The interesting point about this week’s BlogPoll isn’t the fact that Alabama received 48 first-place votes to retain the No. 1 ranking, or the fact that Florida took the top spot on 13 ballots to hold fast at No. 2, it’s the fact that Oklahoma, with eight first-place votes, comfortably beat out Texas, with five first-place votes, for the No. 3 slot.

Georgia dropped five spots to No. 18 and the Bulldogs’ likely bowl opponent, Michigan State, stayed put at No. 20. My ballot figured somewhat prominently in the running for the extracurricular awards designations, as I was the bronze medalist for "Mr. Bold," the silver medalist for "Mr. Manic-Depressive," and the gold medalist for "The Straight Bangin’ Award." At long last, I appear to have struck a much-needed balance, preserving my independence of thought without coming across as completely crazy.

There were some interesting developments in the final regular-season S.E.C. Power Poll, as well, as the Rebels moved past the Bulldogs into third place. The Gators (with ten first-place votes) and the Crimson Tide (with seven) finished first and second, respectively. We’ll know Saturday whether the BlogPoll or the S.E.C. Power Poll is right about the respective rankings of Alabama and Florida.

Go ‘Dawgs!

On Saturday night, after much discussion and reflection during a roundabout drive home which afforded additional (and appreciated) time during which to ruminate and converse, I advocated firing Willie Martinez as Georgia’s defensive coordinator.

Although I had taken this position before, I did so more heatedly and angrily, and I later backed off from the position. I have now returned to it, but pensively rather than vengefully. Because my co-author, MaconDawg, for whom I have the utmost respect, disagrees with my position, and because we here at Dawg Sports take no small amount of pride in the quality of the discourse that takes place here, I thought my argument required further explication.

I write this in much the same spirit that George Will wrote Restoration, as a convert to a position with which I previously disagreed, who hopes not to fan the flames of passion to encourage hasty action in the heat of the moment, but to state a persuasive case in order to promote thoughtful discussion over a potentially divisive issue in Bulldog Nation, one which ends in a reasoned conclusion arrived at without acrimony. I have invited MaconDawg to craft a case for the other side, but, obviously, all of you are invited to respond, as well.

One point in need of being addressed concerns the validity of my previous argument about the number of games the Bulldogs have lost in the last four years in which the Red and Black scored what historically have been enough points to win. When Viper2369 posted a link to my posting at The DawgChat, Rockmart Dawg offered a sensible retort:

For a VERY LONG time offensive schemes were completely melded with an overall game plan so as to keep opposing offenses on the sideline, run the ball, run the clock, and control the clock. Low-scoring affairs were the norm.

When Eric Zeier was recruited to Georgia it officially signaled the beginning of a brand new era at UGA, that being a pass-heavy offensive game plan... for the FIRST TIME EVER. That was... what.... 1990/1991?!

Have that same person tell us how many times since Goff was at the helm that UGA has scored more than 28 points and I guarantee you the ratio will far exceed that of all of the previous 100 years of Georgia football. The same will be true for the entire nation.

The game has changed significantly in the past 15-20 years.

Undeniably, Rockmart Dawg makes a good point. In Vince Dooley’s first season as the Bulldogs’ head coach in 1964, Georgia went 7-3-1, never scored more than 24 points in a game, and won three games by the final margin of 7-0. Times have changed.

However, football is cyclical. Major league baseball can be delineated sharply between the "dead ball" and "lively ball" eras; the same cannot be said for college football, which is a constant tug of war between offensive innovation and defensive adaptation. Bear Bryant once ruled the Southeastern Conference with the wishbone; Paul Johnson’s triple option is effective, in part, because it is seldom seen and can catch an opponent unprepared, much like Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s swinging gate maneuver at Gettysburg.

Georgia football didn’t start scoring points in bunches until Eric Zeier was under center? Tell that to Wally Butts, whose first two S.E.C. championship teams won conference games by such scores as 33-14 (Florida in 1946), 35-7 (Georgia Tech in 1946), 34-0 (Georgia Tech in 1942), 48-13 (Ole Miss in 1942), 41-0 (Auburn in 1946), and 75-0 (Florida in 1942).

Vince Dooley’s teams were purely about rock-ribbed defense, sound special teams, and a ball-control offense that kept the ‘Dawgs on the right side of low-scoring affairs? Tell that to the 1981 Tennessee and Georgia Tech teams and the 1982 Florida squad, which lost to Georgia by margins of 44-0, 44-7, and 44-0, respectively.

