TheSouthernSportsEdition.com
Dabo A Difference Maker?
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As sports fans we spend an inordinate amount of time coming up with reasons why an opposing player or team is overrated- why they are not worthy of the accolades they receive.
I was never a big fan of Shaquille O’Neal and would argue how he wasn’t really all that talented, just big. My go to argument, besides his free throws, was how he never really hit a shot outside of 5 feet.
Of course, I completely ignored the fact that if you’re that big and dominant in the paint, who cares if you can hit a 15 footer. It’s like knocking someone for constantly getting to the rim for a lay up because it’s easier than hitting a jump shot.
Just like I finally came around to acknowledge Shaq’s skills, it’s time I do the same with Dabo Swinney and where he ranks among current college football coaches.
For some reason I’ve never been a fan of Swinney’s. I’m not sure if it’s his demeanor and the fact he sometimes comes across as being aloof? Or maybe Clemson always seems to underachieve, to the point where the term “Clemsoning” has become a legitimate thing. I’m sure it’s mixture of both of those, along with others I’m not cognizant of, but either way Swinney deserves more credit than I’ve given him.
If you had asked me last season why Clemson made the championship game, Swinney’s name would’ve probably been down on that list. This year is different. Maybe I’m being a little gullible here, but to be able to make it back to the title game for the second year in a row, when those are actually the expectations, is extremely impressive.
On the surface their return trip may not seem all that difficult. Clemson had a lot of returning talent from last year’s team- especially on the offensive side of the ball- and they play in the ACC, which isn’t exactly a who’s who of football royalty. To believe that though would diminish what the Tigers have accomplished.
For one, just because you’re returning that level of talent doesn’t automatically guarantee success. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone outside of Tuscaloosa that didn’t think Ohio State wasn’t the most talented team last year. Yet, where were they when playoff time arrived?
Plus, Clemson lost some big name players on the defensive side of ball, much like the year before, that they’ve been able to overcome. I once heard someone say “I don’t care how knowledgeable a maintenance man is, I just want to make sure he knows who to call when he can’t figure something out.”
It’s a weird comparison, I know, but a head coach is very much in that same vein. I don’t necessarily care how they are when it comes to X’s and O’s, just so long as they bring people with them who do. Swinney checks that box.
As for the ACC part, you could argue that it was the second or third strongest conference in football this season, which just adds to the difficulty in Clemson making it back to tonight’s game.
Swinney doesn’t bring in top 5 recruiting classes every year and he’s not looked at in the same way as a lot of the big time coaches in the country are. Getting that elusive championship ring, with a victory over this year’s Alabama team, would go a long way in helping Swinney get the recognition he probably deserves.
Even I would have a hard time arguing against that.
National Championship Preview – Alabama vs Clemson
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In my 2016 Clemson preview I predicted the Clemson Tigers to go 15-0 and win the National Championship. I said this would be the best Clemson team I have ever seen. I still stand by that. I messed up and did not see the Pitt loss late in the season so the Tigers stand at 13-1 after a 31-0 thrashing of another overrated Big 10 playoff team called the Ohio State Buckeyes; who the national media anointed as the championship game opponent for Alabama.
Why is Clemson an elite program right now? It starts with Deshaun Watson who should have won the Heisman Trophy. The Heisman has lost its luster to me anyway so no big deal if you watched the Heisman winner against LSU in his bowl game.
The Clemson offense is the best in all of college football. Watson is the trigger man who torched an awesome Alabama defense in the title game just one year ago. And coming off a torching of a highly touted OSU defense.
Watson is primed again to have a big night against an Alabama defense that has an awesome front seven but to me not as good in the back of that defense as they were in 2015.
Then you have the gold standard of college football and they are the Alabama Crimson Tide with Nick Saban, who is the best coach in all of football. Yes, I said all of football.
Jalen Hurts has taken the country by storm in 2015 and Bo Scarborough looks like another future NFL running back. That defense has 50 sacks and I love the way Reuben Foster attacks a ball carrier.
