Georgia Bulldogs
The SEC East Crystal Ball
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are now under three months and counting until the start of College Football Season.
As far as I’m concerned, no other sport compares to College Football and the best conference from top to bottom is the SEC.
Clemson from the ACC won the Natty in 2018, but the ACC is nothing near the caliber of the SEC in football. If that previous statement bothers you then get some sensitivity training. We will take a look at the SEC East.
Here are my SEC East Predictions for 2019:
Georgia 11-1: Kirby Smart is the best recruiter in the business. Georgia has the best 85-man roster in the country.
Jake Fromm could be a sleeper contender for the Heisman. The offense could be scary good with the best offensive line coach and players in the country.
Will this team lay an egg against someone they are not supposed to? History says yes.
I’m dreading the Auburn trip on 11/16. This team will play for the SEC title and will contend for the College Football Playoff. If the Dawgs win the SEC, they are in. This could finally be the year. The pass rush must improve in 2019.
Missouri 9-3: Kelly Bryant will be at QB in 2019. Barry Odom is doing a fine job in Columbia. Could the Tigers be 8-0 coming to Athens on November 9th? Florida comes calling on November 16th for second place in the East. Give me the Tigers over the Gators.
Florida 8-4: Two words, Feleipe Franks. Will Franks lead the Gators to back to back 10-win seasons?
Dan Mullen has trolled UGA in the off-season, but the schedule is tough. The Gators open against Miami and have Auburn, LSU, and Georgia in the heart of the SEC schedule.
Florida is putting all of its’ eggs in the Georgia basket, but they better be careful.
They have a solid defense, but again Feleipe Franks. If this team contends in the East it will be because of improved QB play. Can Mullen recruit with Kirby? Time will tell.
Tennessee 7-5: If the Vols win in Gainesville on 9/21 then excitement goes through the roof in Rocky Top.
Jeremy Pruitt is a fantastic coach and he is starting to put some pieces together in Knoxville.
Will Tennessee ever beat Alabama again in football? Pruitt needs two more top 15 recruiting classes to get Tennessee back to being Tennessee again. Be patient Vol fans you are on the way back.
South Carolina 6-6: The Gamecocks have a brutal schedule. Alabama and Texas A&M from the west and Clemson to close out.
I think Will Muschamp is a pretty good football coach, but with Georgia being a national power, and Florida and Tennessee on the way back it is going to be hard for Carolina to get any traction in the division.
South Carolina is putting together a good 2020 recruiting class. This team will upset someone in 2019, and ruin their season.
Kentucky 5-7: The Cats will come back down to earth in 2019. Benny Snell is gone.
The Cats host Florida early in the season after breaking a long losing streak that stretched over 30 to the Gators in 2018. Basketball is king in Kentucky. Cats go back to being a bottom feeder in football.
Vanderbilt 3-9: Vandy hosts UGA in the opener and LSU in week 3. This is going to be a long season for Vandy football.
Vandy fans might better tune into the College World Series starting this weekend as that may be the high-water mark for the athletic program for the rest of 2019.
Biggest division game: UGA vs UF in Jacksonville
Division upset of the Year: South Carolina over Texas A&M. The Aggies get caught overlooking Carolina at home the week before playing Georgia in Athens.
Bowl Teams: Georgia, Missouri, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina.
Special Breed
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
College basketball teams can have the perception of their program altered more than any other sport, based off of a single recruit.
We’re still an entire football season away from the start of the college basketball season, but it’s not too early to talk about how important Anthony Edwards could be to Georgia basketball.
To say that UGA hasn’t been a popular destination for top level basketball talent is a bit like saying Winterfell isn’t a popular vacation destination for anyone with the last name Lannister.
Even though Georgia has done a decent job in the past of recruiting within the state, they have struggled when it comes to bringing in top level talent.
There have been a number of in-state recruits that listed Georgia, or Georgia Tech for that matter, as one of their final schools only to spurn them for another program. (Most of these recruits never seriously considered staying in state, but the consensus thought is that by listing them it would give the schools a little notoriety and maybe help with lesser recruits.)
As big a deal as it was to get a Top 5 recruit like Edwards to sign, it carries even more weight since he’s from Atlanta.
Let’s assume Edwards has an All-SEC type season and helps lead Georgia back to the NCAA Tournament- all expectations that normally follow a recruit ranked this high- it could open numerous opportunities for the Dawgs on the recruiting trails.
For one, Tom Crean would be able to use Edwards as a recent example of the program’s ability to showcase one and done talent while preparing them for the NBA.