I will grant, however, that those scores are somewhat aberrational over the long course of Bulldog football history. These scores, though, are not:

13-7. 27-25. 18-13. 48-17. 52-24. 13-20. 31-17. 24-21. 30-3.

Those are the final scores of Georgia’s nine Southeastern Conference games (including the S.E.C. championship game) from the 2002 season.

In Brian VanGorder’s second season as the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator, the Red and Black held two conference opponents in the single digits, allowed three more to score in the teens, and gave up more than 21 points just twice.

In 1986, for the first time in his then-23 seasons in Athens, Coach Dooley’s Bulldogs began the season by passing out of the shotgun formation. In order to let his team know he was serious about fielding a balanced attack, Coach Dooley publicly announced before the season started that Georgia’s first play from scrimmage would be from the shotgun.

He was true to his word. Against Duke in the opener, James Jackson took the snap and threw a nine-yard completion to Tim Worley. Georgia again lined up in the shotgun on the following play. It was a handoff to Keith Henderson, who picked up eight yards. The ‘Dawgs would not use the shotgun for the remainder of the game. Afterwards, Coach Dooley told the media, "You didn’t think we were going wild, did you?"

One week later, after David Treadwell’s last-second field goal gave Clemson its second win ever between the hedges and Georgia its second loss ever in which the Bulldogs scored 28 points, defensive coordinator Bill Lewis said, "28 points should be enough for us to win two football games." To reiterate, times have changed.

They haven’t changed that much, though. They haven’t changed so much that Coach VanGorder couldn’t figure out how to make halftime adjustments. During the aforementioned 2002 season, Georgia had to survive a number of second-half comebacks, eking out wins against Clemson (by the same 31-28 score by which the ‘Dawgs lost to the Tigers in 1986), South Carolina (13-7), Alabama (27-25), and Tennessee (18-13).

After the midpoint of the regular season, though, the Red and Black started slamming the door after intermission, surrendering just seven second-half points to Vanderbilt, none to Kentucky, eight to Florida, none to Ole Miss, seven to Auburn, seven to Georgia Tech, three to Arkansas, and six to Florida State.

How does this year’s defense compare to that year’s? After the break, Willie Martinez’s 2008 Bulldogs gave up 21 to the Bayou Bengals, 35 to the Gators, 24 to the Wildcats, seven to the Plainsmen, and 33 to the Yellow Jackets in their last five games. Even allowing for offensive and special teams miscues, that represents a clear regression, over the course of the season and over the course of Coach Martinez’s tenure as defensive coordinator. Maybe we no longer live in a world in which it is reasonable to expect to hold an opponent to three touchdowns or fewer over the course of a game, but surely it is not too much to ask that our defense not give up 21 or more points in the second half in four of their last five regular-season outings.

In saying so, however, I am focusing on Coach Martinez’s worst efforts. MaconDawg’s measured argument against firing the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator includes the fair point that Coach Martinez deserves to be judged on his entire body of work. Writes MaconDawg:

I am not a proponent of firing Willie Martinez. It's amazing how quickly people have forgotten his "brilliant" gameplans against Hawaii, Florida and Oklahoma State in 2007. However, if we're going to win with his system we have to have all the parts.

Coach Martinez does deserve the credit for the Bulldogs’ defensive efforts in those games; indeed, the performance of the Georgia D during the 2006 stretch run against Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech had much to do with my having reversed course on the idea of letting him go two years ago.

Coach Martinez’s problem isn’t that he’s bad, it’s that he’s maddeningly inconsistent and becoming less reliable with the passage of time. For every great defensive game plan that has been executed well, there has been another defensive effort which was lacking in game planning, execution, or both. When you compare the performance of his defensive unit with the performance of Mike Bobo’s offensive unit (and particularly Stacy Searels’s offensive line) as the season has progressed, the contrast is obvious and undeniable.

Coach Martinez’s performance as defensive coordinator reflects, and is reflected in, the way his charges have played on the field. Their inconsistency mirrors his own. Rockmart Dawg is right that teams score more now than they did a decade and a half ago, but that only means the standards for defensive success are lower than they were before. With Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Rockwell Moreno, Mohamed Massaquoi, and A.J. Green lining up on the offensive side of the ball, Willie Martinez’s defense doesn’t have to shut opponents down the way Erk Russell’s Junkyard ‘Dawgs did, yet, even with a lower bar to clear, Coach Martinez is failing to live up to a reduced standard. His continued employment in his present capacity suggests that his retention is the result of a "No Coach Left Behind" policy.