Alabama played around with Washington even with Lane Kiffin calling a silly offensive game plan. Kiffin finally got on Saban’s last nerve and was relieved of his duties after that game. Now Steve Sarkisian is front and center and if the Tide gets beat you can probably expect the media to toss Sark under the proverbial bus.
I expect this game to turn into another shootout like last year. Jonathan Allen and the Tide defense is a special unit, but when you look at the fire power on Clemson’s offense you see Watson, Gallman, and Williams who missed the championship game last year you wonder if a NFL defense could stop this offense.
I think both teams come out and light each other up all night long on offense. The storylines leading up the game will be:
Nick Saban and his quest to tie Bear Bryant with six national titles in the poll era. The sudden Lane Kiffin departure. Can Watson lead Clemson to the title? The great Clemson Offense vs the great Alabama Defense. The media discussing whether the playoff selection format needs to be tweaked.
I may get hammered for saying this being the SEC loyalist that I am, but I think from top to bottom the ACC has been the best conference in America this year.
Outside of Alabama the SEC has been down. Alabama hung 54 on Florida in the SEC Title game, Auburn and UGA with 5 defeats, Tennessee the preseason media darling with 4 losses, LSU fired Les Miles and went 8-4.
Alabama is Alabama but is the SEC as good as it has been?
I think Clemson wins this football game 38-35. Alabama’s old nemesis rears its ugly head and that is field goal kicking as the Tide misses one from about 40 yards to send it to overtime.
Clemson is your 2016 National Champion, and Deshaun Watson goes down as the greatest player in Clemson football history regardless of the outcome.
2017 Predictions
By: Drayton Hogarth
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
2016 was quite an interesting year for everyone, and that includes the sports world.
Many of our local teams experienced ups and downs and surprises of all kind. Now that we have arrived to the New Year of 2017, it is time to make some predictions for our area teams as we march forward throughout the coming months.
The Atlanta Falcons will finish this 2016-17 season with a playoff run. There are not many teams entering the playoffs playing at a higher level right now.
MVP candidate Matt Ryan has a plethora of offensive weapons he can utilize, as well as a solid line to protect him. In fact, it is a team that is good enough to make it to the Super Bowl, but that is where the dream will end as the Falcons will come up short against the New England Patriots in a shootout.
During the offseason, the Falcons will pick up another pass rusher in the draft to complement Vic Beasley. Plus, add in a couple more quality free agent signings, and the Falcons will make another Super Bowl run.
In Athens, Coach Kirby Smart will bring in the best recruiting class in Georgia history. Even better, the on the field product will be much improved as well, as the talent in the program is upgraded to levels that Bulldog fans have hoped for the last half decade or so.
Georgia will finally win the SEC East and challenge for the college football playoff. It’s gonna be the beginning of a fun ride, Georgia fans. Be scared, college football, the sleeping giant has awoken.
Coach Paul Johnson will be expected to challenge for the ACC title in 2017, but same as recent history, the Jackets will not be able to live up to the lofty expectations.
Johnson and his Yellow Jackets seem to do much better when the perception is that they will struggle. When people underestimate Tech, that is when they are at their most dangerous.
Georgia Tech fans will grow weary of this roller coaster ride and will make a surprise move of letting the long-time coach take his triple option offense elsewhere. Look for the Jackets to make a run at current Colorado State head coach, and former Georgia Bulldog, Mike Bobo as their next coach in 2018.
Tyson Summers will get the Georgia Southern Eagles back to the upper level of the Sun Belt. Look for the Eagles to go 10-4 with a loss in the Sun Belt title game, but win their bowl game.
Brand new Suntrust Stadium will see the Atlanta Braves continue to improve and be more like the competitive team that we saw finish the 2016 season. Having Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson, and Matt Kemp in the lineup for a full season will allow the Braves to be the best offensive lineup in the National League.
It will be the pitching that will prevent the Braves from making the post season. Look for the Braves to get to .500 or better in the coming season, with prospects for a strong run in 2018.
