SEC Power Rankings Week 3

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

The Tide crushed Arkansas 52-0 on Saturday. Even without Tyler Wilson, shutting out the Hogs is hell of an accomplishment. The Tide defense is easily number one in the country as of now, they have only allowed 14 points in three games.

2. LSU Tigers

The Tigers started slow against Idaho leading by only 14 at the half. That didn't last long as the Tigers finished the game in a 63-14 blow out. It's looking like the Tigers and Tide will be playing "The Game of the Century Part III".

3. Georgia Bulldogs.

The Dawgs have finally found their offense as they racked up 713 total yards versus the Florida Atlantic Owls. The Dawgs' defense looks suspect, but they have dominated the second half allowing only 17 points in three games. Once Rambo and Olgetree are back the Georgia defense is going to be one of the best in the nation.

4. Florida Gators

The Gators exploded in the second half versus the Vols in Knoxville scoring 24 unanswered points. It seems Florida has found it's offense with a huge 37-20 win over Tennessee.

5. South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina looks to be headed to another 10 win season and a New Year's Day bowl, but if Shaw continues to get hurt the Gamecocks could be in trouble.

6. Mississippi State Bulldogs.

After hammering Auburn at home the Bulldogs traveled to Troy and escaped with a 30-24 win. The Bulldogs look to be the top contender for third in the West.

7. Missouri Tigers

The new guys represented the SEC well in a 24-20 win over Arizona State. James Franklin does seem to be an issue and an injury to Franklin could cause hurt the Tigers' chances at a decent bowl game.

8. Texas A&M

After a heart breaking loss to the Gators, the Aggies whipped the SMU Mustangs 48-3. The Aggies also racked up 605 total yards.

9. Arkansas Razorbacks.

Tyler Wilson means a lot more to the Hogs then previously thought. Arkansas could be in for a long season if the issues with the o-line are not fixed.

10. Tennessee Volunteers 

As suspected the Vols are still a one dimensional team. That may work against an ACC team, but as Florida has shown will not work against an SEC team.

11. Auburn Tigers

The Tigers have gotten their first win and are crawling out of the basement with a 31-28 clipping of the WarHawks.

12. Vanderbilt Commodores

The Dores have fallen from a team with a chance at a December 31st bow to a team struggling to just get enough wins. The road does not get any easier as they will play in Athens against the #5 Georgia Bulldogs.

13. Ole Miss Rebels

I'll give the Rebels this, they were in the game versus Texas for a bit. But, Ole Miss just does not have the talent to compete with the Longhorns.

14. Kentucky Wildcats

Losing to Western Kentucky should get you an automatic booting out of the SEC. But, the SEC will keep the Wildcats for their basketball teams.

A Quick Look At Georgia's Second Half Performances

The defense has only allowed 17 points these three games in the second half.
10 vs Mizzou
7 vs Buffalo (Garbage Time)

They have outscored their opponents 81-24 in the second half. (14 Garbage Time Points)

Take away the GT points.
Defense has only allowed 10 points in three games in the second half.

Outscored opponents 81- 10.

Clearly we have gotten better in conditioning and depth

Once Rambo and Olgetree comeback, the Dawgs are going to be a very dangerous team. 

Isaiah Crowell Arrested

Isaiah Crowell was arrested last night at 2:20 am for three weapon charges with two the charges coming as felonies. Crowell has been charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possessing a weapon in a school zone and an altered ID mark. His bond was set at $7,500. No other information was immediately available. The two felonies have resulted an immedite suspension from the team.

According to Athens police reports Crowell was stopped at a road blockat 2:20 am last night. Officer Kristin Thorton reported smelling marijuana coming from Crowell's car. There was no marijuana found, however there was a 9-Lugger handgun found under the driver seat. The handgun's serial numbered had been tampered with which gives way to it possibly being stolen.

