Since first making an impact against the Gators as a freshmen in 2007, Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran has received loads of praise for his great play on the football field for the Georgia Bulldogs.  In his three years, he has made many great tackles; AND, despite the Bulldogs defensive troubles as a whole, Rennie Curran has endured, continuing to make tackle after tackle.   If there was a way to clone Rennie Curran, the Dawgs would have it made.  A college football player can only receive so much acclaim and praise before NFL scouts start taking more serious notice of him. It has already begun. David Hale writes in the Macon paper that Curran is already mulling over a possible decision to leave school early to enter the NFL draft. 

I think most people, Georgia fan or not, would say a player despite being undersized with his production and a motor that never stops has the potential to have a very bright future at the next level.  That being said,  because of his size, you would think he would not be drafted until at least the 3rd or 4th round but apparently he may have even have better prospects than that.

 ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr ranks him as the second best linebacker available/draft eligible behind Penn State’s Navarro Bowman who is a little bit bigger than Curran, according to ESPN’s rumor mill(could not get the link to work - look up for yourself.) They go on to comment that despite Kiper’s opinion of Curran, ”He is not listed in Scouts, Inc. top 100″ .  Only time will tell how this situation works out.

In Today’s AJC, Tony Barnhart aka, “Mr.College Football” offers a few preliminary BCS Bowl Projections that are all, of course, subject to change in the coming weeks.  In addition, he offers his commentary on each one.  I’d figure I’d offer my 2 cents to the conversation as well.

The first one is kind of long. Sorry. I live in Atlanta. Yes, it’s kind of true–A significant portion of Georgia Tech fans are kind of obnoxious and little bit bitter and seemed to still despite their new found success to have a serious inferiority complex if it’s anything to do with the University of Georgia. Gee, what else is new? Seriously, with the exception of Beano Cook, Nobody cares more about what happened before televisions had color than the Georgia Tech and Notre Dame fanbases.  However, here in the ATL, this is kind of the big story. So without further or do, let’s begin— 

Orange Bowl- Georgia Tech vs Iowa-

 If this is what we end up getting for the Orange Bowl, this could be an interesting matchup and definitely a game worth watching.  Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech with their flexbone-option rushing attack  with the lone exception of the Miami Hurricanes have been running over everybody.  Iowa, despite the upset loss to Northwestern 17-10 has had a great season.  While their offense is for the most part effective, this team is led by the great play of their defense.  Iowa has alot of success against teams that run different variations of the spread offense even some that lean on the running game to win like Arizona and Penn State(Spread HD- good article in ESPN the Magazine about it this past August).  They are not a team that has alot players that are out there just looking for the kill shot. In other words they are fundamentally sound on defense.  Their players are not looking to get on Sportscenter, they are looking to make the tackle- simple, nothing fancy, wrap up and just make the tackle.  I guess you could describe them as a very working class/lunch pale carrying defense- Iowa is not going to be losing many games due to carelessness on the defensive side of the ball.  You give Kirk Ferentz and his team a month to prepare for Georgia Tech’s flexbone option, on defense atleast, they can be ready. 

 It’s a good thing Iowa has such a good defense because their offense(kind of like their defense) is not flashy, it is not high octane or high scoring, it is kind of the anti-90’s FSU or anti- 80s Miami Hurricanes; the Iowa offense is just simply effective, it does the job they need it to do– no flash and for the most part they are not really that overpowering, just results.  Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi who was injured in the loss Northwestern game, has been effective and good team leader but its not like he is Superman or anything like that.  Kirk Ferentz runs a pro-style offense and has had a successful run at Iowa.  He has a great  reputation so much so that whenever a NFL job opens up and the option of hiring a coach from the college ranks, Ferentz’s name seems to come up everytime.