More importantly, it will be much easier to entice some of the higher rated 4-star recruits to come to Athens. I highly doubt Georgia will be able to compete with schools like Duke and Kentucky on the recruiting trail, but if they can start landing the kids ranked in the 30-50 range consistently, you’ll start seeing a program making deep runs in the tournament.
North Carolina made it to back to back championships with those same second tiered players, and Virginia did this year, to an extent.
If Edwards happens to struggle this season and his draft stock falls, it will undoubtedly have a negative impact. Programs that bring in Top 10 recruit after Top 10 recruit can afford to miss on one every now and again. When you’ve only had one, it’s hard to recover if it doesn’t work out.
It’s kind of like dating; if you have a lot of good times, you’ll overlook the toilet seat being left up or the hour and a half it takes to get ready. If not, go ahead and leave one scoop of ice cream in the carton and see how that works out.
And look, I’m not saying that if Edwards doesn’t work out quite the way Georgia hopes that all is lost and they should just shut down the program and go home. More than likely things will continue to be status quo; a middle to lower level SEC team that considers making the tournament a huge win.
No matter where the program is five to six years from now fans will be able to look back and see how pivotal a role Edwards played. All it takes is one player to change the future of a program, for the good as well as the bad. After years of trying, Georgia finally has that player.
A Louder Bark
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I was a sophomore in high school, driving around in a lime-green Chevy Chevette with a neon orange bumper sticker that read “Save gas, fart in a jar” the last time the Georgia men’s basketball program “officially” won a game in the NCAA tournament. (I’m sure I don’t have to remind you the 2002 win has been vacated, but just in case, that’s why it’s not counted.)
It’s been twenty-three years since the ‘96 team advanced to the round of 32 and while I don’t think that feeling of loss is going to change this year, there are definitely signs the streak could come to an end within the next two years.
Normally when a program has suffered through this type of drought, especially when playing in a major conference, it has to do with some mixture of coaching, talent, and sanctions. In Georgia’s case they hit the ineptitude trifecta.
It’s always been difficult to recruit top level talent to Athens, but I know the hope was all that would change when Tom Crean was hired; finally, a coach with the cache to bring in that top tier talent.
Crean has already started to show promise on the recruiting trail with two commitments from 4-star recruits and could really bolster things if he is able to land Anthony Edwards, a 5-star guard out of Atlanta. (Edwards is a heavy Florida State lean, but stranger things have happened.)
That being said, the likelihood of the Bulldogs making and winning a NCAA tournament game in the next two years isn’t based on who is entering the program, but rather the three standout sophomores currently on the team.
I doubt there was much fanfare when Nicolas Claxton, Rayshaun Hammonds, and Teshaun Hightower arrived on campus, but the trio are proving to be a sturdy foundation on which Crean can rebuild the program on.
Claxton is having an all-conference season this year and Hammonds isn’t too far behind and should be mentioned in the conversation of all conference player next year.
Hightower on the other hand has that aura of a being the player who tends be an afterthought when compared to the other two, but is quietly one of the most vital players on the team.
Really, besides injury or someone leaving early for the NBA, the only thing I see preventing them for turning things around is the fact the SEC has become a very good basketball conference. If I’m not mistaken it was just a few seasons ago where you had Kentucky in the Top 25 and maybe one other SEC team, but that was about it.
Now the conference has two to three legitimate top 10 teams and about six or seven that deserve the be in the top 25.
Georgia could arguably have their best team in years when the season starts next year, but struggle because the rest of the league has upped their game.
The talent is starting to show, as evident in Georgia’s recent victory over Texas, but it’s still a young team.
Tom Crean was brought in to bring respectability back to the men’s basketball program. Entering this season, it would’ve been easy to think he would need to bring in his own players to achieve that, but there are a few current players who don’t want to wait.
I parted ways with my old Chevette years ago; I think Georgia’s basketball team will be parting ways with their years of futility soon, too.
Super Running Back U
By: Kipp Branch
GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services
When the Patriots selected Sony Michel in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft you just knew he would come in and have a great year with the franchise of the century.
Michel along with Nick Chubb had great rookie seasons in the league which is no surprise as the both came from the University of Georgia or better known as Running Back U.
Now, you have a marquee matchup with Running Back U legends in Super Bowl LIII in Sony and Running Back U legend Todd Gurley or TG3 as superstars have their own tag line.
Other than Herschel, I have never seen a more talented back at UGA than Gurley. He has the size, speed, and vision that is makes him a generational running back.
TG3 is currently the best running back in the NFL, which makes him the best running back in football period.