If it’s unfair for me to claim that a team that scores 28 points ought to win a football game, fine. How about 30 points? Georgia scored 30 or more points in a losing effort five times in the 111 seasons prior to Willie Martinez’s elevation to defensive coordinator in the Classic City; Georgia has scored 30 or more points in a losing effort five times in the four years since.

If 30 still is too low, fine. How about 33? Brian VanGorder was Georgia’s defensive coordinator for four years during the 20th century and, during those four years, the Red and Black never lost a game in which they scored more than 17 points. Surely it is not unreasonable to say the Bulldog D ought to perform well enough for the ‘Dawgs to win a game in which the Classic City Canines score nearly double the number of points that sufficed week in and week out just five years ago, yet Georgia scored 33 or more points and lost two times between 1892 and 2004 . . . and Georgia scored 33 or more points and lost three times between 2005 and 2008.

However, MaconDawg makes a fair point that winning with Willie Martinez’s system (which is, after all, Brian VanGorder’s system) requires having the proper parts. This is a point similar to the one Mark Richt made when, in a disturbingly Donnanesque moment, he recently said this:

People don’t get it. People think they know but they don’t. I mean, if people really knew football, they’d know that we’ve been blitzing; they’d know that we’ve been playing zero coverage; they’d know we’ve been playing cover one; they’d know that we’ve been playing robber [coverage]; we’ve been go fire-zone with cover three behind it; fire-zones with cover two behind it. So if they really knew football they wouldn’t be saying the things they say. But they don’t.

It’s the same basic defensive scheme that we’ve had since we got here. You know, it’s not like a kind of philosophical issue. I mean, the philosophy of our defense hasn’t really changed hardly at all in eight years. And we’ve not been in this spot in the past. So that’s not the problem.

The emphasis added is mine, because I believe the point is rather telling. While I do not pretend to be an X and O guy, and while I freely admit that I don’t know one-tenth as much football as Coach Richt knows, there may be a problem with playing "the same basic defensive scheme" that "hasn’t really changed hardly at all in eight years."

Eight years ago, Dennis Franchione was the head coach at Alabama; today, Nick Saban is. Eight years ago, Al Borges had not yet been hired as the offensive coordinator at Auburn; now, Tony Franklin has been fired as the offensive coordinator at Auburn, and Tommy Tuberville followed not far behind. Eight years ago, Steve Spurrier was running the Fun ‘n’ Gun at Florida; today, Urban Meyer is operating the spread option in Gainesville. Eight years ago, George O’Leary was stalking the sidelines at The Flats; today, Paul Johnson has brought back the triple option at Georgia Tech. How many times has Tennessee changed offensive coordinators since the hobnailed boot was brought down in the checkerboard end zone?

The world has turned more than a few times since 2001. For whatever reason, Willie Martinez has not kept up, at least not consistently, and the types of offensive attacks against which his defenses historically have struggled are becoming more prevalent and prolific rather than less so. Has Urban Meyer’s tweaking of his offensive system made it more productive during his tenure in Gainesville? I believe it has. Will Paul Johnson’s triple option become even more effective as he recruits players specifically suited to running it? I believe it will. Can Willie Martinez out-plan, out-scheme, out-think, and out-coach the shrewd men who appear on the opposite sideline each and every Saturday? I no longer believe he can.

Willie Martinez is not an idiot. He is neither inflexible nor arrogant nor ignorant. Willie Martinez is a fine man. In many ways, he is a good coach all the time, and, in most ways, he is a good coach much of the time. I take no joy in taking the position I am advocating. Nevertheless, facts are facts and these numbers do not lie. Point out all the Matthew Stafford interceptions you like; take note of every directional kickoff that sailed out of bounds and set up the opposition with good starting field position; stress the fact that offenses historically have not scored as much as they now do; I concede all of that, yet still there is no denying this:

Scoring 30 points at home ought to win you a football game, but, against Auburn in 2005, it didn’t. Scoring 35 points in a bowl game an hour’s drive from your campus ought to win you a football game, but, against West Virginia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl, it didn’t. Scoring 33 points at home ought to win you a football game, but, against Tennessee in 2006, it didn’t. Scoring 30 points in a night game at home ought to win you a football game, but, against Alabama in 2008, it didn’t. Scoring 42 points at home ought to win you a football game, but, against Georgia Tech in 2008, it didn’t.

