Bishop Media Sports Network
It’s Game Day In Athens
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
ESPN announced that College GameDay will be headed to the Classic City for Arkansas versus Georgia. Dawg fans are complaining about the noon kick-off, but I like it. ESPN will have eyeballs from 10 am to midnight.
This isn’t College GameDay’s first visit to Athens. GameDay has been on Georgia’s campus five times. Here are those results.
October 10, 1998: #5 Tennessee vs #3 Georgia. Tee Martin and the Volunteers came “Between the Hedges” and dominated the Dawgs. Strolling out of Athens with a convincing 22-3 win en route to winning a National Championship.
September 27, 2009: #8 Alabama vs #3 Georgia. This was Georgia’s big Blackout game that wasn’t. This was one of the most anticipated games of 2008. The Tide opened the game by punching the Dawgs in the mouth. The game was over at halftime with a score of 31-0, Bama. The final score of 41-30 was more cosmetic than the result.
September 21, 2013: #6 LSU vs #9 Georgia. The battle between Murray and Mettenberger, both quarterbacks put on an offensive firework show. Mettenberger had a career day 23 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns. Murray did not disappoint, completing 20 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns. One of the loudest days in Sanford Stadium’s history. Whoever had the ball last would win. Murray found Justin Scott Wesley for the game clinching touchdown with less than two minutes left in the 4th quarter. This, my friends, is a classic. If you are ever bored, pull this one up, sit back and enjoy.
September 21, 2019: #7 Notre Dame vs #3 Georgia. A perfect day in Athens to host the Fighting Irish in the Classic City. Jake Fromm and Lawrence Cager didn’t show the same southern hospitality, Fromm threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Cager early in the fourth quarter and the Dawgs survived for a 23-17 victory. This was also the debut of the Celebrated Red Lights at Stanford Stadium to add to the already electric Light Up Stanford tradition at the close of the third quarter.
October 3, 2020. #7 Auburn vs #3 Georgia. Stetson Bennett and The JunkYard Dawg’s Defense led Georgia to a 27-6 win over the Tigers in last year’s rendition of “The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.” GameDay was held inside Stanford Stadium with no fans due to COVID.
October 2, 2021. #8 Arkansas vs #2 Georgia. The Hogs come in 4-0 with wins over Texas and Texas A&M. It is important to emphasize that Arkansas is a good football team. Vegas book makers have installed them as a 19.5 underdog. That’s because Georgia is an elite football team. Kirby Smart has built a roster loaded with studs on both sides of the ball.
Georgia’s defense looks impermeable and the offense continues to stretch the field. Georgia 44 Arkansas 13.
MCA Buccaneers Coach’s Show w Bradley Warren September 29
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron September 29
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender September 22
The Bright Sunshine
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It has been cloudy in The Sunshine State for the Big Four (UF, FSU, UCF & Miami). All four teams recently suffered setbacks and the storm clouds are building up around a couple programs.
Miami and Florida State are on the list of programs with a name that inspires nostalgia and memorable expectations, but with little or no reference to recent big-time success.
Manny Diaz and Mike Norvell may not be on the “hot seat” right now, but with recent performances their seat will be red hot in no time.
Speculation about Diaz and Norvell seems sure to start. Who could replace them in Coral Gables and Tallahassee? If fans had their way, both would be gone immediately.
Here’s a realistic list of replacements, so you won’t see James Franklin, Deion Sanders, Mario Cristobal, or Urban Meyer on this list.
- P.J. Fleck, Minnesota head coach: Fleck has a 27-20 record with two bowl game wins that includes an Outback Bowl win over Auburn.
Fleck is known for his motto Row the Boat. I could see Fleck leaving Minnesota for a high-end job like Florida State or Miami. In some respects (as bad as things are at UM and FSU), Fleck could be rowing his boat in Florida water next year.
- Mark Stoops, Kentucky head coach: In his ninth season, Stoops has a 52-50 record.
The Wildcats are a basketball school, but Stoops has made them somewhat respectable. Stoops has ties to the last of Miami’s glory days; he was the defensive back coach under Larry Coker from 2001-2003.
Both teams would prefer Mark’s brother Bob, but among realistic candidates, they’ll settle with Mark.
- Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina head coach: Chadwell hit the national radar with an 11-1 record in 2020.
Chadwell has built his system quickly during his time as a head coach. Coastal Carolina went from three, to five, to 11 wins in Chadwell’s first three seasons.
Coastal Carolina couldn’t afford to keep Chadwell if either Florida State or Miami came calling. Chadwell’s track record of building a winner will bring Power 5 money, so watch out for his name.
- Lane Kiffen, Ole’ Miss head coach: Kiffen has been the head coach for the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Volunteers, USC Trojans, Florida Atlantic Owls and his current gig with Ole’ Miss.
Kiffen is a relentless recruiter and offensive mastermind. His name will be thrown into discussion for every job opening in 2021.
He would be a perfect fit with both programs, because he knows the terrain and he’s a fierce competitor.
1.Tony Elliott, Clemson Offensive Coordinator: This OC has been in talks for several jobs in past years.
He has been waiting for the right job and most importantly, a big-time job.
Elliott has the best resumé and accolades for a non-head coach. He is a respected recruiter in the South Florida area, and that is essential to building a college football program. If Elliott is to become a head coach, it will likely be a blue blood.
