Kipp Branch
Dropped The Ball
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2002 Georgia Bulldogs finished the season as SEC Champions for the first SEC title in 20 years for UGA.
UGA beat FSU in the Sugar Bowl and finished ranked #3 nationally. This was Mark Richt’s best football team in his 15 years at UGA, but the only blemish on the schedule was at The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail party. Here is that dreadful day through the eyes of this writer.
November 2, 2002 was a beautiful day in Jacksonville.
Weather was great and Georgia fans were in Jacksonville in force.
UGA was unbeaten, Spurrier was gone to the NFL and Florida was down. They were coming into the game with three losses for the first time since the 1980’s.
This was going to be the year that UGA put UF in its place and took control over the series again.
UGA fans had been beaten into submission by the Evil Genius before he took the Washington Redskins job. Spurrier had gone 11-1 against UGA in his 12 years in Gainesville.
Ron Zook was the Florida coach and UGA came into this game very confident that they would blow out Florida.
I was supremely confident also. You could tell early in the day that the Gator Nation was nervous, and we smelled that and it was like a hungry football team attacking an all you can eat country buffet.
The game was the first and only night game at the Cocktail party. I have never talked so much trash at a football game in my life.
I just knew unbeaten UGA was going to blow out the Gators. I had my best trash talk lines ready like “Shreveport in December at the Poulan Weed Whacker Bowl, you better have a winter jacket Gators”, or my favorite “The Grand Ole Opry at Christmas time is the highlight of a Music City Bowl Trip”.
We knew well because UGA was just there the previous season, but when talking trash facts do not enter into the mix, and it’s UGA/UF and we had an 8 hour tailgate experience and who cares Georgia keeps Florida from falling into the ocean on any map or atlas you can purchase.
We started the walk from our tailgate spot to the stadium looking like Ric Flair making a championship match entrance and talked down to just about every Florida fan that would make eye contact.
We got to our seats and settled in, thankfully. Drink of the day was Jim Beam and 7-Up.
Fred Gibson was hurt and could not play. Billy Bennett missed 3 FG’s and Rex Grossman threw the WR screen pass 237 times that day and UGA just could not stop it.
At halftime I talked Scott Spence out of walking back to the truck. When UGA struggles Spence will head to back to the vehicle in a New York second. Then it happened trailing 20-13 in the 4th quarter Terrence Edwards dropped a wide open TD pass that would have tied it and reality starts creeping in.
Well UGA blows the game and a National Championship appearance to UF, and in classic Gator form they were waiting on us on what seemed like 10 mile walk back to the truck.
One lady yelled in my ear “Same ole Georgia” It escapes me what my response was back. One guy was standing on top of a planter yelling “I heard a lot of crap coming in here today, but I don’t hear anything now”.
We labeled the one hour trip back from Jax to the Golden Isles as “The Trail of Tears”. I fired Mark Richt after this game. 5th straight loss to the Gators.
Looking back on this makes me understand now that this isn’t the same ole Georgia of 2002.
Kirby has instilled toughness in the program. Georgia has better talent, and a two game winning streak and has physically whipped Florida over the past years to a combined score of 78-24.
Give me UGA 27-20 in 2019, but the game is on November 2nd again, however which makes folks like me nervous.
Steve Spurrier created that doubt in all of us Dawg fans. Damn you Ball Coach. The WLOCP is a great American sporting event that you need to experience at least once in your lifetime.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender October 23
Monday Morning QB’s
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As the color commentator for Brunswick High football radio broadcasts for the last 13 years I see good trends and bad trends during football seasons.
A disturbing trend currently is attendance for home football games for our two public high schools in Glynn County.
Currently the two high schools in Glynn County average around 1,000 spectators for a home football game. That is pretty embarrassing for high schools that play in the second highest classification in the state.
Yet, in spite of poor attendance many seem to be an expert on the direction the local programs should take and offer these takes on social media outlets and really have no idea what they are talking about.
Example, I was surfing the internet after Brunswick’s loss to Richmond Hill last week and a nameless expert hiding behind a computer said the program was trash and has been trash since a previous head coach was in charge five years ago.