Many problems bedevil the Bulldogs, not all of which begin or end with the defense. The most serious of these problems, however, concern Coach Martinez’s area of responsibility, and I have not yet heard a satisfactory justification for the proposition that Willie Martinez ought not to be held responsible for the poor performance of the Georgia defense this fall and for the steady decline of the exceptional unit he inherited from Brian VanGorder. Absent the making of a persuasive argument I have not yet heard, I must conclude---not at all happily, but nevertheless sincerely---that the time has come for a new man to be named the defensive coordinator at the University of Georgia.

I like Willie Martinez, but I love my team, and it is to my team that my first loyalty is owed. That same obligation is incumbent upon every person with an office in Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall.

Go ‘Dawgs.

It’s the final week of the college football regular season, so I have one last set of picks to make, but I’m deviating from the ordinary order by selecting the national game of disinterest first.

Before I explain why I’m doing so, let me offer a brief recap of what the national game of disinterest is. I love college football. I mean, this particular season, I can’t stand college football, but that’s mostly because my team is a colossal disappointment, which has sucked all the joy from my life.

Usually, though, I love college football, so I can always find a rooting interest, even in what would otherwise be a game of no importance to me. There is, however, one game each week about which I am so utterly indifferent, with respect to which I am so entirely devoid of reasons to root one way or the other, that I refuse on general principle to predict the outcome of the contest.

That game is the national game of disinterest and this week’s national game of disinterest is . . .

Continue reading this post »

As usual, I asked for feedback when I submitted my weekly BlogPoll ballot, and, also as usual, I received it; viz., drothgery raised these objections to my ranking of Missouri ahead of Oklahoma State:

Oklahoma State still has the same record as Missouri, still plays in the same conference, still beat them at their place, and still lost to better teams.

Although I had an explanation for that during my lunch hour, I revisited the issue once I got home and I concluded that drothgery was right, for these reasons:

• Although the Tigers had the tougher non-conference schedule, that advantage was overcome by the Cowboys’ tougher Big 12 slate. Overall, the two teams compiled superficially similar resumes, as both went 9-3 and each claimed five victories over teams with losing records, three victories over teams with winning records, and one victory over a Division I-AA opponent from the Show Me State.



• Mizzou and Okie State each won eight games by more than a touchdown and won one game by seven or fewer points. The Pokes’ nailbiter (at Missouri) obviously was more impressive than the Tigers’ (at Baylor).



• The Cowboys had the better set of losses, to the three 11-1 teams tied atop the Big 12 South. Oklahoma State lost to Texas and Texas Tech on the road and fell to the Longhorns by a narrow margin. The Tigers’ setbacks came against five-loss Kansas, three-loss Oklahoma State, and one-loss Texas, with two of those defeats coming at home and the loss in Austin coming by a substantial margin.



• Missouri’s best win was at four-loss Nebraska. Oklahoma State’s best win was, of course, at three-loss Missouri. Oklahoma’s overall body of work was adequate to overcome the fact that the Sooners lost to Texas, but the Tigers’ total resume was too similar to the Cowboys’ to overcome Oklahoma State’s head-to-head victory.

That’s good enough for me, so my revised top 25 looks like this:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oklahoma	2
2	Texas	--
3	Florida	1
4	Texas Tech	1
5	Alabama	4
6	Penn State	--
7	Southern Cal	--
8	Utah	--
9	Ohio State	1
10	Boise State	2
11	Georgia Tech	4
12	Cincinnati	2
13	Michigan State	3
14	Boston College	4
15	Oregon	6
16	Pittsburgh	4
17	Mississippi	7
18	TCU	4
19	Ball State	6
20	Oklahoma State	11
21	Missouri	8
22	Virginia Tech	4
23	North Carolina	--
24	Georgia	13
25	Oregon State	8

Dropped Out: Florida State (#19).

Once again, I thank drothgery and everyone else who regularly questions and critiques my weekly rankings.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Let’s be honest, now. This year, "S.E.C. Power Poll" is a bit of a misnomer. "S.E.C. Weakness Poll" would be more like it, complete with a countdown from worst to first, from "weakest" to "least weak team of the week." Unfortunately, I don’t have the ability to change the format of the balloting, so here are the teams of the Southeastern Conference, arrayed from best (such as it is) to worst:

1. Florida: Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings, and, every time a prominent Gator coach or player mists up in public, the Orange and Blue cut a swath of destruction through all in their path. If word gets out of Gainesville that Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow plan to spend Friday night watching the Lifetime Network with a box of Kleenex and a Sara Lee pound cake sitting on the table between them, you’ll know a truly epic thumping is coming in the Georgia Dome.