With three counts of weapon charges and two being felonies it seems like Crowell will be dissmissed from the team. This will the second year in a row that Georgia's top running back has been kicked off the team. Last season Washuan Ealey was kicked off the team after being suspeneded twice for disciplinary reasons.

With Crowell all, but gone from theam other back such as Kieth Marashall and Carlaton Thomas will have to setp up this season if Georgia hopes to get back to Atlanta.

Read more here:

http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2012/06/29/georgia-tailback-isaiah-crowell-jailed-on-weapons-charges/

Dawg Days of Summer: SEC Power Rankings

The Southeastern conference has dominated football as of late winning six striaght national titles. In the BCS era the SEC has eight of the fourteen BCS National Titles. That is a staggering 57 precent of titles claimed by the one conference. Lsat year LSU and Alabma not only ruled the SEC, but the national stage as well.

Once more LSU and Alabama look to be the top two teams of the SEC, but other teams are closing in on the two monster elites. Georgia is leading that movement as they went toe to toe with LSU and made the Tigers look mortal for 30 minutes. South Carolina and Arkansas are right behind the Dawgs, but both missing one key thing to bring them to the level of Georgia.

South Carolina is putting their hope in Connor Shaw who relied a lot on Alshon Jeffery last season. They also need Lattimore to perform like he did before his injury for the Gamecocks to take the next level.

Arkansas is an offfensive juggernaught with big tall receivers and a deadly running game. But, it stops there the Razorbacks lost thier head coch Bobby Petrino. The defense has also hurt the Razorbacks and has kept them from being on the level of LSU and Alabama.

Florida and Auburn are the dark horses of the SEC, both have the chances to pull an upset or two. Florida has a dominating defense and is under the second year of Will Muschamp. Auburn who was a very young team last year looks to bounce back and rise to the SEC elite.

1. LSU Tigers

The Tigers lose some starters, but are reloading and may have a better passing game with former UGA quarterback Zach Mettenberger.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide

The Tide look to repeat as champs this year, but before they can do that they have to travel to Death Valley.

3. Georgia Bulldogs

The Dawgs may just have the number one defnese in the country. But, to topple LSU or Alabama Murray has to learn to throw the deep ball and clean up his mistakes.

4. Arkansas Razorbacks

The Hogs may have lost their head coach, but the return Kniles Davis who missed all of last season.

5. South Carolina Gamecocks

The return of Lattimore is exciting for Gamecock fans, but fidning a replacement for Alshon Jeffery is a must.

6. Florida Gators

Florida's defense is a top ten no doubt, however there are still a few large questions unanswered in Gainesville.

7. Auburn Tigers

Auburn went up aginst the likes of Alabama, LSU, Georgia, and Arkansas and got hammered. On the brightside they did beat Florida and South Carolina.

8. Missouri Tigers

It's hard to gauge a team that has never played in the SEC, but with James Franklin the Tigers of Mizzou can certainly make some noise.

9. Tennessee Volunteers

Tyler Bray returns to the Vols and that gives Knoxville hope that they may make it to s decent bowl.

10. Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggies enter the SEC with former Big XII rival Missouri. Unfortunately for A&M they have play in the west.

11. Vanderbilt Commodores

Vandy nearly upset top SEC teams such as Georgia and Arkansas last season and went bowling. Expect the same from the latter as Vandy might go bowling, but will not challenge Georgia or any other top SEC team.

12. Mississippi State Bulldogs

It was not long ago that the Bulldogs of the west were out of the cellar now it seems they're back it in it.

13. Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky was bad last season they're going to be even worse this season. Just wait for basketball season Kentucky fans.

14. Ole' Miss Rebels

Ole' Miss will not win an SEC game this year and will struggle to win three games total. Oxford will not be the happiest of places this fall.

