Bleacher Report - Articles by Evan Wiley

Georgia Bulldogs: Five Keys To Victory in 2009

Evan Wiley — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:13:37 -0400

That time of year we all know and love will soon be upon us. Leaves will be falling all around, so it's time to get this underway. There are five elements that will be crucial to Georgia Bulldog victory this year. Here they are, in no particular order:

The Kicking Game

Nothing sends a message like kicking Dexter Moody off the team and offering Bogotay a scholarship. Blair Walsh, ye be warned. The competition is healthy. Walsh hasn’t lived up to what one would expect given his tremendous high school stats and Bogotay is breathing down his neck. I think we’ll see our starting kicker do far better than 15-23. Keep in mind a field goal would’ve sent to game vs. Georgia Tech into overtime. More touch backs and deeper kickoffs would’ve given our defense more to work with. I’d say the kicking game could’ve given us an extra win last year had it been more consistent.

Improvement on Defense

I remember reading an interview with Rennie Curran. He stated that one of his goals for the season was “to be more violent in my tackling.” That’s a wonderful goal for a linebacker to have and had me smiling as I read it. Defenses that are out there for no other purpose except to lower the boom are defenses which are fun to watch.

Fun to watch would be a welcome change from last years defense which seemed to be rather anemic at times, allowing points more becoming of the Big 12 than the SEC. So besides the wrath of a healthy D-Line and Rennie Curran what other hope awaits?

Daryl Gamble, who provided dazzling performances whenever he stepped onto the field in 2008, will be back. During the summer practices he’s picked up right where he left off, intercepting passes and getting turnovers. Look for big things from him.

While Asher Allen (who played most of the season with a broken hand) was a bright spot in the secondary he has jumped to bigger and better things in the NFL. So who’s gonna fill his shoes? They’ll be brought to you by the letter B: Brandon Boykin and Branden Smith. Branden Smith is as of yet unproven, but I think we’ll see big things from him. He was the single best prospect in the state of Georgia and the No. 2 corner in the country.

Multidimensional Offense

Remember those guys? Knowshon and Stafford? They had it all: talent, charm, aerial acrobatic skills, beer keg lifting prowess…and they’re gone now. Know what they didn’t have? A healthy experienced offensive line.

Now think back to 2008’s Alabama team. Name a running back. He may have run for 1300 yards in 2008, but you’re having trouble naming him if you’re not a Bama fan. Knowshon for all his flash and flair only ran for 100 more. Their QB wasn’t the first NFL draft pick overall either. Yet they only lost two games, one of which was to the BCS champs. What’d they have? A good young receiver and an experienced healthy line. Sound familiar?

Games are not won on air alone. One must be able to run the ball. For Georgia, this is still up in the air. Caleb King seems to be the default choice, but it’s hard to see someone who runs straight at defenders and then goes down on first contact holding the number one spot for long. I think Richard Samuel and Washaun Ealey both have a good chance to usurp his throne, especially given the recent scrimmage results.

Cox will do fine. There was a time when the Bulldog nation drooled over him. Then he graduated high school and we forgot his name. He kept the faith, taking a back seat role to Stafford while always coming through in clutch situations as he did versus Colorado in 2006. As long as Bobo keeps calling plays the way he has we’ll see another year of fruitful offensive numbers. My only word of advice is to find out what works and do it, rather than doing something until it finally works.

Stay healthy

Last year’s schedule resembled a meat grinder in more ways than one. It all started in the pre-season with Trinton Sturdivant. Next came Jeff Owens’ season ending injury against Georgia Southern. From there it just escalated with Dannel Ellerbe, Brannan Southerland, and Vince Vance. At times it seemed as if Stacy Searles was holding our offensive line together with bubblegum and duct tape. While injuries are to be expected, they hit the Dawgs especially hard in 2008. This year you’ve got arguably the best trenches in the country on both sides of the ball. Keep them healthy and you’ll have a team not unlike Alabama in 2008: A team that will pound the opposition relentlessly with no real superstars save for a young receiver.

Fewer Penalties

Penalties murdered the Dawgs in 2008. You’ll see me reference Bama some more. In the 2008 game, we gave up four first downs from our penalties, with 10 overall for 81 yards. No penalties and it’s a different game. To say nothing of lost offense. Richt has been working with the players and encouraging them to be more disciplined, both on and off the field. One wonders what horrors await the poor fools who make mindless penalties this year. I can say one thing, while it won’t be pretty, I bet they’ll be in really good shape for the next game.

Georgia-Auburn: Bye Week Edition

Evan Wiley — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 10:04:47 -0500

From the hallowed depths of Jordan Hare Stadium, the majesty of the Deep South’s oldest rivalry was evident.

Uga VII basked under the same sun as Uga V, who 12 years ago was immortalized as he expressed in no uncertain terms that the Bulldog Nation was a force to be reckoned with.

Nova, aka War Eagle VII, swooped majestically over the crowd, commemorating that fateful day in Piedmont Park those many years ago.

As old as this rivalry is, it’s something of an anomaly. It’s not angry or blood thirsty as one could say UGA’s rivalries with Georgia Tech and Florida are.

It’s hasn’t degenerated a competition on the part of the fans to see who can behave in the most obnoxious manner as the Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida (again) rivalries have.

The word respect sums it up. It is a mutual respect that brings these schools and their fans together year after year since the dawn of football in the Southeast, and it is mutual respect that shall carry it on throughout the ages.

Knowshon Moreno had his usual good game. Georgia fans have become spoiled by his bravado, and it often seems like I hear people whining around me if he’s not getting a first down on every play.

A.J. Green really carried our offense, making big plays and consistently gaining first down yardage. Nothing makes me happier about the future than thinking about the fact that we have three more years of that kid.

The air he can grab and the catches he can make may make him premature NFL material. Cherish jewels like this game, as they may be a little fewer in number than Dawg fans like.

A major concern, though, was Bobo’s play calling. It was unbecoming of his usual good play calls.

Case in point, first quarter: We could get to the 2 and have a first down. He goes for a field goal. It was subsequently missed by Walsh. As much as I liked Walsh in the pre-season, I’ve realized YouTube isn’t a great indicator of a kicker’s efficacy.

Defensively, the Dawgs looked more inspired with Gino Atkins living up to his potential and Rennie Curran delivering a punishing blows with consistency.

The D still had problems with discipline and sticking to assignments. Later in the game, they played soft too. This cannot be tolerated by Coach Martinez.

Auburn played a great game. It was arguably the best all year against a conference opponent. They were able to take it down to the wire against the Bulldogs and made UGA play their best until the last second of the game.

Fireworks In The Dreams Of The Bulldog Nation

Evan Wiley — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:43:01 -0400

Light fuse. Get Away.

Anyone who has ever held their own personal fireworks display knows those words.

Fireworks are a guilty pleasure of mine, but I am in good company. Gandalf enjoyed setting them off at Bilbo’s eleventyfirst birthday celebration. The ancient Chinese used them to drive away evil spirits. Beavis and Butthead abused their fiery magic in a way that only an adolescent male can truly appreciate.

The Dawgs came out ready to attack. Darryl Gamble lit the fuse with a touchdown off of an interception on the first offensive play of the game. This move swiftly and decisively shifted momentum early on, and so the Dawgs would go on to get away, taking the score with them.

Death Valley is a formidable opponent in itself, to say nothing of LSU. The past thirty teams that have attempted to take down LSU on their home turf have failed. The crowd is well known for being the loudest and rowdiest in the nation. Opposing fans and teams are prompted with a constant barrage of the phrase “Tiger Bait”.

With that one play from Darryl Gamble, the stadium fell quiet. The awe of this display of power before them caused the fans to quiet down.

The score would wax and wane. In the end the Dawgs got away with a 52-38 victory.

The Dawgs did many things well.

First, we converted third downs. This has been an issue with Georgia’s offense all season, but today it seemed that Stafford could do no wrong. The ball was at his command as he consistently picked apart the LSU defense. A.J. Green, Kenneth Harris, Michael Moore, and Kris Durham all had great catches. The passing offense fired on all cylinders and the Dawgs showed their true offensive prowess to the country as a whole.

Second, the Dawgs blocked well. The offensive line now has it’s share of duct tape holding it together, but they got the job done. Critical blocks from Chapas and Sutherland led to plenty of ground yardage. One unsung hero, however, rose above others when it came to blocking. He helped keep many drives alive. He did far more than was expected of him in this arena. This hero was A.J. Green, who helped set up plenty of open receivers out in the flats by effectively blocking elements of LSU’s pass coverage.

Third, the ground game lived up to its Heisman-esque expectations. In a previous article I described Knowshon Moreno in much the same way one would a bottle rocket as it zoomed through a crowd of people like something one of the Weasley boys came up with to cause trouble at Hogwarts-twisting and turning as it speedily meandered its way to the end zone.

He did just that as he twisted, turned, and made a dash for the end zone with a 68-yard run in the third quarter.

It was simply glorious.

In his graphic novel, The Invisibles, Grant Morrison describes nature (and spacetime as a whole) as overlapping sets of fractal images. Look at a fern or a snowflake to see what I mean.

I’ve noticed a theme of fireworks throughout the build-up to this game, during it and afterward. Fireworks somehow have become a fractal image throughout the hearts and minds of the bulldog nation. First was a reference I made in another article.

