Thoughts on: Louisiana-Lafayette

Now that I've had a chance to rewatch the game on the DVR, here are my thoughts on the 2010 opener:

- Todd Grantham is awesome! All of the Georgia coaches were wearing white shirts on Saturday, except for Coach Grantham who sported a black Georgia polo. He was fired up when we made great plays, but even more fired up when Rambo blew his coverage on the 60 yard touchdown. I've never seen a crowd get so excited about a coach chewing out a player. It was the complete opposite of Willie.

-That was the most vanilla offense I think I have ever seen us run. The running plays were mostly straight up the middle, we did not run any zone reads, and even barely used the toss sweep. So while the rushing numbers were not fantastic, they were pretty good considering ULL was stacking the box.

- Murray is a playmaker. While the touchdown run may have not been the best decision, he still got the ball into the end zone. But the play that really impressed me was the incompletion to Logan Gray in the end zone. even if he would have caught it, there would have been a penalty, but it was a great scramble and throw. I also really liked the come back route by Orson Charles. Murray can definitely make things happen and with a more open playbook, he may out up some really big numbers this year.

- Jakar Hamilton is going to be great in the secondary. covers well, hits hard, and should have had two picks.

- Justin Houston was unstoppable. I see him getting the Pollack treatment from now on.

- The player who impressed me the most: Christian Robinson. Seemed to be everywhere, all game long. He has a bright future in the 3-4.

- My last thought concerns the AJ Green situation. I think it is horrible that the NCAA has not made a ruling. If he is going to be suspended, make that decision. even if AJ did not attend the party in Miami, the NCAA can deem any type of contact as a violation. Since it seems pretty clear that he was at least invited to the party, that may be what they are looking at. Or it could be something different all together. Either way, the decisiveness is crap. They made a ruling on Dareus at Alabama, why can't they make one on AJ.

All in, a great way to start. We didn't look flat like we typically do in these cupcake games. The defense looked great and the offense looked better on TV than it did in person. Next week is going to be a battle.

GO DAWGS!!!

Week 1 in the SEC: Cupcakes and Quarterbacks

It’s week one of the college football season and that means out of conference match ups and cupcake blowouts. South Carolina continues to act like an ACC school by kicking off the season at home on a Thursday night. The other major story around the SEC seems to be the QB position: Arkansas has a Heisman candidate in Ryan Mallett; Jordan Jefferson looks to finally live up to his potential at LSU; new quarterbacks at Georgia, Auburn, and Florida; Spurrier’s lack of faith in Stephen Garcia; and I still have no clue who will be under center at Tennessee. Here’s our take on this week’s games around the SEC:

Southern Mississippi at South Carolina
Spread: Carolina by 14
Story Lines: Lots of people have asked whether this will be the year that Steve Spurrier finally gets South Carolina over the hump. He’ll head into his first game without a clear picture at quarterback and missing his All-SEC tight end, Weslye Saunders. Southern Miss went 7-6 last season, but won’t have enough to beat the Cocks at home.
Prediction: South Cackalacky 38, Southern Miss 21

Miami (OH) at #4 Florida
Spread: Florida by 35
Story Lines: John Brantley replaces Jesus, I mean Tim Tebow, at quarterback for the Gators. The talented Florida team will have no trouble putting Ben Rothlisberger’s alma matter faster than he put down a drunk sorority in Milledgeville last summer.
Prediction: Florida 62, Miami 10

Kentucky at Louisville
Spread: Kentucky by 3
Story Lines: Both teams have new head coaches as the bluegrass state rivalry renews once again. Charlie Strong brought in a lot of recruits that should help turn around the Cardinals program over the next few years, but Joker Phillips has my new least favorite player in the SEC: Randall Cobb. Kentucky wins a close one.
Prediction: Kentucky 27, Louisville 21

Jacksonville State at Ole Miss
Spread: No line
Story Lines: It looks like it is back to the drawing board for Houston Nutt after Jeremiah Masoli was ruled ineligible on Tuesday. Ole Miss catches a break playing a 1-AA school in week one and should not be threatened.
Prediction: Ole Miss 42, Jacksonville State 17

