It’s not quite the seven seasons that elapsed between games against Mississippi State, but it has been a while since Georgia has played Ole Miss. For several years, Ole Miss was Georgia’s other "permanent" opponent from the SEC West (along with Auburn of course). When the SEC switched to two rotating opponents from the opposite division in 2003, the Ole Miss game was the casualty. The Dawgs played the Rebels every year from 1966 through 2002, but they haven’t faced off since.

The Dawgs took the last three games in the series by a comfortable 98-46 margin, but the last meeting in 2002 was a back-and-forth game until the end. A young Eli Manning was held to 12-of-25 passing and was intercepted twice, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Tim Jennings. The teams traded scores until a Terrence Edwards touchdown gave the Dawgs some breathing room at 31-17 in the third quarter. Musa Smith carried the ball 37 times for 148 yards (yes! in the Mark Richt era!) and the game ended with a 19-play Georgia drive that took over eleven minutes before the clock ran out with the ball inside the Ole Miss ten yard line.

Though the Dawgs won fairly easily from 2000-2002, the 1990s were a different story. From 1993 to 1999, the Dawgs were just 4-3 against Ole Miss, and the Rebels owned the mid-90s. It began with a 31-14 drubbing in 1993 where the Rebel defense teed off on Eric Zeier all night. Ole Miss won consecutive games in 1995 and 1996. In the 1995 game, Georgia (already minus tailback Robert Edwards) lost quarterback Mike Bobo for the season. In 1996, the Rebels caught the Dawgs coming off that dramatic four-overtime win at Auburn. The Dawgs even led 27-17 before collapsing and losing the game 31-27. Georgia rebounded to win from 1997-1999, but no win was by more than seven points.

No game during that stretch was more gut-wrenching than the 1999 trip to Oxford. Ole Miss had the one-two punch of Joe Gunn and future NFL star Deuce McAllister in the backfield. Georgia was in the middle of a wild season that would see escapes against Central Florida, LSU, and Vanderbilt, a circus finish at Tech, a thorough beating by Auburn, and an historic bowl comeback. So in the scheme of the 1999 season, the turn of events in the 1999 Georgia – Ole Miss game in Oxford was just another chapter in an inexplicable season.

The story of the game was Georgia’s inability to convert yardage into points. Though the Dawgs generated over 450 yards of offense on the night, early in the fourth quarter they only had nine points on three Hap Hines field goals. Ole Miss was on the short end of yardage and possession all night, but they took control of the game late when McAllister went 84 yards to put the Rebels up 17-9. Georgia responded with a 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 4th-and-goal touchdown pass from the 3 and a subsequent two-point conversion to tie the game. Hines kicked a 48-yard field goal, his fourth of the night, with about five minutes left to give Georgia the 20-17 lead. Two big plays put the Rebels inside the Georgia 20 with a chance to tie or take the lead, but Terreal Bierria made an incredible catch for an intereception to seal the win. Par for the course in 1999.

The running game has been a big part of the story in recent seasons. In that 1999 game, McAllister and Gunn each rushed for over 100 yards. In 2001, the Ole Miss game was the start of the brief but incredibly productive experiment of Verron Haynes at tailback. Haynes’ 192 yards in Oxford was the start of a four-game stretch to end the season with at least 100 yards in each game. Musa Smith also used the Ole Miss game in 2002 (37 carries for 148 yards) as the starting point for a strong finish to his Georgia career.

The running game is once again front and center as the two teams resume the series. As QB Brent Schaeffer struggles, the burden of Ole Miss’s offense falls on tailback BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Green-Ellis had a nice debut with 127 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against Memphis. He’s kept it up even as the passing game struggles, rushing for 4.6 yards per carry on the season.

On the other side, Georgia’s running game gets a chance to show something – anything – against a poor defense. The Rebels are giving up nearly 175 yards per game on the ground. So long as the Dawgs steer clear of talented linebacker Patrick Willis, Georgia won’t get a much better chance this season for a productive day on the ground. The Dawgs have shaken things up by moving Kregg Lumpkin into the starting tailback role, but we’ll have to see what that will mean in terms of carries and the rotation of the other backs. Richt had no problem letting a productive back run early and often on Ole Miss in 2001 and 2002. In 2006, will Lumpkin be the next Georgia back to emerge against the Rebels, and will Richt (and the offensive line) present him with that opportunity?

