Georgia Bulldogs
Tiers
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After a couple of weeks into the 2023 season. There are signs that the SEC may be down in football in 2023. There will be plenty of time to reverse that perception, but as of today here are my SEC Tier rankings so far for 2023.
TIER ONE:
1 – Georgia: Georgia is the gold standard in the SEC currently. Two cupcakes disposed of so far with SEC opener this week against South Carolina. If UGA drops a couple of games will the SEC even be represented in the College Football Playoff this season?
2 – LSU: The loss to FSU was awful, but who else goes into this spot right now? LSU is talented and should regroup in time for the Alabama game to be for the SEC West title.
Can Brian Kelly get it done in Baton Rouge? LSU’s history says yes, but Brian Kelly’s history says no. We’ll see soon.
3 – Alabama: Physically whipped on the fronts by Texas who may end up being great, but warning signs are there if you are an Alabama fan.
Don’t close the door on Nick Saban. This is still a very talented and proud football program which makes them dangerous for the rest of this season.
TIER TWO:
4 — Texas A&M: The loss to Miami puts Jimbo on the hot seat. No reason this talented roster should stink the way they do.
A&M has a $77 million dollar quandary on their hands. If Jimbo is fired, they must pay that huge buy-out. Alabama comes to College Station this fall.
5 – Tennessee: Is Joe Milton really that guy? A struggle with Austin Peay raised questions about the Vols as they head to Gainesville, which has been a house of horrors for Tennessee for a long time. Vols have lost 9 straight there and have not won there since 2003.
6- Ole Miss: Big Road win at Tulane, and Alabama coming up soon will tell us all we need to know about Ole Miss.
Ole Miss has an experienced OL and a solid run game with Lane calling the plays. Division play is ending after 2023 in the SEC. Ole Miss has never represented the West in Atlanta for the SEC title game. Now or never Rebs.
TIER THREE:
7 – Missouri: I like this defense. A team you don’t want to sleep on.
8 – Arkansas: Are you buying the Razorback hype? I’m not this team is about to get exposed in SEC play.
9 – Auburn: This is the lowest you’ll see this team in the power rankings right now. Moving forward Hugh Freeze will have Auburn in the elite status in 2024 and beyond.
10 – Kentucky: N.C. State transfer Devin Leary is all the hype at quarterback. They are effective at what they do, which is to bore the hell out of you.
TIER FOUR:
11 – South Carolina: Expectations exceed talent and depth. 9 sacks surrendered against UNC is a huge warning sign going into SEC play.
12 – Mississippi State: This team has a lot of unknowns, which is why they land here in their traditional spot in rankings like these. Historic bottom feeder.
13 – Florida: Gators have a schedule that can get a coach fired. Florida has fired a lot of coaches lately.
Billy Napier can recruit Florida out of this, but he needs time.
Statement game against Tennessee this weekend. The Utah game was bad. This team looks talented on defense.
14 – Vanderbilt: Vandy’s destiny is here. It is their birthright. Hopefully one day they can climb out of here.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch September 15
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch July 14
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch June 2
A New Home?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It was announced this week that the Georgia/Florida football game will remain in Jacksonville through the 2025 football season.
The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party has been held in Jacksonville since 1933. The 1994 and 1995 contests were held in Gainesville and Athens due to Jacksonville being granted the Jaguars by the NFL in expansion. The old Gator Bowl was turned into what we now know as TIAA Bank Field.
Both universities released statements below regarding the agreement:
“We are pleased with the decision to exercise the option that will keep the game in Jacksonville for 2024 and 2025,” said UGA J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks, via a release from Georgia.
“We look forward to discussions that I’m sure will continue over the next couple years exploring all the options for 2026 and beyond. We continue to be appreciative of the working relationship we have with the University of Florida and the City of Jacksonville.”
“The City of Jacksonville has been a historic host for one of the greatest rivalry games in all of college football,” Florida Athletics Director Scott Stricklin said. “We are excited to have the game in Jacksonville for another two seasons.”
Where the game will be played beyond 2025 is still unknown. The City of Jacksonville recently announced that TIAA Bank Field will undergo major renovations in 2026 and 2027, which means the Jaguars will play their home games in another venue for those two seasons.
Do not panic Jaguars fans. You are not relocating to London.
Based on that the future beyond 2025 is up in the air. Florida is the designated home team in odd numbered years and will be the home team this season.
With this announcement we know officially that Georgia and Florida will be permanent opponents when the SEC expands in 2024 with the addition of Oklahoma and Texas.
It has pretty much been documented that that would be the case, but the new agreement cements that.
I’m a proponent of always keeping the UGA/UF game in Jacksonville. It is part of SEC tradition. There is a growing movement within the UGA fan base to move the game to a ‘home and home’.
I personally think it is driven by Atlanta metro area Dawg fans that don’t feel as strongly about the game staying in Jacksonville.