2012 Preview: South Carolina Columbia, SC

The Gamecocks have risen from a mediocre middle of the road SEC team to Eastern contender. For the past two years, South Carolina has contended for the Eastern crown of the Southeastern Conference. Steve Spurrier took the Gamecocks to their first ever SEC Championship Game appearance and first ever eleven win season in just two years. With Heisman contending, Marcus Lattimore coming back from injury there are many reasons for Gamecock fans to be hyped for 2012.

For the first time the UGA-USC game might be the biggest of the SEC East, and for the first time, it will be played in October. Last season South Carolina beat Georgia in Athens 45-45 despite Georgia being the better team. Stupid mistakes and costly turnovers decided the fate of the game. Even though South Carolina beat Georgia they failed to make it to Atlanta with losses to Arkansas and Auburn. This caused Spurrier to criticize the rules of the SEC, since his Gamecocks swept the eastern teams. His complaints were ignored and even received backlash by Alabama coach Nick Saban.

The Gamecocks return thirteen starters from the 11-2 team of last season. The main starters returning are running back Marcus Lattimore, QB Connor Shaw, and freshman beast Jadeveon Clowney. With high powered offense and an elite defense the Gamecocks are a dangerous top ten team. South Carolina can certainly challenge the Dawgs and will get a much needed edge being at home in Williams-Brice Stadium.

South Carolina has beaten the Dawgs the past two years and look to make it three in a row for the first time in the series. Although, the South Carolina beat the Dawgs in Athens last season don't expect the same again. The Dawgs mistakes cost them a win last season. With a more mature experienced Bulldogs team, South Carolina will fall.


Georgia 23 South Carolina 17

Georgia to play host to the USC Trojans December 22nd

The men's basketball team will play the USC Trojans on Saturday, December 22nd, 2012. This will wrap up the home and home series the two schools agreed to. Last season the Hoop Dawgs topped the Trojans 63-59 in Los Angeles.

With USC confirmed to play on December 22nd, Georgia's non conference schedule is almost complete. The Bulldogs are still seeking an oppenent to play the previous week on December 15th, 2012.

The Dawgs are currently 2-0 all time versus USC the first win comming in the 1972 Quaker City Tournament where. Georgia won the game in a close one 77-74.

Sources
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/19390936/pac-12-offseason-rundown

FINALLY!! We have playoffs.

The moment it was announced that both SEC powers Alabama and LSU would be playing in the national title game, college football nation went into an uproar. How could two teams from the same conference meet in the BCS Championship Game? The BCS was desinged to keep this from happening. Well, it seems the BCS has faulted everyone and has failed completly with it's job. It now seems that the conference commissioners have figured out what college football needs.

Playoffs!!! Every other sport has playoffs other then FBS college football which is outstanding to say the least. The old saying was no playoffs made the FBS college football unique and different from all other sports. When in reality all the BCS did was ruin college football and snub teams that may have been the true champion.

In the SEC, 2004 and 2007 are highly regarded as the season one of their teams got snubbed. In 2004 Auburn went undefeated in the regular season and won the SEC Chamionship Game. The Tigers were left out of the BCS title only to see USC hammer Oklahoma 55-19. USC would later have that title revoked after the infamous Reggie Bush incident. So was Auburn the best team in the nation in 2004? Nobody knows, but in a playoff we would know.

2007 was a crazy year many teams lost and upsets were numerous. This is what made the 2007 season so memorable. However, on the night before the bowl games were announced all hell broke lose in college football. #9 Oklahoma crushed currently top ranked Missouri 38-17 in the Big XII Championship Game. Meanwhile, A four win Pittsburgh shocked the second ranked Mountaineers 13-9.
Before Sunday the ranks of the top four were
1. Missouri 11-2 (Lost to #9 Oklahoma 38-17)
2. West Virginia 10-2 (Lost to Pittsburgh 13-9)
3. Ohio State 11-1 (Did not play)
4. Georgia 10-2 (Did not play)

Many thought with Oklahoma, LSU, and USC all ranked below the top five that Georgia and Ohio State would move to #1 and #2. They were half right, the Buckeyes jumped to number one and were secured a national title spot. Georgia on the other hand did not rise at all and not only did they not rise they dropped.