Here is a nugget of wisdom for this expert, who claims Brunswick wastes so much talent and wants to throw every single head coach under the bus, the school has an all-time football record of 271-274-6. Chew on those facts for a moment, expert.
Brunswick High School has been playing football for 52 years and the historical average is five wins and five losses per season, but yet this expert expects a state title every season. However, won’t give a dime of support, or time to the program.
I’m tempted to name names here but I will refrain. Brunswick High has not played past the second round in the state playoffs since 1999 and has only accomplished that feat twice in its history.
Glynn Academy is in the best run of their football history and you hear people in the community starting to complain about the program but yet 900 people show up to a game on Friday night to support a program that has won over 50 football games over the past five seasons.
What is the deal here people? Prior to the current head coach arriving, Glynn had not won a region title in football since 1972. Now they have won four region titles in a row. Are the GA faithful a spoiled now?
Do local football coaches come to your job and boo you for missing a revenue target? Do they show up at your sales meetings and provide insights to how you should do your job better? Do they show up and yell at your kid at the recreation level when they make a mistake? Do they go on Facebook and say the North Glynn Recreation league Yellow Jackets are trash and need to fire their volunteer coach? Of course, they don’t so why is everyone an expert at football?
Kirby Smart is 37-11 at UGA, yet experts on Facebook say he is a bad coach after a loss.
Did UGA deserve to loss to South Carolina last week? Hell yeah, they did because South Carolina wanted it more on that particular day.
Programs are built through blood, sweat and tears and over time, but it can be destroyed at one family dinner by the most destructive thing in the history of mankind, the tongue. Many a Church sermon has been preached regarding taming the tongue but the lesson never seems to be learned.
When mean-spirited people bad mouth a football program it affects the bottom line for Glynn County Athletics, which depends on football to fund all other sports.
When people don’t attend games, revenue is not generated. Coach Rocky Hidalgo at Glynn told me about three years ago that when people outside the program come to him with coaching suggestions, he gives them a magic marker and tells them to draw it up on the chalkboard. I wonder how long those conversations last.
There are two pretty good head football coaches in Glynn County, and dedicated players who work their behinds off who never walk on a field intending to lose on Friday night.
Give them your support, or like my granddaddy always said “roll up your sleeves and get in the trenches with me, or keep your damn mouth shut”.
The kids in Glynn County community need your support on Friday nights. Will you support them? Wins, losses, style of offense, who is the QB, all of that stuff really doesn’t matter to a true supporter.
Are you all in Glynn County? Your support is needed.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender October 17
The Peach Curse
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Ten run top of the first inning, blown 25 point Super Bowl lead with 17 minutes left in the game, 2nd and 26 in the National Title game, 4 game sweeps after having the best record in the NBA Eastern Conference, back up QB playing like a Heisman winner in 2018 SEC Title game, Loss after loss to Florida in Jacksonville in 2002, 2003, 2005, when UGA has clearly better teams, 3-2 sliders drilled over the left field fence to change the balance of a World Series, being beat into submission by a FSU home run barrage in the 2019 Athens Baseball Regional.
You get my drift? The list goes on and on. The curse of Georgia sports is real and right now there does not seem to be a cure at this moment in time.
The latest debacle was masterfully created by the 2019 Atlanta Braves.
We should have seen this one coming from a distance. The Braves went 97-65 in the NL East, clinched a division and slumped into the playoffs against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Braves were drilled 13-1 in a deciding game 5 in the NLDS. BTW, Atlanta has not won a post-season baseball series since 2001.
Yeah, we should have seen this one coming, but the 2019 Braves provided something the Georgia sports scene longs for and that is hope. All of that hope faded in about 20 minutes during the 5PM hour on October 9th, 2019.
The debacle started before the series even began when Mike Soroka was slated to only get one start in the series. How does your two most consistent starters during the regular season Mike Soroka and Max Fried only get one combined start in the NLDS?
Fried, a 17 game winner, was relegated to the bullpen in the series where he struggled at times. Maybe his manager could have given this 25 year old kid a confidence boost by giving him something he earned during the regular season, which was a start in the NLDS.