The Atlanta Hawks will make a deep run in the NBA playoffs and will finally beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, but only three times. Thus, they will lose in seven games to Lebron James and the Cavs—who will lose to the Golden State Warriors.
On the hardwood in Athens, the Georgia Bulldogs will either win two games in the NCAA tournament, or they will be replacing Mark Fox as the head coach of the hoop Dawgs. Oh, and there will be a new athletic director making that decision at the University of Georgia as well.
Look for Josh Pastner to get the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the NIT and continue to restore the Jackets to respectability in the college basketball world.
Well, that should do it for most of my predictions for the upcoming year. Go ahead and save this article to refer back to, and if I get even half of these correct, you can thank me later, maybe in 2018. Happy New Year everyone!
Tom Coughlin To Jaguars?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Ok Jaguar fans Tom Coughlin interviewed for the vacant head coaching position in the River City on Wednesday. Why not go back to man who made you into contenders in the 1990’s?
Coughlin, 70, previously coached the Jaguars from 1995-2002, leading the team to a 68-60 overall record and two AFC Championship games. Recently inducted to the Giants’ Ring of Honor, Coughlin is best known for two Super Bowl victories, in 2007 and 2011, while amassing the second-most wins in team history.
This would be a homerun hire for Jacksonville. You have a man who is loved by the masses in North Florida and South Georgia and has two Super Bowl rings. One thing you can say about Coughlin is that he runs a tight ship.
If you have watched the Jaguars play this year you will not notice a lack of talent, but some sloppy play on both sides of the ball which communicates a lack of discipline that Coughlin will clean up quick, fast, and in a hurry.
Coughlin, I believe still has a home in Jacksonville and does a lot of charity work in North Florida. I think he could come in and make the playoffs in year one of his return to Jacksonville. The biggest mistake Wayne Weaver made as owner of the Jaguars was firing Coughlin back in 2002.
Fast forward to his time with the New York Giants where two victories over Tom Brady and the Patriots earned Coughlin rock star status in the Big Apple.
Super Bowl XLII took place in Glendale, Arizona on February 3, 2008. The game pitted Coughlin’s New York Giants (13–6) against the undefeated New England Patriots (18–0) coached by Bill Belichick. The Patriots were favored by 12 points. The underdog Giants beat the Patriots 17–14 in one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. Many were calling the 2007 Patriots the greatest team of all time.
Coughlin developed a young Eli Manning into a Super Bowl winning QB. Blake Bortles took a huge step back in 2016, and maybe a veteran championship coach like Coughlin can get him on track and playing up to his vast potential.
The pieces are in place in Jacksonville for a coach of Coughlin’s caliber to come in and win immediately. The AFC South is not a tough division and with the right man running things the division could be there for the taking. Coughlin would attract a proven offensive coordinator, and certainly with the talent on defense someone would follow him and have that unit peaking in 2017.
Previously under Coughlin, the expansion Jaguars made the playoffs in year two of its existence and made it all the way to the AFC title game, and made the playoffs 4 straight years from 96-99, and the AFC title game twice. Led Jacksonville to 14 wins in 1999.
The current state of this franchise is one that has lost 11 or more games for 6 consecutive seasons. This team is about as low as it can go. It is time to bring back the only man to have led Jacksonville to a division title twice. No other head coach for this franchise has accomplished that.
Coughlin had a 4-4 playoff record in Jacksonville. This team has not made the playoffs since 2007. Coughlin always packed the stadium in Jacksonville, and with his return you could probably say goodbye to the tarps in the upper decks that cover empty seats.
It is time to bring back the man who put the Jacksonville Jaguars on the football map.
Grayson Allen Overblown?
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In all your years of following sports, however long that may be, can you recall a time where a coach announced during the postgame press conference that he or she was voluntarily suspending a player based upon their actions during the game?
I’ve been watching for 30+ years and I can’t remember a single time that has happened. And neither can anyone else I’ve talked to.
Yet here we are, in our age of social media and need for instant gratification, bashing Mike Krzyzewski for not immediately disciplining Grayson Allen mere minutes after their game against Elon concluded.