The BCS Bowl matchups were terrible with blowouts and only one upset with Kansas beating Virginia Tech.

These two seasons were enough for the SEC to get on board with the playoff idea, but the other conferences needed some more convincing. Fast foward to 2012 with the confernce commissioners a long with the Notre Dame AD meet to decide on a playoff for 2014 season and beyond.

Today it has been announced that decsion was a consensus vote that there will be a four team playoff starting in 2014. The two national semifinal games would be played within the existing BCS bowl games (Fiesta, Orange, Rose and Sugar) on a rotating basis, with the host sites being predetermined before each season. The national championship game would be offered to the highest bidding city.

The commissioners' consensus must be approved by the BCS presidential oversight committee, which meets June 26 in Washington, D.C.
Sources
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8078786/bcs-commissioners-reach-consensus-four-team-college-football-playoff

Five Reasons for a College Football Playoff

Since college football began, there was always a debate on who the true national champion was. Before the birth of the BCS in 1998, the national champion was selected by a committee in the final AP polls and other polls. This caused controversy since schools were fighting over who was that national champion of a certain year.

For example, both Georgia and Ohio State recognize 1942 as the year they won the national title. While it does not seem to have the two schools fighting each other, but it has the fans fired up. So in 1998 the BCS was put into college football, and many thought, it was the answer. The nation soon found out that the BCS was also extremely flawed. The 2007 was a monumental mess and nightmare for supporter of the BCS and was when playoffs started to heat up.

Both #1 Missouri and #2 West Virginia lost to their opponents causing mass shock and confusion among the nation. Meanwhile, #3 Ohio State and #4 Georgia were celebrating believing they were in the national title. Ohio State did get in, but the question was who would play the Buckeyes.

There were the fourth ranked 10-2 Georgia Bulldogs the seventh ranked 10-2 LSU Tigers, and other 10-2 teams such as Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, and USC. Shockingly though LSU jumped five spots after a close win over Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game. Georgia who was ranked fourth dropped a spot and Missouri did not even play in a BCS bowl.

It was an absolute train wreck and ended in one as well LSU beat up on the Buckeyes 38-24, Georgia dominated Hawaii 41-10, and USC crushed Illinois in the Rose Bowl 49-17. These games were the national title and BCS bowl games so the fans were in complete disbelief that the committee picked these match ups.

Last year seems to be the final straw LSU and Alabama who both play in the SEC battled it out for all the marbles. The rest of the nation were in an uproar that two teams from the same conference were in the national title. The word now is that there will be a playoff system by 2014, and that is fantastic news.

#5 All Teams Get Chances

There was talk that this new form of playoffs might ruin any chance the smaller schools have at getting in to the national title. I say it is the opposite, while it will still be difficult for a smaller school it will not be impossible. If Boise State was to finish 12-0, the Broncos would most likely finish in the top five. So there is an outside chance that they get into the playoffs. Of course, the NCAA needs to adopt the SEC's version of playoffs.

#4 It Doesn't Ruin Bowls

If your team tries hard, but falls short of the top four ranking, well the bowls could still be there. The teams that do not make the "Football Four" could still play in the bowl games. So there will still be a good number of teams rewarded with a bowl game, however only the top four get into the playoff and a chance for the national title.

#3 Less Controversy

There will always be controversy on who the true champion is in any sport, not just college football. However, the public outcry will dimmer should a playoff be put in place. Less fans will complain and more teams will be given a shot at a national title.

#2 We Can Keep The BCS Bowls

The Rose Bowl is the biggest thing standing front of a playoff, but it may just be hosting a playoff game come 2014. The NCAA puts the top four teams in two BCS bowls Rose and Sugar one year, and Fiesta and Orange in the next. Once the playoffs expand to eight or sixteen teams more bowl sites might be used.