North Campus or Gulf Coast?

The Red & Black has a lighthearted editorial today about yesterday’s news of a 7:45 p.m. kickoff for the Tennessee game. They introduce a theme we’ll start hearing a lot as soon as the Ole Miss game is digested:

The combination of an SEC rivalry and a late start time will serve as a true test for the new gameday regulations and intramural field parking situation.

While we hope things will run as smoothly for University police as they have for the past three games, history has shown that evening games are more debauched. While the administration should prepare for the worst, fans should accept personal responsibility for their actions and those of their fellow tailgaters.

That’s pretty mild for what I think we can expect next week. This "prepare for the worst" stuff will stop just short of some columnist calling for FEMA to stand ready for – get this – a "night football game". Yes, night football games have been a part of the Sanford Stadium experience since 1940, but now the whole process will be put under intense scrutiny.

This reminds me of the current hysteria over drinking on campus. It wasn’t too long ago that they drove beer trucks right up on the lawn, but now all of a sudden it’s a major crisis. It also wasn’t too long ago when fans would begin arriving on Thursday or even earlier for big football games (ask around about the 1976 Alabama game), but now we’ve got a powder keg brewing over a few extra hours of tailgating.

If anything, this is much more about the University than it is the fans. Football fans haven’t changed much. There might be more of them, but that’s about it. They’re fairly predictable. We know what a night game is like and what the tailgating scene is likely to be. It’s not as if we haven’t had a few of these before. The University has time to plan for trash and can even encourage local law enforcement enforce littering laws as diligently as they do open container laws.

Let the needless hype begin. Fear the night game!!!

I’m sure my reaction to the unfolding Colorado game went as most people’s: concern, bewilderment, annoyance, stomping mad, nausea, hope, dread, triumph, worry, and finally….relief. That’s it – not happiness or satisfaction – just relief.

This game is already getting overanalyzed trying to figure out what went wrong, so we’ll skip that and hope we can write it off. Great job by Cox and everyone else turning this nightmare into a win. Some other observations:

• Senior leadership pays. Milner, Taylor, Battle, and Dixson all came up big.
• Milner especially came up huge. The jokes about the drops and everything won’t be easy to shake, but he came up with a bigger game than any other UGA receiver this year.
• Though several fans left early and there was plenty of booing, I’m really happy with the crowd at the end of the game. They made a difference and helped to turn the tide. Had Charles Johnson gotten the QB when he went airborne on third down, the place would have fallen down.
• There isn’t much excuse for the lack of a running game. Lumpkin needs to play more.
• It’s amazing how much better playcalling looks when you have a QB delivering the ball on target. Drops seem to miraculously disappear too. I wonder what happened to all of the awful playcalling and poor WR coaching fans like to talk about.
• Tell me no one else had any of these nightmares after the final touchdown: 1) celebration penalty resulting in missed/blocked XP, 2) good kickoff return, 3) flashbacks to the 2005 Auburn game, 4) Colorado getting a chance to kick about a 70-yard FG for the last play of the game.
• Colorado had to burn its timeouts to keep its defense fresh. That turned out to make a huge difference on the final series. Almost as big was the sack on first down. The clock continued to run, and Colorado’s plans were forced to desperation. Had they been able to hit a 15+ yard pass on first down and stop the clock, the last few seconds really change.
• Speaking of the clock, as vocal as we and Coach Richt have been in criticism of the rule changes, they sure worked to Georgia’s advantage. It still doesn’t change my mind that the rules must go. It helped us this time; next time it might cost us. The impact of the changes were obvious as we saw nearly 20 seconds elapse between the kickoff and the first Colorado play.
• Some wonder why Richt didn’t make the QB change sooner, but it’s a really tough call. On one hand you have a true freshman who is struggling, and you can’t pull him too early and completely destroy his confidence. But something had to be done. Stafford’s indecision and the third down play where he went over the line of scrimmage made it the right time for that change.
• Another decision where Richt got criticism – going for it on 4th down in the red zone. I really think those calls were right. Given the performance of the offense to that point, there was no guarantee they would even get within FG range again, much less get back in the red zone.
• People are talking about Stafford’s velocity being a problem, but accuracy is a much bigger issue than touch to me. Several passes either behind or high or low. Some of his passes might have needed a little more touch on them, but I can recall only one drop (by MoMass) where the ball was on the money.
• Massaquoi overcame those drops. It wasn’t so dramatic as Milner’s redemption, but he had two big fourth quarter catches. The play he made on an inside screen on the gamewinning drive to reverse direction and get out of bounds was huge. He also made a big play to break up an interception in the end zone on a poor Cox throw. He still needs to become a bigger playmaker, but at least he didn’t fold after the early drops.