Second, I was at the final live showing of the DAMN! Show in Athens on Friday night. Indoor pyrotechnics were present, as Yucko the Clown (of Howard Stern fame) led a cheer for the Bulldogs. As out of character as it was for him, the feeling of anticipation of something great seemed to permeate the audience that night.

Finally, I head over to thedawgsden.com’s message board. What’s on the screen? A digital display of fireworks!

That’s a symbolic fractal image of the collective hopes and dreams of the Bulldog Nation if I’ve ever seen one. Or maybe I’m just sleep deprived.

However you want to look at it, the fireworks are there: Explosive offense, screaming Dawg fans, a total shutdown of the most hostile environment in college football, and the momentum the Bulldogs need to go into the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party and walk away with another victory.

Tonight the Bulldog Nation shall lie in their beds contently, the fireworks of victory dancing in their dreams.

Knowshon Moreno Is a High-Performance Machine

Evan Wiley — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:00:14 -0400

Knowshon Moreno was named SEC offensive player of the week this week. He had 172 yards rushing on 23 carries and one TD against Vandy. It was another feather in a cap that already resembles the average ostrich.

Something amazing about Knowshon is that stats of this magnitude get racked up in three quarters of a game.

He had all of eight carries against Georgia Southern. He had to leave the Bama game early due to a chipped bone in his elbow, and many of the other games see Caleb King getting a majority of the run time in the fourth quarter. Factor that in and consider Knowshon’s potential.

In addition to the SEC offensive player of the week honor, Moreno was named the number one running back in the nation by Rivals.com. Words like “instinctive,” ”elite,” “natural,” and “sharp” were used to describe his style of play.

Rivals also noted something that is one of his best but often overlooked features: his ability to drop his hips and pound out a yard or two more than if he’d gone down at the point of contact.

Combine that with the fact that his enthusiasm never dies, and that he never seems to fatigue, and you’ve got a one-man wrecking crew.

College football fans the nation over will have their eyes fixated on Baton Rouge come Saturday. They know the test (although I like to think of it as a showcase) that awaits Moreno. Ricky-Jean Francois may be questionable at this point, but LSU’s line is still formidable without him.

There’s a “but” here, and it’s a big one.

Consider LSU’s strength of schedule thus far. Powerhouses such as the worst team in the nation, North Texas, and FCS school Appalachian State are on their schedule. SEC disappointments Auburn and Mississippi State have also seen beatings by LSU.

Speaking of which, here’s some numerical fun. While Auburn lost to LSU 26-21, they beat Mississippi St. by one point, having only scored three. Not three times—three points total. Auburn scored seven times as many points vs. LSU as they did against Mississippi State!

It would be an understatement to say LSU will have their hands full with Moreno, much less be able to neutralize him. Any team of any count has given LSU a good run for their money. Any team with National Championship hopes displayed swift authority in dispatching the Tigers.

Florida also pounded the ball into the end zone time and time again. Their running game put up some great yardage, and the combined ground and aerial assault had LSU punch-drunk by half time.

Combined ground and aerial assault? Who does that sound like?

Knowshon can carry an offense on his back, no doubt about it. If I had to compare him to anything, I’d have to say that Moreno is the human incarnation of a Porsche: small, compact, able to change direction easily, and very powerful.

Oh, and the Porsche would need a ramp to make a seemingly death-defying jump—Knowshon just needs a reason.

It’s down to the wire in the SEC, boys and girls. It's now fall, the weather is good, and the football gods are smiling upon us.

Take in the game vs. LSU, as there are sure to be plenty of fireworks. The rocket you see, twisting and turning as it speedily meanders its way to the end zone for a six-point explosion...that’s just Knowshon, doing what he does best.

Georgia-Tennessee: Ten Advantages the Dawgs Have Over the Vols

Evan Wiley — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:10:17 -0400

Despair not, Dawg fans. The Vols don't have much going for them.

Every team has a bad half now and then. Every team has some injuries and penalties. You just have to deal with them.

The difference between champions and shoulda-beens is in how they deal with adversity.

I am reminded of the great master Pai Mei, who asks us what the appropriate response is to an enemy a couple inches away. “Do you curl up into a ball and die, or do you put your fist through him?”

With this attitude in mind, we start the list...

10. Rennie Curran

The guy has been playing like a madman all season, at times seemingly covering an entire field by himself. He is now imposing his intensity and enthusiasm on the rest of the team...whether they want it or not. He has publicly addressed issues of complacency and has basically said that there is no excuse for it.

Here’s a recent quote:

“I’ve taken it on myself. Just looking at the games, Coach Martinez, as much as he yells at us and tries to set us straight and Coach G, they’re not going to be on the field with us. It’s going to be us as a team; it’s going to be us individual players. And I know for me, when I go to war, I want to look next to me and see that the guy I’m looking at has worked as hard as he could in practice and knows what he’s supposed to do.”

The fire hydrant of motivation is coming for you if you’re not hustling and focused. Don’t make him open up his valves of whup-ass.

9. Mark Richt

He has promised a better showing as an apology for the first half of Bama. A lot of indicators are pointing to a lack of due diligence on the part of the staff as far as things that were previously evident in film. Mix that with a hurt Moreno, a darn good Bama team, and a quarter mile worth of penalties, and you get a loss.

Secondly, he has let it be known that players getting penalties in the future will have elected the way of pain. There’s been an escalation to the physical side of penalty punishment. I imagine it’s something akin to having to do stadium sets with a fridge tied to one’s back while “Rocky Top” and other tunes play full blast into headphones glued to the offenders’ heads.

8. Brannan Southerland is back.

He’s the strongest person in UGA football history. He is like a Buick with legs. He lives for short yardage conversions. Remember the dreaded “big white boy” on the team you played against in high school? Southerland is that guy on a much larger scale.

7. UGA's showing against the MAC and Pac-10.

UGA pulverized CMU. UT survived Northern Illinois. Tennessee lost to UCLA, who in turn got murdered by BYU the following week by more than 50 points. UGA beat ASU in their own house and controlled the game throughout.

6. UGA’s conference record.

Guess who hasn’t won an SEC game yet? Here’s a hint: It’s UT.

5. Knowshon Moreno.

Coaches have said he’s been having his best practices ever. While his elbow is a little sore, he’s still going to be starting. Bank on some more spectacular highlights on his road to Heisman glory.

4. Fulmer is getting antsy.

Apparently stress and frustration are getting to him and he’s now calling the plays. He started doing it in the fourth quarter against Northern Illinois. He’s also swapped quarterbacks. Desperation smells better than your third Jack and Coke of the day. This brings us to No. 3...

3. New UT QB.

Fulmer’s thoughts must be something akin to this:

“I’ll ease him on in vs. Northern Illinois. Then he’ll be ready for UGA. Yeah, that’s the ticket.”

Thank you for dipping the pig in bar-be-cue sauce before throwing it to the Dawgs.

2. Home field advantage

It’ll be later in the afternoon. UGA’s fans will be appropriately lubricated. UT won’t know what to do without the constant din of "Rocky Top" polluting the air.

1. UGA doesn’t have any star players who’ve gone completely nuts.

Arian Foster has either gotten his Wheaties spiked with a myriad of pharmaceuticals of dubious distinction, or he's gone off the deep end.

Read this next sentence carefully: He refuses to do interviews unless they’re conducted in the dinosaur language of Pterodactyl.

I couldn’t make that up if I tried. It all just seems like a lame joke from a Tenacious D album or something.

It’d have been a lot cooler if he’d said Klingon. I actually respect Klingons.

The Real Reason Georgia Is Wearing Black

Evan Wiley — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:21:56 -0400

First copy and check out either of these links and watch the video. Turn up your speakers. Make sure no kids are within earshot. Look for it around 1:04.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1620670543?bclid=431782885&bctid=1811559535 (Bama figured out this was bad PR. While the vid is still up it's now edited)

You can still click here and enjoy the original in all it's vulgar glory!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWt9M5fJ-cA

There you have it. The Bulldog Nation is wearing black because they're going to a mother #$##$ funeral. So sayeth the coach trying to do his best Yucko the Clown impersonation.

It won't be because it's going to be a night game.

It won't be because the weather is cool.

It won't be because the seniors requested it on the flight back from Arizona.

It won't be because ESPN College GameDay is going to be in town.

It won't be because it will be an SEC conference game.

It won't be because it will be between two top 10 ranked teams.

The motivation for the Georgia Bulldogs had simply been missing apparently. If you looked at those six factors there couldn't possibly be a reason to already be pumped up for this game, Black Out or not.

The only mistake/possibly prophetic irony that the coach made was that he didn't specify who's funeral it was going to be.

In the words of Zero Wolf: "Go die like a man."

Larry Munson Retires: The End of an Era at Georgia

Evan Wiley — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:44:21 -0400

It is as if it had been written in some barely decipherable backwards message on an old record. All I can think about is a single repeating phrase: "Miss him, miss him, miss him."

Tonight Larry Munson announced his retirement.

This really shouldn't be that surprising to Dawg fans. Munson is 86. He's called nearly every down of the Dawgs for 43 years. He had blood clots in his brain earlier this year and spent most of the spring and summer at the Sheppard Center in Atlanta rehabbing from the surgery to remove them.

Before that, his back problems and arthritis had already slowed him down to calling only the home games.

There is a blessing in being able to prepare for a day like today. Get all your mental ducks in a row. Accept the fact that he will one day be gone. Cherish the time he was here and purchase every last DVD that in some way involves him.