#1 We Come Closer To Finding A True National Champion

Before the BCS we had a group of people decide who wins the national title, and they NCAA finally decided that did not work. So they incorporated a #1 vs #2 system known as the BCS. It did not work either so we will now have four teams with a chance. I do not think a true champion will be realized until an eight or sixteen team playoff. The four team playoff is an excellent way to start off in the right direction.

2012 Preview: Tennessee Athens, Ga

Entering his second year many believed that Derek Dooley would have his Volunteers competing for an Eastern crown. Yet, in a year where many SEC coaches have had great success, Dooley failed hard. Tennessee finished a miserable 5-7 and an even more horrifying 1-7 in the SEC. With another poor season many Volunteer fans are now doubting if the son of legendary UGA coach Vince Dooley can truly get Tennessee back to Atlanta.

The Vols started out the 2011 season with a 3-1 record with their only loss coming to a Florida team that at the time was ranked 16th in the country. They ran into a surging Georgia team at home and lost their second SEC game 20-12. The next three games were devastating to the Vols with losses to Alabama, LSU, and South Carolina. The were finally able to pick up their fourth win against Middle Tennessee State, but were hammered by Arkansas 49-7 the following week. Tennessee was still able to beat their instate rival Vanderbilt 27-21 in overtime, but lost to Kentucky in a heart beaker 10-7.

The Volunteers defense took a hit after losing defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox and linebackers coach Peter Sirmon. The Volunteers return 20 starters including QB Tyler Bray and RB Tauren Pool. There was some controversy earlier in the month which involved receiver Da'Rick Rogers who was arrested. Many believed form him to be kicked off however Tennessee has decided to keep him on the team 

Tennessee and Derek Dooley hope to finally get things going in 2012 and compete in the East once more. While the Vols return a good number of starters and some talent they still will not be able to capture the Eastern Crown next season.

  Early Prediction-Georgia 31 Tennessee 14

2012 Preview: Vanderbilt Athens, GA

Vanderbilt was a bit of a surprise this season finishing 6-6. before losing a tough game to Cincinnati 31-24. The Commodores record maybe mediocre, but they were able to challenge teams such as Georgia, Arkansas, and Florida. Vanderbilt also blasted teams such as Army, Kentucky, Ole' Miss, and Wake Forest. Normally these wins would not be so impressive, but since it's Vanderbilt we were surprised.

First year coach James Franklin was able to take Vanderbilt where they have rarely been and even tough they lost the Liberty Bowl the Dores will see brighter days. Vanderbilt takes a hit from losing players such as Larry Smith, Casey Hayward, and Udom Umoh. However the return the electrifying Jordan Rogers is enough to get Dore fans excited.

The Dores went into Wake Forest (6-7) and hammered the Deacons 41-7, that win was the best win of the season for Vanderbilt and gave reason for Vandy fans to believe. Vanderbilt's losses came to some pretty good teams in Georgia, Arkansas, and Alabama. But, there is one loss that hurts Vanderbilt fans more then any other loss could. The 27-21 overtime loss to rival Tennessee that ended in controversy.

In one of their more painful losses Vanderbilt fought Georgia to the bitter end and the Dores were one Drew Butler tackle away from stunning the Bulldogs. The Commodores can give the Dawgs trouble, but this in Athens and Vanderbilt won't be able to play four quarters against these Dawgs.

Early Prediction-Georgia 35 Vanderbilt 17

2012 Preview: Florida Atlantic Athens, GA

Florida Atlantic was one of the worst teams in the nation last year coming very close to going 0-12. The Owls won on a field goal to beat UAB 38-35. That was only win of the entire season as they were easily handled by almost every other team they played. Their first ever and only head coach Howard Schnellenberger retired before the season started. Cal Pelini who is the former Nebraska defensive coordinator and bigger brother of Bo Peilini took the job.