TG3 just has a knack for scoring touchdowns. Gurley has been a major factor in the resurgence of the Los Angeles Rams as they make their first Super Bowl appearance in 18 years.
Sony Michel is a beloved player in UGA circles. The Rose Bowl performance against Oklahoma makes him an all-time great with just that game alone. Sony always had a knack for making big plays a key time in big games during his UGA career.
My wife has his #1 UGA jersey hanging in the closet and puts it on every Saturday for UGA games. Sony is not big, sneaky fast, but has great vision and just seems to always make someone miss and he just makes plays.
Now the two RBU legends face each other in the Super Bowl next week. TG3 had a huge 100-yard performance against a Dallas Cowboy run defense that looked like Swiss Cheese in the divisional series, which sent the Cowboy nation back into their 23-year annual hibernation.
That alone makes him a hero in my book. He didn’t play much due to being banged up in the NFC title games against the Saints, but he will be ready in the Super Bowl. Look for him and the high-powered Rams offense to have a good day.
Sony, in my opinion is the biggest reason why the Patriots are back this year. Sony has been a steady threat in the run game and teams can’t just focus on stopping Tom Brady they now have to stop a balanced offense. That makes New England ever more dangerous as the Chargers and Chiefs just found out. Sony ran wild against the Chargers and Chiefs with back to back 100-yard games.
Running Back U will be on full display in Super Bowl LIII with Gurley and Michel. Any high-profile high school running back looking for a place to get ready for the NFL, look no further than the University of Georgia. RBU puts backs in the league.
I don’t really care who wins Super Bowl LIII, so I will be pulling for Running Back U to have huge games. Wouldn’t it be great if UGA produced another Super Bowl MVP?
What college has produced more Super Bowl MVP’s than UGA? Gator and Auburn fans look that up and let me know.
State Champs?
By: JJ Lanier
GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services
While both the Georgia and Georgia Tech basketball programs seem to be in a race back to mediocrity- one that neither team looks to be in a hurry to achieve- Georgia State has made a strong argument to carry the mantle of “best college basketball program in Georgia”.
It’s easy to dismiss what the Panthers have accomplished over the last five years. Including this season, since they play in the Sun Belt conference, but that would be a mistake.
Over that five years span, Georgia State has had more appearances in the NCAA than both Georgia and Georgia Tech combined (two to one) and is the only school with a tournament win, advancing to the Round of 32 in 2015 and 2018.
As a point of reference, the last time Tech won a NCAA tournament game was 2010. Georgia’s last tournament victory came in 2002, which technically has been vacated, so it’s actually 1996.
This year the Panthers have the most dynamic and arguably the best player of the three schools in D’Marcus Simonds, as well as Ron Hunter, whom I believe is the second-best coach of the three, behind Tom Crean.
(I’ve always thought Josh Pastner was overrated, and to be completely honest with you, I’d be surprised if he’s still coaching the Yellow Jackets after next season. Crean, I think, is a good coach that was in a little over his head in Indiana, but is a good fit in Athens.)
Georgia State was also crowned the de facto winners of the completely made up title “Intrastate champions of the sport most Georgia fans only watch when their remote is broken and they don’t want to walk over to the TV to change the channel”.
They were awarded this absolutely ridiculous title after Georgia defeated Georgia Tech, courtesy of Georgia State’s 91-67 victory over the Bulldogs. Basically, they’re state champions, in the loosest sense of the word.
There’s also a good chance when you include Georgia State’s victory over Alabama, that even though they aren’t in the SEC they will enter February with as many SEC conference wins as the Bulldogs-two.
Again, while they play in a lesser conference, they have more than proven they can compete when going up against a team from a major conference. Sure, they may not be able to hang with the Duke’s and Kentucky’s of the world, but there aren’t a lot of teams that can.
Even though their entire season and whether they’ll be back in the NCAA tournament will basically come down to the Sun Belt Conference tournament, they are still the state’s best shot at making the big dance.
Barring some unforeseen miracle occurring with either the Yellow Jackets or Bulldogs, both of their tournament hopes will rest on winning their respective conference tournaments, too. I don’t know about you, but if I have to choose between those three, I’m going with the Panthers.
As I mentioned, given the chance I think Tom Crean will have the Georgia program back to respectability within the next years. And given the law of averages, Georgia Tech is bound to trip up and bring in someone that can lead them back to the tournament with some semblance of consistency.
Until that time arrives, when it comes to basketball in the state of Georgia, the Georgia State Panthers are the team to beat.
Add another trip to the tournament this year and the rest of country may find out just how good they are, too.
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.
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.