 STILL, I am not sure if Iowa has enough fire power on offense to outlast Tech’s offense.  Nobody is ever going to ever confuse Tech’s defense with the 85 Bears or any of Nebraska’s great Black Shirt Defenses of the 90s but then again nobody is going to confuse Iowa’s offense with the Greatest Show on Turf either. Iowa does not have any Jonathan Dwyers or Bebe Thomases.  Hell, I know he doesn’t pass the ball much, but Iowa’s offense doesn’t have a Josh Nesbitt either.  Georgia Tech as a football team, in my opinion, is a bit of an anomaly in that it appears it doesn’t matter how good or bad their defense plays, if you can’t stop their offense then you will most definitely lose and when I say this I mean there appears to be no middle ground on this- either you stop them and you win or you don’t stop them and you lose-check the stats for yourself- see 2009 GTatFSU or 2008 GTatUGA.   How many teams would like to have that unique trait?  The key to beating Georgia Tech seems to be to simply outlast them.   Just look at the 2008 Georgia vs Georgia Tech in which Tech won 45-42.  In that game PJ’s offense put up an incredible 408 yards rushing on the Georgia defense who demonstrated for all the kids at home how not to wrap up when tackle.  They appeared like former Atlanta Falcon Charles Dimry had taught them all how to tackle.  Which is terrible don’t get me wrong, but the Tech defense allowed Georgia QB Matthew Stafford to throw for 407 yards and Knowshon Moreno to run for 97 yards.   I don’t care who you are or where you are playing, anytime you allow 500 yards of total offense or 400 yards of rush or pass, its pretty shitty.  Its a good thing for Tech DC Dave Womack that they won. If they had lost, he would have been in trouble.  Man if that happened at Georgia they would have fired his……….oh wait, what’s that? Willie still has a job? OH.,……. I guess somehow that fact just completely slipped my mind.    Freudian slip, I sware.  Well, Go Dawgs. Beat auburn.

  Anyway………in all seriousness if this is the matchup the Orange Bowl receives, I look forward to watching this game and I like Tech’s chances.

Fiesta Bowl-USC vs TCU- 

 This also could be an interesting matchup- TCU’s gets a chance to prove that they are for real against an offense filled with NFL prospects and a defense that is currently highly suspect and USC gets a chance to help everybody forget how badly they got their ass kicked by Oregon a week or so ago. Even Rodney King thought that was a beating. Gosh, life must be soooooooo hard rooting for USC. If 2009 is a USC version of a down year or a transition year or even a rebuilding year, I will take a Fiesta Bowl birth every time.  I hope USC fans appreciated it. TCU is a good football team but I’d expect SC to take care business.

Sugar Bowl- Florida vs Cincinatti-

 Oh my, a television/spectator disaster waiting to happen. It might even rival the 2008 Sugar Bowl that featured Georgia vs Hawaii.  I think it’s time we pray. Everyone fold your hands in prayer-

  Dear God,

 Please let Florida beat Alabama in the SEC championship game, so we all don’t have to watch this sorry ass execuse for a college football game. What’s that Lord?  You say if Florida beats Alabama and gets to play Texas in the BCS championship, we will then be forced to watch Alabama play Cincinnati. Really? Are you Serious? God, that sucks too!  I guess that’s a good point.  I guess what you are saying, God, is that we are all completely screwed either way, so its kind of a waste of time to pray about it.   You truly are all wise, all knowing, and all powerful.

 Sorry for completely wasting your time, Lord.  Please Lord, go help a doctor cure cancer,  to make up for me completely wasting your time. I really am sorry.

 A-men

The Rose Bowl- Ohio State vs Oregon-

 Well, then.  Ohio State humiliates themselves in front of a national audience one more time.  Somebody play that Daft Punk song.  All of it will be preceded by Ohio State fans flooding the internet with postings about how this time its somehow going to be different.  Despite the fact the Buckeyes have superior talent according Midwestern recruiting magazines, I get the impression that Oregon might just have more speed. If you think USC outschemed Ohio State, well aren’t you in for a treat- Chip Kelly and Oregon will outscheme the hell out of the Sweater Vest and his Buckeyes. Do you know what was created the same day the Big 10 was created- BORDOM.  Yeah, I admit it…..I’ll probably still watch a half at the very least.  Hell, Oregon’s offense is entertaining. This game could be interesting.  Maybe Lagarrette Blount will punch somebody. NEXT

The BCS Championship-Alabama vs Texas-

 Maybe at the beginning of the season this wasn’t the matchup people expected or wanted to see, but the more I think about it the more I would rather watch Texas take on Alabama as opposed to Texas take on Florida.  I’d be more than happy to watch either one to tell you truth but I think the Texas vs Bama matchup is more interesting.  Bama’s offense while they have a passing game(they have QB trouble) the tend to lean on the run while Texas’ offense(who in NO SHAPE OR FORM have QB trouble) runs here and there but they clearly lean on the pass.

  Both teams have great defenses. The nation’s No.1 Scoring offense in Texas led by arguably the nation’s best QB in Colt McCoy vs one of if not the best defense in the Nation + arguably the best overall defensive personal in the nation+ head coach in Nick Saban who is recognized as one of the best defensive minds in the college game if not all of football.  Ironically, both Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Start both were defensive standouts for the University of Georgia.  Yeah, I think I just might cough up the cash for this one.

