask a bartender how the fan participation compared to Appalachian State’s previous appearances in the Camellia Bowl, only to be told that Eagle fans had already topped their Sun Belt rivals in that category.
I awoke on the morning of the game to photographic evidence that proved Saturday would be an even more overwhelming showing of support by Eagle fans. Numerous emails sent to tailgaters stressed that the parking lots wouldn’t open until 9 a.m. On Friday, more emails stated that 8 a.m. was the absolute earliest anyone should show up.
The photo I received showed my friend’s tents and flags already assembled in the tailgating lot with a grill warming up. It was 6 a.m.
By the time the team arrived at the stadium, Eagle Nation was in a fever pitch. Once again arriving in style in some yellow busses borrowed from local schools, the team had to stop short of its designated drop-off. The sea of Eagle fans was too thick to drive through, but the players were happy to walk the rest of the way while doling out high-fives.
The game offered its own excitement that can be diagnosed and debated, but if the purpose of a bowl game is really to celebrate a good season, Georgia Southern fans and players were winners well before Tyler Bass split the uprights for the Eagles’ 23-21 victory.
All through the winter, spring and summer of 2018 the Eagles put in the work that was necessary to turn a 2-10 squad into a 10-3 bowl winner.
During the offseason, the fans were relegated to nervous optimism on the sidelines, but came forward in droves to spur the team on once it became evident that winning football was back in Statesboro.
In the end, both groups had every reason to celebrate – and they did.
From chartered bus trips, to late-night parties, to several clutch plays that will be recounted again and again, Georgia Southern took everything that bowl season had to offer.
And after a week’s worth of Georgia Southern fans and players doing what they do best, it might be Montgomery – and any future bowl destinations for the Eagles – that is left wanting more.
New Sting?
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services
By now, we are all aware the Paul Johnson has stepped down as Georgia Tech’s head coach. He was replaced by Geoff Collins. I’m not sure how I feel about this hire so let’s take a look at Collins and his coaching history.
Collins is from Conyers, Georgia so he’s back in his home state. He played linebacker at Western Carolina (1989 – 1992). After graduation, he coached at his alma mater during the 1993 and 1994 seasons.
Following a year coaching high school, Collins became the linebacker coach for Fordham in 1996 before becoming the defensive coordinator at Albright College from 1997 through 1998. Collins would leave Albright to become a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech under George O’Leary for the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
He was promoted to tight ends coach at Tech for the 2001 season. Collins would return to his alma mater to become Western Carolina’s defensive coordinator from 2002 through 2005 before returning to Georgia Tech in 2006 as the Director of Player Personnel. The following year he became Director of Player Personnel at Alabama.
He became a defensive coordinator at FIU (2010), Mississippi State (2011 – 2014) and Florida (2015 – 16). Then he took over as head coach at Temple for the past two seasons.
One good thing is that Collins has experience coaching at Tech. He’s also a much better recruiter than Paul Johnson. The current recruiting class ranks 48th nationally and 10th in the ACC. For Johnson’s recruiting classes that is typical. The highest recruiting class under him was 41st.
Collins is aware that there are recruiting challenges unique to Georgia Tech but he is already aware and prepared for that. As the Yellow Jackets director of player personnel his 2007 recruiting class was ranked 15th nationally and included Morgan Burnett, Jonathan Dwyer, Derrick Morgan and Joshua Nesbitt.
The Ramblin’ Wreck has been outmatched from a talent standpoint under Paul Johnson. The gap in talent has only gotten wider between them and the upper echelon programs like Clemson and Georgia. If Collins can consistently bring top 20 recruiting classes in, he can close that gap and make them more competitive against their rivals.
In his two seasons coaching the Temple Owls his record was 15 – 10. That does not sound very impressive on the surface. Temple has been a struggling football program for as long as I can remember. They have only become respectful recently. In his first year in 2017 they were 7 – 6. In 2018 he improved to 8 – 4.
From strictly a coaching perspective, I think Collins is slightly above average. His Owls lost the season opener to an FCS team, Villanova. They are cross-town rivals but he should never lose to FCS competition.
I think this is a good hire mainly because the fan base has grown tired of Paul Johnson and it’s time for a change. His triple option scheme has hindered recruiting. Collins is bringing a pro-style offense and that will help with gaining recruits that want to play in the NFL.
He is also a defensive coach and the Jackets have been abysmal on D. In 2018 Temple ranked sixth nationally in yards per play and are tied for third in takeaways. Only time will tell but I believe Georgia Tech should improve under Collins.