2. Alabama: The Crimson Tide finally took out their frustrations on someone by hauling Auburn behind the woodshed. As impressive as it was, though, ‘Bama was only approximately as dominant as Florida was against a much better team. Nevertheless, the Red Elephants are undefeated . . . and I seem to recall a Sugar Bowl at the end of the 1992 season that pitted poor old overmatched Alabama, a team that just scraped by and hadn’t beaten anyone, against an invincible squad from the Sunshine State that was going to ruin the Tide’s unbeaten season. Does anybody remember how that game turned out for Alabama?

3. Ole Miss: The Rebels, who beat the Gators in Gainesville and very nearly defeated the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, are the third-best team in the conference. That’s not exactly a sign of the Apocalypse, but it ain’t far off. (I hope it’s just far enough off, though, because the last thing I want is for the world to end with Georgia Tech holding a one-game winning streak over Georgia, because you know we’d be hearing about that for all eternity, to the point where, ultimately, we’d have to have a "Best of Times"-style loser-leaves-Heaven rematch between the Bulldogs and the Yellow Jackets in the afterlife. Hey, if we’re going to sing "to Hell with" each other, we might as well make it literal.)

4. Georgia: This ranking should be taken as indicative of the fact that eight S.E.C. teams are even worse than we are and should in no way be confused with a compliment to the most disappointing Red and Black club since 2000. Nothing I’ve seen this season has been on a par with the Quincy Carter five-interception game in Williams-Brice Stadium or the ignominy of an O’ahu Bowl berth, but it’s worse than anything I’ve seen in the interim.

5. Louisiana State: How does that work, exactly? If you lose your starting quarterback, you start giving up 30+ points per game to every opponent with a pulse? I guess, if your new starting quarterback was designed in a Cal Tech laboratory to be a perpetual-motion pick-six machine, it could cause some scores to get out of hand.

6. South Carolina: I think some school consolidation is in order in the Palmetto State. As distasteful as it might be to both fan bases, think of the advantages of combining Clemson and South Carolina into a single school. That way, the university could field the Gamecocks from Labor Day weekend through mid-October, then field the Tigers from mid-October through Thanksgiving. The team would never go worse than 10-2!

It’s possible you could duplicate that effect by combining Vanderbilt’s early season with Tennessee’s late season.

7. Vanderbilt: A quarter-century of tireless effort has allowed the Commodores to break through the glass ceiling and achieve the genuine mediocrity of which every Vandy fan has dreamt for as long as he can remember.

8. Kentucky: The Wildcat fans are going to basketball games, the rest of us are ignoring U.K. completely, Rich Brooks is pouring himself a Scotch, and Joker Phillips is counting the days. The fact that this team merely inspires utter indifference from all concerned earns Kentucky a No. 8 ranking in the league, because it’s better to be inconsequential than bad.

9. Tennessee: When the Volunteers’ rallying cry became, "Let’s go out and beat Vandy and Kentucky!" it was official that Rocky Top had hit rock bottom. The Lane Kiffin hire doesn’t impress or scare me. If you think hiring an underwhelming coach is a good idea because of who his father is, I’d like to introduce you to a fellow by the name of Mike Shula.

10. Arkansas: The win over L.S.U. was huge. Good for the Razorback players for sending Bobby Petrino out a winner in his last game before bolting for whichever job he’s taking later this month.

"I’m proud to be the new head coach at Tennessee Clemson Auburn! Wait . . . the Auburn job isn’t open yet? Well, that never stopped me from accepting it before!"

11. Auburn: It’s a good thing the Plainsmen lost last Saturday, because, if they hadn’t, the Yellowhammer State would have reverberated for the next year with the cry, "Fear the ring finger of the other hand!"

12. Mississippi State: Class act that he is, Sylvester Croom recognized that last season was a statistically anomalous aberration and fell on his sword like a good soldier should. Sly, you have just been self-Croomed.

That’s how it looks from here, but, then, I’m cold and mad and dejected, and that may have affected my judgment, so, by all means, let me know whether and where you take issue with any of the foregoing.

