It's no secret that I was (and still am) not a fan of Mark Richt's departure. Long story short I felt like he represented our University like no other. I wanted us to win a national title under him to prove that we could do it the "Georgia Way". But after last season Greg McGarity decided that we couldn't win the ultimate prize "our way", we had to do it like everybody else does it.
And so here we are.
I like Kirby Smart, not that he was waiting for my endorsement. He was my favorite player when we were both in college. His dad is one of my favorite coaches I've ever had the privilege to cover. He was the coach at Rabun County High School (Tiger, GA) when I started my first job in television in Toccoa, Georgia. A more genuine and affable coach you will not encounter. But he was also a great football coach. Apples, trees, etc.
My hope is that, in Kirby, we get the football coaching influence from Nick Saban and the people skills of his dad Sonny. Early reviews aren't good...but there's still time.
I say all of that to say this: the Richt firing was polarizing among the Georgia people. I know this because it split our tailgate crew (going on its 12th year) down the middle. Each of us felt passionately that Richt should have been kept or should have been fired. There was no in between.
But the time for that debate has passed. I don't believe you have to be anti-Richt to be pro-Kirby, and vice versa.
I will say this: Kirby Smart has to win a national championship. Soon. Maybe not this year, but probably next. Mark Richt did everything else BUT win a national title at Georgia and was shown the door for it. So if we're still trophy-less in five years...what was the point?
Is that fair? Probably not. But neither is firing a man who took your program to greater heights than it has seen in decades.
So without further ado, Georgia's season in 60 seconds:
September 3rd vs. North Carolina - The ACC is useless after Clemson and Florida State. UGA by 7.
September 10th vs. Nicholls St. - Game should be well in hand in time for the NASCAR-minded Georgia fans to be back on their couches for the Battle at Bristol.
September 17th at Missouri - Missouri's defensive line could give Georgia's offense fits. I think we win here, but "closer than the experts think", to quote the great Lee Corso.
September 24th at Ole Miss - Thus begins the one-two punch that will likely decide our season. I feel like we're gonna win one and lose one. And this one being on the road, I say we lose a close one.
October 1st vs. Tennessee - IF we can escape The Grove unscathed, this game will likely see College GameDay or SEC Nation setting up on Myers Quad. If we lose in Oxford we win this one and vice versa. Like I said, 1-1.
October 8th at South Carolina - Columbia has been our Waterloo for a few years now, but this Gamecocks team is abysmal. If we lose in Columbia this time we don't deserve to go to a bowl game, much less win the East.
October 15th vs. Vanderbilt - This would be a typical "stumble" game under Richt. This game, not the outcome but the point differential, will tell the difference whether it's out-with-the-old or same-old-same-old.
October 29th vs. Florida - Kirby turns the tide on the Gators and this series becomes "Must See TV" for college football fans for the next 20 years. We win 13 of them.
November 5th at Kentucky - Win. And by more than Vegas thinks.
November 12th vs. Auburn - My how quickly the mighty have fallen. From what I'm hearing out of The Plains Guz Malzahn may or may not still be the Plainsmen's head coach when this game rolls around. Either way weird things tend to happen in this rivalry. We win...but close.
November 19th vs. Louisiana-Lafayette - Please.
November 26th vs. Georgia Tech - The North Avenue Trade School scares me less and less every year. Sure, they're going to win on occasion (see also: 2014), but overall this hasn't been a rivalry in years.
Regular season record: 11-1, (7-1 SEC)
If all of this holds true, then we win the SEC East and advance to the SEC Championship Game...where we will lose to whomever wins the West (honestly I don't know enough about the West teams to make an educated guess but everyone seems huge on LSU).
Why do we lose? Winning the SEC and advancing to the College Football Playoff is too much to ask of a first-year head coach with a true freshman quarterback.
But next year...
In the meantime I'll be keeping a close eye on those Hurricanes.
Seems completely unbiased. I'm with you.
ReplyDeleteWill you be wearing a red shirt and khaki pants to the games?
That was my game day getup for a long time. I've changed my look in recent years!
DeleteSeems completely unbiased. I'm with you.
ReplyDeleteWill you be wearing a red shirt and khaki pants to the games?