Georgia and Florida Atlantic played three common opponents last season in Auburn, Michigan Sate, and Florida. FAU lost to those teams 30-14, 44-0, and 41-3 respectively. Georgia crushed Auburn 45-7, lost to Michigan State in triple overtime 33-30, and beat Florida 24-20. The best win for the Owls was their win of the season. Their worst loss came at the hands of Middle Tennessee who finished 2-10 I might add,  38-14. 


This should be another easy win for the Dawgs as they will cruise past the Owls with no problem.


Early Prediction Georgia 56 Florida Atlantic 3

2012 Preview: Missouri Columbia, MO

Georgia gets the honor of being Missouri's first SEC conference game and they also head out to Columbia, MO to receive that honor. The Tigers finished the season with an average 8-5 record, but along the way the challenged some pretty good teams. They nearly beat both Oklahoma (38-28) and Baylor (42-39) and topped rival Texas A&M 38-31 in overtime. The Tigers were also able to embarrass the Longhorns 17-5 in a sluggish game.

The Tigers lose a total of 16 starters to graduation or the draft, but keep a very mobile QB in James Franklin who was the team's second leading rusher last year with 981 yards rushing and 2865 passing. They also return a workhorse running back Henry Jorsey who ran for 1168 yards, but did not score a touchdown oddly enough.

The Tigers best win was the 17-5 beating of the Texas Longhorns in which the defense pitched a shutout and also kept Texas from even getting into the redzone. Their worst loss was an early overtime loss to now 6-7 Arizona State in Tempe, AZ.

While Missouri will not be as strong as they were last year they could still give the Dawgs problems as the Tigers will look to prove to everyone that they can play in the SEC. However, the crushing defense of Georgia should be too much as this looks like a win as of now.

Early Prediction Georgia 31 Missouri 21

2012 Preview: Buffalo Athens, GA

Eh, not much to say about a team that looks like an exact copy of Kentucky. They look like Kentucky with their uniforms, helmets and even the logo, but it stops there. The Bulls finished a miserable 3-9 in the Mid-American conference and are under the third year of Coach Jeff Quin. Quin has little history being head coach at Central Michigan and Cincinnati for a total of two games. His two seasons at Buffalo were pretty terrible a total of 5-19.

In 2011, the Bulls best win was a 38-37 win over the eventual Idaho Famous Potato Bowl Champions Ohio Bobcats. Their worst loss was a 41-13 thrashing by 4-8 Miami (OH) and they also were 0-6 on the road. This game should be an easy win unless all the starters suffer some horrible accident or all get suspended.

Early Prediction Georgia 45 Buffalo 7

An early look at the 2012 UGA Schedule

In 2011 Georgia was handed what seemed as one of the easiest schedules in the SEC and they rode that schedule to a 10-2 finish and an SEC Championship berth. What the Dawgs accomplished in the first half of that game stunned the nation.

Georgia stopped and outright dominated the number one team in the nation and should have been up 21-7 at the half due to dropped TD passes it was 10-7. The second half ended in misery and showed what was wrong with the team. The Dawgs collapse in the second half against good teams and they look to improve on that in 2012.

The Dawgs are looking like a pre-season top 10 team and even some such as ESPN and CBS have them as a possible top 5. And, why not the defense has been tremendous and most of the starters are returning the biggest being All American Bacarri  Rambo who can be considered even more dangerous then Boykin.

With expansion causing the SEC to take in Missouri and Texas A&M the Dawgs get another easy schedule and are the favorite to win the East. The following is the 2012 schedule and I will be previewing the schedule game by game.

THE SCHEDULE 


Buffalo 
@ Missouri 
Florida Atlantic 
Vanderbilt 
Tennessee 
@ South Carolina
bye week
@ Kentucky
Florida (Jacksonville, FL)
Mississippi 
@ Auburn
Georgia Southern
Georgia Tech

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