Until next time,

Cousinwalter

Early today Notre Dame lost to Navy for the second time in three years.  Now begins the constant barrage of media pundits and Notre Dame fans calling for the end to Charlie Weis’ tenure in South Bend.  My favorite part about all this is listen to all these delusional Notre Dame fans who are all so convinced that Urban Meyer would actually leave Florida for Notre Dame or that Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher would suddenly decide to want to coach the Irish as opposed to just living their life.  I know they have got lots of cash but that job is a royal pain in the ass. It seems to involve more hassle than its worth.

  Is Notre Dame to college football what the Washington Redskins are under Daniel Snyder or the Oakland Raiders under Al Davis?  Three teams that had plenty of past glory on the gridiron but for some reason or another can’t seem to find a way get their shit together.  All three have plenty of money to operate with but seemed to piss it away on worthless purchases Charlie Weis, Ty Willingham, Albert Haynesworth, DeAngelo Hall, Tom Cable, JaMarcus Russell, etc.

Georgia got back on track by beating the crap out of Tennessee Tech 38-0 were they rushed for over 300 yards.  I know its was against Tennessee Tech but any steps in improving the running game are positive steps.

Alabama beat LSU 24-15 and I must say that no one can throw a head set like Nick Saban.

Does ESPN HAVE TO SHOW the Florida-Vandy game?  Would be possible to show a game slightly more meaningful.  I know the SEC has a big deal with the world wide leader but I think I’d almost rather watch really really old people play golf than watch Vanderbilt do anything much less watch Florida beat the crap out of them.

One of the scariest events of Saturday occurred in the Oregon State-Cal game where running back Jahvid Best attempted to jump over the defense into the endzone.  He succeeded in doing so but while he was airborne a defender hit him from the side(clean hit) flipping him upside down. 

 Best landed on his back hitting the ground hard which instantly knocked his helmet off.  He held onto the ball long enough to get credit for the TD(either that or that must have given him credit for the TD for just crossing the goalline) but then when his body finally came to complete stop he lay still and stiff as a board with his head tilted to the side with his eyes closed shut.  I thought he was dead. The whole team kneeled by the endzone for about ten or 15 minutes until they were able to get him onto a stretcher.  He still looked  unconscience as they wheeled him off the field on a stretcher covered with a white cloth. 

 ESPN just said on TV that Best has feelings in all his extremities and that the report is that he sustained a concussion.  So, things are not as bad as they looked.  They will be keeping him in the  hospital for at least the night for observation. Close one! Seriously, when they showed him lying on the ground with his eyes closed I thought he was dead.

Florida coach Urban Meyer has suspended All-American linebacker Brandon Spikes for this display of bad sportsmanship seen in the Youtube above which shows by the way a little bit more proof that SEC refs are missing a few calls and yet the 20 or so network cameras are catching all of them.  Gee Coach Meyer, don’t hurt him. A 2 quarter suspension of the Vandy game isn’t even worth the effort.  Why even bother?  Seriously, if you want to do you and him some good why not suspend him for the entire game and give him time to rest.  Spikes has been banged up this season and he could use a break to heal before the SEC championship game.   This whole thing is complete and utter joke. 

Pat Dooley of the Gatorsports.com/Gainesville Sun tries to defend Spikes.  “ The real damage is done to Spike’s image.”  No, Not quite.  The Real damage is done to the University of Florida’s image and head coach Urban Meyer’s image.  NFL GMs, however, are still frothing at the mouth for Spikes.

Look, I realize that this is obsessive-compulsive behavior- picking games even if there is no money involved(NONE).  I just can’t stop.  I am doing this mainly for my own entertainment. Watching the games without them just would be boring.  How else do you bring yourself to watch Boise State play ball? I looked up data on every single game. Whatever.  Here we go–

USC at Oregon- Over the past decade Oregon’s Autzen Stadium has proven to be a tough place for opponents to play. Ranked opponents like Oklahoma, Michigan, Wisconsin, and USC have all gone done in the past decade.  For a stadium that only holds 54,000, Autzen Stadium is one wild place on a fall Saturday.  A whole lot is at stake for both teams on Saturday night in Eugene, Oregon.  The winner controls their own destiny in the race for the Pac-10 crown and will continue to be in the running for the BCS title game.    Oregon has proven to be no fluke- beating a ranked Utah team and soundly beating a top ranked(at the time) California team 42-3 where most of the damage was done early(39-3 at the half) a true beatdown; and, in their last game against the team that upset USC in September, Washington, Oregon destroyed them 42-19 running the ball for 259 yards.