Jason Bishop Show With Kipp Branch December 8
College Football Fallout Week 2
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Week two of the college football season is now in the books and some great outcomes and storylines arose from the “Saturday that was”.
I wonder what it will take for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to consider moving in a different direction, away from Paul Johnson.
A loss to non-Power 5 South Florida has Tech fans groaning again about Johnson and that Triple Option. However, the problem isn’t the triple option or even Paul Johnson’s coaching, the problem is recruiting.
Georgia Tech was considerably outmanned against South Florida, which had athletes all over the field and that ultimately reflected on the scoreboard.
Also, currently, South Florida and UCF are the best 2 non-Power 5 teams in the country. Thus, there should not be a lot of outrage amongst the Yellow Jacket faithful about losing to the Bulls. They are currently better.
Speaking of better, I think it is pretty safe to say the Georgia Bulldogs are better than the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Dawgs went to half up by 10 and then Kirby Smart “let the Dawgs off the chain” in the second half and South Carolina had no answers.
In my opinion, Georgia and Alabama are the two best teams in the country, again.
A team that is not among the best 2 in the country is Florida. The Gators had beaten Kentucky 31 straight time and had not lost to the Wildcats since 1986.
That streak is over. Kentucky took advantage of a bad Florida offense and came away with a 27-16 win in Gainesville. Yes, in the swamp.
Long gone are the days where no one won in the Swamp except for Florida.
One thing that truly amazes me is how the University of Florida cannot find a decent QB when they are the flagship school for one of the four most talent rich states in the country.
Especially, when you thing about the great QB’s that have played there in the last 30 years. One thing is for sure, Feleipe Franks has a lot to work on.
One last thing, for people who are not paying attention, LSU is better than you think.
Next week the Bayou Bengals will have a chance to prove this to the country as they will take on the Tigers from the plains in Auburn.
The winner will have the inside shot of dethroning Alabama in the SEC West.
New Dawgs, Old Tricks
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It’s been a good start to the Kirby Smart regime. I’d be lying if I said I saw his early success coming this soon, but I have a feeling Georgia fans won’t mind me being a little off with my prediction.
While I understand the excitement, and if you’re a UGA fan you have every right to be, I would caution getting too overzealous. If you’re experiencing a bit of Deja vu, it’s because you’ve seen this movie before.
Kirby Smart and Mark Richt will be forever linked for the obvious reason that Smart succeeded Richt, after the latter was relieved of his head coaching duties. However, it’s some of the similarities concerning each coaches’ first couple years in Athens that I want to talk about; their records in particular.
For one, they both arrived as first-time head coaches. Sure, that’s not necessarily life changing or anything, but neither had any other head coaching experience prior to UGA, which does play a part when assessing their early years.
And going by the first two years for each at Georgia, those seasons are almost identical.
Smart finished his inaugural season 8-5, ending up just outside the Top 25. Richt finished 8-4, ranked 25th at season’s end.
Kirby then followed that up with a second season consisting of a 13-2 record, the school’s first conference championship in over a decade, a berth in the playoffs, and a number two ranking in the final polls. That’s a sophomore slump anyone would sign up for.
What about Mark Rich’s second season? How about a 13-1 record, a conference championship for the first time in 20 years, a third-place finish in the season ending polls, and a Sugar Bowl win. Had the college playoffs actually existed during the 2002 season, Georgia would have been one of those four teams, without a doubt.
I know it’s purely coincidental, but to have two first time head coaches with almost identical seasons to start their career at the same school, is still pretty interesting.
I do have to say that Smart has done a better job on the recruiting trail, specifically with local talent. Richt did a good job with Top 10 recruiting classes those first few years, but I don’t remember him ever having a number one class, like Smart has for this upcoming season.
I know this may come across as me antagonizing the UGA fan base- like I’ve been sitting around all day, drinking beer with Skip Bayless and Danny Kanell, scheming of ways to get under your skin- but I promise it’s not like that at all. Even though it’s been 12 years since I lived in Georgia, I was a resident there long enough and remain friends with enough people, to know expectations are at an all-time high.
I’m not trying to knock Smart, or anything he has accomplished; bringing him in was obviously the right call. Bulldog fans have every reason to be excited and should be. This is the greatest amount of promise their team has had since, well, Mark Richt’s first two years.
I will say this though; if you’re a Georgia fan, finishing this upcoming season at 11-3, with a SEC East Division title, to go along with a loss in the SEC Championship game, may not be the outcome you’re looking for, for one particular reason.
As different as Smart and Richt may be in certain areas, so far, they’ve been pretty similar in the one area that counts.