Tennessee-Martin at Tennessee
Spread: No Line
Story Lines: Derek Dooley will get to beat up a directional school at home for his first game on the sidelines in Knoxville. Tennessee typically likes to put up as many points as humanly possible in its cupcake openers, so expect them to score often. Plus, their bench is so shallow, there are not a lot of back ups to actually put in the game in the second half (I’m kidding!).
Prediction: Tennessee 56, UT-Martin 10

Arkansas State at Auburn
Spread: Auburn by 31
Story Lines: New Auburn quarterback Cam Newton takes the helm with high expectation from the War Tiger faithful. Gus Malzahn’s offense put up a lot of points last fall, but Auburn fans hope for an improved defense in 2010. Newton should have a field day and put up huge stats and the Tigers will cover the spread…barely.
Prediction: Auburn 55, Arkansas State 23

Tennessee Tech at Arkansas
Spread: No line
Story Lines: Arkansas takes the field as the 2010 version of Ole Miss, with high expectations on the offense and quarterback Ryan Mallett. As Georgia fans saw last fall, Tennessee Tech is not just a 1-AA school but a bad 1-AA school. Petrino leaves Mallett in the game until the fourth but the Arkansas defense continues to give up too many yards to bad teams.
Prediction: Arkansas 63, Tennessee Tech 20

San Jose State at Alabama
Spread: Alabama by 37
Story Lines: Alabama opens its title defense without Heisman winner Mark Ingram, but it won’t matter. Crimson Tide fans have been saying that Trent Richardson is a better overall back anyway so now is the time to prove it. The Tide celebrate their championship and open the title defense with a big victory. Look for a solid day from quarterback Greg McElroy as well.
Prediction: Alabama 48, San Jose State 3

Memphis at Mississippi State
Spread: Mississippi State by 21.5
Story Lines: Memphis has not been very good since Deangelo Williams left a few years ago. People keep saying Mississippi State is on the rise under Coach Dan Mullen. We’ll see how they have improved. I expect a Bulldog victory, but not the blowout everyone expects.
Prediction: Mississippi State 34, Memphis 24

Northwestern at Vanderbilt
Spread: Northwestern by 5.5
Story Lines: After a narrow loss to Auburn in the Outback Bowl, Northwestern looks for its third straight winning season under Pat Fitzgerald. The Wildcats must replace star quarterback Mike Kafka and his 3000+ passing yards from a year ago. Vanderbilt enters the season with new coach Robbie Caldwell after the surprising resignation of Bobby Johnson. The line is close, but I see Northwestern winning this one easily.
Prediction: Northwester 35, Vanderbilt 21

LSU vs. North Carolina (at the Georgia Dome)
Spread: Line not released
Story Lines: North Carolina was expected to have one of the best defenses in the country this year with NFL caliber talent at many positions. But Agentgate threw a wrench in those plans. Throw in recent allegations of academic fraud and Butch Davis’ team that was so highly regarded is now covered in shadows. On the flip side, many think Les Miles may be finally leaving LSU after this season to take the Michigan job he should have taken back in 2007. The typically stout LSU defense was horrible in ’09, but should be more experienced this fall. Patrick Petersen may be the best defensive player in the SEC. Look for a close game, but if Jordan Jefferson can find a rhythm, LSU may win this rather easily.
Prediction: LSU 27, North Carolina 17

Louisiana-Lafayette at Georgia
Spread: Georgia by 28
Story Lines: The debut of Todd Grantham’s 3-4 defense and redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray highlight Georgia’s 2010 season opener. The Dawgs will be without running back Washaun Ealey and receiver Tavarres King, which will only result in more yards for Caleb King and AJ Green. Georgia should have a field day with the Ragin’ Cajuns, a mid level team from the Sun Belt Conference. Look for Marlon Brown and Kris Durham to also have big receiving days for the Dawgs and the debut of junior college transfer Jakar Hamilton at safety.
Prediction: Georgia 52, Louisiana-Lafayette 17

Happy week 1. GO DAWGS!!!

