Thoughts and takes to this point from the 2010 college football season:
•University of Georgia fans are coming unglued at the seams.
Perhaps the most unrealistic bunch in all of college football, Bulldog supporters are scratching their collective Vince Dooley memorials at how the season has turned out to this point. Perhaps one of my greatest forms of entertainment is listening to the post game call in show when UGA loses. So many coaching experts out there will let you know they have the answer to what is ailing the Bulldogs although in reality they don’t have a clue as to what they are talking about.
While Mark Richt does not deserve to be fired, one should keep in mind that he bowed to the pressure of unrealistic fans and big-money boosters when he cut lose several assistant coaches after the 2009 season. A change in assistant coaches is in no way a sure-fire guarantee of a turnaround.
I still believe UGA will have a respectable season but remember this is a program with as clueless a fan base as I’ve ever seen. Even winning out would not satisfy some of them.
•I’ve been surprised at the early-season struggles of Georgia Tech as well. The loss Saturday to N.C. State showed trouble in several areas. Johnson’s triple option offense is always going to have its critics despite all the success he’s had through the years. One area, which I wondered about going into this fall, was how several new coaches on the Georgia Tech staff would mesh. Assistant coaches never get the credit they deserve and Johnson has several new ones this season. The Jackets are running a new defensive scheme (similar to UGA) and often times drastic changes of this nature don’t work immediately because the personnel is not there to be successful.
•Perhaps Georgia Southern is on its way back to being a top Division I-AA program. First-year head coach Jeff Monken (one of the assistants Johnson lost from Georgia Tech) reinstalled the triple option down Statesboro way and the Eagles are 3-1 going into the bye week. The only loss came when Georgia Southern stepped up a level and played Navy to a 13-7 contest.
Athletic director Sam Baker has made some odd decisions during his tenure in Statesboro, but the one to hire Monken seems to be a positive one.
•It’s great to see Georgia State making its football debut in 2010. Led by coach Bill Curry, one of the true good guys in the cut throat business of college football, the Panthers are 2-2 with one loss coming in overtime to Jacksonsville State, the team which shocked Ole Miss earlier this season. I was able to attend the first football game ever played by the Panthers and there seems to be a true enthusiasm from the university, its students and from the city of Atlanta about the program. The state of Georgia is rich in high school football talent and Curry should have no problem keeping his roster stocked. Look for this program to continue to improve and do so at a rapid pace.
Other quick takes as we approach October and true football weather:
•Best quarterback: Ryan Mallet of Arkansas;
•Best coach at building a college program: Nick Saban of Alabama;
•Coach doing the best in an almost impossible situation: Dan Mullen of Mississippi State;
•Best play-by-play radio announcer: Wes Durham of Georgia Tech;
•Best play-by-play television announcer: Brent Musburger;
•Coach in an impossible situation: David Cutcliffe at Duke;
•Might be harder to turn program around than initially thought: Brian Kelly of Notre Dame;
•Would love to see him in the SEC or ACC: June Jones of SMU;
•Class Act Coaching Award: Phil Jones of Shorter University;
•Best journalists covering college football: Mark Schlabach and Tony Barnhart;
•Could defeat any team in the country: Boise State and TCU;
•Still broken with no hope of repair: the BCS.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. You can reach him at cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
