Landscapes

It's been a crazy 2-3 weeks in college football as many of the favorites and unbeaten teams have fallen. Of course, UGA was not immune to the rash of upsets, so they were looking to bounce back after a bye week.

Georgia got back on track by defeating a struggling Volunteer squad, 26-14. While Georgia dominated most of the game and almost all of the statistics a few turnovers and miscues by the Dogs, kept Tennessee's hopes alive.

I could go on-and-on about the Dogs and the game but here are my (hopefully) quick thoughts on the game and the team:

- While the blocking was better than against Bama, it still needs work and this kept our running game from picking up steam until the fourth quarter.

- Both FBs had a good games, especially Chapas, which was a nice counter balance to not having true TEs in the game.

- Stafford went over 300 yards for the first time at UGA, but also threw 2 picks- one looked like it was his fault the other looked like it was the WR's fault. Both INTs set up the Vols' only scores.

- UGA is pretty good team, but until they eliminate the bonehead plays and step up on the OL, they won't be dominant.

- It sucked to lose Vince Vance, our 3rd player to line up at LT. And it looks like he may be gone for the season. So we will likely start a OL that consists of:
LT - Sophomore
LG - Sophomore
C - True Freshman
RG - True Freshman
RT - Redshirt Freshman

- Holding Tennessee to 1 yard on the ground was great and important. How do you say, "you suck" in pterodactyl?

Georgia is now 5-1 and Tenn drops to 2-4 with no real win to hang their hat on. Next week, Georgia takes on the other team from Tennessee...

...Vandy, who maybe got a little caught up in their early season success and thus was "Croomed". The 'Dores had been just getting by in most of their games and this week, they just couldn't pull it off again. This loss is especially bad for Vandy because Miss St was a very beatable opponent. If Vandy had won, they would have had 3-4 chances to get to a 7th win and likely a bowl. Now, they must find 2 wins with the best chances coming against Duke, Kentucky and Tennessee.



The Vols weren't the only losers in orange this week. Like Tennessee, Auburn is trying to get its offense going without much success. But the Tigers seem to be regressing as they didn't reach 200 total yards of offense this week against a pretty awful Razorback team. Auburn has zero production from their QBs and their running game is inexplicably bad too. The Tony Franklin Experiment has certainly left its mark on the Plains. A 6-6 season looks very likely. Obviously, Tubberville will be shopping for another Offensive Coordinator for next season.

Auburn's ACC twin, Clemson, is also caught in a big orange tailspin. With Bowden looking to Will Korn to ignite the tepid Tigers next week. However, a bigger problem could be the underachieving run game. "Thunder & Lightning" have combined for about 700 yards this season with around 350 of that coming against lower-division foes, the Citadel and SC State. Both Bama and Wake completely shut down what was supposed to be one of college football's best RB tandems. Bowden had better work on his resume, because I think this could be the end of the road with 6 losable games ahead.

But it wasn't all bad news for Orange clad fans. The Longhorns ended OU's unbeaten streak and short stint at #1. Texas has done a nice job of flying under the radar, but now will wear a bull's eye on its back. And don't get too happy yet because a ticked off Mizzou squad will be looking for respect next week after falling to Okie State. And while there is sobbing in Norman and rejoicing in Stillwater, the Big 12 is still trying to find a team that can play defense. However, at this point, I would have to say that conference is the best in the nation right now.

Oh, by the way, all these BCS upsets are going to allow either BYU or Utah to creep in the back door, if they don't just kick down the front door themselves.