So at least there’s that. After an inexplicable 7-point jump in the coaches’ poll (that Cap One win must’ve been more impressive than I remember), Georgia finishes the season ranked at #10. (#13 in the AP.)

That’s little consolation when you’re living in #1’s subdivision.

The Bulldogs fielded a pretty good team before Stafford and Moreno and will do so again next year, but that didn’t stop this headline from appearing on the Arizona Republic site:

Path to winning season easier for ASU football

By any measure, Louisiana-Monroe (for BYU) and QB Joe Cox/TBs Caleb King-Richard Samuel (for Stafford/Moreno) will make it easier for ASU to avoid a second straight losing season.

Arizona State hasn’t had consecutive losing seasons since 1946-1947 (impressive), and Dennis Erickson has never coached a college team to consecutive losing seasons. In fairness, the author isn’t chalking the Dawgs up as a win. “Of course ASU still has to play at Georgia on Sept. 26 with a new starting QB of its own so winning that game will be a stretch no matter what the Bulldogs personnel,” he cautions. Stafford and Moreno are the least of Erickson’s concerns when the Sun Devils make their return visit. For starters, they’ll have to improve on an offense that managed just 10 points against a Georgia defense that ended up averaging more than twice that.

Oh, and this guy will still be here.

I should admit straight off that I am of a like mind with other Georgia fans when it comes to how I *hope* the game turns out. I’d be giddy for days if we saw another 1995 national title game. I am also free of any confusing loyalties based on conference affiliation (though take what I wrote there about Ole Miss and Bama and reverse it, please). Tonight the SEC can rot. I think we’ll survive.

Bias can work both ways. It would be easy to jump from Georgia fan -> JEAN SHORTS -> Florida will lose. But the other side of bias is that we’ve seen, traumatically, what Florida can do. We’re not observers; we’re survivors. Victims. So it would be pretty easy to assume that every other school would kneel before Zod just as the rest of the SEC did in the second half of the season.

When so much of the attention is on individuals (Tebow vs. Bradford), it’s usually something else that will prove to be more important. We saw that in our own bowl game. It was all about Moreno vs. Ringer, but the difference in passing games is what ultimately separated Georgia from Michigan State.

Take the running game. Oklahoma will be absent DeMarco Murray, but Chris Brown is more than capable of carrying the load. A defense just can’t sit back and pick on Bradford; there’s a 1,100 yard rusher to worry about. Similarly, Florida isn’t just Tebow. They’ll use a cocktail of five or six players to move the ball on the ground from nearly every position and formation. Better defenses have slowed the Oklahoma running game, but Florida can hit you in more unpredictable ways.

The most interesting matchup tonight will be Florida’s defensive pressure against Oklahoma’s heralded offensive line. Brian Orakpo was able to break through, but the Gators, while talented, don’t have an Orakpo. We’ll see how creative Charlie Strong and company can be in creating pressure.

I’ve seen it mentioned a few times that Oklahoma didn’t see anything comparable to the Florida defense. That’s true, at least in conference play. Florida ranks high in both scoring defense and total defense. But the Sooners did play TCU with a defense that finished above Florida in both catagories. TCU showed, in games against Utah and Boise State, that their defense ratings weren’t flukes. The fact that TCU held Oklahoma to “only” 35 – their lowest total of the season – leads me to think that the score predictions I’ve seen with Oklahoma scoring in the 20s to low 30s just don’t hold water.

Who wins? I still have to go with Florida. Call it survivor shock. It might be their defense, running game, punt block unit (watch out for that), return teams, or even boring old Tebow, but they’re a complete team with the mindset to win. Doesn’t mean I won’t be hating life, especially when a blare of trumpets from the clouds heralds the announcement that the core of the team will be back next season.

Moreno and Stafford are gone, but every Georgia fan could see this coming. Have a trash can nearby. (h/t The Wiz).

Florida’s Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes and Percy Harvin will announce whether they will leave school early for the NFL Draft within a week after Thursday’s BCS national championship game against Oklahoma.
The three, however, have already had discussions about possibly doing something the Gators’ ’04s basketball stars did in 2006: returning as a group.
“We have a lot of conversations about that issue all the time,” Spikes said.

Well of COURSE Florida’s Axis of Awesome will be back next year – intact. Could it go any other way?

Sure, Tebow says, “We’ll have to look at it and sit down after this game and really pray about it and try to figure out what’s best.” Fans of any other SEC school will tell you that “what’s best” will turn out to be touring and ministering on unicorns to impoverished nations in the offseason, putting the brakes on a global recession, releasing an album featuring John Legend and Beyonce, earning ATP pilot certification, representing Illinois in the Senate, and producing a library of 63 segments about themselves and their impact on humanity for ESPN’s use during the 2009 season that make us recall wistfully the understated and tasteful senior season of Joakim Noah.

Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford today announced their intention to enter the NFL Draft. Each had nothing but good things to say about their Georgia experience.

“It’s been an amazing run here,” said Stafford. “I’ve had an amazing time at Georgia. There is no better place for me to go to school. The way the coaches and fans treat you makes it feel like home. There is no better place in the country. This program has done a lot for me. I’m glad I got a chance to wear the “G” on my helmet and represent it the best I could.”

Moreno added: “Coming to Athens has been like a second home to me. It’s been wonderful. The coaches have been there for me with open arms. We have great fans. It was like a dream come true coming here and playing in front of 92,000. Running out of the stadium and having them cheer for us really means a lot. They are great fans and the best in the world.”

Want to hear an incredible stat? Given Georgia’s rich history of tailbacks, it took Moreno only two years to become Georgia’s #4 all-time leading rusher with 2,734 yards. Stafford also re-wrote the record book this year. His 25 touchdown passes sets the Georgia record for a season, and his 3,499 yards of total offense in 2008 is the highest ever for a season at Georgia.

David Hale reminds us today that we aren’t necessarily free from the aftermath of this season’s injuries just because the calendar has flipped. 14 players will be limited or absent from spring practice due to recovery from 2008 injuries. I’d say about half of them are players you’d consider likely or possible starters in 2009.

• TE Bruce Figgins, shoulder
• DE Rod Battle, shoulder
• LB Darius Dewberry, shoulder
• DT Jeff Owens, ACL
• OT Trinton Sturdivant, ACL
• OG Vince Vance, ACL
• OG Chris Davis, hip

Put another way: anywhere from a quarter to a third of Georgia’s 2009 starters are expected to miss spring practice due to injury. The impact on the offensive line is especially acute. With new starters at tailback and quarterback likely in 2009, the play of the offensive line will become even more important. The good news is that depth and experience are finally in place, but our ideal starting line which would include Sturdivant, Vance, and perhaps Davis won’t get much work together before August.

Though all of the injured are expected to be back in plenty of time for the season, the Southerland factor has to be given at least some consideration. By that I mean we should consider that the road to recovery might be rocky for at least one of the injured. Whether it delays their return altogether or impacts their conditioning, there is at least the possibility that we will still be paying for these injuries into next season. Injuries that linger into summer and even into August make it very difficult especially for someone who is trying to earn his way up the depth chart. I think back to Tony Wilson who had to miss spring ball last year, struggled to get back into the rotation for this year, and then went out with another injury which, according to the ABH, might keep him out of yet another spring practice.

Missing spring practice isn’t the end of the world, but they wouldn’t be practicing if it didn’t matter.

Not the best of nights for Bulldog fans.

It started as the basketball team blew a double-digit second half lead to Georgia Tech (sound familiar?). The Dawgs, up by 13 earlier in the half, couldn’t manage but 24 points in the second half and wilted under Tech pressure before losing 67-62. Tech gave Georgia every opportunity to put the game away, but Georgia wasn’t good enough to take advantage of the opening.

You can go down the box score…19-of-31 from the line. Outrebounded by 15. 12 Tech steals. 18 turnovers – most of which came in the second half. 8 Tech blocks on glacially slow moves to the basket. And it’s not like Tech was much better. 1-for-11 from outside. Around 60% from the line. Neither team shot better than 36.1%. It was Tech’s night, but this will likely be a bright spot in their own long season.

I think it’s the first time Tech can claim wins in football, women’s basketball, and men’s basketball in the same year, and that doesn’t sit well.

Now we learn that Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno are expected to announce their NFL intentions on Wednesday. UGASports.com is reporting that both are expected to declare for the NFL draft. It won’t be official until we hear it from the players, but don’t plan on either being back next season.

While Dawg fans aren’t happy to see either go, hopefully we can leave the bitterness out of it and wish both of them well. Both should be great ambassadors for the program at the next level, and it will be good publicity for Georgia to have two draft picks of that stature. Stafford is poised to become Georgia’s first first-round quarterback selection since Johnny Rauch in 1949.

Moreno is expect to become Georgia’s highest draft selection at tailback since Garrison Hearst in 2003.

It’s a good time to remember that players like Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens along with coaches Rodney Garner and Stacy Searels WILL be back next season.

And I say that as someone who watches a good bit of local high school ball on CSS.

Sportscasters have been making up words for years. There is a website dedicated to awful announcing. How many times have you heard “defensed” instead of “defended” or “get untracked” instead of “get on track?” This is football, not English class, right?

