The Opponents

Just sitting here trying to keep from losing my mind with no college football going on. I decided to take a close look at Boise State from last year and see what sort of juggernaut we are about to lose to (according to the experts). Let's take a look at the games they won (they won a LOT of them, obviously).

Virginia Tech - VT went 11-2 last year - very impressive! However, they don't seem to play well early in the season. The week after losing to Boise State, they lost by an even wider margin to James Madison. You be the judge. Let down? Sure. Excusable? You be the judge.

Wyoming - they went on to a 3-9 season.

Oregon State - not Oregon. Went on to a 5-7 season.

New Mexico State - went on to a 2-10 season.

Toledo - went on to an 8-4 season. Good year for them.

San Jose State - went on to a 1-11 season. PHEW!

Louisiana Tech - went on to a 5-7 season. Actually not bad for them.

Hawaii - went on to a 10-3 season. They were undefeated in 2007 before they played us.

Idaho - went on to a 6-6 season.

Fresno State - went on to a 8-4 season - not bad, but lost to Ole Miss on the way.

Nevada - Oops. They lost this one. Nevada went 12-1. Good team, SEC caliber? You decide.

Utah State - finished 3-8.

So there you have it. Their opponents went a combined 74-72, and you can see above who they were. My conclusion is that Boise State is a quality team that played a relatively weak schedule. I have no idea how UGA would have done against that schedule, probably not as good as Boise State, but I think better than 6-7. I don't think Boise State would have done as well against ours either. JUST MY VERY HUMBLE OPINION.

My point is that even ranked 5th in the nation, Boise State is not a team that looks incredibly frightening to me. South Carolina is of greater concern, ability wise. BUT - one game at a time.

thriller interesting to say the least.

Along the lines of schedule comparison, not much to be debated.

As to Boise State doing well with the schools mentioned, therein lies the questions that we have to ask ourselves. We had the personnel to go undefeated with the schedule that BS played last year.

Turn that around and look at what we actually did. Colorado? UCF? Let down or inexcusable, know that I would call it a total collapse. VaTech lost the first two, went on to beat some really good football teams.

Excusable . . . . Two sides to this story. First year in the 3/4 and new DB coach along with a new Defensive Leader.

Another look could be . . . . out of oxygen after the first half.

Regardless of the direction that I look or choose to select, this year will answer a lot or all of the questions that any of us have. Put the cleats in the dirt and let's go.

Will say this, if our offensive line cannot get the job down against Boise State, Athens is not going to be a good place to look for a win against South Carolina. Also, their defensive line is loaded and probably the best in the SEC. East side for sure.

Good post, you always have interesting thoughts.

thriller, great and INTERESTING post.

Obviously Boise St plays a very weak schedule and they beat these teams convincingly and easily (exception Nevada.....btw, Nevada was a good team that would go 6-6 in the SEC).

The ONLY thing I fear from Boise St is their coaching. Imo, they have excellent coaching, make very few mistakes, if any, and never, EVER beat themselves. They are a very opportunistic team and capitalizes on others mistakes.

Man for man, we totally outclass them. Coaching staff, believe they are a better unit with a better game plan and will not make mistakes.

Bottom line for me.......1. we make 2-3 mistakes, we lose
2. we had better come out and punch them square in the mouth
3. take advantage of our kicking game (2 best in the country)
4. shorten the game buy establishing a tough, hard nose, grind it
out running game

Their coaching is great.....if ours can be JUST solid, we should win the game.

I think this win is a must.
Essentially a home game, top ten opponent, big stage.
We have to win this game, hopefully in convincing fashion.
May define our season.

I agree with each of you. wlayton, I especially agree with your four points. Notably, I sure hope we accomplish points 2 and 4. I think a severe-mouth-punching is definitely in order, and I think we have the personnel to deliver it. Then, just DON'T let down against South Carolina.

GATA! Go DAWGS!

averagedawg, there seems to be the same statement being made in many different blogs, threads and posts. Seems it is always about coaching. For example, above wlayton mentions coaching with the following statement.

Their coaching is great.....if ours can be JUST solid, we should win the game.

I can not agree more. wlayton is right on with that statement. Sorry to say. Teams can be coached a different way. Some coaches can take the Lombardi approach, or they can take the Richt approach. Only way to judge the difference in methods is by looking at the outcomes. Many say that young folks don't allow the Lombardi style in this day and time. If you believe that, then watch Saban jump all over his players on their way to the National Championship.

From this corner, I hope that we keep coaches like Grantham versus Willie. Winning football games is sometimes won, many times won in the locker room prior to playing the second half. What is wrong with our third and fourth quarters? I have an opinion.

Go Dawgs . . . Lots of Talent in Athens, try coaching them up. One thing for sure, Spurrier is getting his folks ready for the trip to Athens.

Spurrier turned Florida around, appears he is on his way to making the same foot step in Columbia. Here is hoping that we don't add another streak like we have had in the recent past against Florida.