Those of us who are REALLY dedicated try to rip Bellamy-Strickland Ford commercials from podcasts of our local radio stations. Everything just sounds better with Munson.

I only got to meet him once. I was 11. His status as a Falcons announcer landed him a gig as a celebrity endorser for Hooters along with Jeff Van Note, and my sister was working at a store that was about to open at Gwinnett Place.

They had a day of practice runs where employee families got to try the food out. Van Note and Munson were there. This is still one of my favorite memories.

That was 17 years ago. They've gone by in a blink.

Later, while working at an advertising agency that focused on endorsement radio, he was our Atlanta market endorser for Johnsonville Brats. This particular agency let the endorsers say whatever they liked as long as it was off the cuff, lasted at least 58 seconds, and that they mentioned certain specific things.

One of Johnsonville's specific things was a mention of the aroma of their brats cooking on the grill. Larry dutifully mentioned it. I heard it on the air, walked into my bosses' office, and informed them that he shouldn't be made to say that as he has no sense of smell and that anyone who was a real fan of his would know that.

I got laughed out of the office. This was probably for the best as he was getting paid pretty well to talk about sausage for 60 seconds a week. The alternative was probably that they simply found another endorser.

I became enamored with his gravelly voice early in life. No one could talk like him. No one could pull the action and emotion straight from the hearts and eyes of the players on the field and paint a perfect picture in your imagination.

Journalistic neutrality be darned! You knew without a doubt who he was rooting for.

I was too young to hear the famous Lindsay Scott play live. The same goes for Herschel Walker running over people.

The definitive Larry Munson call for me was the Hobnail Boot call vs. Tennessee. I was up at MTSU playing rugby for UGA. I think we had 14 people show up for a game that requires 15 people a side. We got our heads handed to us.

Traveling back to Manchester, TN, I somehow picked up a station out of Chattanooga and listened to that drive downfield. I heard the Dawgs step on Tennessee's face with a hobnail boot, and I could hear the cartilage crush and blood bubbles gurgle. The sheer insanity of it all, wrapped in the ecstasy of an SEC road victory.

How I didn't die in a fiery car crash is beyond me.

His personality was unmatched, both in the broadcast booth and out of it. He seemed to live in a world most that even most college kids dreamed about: rubbing elbows with the Bulldogs, going to the movies with his gaggle of female admirers, being the voice of Uga in documentaries. What's not to like?

Even at his roast, which took place a couple of years back, the qualities that the roasters tried to use to insult him only endeared him more to many of his fans. Find Belinda Skelton's account of the first thing he ever said to her while working at WSB-AM 750 in Atlanta to see what I mean. He definitely had a little bit of Ron Burgundy in there.

It looks like he's given the Bulldog Nation literally everything he has to give. If anyone has earned the right to spend their remaining time on the lake, it's him. I pray the time he has left will be full of joy and that he may know the happiness of the magnitude that he selflessly bestowed upon all of his fans.

Three Weeks In, Is Georgia Still Worthy of Number One?

Evan Wiley — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:14:53 -0400

We’ve had the chance to look at what the Bulldogs have to offer this season. We’ve seen some flashes of Heisman-level greatness. We’ve seen a freshman phenom receiver come out of nowhere and quickly become a fan favorite with his iconic hustle and skill.

We’ve also seen some areas where the team needs to make great strides. We’ve seen the Dawgs give up many times more yardage in penalties than the opposing team had in rushing offense. We’ve seen questionable play calling. We’ve seen an uninspired and easily winded pass rush. We’ve seen the CMU exploit, umm...exploited.

So did we deserve the number one ranking? Yes and no.

Currently USC is playing better than the Dawgs. They’re firing on all cylinders without doubt. One need only look at their merciless beating of Ohio State for proof.

Beanie’s foot was hurt. So what? USC brought the thunder and was out to make a point. The OSU line could’ve consisted of five clones of Orlando Pace and they could’ve had the Juggernaut at fullback, and they still would’ve lost. That’s the level USC is playing at.

Either that or...gasp...OSU was overrated.

Which one seems more realistic?

So why do the Bulldogs deserve it?

They haven’t lost yet. The Bulldogs been playing sloppy, ugly, and undisciplined football—yet they have not only been unbeaten thus far, but also have blown out their non-conference opponents.

While they have room to improve, it should be remembered that these are mental issues: issues that can be fixed in practice much more readily than fundamental strength, speed, and outright talent issues.

Look at penalties. People are upset that UGA only beat South Carolina by seven points. People wanted a statement against an evil genius, an absolutely nasty defense (led by none other than the man who made MSU’s defense so good last year, Coach Ellis Johnson), and a competent QB who played the game of his life.

This is to say nothing of it being a conference game—the SEC isn’t exactly the pushover our friends on the West Coast like to think it is. Take away our penalties and there’s another touchdown in them there yards. The score is now 21-7.

Look at play calling. Instead of the Stafford keeper around the end, set up a screen pass with an option for Stafford to run. Or that shovel pass play that I’m anticipating seeing against LSU. Even if you don’t score, you’ve hopefully gained a yard or two.

Have Chapas pound it in. Have Moreno work his magic. Send anything but Stafford around the end. The score is now 28-7.

Simple mistakes rectified, and all of a sudden the South Carolina game doesn’t seem so disappointing. Simple mistakes rectified, and you have play becoming of a team that should be ranked number one.

The coaches have taken notice of the defensive line and their uninspired pass rush. They will be put through some vigorous practices with added attention on fine-tuning their conditioning. I will be surprised to see them looking as they did in the fourth quarter vs. South Carolina at any other time this season.

The coaches noticed this issue when the Dawgs beat Georgia Southern and (if they have any brains at all) have been taking steps to correct the issue.

This leads us to passing defense. Is it an issue of coverage? Is it an issue of players? Should the Bulldog nation simply pray that Rennie Curran keeps trying to cover the entire field like a lunatic and keeps our blunders from turning into tragedies?

It’s a little late to completely re-scheme our defense, and you’ll see attempts at these quick eight- and 10-yard passes for the rest of the season in all probability.

Two solutions are to be considered. One is the pass rush. We need more pressure. You can never have too much pressure on a quarterback. Part of this is coming with the added conditioning that they are no doubt receiving. I have visions in my head of them doing stadium sets with refrigerators on their back.

Make the quarterback panic, hurry, scramble, consider other options, lose site of his goal, and throw it out of bounds—or make him cry like a little girl.

I salivate just thinking about it. I pine for those days when you could outright murder that pretty boy across the line who was getting the girls you weren’t. It is the line’s duty, since they are not amongst the beautiful people of the world, to make sure that the quarterback isn’t pretty anymore.

The second solution is a better read. Look for indicators. It’s kind of obvious that the Bulldogs haven’t been keying in on this type of play at all. It seemed like half the time South Carolina executed it the receiver wasn’t even covered.

If our coverage can key in on these plays and can break them up with the same vigor they do on the rest, then this issue will be nullified.

Until then, the CMU exploit rears its head. ASU will come out with this from play one if they want any kind of chance at victory. The Dawgs need to be ready. Florida, Bama, Auburn, and LSU have most certainly taken note and are going to be far more of a challenge than ASU and Carolina.

The Dawgs are fortunate that they have time to work out the kinks. If there’s one thing Richt and his crew are going to show you, it’s that they’re competent.

The first step to competence? Identifying what needs work and working on it.

So now that we’ve identified the areas needing work, what do we need to see more of?

Stafford is looking great. He has much better efficiency than last year. If he glances at both sides of the field before picking a receiver, I think he’ll be even better.

Since 2006, I’ve had this gripe with Stafford. It’s like he knows who he’s throwing to before the ball is snapped and almost refuses to throw to other people. How else could one explain so many throws to Millner in 2k6 and Chandler in 2k7? Look at MoMass, look at A.J. Pick one, launch that air strike, and watch the points pile up.

I want to see more different looks with Knowshon. More sweep type plays. Maybe even an option or two. Let the fullback pound it up the middle a few times a game. We need to keep them guessing as to which hole he comes out of.

Once he has his hole and room to run, Knowshon will bring his own brand of juking and jiving to keep them guessing even more. Bring disorder to the defense, break down the system, and it’s all downhill from there.

Another thing that I’d like to see more of, even if most fans don’t like it, are the long-range field goals of Blair T. Walsh. The kid has a monster leg and great accuracy.

I want to see more Logan Gray returning punts and kickoffs. He reminds me of those converted soccer player backs I’ve come across in football and rugby mixed with Tim Dwight-type speed and fearlessness. He may be listed as a quarterback, but I think he found his new calling in returning kicks.

I pray we see more of him because, even though I’ve only seen a little bit of him, I love the hustle and attitude he brings.

So how far will Georgia go? Right now I think the SEC East is ours for the taking. Take away the two most glaring issues—which both, thankfully, look easily correctable—and you have an SEC championship team.

Will they win the BCS championship outright? No.

Look at USC and tell me if you think anyone out there has a chance against them at the level of play they brought vs. OSU. As I said earlier, it’s entirely possible OSU was overrated.

A better look at the rest of the field is needed to accurately determine the Dawgs’ national championship probabilities. Once we get deeper into the conference schedules of the Pac-10, Big 12, and Mountain West, the read on the competition will be better. Until then, there are quite a few teams with some severe talent out there.

Every single member of the top 10 (minus Wisconsin and plus BYU) is making a case that they should be considered for the top spot in the nation.