Where has this national outrage been towards Steve Kerr and his lack of discipline towards Draymond Green’s complete disregard for a man’s groin? I don’t remember there being articles on Skip Prosser’s decision to wait and suspend Chris Paul for one game the day after he used Julius Hodge’s nether region as a punching bag, although it was not Paul’s first altercation.
Instead, we criticize Coach K for not handing out discipline on a timeline we deem worthy, when we find later on that his choice to listen without prejudice was the right decision.
Look, even though I’m a Duke fan I am not a Duke apologist. Not only do I believe Allen deserved to be suspended for this most recent transgression, but he should’ve sat a game last year, after the second tripping incident.
So, if you want to condemn Coach K and how he has handled Allen’s past discrepancies up to this point, you won’t get much of an argument from me. Let’s be honest though, if you’re not satisfied with how he’s handling things now, you’re not going to be satisfied no matter how he handles it.
As for all the vitriol that has been directed towards Allen, let’s just put things into perspective a little bit. If you don’t like him because you think he’s a dirty player, that’s fine. If you can’t root for him because he plays for Duke and you despise everyone and everything associated with that shade of blue, that’s cool. However, some of the things I’ve read, from the media in particular, has been astonishing.
Since all this happened I’ve seen respected members of the media say everything from Allen should be kicked off the team, all the way to Grayson should be arrested because if you trip someone in public they can charge you with assault.
If that’s the case then the entire NFL would be behind bars since last I checked I can’t legally tackle a lady in supermarket because she grabbed the last box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
I understand the yearning to see some sort of punishment handed down, but make sure it fits the crime. Allen wasn’t caught driving with a blood alcohol content of .247, and there isn’t video of him knocking out a girl unconscious in bar- all things that have happened around the same time, yet haven’t received nearly the same amount of publicity.
The most disturbing part of the whole thing was Allen’s reaction to the event on the bench afterwards. It is obvious that there are some issues he needs to work out and I trust Krzyzewski to not only be a father figure in helping him out, but to keep him off the court until those troubles are addressed- no matter how many games Allen misses.
Whatever that number of games actually becomes Allen has to realize that’s it….he isn’t going to get one more try.
College Football Playoff Predictions
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It is time again for the college football playoff and this year’s games I think will be pretty good.
Let’s start with the teams.
1. Alabama: The Crimson Tide are in my opinion are a professional team playing at the college level. I really think the Tide could give The Cleveland Browns all they could handle. Jalen Hurts is an amazing dual threat QB. I can’t believe it took Nick Saban most of fall camp to name him the starter for 2016. Saban is the best coach in football and Alabama is the favorite to win the playoff.
2. Ohio State: The Buckeyes led by Urban Meyer have been a dynasty for years now. They won a classic against Michigan to get into the playoff. The loss to Penn State cost Ohio State a shot at the Big 10 Championship, but the committee put them in despite that. It is all about money folks. OSU produces mega bucks and TV Ratings.
3. Clemson: The Tigers are back for the second year in a row with a QB that should have won the Heisman. This offense can put up yards and points like a pinball machine. Can Clemson muster up enough defense to win it all this year?
4. Washington: The Huskies lead by QB Jake Browning have been very impressive this year. I like this team and think they deserve to be here. We on the east coast will be shocked when we see how good these Huskies are.
Predictions:
Alabama vs Washington in The Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
Washington will fly across country to meet the Tide in Atlanta; a place Alabama has spent a lot of time in over the past decade. Alabama has a monster defense with first round picks everywhere, and Washington has a really good offense that can put up points. The difference in this game will be Jalen Hurts and the Tide offense. The Huskies will test Alabama but in the end Alabama rolls 35-24. Bama has too many weapons.
Ohio State vs Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. Both fan bases have travel a good distance to get here. I am actually looking forward to watching this game.
Ohio State averages 480 yards (21st-best in FBS) and 42.7 points (ninth-best in FBS) per game. Clemson averages 506 yards (13th-best in FBS) and 40.2 points (15th-best in FBS) per game. The Tigers’ specialty is the passing game (332.6 yards per game) while the Buckeyes are better at running the ball (258.3 yards per game).