More tonight. I’d like to take a little closer look at the offense’s drives.

"Negative, Ghostrider. The pattern is full."

This is an off-topic post, but it’s a noteworthy day in that the United States Navy is retiring the F-14 Tomcat. If you’ve seen Top Gun, you know what an F-14 is. The aircraft has been at the front of the nation’s naval air superiority for over 30 years. Its distinguished swept wing and twin tail gave it a unique and graceful look. It was an extremely versatile fighter nimble enough for dogfights and large enough to act as a bomber when needed. I’m proud to say that my late grandfather was one of the men behind the Tomcat. I’m sure this is a bittersweet day for everyone who spent time at Grumman. The F-14 has served the nation well, but there are some incredible aircraft taking its place in our nation’s arsenal.

The F-14 and the men and women behind it are remembered at the Grumman Memorial Park out on the east end of Long Island very close to the place I consider home.

Yes, EDSBS, we did notice Andre 3000 and his posse providing sideline entertainment during last night’s game. The highlights:

• A member of the posse shouting "CALVIN JONES FOR HEISMAN!!!". All the posse has to know is that this Calvin Whatshisname is ripe for a big representation deal in a few months. He’ll need hangers-on too then.
• Mass confusion over the number 41, derailing the interview. Andre gives a shout out to #41. Erin Andrews, ever on the ball and probably still wondering who "Calvin Jones" is, notes that Calvin Johnson is actually #21. Andre corrects her and say he was giving a shout out to his boy #41 on the sideline (Tech’s Philip Wheeler). Erin pauses to process this sidetrack. Very nice.
• The best – Andre saying that, yes, he is a Tech fan. But he’s also a fan of USC. And Ohio State. And Michigan. (As one of the ESPN guys noted, this might be the first ever recorded case of co-fandom between tOSU and Michigan.) He’s just a fan of the game. Off-camera, he also said he’s a fan of Wisconsin. And sunsets. And the Buffalo Sabres. And the card game Uno. And Marshall. And the Saskatchewan Roughriders. And wide collars. And Pakistani cricket. He’s just a fan, you know.

David Ching looks at the run/pass split and notes that while Georgia is heavy on the run in the second half, it’s not much heavier than the split in the first half. The Dawgs run slightly less in the first half but the split favors the run at any point in the game. I would note that the UAB game, in which the split was skewed more towards the run than the other games, was the weaker-looking offensive performance of the three. Balance still matters. Like Ching, I’d like to see what it looks like against Tennessee or a similar opponent. I should have my running game stats browser working by next week, and we can crunch this even more then.

The quarterback situation lends itself to a reasonable explanation for the split. We pretty much figured that we weren’t going to be slinging the ball all over the field with Joe T. under center. Now that Stafford’s in, he’s being brought along. Though he’s not being asked to pass a lot, he cut back on the mistakes last week and became much more efficient completing 10 of 17 with no turnovers. All that plus the nature of the games (a conservative plan was appropriate for all games so far) leads to favoring the run. Not terribly wide-open yet, but the season is young and the need to push things with Stafford hasn’t presented itself yet.

That brings me to a related topic. A commenter over at CFR jumps on the theme that UGA 2006 = Ohio State 2002. I’d heard that before, but CFR gives it a good treatment worth discussing. Though CFR and I often have different views on things, I’m with him here in being skeptical about this theme.

It reminds me of the preseason talk last year when some made the UGA 2005 = Tennessee 1998 leap. Shockley = Tee Martin. Because Georgia had a talented black senior quarterback taking over, they could expect an undefeated season and a national title. Make sense to you? Me neither.

Look, I understand what’s going on. We’re still undefeated. Title hopes might not be especially "realistic" (how I hate that word), but technically they’re still alive. So we look around for champions with good defenses and struggling offenses with which we can relate. Bingo, Ohio State 2002. Alabama 1992 is another popular choice.

