DEALING WITH THE EXPECTATIONS & PRESSURE

The Georgia Bulldogs are currently the pick of the litter when it comes to media hype. Particularly at SEC media days. Some highlights from articles around the country:

Dennis Dodd (Sportsline): Can UGA Hang on to #1Part of the reason Georgia could start at No. 1, somewhere, is curb appeal. The pollsters who ignored them in December, love that kind of stuff when it comes to filling out their preseason ballots. Georgia has won its past seven. That's the country's second-longest winning streak. There are 17 returning starters, a studly defensive backfield, a Heisman favorite (Knowshon Moreno) and a blossoming quarterback (Stafford).

AP: Coping with the Buzz"Here's our deal: We know everybody on our schedule can beat us," Richt said. "We know everybody in our division can and has beaten us. "Everybody we play, they all know how to win. We don't sit there and say we got this one and that one and boy that will be a tough one. We know they're all going to be tough. When we win games, I feel relief. I know every victory's a tough one."

Birmingham News: The Team to Beat"Our goal is to focus on the moment, not way down the road," said Richt, adding that talking non-stop about the BCS title can be distracting because "it's too long to be chewing on that bone."

Rivals.com: Avoiding the Look Ahead"There have been people saying, 'Mark Richt, he's a true gentleman of the game. He never gets excited. He's just kind of calm and stoic,' " Richt said. "My family members are just texting me saying, 'We know better.' Not that I'm not a gentleman. But I get riled up. I get fired up. "When I compete myself, whether it's racquetball or volleyball, whatever it might be, cards, my family knows I want to win. I'll do a little trash-talking. I'll do whatever I've got to do to get things riled up."

Dealing with Expectations: Independent Mail (SC)“We can’t worry about what’s going to happen in January. We’re still in July. It’s a long road ahead,” defensive tackle Jeff Owens said Thursday during the annual Southeastern Conference preseason media days event. “We can’t listen to all the hype. We don’t want to end up like Michigan last season.”

MEET CENTRAL MICHIGAN

Central Michigan might have raised a few Bulldog eyebrows because of their bowl performance against Purdue (51-48 loss). The offense, which averaged 34.8 points per game last season, is particularly intriguing because quarterback Dan LeFevour returns as one of only two players in NCAA history to throw for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season.Hmmm...returning 16 starters and a ton of offensive firepower....could this be a dangerous team coming into Athens?A look closer reveals that they averaged only 22.75 points per game against BCS teams in four match-ups (Kansas, Clemson and Purdue...twice). Most of those points came against a Purdue squad that was ranked 50th-75th nationally in every major defensive category of interest.As Sportsline.com's CMU preview shows, these guys have a defense that teeters around keystone cops territory. Last year, they gave up 303.5 yards passing per game (118th in nation), 460 total yards per game (109th in the nation), and 36.93 points per game (111th in nation). They lost three key performers from a defense that struggled, and their returning defensive line averages 246.5 pounds.Points Allowed Defensively Last Season:
vs. Kansas: 52 pointsvs. Purdue (regular season): 45 pointsvs. North Dakota State: 44 pointsvs. Ball State: 38 pointsvs. Clemson: 70 pointsvs. Kent State: 32 pointsvs. Eastern Michigan: 48 pointsvs. Akron: 32 pointsOr put it another way...we have absolutely no idea who is going to start along the offensive line for Georgia against CMU. Trinton Sturdivant, Justin Anderson and Clint Boling all look at risk for this game, but it may not matter.This is the perfect defense to face if you are breaking in young wide receivers and a patchwork offensive line. Particularly against a pass rush that finished 94th in the nation in sacks last year.

WHAT I WANT TO SEE - SOUTH CAROLINA GAME

I don't mean to insult Georgia Southern or Central Michigan, but I'm starting the season with Carolina. The Central Michigan game is important if only because it provides a trial run for offenses we will see later in the season. If any of you watched the Motor City Bowl last year, you saw Dan LeFevour running the Chippewas spread offense. LeFevour is Tebow-light and the only player other than Vince Young to finish a season with 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards. Facing him early will help in Jacksonville and presummably against Auburn's new Tony Franklin spread.
But, the real first game of the year is Carolina in Columbia. Here's what I want to see:

