Nevada Dawg

I certainly did not realize John Robinson was ever Duck. As for the notable USC football coaches, Robinson was the one I liked best although I sometimes chuckled at John Mckay's sarcastic wit that often got under opponents' skin (particularly Notre Dame).

Yeah Finebaum is a jewel isn't he? But his critique of Georgia's play yesterday was close to spot on, and the Dawgs do have to win out to see the playoffs. It will be interesting to see where the Dawgs are ranked by the CFP Committee on Tuesday night. Given the strength of their schedule, I suspect it will be somewhat higher than the 11th or 12th they fell to in the media polls. But even so, rankings are meaningless this far from the end in any poll (although the Ducks deserve their ranking at this point), and the Dawgs do need to win out to see the postseason promised land.

Today is the worst I have seen my Dawgs play on offense since the 2019 season. People far more of "insiders" than I say there is a major disconnect between Carson Beck and the OC this season. But that is only part of the problem. Georgia's OL got pushed around today with several guys nicked up and other playing out of position. Receivers keep dropping passes, and today, running backs developed a propensity to fumble, Simply stated, today they suffered a good old-fashioned butt-whuppin, And things get no easier. Next week now #7 and soon to be #5 or 6 Tennessee comes to town followed the next week by by Georgia Tech--and we all saw what they pulled off today. I am presently feeling the despair of a bad loss and it is hard, in light of today's performance, to say that Georgia wins both of these and manages to slip into the playoffs. I guess I'll just keep rooting and hope for the best. Go Dawgs!!

I'm with you Mike on this being an awesome year for college football. For the record, this doesn't feel like a championship season for my Dawgs, even though if things break just right it could happen. I agree that the center of the DL isn't up to Georgia's recent standards. The receiving core is also somewhat substandard, and Beck has been victimized with a higher percentage of drops than any of the top QBs. Both of these problems are being addressed in spades in the coming recruiting class, but as will be true with the Ducks, Georgia faces a big restocking/rebuilding year in 2025. Of course, if and when my Dawgs bow out, I am behind the Ducks all the way. Depth of experience is my biggest concern over a long playoff run. But given continued good fortune on the injury front, I expect the Ducks to make a deep run in the playoffs. Roster depth is my biggest concern over a long playoff schedule, but good luck on the injury front will make the Ducks a tough "out" for anyone.

We'll see how "down" the SEC is at playoff time. One reason that SEC teams might not pass the eye test is that they play each other and rarely have the luxury of playing three mediocres in a row as can and does happen in the B1G. While the very best teams in the B1G are very good. I do believe that Penn State would have its hands full with this year's Vandy. I think they are pretty good, but the fact of the matter is that Indiana hasn't beaten anybody notable yet this year. But I do expect them to win in Ann Arbor tomorrow. One thing I also suspect is that no one in the B1G would have come out of the season unscathed had they had to play Georgia's 2024 football schedule (playing what home games Georgia has at their home and road games at Tuscaloosa, Austin, Tx, and Oxford Mississippi--a notoriously tough place for road teams over the years. Georgia still has tomorrow's game in Oxford and top-10 Tennessee the following week. Whew!

Oh c'mon now. Doesn't it ever get miserable at Autzen on cold rainy November nights? The only time I was ever inside Autzen was on a coldish,damp windy evening in November and the team handled it well. Far better than I as we sneaked in (with the assistance of an insecure gate) and were not really dressed to watch a football game. As someone mentioned, Nike and the coaching staff will have the equipment to insure that OBD are at no serious disadvantage due to weather. i am far more worried about handling a fired up Camp Randall fan base as it is sure to be with an opportunity to upset the #1 rated interlopers from the West Coast.

Interesting to speculate on this but shouldn't we pause on passing pronouncements until a little later in the season?? In our new marathon-type years, we are about ready to leave the field for halftime. There are other names from other conferences that might also warrant consideration as well when all is said and done. One that pops into my head is first-year coach Mike Elko of Texas A&M who has turned that dumpster fire completely around and may well be a major factor in the SEC season this year. I am not arguing for him here, but just saying that he could well deserve consideration as COY if the Aggies keep manhandling people like they did with LSU last weekend. The guy at BYU is having a pretty fair season as well. A lot of these speculations may fall by the wayside as the long season progresses.

Going undefeated is not clearly a guarantee of anything this year except a well-earned great playoff seeding. In a 12-team playoff the playoffs are the second season. Roster depth is super important to compensate for late injuries. In some ways, the team with the healthiest and deepest roster could become the betting favorite, regardless of regular season record. I am not so presumptuous as to tell Coach Lanning how to coach and probably don't even need to say this, but it might be wise to rest essential players whenever possible and to get reps for more Ducklings down the stretch to better position the team for the rigors of a potentially arduous playoff run.

Back to Day on the hot seat: Most on the Talkin Dawgs site think that Day will survive most scenarios this year. But (and this won't happen) Let OSU lose again to Michigan for the fourth straight year and you should expect the Mayflower Van Lines truck in front of the Day household by January 15. Not my opinion but a popular prediction from Dawg fans who seem to have as much or more fun poking fun at Cryin Day as Duck partisans do.

I've said several times that I'd not be surprised by an upset few of us foresee. My biggest candidate, Camp Randall and the Badgers in November. Madison is a tough place to play and a long way from home with possible inclement weather and a rapidly improving (I think) bunch of nasty tempered diggers. Plus, Luke Fickell's teams are quite capable of being a thorn in anyone's sides. That's the major reason OSU would not schedule in-state Cincinnati when Fickell coached there. Again, I am not predicting a loss, just saying I'd not be shocked if it comes to pass. Go Ducks!!!

Welcome to the world of elite recruiting in big-boy football. Georgia has had more players drafted over the past four years than anyone, and many of the backups ,failing to crack the two-deep at their position, decide to portal out. Replacing tremendous roster attrition every year is part of being an ultra successful coach these days. Unfortunately, several of the disgruntled portal exits are from players who feel they are not being developed properly when, in truth, they haven't given it enough time. A relative minority transfer and flourish, but many do not. And, of course, some players are advised to portal if the coaches don't see them making meaningful contributions after two years. But my major point here is that very meaningful roster turnover is the rule rather than the exception among the elites of college football in the NIL era. Get used to it

Cignetti is the better coach IMHO. His teams are far more fundamentally sound than Prime's. I really don't expect Prime to stay around college football for long--as his boys muster out. we'll see if the fire still burns. After all, he could easily make a living continuing to yuck it up with Saban on all the corny AFLAC commercials.

Just a quick postscript here on Indiana. I watched them carefully for most of the game against Nebraska. So much for Nebraska's vaunted defense: The Hoosiers shredded it. I was more than simply impressed with the Hoosiers defense. They played disciplined assignment football and they DID NOT MISS TACKLES. These guys are going to be tough on everybody. This was the only sample of Indiana football I have so far for this year but I am really impressed. The Buckeyes had better be ready to play serious football when the Hoosiers come to down, Think losing in Autzen is a sting--wait for the feeling you will experience if Indiana upsets you in your own house. It is not beyond the realm of possibility, and I will not be shocked should the Hoosiers find a way to sneak into the playoffs. Now the IU partisans may have to hope that coach Cignetti and his family love the Bloomington area (it is a really decent college town) as much as Lanning does Eugene when the bigger boys from the power conferences come calling, as they almost certainly will in the next few years.

Me too. I think that the Dawgs would BEAT PSU by 15--20 points on a neutral field.

Trust me, Suckeye excuses are a part of Big-10 lore dating back at least to the 60s when they finally started losing their share of games to he PAC in the Rose Bowl.