This is the joy of college football. We may see BYU fall to Wyoming, or USC fall to Oregon State, Florida may lose to Kentucky, or Oklahoma might fall to Kansas.

Is the BCS fair? Not always, but it’s making for an exciting season.

The BCS championship is in the Bulldog Nation’s grasp—but it’s also the Dawgs’ to lose.

Questions for the Top 25: Week 3

Evan Wiley — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:32:40 -0400

After watching the top 25 in action this weekend, I have questions...how existential.

1. USC vs. Ohio State: Is there no one else? Is there no one else?

2. UGA vs. South Carolina: What's the SEC record for penalty yards in a game?

3. Oklahoma vs. Washington: Think they'll switch places with Ohio State?

4. Florida (off): Think Tebow kissed any more of his receivers this weekend?

5. Ohio State vs. USC: Did anyone think Beanie mattered this much? Or was the Ohio vs. Ohio St. game our first indicator that something was amiss? Should they have been named "Team Beanie"?

6. Missouri vs. Nevada: Did anyone else see this merciless beating coming? Does anyone else think Maclin looks like a whippet?

7. LSU vs. North Texas: Couldn't they have beaten them by a wider margin?

8. Texas vs. Arkansas: Is this game even worth watching?

9. Auburn vs. Miss St: What on EARTH happened to Auburn's offense? Did MSU's defense finally awaken with a taste for Tiger/War Eagle/Plainsmen flesh?

10. Wisconsin vs. Fresno: Think Wisconsin's luck will hold out?

11. Bama vs. WKU: Could Bama's game vs. UGA be a preview of the SEC championship game?

12. Texas Tech vs. SMU: Shouldn't they be ranked above Texas?

13. Kansas vs. USF: Was last season a fluke?

14. ECU vs. Tulane: Did Tulane improve that much or was WV that overrated?

15. UNLV vs. ASU: How much money was lost on this one? Do they even have a prayer against UGA after getting beaten by a team that started the season in the bottom 10? Will they still be in the top 25?

16. Oregon vs. Purdue: When will people realize how high-powered Oregon's offense is? Does USC have something to worry about?

17. Penn State vs Syracuse: Did anyone else see that crazy old lady in the end zone bleachers? Was it actually a crazy old lady or a college kid dressed like one?

18. BYU vs. UCLA: Do BYU fans have them pegged for the BCS title game yet? Or is it just that Tennessee is really that terrible this year?

19. Wake Forest was off, did they feel the Tar Heels breathing down their neck?

20. USF vs. Kansas: Think they'll be taken seriously now? Think they'll switch spots with Kansas in the polls?

21. Fresno St. vs Wisconsin: How many death threats will Fresno's kicker get by Monday?

22. Utah vs. Utah St: The MWC has been putting out some great offensive stats as of late, think they'll get a BCS bowl and fill the ACC power vacuum?

23. Cal vs. Maryland: How embarrassing is it to be beaten by a sub-par team from a conference, that as a whole, is in a state of rebuilding?

24. Illinois vs. UL-L: Should it have been this close vs. a member of the UL U-pick-em? Think they'll be ranked after next week's visit to Penn State?

25. West Virginia(bye): Why can't Jesco White be their mascot?

UGA vs South Carolina Game Recap: The Good, The Bad, The Spooky and The Abysmal.

Evan Wiley — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:24:44 -0400

This game was a hard fought game from both sides. There’s no doubt about that.

Both teams were hitting hard and trying to show their opponents that they had elected the way of pain. The entire fourth quarter was either a comedy of errors or a down to the wire fight for life in the most brutal conference in the world. Mark my words, both teams will still be feeling this game Thursday.

I had to work through this entire game. Sounds like a bummer right?

The good thing about working where I do is that I got to watch the entire game. The other good thing is that it’s conducive to note taking.

The Good:

The kicking game looks better, especially punting. Mimbs and Walsh both looked great. Without Mimbs’ incredible punt in the 4^th this would be a very different game. The same should be noted for Walsh’s field goal.

At times the passing offense shows glimpses of NFL games in a few years. It’ll be the same guys and the same plays. Matt Stafford had some incredible passes. He truly emerged as a leader. He also had a good set of rushes.

AJ Green had the catch of the game in 2^nd quarter to set up the field goal. The more I see of him, Troupe and Durham, the more I like them. Here's to hoping Durham doesn't drop a touchdown pass next game.

Did anyone else notice UGA’s shovel passes? My guess is this is practice for LSU as I’d be looking at plays like that, combined with screens and possibly options to get yards vs. LSU in a few weeks.

Smelley really took off in this game as well. He picked our passing defense apart and at times could move down field at will. He was hitting the same spaces that CMU did last week. This exploit needs to be rectified immediately. ASU won’t be nearly as forgiving.

South Carolina has some serious play makers on offense and defense. They had a nasty pass rush and a great set of receivers.

I really wonder how they fell to Vandy. Maybe Vandy is the true sleeper team of the SEC. MSU isn’t fulfilling predictions like I thought.

I think a lot of that has to do with Ellis, their defensive coordinator, jumping to where? South Carolina.

The Bad:

Tripp Chandler, so what else is new? Remember a few years ago when that kid got his arms ripped off by a combine and he dialed 911 with a pencil in his teeth? There are times when I wish that kid was receiving instead of Chandler. When will Richt and Bobo realize he’s much better utilized in a blocking capacity?

UGA’s passing defense was sub-par. As I said earlier, ASU is watching and drooling.

While it was satisfying to see Curran lay out Garcia, I wish we could’ve seen more from him. He had a good scramble to start off, but the rest of his one and out plays were abysmal. Visit Stephengarcia.org to gloat about how he’s trying to sell “Stephen Garcia” merchandise.

Play calling was really questionable at times. Four yards out of the end zone and we try and QB sneak it? Get the ball back off a fumble and throw it deep only to turn it over again? Bobo is better than this. We did, however, do a great job of eating the clock almost anytime we had the ball aside from that last series in the fourth quarter.

Finally, while improved from last week there was still a fumbled snap. This is the SEC. Snapping the football to your quarterback should’ve been taken care of when you were 5 or 6 years old.

The Spooky:

The spooky vibe in general was enough to make you wonder if the Cocks hadn’t put the mojo on their chicken wings.

Parts of this game were very non-typical: Knowshon had a fumble. The Cocks fumbled in the end zone.

Luckily, it wasn’t as bad as the game last year. It was 90+ degrees at 7pm and no breeze. Then a fight involving at least ten people broke out in the student section.

The spookiest factor in this game, however, was the clock. How’s a QB supposed to manage a clock without having a play clock to look at, all while still getting used to the new clock rules? I honestly wouldn’t have put it past Spurrier to practice with Smelley all week on how to run an offense without a play clock and then pull out some wires at 3am this morning.

The Abysmal:

PENALTIES! We gave up more than 100 yards in penalties. There are teams who wouldn’t give up that much yardage in 5 games! It seemed like two thirds of Carolina’s first half offense came from UGA penalties.

Once again Dawgs, you’re in the SEC now, penalty numbers of this magnitude are peewee league stuff.

At times Georgia looked like the number two team in the country. At other times, we just looked like number two. We had moments of glory and moments of shame.

Who's steering our destiny?

Is it us, or is Janus rearing his two faced head?

I trust Mark Richt and our boys to come out snarling against ASU as I think they'll want to wipe this game off the books.

We now have two things to prove: SEC vs PAC-10 and whether or not we're the best team in the land. This is a blessing folks.

I know it's cliche, but the best thing the Dogs can do is take it one game at a time.

Take nothing for granted.

It's a Saturday in Athens....

Evan Wiley — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:58:40 -0400

I love tailgating. I don't care how much you love it, I love it more!

Most of my Christmas present requests revolve around tailgating. Birthday presents get the same treatment. I've even got a Facebook group for my friends to discuss all things tailgating. Not that it's all that active, few people are as insane as I am when it comes to the glory that is a good pre-game tailgate.

My goal in tailgating is two-fold:

1. Have an AWESOME time. It doesn't matter if the game is won or lost; I tore it up with my buddies for a few hours and raised some hell.

2. Find that point of equilibrium. Enjoying myself just enough to where I both remember the game and don't have double vision.

This is a bigger challenge than one might think. It involves front-loading, in-stadium maintenance, and possible negation with diet coke and nachos. I still subscribe to the rule that states if you don't have a raging hangover by the third quarter then you didn't do it right.

For the record I ALWAYS have a DD. I get two sets of season tickets, one for me, and one for my driver. Double vision is a real pain when your seats are in the 300’s and you’ve got to close one eye to watch the plays so it’s inadvisable.

My buddies and I tailgate out towards Ramsey (telling you exactly where would be cheating and giving away the secret to a decent spot, however if you’d like to meet up simply send me a PM).

We have great access to Sanford Stadium and the Dawg Walk via a shuttle bus that stops next to our spot. The bus isn’t mandatory but is great when it’s 95-degrees and you’re feeling lazy and don’t wish to walk a long way.

While we have trees at our spot, I really miss the golden days of being under the oaks at Lumpkin and Baxter. I'll forever cherish those times. It's truly sad that the fans have been sold out to corporate concerns and I really hope someone's karma is taking the hit.

Here’s what Saturday will look like for me. This will be the shortest tailgate of the year due to me getting out of work at 0700 and the game starting a little early.