When looking at this game between Oregon and USC, I see two teams that both depend greatly on their running game and that will be what decides the game between them- who can run the ball and who can stop the run.  Since the embarrassing loss to Boise State in week 1, they have had only 1 game where they didn’t rush for over 200 yards(193- against Purdue week 2).  Ironically, the USC defense has only had one game this season(Oregon State- 153 yards) where they have allowed over 100 yards rushing.  USC has already proven that even if their running game is not as effective they can depend on their passing game to win it for them- vs Ohio State, Notre Dame.  The only game where the passing game fell apart was in a game Matt Barkley did not play in.  If SC is able to stop or at least significantly contain Oregon rushing attack, I do not believe Oregon can win if they are forced to win it solely with their passing game. Saturday night, USC will be without tight end Anthony McCoy(16 catches) and they may also be without fullback Stanley Havilli.  This is could negatively effect the SC running game.  It’s also supposed to be raining on Saturday night in Eugene.  Throughout his tenure at USC, Pete Carroll’s teams have proven that they are always up and ready for the big games even if they once a year fall asleep at the wheel in the not so big games like they did against Washington.  This is a big game for USC.  I think USC finds a way to get it done Saturday night at Oregon.  SC to win.

Texas at Oklahoma State- Considering the fact that Oklahoma State has been without their big time wide out Dez Bryant and running back Kendall Hunter(who had 1500+ yards in 2008), they have to be some what satisfied that they are sitting pretty at 6-1.  As predicted by many, this Oklahoma State offensive line has more than lived up to the hype and I am not just talking about tackle Russell Okung(likely to be the first Offensive lineman taking in next April’s draft.)  When you’re an offensive lineman you really don’t get the benefit of bragging about how great your stats are like the skill players get to.  However, as a group they have managed to be recognized for a few- Oklahoma State ranked 1^st in the nation in fewest sacks allowed-4, Oklahoma State- ranked 1^st in the nation in fewest tackles for a loss allowed-20. Sacks allowed and tackles for a loss allowed- Two stats that are the most important to an offensive lineman especially when you operate in an offense that is the shotgun almost exclusively.   The question is IS IT GOING TO BE ENOUGH?

  In the two weeks leading up to the beginning of this season, ESPNU was showing replays of the best games of 2008 and one of the games they showed was the Oklahoma State at Texas game where Texas escaped with 28-23 victory.  Texas led by their Heisman frontrunning QB Colt McCoy completed not one, not two, not three, but FOUR +80 yard drives for a touchdown- two of them were of 90 yards or more.  Pretty dominating and probably demoralizing to an opposing defense.   This is not a game where Oklahoma State is going to catch Texas sleeping.  The Longhorns cannot afford to lose one game and just hope they wind up in the BCS Championship game.  One stat that may be important- Texas is currently ranked #1 in the nation in Scoring offense.  9 points may be too much/it may be just right but at the very least, I expect Texas to win this game.  Texas to win.

Ole Miss at Auburn- Early home games played at Auburn in the past 5 or 6 years have often been the scene of Auburn sleeping on the job against a rival opponent.  Upsets against Arkansas, Mississippi State, Georgia, and a few others have occurred when Auburn has played early.  Last weekend we made the reference that the 2009 Auburn defense was considerable weak in comparison to year’s past- talent and stats; and, low and behold, the Auburn Tigers did not let us down losing miserably to LSU 31-10. A game where if LSU was playing at full blast, they easily could have scored 50 or 60 points. Seriously, Auburn’s loss to LSU was one slow death.  I really don’t see things getting that much better this weekend. Ole Miss despite not exactly meeting their preseason hype by losing to South Carolina early and a top ranked Alabama team has more than enough fire power to take care of Auburn.  They have depth on both offensive and defensive lines having a high level of talent for both.  While Ole Miss does not really have a go-to guy in the running game- everybody they have used has done their part.  I think Ole Miss takes care of business. This game is currently a pickem according to ESPN- I’ll take Ole Miss to win.

Air Force at Colorado State(Air Force is favored by 3.5 points)-  Air Force is missing their starting QB but the guy they are replacing with owned the starting job in the beginning of the season only to lose it when he hurt his ankle after 3 games.  Air Force(who runs the same offense as Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson) is well coached and can score some points.  Oh, one more thing, Air Force can run the bejesus out of the ball.  While the Colorado State offense is converting on 3^rd down a sickly 30.61 percent their opponents are having no trouble converting 3^rd downs on the Rams defense converting at a whopping 55 percent- that can’t be good.  Despite missing their QB, I still expect Air Force to get the job done.  Air Force to win and cover the 3.5 points.