Georgia finds itself in the not-so-unique position of having a good defense and an offense that’s slowly coming along as it develops a promising but raw freshman QB. That doesn’t make them Ohio State 2002 any more than it makes them FSU 2005.

I should note that this comparison with Ohio State does a big injustice to Krenzel. He completed just shy of 60% of his passes in 2002, made big plays at the right time, and even led his team in rushing against Miami. He wasn’t Vince Young, but that still doesn’t make a comparison with Tereshinski appropriate. I’ve posted before about my appreciation for unspectacular QBs who get the job done and lead their teams to national titles, but they’re a unique breed and not comparable to every team’s stiff who is struggling to complete 50% of his passes.

Aside: It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t nitpick at one of CFR’s points. He "really hated" that 2002 Ohio State team because "because as great as that team was, they were also more than a little lucky." Sure they were. But luck, narrow escapes, blown calls, and controversy are often a part of a national title season. Colorado’s 5th down. Tennessee-Arkansas 1998. How many events had to come together for the 1996 FSU-Florida rematch? Georgia’s own title season in 1980 was a combination of a relatively light schedule, fumbles by Tennessee and South Carolina, a miracle 92-yard touchdown, and Notre Dame special teams breakdowns. The imperfect, tainted, and even "lucky" national title is a common theme in college football history.

Wow…for the quality we got last week in college football, we’re treated to some real dogs this week, especially in SEC-land.

Colorado at Georgia: When the showdown between four-legged mascots trumps interest in the showdown on the field, you have the makings of a very one-sided game.

Alabama at Arkansas: Tough pick. Both teams played a common opponent (Vanderbilt) very close. If this were later in the season, I might like Arkansas. Bama’s defense might have the very slim edge here in Mustain’s first really big home start.

Mississippi State at UAB: Gotta go with the Blazers here. UAB frustrated Georgia’s offense for the better part of three quarters. Lord knows what they’ll do to MSU’s pathetic offense.

Penn State at Ohio State: Once Ohio State finishes this beating and gets a bit of revenge for last season, we can finally be done with the "Penn State is back" talk.

Arizona State at California: The Sun Devils have had problems getting their offense going this year, and that’s unfortunate as they’ll need to keep up in this game. Cal’s offense proves to be too much.

Notre Dame at Michigan State: I think we’ve learned by now that Notre Dame only gets upset at home.

South Florida at Kansas: Two mid-level teams fighting for a shred of respect. I went with Kansas at home.

UCLA at Washington: UCLA needs to win this game if they have any plans of being a Pac10 factor this year. A Washington win at home would be huge for Ty. I expect the Bruins to pass the road test.

Wake Forest at Ole Miss: I’ve been burned twice by Ole Miss. So now watch them win.

Wisconsin at Michigan: Letdown? It’s possible, but even then Wisconsin shouldn’t be much of a problem. The post-Alvarez slide begins.

Ralphie triple-dog-dares Georgia to win.

If this were a more attractive matchup, this could be a great storyline Saturday. First we have Colorado offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus saying, “They aren’t superhuman. Anyone can score on them.” as he dismisses the Georgia defense.

Georgia’s defense has a pretty good representative living in Colorado named Champ Bailey. Champ has his own take on the game:

“They can’t go between the hedges and get a win,” the Pro Bowl cornerback predicts. “Matter of fact, they can’t go get points. Period. It’s not going to happen.”

Nice. Way to represent, Champ

The unfortunate start to Colorado’s 2006 season has taken a lot of the steam out of what was a very interesting matchup when the series was announced. It is Georgia’s first regular season major interconference game with an opponent outside of the ACC since Texas Tech in 1996. It’s the first in a list of nonconference home-and-home series which will include Colorado, Arizona State, Louisville, and Oregon.

In other words, it should be a bigger deal than it is. It’s the risk you take scheduling so far into the future; you have no idea whether Oregon will be a Nike-fueled PAC-10 juggernaut in a few years or if they will collapse under the indecisiveness of 3,827 uniform combinations. You schedule the "name" thinking you have a reasonable shot at a quality matchup, but we know how much of a crap shoot college football can be for all but a handful of teams. It’s not quite what we expected when we took this step to beef up the schedule.

We’re all familiar with the Golden Age of Colorado football. Over the eight seasons from 1989-1996, the Buffaloes averaged just under ten wins a season. They had ten or more wins in five of those seasons. Georgia fans in particular have a special appreciation for their 1990 National Championship season. We all remember Kordell Stewart’s Hail Mary pass to Michael Westbrook in 1994.