On defense, Ohio State is fifth in the country, allowing opponents just 282 yards per game to go with just 14.2 points per game (third in FBS). Clemson finished ninth in the FBS in yards allowed (314 per game) and 12th in points allowed per game (18.4)
When it is all said and done I would take Deshaun Watson over any player in the country and think Clemson is a team of destiny. I did pick this team to win it all in the preseason and I think the Tigers get past Ohio State 38-28.
This will set up a huge rematch with Alabama.
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.
Reconstructed Hawks
By: Drayton Hogarth
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After making a big splash in the NBA free agency market this past offseason with the signing of Dwight Howard, the Atlanta Hawks entered the season with championship aspirations, and to that affect the Hawks started the season very well, including wins over the defending world champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
Unfortunately, the team could not sustain that level of play and have fallen off of that pace of play. The good news is this team should continue to get better as the season goes along.
There are three reasons for that, team chemistry will improve the more this roster plays together, the players’ willingness to adjust is already in place, as well as the roster is setup more for the playoffs than the regular season.
With the major shakeup of the roster during the offseason, it was very likely that the team would have its’ share of struggles in becoming more and more acclimated with each other’s playing style.
The Hawks had grown stagnant with Jeff Teague and Al Horford as the leaders of the franchise. Both are solid NBA players, but neither could get the team to that next level in the NBA playoffs. Both players tended to disappear the bigger the playoff matchup; as witnessed by Horford being non-existent rebounding the basketball against the Cavs and Teague constantly looking to pass when the game was on the line.
Thus, the Hawks decided to shakeup their roster and go with the younger, but more athletic point guard in, Dennis Schröder. Additionally, the aforementioned Dwight Howard was brought in to provide a significant upgrade in rebounding and shot blocking for the Hawks.
Instead of the Hawks’ defense looking like a doughnut (get it? nothing in the middle). Now, with an enforcer in the paint the Hawks now can overplay on the wings, play passing lanes and get out into the open floor for easy buckets.
This Hawks team is turning into just that, a team. When Atlanta hit a losing streak, Coach Budenholzer went to a couple of his veterans in Kyle Korver and Thabo Sefolosha and informed them that he was making an adjustment to the playing rotation.
Instead of starting the sharp shooting Korver, Sefolosha would now be the starter and allow Korver to bring his three-point prowess off the bench. Instead of causing a team disruption, Korver and Sefolosha worked it out for the betterment of the team and Atlanta has a winning record since the move was made.
Wins over the Toronto Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder are included, and even the losses have all been extremely competitive, so it appears that the lineup change will continue.
The Hawks have been much improved under Coach Budenholzer, now entering his fourth season as the head coach in Atlanta. Still, coming up short in the NBA playoffs has been the frustrating result of each season.
However, the moves made this offseason were made with an eye toward being more athletic and tougher for the postseason. Dwight Howard will provide the bulk of that, and of course Schröder will bring more speed and on ball defense, but the draft should make a big difference for this Hawks team come the playoffs.
Taurean Prince and DeAndre Bembry were both first round selections, and bring a great combination of size and athleticism to the forward position. It is no secret that Cleveland and Lebron have been the final obstacle in the Hawks path the last two seasons, as well as most of the NBA, but these two kids can bring some youthful exuberance, speed and size to keep up with the best athlete in the NBA; as well as twelve more fouls to take out on Lebron.
Sometimes a team has to take a step back before they can take two steps forward, and that is exactly what the Hawks need to happen. Now this team just needs to gel together and will have a legitimate shot to make a big move come this playoff season.
Rambling Wreck Re-Build
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
This is my favorite time of year as a sports fan because so many things are going on.
Football, basketball and hockey are all being played now. In college there are some programs that are synonymous with certain sports.
If I said Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Duke or UConn you think basketball school. Programs like Alabama, USC, Nebraska, Miami, Penn State or FSU are known as football schools.