07:00: Floor it home from work. Get dressed. Make Coffee. All beverages before a certain time MUST be Coffee based or a Bloody Mary so as not to feel like a total alcoholic.

If the game is after 15:30 then 11:00 is the cutoff. If the game is from 15:30 to 13:00 then you may start at 10:30. If the game is before 1:00, then drink one of whichever breakfast type beverage appeals to you and move on to whatever you like.

Provisions should all put in a cooler the previous night.

07:10: Wait for my buddy to stop by and pick me up. Pound my coffee based beverage.

07:15: My buddy is here. We go by QT and get some ice and an energy drink then and crank it out to Athens.

08:10: We’re at the spot. We fire up the grill immediately. Wait for the rest of my crew to arrive. Erect tents and chairs. Start drinking and carrying on, talk about how awesome the Dawgs are going to be. Start looking for scalpers in an attempt to upgrade your seats.

08:30: Comment on how hot it is because it’s an early season game and how much better it was in days past when anyone could use the legion lot as a their own personal partying ground.

09:00: Throw the meat on. Continue partying. Other fans, fans who obviously don’t care as much as I do, have shown up.

09:30: Burgers and dogs are up. It is now time to feast. Drinking should continue. Discuss the douchebaggery of Michael Adams.

10:00: The Dawg Walk starts in an hour. Grab some provisions and march to the Tate center.

10:20: While passing fans and tailgates always yell out a hearty “Go DAWGS” while holding up your beverage. If you know them, stop by for a bit and reminisce about how it’s amazing that you’re not still in prison for the trouble that you caused in college.

10:40: A good spot to hit the restroom is at Snelling dining hall.

10:50: Now that you’re at the Dawg Walk, fight for a spot up front. Rumor has it that touching Knowshon cures everything from obesity to AIDS. Chant along with whatever the redcoats are chanting and rock out.

11:00: Hear the first police vehicles approaching. Start screaming like a 12-year old at a Jonas Brothers concert.

11:11: Take lots of pictures. Yell slogans of support. If no kids are within earshot, feel free the pepper these slogans of support with colorful language.

11:30: With the Dawg Walk now over we go tail gate with my buddies from the UGA Rugby team.

11:40: Drink and sing filthy rugby songs. Hear the same chant about how there’s nothing finer in the land than a drunk obnoxious Georgia fan at least 12 times in the next half hour. Of course you’ll never hear it begin, but feel free to start yelling at whichever point you feel appropriate.

12:00: Grab some mobile provisions and make your way to the stadium.

12:15: In the stadium, walk in, pay respects to the fallen Ugas.

12:20: Get to seats. Watch the trumpet solo of the first few bars of, “Glory, Glory…” Feel a tear of pride and relief fall down your cheek as you know you survived another round of off season doldrums. Watch video montages and start screaming your lungs out.

We finally made it football fans! Another horrible off-season is gone and the happy days are here again. Remember, while your team can lose a game, you can NEVER lose a tailgate. Debauch all you like, but do it safely.

I'll see you on Saturdays in Athens.

The 12 Worst Songs Ever Recorded By Athletes

Evan Wiley — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:15:51 -0400

Athletes aren't musicians for a reason and vice versa. Kid Rock would suck as a running back. These guys suck as musicians

The sad thing is that somewhere, at a meeting, these atrocities beat out all the other ideas.

12. The Rock and Wyclef-It doesn't matter

This one is the "best" of the worst, mainly because Wyclef had the good sense to only allow the Rock to yell out his catch phrase. As integral as yelling a catch phrase is today in hip-hop one could say the Rock was a pioneer.

11. Koko B. Ware-Piledriver

Apparently the guys from the WWF all have day jobs working construction and only moonlight as wrestlers (which probably isn't far from the truth for most of them).

Watch Koko bump and grind with parrot in hand and make the ladies melt. He also gives us some wisdom singing that, "sometimes love sounds like a fight."

10. Shaq-freestyle, aka "Kobe, Tell Me How My Ass Tastes"

When Shaq isn't playing basketball or protecting the world from pederasts, he likes to bust out some freestyle. Listen to him spew profanity, racial slurs, and repeat the same lines a couple of time as he stumbles to find another set of lyrics somewhere in that big brain of his.

9. WWF-Land of a Thousand Dances

Ever wanted to hear a bunch of wrestlers yell song lyrics? Here's your chance. Think the people of Minnesota had any clue their future governor would be someone from this video?

As an added bonus watch George the Animal Steele almost dry hump some poor lady.

It's also worth checking out The Missing Link, who just looks confused and says nothing, true to his persona.

8. Shaq-I got Skillz

We learned 2 things about Shaq:

1. He can't spell "skills."

2. He apparently goes everywhere in the back of a moving truck.

7. Deion Sanders-Must Be The Money

Looking like he just got done shopping at Manstyle in the Georgia Square Mall; where one can get a purple suit with matching Kangol and pimp cane, Deion drops some serious game.

Keep in mind that this song resides on some back up singers' resumes somewhere.

This song has to be a joke. No way could anyone take this seriously.

Did Deion really think people would want to see him hang out in a hair salon and admire himself in a mirror? Everyone knows only Morris Day could pull that one off.

Further proof that this song is some sort of elaborate prank comes from one of the final lines of the song: "My library cards gonna turn into credit cards."

6. The Chicago Bears-The Super Bowl Shuffle

How can you not love this? Sure they've got the talent of rocks and it drags on for seven minutes, but that's beside the point.

I think the only instrument actually being played is the Ferrell-esque performance of Maury Buford on the cowbell.

Gary Fencik manages sounds at least as manly as Mr. Rogers on estrogen.

But in the end, it's fun, which is all they were going for.

5. The Fabulous Freebirds-Bad Street USA

If a few mullet-head redneck hair metal guys actually went to down town Atlanta to frighten the locals with their "badness," I think they'd just get shot.

This is the wrestling equivalent to Mick Jagger actually going to Central Park at night and asking people what's the matter with them. There's a reason he never actually did it.

However, these guys are so bad they claim to be able to take on the entire Army and USMC.

Good luck with that one.

4. Mr. T-Treat Your Mother Right

Hey this guy wasn't an athlete!

Sure he was. He played college football and he wrestled.

He shows us the beauty of love for his mom with this lyric:

"M is for the moans and the miserable groans from the pain that she felt when I was bone <sic>"

You can tell he meant well. If only someone had talked him out of this; and told him it'd be nicer to make his mom a card and buy her a Cadillac or something.

3. Juan Pierre And Dontrelle Willis-Freestyle

Worst rap lyrics ever. They don't rhyme. He doesn't keep the same rhythm or syllable count through the duration of the piece. His only saving grace is Dontrelle Willis trying to do his best impersonation of a Blue Flame Lounge Dancer.

2. The 1988 Seminoles-Seminole Rap

This song is great for both the deadpan delivery and the fact that they lost their first game that year to Miami.

All the white guys suck worse at rapping than any have sucked before, but at least they don't seem to take themselves seriously.

Which brings us to Odell Haggins, who sounds exactly like Jimmy Kimmel's impersonation of Karl Malone.

Deion manages to look like an aerobics instructor with a Jheri curl.

And last but not least, we learn one of their main motivations for playing is: Burt Reynolds.

1.The 1986 Mets-Get Metsmerized

When the Bible mentions the "Abomination that maketh desolate..." they had to be thinking of this.

The year is 1986 and the Mets set aside some of their cocaine and booze money to crank out this garbage.

Daryl Strawberry manages to make George Foster sound good. The lyrics and rhyming schemes pretty much never match up and the music seems to jump around at random and with out explanation.

Doc Gooden delivery makes him sound like a suburban math teacher who's attempting to rap for an instructional video about quadratics.

Santana can barely speak English, much less rap.

The whole thing is a comedy of errors and a dang funny one at that.

Honorable Mentions:

1. I swear Daryl Strawberry made a really bad rap single. I heard it as a kid. I tried looking for it, but all I found was a guy claiming to have produced it.

2. Hugs Not Drugs-The Atlanta Hawks

They made an anti-drug rap song in the late 80's. My 3rd grade teacher used to play it for us if we were good, as if it were an incentive to behave. I can't find any evidence it existed though other than a couple of passing mentions online.

3.My Name is Willie-Willie Beamen

Oliver Stone figured out that football players suck at music, so he added this gem to Any Given Sunday. Pure Genius!

The only thing keeping it out is that it's fictional.

4. Anything by the Insane Clown Posse. They do wrestle professionally after all.

Baseball Behaving Badly: Dock Ellis

Evan Wiley — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:50:39 -0400

Dock Ellis had a good career. He won 138 games. In 1971, he was both an All Star and an integral part of the rotation for the Pirates, who won the World Series. In 1976, he was the American League Comeback Player of the Year. He also had over 1,000 strikeouts. He even threw a no-hitter...while tripping on LSD.

Baseball players come from a fairly good cross-section of the population and could even be looked at as a microcosm of the country.

Rich and poor backgrounds. English-speaking natives and those who were foreign born and don’t speak a lick. Fat and thin. Guys with graduate degrees and guys that never graduated high school. Mormons and Jews.

Some worked in automotive body shops on their days off, some went to school in the offseason to get degrees in engineering. Some have done jail-time, while others became preachers.

Baseball is America’s game in every sense of the world and in 1971, all things hippy were ingrained into a reasonable portion of the population for better or for worse. Is it any surprise that a baseball player dabbled in that end of the world?