Bill McCartney was the coach behind the Buffalo’s most successful era, but Colorado’s reputation as an out-of-control program began under his watch. It only got worse when Rick Neuheisel took over in 1995. Neuheisel was moderately successful but had nowhere near the level of success that McCartney had. By the time Neuheisel left for Washington in 1999, serious damage had been done to the program. The low point came after he left as an NCAA investigation resulted in sanctions and the forfeiting of the entire 1997 season.

Neuheisel was followed by Gary Barnett, the "it" coach of the mid-1990s who had brought Northwestern back off the mat (and who, I might add, was a popular fan choice during Georgia’s coaching searches). Barnett lost further control of the program, and stories of drugs, rape, and harrassment overshadowed a gradual decline of the program. There was a brief resurgence in 2001 with a 10-3 season, but that has been the only year since the 1990s in which Colorado has lost fewer than five games.

If you want an overview of the problems which have built up in the Colorado program, give this a read.

But the relative collapse of Nebraska and the weak state of the rest of the Big 12’s North Division meant that Colorado remained somewhat competitive even as problems built up. In 2001, they beat Nebraska 62-36 and upset Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game to earn a Fiesta Bowl trip. Even last year they managed to get into the Big 12 Championship Game with a 7-4 regular season record.

That brings us to the present. Barnett is gone. Dan Hawkins, formerly of Boise State is in and has the big rebuilding job. After starting the 2005 season 7-2, the Buffaloes have lost seven consecutive games. The power outage on offense is stunning. Since falling 30-16 to Iowa State to start their current losing streak, Colorado hasn’t scored more than 10 points in a game. Over the final three games of 2005 and the first three games of 2006, they averaged 6.5 points per game.

Hawkins’ job (well, one of them) is to revive that offense with the same efficiency he developed at Boise State. It hasn’t happened yet. Point totals and yardage remain anemic. Reading Ching’s synopsis of Georgia player and coach comments, you see that the Bulldogs think it’s just a matter of time before things start clicking and the Buffalo offense gets going. Tra Battle’s comments are especially interesting. "I hope we can force the same turnovers we forced last year (against Hawkins’ Boise State offense). Because if we don’t, it’s gonna be a long day."

I don’t think the day will be as long as Battle fears. Colorado hasn’t clicked yet, and it’s not likely they will against the Georgia defense after being punched in the gut for three straight weeks. Their defense isn’t bad – there’s not much shame in holding Arizona State to 21 points.

We’ll see how much they can improve after Arizona State and coming all the way across the country. But it’s saying a lot, and it’s a bit of a shame, that the story of a live buffalo coming to the game is getting tons more attention than anything actually having to do with Xs and Os. The biggest question seems to be, "can Georgia get another shutout?" I think that’s unlikely mostly because of the factors you need to come together beyond just defensive execution in a shutout, but I’ll be happy if the Dawgs can continue Colorado’s streak of scoring 10 points or fewer.

Hawkins is a good coach, so perhaps when Georgia returns the trip in a few years this game will take on the importance and stirred up the interest we might have expected from such an intersectional series.

The Banner-Herald follows up on Georgia Sports Blog’s bit of original journalism showing the empty family-free family-friendly zones. PWD promises an update from the UAB game. I can’t imagine things will be much better/different this week with another early start.

The kicker comes courtesy of officer Tim Stewart. “(Stewart) said the alcohol rules aren’t strictly enforced. Police aren’t checking cups, but if officers see someone who obviously is drinking alcohol from a can or bottle, they will tell him to pour it out or leave the area.” So the main rule behind these separate areas is only causally enforced. (Meanwhile, people crossing the street from one private lot to another get open-container tickets.)

In other parking news, the ultimate frisbee crowd has a bit of egg on its face after last weekend. The intramural fields did not, in fact, turn into one big mud-boggin’ pit. They’re just fine. Kudos to the Red & Black for calling them on it. "If no damage was done and the fields were left clean, then why not give credit to the administration." Indeed. Jerrytown and the Womynists can still play the championship game this week. The SGA still promises to watch for tell-tale bent blades of grass in future weeks.

And this seemed inevitable. Given the parking crunch, it was a matter of time until the parking scams started.