You see UGA fans in the Atlanta area can travel to Athens in usually under an hour on gameday, then go back home and sleep in their own beds at night after the contest.
You hear many in the Atlanta area say if not home and home then rotate between Jacksonville and Atlanta and let some of the revenue the game generates benefit the state of Georgia.
Well, the current location in Jacksonville benefits the Golden Isles of Georgia to the tune of $6-$8 million dollars annually for a 3-day weekend in late October. Atlanta already has the SEC Championship game.
South Georgia Dawg fans basically make a weekend of it in Athens for every home UGA game due to travel distance.
And many fans south of Macon are season ticket holders. Think about that for a second.
Economically the game in Jacksonville is a financial windfall for both schools. Playing the series home-and-home would net Florida and Georgia just $1.5 million annually according to The Gainesville Sun, a $3 million shortfall compared to playing in Jacksonville.
Each school would make about $3 million playing games at their respective stadiums, but that revenue would have to extend over a two-year period. Each school receives about $2.9 million dollars each annually by playing in Jacksonville.
Keep the game in Jacksonville. Kirby Smart is the king of college football currently. Recruiting rules can change if the king pushes that narrative so UGA can host recruits in Jacksonville.
There is no experience like the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville on the last weekend in October.
Due to stadium renovations, you could see the Gators in Athens in 2026.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch May 26
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch May 12
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch April 21
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch February 17
The Barn Sign
By: Steve Norris
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Ross Smith had seen enough…and decided to let the world know about it.
It was Saturday, October 28th, 2000. Smith’s beloved Georgia Bulldogs had just suffered another frustrating loss to Steve Spurrier and the Florida Gators. It was the Dawgs’ 10th loss to the Gators in 11 games dating back to 1990, and Dawg fans were getting tired of it.
“We were angry that (Head Coach) Jim Donnan had decided to play Quincy Carter at quarterback over Cory Phillips.” Ross Smith, cousins and friends wanted people to know about it.
The week before, Carter was out due to injury, so Cory Phillips stepped in and led the Dawgs to a road victory over the Kentucky Wildcats, throwing for 400 yards and four touchdown passes.
“We thought for sure that Phillips had earned the chance to play against Florida,” said Smith. “Instead, Donnan went with Carter, who went out and threw three interceptions and looked horrible in yet another loss (to Florida).”
And that’s how The Barn Sign was born.
That night, Smith bought some red, white, and black paint and brought the dilapidated former corner store to life with its first message to Dawg fans everywhere: “TO HELL WITH CARTER…PHILLIPS FOR PRESIDENT”
“It was an election year, so going with “President” made sense to me,” said Smith.
The “barn” doesn’t actually belong to Smith. It is owned by his first cousins, James and Jonathan Hitchcock, who live on and operate the farm across the street.
It was originally a corner store from the mid-50’s to the late 70’s, according to Smith.
“There was a family that ran it and lived in a small room on the side of the building,” said Smith. “I’m not sure how they did it all those years. The room they lived in wasn’t as big as my truck and there’s never been any running water.”
After the first message in 2000, Smith began changing the sign a few times a year.
“I would change it at the end of the season, on National Signing Day (which was in February then), two weeks before the season to get Dawg fans pumped up, and then after the Florida game.
If we lost the Florida game, I would put up a message ribbing Gator fans, and if we’d won, I’d just put up the score. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to put the score up very much the first ten years or so,” Smith said laughingly.
Around 2010, the building began to rot in some places due to water leaks when it rained. Smith came home from a trip one day and noticed the building was leaning badly. “I just figured that was it. I was done painting The Barn Sign,” said Smith.
What he didn’t realize was how popular the sign had truly become. “People were sending me messages on Facebook asking me when I was going to fix the sign and paint it again,” said Smith. “I was fresh out of college and didn’t have a lot of money. I told the fans that if they wanted the sign back up, I needed them to donate money to help me pay for it.
I figured I needed around $1500 to make repairs, so I set up a PayPal account and raised $1700 in ten days. In fact, I had to turn the account off because money was coming in so fast.” Smith said.
Once the sign was repaired, its popularity began to grow exponentially. Smith has been interviewed by ESPN along with other large newspapers.
The Barn Sign Facebook page is approaching 55,000 “likes” while Smith’s daily page posts attract a lot of traffic.
Even while I was interviewing Smith in front of the sign, located on Highway 15 between Tennille and Wrightsville, around 15-20 people parked on the highway next to the sign to get a glimpse and take pictures in front of the iconic building. Of course, the current sign has a lot to do with that. Today it reads:
21-22 BACK-TO-BACK NATIONAL CHAMPIONS.
For Smith and all Georgia fans, it’s truly the best message ever and a “sign” that like Georgia football, The Barn Sign has a lot of great years ahead of it.