Ellis stated that it wasn’t his intention to pitch while under the influence of drugs. He didn’t even know he had to pitch that day. Other reports say he slept through an entire day due to a bender a couple days before and that's what had him thinking he didn't have to pitch.

Regardless, he was in Los Angeles and thought he had the day off. His girlfriend then read the paper and said he was pitching. Ellis had his girlfriend drive him to the airport and he hopped a plane to San Diego.

Ellis’ own description of the game is what really makes this interesting. He couldn’t feel the ball in his glove or see the catcher! Ellis stated the only thing that allowed him to see where he was pitching was the fact that his catcher, Jerry May, wore reflective tape on his fingers, and he’d zero-in on it as a target. He also once stated that at one point in the game, the ball told him what to throw and where.

This game a squeaky-clean model of pitching perfection by any means. He hit a couple batters. He walked eight. He dove out of the way of what he thought was a line drive; however, the ball was so poorly hit it didn’t even make it back to the pitcher’s mound.

This wouldn’t be his only brush with the dark side. He was well known for not bending to the will of anybody, for any reason.

Once, he attempted to bean the Reds' entire lineup. He held the major-league record for most hit batters in an inning with three. He was yanked in the first inning.

He once beaned Reggie Jackson. It was because Reggie hit a long home run off of him in the 1971 All-Star game and Ellis simply wanted to get him back.

He also wore curlers in his hair while warming up, much to the chagrin of management.

Later, he had an altercation with a security guard at Riverfront Stadium, who eventually maced him. Ellis was refused entry into the park, despite showing his World Series ring as proof. Some good DID come out of this, as teams started issuing standardized ID’s to all the players primarily because of this event.

Let it be known that Ellis saw the error of his ways. After retirement, the kinder, gentler Dock Ellis became a drug counselor and is involved in many worthwhile causes.

Substance abuse and bad behavior are as much a part of baseball’s history as America’s history.

In the roaring '20s, plenty of players were drinking and living it up at their favorite speakeasy, despite alcohol’s illegality. Most recently, drugs for performance enhancement have been brought forth to the public eye.

While substance abuse is in no way a major component of baseball, it’s a portion that can be looked at like a mirror, in order to see a sector of our country that often has a blind eye turned to it.

Big Ten Versus SEC: More Analysis of Non-Conference Schedules

Evan Wiley — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:40:48 -0400

In Dan Boss' article Big Ten Versus SEC: Controversy Over Non-Conference Scheduling, Boss gives in-depth analysis on the Big 10 and SEC non-conference schedules.

Just for kicks, I'm going to add another factor: Non-conference opponent winning percentage.

I got to thinking: Is it right that a 12-2 FCS opponent like Southern Illinois is only worth one point, while Duke, which is in a BCS conference, is worth five?

I am using Boss' points system, which was:

Away game versus projected top 25 opponent = 8 points

Home game versus projected top 25 opponent = 7 points

Away game versus BCS opponent = 6 points

Home game versus BCS opponent = 5 points

Away game versus non-BCS opponent = 4 points

Home game versus non-BCS opponent = 3 points

Away game versus FCS opponent = 2 points

Home game versus FCS opponent = 1 point

My added factor will work in this manner:

Point values are established for a non-conference schedule, and I multiply those points by average winning percentage of the opposing teams.

If a team has a 10-point non-conference schedule, and those teams have an average winning percentage of .500, then the team is awarded five points.

The format here is School Name, Points, and Percentage. The number in parentheses is there to delineate the rank in Mr. Boss’ article.

23 (23). Indiana

Western Kentucky: 3, .583; Murray State: 1, .182; Ball State: 3, .538; Central Michigan: 3, .571

Average Winning Percentage: .467

Final Score: 4.67

22 (7). Iowa

Maine: 1, .364; Florida International: 3, .091; Iowa State: 5, .250: @ Pittsburgh: 8, .417

Average Winning Percentage: .281

Final Score: 4.77

21 (22). LSU

Appalachian State: 1, .866; Troy: 3, .667; North Texas: 3, .167; Tulane: 3, .333

Average Winning Percentage: .508

Final Score: 5.08

20 (21). Minnesota

Northern Illinois: 3, .167; @ Bowling Green: 4, .615; Montana State: 1, .545; Florida Atlantic: 3, .615

Average Winning Percentage: .486

Final Score: 5.346

19 (9). Tennessee

@ UCLA: 6, .461; UAB: 3, .167; Northern Illinois: 3, .417; Wyoming: 3, .417

Average Winning Percentage: .366

Final Score: 5.49

18 (19). Mississippi State

@ Louisiana Tech: 4, .416; Southeastern Louisiana: 1, .273; @ Georgia Tech: 6, .538; Middle Tennessee: 3, .416

Average Winning Percentage: .411

Final Score: 5.754

17 (13). Northwestern

Syracuse: 5, .167; @ Duke: 6, .091; Southern Illinois: 1, .857; Ohio: 3, .500

Average Winning Percentage: .404

Final Score: 6.06

16 (12). Penn State

Coastal Carolina: 1, .455; Oregon State: 5, .692; @ Syracuse: 6, .167; Temple: 3, .333

Average Winning Percentage: .412

Final Score: 6.18

15 (20). Kentucky

@ Louisville: 5, .500; Norfolk State: 1, .727; Middle Tennessee: 3, .417; Western Kentucky: 3, .583

Average Winning Percentage: .557

Final Score is 6.684

14 (4). Purdue

Northern Colorado: 1, .083; Oregon: 7, .692; Central Michigan: 3, .571, @ Notre Dame: 6, .250

Average Winning Percentage: .399

Final Score: 6.783

13 (17). Michigan

Utah: 3, .692; Miami (OH): 3, .461; @ Notre Dame: 6, .250; Toledo: 3, .416

Average Winning Percentage: .455

Final Score: 6.82

12 (18). Wisconsin

Akron: 3, .333; Marshall: 3, .250; @ Fresno State: 8, .692; Cal Poly: 1, .636

Average Winning Percentage: .478

Final Score: 7.17

11 (5). Michigan State

@ California: 6, .538; Eastern Michigan: 3, .333; Florida Atlantic: 3, .615; Notre Dame: 5, .250

Average Winning Percentage: .434

Final Score: 7.378

10 (1). Vanderbilt

@ Miami (OH): 4, .462; Rice: 3, .250; Duke: 5, .083; @ Wake Forest: 8, .692

Average Winning Percentage: .372

Final Score: 7.44

9 (8). Mississippi

Memphis: 3, .538; @ Wake Forest: 8, .692; Samford: 1, .364; Louisiana-Monroe: 3, .500

Average Winning Percentage: .524

Final Score: 7.86

8 (2). South Carolina

North Carolina State: 5, .417; Wofford: 1, .692; UAB: 3, .167; @ Clemson: 8, .692

Average Winning Percentage: .492

Final Score: 8.364

7 (6). Alabama

@ Clemson: 8, .692; Tulane: 3, .333; Western Kentucky: 3, .583; Arkansas State: 3, .417

Average Winning Percentage: .506

Final Score: 8.602

6 (10). Illinois

@ Missouri: 8, .857; Eastern Illinois: 1, .750; Louisiana-Lafayette: 3, .250; @ Western Michigan: 4, .417

Average Winning Percentage: .569

Final Score: 9.104

5 (15). Auburn

Louisiana-Monroe: 3, .500; Southern Miss: 3, .538; @ West Virginia: 8, .846; Tennessee-Martin: 1, .364

Average Winning Percentage: .625

Final Score: 9.375

4 (11). Florida

Hawaii: 3, .923; Miami (FL): 5, .417; Citadel: 1, .636; @ Florida State: 6, .538

Average Winning Percentage: .629

Final Score: 9.435

3 (16). Arkansas

Western Illinois: 1, .545; Louisiana-Monroe: 3, .500; @ Texas: 8, .770; Tulsa: 3, .714

Average Winning Percentage: .632

Final Score: 9.48

2 (14). Ohio State

Youngstown State: 1, .636; Ohio: 3, .500; @ USC: 8, .846; Troy: 3, .750

Average Winning Percentage: .683

Final Score: 10.245

1 (2). Georgia

Georgia Southern: 1, .636; Central Michigan: 3, .571; @ Arizona State: 8, .769; Georgia Tech: 5, .538

Average Winning Percentage: .629

Final Score: 10.69

In this system, the biggest losers are primarily SEC teams UT, Vandy, and South Carolina. Purdue also plummeted 10 spaces. Most of this was due to a single opponent with a low winning percentage who dragged the rest of the teams down with them.

The biggest winners were Ohio State, Arkansas, Auburn, and Florida. In all cases, they had a team with a good winning percentage and/or top 25 ranking to help boost the scores.

Keep in mind that schedules can be deceiving. Just because a team was phenomenal last year doesn’t mean they’ll be so great this year (Hawaii).

The opposite is true, of course. Pitt, which had a .417 winning percentage, is projected to be a top 25 team by ESPN.

More so than anything, though, this article illustrates the obsessive lengths a football crazy fan will go to in the offseason. Here on the doldrums of July we sit stranded. If you’re like me, I have some advice: Keep your head up—we’ve got less than a month and half to go. Offseasons only seem like they last forever.

If I Were In Charge: Four College Football Conferences I'd Like to See

Evan Wiley — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:46:16 -0400

Part of being an amateur sports blogger means I am free to write about whatever I want. As you might have guessed, I get bored a lot.