Have to wait until Tuesday night for a replay of the game, but these are a few random things I took from the weekend:

• I love the shutouts, but I view them much the way I do a no-hitter in baseball: they’re as much luck as they are about a dominant performance. A bloop single because a batter guesses right doesn’t take away from a dominant pitching performance. Greg Maddux at his most dominant still gave up three or four hits a game, but there was no question we were watching greatness. It’s the same with a football shutout. Consider that field position, a single blown coverage, or even coaching decisions (such as going for it in field goal situations) can factor into a shutout. Take the game against Western Kentucky. Georgia’s defense eventually gave up ten points, but Western Kentucky didn’t manage a first down until late in the second quarter. Which has been the most dominant defensive performance?
• Who is "Garrison Hurst"? This gaffe has been on the pre-game video since the beginning of the season, and I think one of Georgia’s better tailbacks deserves to have his name spelled correctly. Hurshel would want it that way.
• Why does a pay-per-view broadcast need television timeouts? They’re already charging folks $30 to broadcast the game; they need to show them ads too?
• Very glad to see Ray Goff on the field with his 1976 team. No one was a bigger part of that SEC Championship unit.
• I don’t think you can understand how poignient a moment it was for Bill Stanfill to be on the field Saturday until you realize that Erk Russell had planned to be out there with him.
• Stunning stat of the weekend: Miami has lost five of its last six games against 1-A competition (pointed out during Saturday’s broadcast). That the one win was at Virginia Tech is the most amazing part of it all.
• I appreciate Matthew Stafford’s improvement from a week ago. There were much fewer mistakes (aside from the much-publicized sack and fumble), and he didn’t try to force things against a zone defense. The timing is still off though. Any pass longer than 15 yards was off. Either it’s the receivers and their routes, or it’s Stafford and his delivery, but the deep threat just hasn’t shown itself yet.
• Seeing Chris Leak dive a yard short of the first down marker shows us that he hasn’t changed all that much, but there is no doubt who the better quarterback was at the end of that game. Ron Zook was fired in large part for fourth-quarter collapses and coming up just short, and now Meyer has Leak winning those games.
• It’s bad enough seeing the stadium bathed in orange-and-blue Cingular colors or seeing "Crocs" advertised at the game, but now a stupid in-stadium Chik-fil-A mascot race ad bleeds over into an actual play. Who is asleep at the switch in the promotions department?
• You’d think part of the job requirement for "mike man" would be the ability to distinguish offense from defense. It’s noticable how much bigger of an impact the band, cheerleaders, etc can have when they have a sense of the flow of the game and situational awareness of what is going on out on the field.
• Speaking of the band, can we take the word "marching" out of the name? Lots of standing around. Most fans surely don’t notice (or care) about things like this, but I’ve seen more than one or two Redcoat alums grumble about the direction of the organization. And now they want to hit us up to build a million-dollar practice facility?
• I’m very impressed by the improvement in Georgia’s linebackers, and that’s no small reason for the strong defense. Tony Taylor runs the show. He’s fully back from his 2004 injury, and it shows. Danny Verdun-Wheeler is everywhere. He’s quick, versatile, and makes tackles. Jarvis Jackson is the enforcer in the middle bringing the heavy hits. It’s looking like a great unit, and then you consider that guys like Brandon Miller, Dannell Ellerbe, and now Darius Dewberry are hungry to get in there.
• Southern Cal looked strong again against Nebraska. Even if Auburn or some other SEC team can run the table, I think only an Ohio State or Southern Cal loss could keep us from another 2004 scenario.
• Finally, about UAB. Last week the tone was all about caution. The (-17) spread was seen as easy money if you took the Blazers. They put a scare into Oklahoma. They played us close two years ago. Etc, etc. Now that Georgia won 34-0, the UAB win is forgotten as if Georgia had beaten another 1-AA team. I guess that’s what happens when you beat the teams you should, but everyone (and there are many) who said last week that "these are the kinds of games Georgia struggles with" need to take a closer look at what’s really going on with this program. They’ll start the same drumbeat with Colorado this week…tough team backed into a corner, classic let-down game, and so on.

Can we finally stop pretending that Georgia has three more or less interchangable tailbacks?

It’s not that Thomas Brown is a bad football player. We’ve all seen enough to know better. But is he and the other backs being used in the right situations that best use their abilities?