Tennessee vs South Carolina( the Vols are currently favored by 6 points)- Despite beating Georgia 45-16 and playing winning somewhat MORAL VICTORIES in losses to top ranked Florida and Alabama, Tennessee needs to beat South Carolina to continue to validate Lane Kiffin’s arrival in Knoxville not to mention the SEC- this could be the difference in who gets to go to the Outback or Capital One Bowl or who gets to go to the Chick-Fil-a Bowl or worst case scenario the Independence Bowl in good old Shreveport- a wonderful trip for any SEC football fan.  I hope you caught the sarcasm on that last one. This isn’t the first time South Carolina has found themselves in this spot with 5 or 6 wins by Halloween.  This is usually the part in the story where South Carolina gets their ass kicked and their season precedes to take a complete nose dive.  It would be right on cue.  If the Vols can establish the run like they did against Georgia then maybe things will be easy for Jonathan Crompton if not Tennessee is going to have a problem.  That being said, it’s a tall order pulling out a victory in Neyland Stadium.  South Carolina has an absolutely atrocious record playing Tennessee at Neyland.  I believe a few years ago was their first win at Tennessee ever.  Vols to win.

Georgia Tech at Vanderbilt-  In the past two years, Georgia Tech is one of the most predictable teams in college football.  You know exactly what they are going to do each game- run the ball and run a lot.  They have gone through very few bad periods and all 5 of their losses under head coach Paul Johnson has occurred against a team that has had at least one bye week in between playing Tech and their last opponent(Miami this year, LSU-UNC-VaTech-UVA last year.  They are very consistent. They are the most easy team to predict the outcome of their game whether it be in Victory or Defeat.  All 5 teams that have defeated Tech in the last two years have had all these things in common- a big and strong(as in talent and output) defensive line to defend the run,  offensively they were all able to run the ball, a QB who may not have dominated the game but at the very least knew what he was doing, and each team has had an extra week to prepare.  I also believe that all five of them got ahead early and made Tech play from behind. Vandy will not be doing any of that on Saturday.   Last year, Tech beat Vandy at Bobby Dodd Stadium 27-0 and that was without QB Josh Nesbitt.  Tech is averaging around 32 points a game on the season but on the road they are averaging 35.5 points a game.  I think Tech takes care of business in Nashville. Tech to win and cover the 12 points.

Georgia Tech- Stat page

Vandy- Stat page

Boise State vs San Jose State(Boise is currently favored by 35 points)- Along with the Ohio State vs New Mexico State game, these two games are easily two of the most lopsided matchups on the Saturday schedule maybe even the entire year.  For instance, Boise State is currently tied for third in Scoring offense averaging 40 points a game while San Jose State is ranked 109^th in Scoring defense allowing 33.5 points a game. San Jose State is ranked 111^th in Scoring offense averaging 16.5 points a game while Boise State’s defense is allowing 14.6 points a game ranking them 13^th in the nation and at home which is where this game will be played they are only allowing 8 points a game.  The Boise State defense has had only one game where they allowed more than a 100 rushing yards(Fresno State-320- Boise still won 51-34) including holding Oregon to a mere 31 rushing yards. The Boise State offensive line is tied for first in the nation for fewest sacks allowed with just 4.  The San Jose State Spartans are a different story.  This team sucks on about 100 different levels. So much so that I didn’t feel like wasting the time to write out all the really pathetically bad football stats of the San Jose Spartans, stats that would make most football fans borderline suicidal if they had to root for this team(Well, in reality they probably don’t give a rat’s ass- kind of like Vandy and Duke fans during football season) BUT if you are really interested in wasting your time, time that you will never ever get back, you can see for yourself by clicking on this link—here.  Anyway, long story short- take Boise State to win and cover the 35 points.

Cincinnati at Syracuse- The Nati will be playing without star QB Tony Pike.  Backup QB Zach Collaros will step in to start for the Bearcats.  Collaros started last week and performed well completing 15-17 of his passes for 253 yards and 3 TD passes plus 53 yards rushing.  Collaros actually offers something that Pike does not- the threat to tuck it and run.  Against South Florida, Collaros rushed for 132 yards when he came into relieve the injured Pike.  Other that, it looks like it should be business as usual.     The Nati to win and cover the 15 points.

Cincinnati Team Page- cfbstats.com

Syracuse Team Page- cfbstats.com

Georgia vs Florida- Yes, I think Florida will win.  Just thinking about this game makes me want to pour myself a very alcoholic beverage. I decided not to come up with some make believe story about how Georgia is going to win the game. I also don’t believe in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.  That being said, pray for miracle.  Oh, who I am I kidding? I haven’t been to a church service in ten years. I hate transition years which is what this year in Georgia football is.   Drink one of those 64 oz plastic football-shaped cups filled with Hurricane that they sell at the Landing in Jacksonville for me.   Oh, well…Gators wear jean shorts.