So what's a sports geek to do on a Friday night?

Write about college football and some new radical changes I would make if I were the merciless God of the College Football Universe!

4. The SEC sans Vandy. What to do? Who replaces them?

We can trade them to the ACC for either Clemson or Georgia Tech. We can trade them to the Big East for Louisville. Maybe even swap them to the Sun Belt conference in exchange for Troy.

3. Notre Dame, Army, and Navy all move to the Big East.

Kick the competition up a notch. Have two geographical divisions: The Big East East and the Big East West. It's time Notre Dame learned they're not so special and should play a conference schedule like everyone else.

They can still have some decent non-conference games, and since they play Navy every year anyway, it's not really that much different.

2. The BOMC: Battle of the Mascots Conference

On one side, we have the more vigorous names. They can be teams named after incredibly vicious animals like the Michigan Wolverines or Wisconsin Badgers. They can be teams named after natural disasters like the Iowa State Cyclones and the Miami Hurricanes.

I think it'd be good to have teams named after angry ethnicities such as Notre Dame or the UL-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns. I'd also like Duke Blue Devils and the Arizona State Sun Devils, as I have this thing for semi-blasphemous team names.

On the other side are teams whose mascots couldn't punch their way out of paper bags. Teams named after inanimate objects like Ohio State, or Stanford and their illustrious Tree, which is certain to cause arborphobic teams to quake with terror.

Also included are some of the wimpier bird names like the Temple Owls (this is football, not the Secret of NIMH), Oregon Ducks, and the Louisville Cardinals. I'd also like to add the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Even with "Demon" added to the name, you can't help but think of some guy in a suit on his way to church.

A stipulation in this conference is that any win may be contested by the losing team and it immediately goes into a literal sudden-death overtime. During this portion of the game, gladiatorial combat ensues between mascots. We know what Hurricanes do to trees, but have you ever stopped to think about what a snarling, hissing badger would do to a duck?

1. The SUC

Did you lose to a Div. I-AA team last year? Did you have two wins or less last year? You may have just bought yourself a one-way ticket to an easy conference championship in the SUC.

It'd be made of the worst teams from each conference, any one-win teams, plus an "at large" team which would be determined by who had the most embarrassing loss.

It'd be great for teams are "rebuilding" and would give some otherwise hideous teams chances at a winning season. I'll even give them a BCS berth so we can see a good David vs. Goliath type battle in the postseason.

If this conference were real, its 2008 members would be Michigan (at large), Minnesota, Duke, Baylor, Syracuse, SMU, Northern Illinois, Idaho, FIU, Washington, and Mississippi.

Rebuttal: The Same Five Reasons Why Georgia Will Win the SEC and the BCS Title

Evan Wiley — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:06:42 -0400

I really appreciate Tim Pollock's article on why UGA won't win the National Championship or the SEC found here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/34958-five-reasons-georgia-wont-win-the-national-championship-or-the-sec

The only thing is that, while he thinks these are reasons for Georgia's downfall, I think that they are stepping stones to an exciting 2008 season culminating in UGA winning the National Championship.

It's time to make like Michael Keaton on SNL's Celebrity Jeopardy and break it down:

1. The Hype

There's hype, sure, plenty of it. This argument works against any team in the top five preseason as to why they won't be there at the end of the season.

Let's put it in high school terms: Getting an A is easy. Keeping it is hard. Having the A grade involve an organized fist fight against people who want nothing more than to beat the tar out of the most popular/best athlete/straight A student in the High school is another thing entirely.

Really all "the Hype" means is that it's yours to lose. This still means it's yours though. The Dawgs will act accordingly.

2. The Schedule

He's right and he's wrong here. The schedule is tough. More importantly, it's tough on paper. In the words of the Ultimate Warrior, "How should I train for this? Should I jump off the tallest building in the world? Should I go out to the yard and have people run over me with lawn mowers? Should I go to Africa and be run over by raging elephants?"

A national champ will be able to manage a hard schedule and laugh in the face of adversity.

Look at Hawaii or Ohio State. Their schedules are so loaded with cupcakes that Wilford Brimley is coming to talk to them about "Diabeetus." They get to their big games and we then realize the emperor has no clothes. The schedule is a reason we will win the national championships, not a reason we won't.

3. Florida

Tell them to bring it. It's not like Georgia doesn't have its share of bad blood in this game. Mr. Pollack's states are sadly correct about recent rival history.

Over the past several years the number of wins on the Georgia side has been disproportionately low. Mark Richt has plenty of footage of his own to show his team, including that same celebratory dance cited by Mr. Pollock, to get his team riled up and ready to lay waste to the Gators. As if they needed the motivation.

One of the things this team does well is having fun. The Mongolians grinned as they rode into battle and took joy in combat. The Bulldogs were having a problem last year confusing "class" with "zombie like lack of enthusiasm." Those days are gone.

Another reason Georgia will beat Florida is their ho-hum defense. Mr. Pollock mentions it in his article in why Florida won't win the National Championship either yet doesn't apply it to the full-on attack that is Georgia's offense. An absolutely brutal ground game combined with strategic air support means that your defense had best be firing on all cylinders to have a shot at beating UGA this year.

Florida couldn't stop our blitzes last year. While everyone's a year older that's the problem for Florida. Take a scale of one to ten. One player is a nine out of ten and one is an eight. Both players improve one up the scale in a year, the guy that was the nine is still better on this scale.

The last time the Dawgs won back to back games against the Gators was almost twenty years ago. This means they're due.

4. Inexperience in Big Games

It's true that they barely escaped Alabama with an OT win because the fourth quarter went to pot, so I'll concede the fourth quarter of Bama. Saying they struggled to put away Troy and Kentucky in back-to-back weekends is simply wrong. First, they weren't back to back. Secondly, double digit margins aren't what most people call struggling.

I also wouldn't call Troy a "big game". Kentucky is a worthy conference rival at its best. Now that Andre Woodson is gone, so is the challenge they represented.

So, while the Dawgs don't have the "big game" victory experience, they do have plenty in the arena of coming from behind. I don't care if your linemen are hewn from living marble and your running backs were descended from Mercury himself, you will never be ahead the entire season. Learning how to come from behind with a decisive victory is imperative if a team wants to contend for the national title.

It's also true that UGA didn't even win the East. The loss to UT was a disgusting spectacle of watching an uninspired defense trying to stop UT in their own house.

It was also the beginning of a turning point in the season for Georgia. From flat and emotionless (which was what the Dawgs mistook for being "professional") to being told to get an excessive celebration penalty on their first touch down and accomplished the task in a manner that will have Dawg fans telling tales of it to our great-grandchildren.

The metamorphosis complete, Georgia went on to play with a fire and intensity rarely seen, and they have not lost since.

5. Kicking

Two words: Blair Walsh. The second most highly recruited kicker in the country. Pulling off 50+ yarders routinely as a junior in high school.

Want more proof?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqbVbj7YdOI

More footage from our friends at Dawgpost.com which elude to the fact that he's already preparing for his role as UGA's main man by listening to Crank Dat!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_c9okGDfIo

He'll do fine.

And now two more reasons to boot:

1. Sentimentality

UGA VI is gone to that great kennel in the sky. There's a "Win one for the Gipper" type speech right there.

It's also looking like Larry Munson's last season. His voice is a Jack and Coke for the ears, a cross between gravel and gold. The Bulldog Nation utilized his oratory talents for longer than I've been alive.

Time has caught up with our dear friend. While we are saddened that we can't be granted a double portion of his spirit, we all agree that he's earned his respite and hope he enjoys it to the fullest for the remainder of his days. Count on that one being worked into another "Win one for the Gipper" type speech as well.

2. Offense

Two potential Heisman candidates in Moreno and Stafford. Caleb King and Israel Troupe at the ready.

The best part though is that Brannan Southerland looks like he'll be healing faster than previously thought. It's looking like he'll be back three weeks into the season, rather than five. I'm certain someone with his work ethic is already doing everything he possibly can to get back into playing condition.

Why is this such a big deal? You need a large back to pound it through in those third-and-three, third-and-two, and fourth-and-inches situations. You don't win football games without converting on the third and fourth downs, to say nothing of a coveted National Title.

Forgotten Georgia Sports Nicknames Of Yore

Evan Wiley — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:36:18 -0400

The myriad of diversity in our great state has led to some incredible high school nicknames. Budgets get cut, schools get merged or dissolved and some names are lost forever to the sands of time. Here are some of my faves from days past, as well as some musings on names I would LOVE to see:

The Acworth Camels are completely unique. Not intimidating, but certainly unique. I'd imagine cheers were hard to come up with. "Hump 'em Camels!" "Spit on 'em, Camels!" Nothing really works there.

The Attapulgus Amazons are the only solely female name to make the list. If there were ever a town name that would lend itself well to the Fighting Octopi, it'd be Attapulgus. Such was sadly not the case. However, what you have in the Amazons is totally unique. Imagine King Leonidas' troops. Now imagine them getting their heads handed to them by girls. Welcome to the feminine ferocity that the Amazons evoke.

