THWG Thought of the Day: 11/26

Men, Georgie’s a fine football team, a very fine football team. Georgie’s bigger and faster than we are. Probably a little tougher, too.

That’s okay, because we’re smarter than they are.

Now, let me tell you what’s going to happen. That Georgie team’s going to come running out of the tunnel screaming and foaming at the mouth and smashing one another upside the head just to get warmed up.

We won’t do any of that. While they waste their energy, we’ll conserve ours. I’ve told you that they’re bigger, faster, and tougher than you. That’s true. But we do have that one big advantage.

We … are … smarter.

Think about what I teach you. Play field position. Play great defense. Make no mistakes on offense. Be great in the kicking game. Do that and we’ll keep it close.

As the game goes on, they’ll start to get tired because they wasted so much energy in the beginning. Because we’re smart, we’ll have plenty of energy left, and at some point in the fourth quarter they’ll make a mistake.

When they do make that mistake, we’ll get the football. And when that happens, I’ll think of something and we’ll win!

Coach Bobby Dodd, as told by Bill Curry

This Weekend in College Football: Week 13

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Ohio State @ Michigan (ABC): Ohio State has won seven straight, but for the first time that I can remember Michigan has all the advantages. They play good enough defense, and while their offense is spotty it’s more consistent than the Buckeyes’. Add in the fact it’s in the Big House and the Wolverines have to be a clear favorite.
  • Iowa State @ Oklahoma (FX): Iowa State rocked the college football world in Ames last weekend, however, this contest is in Norman. Oklahoma, provided they learned anything from Baylor, should take the Cyclones seriously enough so as to not have any trouble with them.
  • Georgia @ Georgia Tech (ESPN): To hell with Georgia.
  • Rutgers @ Connecticut (ESPN2): I guess Rutgers is going to win this? I dunno. No, really, I don’t.
  • Rice @ Southern Methodist (FSN): Neither of these teams are particularly good, but SMU is just slightly less bad.
  • Michigan State @ Northwestern (BTN): Spary’s already clinched a spot in the Big Ten title game, but they shouldn’t overlook the Wildcats. I don’t think they will.
  • Tennessee @ Kentucky (SEC): Oy. This is a SEC East slapfight. Both teams of these teams are also pretty bad, but again, the Vols are just slightly less bad.
  • James Madison @ Eastern Kentucky (NCAA Tournament; ESPNU): I like giving props to the NCAA football tournament, and this is the the only game on national TV. I know even less about these teams than I do even Rice and SMU, so I won’t offer up a pick.

12:30: Maryland @ North Carolina State (ACC): Maryland is still simply awful this year and NCSU has rallied in the second half of the year, making the Wolfpack an easy choice.

3:30:

  • Alabama @ Auburn (CBS): While this will likely be closer than the line, I just can’t really imagine a scenario where Auburn can win this game.
  • Oregon State @ Oregon (ABC/ESPN2): It’s the Civil War! This is an underrated rivalry game, but the Beavers have just had an awful time of it this year. I really like the Ducks.
  • Virginia Tech @ Virginia (ABC/ESPN2): UVA has exceeded every expectation for this year. While VPI still had legitimate offensive issues, it’s hard to see how UVA will prevail.
  • Pennsylvania State @ Wisconsin (ESPN): Well, Penn State has exceeded at least my expectations these past couple of weeks. But Wisconsin has regained at least some offensive swagger, though they were a little slow to really get going against Illinois last week. However, I just can’t see how Penn State’s offense can keep up.
  • Missouri vs. Kansas (@Kansas City, MO; FSN): Probably one of the last meetings of these two bitter rivals, but this KU team is simply awful. Mizzou all the way.
  • Vanderbilt @ Wake Forest (ESPNU): Vandy needs this to get bowl eligible, and for me it’s a difficult call to make. Both of these teams are undermanned the vast majority of the time, so it’s hard to say what will happen when they meet each other. I’m leaning toward Vandy though.
  • East Carolina @ Marshall (CBSS): The winner goes to a bowl game. The loser doesn’t. I think it’ll be ECU heading off to some far-flung C-USA bowl game.
  • Illinois @ Minnesota (BTN): It would be the most Ron Zook thing ever for them to lose to Minnesota, right? I’ll go with that.
  • Purdue @ Indiana (BTN): This is rivalry game, of sorts. Another game where neither team is very good but Indiana is just awful. I like the Boilermakers.
  • Duke @ North Carolina (ACC): Duke and UNC meet once again, but it’ll be another couple of months before they meet in a fashion anyone in the Raleigh-Durham area really cares about. I’ll take the ‘Heels.