(hat tip- Red Cup Rebellion)

The AJC’s Ken Suigiura has a story up at ajc.com where he talks to Georgia basketball players and Georgia coach Mark Fox about some changes in the Georgia program like maybe….discipline!  As punishment for repeatedly missing meetings with tutors, Coach Fox called to the team to meet in Sanford Stadium- he made them run every single set of stairs in Sanford Stadium- which means every gate at every level!  Coach Fox has also made them get haircuts if their hair was too long!  Even Albert Jackson who had dreads, SHAVED HIS HEAD! Here is  a quote from Suigiura’s story-

Said Fox, “There’s an expectation for going to school, and it is a privilege to play basketball at Georgia. I think I got their attention early. Now we can focus on basketball.”

Maybe there really is change coming for Georgia Basketball!  I can’t wait!

GO DAWGS!

We took a few weeks off and now we are back.  This is a stat-heavy and stat first collection of previews/game picks.   Let the insanity begin–

Georgia Tech at Virginia-(Tech is a 6 point favorite)  The last time that Georgia Tech defeated Virginia in Charlottesville was in the fall of 1990 when placekicker Scott Sisson kicked a field goal to give the Jackets the win 41-38.  What has happened to Georgia Tech from the 92 game on is kind of a mystery. It’s not like UVA has been some kind of powerhouse football team the past 20 years.  I am sure Tech fans can offer many various excuses on why this has happened but one thing you can say about Georgia Tech football from 1991-2007- very inconsistent.  They would beat a team they were not supposed to and then lose to someone they were supposed to beat the following week.  In the past season and a half, things have changed on the flats since Paul Johnson has taken over. 

  Georgia Tech fans or anybody at all who is watching them can always count on one thing in victory or defeat- They are going to run the ball.  They are going to run the ball a lot and they are going to be successful at doing so regardless of who the opponent is.  The only opponents that have really been able to stop Tech’s rushing attack or at least contain it was Miami this year and LSU and North Carolina last year- even in the Carolina game in the fourth quarter Jonathan Dwyer was still able to break off a 80 yard run to put his total north of 150.One stat of interest- Virginia is currently being outrushed by their opponents 789(3.76 a carry)-666(2.70 a carry).  They are also being outpossessed per game- 30:32.5- 29:27.5

 Another stat of interest- head coach Paul Johnson is currently 15-5 so far in his tenure at Tech.  All 5 of those losses came against teams that had at least one extra week to prepare- Miami 2009, VT 2008, UNC 2008, LSU 2008, Virginia 2008, and LSU 2008.  Virginia will be playing their fourth consecutive game without a week off. This is enough to sell me on the Jackets chances in Charlottesville this weekend.  The streak ends this weekend.  Take tech to win and cover.

Baylor v. OSU(Oklahoma State is currently a 10 point favorite)- Baylor no longer has superstar quarterback Robert Griffin and without him they are not much to look at.  Griffin has not played in a game since a September 26 victory over Northwestern State.  Since then in his absence, Baylor is 1-2 with losses to Oklahoma(this was going to happen anyway) and Iowa State(this, however, is not good).

  Oklahoma State can get it done with or without Dez Bryant who was recently ruled ineligible- thank you, Deion Sanders. Despite all the injury problems Oklahoma State has had with stars Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant; and, Bryant’s current eligibility problem on offense, on the other side of the ball the Oklahoma State rush defense has actually been putting up a pretty good fight.  They are currently ranked 28^th in the nation in rush defense allowing 108 yards a game- a pretty good defensive stat for a Big 12 team a conference where last year it appeared offensive output flowed like water.

 In Baylor’s last two games(both losses) against Oklahoma(6 yards rushing) and Iowa State(89 yards rushing), the rushing attack has not been there. If Baylor can’t run the ball against the Cowboys, what exactly can they do against them? Oklahoma State to win and cover.

Clemson @ Miami(is currently a 5.5 point favorite)- Miami to win and cover 5.5 points.   This is a tough game to call.  Clemson is currently ranked 7th in the nation in pass defense while Miami’s offense, particularly through the air, has never looked better.

  Miami has played a stronger schedule and defeated more strong opponents.  Clemson by comparison has not really played anybody and against the “Somebodies”-TCU, Georgia Tech that they did play, they came up short. 