One of the FOX crew, Matt Vasgersian I believe, went into new territory last night. While pointing out the statistical advantage Ohio State had at one point in both yardage gained and time-of-possession, we were told that the Buckeyes had “out-yardaged” and “out-time-of-possessioned” the Longhorns. I almost expected to be told at the end of the game that Texas had out-touchdowned Ohio State.

I wonder if he was the same guy who later was unsure whether Ohio State would go for two after a touchdown closed the Texas lead to 17-15.

• Missouri goes to overtime with double-digit underdog Northwestern
• Oklahoma State can’t keep up with underdog Oregon
• Ole Miss shreds favored Texas Tech
• Even “split title” Texas in a win looks nowhere near as good as SoCal did against the Buckeyes.

Prior to the bowls, Oklahoma was the only Big 12 contender to play a decent nonconference schedule with opponents like TCU and Cincinnati. The rest sure are looking a lot like paper tigers now. The conference overall is 4-2 in bowls, but the mighty Big 12 South is 1-2 heading into the BCS title game.

Colt McCoy, though…wow. What a clutch player. If the coach-in-waiting’s defense could have held in Lubbock, we’d be talking about McCoy’s game-winning drive there that planted the Longhorns in the national title game. Even with the split title argument shot now, he was able to lead his team back again tonight from the brink of an upset. Tremendous player.

I don’t know and probably don’t want to know what went on to make it happen, but Rodney Garner finally said, “no, thanks” to Tennessee and will remain on the Georgia staff. For now, anyway….

Plane-gate is over. N111UT is gone from Athens with little more than an order of rings from the Varsity for its trouble.

Now hopefully Marlon Brown will make the same decision…the Memphis receiver looked pretty good last night in the Under Armour game.

As expected (and hoped), five-star cornerback Branden Smith committed to Georgia live on ESPN during the Under Armour All Star game on Sunday evening. Smith, of Washington High School in Atlanta, chose Georgia over, well, offers from just about everyone in the nation, but his decision came down to Florida, FSU, Alabama, and Georgia. He is rated the #4 cornerback in the nation and the #31 prospect overall by Rivals.com.

Greg Reid of Valdosta was one of the standouts in the Under Armour game, and he recently rescinded his commitment to Florida. Georgia is among those he will consider, but his academics are a concern.

So by now you’ve probably heard that Rodney Garner has interviewed with Tennessee.

Apparently this UT plane has been back and forth to Athens and Georgia quite a bit in the past day. (It had to divert to Atlanta last night due to heavy fog.) It returned to Athens earlier this afternoon and is now on its way back to Knoxville. Common sense would indicate that it came to pick up Garner.

Here’s where things get interesting. UGASports.com is reporting that the plane is returning to Knoxville without Garner. The plane came, sat, and returned without Garner getting on board.

What does it mean? Has Garner decided to stay at Georgia? Are negotiations underway? Is he taking another night to sleep on it? Did he just need more time to tell the Georgia players? Or did Lane Kiffin just want some takeout from The Grill? No one knows. Sure does make for fun speculation though.

Today marks the final Cotton Bowl in the old Cotton Bowl stadium. The game will be moving to the shiny new home of the Dallas Cowboys next year. What better way for a Georgia fan to bid farewell than with a look back at our most memorable trip to Dallas?

Remember the Steve Spurrier who would call a pass to the end zone on 4th-and-a gazillion?

Yes, folks, that really was the Ball Coach, formerly of Bandits ball, and Gators offensive juggernauts, explaining why he kicked a field goal – a field goal! – with two minutes left in the game.
“Well, it was fourth and about 10, wasn’t it?” Spurrier said. “It was a long way. Just trying to put a few points up. 31-10 looks better than 31-7.”

With the season now behind us, we’ve entered the recruiting home stretch. There’s little more than a month left until Signing Day on February 4th. While Georgia already has much of a solid class committed, there are still a few undecided prospects who could really put Georgia over the top in terms of the best recruiting classes in the nation.

This weekend is significant because of the national All-Star games. You have the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio on the 3rd (Noon, NBC) and the Under Armour All-America game in Orlando on the 4th (8 p.m., ESPN). Each game is sponsored in part by by rival recruiting services, so both games will showcase different top prospects.

U.S. Army A-A Bowl

• OL Chris Burnette
• OL Austin Long (injured)
• QB Aaron Murray

Under Armour A-A Game

• RB Washaun Ealey
• DL Abry Jones
• OL Dallas Lee
• LB Dexter Moody

Several other in-state commitments played in the Georgia North-South All Star Game on Tuesday.

In addition to those committed players, there are also several top uncommitted prospects in action. Receiver Marlon Brown (Under Armour), TE Orson Charles (U.S. Army), LB Jarvis Jones (U.S. Army), and DB Branden Smith (Under Armour) will be on display. Smith is expected to announce his college decision during the game, and Georgia is considered the favorite.