Stephen Black alluded to the Commercial Typists of Atlanta, but not the Savannah Commercial Cobras? Think how great it'd be to have a uniform matching any of these:

Purple uniforms based on Globo Gym from Dodgeball. Black uniforms based on Cobra Kai from The Karate Kid. My undoubted front runner for a potential cobras uniform though, would have to include the GI Joe cobra logo on them. Such awesome possibilities are now lost to the sands of time. That being said, whoever came up with the Typists was probably awesome to have at parties. I imagine them being able to play bridge with the best of them.

From the northern border of our state hail The Blue Ridge Railbirds. Know what a rail bird is? Neither do I. Not intimidating, but once again unique.

One can only wonder if the Faceville Scarlet Tide was also the girls' team's mascot. The level of wrongness there is beyond comprehension.

Lakeshore gave us the Lancers. I'm sure their mascot looked like a knight but how neat would it be if it were medically themed. "Tar 'em, Feather 'em, boil 'em in Oil! Lakeshore Lancers! We'll bust you like a Boil!"

The coolest town name with the lamest mascot goes to the Mystic Cornhuskers. Imagine you've got a school name that literally begs for a cool sounding mascot. You go down the list: Wizards, Mages, Warlocks, Oracles, Miracles, they all sound cool. Instead, you pick Cornhuskers. I hope to heaven it's because your boss is a Nebraska alum and you have NO other choice.

Ocilla has the dubious distinction of not having one but three former great names (Orphans, Aces, and Terrapins). Terrapins would be especially cool. I can see the Grateful Dead-album cover-themed mascot now. Orphans is also so unique that I've never seen it before but one wonders why they chose it. Was there ever an orphanage in town? There's plenty of mascots that begin with O that one could go with in their stead: Orioles, Octopi, Ocelots. Upon listing these I now realize why they went with orphans.

Poplar Springs gave us The Purple wasps. Wasps wasn't scary enough. What can we do to make it sound better? Purple Wasps was suggested and for some unknowable reason they ran with it. Purple animals never live up to their potential. Look at Barney. I think rather than purple they should have gone with the word "hairy" instead. The last time I had a hairy flying insect in the car with me I screamed like a girl.

The Smith Fighting Smithies, albeit obviously the laziest name on our list, is also one of the best and most unique. I defy you to find another "Fighting Smithies" anywhere in the world. In addition to that a blacksmith is such a cool symbol. He's a strong man. He's fireproof. He wields a hammer. He bends metal using his hands! I really love this name.

The Winterville Sky Riders have to be one of a kind as well. What do you think they were imagining here? My guess is a type of spectral cowboy. Cool sounding name.

Warrenton is the Screaming Devils but they were once the Boll Weevils. Watch out! They'll eat your cotton!

One of the only entirely african-american schools on here are the Cuyler Phantoms. Remember Phanto from Super Mario Bros. 2? That's your mascot! Cuyler is no longer in existence since the state integrated. The mascot would've been appropriate. A face where one side is one color and one side is another, indicating two groups coming together to acheive a common goal.

And finally another name alluded to in Mr. Black's article: The Sandersville Satans! Best...name...ever. I can only imagine that they have Baphomet as their mascot. It's blasphemous as an added bonus. Not enough really evil names out there. I keep waiting on the Armuchee Armageddon or the Greenbrier Genocide or even for Milledgeville to buy the rights to the old Memphis Maniax logos. No luck on any of those, but I can dream, can't I?

As for Mascots that I want to see:

Granite Golems: Elbert County is screaming for this name.

Cairo Pharoahs: It'd rhyme and be more relevant since Roddenberry's closed.

Swainsboro Swarm: I'm imagining an amalgam of the Tech and UGA logos. A Red and Black Bee. I can't decide whether everyone would love it or hate it.

Monroe Mongols: The team that lays waste to entire civilizations and beheads everyone higher than a wagon wheel. I can see the cheer now: "Crush Your Enemies. Watch Them Tremble Before You. Hear the Lamentations of the Women!"

Finally, I've noticed a lot of older teams had sci-fi and space themed names: Astros, Dynamos, Atom Smashers, Comets, etc. Sadly there are very few teams left today and it with that, I wish to close.

Behold the Crowning Jewel of team names that need to exist: The Clinch County Klingons! Imagine that great, yet hauntingly simple cheer of: "Death to the opposition!"

Compared to the names of the past, the names of today aren't nearly as colorful. How many Lions, Tigers, and Bears do we really need? I can only hope that on a December Friday night, sometime in the future the entire state is treated to a contest between the Satans and the Cobras for the AA state title.

My Own Mourning of Uga VI: The Best Nine Years of My Life

Evan Wiley — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:22:49 -0400

Yes, it's sappy, but we lost the most important member of the Bulldog nation. It took me a while to find the words.

The life of Uga VI was a glorious nine years. Nine years of good living and good football bookended by his lifespan. It's the best third of my life thus far.

It began my first year at UGA and ended earlier this week. I was getting over VSU and my run at being straightedge. Realizing sobriety and religion were basically a quick route to loneliness as I didn't like anyone who was consistently into both (and forget about scoring with girls), I decided to practice both in moderation and enjoy myself.

Plenty of years to live in piety right?

Specifically though, it was at Uga VI's first game. I had spent a whole summer working construction during the day and delivering pizza at night. I'd saved up a grand-and-a-half that needed to be wasted on frivolity.

I'd started playing rugby and they seemed like decent people.
It was rugby that'd get me into drinking and have me develop a taste for whiskey.

There was a fellow stationed at the supply school there in Athens named John. John and his humongous steroid-pumping Navy friend were always coming to practice with us.

I was living in temporary housing in Hill Hall. My roommate was from Malaysia and was only at UGA because his girlfriend was. I hadn't met many people outside of rugby at that point, and when John told me they were tailgating right outside my dorm I said I'd drop by.

Upon arrival I encountered a nicely spread out picnic with burgers on the hibachi and a bottle of Jameson.

John offered me some. I graciously accepted. It was unbelievably smooth. It wasn't like drinking anything at all. It was like breathing whiskey-flavored air. Underage drinking in Athens. Is there anything more sacred?

It was at that game that I stumbled into some of my old acquaintances from VSU. So I tailgated with them too. That pristine and youthful bulldog took the field triumphantly in all his majesty. "Uga V's Whatchagot Loran" was immediately transformed into Uga VI by the screams of 92,000 Georgia fans.

Humans are baptised in water. Members of the Uga bloodline are baptised by roaring sound and the pure shining spirit of the Bulldog Nation.

That was one of the few games I got to see during my time at Georgia. I always held season tickets, but even at that game I felt myself getting jealous of the boys on the field.

There was still a choice. Watch the Dawgs or represent them. Play rugby. Play your heart out. Stay in shape.

It was an easy choice. The rest of my life for piety and the rest of my life to watch the Dawgs rather than represent them.

Uga VI was there the first time I drunkenly proposed to a girl in Sanford Stadium. I ended up marrying her anyway. The South Carolina Gamecocks were there as well. It was one of those blubbering moments when you're so caught up in the frenetic blur of beauty and life around you that you can't help but propose to the girl next to you.

It just seems like the right thing to do.

Especially when you'd spent the entire day tailgating in front of the Phi Delta Theta house, even though you didn't really know anyone there.

Uga VI was there on my wedding day as well. Well, he was kind of there. I got married on December 3, 2005. We had the ceremony and the reception. On the way to Chateau Elan we had the game on. We watched part of the third quarter and all of the fourth quarter from our room.

The next day we'd go to Gatlinburg where the game was playing on cable. We watched the whole thing in a room full of UT fans. It's a good feeling. Knowing that people are jealous of you always is.

Uga VI was also there for the UGA come-from-behind victory over Tech in 2006. While there were plenty of wonderful games during his time as UGA, this one is just a particularly joyous memory.

It was one of the best days of my life. The pass to Massaquoi and the explosion of excitement and elation that must've surely broadcast a psychic signal of joy into the far reaches of the universe.

Uga VI was there for what I consider to be the best football game of all-time—the blackout game vs. Auburn. Uga VI in his black jersey. The team storming the field. The rumbling roar of 96,000 screaming Dawg fans.

You couldn't help but feel sorry for Auburn.

Later, during one of the cheers I felt the third level concrete that we were standing on vibrate. It was that loud. I hope Uga VI had ear plugs. We blew through Auburn like the wind would a pile of burnt leaves, not just scattering them, but tearing them to pieces at the same time.

Who was there galvanizing our hopes for victory? Uga VI.

A couple weeks later I took a picture of him in his crate before the Kentucky game. It will grace my cell phone for a while to come. I should've gone up to him. I should've hugged him. I should've told him what I felt he meant to us.

It may have been futile, but I feel like I should've tried, even if I know he'd never understand what the words coming out of my mouth meant.

I'd like to end this with a quote from the movie 300. While the character in 300 lost a son, his words ring true for the entire Bulldog Nation. We have lost OUR son. We have lost our symbol.

"I have lived my entire life without regret until now...It's just I never told him that I loved him the most. That he stood by me with honor. That he was all that was best in me."

Right now in the sparkling utopia of heaven, amongst marble, brick, and oak, is one very happy Bulldog who has been reunited with his forefathers. There were no pearly gates for him, but rather an arch of iron.

It's a perfect day, maybe 70 degrees there. There's a slight breeze. The trees display radiant hues of yellow, orange, and, of course, red. There they are, romping and playing on a grassy sunlit field. If we could see them now, we'd see that grassy field.

We see it's reflection, as one would with a clear lake and the sky, and we'd see Sanford Stadium below us.

May the Lord bless thee and keep thee.....