There are only a handful of schools that are known as being perennial contenders in men’s basketball and football. By that I mean ranked on a regular basis in both sports and known to make bowl games and the NCAA tournament in the same year. Some examples of this would be Florida, North Carolina, UCLA, Ohio State and Michigan. At one point Syracuse was in this category until they fell off the map in football in the early 2000s.
Georgia Tech was also one of the rare programs with this distinction but they have had some down years in basketball recently. They haven’t played in the NCAA tournament since 2010. Head coach Josh Pastner is in his first year in Atlanta and he’s trying to bring the program back to its glory days. Pastner was 167-73 with four NCAA tournament bids in seven seasons as the head coach of Memphis.
Tech has had some big name coaches in the past including John Heisman who coached football, baseball and basketball for the Yellow Jackets. Bobby Cremins is the most successful coach in the programs history. He led them to a Final Four in 1990 and he’s Tech’s all-time winningest coach. The floor at Alexander Memorial Coliseum is named “Cremins Court” in his honor.
Paul Hewitt led the Jackets to their second Final Four and first national championship in 2004. The question is can they ever return to this level? They’re currently 6-3 and the next game is Tuesday at home against archrival Georgia. They lead the series 105-87.
“You know, I’ve never coached a game that wasn’t important,” Pastner said. “So, never in my eight years as coaching as a head coach have I felt one game is more important than the other. The way I look at it, you want to win every game you coach. To me, every game is important, and who we are as a team, we are in a situation based on margin of error, which is zero. We are a possession-by-possession team, and we can’t overlook anybody. We have to be near perfect in our effort and execution if we are to have a chance to win the game, no matter who we play.”
They’ve been very inconsistent thus far losing games to Ohio, Penn State and Tennessee. The best win so far was on the road at VCU. This is a very important stretch to hopefully get wins against inferior non-conference opponents. The following games are home against Wofford 12/22 and North Carolina A&T 12/28. They begin conference play against No. 8 North Carolina, No. 5 Duke and No. 10 Louisville.
Tech has a good chance of starting ACC play 0-3. They were only 27-61 in ACC play the past five years under former coach Brian Gregory. That’s why getting several wins before conference play is so important. If they can get nine wins before it starts they will help set themselves up for March. I believe with 20 or more wins they can participate in March Madness. That will make recruiting easier. We will see what coach Pastner has in store but I think he’s the right guy to get Tech back to their winning ways.
Jaguars Fire Gus Bradley
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Christmas came a week early for some Jacksonville fans this year. Unfortunately, for Gus Bradley, that means his stocking is full of coal and a pink slip.
The NFL is not exactly synonymous with the word “patience” so it’s not very surprising that Bradley’s tenure in Jacksonville has ended. The timing of it may have caught a few people off guard, but I’ll give the Jaguars management some credit when it comes to this. If they had already decided Bradley was going to be gone at the end of the season they were right to just go ahead and end it now. No need to prolong the inevitable.
There are a variety of reasons Bradley lost his job. A terrible record this season (14-48, overall) is the first thing that tends to jump out at you. Being a defensive minded coach whose team can’t play defense is kind of like an Italian restaurant that has difficulty cooking lasagna.
No matter what list of reasons you want to give, there should be two words at the top: Blake Bortles.
Gus Bradley lost his job because the one guy he and the organization expected to take that next step, completely blew it. If Bortles took one step forward last year, he didn’t just take two steps back this year. Instead, he took two steps back, tripped over his own feet, rolled down a hill, and got blindsided by a train at the bottom.
Ok, so maybe that’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but it’s not far off when you consider the hype Bortles had coming into the season. It’s a lot more difficult to break up the head coach/quarterback combo that every team looks for when, you know, the quarterback is actually playing well.
I guess the big question now is where does Jacksonville look next? Personally, I think they’d be out of their minds if they didn’t go with someone on the offensive side of the ball. At the very least they need to hire a head coach who can bring an offensive coordinator with him who has experience grooming quarterbacks.