#1 - 17 points or more. Since 1997, South Carolina has scored more than 16 points once in the series. That was in 2000 when Quincy gave them five picks (and even with five picks, they scored 21). In the three losses during that period, UGA has scored a single touchdown. I foresee the same Gamecock offense as we've always faced, lots of cock, but not much fire. The Dawgs need 17 points or more, from a historical perspective, to get out of Columbia with a win.Those points won't be easy. Phil Steele has a high regard for Ellis Johnson's group and predicts that they will be greatly improved. I've even heard Steele saying that since Carolina shut Georgia down last year, which is true, this year should be even more of a challenge for the Dawgs against essentially the same personnel in Columbia. But, I disagree. Even if you take for granted that Johnson, a fine DC, will have his troops in top form under a new scheme, I think the UGA offense will be much better than what SC faced in Athens last year. The offense didn't start clicking until the Cocktail Party last year. Knowshon had a big game behind what was at the time a green offensive line. Stafford was good enough to win, but his receivers kept dropping balls. Mike Moore and Tony Wilson dropped key passes that could have turned the game's momentum to the Dawgs. You didn't see much of those two guys after that game and I don't recall many drops by wide receivers in the second half of last year. Bottom line: the Cocks will have a good defense just like last year's group, it's just that the Georgia offense will be better.

#2 - A couple of catches from A.J. Green. Everybody's heard the whispers from the practice field. Supposedly, Green is all that he was cracked up to be based on summer workouts. Will it carry over to fall camp when the pads go on? If A.J. gets playing time in the Carolina game, gets open, and catches a couple of balls, that means the coaches, the team, and Stafford are confident in him, even as a true freshman. It also means he'll have beaten out some upperclassmen for PT. If Green, or any other receiver, can turn into a legit threat to take pressure off MoMass, we should be tough to stop. A big game here for the South Carolina native will go along way toward validating the hype and scaring some future defensive coordinators.

#3 - A pass rush. Carolina's offensive line should be solid. They have everyone back from last year except the center. Last year's line gave up two sacks to a UGA defensive line that still lacked the cohesive flash of force and speed that almost killed Colt Brennan. This year, the prospective pass rush looks like last year, a solid group of returning tackles with two question marks on the ends. If we can rush off the ends in this game and apply pressure, I'll have all my questions about the defense answered.

#4 - Lots of visor tossing.

ESPN's Top 119 Programs for the Past 10 Years -- Georgia Comments
Over the past week or so, ESPN has been releasing its Top 119 Programs from the past 10 years (1997-2006). Fifteen of ESPN's college football "experts" and analysts ranked all 119 Division I-A programs, taking into account:
RecordTraditionsRecruitingFacilitiesCoachesAttendance and supportOther criteriaGeorgia came in ranked at #11. The Bulldogs are the highest program on the list without a national title.I initially wanted to use this space to argue that we’ve passed Tennessee (#10 on the list), and I still think that we have. If they were limiting the discussion to the past 5 or 7 years, I definitely believe that we’ve passed the Vols. But the National Title carries so much weight that over a 10 year horizon, I can see listing them above us.Why should UGA be ranked so high? Our overall resume:
Georgia’s 96 overall wins during that period is tied with Michigan and Florida State for 3rd in among BCS conference members. UGA has only two fewer wins than Texas who leads all BCS schools with 98 victories since '97.
Two conference championships in the nation’s toughest league ties UGA for #1 in SEC titles over that period.
Georgia's 3 SEC Championship game appearances is tied for 2nd in the SEC since '97.
Five seasons with 10 wins or more during the period.
The most bowl wins over the past 10 years in the nation (8-2 record)

A post on SI.com. Stewart Mandel's "mailbag." My thoughts below his response:

For two years you've been dodging my question. When will Georgia coach Mark Richt start to feel the heat for never making the BCS title game, let alone bringing a national title to Athens? It seems like every year the Bulldogs are overhyped and every year they load the NFL, but it never translates to the BCS Championship Game. What gives?--Jeff, Atlanta