7:00:

  • Florida State @ Florida (ESPN2): Florida can’t score, but sort of plays defense. FSU, meanwhile, just suffered a bad loss to Virginia. Provided FSU actually shows up for this one, though, I have to take the Seminoles here.
  • Mississippi @ Mississippi State (ESPNU): Houston Nutt’s tenure at Ole Miss will not go out with a bang, but with a whimper.
  • Texas Tech vs. Baylor (@Arlington, TX; FSN): Robert Griffin the III singlehandedly lead Baylor to their biggest victory ever against Oklahoma. Provided he’s not looking forward to a trip to Manhattan (New York, that is) he should have considerably less trouble against the Red Raiders.

7:30: Washington State @ Washington (Versus): It’s the Apple Cup once again! Udub lost to Oregon State somehow last weekend, but I have a hard time figuring out exactly how they could lose to equally morbund Wazzou. I like the Huskies here.

7:45: Clemson @ South Carolina (ESPN): I’ve been grappling with how to pick this game all week. South Carolina is now an offensive non-entity, but Clemson has lost two of their last three, and the third was a last-second FG win over Wake Forest. I’m sitting here in my family’s living literally scratching my head over my head over this. I think this is basically a toss-up. If Clemson shows up, then they have the offensive firepower to win. However, based on the last few weeks I have to think this will be a defensive struggle that favors the Gamecocks.

8:00: Notre Dame @ Stanford (ABC): ND may put up a fight, but I really like Andrew Luck and Stanford here.

10:00: California-Los Angeles @ Southern California (FSN): Boy howdy USC has looked good the last couple weeks haven’t they? And besides, it’ll make for good trivia for UCLA to represent the Pac-12 South next week at 6-6 and likely to be multiple touchdown underdogs.

THWG Thought of the Day: 11/25

Posting this video has been a tradition that I’ve done for each of the past three years here. With the recent death of Larry Munson, however, I debated whether not doing so again this year would be in good taste.

I’ve thought about it for a few days and come to the following conclusion: he was beloved by UGA fans for telling it like was, and all this video really captures is one of the very few times in the past 40 years in which his team has been underdogs to Tech.

And, in the end, I’m sure he’s not the only one who thought they were getting beat “like we were Wake Forest or Maryland or somebody”.

THWG Thought of the Day: 11/23

First, I just rediscovered this gem of an animated GIF from September and had to bring it back:

(From RjTheMetalhead, purveyor of fine single and multi-frame images.) Anyway, hoping to see a lot of that this weekend.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about Uga. No, not the school, the dog. New breed standards were recently developed for the English bulldog, and Uga’s breeders aren’t happy about that:

“I don’t care what the British do,” said Sonny Seiler, owner of the bulldog line that has become the most celebrated sports mascot in the United States.
Critics in England and in the United States, however, said breeders have transformed bulldogs and some other dog breeds into genetic monstrosities prone to chronic disease and sometimes early death.

 This what the original bulldog mascot, Yale’s Handsome Dan, looked like in 1890:

The underbite is there, but notice the overall lack of wrinkles and muscular frame. I’d paste an actual Uga here, but you’ve probably seen them before and if you haven’t: remember that the past few Ugas were not terribly mobile and generally spent most of their times at the game laying on a block of ice due to respiratory issues. There’s also been the notable short lifespan of the previous two. The current Uga, of course, isn’t actually an Uga because he’s not nearly in-bred enough and actually has a brown spot (because Ugas also have to have a perfectly white coat). Even by today’s degraded standards, other Bulldog mascots (think Miss State and the current stand-in for UGA) look relative healthy compared to the last few Ugas.