Why didn’t Mike Soroka get two starts in this series? Seven strong innings in game three, but yet he was slotted as a game three starter after a meaningless start in New York on September 29th, which he was coming off 10 days rest after beating the Phillies on 9/19.
If the rotation was Soroka, Keuchel, Fried, Foltynewicz, and Soroka do the Braves win this series? Then you have Keuchel ready for game one of the NLCS.
We know Dallas Keuchel did not pull his weight in the series; or maybe he would have if he was not pulled in the 4th inning of a 1-1 game in game 1 with 2 outs.
Atlanta signs him for $13 million in June for a playoff run and you don’t let a Cy Young winner pitch out of a little jam in the 4th inning?
Why not let Josh Tomlin stay in the game in game 4 when he was mowing down the Cardinals at the time?
We know Freeman, Donaldson, and Markakis struggled at the plate in the series batting .200, .158, and .143, respectively. Freddie, just one fly ball in game 4 and you are hosting the Nats with a World Series on the line.
Why do managers feel like they have to manage differently in the playoffs? I get the all hands on deck mentality in elimination games, but Fried in the bullpen with 17 wins during the regular season raises a lot of questions. Baseball is a funny game maybe our most unpredictable game.
Position players have to produce runs, pitchers have to get outs, and managers have to make the right moves.
As a team the Braves failed in all three areas. The team is young and will continue to grow. Brian Snitker got badly out-managed in this series and I just did not see that coming.
This was a bitter defeat for the Atlanta Braves, and it appears the Curse of Georgia Sports is alive and well.
UGA is undefeated in football, but you have this sick feeling in your stomach don’t you Georgia sports fans that you cannot explain?
The Washington Nationals in the NLCS really stings.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender October 9
SEC Week 3 Menu
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The SEC kicks into full throttle this weekend with a series a good SEC matchups and then you have the monster Georgia/Notre Dame matchup to finish off a great football Saturday in the nation’s top college football conference.
Here are the games and my predictions:
Southern Miss @ (2) Alabama: In case you didn’t know Nick Saban does not like noon kickoffs.
Alabama will score early and often and Tua should have a field day on Southern Miss with Alabama’s NFL wide receiver unit. The entire Alabama WR unit could start this Sunday for the Miami Dolphins. Bama rolls 52-13.
(4) LSU @ Vanderbilt: The Tigers are feeling pretty good about themselves. Vanderbilt may make them uncomfortable for a quarter or so then LSU pulls away for a 38-17 win.
I want to see that Tiger defense improve in SEC play.
Tennessee @ (9) Florida: The Swamp has never been too kind to the Vols. Franks is done for the season and Kyle Trask is now the man in Gainesville.
Dan Mullen is paid to win football games so remember Gator Nation that there was a reason that Trask was the back-up QB.
The Gators seem to be already counting this one in the win column. My gut tells me Tennessee will play inspired football, but it also may be the burrito I ate for lunch. Florida wins 23-14.
(23) California @ Ole Miss: The Rebs should be ready for this one.
Could Cal wilt in the 90-degree heat in Oxford on Saturday? Ole Miss could make a statement and I think they will. Ole Miss 27-24.
That Ealy kid at RB is going to be a star in this league.
(8) Auburn @ (17) Texas A&M: Is Bo Nix ready for 100,000 Aggies in College Station.
The Aggies already played Clemson at Clemson and should be locked and loaded for this one.
I’m not sure Auburn can run the football consistently against a quality defense. Can Kellen Mond make plays on a good Auburn defense? I think A&M makes enough plays to beat Auburn 28-20.
Kentucky @ Mississippi State: The Cats gave away the game to Florida at home last week by playing not to lose.
Mississippi State lost at home to Kansas State and did not look good in the process. I’m not very high on MSU and I’m thinking Kentucky goes on the road and gets the win in a 20-17 type game. Both offenses may struggle in this game.
South Carolina @ Missouri: South Carolina gave up too many big plays against Alabama, and Missouri’s offense is nothing close to what Carolina witnessed last week.
Kelly Bryant is a South Carolina native playing against the Gamecocks. South Carolina needs this one more than Missouri. Give me Carolina 31-30.