There is actually a decent amount of talent on that side ball, certainly more than you’d expect in a team that has had its fair shares of issues scoring this season. If the real Bortles is more like his second season as opposed to this current one, and the Jaguars can find a running back (I am not a fan of TJ Yeldon) then they’ll be in good shape.
This kind of goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, you’d better make sure whoever you bring in has complete faith in Bortles, too. You don’t want a Jay Gruden/Robert Griffin III type situation. It’s easier to get rid of the incumbent starter when Kirk Cousins is your alternative. No offense to Chad Henne, but I don’t think anyone is chomping at the bit to see him take the field.
Look, I know I’m not saying anything new, but sometimes the right answer is the one staring you right in the face. Any head coaching hire is important, but this time around for Jacksonville, it’s imperative they make the right choice.
If not, then three years from now they may be looking for a new head coach as well as a new quarterback. Basically, all that means if they’ll be right where they have been for the better part of this millennium. If you’re a Jacksonville fan, we’ll, you’ve seen that lump of coal in your stocking a few too many years.
Can Georgia De-Horn Frogs?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
A 7-5 UGA team coming off a disturbing loss to Georgia Tech accepted a bid to go play in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis for the first since 1987 where Georgia on a late John Kasey FG beat Arkansas 20-17.
This season has been a huge disappointment and that is putting it mildly. Home losses to Tennessee, Vandy, and GT. The annual what now seems to be a loss in Jacksonville to Florida, and a blowout loss to a 5-7 Ole Miss team that did not make a bowl.
Kirby Smart is putting together a monster recruiting class and needs these bowl practices to get some of these young Dawgs some experience going into 2017. Word is now circulating that Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, and Lorenzo Carter will be returning for 2017 which could be huge for UGA in 2017.
Liberty Bowl keys for UGA:
Slow down the TCU offense. The TCU offense certainly has firepower, ranking 27th in the FBS in total offense with 5,700 yards. However, quarterback Kenny Hill’s 15 interceptions and the Horned Frogs’ 18 total giveaways have stunted drives far too often this season.
Hill, the Texas A&M transfer, has passed for over 3000 yards this year. TCU has weapons and UGA’s must be ready to play in this contest. This will be one of the better offenses UGA has faced this year. UGA must tackle well in space.
Run the football. In games where Nick Chubb has not rushed for 100 yards UGA has lost that contest. Pretty simple if you ask me. Commit to running the football Jim Cheney, and don’t put so much pressure on Jacob Eason.
TCU has struggled against the run all year. UGA must pound the rock control the clock and wear down this TCU defense. Gary Patterson has a month to get ready for UGA which worries me greatly.
Limit the drops in the passing game. In some big games like Florida and GT the UGA receiving corps have had some huge drive killing drops. UGA must catch the football in the Liberty Bowl to force TCU not to load up the box to stop Chubb and company.
Gary Patterson is a defensive mastermind and I will take him in a head to head match up with Jim Chaney anytime, anywhere, and anyplace. Patterson is a great coach that has had an excellent run at TCU.
While the 6-6 record, this year is disappointing to the Horned Frog nation it can’t be a deceiving factor to UGA. This team can play. While they have struggled a lot, TCU will come into Memphis ready to play. You can bank on that. UGA must act like they want to be in Memphis as well.
Georgia is a slight favorite in the game. If TCU hopes to pull off the upset, it will need to rely on its defense. Gary Patterson has coached the Horned Frogs to eight bowl wins in their last 10 postseason appearances, and opposing offenses have been held under 20 points seven times over that 10-game stretch.
While Beale Street and BBQ will be a nice bowl destination for the fan base this is a key stepping stone for UGA going into 2017. I think UGA needs this win more than TCU does.
Recruits making their decisions late will be watching this outcome that are considering UGA. UGA needs some dynamic playmakers on offense to choose UGA.
Prediction: I think UGA is the overall better team talent wise. I think UGA wins 34-27.
Good luck Dawgs you will need it against Gary Patterson. This will be the fourth meeting all time between the schools with UGA winning the previous three meetings. Let’s hope that trend continues.