Go ‘Dawgs!

It’s official: 2008 stinks. More specifically, both the S.E.C. generally and Georgia specifically stink in 2008, and, frankly, if both the S.E.C. and Georgia are going to be down in the same year, well, to my way of thinking, that’s synonymous with the whole year stinking in toto.

Perhaps for the first time ever, being a member of the Southeastern Conference actively operated against a team’s prospects for being ranked in my top 25. At the end of the day, this is the BlogPoll ballot I cast, which remains open for revision through Wednesday morning, so I invite your critiques of the following:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oklahoma	2
2	Texas	--
3	Florida	1
4	Texas Tech	1
5	Alabama	4
6	Penn State	--
7	Southern Cal	--
8	Utah	--
9	Ohio State	1
10	Boise State	2
11	Georgia Tech	4
12	Cincinnati	2
13	Michigan State	3
14	Boston College	4
15	Oregon	6
16	Pittsburgh	4
17	Mississippi	7
18	TCU	4
19	Ball State	6
20	Missouri	7
21	Oklahoma State	12
22	Virginia Tech	4
23	North Carolina	--
24	Georgia	13
25	Oregon State	8

Dropped Out: Florida State (#19).

Yes, Oklahoma (11-1) lost to Texas (11-1) head to head. The Sooners also annihilated Texas Tech (11-1) and the Red Raiders beat the Longhorns. Accordingly, the retort to everyone brandishing a "45-35" sign is: "39-33."

Texas beat Oklahoma, Missouri (9-3), and Oklahoma State (9-3), in that order of impressiveness. That is a weightier set of victories than that compiled by Texas Tech, which beat Texas, Oklahoma State, and Nebraska (8-4). However, the ‘Horns also assembled a resume less impressive than that put together by Oklahoma, which beat Texas Tech, Cincinnati (10-2), Texas Christian (10-2), Oklahoma State, and Nebraska. Thus, the Sooners are No. 1, the Longhorns are No. 2, and the Red Raiders are No. 4.

The only team able to keep the Big 12 South from locking up the top three spots on my ballot was Florida (11-1), which continued to make good on Tim Tebow’s teary-eyed promise to beat the crap out of everyone after the Gators’ increasingly forgivable loss to Ole Miss (8-4). Despite U.F.’s devalued wins over Georgia (9-3), Florida State (8-4), and Miami (7-5), the thoroughness with which the Saurians are dominating the opposition enabled them to inch up a notch.

Alabama (12-0) fell to fifth despite the Crimson Tide’s dominant performance against the Plainsmen because the team’s marquee win at Georgia looks increasingly meaningless, leaving as the only sparkling jewel in the Red Elephants’ crown a four-point home win over Mississippi.

The sixth, seventh, and eighth spots on my ballot remained the property of Penn State (11-1), Southern California (10-1), and Utah (12-0) because their respective resumes remained unchanged. The Nittany Lions and the Utes had open dates and the Trojans faced Notre Dame (6-6), which has been the functional equivalent of a bye for most of the last decade and a half.

Ugly losses (and subsequent plummets) by the teams I had ranked ninth, eleventh, and 13th enabled Ohio State (10-2) and Boise State (12-0) to sneak upwards slightly and, after sitting out in the cold and rain for four hours on Saturday watching it all unfold, I had no choice but to rank Georgia Tech (9-3) eleventh, awarding the Yellow Jackets the ranking previously belonging to the ‘Dawgs. Yes, that makes me want to puke, too. We lost to a guy named Josh Nesbitt who kneels down so far under center that he looks like a duck being stuffed inside the turkey’s butt in preparation for the cooking of a turducken. If we were Japanese instead of Georgian, we’d have to kill ourselves with seppuku swords to restore the lost honor of our ancestors. Did I mention that 2008 stinks?

Incremental gains were made by Cincinnati, Michigan State (9-3), and Boston College (9-3), who remained in the same sequence relative to one another, and performances of varying degrees of impressiveness and significance allowed reasonably large leaps to be made by Oregon (9-3), Pittsburgh (8-3), Ole Miss, and Ball State (12-0). Due to a dearth of otherwise qualified teams, T.C.U. came along for the ride, landing at No. 18.

Nothing in the win over Duke posted by North Carolina (8-4) gave me cause to move the Tar Heels, who stayed parked at No. 23, and canings of various levels of severity and shame caused a substantial drop in the value of the stock of Missouri, Oklahoma State, Georgia, and Oregon State (8-4).

