Trends and Georgia's chances on Saturday

thriller, Notre Dame is a "good" football team. My opinion. They are not the #1 team in the nation. Most of us know that. The winner of the SEC Championship in Atlanta will take them to task.

I predicted that USC would win, did not know that stupid was leading stupid in play calling. We sometimes think that Mike Bobo is bad, after watching Lane Kiffin calling plays for USC against Notre Dame, now I understand football a bit better. Tennesse folks should be "thrilled" (sorry about that) Southern California was the real "loser" in the transformation.

Media loves this, understandable. The media hypes keep their jobs with situations such as this. Have said it more than once on this board, bothers me a great deal that "Disney" is stepping forward and taking over College Football. Time is coming when "everyone" will pay or bend over for "Disney". Watched it happen in Central Florida, now . . . .

This old fart wants so much to go face mask to face mask with Notre Dame. This time, it is a run away, not like 1980. Notre Dame cannot win against either of the two teams playing for the SEC Championship.

Sad part of this is . . . . the losing team falls behind a Florida team that I would love to play again, just for giggles. Really don't like Muschamp, we will kick his butt again next season. This season started and most on this board were "hoping" for a "W" against Florida, times have changed my Brothers. Coaching staff has a grip on SEC Football. Willie Martinez once upon a time was Defensive Coordinator for our football team, now we have Todd Grantham, damn, just damn. Appears that Mark Richt grew up also. Regardless of what anyone thinks on this board, Mark Richt has changed and it IS noticeable.

Tried to stay away from this, but . . . . still waiting for a couple of posters that come up and tell us just how bad UGA football is if we should lose to Alabama. One in particular always shows his face when we lose a game. Same guy that said we would lose 4 or 5 games this season. Sorry, just know that we are doing some things differently, and have seen some posting opinions changes on this board. Me in particular. Carolina hurt, but I am a big boy and can see past the "hurt" to realize that we can get to a "different place".

Buc wrote: thriller, Notre Dame is a "good" football team. My opinion. They are not the #1 team in the nation. Most of us know that. The winner of the SEC Championship in Atlanta will take them to task.

Of all the teams that have seriously been mentioned in the national championship discussion this season (after about the 4th game or so, not counting USC's preseason hype), I believe Notre Dame is the worst.

Oregon, Kansas State, Bama, Georgia, Florida all > ND. Believe ND would have their hands full with FSU.

Pat Forde's friend the blogger is correct: Notre Dame - if they're lucky - would be the sixth or seventh-best team in the SEC this year.

Can they hang with either us or Alabama? We'll find out come 1/7, but I'm saying absolutely not.

Could they hang with Florida or LSU? I'd say, with an SEC schedule that included both teams, they might have gone 1-1 this year; I'm only saying that because both of their offenses were so bloody anemic. Could they hang with the Gators and Tigers year in and year out? Hell no.

Could they hang with South Carolina or A&M? Not with A&M. Not at all. Maybe with SCarolina, depending on which 'Cocks squad showed up. But I'm betting that, with a schedule that included Ole Miss, Mississippi State and SCarolina, Notre Dame might have gone 2-1 this year; they'd go 1-2 most years as an SEC team.

So yeah. Seventh-best in a good year. It'd take a great - and I mean GREAT - year for them to make a January bowl in the SEC.

Let's repeat January 1, 1981, Dawgs. First we gotta get there. And we can get there. Believe that with all your hearts.

Buc wrote: Tried to stay away from this, but . . . . still waiting for a couple of posters that come up and tell us just how bad UGA football is if we should lose to Alabama. One in particular always shows his face when we lose a game. Same guy that said we would lose 4 or 5 games this season. Sorry, just know that we are doing some things differently, and have seen some posting opinions changes on this board. Me in particular. Carolina hurt, but I am a big boy and can see past the "hurt" to realize that we can get to a "different place".

I know of whom you speak. And my buddy at work, the Notre Dame fan, is happy, but he's keeping a low profile. He knows.

There is a difference between being pessimistic and being negative. Pessimism is something that tempers disappointment. Pessimism, in moderation, can help you strengthen your weaknesses. Too much pessimism can create negativity. Negativity is a destructive force from which you learn nothing.

The individual of whom you speak predicted that we would have 3 or 4 losses by the time we played South Carolina. That turned out to be not only pessimistic, but pretty negative. And inaccurate. (And true to the absolutely CLASSY nature of this forum, he is still as welcome as any brother or sister we have in here!)

One problem with being negative (versus pessimistic) is that IF - and I say IF - we DO win the next two games - what do you say now? If you've been nothing but negative, how do you insist on the coaches being lame? Honestly, that's what the Notre Dame guy has been hitting me with this week - you guys STILL want to fire your head coach?!

I've had to re-evaluate my negativity towards the coaching staff. 11-1 is 11-1, cup cake schedule or not.

I think the fan's negativity (or pessimism, whichever) was a catalyst in creating the 11-1 season. I was calling for the staff to be fired because of their refusal to change and accept that football has progressed in the last decade. Well, they have changed. New DC and strength coach, Richt's demeanor has changed, Bobo's play calling has changed dramatically. Would they have changed without the internet and ways for fans to get their point across? Who knows, but yeah, I'm thinking Richt has gotten the message.

sadlerdawg, believe that Mark Richt changed when he had to release WM. Richt has that stubborness about him, was displayed for all to see in the WM case. Richt at that point was not looking past friendship in my opinion. Does not work in corporate America and College Football has fast become a huge part of corporate America. All one has to do is check the bottom line.

As far as the game in Atlanta. Alabama is not going to change anything. They will line up and play the way they always have under Nick Saban and Kirby Smart. That in my opinion is the key to Alabama's success. Not worrying about putting "new stuff" in every week. Saban demands that every play be ran exactly as it was taught on the practice field. When he is ahead by 30 or 40 points and a mistake is made . . . . all of us have seen Saban's reactions. Saban and Smart have athletes riding the bench that would start at many universities. Saban came, recruited, built the interior lines and the rest speaks for itself.

My hopes are that we are on the right path and stay that way. If the coaching staff can't or won't change, then we start hearing "hot seat". For good reason.

Best football on the defensive side is being played as far back as I can remember. Took three years but Todd Grantham is putting into practice some of the "lessons" he learned from Nick Saban and others along the way. Georgia is far ahead of where they were prior to "attitude adjustments" on the part of the coaching staff.

Notice that AM is not meeting with the press this week. Tells me one thing, he has locked himself in the film room and watching every piece of film he can get his hands on. That is who he is. These young men want to win.