The U’s resurgence has been one of the bigger stories of the 2009 College Football season. While they have been performing well on defense, I think the most amazing aspect of the Canes’ resurgence has been on offense led by new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple and their all ready talented and now statistically accomplished QB, Jacory Harris.  Watching Harris’ evolution this season has been nothing short of amazing.  Harris’ performance against Georgia Tech was damn near perfect- even the incompletions looked good!  After getting the crapped kicked out of them in the rain in Blacksburg, the Canes picked themselves up and beat a top ranked Oklahoma team.

   Stat or talent wise this is not that uneven of a game.  Clemson despite losing three games has put up good numbers on the defensive side of the ball and while QB Kyle Parker’s completion percentage on offense seems to waver between 45% to 50%(awful) the yardage isn’t that bad, their rushing numbers are not terrible(not exactly good either).  Thanks to former coach Tommy Bowden’s great ability to recruit, Clemson has some top talent on both sides of the ball- QB, DL, RB, Secondary.  MIAMI HAS TALENT EVERYWHERE.  Miami, for years, had loads of uncoached big time talent–THAT IS NO LONGER THE CASE.  Now, they have loads of top talent that is also well coached- Mark Whipple on offense and John Lovett on defense .

If you listen to Miami starting quarterback Jacory Harris address the media about the upcoming game with Clemson he does not come off like a guy who is looking past anybody. Harris sounds like a very focused individual. Clemson vs Miami should be a good game but unless Miami looks past Clemson I don’t see Miami losing this game.  Miami to win at home. 

Tennessee at Alabama(Bama is a 15 point favorite)- Against some would say less than above average defenses- Auburn, Georgia, Ohio, Western Kentucky- they have faired alright. Against defenses that actually are worth a shit- Florida and UCLA-(this seems to be a stretch but numbers don’t lie)- the Vols have come down to earth(sometimes crashing).

  Unlike Florida, who at the time and still currently lacks a downfield threat, Alabama does not suffer from this problem.  Although he has somewhat disappeared (13 catches, 1 TD) Julio Jones is still playing Wide Receiver for the Alabama Crimson Tide.  He has got to break out eventually.  With a rushing attack like the Tide’s to set up the deep ball, why not this week?

 The Tennessee offensive attack’s bread and butter is their running game- Crompton is not a QB who can do it all himself in the passing game and in addition to that the Vols do not have much talent at wide receiver outside of wideout Gerald Jones.In some many words, the Vols need to able to run the ball to do anything, much less win the game.  Vols rushing attack has performed well against Western Kentucky, Ohio, and Georgia.  Against teams like UCLA, Florida, and at times against Auburn it seemed much more mortal.

  The Alabama defense is currently not playing like they are mere mortals.  In fact, they are 3rd in rush defense and 12th in pass defense and they are LITTERED WITH DISGUSTINGLY AWESOME TALENT ON DEFENSE.  The Tide, like the Vols, ironically, leans on their running game to get things done.  The Vols have a rush defense to match that(10th in the nation in rush defense).  Under Nick Saban, Bama has had a fairly efficient to even more than above-average passing game but lately Bama QB Greg McElroy has been having problems- see South Carolina game. 

 Still, I don’t think McElroy’s problems are to the point where they are going to stop the Tide from beating a team like Tennessee especially with Mark Ingram running the ball the way he currently is running it. I look for the Tide to take care of business and I also expect for Lane Kiffin to offer some bullshit excuse about how they really didn’t get beat that bad. I think Bama wins but I think Tennessee finds a way to cover the 15 points.

Oregon State at SoCal(is currently a 21 point favorite)- Trojans have had problems when visiting Corvalis but when hosting the Beavers they have not had the same problems. Oregon State lost to a top ranked Cincinnati team and a tough Arizona team, other than that they have not really played anybody. However, against pretty much all of their opponents the Beavers rush defense has held their opponent in check.  In Oregon State’s 3 out of the 4 toughest games so far- Cincy, Arizona, Arizona State- their rushing attack was held in check –it should be noted that they did run the ball well vs Stanford during a 38-28 Oregon State victory..No problems against the other teams on the schedule.  SC on the other hand, has not had any problems putting up points or yards. The SC defense currently ranked 4^th against the run is currently allowing their opponents barely 2 yards a rush. Other than a upset loss to Washington on the road, everything is fine for SoCal.  SC has had problems with Oregon State in the past but all of those losses were at Oregon State.  This game will be played in LA.  SC to win.

Penn State vs Michigan(Penn State is currently a 4.5 favorite)-   Michigan is currently ranked 8^th in the country in rushing offense.  Against weak defenses like Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Indiana, and last week against Delaware State they were able to have their way with them.  In their two loses- Michigan State(only 28 yards on 28 carries), and Iowa(195 yards on 45 carries 3 tds in 30-28 loss). Common Games between the two teams- Iowa. In the loss to Iowa, the Michigan defense only allowed 84 yards rushing while Penn State allowed Iowa 160 yards rushing.  I am going to go out on a limb and pick the Wolverines in an upset victory at Penn State.  Michigan to cover the 4.5 points.