That left me with 24 teams for 25 spots, so Virginia Tech (8-4) sneaked into the No. 22 slot, just ahead of the U.N.C. squad V.P.I. defeated. Yes, I know the Hokies lost to the selfsame Seminoles whom I dropped from the poll, but Frank Beamer’s bunch beat Georgia Tech and Nebraska in addition to the Tar Heels, whereas F.S.U.’s only other even vaguely impressive pelt was that of the Hurricanes.

I gave thought to ranking Northwestern (9-3), Iowa (8-4), Brigham Young (10-2), and Nebraska, who, respectively, are my de facto 26th through 29th teams.

I watched the Ball State-Western Michigan game on Tuesday and the Texas-Texas A&M game on Thursday. On Friday, I watched all of the Mississippi-Mississippi State and Arizona State-U.C.L.A. games and parts of the Pitt-West Virginia, Arkansas-Louisiana State, and Boise State-Fresno State games. On Saturday, I attended the Georgia-Georgia Tech game and was not thereafter tempted to watch any college football for the remainder of the day.

Let me know what about that ballot appears to you to be amiss or uncertain. I will happily answer any questions, address any constructive criticisms, and make appropriate adjustments if presented with sufficiently persuasive arguments.

Go ‘Dawgs!

I begin in the only way it is appropriate for me to begin, by congratulating Paul Johnson and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on a well played game of football in which they were the better team and received the victory they had earned.

Having said that, let me also say this: I have had a long day. We had out-of-town relatives in the Atlanta area for Thanksgiving, one of whom went with me to the game. Despite the weather and the outcome, we had a nice outing, as I went to Sanford Stadium with the husbands of both of my sisters-in-law---I call them my brothers-in-law, although, technically, that is not correct; they are the men who are married to the women who are my wife’s sisters---but, because different people had to be gotten to different places afterwards, I left my house at 7:30 this morning and returned home around 9:45 tonight.

Consequently, I have not read any FanPosts or comments left at Dawg Sports since roughly 11:00 last evening. If anything needs addressing, it will be addressed tomorrow; if any of what follows repeats points already made, I regret the redundancy, although I believe these points bear making and reiterating, so I will not be saddened to learn that others are entertaining similar thoughts---not visceral reactions; thoughts, arrived at over a period of years and after sober reflection---and I hope a cogent conversation follows.

This posting might have been, but is not, the 82nd installment of the Mark Richt Victory Watch. Certainly, Mohamed Massaquoi, playing in his last game between the hedges, performed at a level fully deserving of victory. Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Rockwell Moreno, also probably playing in Sanford Stadium for the final time, showed grit, heart, and determination that were worthy of a win. The Bulldogs’ much-maligned offensive line generally played capably and the criticisms of Mike Bobo as an offensive coordinator hopefully were silenced by the former Georgia quarterback’s fine play calling. The offense, in short, played well enough to have produced an eighth straight victory over our in-state rival.

Offense, however, is not the only phase of the game. It’s just the only phase of the game at which the Bulldogs performed as well as or better than the Yellow Jackets.

The following facts all are facts:

• In the first century of Georgia football (1892-1991), the Red and Black lost two games in which they scored at least 28 points. During that same period, the Classic City Canines never lost a game in which they scored at least 29 points.



• During the Ray Goff and Jim Donnan eras (1989-2000), the Bulldogs lost seven games in which they scored at least 28 points, falling 34-31 to Tennessee in 1992, 42-28 to Auburn in 1993, 29-28 to Alabama in 1994, 43-30 to Vanderbilt in 1994, 37-31 to Auburn in 1995, 45-34 to Auburn in 1997, and 51-48 to Georgia Tech in 1999.



• During the aforementioned Ray Goff and Jim Donnan eras, Georgia had five defensive coordinators: Richard Bell (1989-1993), Marion Campbell (1994), Joe Kines (1995-1998), Kevin Ramsey (1999), and Gary Gibbs (2000).



• During the four years in which Brian VanGorder served as Georgia’s defensive coordinator (2001-2004), the Bulldogs lost ten games. In those ten games, the ‘Dawgs scored nine, ten, 17, 16, 13, ten, 13, 13, 14, and six points, respectively.



• During the four years in which Willie Martinez has served as Georgia’s defensive coordinator (2005-2008), the Bulldogs have lost twelve games. In those twelve games, the ‘Dawgs scored ten, 30, 35, 33, 22, 14, 20, twelve, 14, 30, ten, and 42 points, respectively.

