Sporting News’ website quotes an Oregon football player comparing preseason rankings to dialogue in “Baywatch”: “You need them to keep the show going, but they don’t mean anything to anyone except nerds.”
Amid the bad economy, the bad politics, and the bad weather, college football season is especially welcome this year. Next weekend we can start talking about the action on the field rather than just the “Baywatch dialogue.”
As usual, I’m hoping for a good year for my Georgia Bulldogs. I’m hoping they finish closer to the predictions of Mike Hlas of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gazette, and Pete Di Primo of the Fort Wayne, Ind., News-Sentinel, than to those of Andy Staples of SI.com or Joe Giglio of my local (Raleigh) News and Observer. Hlas and Di Primo both picked Georgia to finish No. 11 in the AP poll. Staples predicts Georgia to finish 6-6. Giglio doesn’t think Georgia will make the top 25. Seth Emerson, who covers Georgia for the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer has the Bulldogs at No. 22. That seems about right to me.
I was optimistic this time of year the last two years – before 8-5 and 6-7 seasons. So it’s wait and see this year, although they should be better. We’ll find out soon enough with the first two games against Boise State and South Carolina, which could be the best two teams Georgia plays all year.
There are a lot fewer distractions this season than the last two years. This year there are no key player suspensions early in the season. That had to have hurt the team the last couple of years.
The defense should be a lot better. Last season they were implementing a new scheme with a new coordinator. They looked good at times last season, but tended to give up big plays. Everyone was learning new assignments and some guys were adjusting to new positions. This season there are talented guys with experience with some talented young guys giving the veterans a push.
The offense needs some playmakers need to step up. We need to use the tight ends more. There’s talent at wide receiver that’s mostly underperformed along with a couple of gifted rookies. There’s another gifted rookie at running back with a lot of potential. A major plus is a proven quarterback who only lacks some big-game wins.
Special teams should be strong, with a great kicker, punter, and kick returner. Some of our toughest games – South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Auburn – will be at home this year (with Boise State in Atlanta), and we don’t play Alabama or LSU. And hopefully, we’ll see improvement in late-game conditioning, a weakness in recent years and the focus of an off-season shake-up.
But the main thing Georgia needs this year is a change in attitude. They need to get tougher and more consistent. They need to make a lot more big plays than they give up. They need to win the big games and the tough games. The talent is there to do it.
I’m just hoping to see more discipline on the field this year. One of my biggest disappointments in recent years has been the late hits and unsportsmanlike penalities that doomed the Dawgs time and time again. It makes the team look like a bunch of punks and has killed or stalled momentum repeatedly.
Those penalties have been a problem, especially when they come at inopportune times. They did better on turnovers last season, but some were still costly last year. Let’s hope they get it together this year and play smart.