Getting the hires right for Miami and Florida State is extremely important for the trajectory of these once dominant programs.
Contrarily, this article can be for nothing if Miami and Florida State turn it around on the field with their current Head Coaches.
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron September 21
Where’s The Buzz
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We’re a few games into the college football season, so we have a small sample size to evaluate teams.
The team we are going to examine is Georgia Tech. Geoff Collins is in his third season as head coach and I’m wondering has the program gotten any better?
The Yellow Jackets started the season with a loss at home to Northern Illinois, 22 – 21. Losing to a school outside of the Power 5 is embarrassing enough, but the Huskies were winless in 2020 (0-6). This game should have been an easy win before ACC play begins.
The one positive from that game is Jordan Yates came in to relieve an injured Jeff Sims at quarterback. I believed he was a better player and he has played like it so far.
The next game was against an FCS team, Kennesaw State. They won 45 – 17, which is expected.
The Jackets then went to #6 Clemson. Last season the Tigers humiliated Tech, 73 – 7. In 2019 they won 52 – 17. Clemson did have the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Trevor Lawrence playing quarterback in those games. They also had fellow first-round pick, running back Travis Etienne.
They are replacing a lot of talent and experience, but we expect a program like them to reload. Their offense looked anemic in the season opener, but they did play an elite Georgia defense.
The Tigers won, 14 – 8. This score was much closer than anyone would have predicted. Did Tech close the talent gap between the programs or is Clemson overrated?
I think the truth is closer to Clemson struggling on offense, led by sophomore quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. He completed 18 of 25 pass attempts for 126 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
Yates completed 20 of 34 passes for 203 yards, no touchdown and 1 interception.
Clemson had not been held under 20 points in an ACC game since losing 28-6 to Tech in 2014. Likewise, the Tigers’ 284 yards of total offense was their fewest since the same loss to Tech, when they gained 190 yards.
The Tech defense came out in a 3-3 (three defensive linemen, three linebackers) look for the first time this season after playing out of a 4-2-5 (four linemen, two linebackers, five defensive backs) as its base defense. They worked on the 3-3 throughout the preseason but Collins did not feel they were ready for the first two games.
“And then once the guys were really confident in playing it, we rolled it out there (Saturday) and they did a really nice job with it,” Collins said.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said that Tech lined up in “absolutely nothing that we prepared for.”
This moral victory may give the team some confidence going forward. The question is will that translate to wins?
Looking at the rest of the schedule I think there are four games they have a chance to win; Duke, Virginia, Boston College and Miami.
Pitt, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and Georgia are guaranteed loses. The Yellow Jackets are in for another losing season and missing a bowl appearance.
MCA Buccaneers Coach’s Show w Bradley Warren September 20
Fear The Spear?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It was a nightmare for Florida State football fans, it was their first EVER loss to an FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) opponent, falling 20-17 to Jacksonville State, allowing a 59-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass as time expired.
It usually gets worse before it gets better, but Coach Mike Norvell has not shown anything on the field for me to suggest any upward trajectory. All Coach Norvell has done so far is apologize.
Coach Norvell said, “Did not have our team ready to play today.” That was evident from the start of the game, UCF transfer McKenzie Milton had not one, but two touchdown throws dropped by Milik McClain and Keyshawn Helton.
The offense committed penalty after penalty and could not find a rhythm. For most of the game, Florida State’s defense was solid, but undisciplined; blown coverages literally cost them the W. Six days after the moral (losers) victory against Notre Dame, FSU suffered the worst loss in program history.
College football today is becoming the land of haves and have nots. Florida State: yes, the Florida State that was not far removed from being a dominant program in college football in the mid 2010s, finds itself a ‘have not’ in the early 2020s.
In truth, I don’t know where Florida State goes from here. If you feel they hit rock bottom, then up, but could the program fall into the lower ranks of ‘has beens’ such as Nebraska, Texas and Miami?
Since Jimbo Fisher departed from Tallahassee, Florida State has been in the dumps, both financially and on the field. FSU fired Wille Taggart near the end of his second season and have now made their bed with Mike Norvell, who has 3 wins in 11 games so far.
Can Florida State afford to even consider another change this early on in Norvell’s tenure? Mike Norvell’s buyout is $18 million. Most coaches are given at least three seasons before trajectory dictates job security, but Florida State has already set precedent with Willie Taggart that they are unafraid to pull the plug on a failing coach.
Florida State owes Willie Taggart about $17 million for his buyout. The next month is extremely important for Norvell if he wants to keep his job in Tallahassee.
I entered the season predicting Florida State would go 6-6, and I’m no longer convinced that 6-6 is attainable.
Florida State currently has the 10th ranked recruiting class in the country. Recruits are singing the right tune at this moment. Fans have to continue to hope this class sticks together. But I’ve heard this tune before and so has the transfer portal.
Is Florida State a victim of high expectations that are no longer realistic? Besides Clemson, the ACC is not a great conference; and winning 8-10 games a year shouldn’t be too tall of a task.
Due to economics, Norvell is not on the hot seat in 2021. Norvell is in his second of his six-year deal, and his buyout is 85% of his remaining base salary.
I fear that Florida State is entering a cycle where they’re going to be so deep in a hole that climbing out of it and returning to a consistently great standard is going to be an insurmountable task.
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show w Brandon Derrick September 15