First Look: Louisiana - Lafayette

With a just over a week to go until the start of the 2010 season, here is our first look at Georgia’s opening day opponent, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.


Nickname: Ragin’ Cajuns – An appropriate nickname for a school in Louisiana. Apparently, they want to be called just Louisiana instead of Lafayette.

Conference: Sun Belt – Louisiana – Lafayette joined the Sun Belt conference in 1991. Did you know that Georgia State was a founding member of the Sun Belt? I wonder if their football program turns out if they try to rejoin in a few years. The Troy Trojans have either outright won or shared the conference title for the last four seasons. Georgia defeated Troy 44-34 in 2007, the last time the Dawgs faced a team from the Sun Belt.

Coach: Ricky Bustle – 2010 will be his 9th season as a head coach, all at Louisiana-Lafayette. He has a career record of 38-56 (including a 28-31 record in conference). His best season came in 206 when the team finished 6-5 and tied for the conference championship. Before coming to Lafayette, Bustle served as offensive coordinator at Virginia Tech from 1993 – 2001 (including the Michael Vick years).

2009 Record: 6-6. The Ragin’ Cajuns won six games to become bowl eligible for the fourth time in the last five season. Unfortunately, they failed to earn a bowl bid for the fourth time in five seasons. They played three games against BCS opponents, going 1-2 in those contests. They defeated Kansas State 17-15 at home on September 12 but then dropped games the next two weeks to LSU (31-3) and Nebraska (55-0) the next two weeks. They finished with a 4-4 record in conference play, including a 48-31loss to conference champion Troy in the season finale.

Returning Starters: 14 (5 on offense, 7 on defense, kicker, and punter)

Offense: Averaged only 22.2 points per game last season (93rd in the country). The offense is lead by returning quarterback Chris Masson, who threw for over 2,400 yards on 60 percent completions with 10 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. The Cajuns leading returning receiver is tight end Ladarius Green (533 yards). On the ground, the Cajuns are very inexperienced with Julian Shankle (only 38 yards in 2009) expected to be the starter. The offensive line will also be replacing three starters but will have senior Ian Burks, who has 32 career starts but will be moving from guard to center this fall.

Defense: The strength of Lafayette’s defense in 2009 was its ability to produce interceptions. They finished 13th in the country with 16 picks in 2009 and the defensive backfield returns 3 starters in ’10. As successful as the pass defense was running defense was not. The rush defense allowed over 180 yards a game last season, something Georgia backs should be looking forward to. Their best overall defensive player is senior linebacker Grant Fleming and every projected starter will either be a junior or senior this fall.

2010 Outlook: Once again, Louisiana Lafayette faces a tough out of conference schedule with match ups against four teams that made bowls in 2009 (Georgia, Oklahoma State, Ohio University, and Ole Miss. ) In conference, they are not expected to challenge reigning champion Troy and with only 5 home games, it looks like they are headed to another season that ends without a bowl game invitation.

What's Worse than a Tech Football Ad?

Georgia fans living in the Atlanta area have all seen the advertisements over the last few years for Georgia Tech football season tickets. The Yellow Jackets like to run these ads during Braves games and I find it pretty sad that they have to basically beg their fans to buy season tickets. As pathetic as these ads are, at least they look to be pretty well done with at least someone who took classes in marketing and advertising working on them.

On the other hand, you have advertisements for Georgia's first opponent of the 2010 season, Louisiana-Lafayette. I have heard that they are trying to brand themselves as just Louisiana..are they trying to profit off of LSU's name? I know they certainly do not have the budget of even an ACC school like Georgia Tech, but this is just pathetic:


Couldn't they at least have put some pictures up behind the people instead of a plain yellow background? At least they were right in calling the game against Kansas State a rematch (they had lost 45-37 the year before). The Ragin' Cajuns beat the Wildcats 17-15 (my god, how bad was K-State?)