It's not that I've been dodging it -- I just can't believe anyone would ask that with a straight face. The last time I checked, Richt has produced four 10-win seasons and two SEC titles in a six-year span. That's two more titles, by the way, than Georgia had won in the previous 20 years. Perhaps you'd prefer to go back to Jim Donnan? Or Ray Goff?
Not that Jeff represents the average Georgia fan (I hope), but I lived in Atlanta for five years, and it always baffled me just how inflated a perception people have there of that program's place in the national landscape. Keep in mind, because of my age, I didn't start following college football until about the mid-'80s, so I missed the Herschel Walker glory years. To me, Georgia was just an average, top-20 type program for most of my life. But to listen to their fans, you'd think Georgia was a USC or Notre Dame. They've won two national titles in their entire history, the last one coming 27 years ago. BYU won one more recently.
I think part of the problem is that many old-school Georgia types still view arch-rival Florida as their measuring stick. Yes, it's true, the Dawgs used to beat up on the Gators regularly in the '70s and '80s, but that changed in a big way after Spurrier took over Florida. (The Gators have won 15 of the past 17 meetings). Times have changed, and both because of Spurrier's legacy there and because it's the flagship school in the most talent-rich state in the country, Florida is now one of the elite programs nationally; Georgia is still more of a regional power. Which is not to say the Dawgs shouldn't beat the Gators from time to time or make an occasional run at the national title, but to hold Richt or any other coach to a national-title-or-bust standard is just plain ludicrous.


Somewhat fair criticism. although UGA fans are no different about having a warped sense of reality than any other big state university. Hard to believe UGA is a "regional" power though with 8 bowl wins over the last ten years (more than any other big program), and third most wins over last ten years of the major programs (UT - 2 more wins, tOSU - 1 more win). tOSU only 1 more win the last ten years playing in the Big X (wait I count 11?)...give me a break...REGIONAL!??!?. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2947988

Winning the toughest conference in the country two out of the last 6 years, the toughest division of the toughest conference 3 out of last 6 years, and finishing in the top 10 of final polls 5 out of the last 6 years hardly makes you regional. Is Michigan regional since they haven't won a championship recently? Who are the "national" teams anyway? Just LSU, Texas, USC, tOSU?
That being said, UGA has under performed under Richt, and I think he should feel some heat, but you put teams like tOSU, Michigan, USC (teams this slapdick considers "national" teams) in the SEC East during the same time span and see how "regional" they start to look.

On a side note, as far as the Gators, I think Mandel conveniently went from Spurrier to Meyer, leaving Zook years out.

By CFN writer Pete Fiutak:
Really, how good is the SEC?No one can deny it’s the best conference going at the moment. No one can deny that the overall speed and talent level is tremendous. The weekly drama is unparalleled, thanks to so many good match-ups, and the overall competition is so tough that it’s just about impossible to get through unscathed. So after the way Florida blew up Ohio State to win the national title, will the conference start to get every benefit of the doubt? It should.Of all the national champions since Florida State won in 1993 (remember that only the BCS champions count in our new world…sorry USC of 2003), only three finished with a loss. Take a wild stab at which league produced those three; yes, the SEC (1995 Florida, 2003 LSU, and 2006 Florida). You can understand why Auburn fans are still angry after their unbeaten team got left out in the cold in 2004. The SEC has proven time and again that when given the chance, it shines through on the highest stage. But really, how good is the SEC? To feed the ego a little more, the league has gone 7-1 in the BCS since 2001, with two national titles, and the lone blemish was Georgia’s 38-35 upset loss to West Virginia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl. In that same time span, the Big Ten went 4-6 (with Ohio State winning three of those), the Big 12 went 3-6, and the ACC was 0-6. Remember, it took USC losing to UCLA and a sizable portion of the voters to go against Michigan just to get Florida in the championship game. Maybe it’s time to start weighing the strength of schedule more when it comes to the SEC, and to realize that a one-loss team here could be the equivalent of an unbeaten team from another conference. That might especially be the case this season. Things have gotten even tougher, with normal bottom-feeders Kentucky and Vanderbilt now good enough to go to a bowl. Ole Miss and Mississippi State are even better than in 2006, when they were more than just competitive by the end the season. And then, of course, there are all the big-name programs. Georgia is getting better with QB Matthew Stafford improving, South Carolina will be better than it’s been in several years, Arkansas has the best running back tandem in the nation, Auburn will be typical Auburn with a fast, nasty defense, Tennessee will be strong again (as long as the receiving corps comes through), and LSU and Florida will open the season ranked among the top five teams in the nation. How good is the SEC? It’s still the best, and it’s only getting better.

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