Oklahoma vs Kansas-(the Sooners are currently an 8 point favorite) Kansas is sporting a one loss record but when you find out that all their victories were against a bunch of nobodies and their only loss was to Colorado (34-30), a team that the Toledo Rockets made their bitch in a 54-38 win (a game in which the Rockets were able to throw and rush for over 300 yards on CU).  That being said against all these nobodies, Kansas thrown the shit out of the ball including 431 yards in the loss to Colorado(only -8 rushing yards though). 

 2009 has already been a rough year for the Oklahoma Sooners.  They lost All-American tight end Jermaine Gresham before the season even started. The Sooners started the season off by being upset by BYU.  A few weeks later they lost a tough game to the Miami Hurricanes 21-20.  Then, last weekend, they lost the Red River Shootout to Texas a game where the Sooners had -16 yards rushing but that was the worst part.  The worst part was Sam Bradford was lost for the year when he was sacked by Texas Longhorn Aaron Williams.  Williams appeared to land on Bradford’s shoulder. Anyway, Bradford is gone for the year.

   However, freshman QB Landry Jones has performed well in his place.  Sooners still have a lot of top NFL talent on defense and the offense while banged up is talented enough to more than hold their own against a team like Kansas who is currently ranked 94^th in pass defense allowing 245 yards a game.  Sooners to win and cover.

TCU at BYU-(TCU is currently a 2.5 point favorite) This is kind of an interesting game.  ESPN’s College Gameday touches down in Provo, Utah this weekend for the #8 TCU vs #16 BYU game.  Both teams need this game to validate their season. TCU while undefeated hasn’t really played anybody and while BYU upset Oklahoma in week 1, their credibility was shattered when a barely average FSU team ran all over them in an embarrassing 54-28 loss at home.  I would lean towards TCU to win this game.  Mountain West Connection offers their preview of this game. TCU to win and cover.

Auburn at LSU(LSU is currently a 7.5 point favorite)- According to Phil Steele “The Visitor is currently 1-8 after LSU’s 2008 road win.”  Auburn’s offense puts up points and gains yards/Auburn’s defense allows points and gives up lots of yards.  As bad as Auburn’s defense is (they have already given up 2500 yards of total offense), LSU is currently playing about as inconsistent as anybody right now.  Anything can happen this weekend. Still, I think LSU takes care of business this weekend.  It is after all being played at night.  A night game in Baton Rouge usually = LSU Victory. Normally, these games are close but this has got to be the worst Auburn defense in God knows when- stats and talentwise. LSU to win and cover. 

websites used in research-http://www.cfbstats.com/

All Lines for the games came from this site- http://www.docsports.com/football-odds.html

ESPN.com.

“Everytime you eat a steak, a hippy’s hacky sack falls into the gutter.”—Patton Oswalt

Sicemdawgs.com has compiled a collection of stats regarding the 2009 Georgia Football team and I must say….IT AINT’T PRETTY!!  All of the various stats were quite dishearting for any Georgia fan but these are the ones that bothered me the most

 

Georgia has only scored 1 offensive touchdown in the past 11 quarters.

Georgia has 20 three-and-outs and 16 turnovers (47% of the Bulldogs’ offensive drives in 2009 have ended with a turnover or a three-and-out).

2009 total time of possession – Georgia 166:30, Opponents 193:30

Georgia has allowed 37 points or more in 7 of the past 12 games.

You can check out the rest of the list of stats Sicemdawgs.com has compiled by clicking on the boldfaced link above.  In fact, you should check on the rest of them.  Some of them are so appalling that you may think a few of them are more awful than the four I have listed above.  That is how bad of a state our Dawgs are currently in.  That being said, Phil Steele should start listing “3 and outs” stats for next year’s College Football Preview.  That is a very telling stat in regards to the overall efficency of an offense.

In case you are wondering why so few posts in the past couple weeks, I have been busy with school work lately.  I am not dodging offering a response to the Georgia-Tennessee game.  I am currently working on a project and studying for a test I have on Thursday.  I tried to come up with a few drafts to discuss the current state of things but I keep coming off like a raving lunatic.  I guess that’s what happens when the shit hits the fan which is what happened in Knoxville on Saturday.  I have some thoughts on the Georgia running game I would like to share but only after I finish dealing with this test I have tommorrow afternoon.   In the meantime step away from the ledge, Georgia fans.