San Jose State @ Arkansas: This one is going to be like two mules fighting over a turnip. These are the types of games Arkansas will lose, but maybe they are going to turn the corner with Nick Starkel at QB. Give me the Hogs 38-33.
(7) Notre Dame @ (3) Georgia: This could be the most anticipated home game in the history of UGA football.
The Irish come to Athens undefeated with Ian Book at QB. The Irish have questions stopping the run and UGA has four running backs who can start anywhere and a mammoth offensive line.
This could be the Zamir White and George Pickens coming out party. I think UGA is more talented and I’ll take Jake Fromm over Ian Book. UGA beats ND 31-21 and gets a bye week before Tennessee.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender September 18
Rocky Slop
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Here is a question I have pondered for two weeks now.
Will the University of Tennessee football program be the Tennessee we once knew ever again?
Jeremy Pruitt has only coached 14 games in Knoxville and you get the feeling his job is on the line.
The Volunteers are 5-9 under Pruitt, and the program seems like it can’t get out of its own way.
It is bad enough to lose at home to Georgia State a team UT was favored to beat by 26 points, but to top that off Tennessee snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory last weekend against BYU with less than 20 seconds left in the contest.
The Vols gave up a tying FG and then folded in overtime to the Cougars.
What is wrong with this program? Here are my thoughts:
Recruiting: Tennessee does not recruit on a high level like it once did.
The Volunteers don’t even get the top players in Tennessee any longer. That used to be a given.
In the 1990’s Tennessee used to be a national brand in recruiting. The Vols dipped into New Orleans and plucked Peyton Manning. They dipped into Mobile, Alabama and plucked Tee Martin. Tennessee dipped into Georgia and grabbed Jamal Lewis, and had a foothold in the Atlanta area, and would cherry pick, Florida, Texas, and California.
That brand is gone now, but it must be rebuilt. Nashville is a growing city and High School football in that city is pretty good, but Georgia, Alabama, and LSU are more likely to pull a high ranked player out of Nashville than the University of Tennessee. That is totally unacceptable.
Head Coaching: The last three hires have been a nightmare. Lane Kiffin came in and threw discipline out with the bath water. Derek Dooley was a last resort because nobody wanted the job, and Butch Jones just could not bring the consistency needed to lead a program like Tennessee. Now Jeremy Pruitt, who was hand-picked by Phillip Fulmer, seems to be struggling as well.
Phillip Fulmer: This may not be popular, but I think Tennessee needs a clean break from the old guard in Knoxville and that starts with Phillip Fulmer, who at almost 70 years old needs to enjoy his family and grandchildren.
Fulmer, learned how to coach under Johnny Majors and then turned around and helped push King Johnny out the door in 1992 so he could take over, needs to be pushed out to pasture now for a permanent retirement.
He has been a great ambassador for the University but it is time for a fresh start in Knoxville. Making Fulmer AD was a temporary solution, and a not permanent one.
Fulmer led UT to great things in the 1990’s, but 1998 was 21 years ago. A fresh approach is needed.
Tennessee’s 0-2 start is as ugly as it gets. The program hasn’t started 0-2 since 1988. The Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, and Alabama games don’t look winnable right now.
Right now, the Vols are facing a must win scenario against Chattanooga Saturday to possibly avoid a disastrous 1-6 start.
The Flag Ship University in the State of Tennessee facing a must win against UTC is blasphemy.
Tennessee Football is currently like an abandoned factory in the Rust Belt. Once a symbol of manufacturing greatness, but now in decay. The University of Tennessee football program needs to modernize into the 21st Century.
On December 31, 2019 the worst decade in Tennessee football history will mercifully end. Will this proud program swallow its pride and make the changes needed to be relevant again?
I hope so a win in Knoxville used to mean something, but everyone seems to be winning there now.
UT was once here before and in 1977 brought in a Vol legend Johnny Majors to rebuild the brand. When will it be “Football Time in Tennessee” again?
It wasn’t a quick fix in 1977 and it won’t be now, but it can be done. The SEC misses and needs a relevant Big Orange.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show with Sean Pender September 11
