Last weekend was very entertaining for college football fans.  There were many great games, and some unexpected upsets.  Baylor, Stanford, LSU, and Utah were all in the Top 10 heading into the weekend, but by Sunday morning all 4 had suffered defeat.  On the other hand, a couple of teams made statements and held off upsets.  Alabama continued to impress with a decisive victory over Mississippi State which was probably the only statement of the weekend.  Meanwhile, Clemson, Iowa, and Oklahoma State were able to remain undefeated despite scares from their opponents.  But here is the deal folks.  I am sick of complimenting Bama and Clemson on this blog.  I don’t care about Iowa, and I am not wanting to talk about Ohio State.  I want to talk Georgia football.  So if you don’t like that than STOP reading.

Sadly, the Georgia/Auburn game which usually has SEC and national implications was barely a blip on the football radar.  The game was relegated to the lowly 12pm slot as the opening act for the Miss State/Bama game.  That’s right the Miss State game was bigger than Georgia/Auburn.  I truly hope this was an anomaly.

You may recall that last week I discussed the apathy around Athens for the game.  While that was true, there was certainly no apathy at my house around game time on Saturday.  I just can’t help but care, and I expect many of you are the same way.   I have to admit that Georgia beating Auburn made my day.  I smiled the rest of the afternoon and into the evening.  But later that night I had to ask myself a question.  Am I all of the sudden happy with Georgia Football?  Do I still want changes?  Have you asked yourself any of these questions?  So let’s review the game, the pros, and the cons to see how to answer these questions

THE GAME– The game was not real pretty but so what.  I was glad to see Georgia win a game the way they did.   It wasn’t easy and they faced adversity.  In the end, they played well in the areas they needed too.  They played soundly on defense, and probably won the game due to special teams which has been an area of weakness. The offense is not good, but they haven’t quit.  They are still playing hard.  As a side note, I think Sony Michel is one of my favorite Bulldogs ever.  They are asking him to do an awful lot especially with a broken hand.  But he just keeps playing hard and making plays.  Georgia seemed to want it a little more Saturday and in the end they earned it.  This is a good thing to see because the team hasn’t quit on themselves or the coaches.  You have to admit that is an implication of good coaching and good kids.

On the other hand, Auburn is not well coached.  Do you realize that Gus Malzahn’s entire reputation is built on 2 miracle plays over Georgia and Alabama?  Their offense is not real inventive and it never really was to begin with.  Basically, run left, run right, QB draw, & throw deep every so often.  It’s not exactly rocket science.  Furthermore, they should have never taken Jeremy Johnson out in favor of White Saturday.  They don’t seem to have many good players either.  Their situation at quarterback is way worse that Georgia’s.  Way worse.  I know many of us Bulldogs are frustrated but you know what?  At least we are not Auburn.

THE PROGRAM & STAFF:  PROS and CONS

In trying to answer the questions above, I figure the best thing to do is to break it down into Pros & Cons

PROS:

• Class and Dignity-I don’t think anyone can argue that Mark Richt runs the program with class. You never have to worry about how he will run the program in this respect.
• Recruiting- It seems that the coaches and program are in the process of another great recruiting class. This has often been the case in the Richt era.
• Wins- Overall, the program has won about 70% of their games under Richt
• Auburn- Mark Richt has won 8 of the last 10 against Auburn. That’s getting it done.
• Georgia Tech-Richt has only lost to Georgia Tech twice. That is another example of him dominating a rival
• Indoor Practice Facility- Georgia is finally showing some commitment to winning and is constructing an IPF.
• Defense-You have to admit that overall this side of the ball is doing better now and seems ready to become dominant in the future.

CONS:

• Florida-It seems that once again Florida is surpassing Georgia in the East. Here is a wakeup call folks.  This is Georgia’s BIGGEST rival.  They absolutely have to beat Florida to accomplish anything major in the SEC.  Georgia has not done it enough under Richt.
• Bad Losses- There are just too many of these especially recently. Bama, Tennesse, Tech, Florida, Nebraska, Colorado, Central Florida, and the list goes on.  Georgia seldom beats good teams or pulls an upset.
• Offense- Where did it go? Did it leave with Bobo?
• Recruiting- This is a pro and a con. Georgia seems to recruit well, but they have too many misses.  For example, QB this year and a total lack of depth especially on the O-line.
• Staff Rumors- You can’t be sure what is true and what is not. But these rumors true or not are a good sign.
• Lack of Titles: 2 SEC Championships since 1982.  That is not good folks.  I know Richt brought the last 2, but now it has been 10 years since the last one.  A sure sign that something isn’t working.
• Quarterbacks-An 18 year old from Washington is NOT going to fix it in 1 year. If you think so you are delusional.

I can do this all day with Pros and Cons, and I think it will come out about even.  If any side may end up longer it would likely be cons.  Don’t get me wrong, I like Richt, and I am not calling for his head.  But if I am honest with myself, and whoever reads this blog.   Well than I have to admit that I no longer believe Georgia will win it all or even another SEC with him in charge.  I really hope I am wrong, and it wouldn’t be the first time.  If only I could see my team win it just once.  I would love for Richt to be the guy to make that happen, but I just don’t think he will.  So I guess that I am not happy and I want change.  Thankfully, I am not in charge.  I do think Richt will be here next year, and I am going to be pulling for him and the team.  But at some point, Georgia is going to have to decide if they like being pretty good or do they want to be GREAT!

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me.

-Scott
(706) 850-4636
5 Market Realty