In the first quarter of yesterday’s UAB game, Georgia faced a short fourth down conversion. They were already up 7-0, the offense had looked pretty efficient on two drives, and another score might have opened the floodgates. Kregg Lumpkin had a very impressive burst to the outside for the first score, and then Danny Ware had ripped off runs of 6, 8, and 14 yards on the second drive. Stafford was mixing in some passes, and the UAB defense was on its heels.

So on this key fourth down, Richt chooses to hand the ball to…not Lumpkin or Ware but to Thomas Brown. Brown to that point had been the only Georgia back to have a carry for a loss. The conversion failed, and Georgia’s offense took nearly two quarters to recover.

As if that weren’t bad enough, the Dawgs faced another short yardage situation in the second half. Again they called on Brown. Same result. At least it was only third down, and Brannan Southerland was able to salvage the drive on fourth down.

It’s hard to find something really problematic about a 34-0 win, but this is it. With a young quarterback still developing, smarter decisions in the running game are necessary. We’ve come a good ways. We’re seeing multiple back sets mixed in with good results. I’m really happy with the way Danny Ware is used in the passing game; he’s the best receiving back. But that short-yardage power “gotta have a yard” back seems to be the hang-up. Southerland and Williams did a nice job, but sometimes you have to go to the tailback. Who should be in the game when you have to have that one or two yards?

Each of the three tailbacks brings something positive but unique to the offense. We can’t treat them as clones of each other or to expect the same results from each in a given situation. I really hope this is something that gets sorted out before the same thing happens (again) in a game in which the difference between the two teams isn’t so great.

First he lashed out at his "dumbass" players over last week’s loss to Georgia. Then he came down hard on starting QB Blake Mitchell over a midweek bar fight.

What’s next? Steve Spurrier puts in on the refs.

This calls for a trip down memory lane. Remember 1996? FSU beat Florida 24-21 in the regular season, and it seemed as if an undefeated season and shot at the national title was down the drain. Spurrier went off on the refs claiming that FSU was allowed late hits on his quarterback. As fate would have it, a series of upsets brought about a rematch in the Sugar Bowl, and Spurrier’s whining turned out to be to his advantage: FSU’s defense was less effective the second time around, and Florida won their national championship.

So he’s gone back to this well of complaining about the refs. Poor Steve.

Spurrier concluded, "If it’s OK to hold, we need to start teaching it or we’re at a disadvantage." From what I saw Saturday night, his team already has that stuff down pretty well too.

In 1996, he at least had the team to back up his whining. This was a shot at the national title we’re talking about. Now, it just smacks of pathetic desperation as he seeks whatever leg up he can get for this South Carolina team. If not for Chuck Amato, this might be the saddest display by a head coach we’ve seen in a while. Welcome to the coaching graveyard of the SEC, Coach.

UPDATE: Spurrier’s comments might have violated SEC policy against criticizing officials. “All I can say is that the conference is dealing with this as an internal matter,” (SEC supervisor of officials Rogers) Redding said Friday. “The conversations we have with coaches on matters like these are confidential.”

My Sisyphean quest to escape last place in UGASports.com’s media pick ’em starts this week, and what a week. The slate of games is fantastic, and cases could be made for either team to win in a lot of these games. You’d think I would have learned something about picking road teams last week, but here we go again.

Arkansas at Vanderbilt: Vandy is decent and will make a lot of teams look ugly, but Arkansas has more in the tank. If the Hogs do lose, it’s a pretty clear sign that they were outcoached, and it wil be a big nail in Nutt’s coffin.

Ole Miss at Kentucky: Similar to the Arkansas game, Ole Miss isn’t great but should be better than Kentucky. We’ll see how badly the Rebels were shaken by last weekend’s meltdown.

Florida at Tennessee: This doesn’t have so much to do with the Tennessee-Air Force game a week ago as it does with the relative strengths of the teams. Both are strong on defense, but Florida has a more mature and potentially explosive offense. This is a game where scheme might not be overrated. Tennessee doesn’t present many wrinkles for the Florida defense, but this is the third straight unique offense the Vol defense will see. In the first three weeks, they’ll have seen Tedford’s Cal offense (run pretty poorly), the flexbone-style option attack of Air Force, and now the spread option of Florida. Will the Vol defense be ready for anything that comes at them, or will their heads spin? On the other hand, what will Florida use as a running game to prevent open season on Chris Leak? Will the misdirection and running plays to talented speedsters like Harvin be enough? Last year, this was a 16-7 slugfest as the Florida defense asserted itself and Meyer’s offense struggled. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of the same this year – perhaps a little higher-scoring.