I swear, these “inbred redneck” jokes just about write themselves.

This Week in College Football: Week 13

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Tuesday
7:00: Miami @ Ohio (ESPN2): Ohio has already sealed up the MAC East, but nonetheless shouldn’t overlook their in-state rivals in Miami. I like the Bobcats here.

Thursday
8:00: Texas @ Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (ESPN): I’m not sure what Texas fans were expecting this year, though they have probably found this season frustrating nonetheless. Texas A&M fans, though, well, suffice it to say I’m not sure they expected to lose 2 games, much less 5. The culprit has been defense, especially their well-publicized issues holding a double-digit lead in the the second halves of games. That said, can the Longhorns even generate enough points to have a second half lead, much less a double-digit one? In their last two games against Mizzou and Kansas State Texas has only scored 18 points. Scoring has not been the issue for the Aggies. I wasn’t sure about this earlier, but now I just don’t know how Texas is going to score enough points to win this game.

Friday
11:00:

  • Louisville @ South Florida (ESPN2): The Big East will trend toward any scenario that makes there conference tiebreaker more complicated, so Louisville basically guaranteed to win this game.
  • Eastern Michigan @ Northern Illinois (ESPNU): Toledo needs a EMU victory here to have a shot at the MAC West, but I don’t think they’re going to get it.

Noon:

  • Iowa @ Nebraska (ABC): ALL HAIL THE CORN BOWL. No, really. That said, I think the Huskers can get back on track in the game and earn the world’s first trophy that features REAL CORN. (Just don’t tell Artur Boruc.)
  • Houston @ Tulsa (FSN): Tulsa may be the most formidable obstacle Houston has played to date, if for no other reason than because they’re the first team they’ve played that can keep up with them on offense. Of course, with a BCS now on the line for the Cougars, there’s just that much added pressure. I still like them to prevail, but this will be their stiffest test of the year, I think.

2:30: Arkansas @ Louisiana State (CBS): I’ve been saying this all year: the Razorbacks feature probably the only truly competent offense in the SEC. No other team in the SEC has been able to put up 30 as often against quality opponents. The problem is, the best team they’ve played so far, Alabama, held them to just 14. LSU’s defense is as good as Bama’s if not better. The question for LSU is, of course, the offense. They’ve been more potent this year, but the whole operation feels as though it’s just a few Jordan Jefferson fumbles or Jarret Lee interceptions away from total disaster. Do I think this disaster will occur in Baton Rouge Friday afternoon? No, probably not. This game is usually pretty great though, and comes highly recommended from me.

3:30:

  • Boston College @ Miami (ABC): Speaking of total disasters, if the Miami locker room is really disappointed about the Canes not going to a bowl game that’s exactly what this could turn into. Then again, I’m not convinced BC could score enough points to win this game even Miami didn’t even come out on defense at all.
  • Colorado @ Utah (FSN): Fun fact: Utah now has the inside track to win the Pac-12 South. Yeah. They should be able to beat a Colorado team that just lost 45-6 to UCLA.

7:00:

  • Pittsburgh @ West Virginia (ESPN): It’s the Backyard Brawl! And maybe for the last time in awhile. Against, for maximum Big East chaos I think WVU needs to win for the 4-way tie to be preserved, so that’s probably what will happen.
  • Texas-El Paso @ Central Florida (CBSS): I have UTEP winning for the purposes of my bowl predictions, so, yeah, I guess I’ll take the Miners here.

10:15: California @ Arizona State (ESPN): Cal has been awful on the road this year, with their only such win a 36-33 overtime win against a Colorado team that is usually paired with adjectives like “hapless”. Therefore, I have to go with the increasingly, erm, hapless Sun Devils here.

Have a good Turkey Day and weekend predictions will go up on Friday!