To reiterate: Georgia scored 28 points in defeat just twice in the first 100 years of Red and Black football; Georgia never scored more than 28 points in defeat in the first 100 years of Red and Black football; Georgia scored 28 or more points in defeat seven times in the twelve years of the Ray Goff and Jim Donnan eras, during which the Bulldogs had five different defensive coordinators; Georgia never scored more than 17 points in defeat during the four years that Brian VanGorder served as Georgia’s defensive coordinator; Georgia has scored more than 28 points in defeat five times during the four years that Willie Martinez has served as Georgia’s defensive coordinator; and Georgia has not scored 28 or more points in defeat more than twice during the tenure of any previous defensive coordinator in Bulldog history.

Injuries have played a role in the failure of this Georgia team to live up to expectations. However, the offensive line has been hit hard by injuries, yet Stacy Searels appears to have found a way to get his players who are healthy enough to play to perform well as a unit and Mike Bobo appears to have found a way to put together an effective offense despite the loss of some key players. This is called coaching.

Injuries do not excuse all shortcomings. Injuries do not explain defensive players being out of position. Injuries do not justify an inability to make open field tackles. Injuries cannot account for why teams are able to outscore Georgia in the second half when Brian VanGorder’s defenses made a habit of slamming the door after intermission. Injuries are not the reason why an option team is able to make big gains despite the fact that everyone in the stadium knows (or ought to know) that the ball is going to the pitch man.

Georgia Tech had possession of the ball seven times in the second half in Athens this afternoon. The Yellow Jackets’ first drive went 60 yards in one play for a touchdown. Their second drive went 56 yards in ten plays for a touchdown. Their third drive went 23 yards in one play for a touchdown. Their fourth drive went 76 yards in seven plays for a field goal. Their fifth drive went six yards in three plays and ended in a punt. Their sixth drive went 70 yards in six plays for a touchdown. Their seventh drive picked up the first down that allowed the visitors to run out the clock.

If two of the Engineers’ seven second-half drives had ended in punts, Georgia would have won the game. Just a pair of three-and-outs would have put the ball back in Matthew Stafford’s hands and the offense would have found a way to finish the drill. The defense did not give the offense that chance. I do not lay this at the feet of the young men wearing silver britches, who played with passion and who managed to avoid some of the foolish penalties that have plagued the ‘Dawgs this season. I lay this failure at the feet of the defensive coaching staff, of the coordinator charged with the responsibility for that side of the ball, and, if sufficient steps are not taken, of the head coach charged with the ultimate responsibility for everything that happens in this program.

Georgia Tech deserved to win the game and a commitment to class even in the face of defeat compels us to tip our caps to the best college football team in the Peach State, which today calls North Avenue and not the Classic City home. However, a decent defensive effort on the Bulldogs’ part would have produced a victory, and that calls upon us as fans to ask reasonable questions in a responsible manner.

As I noted earlier, I have not yet read any of the FanPosts or comments to have appeared at Dawg Sports in roughly the last 24 hours. I will get to them later, but it is my hope that a civil and sensible tone has been maintained. I have not ventured elsewhere in the blogosphere this evening, so I do not know what has been written in other parts of "The Dawgosphere." I regret it if the foregoing is repetitive, although this a subject of sufficient significance to warrant our ongoing attention.

The act of addressing harsh realities requires the act of asking hard questions. Many good men are being compensated handsomely to mold the talented student-athletes enrolled at the University of Georgia into a championship-caliber team and most of these men are succeeding admirably at their jobs.

Georgia gave up 41 points to Alabama, 38 points to Louisiana State, 49 points to Florida, 38 points to Kentucky, and 45 points to Georgia Tech. It is time for one of the good men mentioned above to explain why he deserves to continue collecting a paycheck for serving as the defensive coordinator of the Georgia Bulldogs and it is time for another of those good men to perform his duty as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs by taking the only appropriate step if that explanation proves to be inadequate.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Now that the Bulldogs are done with their lengthy trip away from Athens, it’s time once again to tee it up between the hedges! Feel free to join in the conversation by posting your thoughtful critiques, visceral reactions, and emotional exclamations in the comments below.

This is also the occasion for announcing this week’s honorary game captain. Honestly, it seemed to me that there could be only one choice for this distinction:

Continue reading this post »