LSU at Auburn: You have to ask yourself how far Auburn’s running game can carry it, especially as Irons begins to show signs of wear and tear in week two. LSU should be very familiar with the defensive style they’ll see from their former DC Will Muschamp. I just think that LSU has more on both sides of the ball, but I know not to underestimate Borges. Auburn has a very good chance to win this game with coaching and the home field, but I still like the all-around strength of LSU.

Michigan at Notre Dame: Finally going with a home team. I don’t think it will be quite the drubbing I saw coming for Penn State last week, but this is the kind of game where a title contender asserts itself at home.

Miami at Louisville: I struggled with this pick longer than any other. I think the obituary is being written a little too soon on Miami, and they have the talent and ability to rise up as they did at Virginia Tech a year ago. But that road win over the Hokies sticks out like a sore thumb next to losses to Georgia Tech, LSU, and FSU in other big games. This is Louisville’s annual bid to be considered in the title discussion. They came up just short a year ago in Miami, but I think they get it done at home this year. Miami won’t make it easy though.

Texas Tech at TCU: Texas Tech survived UTEP last week, and while TCU isn’t bad, the Red Raiders should win again.

Oklahoma at Oregon: Oklahoma will find out just how much Adrian Peterson can do on the road against a Top 15 team. I think Oregon plus the home field should be enough for another close Duck win. If Oklahoma wins, Texas should start sweating a bit.

Michigan State at Pittsburgh: Why not…another road team wins. Pitt isn’t bad though. This could be pretty entertaining and higher-scoring than some other games.

Tulane at Mississippi State: This might be Mississippi State’s best chance for a win, but first things first – they just need to score this season. I think they hold Tulane to a low score and eek out the win.

One of the biggest differences that separates head coaches from assistants is that you have to deal with people. You’re not just the guy who calls the plays; you’re also the chief executive of the organization. You are the public face of the organization, and you must manage your staff as closely as you manage your 85 scholarships and your playbook.

It’s an underrated and often overlooked aspect of the job. Much of the coach’s success depends on surrounding himself with the right people. Jim Donnan made poor choices in this area at Georgia as the successful assistants he trusted eventually left the program as their careeers progressed. Tommy Tuberville has come back from the precipice by reevaluating his staff and making tough decisions that have looked brilliant. When Chizik, Borges, and Petrino come through your program, you’re making good personnel decisions. Chizik to Texas, Stoops to Florida – would there be national titles in Austin and Gainesville without those moves?

That brings us to Sylvester Croom. Life is tough at Mississippi State, and Croom is lashing out a bit at the criticism. That’s bad enough – fans are usually more patient with coaches they like – but it’s not necessary to be liked so long as you win. Charlie Weis and Bill Parcells aren’t especially friendly or receptive of questions, but they’re supported so long as they win. I even agree with Croom’s statement about the call-in show. They’re so often inane and uninformative because of the dreadful and repetitive questions, and a coach’s time is much better suited doing other things. But it’s still his responsibility.

The quote from Croom that would have me even more concerned were I a Mississippi State fan is this:

I don’t want to hear about getting rid of my coaches, because I’m never going to fire a football coach. I’m not. If it comes to that, I’m going to fire me.

On the surface, it seems like a loyal statement of support for his staff. But when you consider the coach’s role as executive, it’s shocking. Imagine an executive going before her board of directors and stating flatly that no employee, underperforming or not, would ever be replaced on her watch. How long would she last? Such a stance is extremely irresponsible. It causes the board of directors (or in this case the athletic director) to have to make wholesale changes where only one or two smaller changes might have done and preserved investment in the organization.

It’s not that it’s an easy or pleasant part of the job, and it might be that Mississippi State’s assistants are all doing a good job considering what they have to work with. It’s that Croom is abdicating a key responsibility of the executive. He doesn’t get that choice. It is a sign to me that he wasn’t professionally prepared for a head coaching position. Assistants get to toil in their area of the program to make the team better. If that’s all Croom wants to do without any of the other overhead and responsibilities that come with the big paycheck, he should have remained an assistant.