What's the point? Picks of the week

Yeppers, Georgia stinks this season. Just like last year. And in 2006. Three out of four years of bad football. Wow. It's great to be a Georgia Bulldog. But hey, at least we still have Joe Cox as our starting QB, playing out the string so we have ZERO momentum from the QB spot heading into 2010, which will now be YET ANOTHER rebuilding year.
But at least we'll know it is coming, so perhaps that will give us hope next year that every win is an unexpected one and thus really cool. Losses? We will know they are coming.
OR you could make next season count by playing the freshman QB now to get him some reps, but CMR is a smarter man than I am...Except that he doesn't know to hire Kirby Smart apparently.

Let's move on to the picks....

UCF @ #2 Texas. Colt McCoy looked BACK last week against Okie State. But then again, that was against Okie State. And this week he's playing UCF. COLT IS BACK BABY! Wifey's Boy. Roomie, Drink!

Northwestern @ #4 Iowa This is an ESPN game, so no dance party with Pam Ward. It feels like we SHOULD have a dance party for this one though, doesn't it? Screw it, LET'S HAVE ONE ANYWAYS! EVERYBODY DANCE after the Hawkeyes take down the Wildcats.

Syracuse @ #13 Pitt. This was on my list of potential upsets of the week, however I just have stopped believing (Sorry Journey) in Greg Paulus. I don't believe in Wanny, but that freshman tailback they have is pretty dadgum good. Making everyone forget about LeSean McCoy. (Who? See you forgot about him!) Take the Pitt Panthers.

#21 Wisco @ Indiana. This seemingly would be PERFECT for a Pam Ward dance party, but alas the Big Ten Network has the rights to this game. DARN. Actually, ESPN2 is relieved and will be airing the World Series of Poker from 2006 instead. Sadly, the WSOP will draw bigger ratings. Take the Badgers in this one. Fulmer to Indiana!

Louisville @ West Va. Does anyone else find it disturbing that people in Morgantown FOR FUN light couches on fire and throw them off of their roofs? They do! Seriously. Expect burning couches in Morgantown Saturday night. FULMER TO LOUISVILLE!

Purdue @ Michigan. I read where Charles Woodson is disappointed in Michigan's season, after the hot 4-0 start, the team is now 5-4. Ummmm, CWood, how about you be more disappointed in your current team's freefall from potential Super Bowl sleeper to Top Ten draftee in 2010. Just saying. Michigan stops the bleeding at the Big House and maybe Woodson covers somebody this week....maybe to both, neither is likely.

South Carolina @ Arkansas. The Gamecocks fell from the rankings after losing to those ugly unis last week. Arkansas meanwhile doesn't get much sympathy from folks in Atlanta as long as Petrino is still the head coach. Spurrier v Petrino. Wow. Two evils there, but at this point, people just feel bad for Spurrier. Poor guy. It's like he forgot how to coach. Either that, or he took advantage of Ray Goff and Auburn on probation and Alabama with Mike DuBose. So was Spurrier really ALL THAT GOOD? He never owned the state of Florida, save for 1996, but even that season he lost to FSU in the regular season. Was he just the beneficiary of circumstances and a prime location? Yeah, he did a bunch of winning, but he was going against Fulmer as his main rival....Hmmmm. Take the Gamecocks while you ponder.

KU @ K-State. So Mangino benched the best player KU has had in 30 years last week with the Texas Tech game still within reach? Doesn't he realize that without Reesing, Mangino would be WORKING at Arbys instead of just thinking Arbys? Come on FAT MAN. Keep Reesing in the game and you'll beat the 104-year-old coach on the other sideline.

Maryland @ NCState. Speaking of fat people.....Sorry. that was bad. Maryland is a trainwreck this season and I really cannot see them winning another game this season. Seriously. Will the Fridge be unplugged? Paging Coach-in-waiting Franklin....Pick up the white courtesy phone. And take the Wolf Pack. Wooooooooooooo!

Furman @ Auburn. The Fighting Josh Coles travel to the Plains and will face old Gus Gus and Gene Chizik. The Tigers got a big win last week against the Rebels of Ole Miss and now they get Furman as a tune up for next week. GREAT, Auburn is starting to play well RIGHT IN TIME for the Georgia game. AWESOME. Throw in the fact that Randall Cobb is now playing QB for UK.....Georgia is going 5-7. AWESOME! Willie Martinez for President!

Texas A&M @ Colorado. The hot-seat bowl. The losing team fires their coach immediately. The winning team....waits until the end of the season to fire their coach. Looks like A&M is waiting a few weeks.

Navy @ #22 Notre Dame. With just a few more wins, Notre Dame will be BCS-eligible, they'll just need to be moved into the top 14. If the choice is between Notre Dame and TCU for a BCS spot, give me the Irish. If the choice is between Notre Dame and Ohio State...give me the Irish. But if the choice is between Notre Dame and USC, Notre Dame can SUCK IT. I'd actually root for Florida to clobber Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. That would be exciting. Hey ND, way to play freaking NAVY to get into a BCS bowl game. Tradition my bunghole.

#9 LSU @ #3 Bama. Alabama doesn't have much of an offense this second-half of the season apparently (despite the fact that teams know the run is coming so you'd think play-action to Julio Jones would be open) but LSU hasn't had an offense all season. And LSU put up only 3 at HOME against Florida. Bama will find the offense in this one. But you know what? Les Miles is dang proud of his football team.

#8 Oregon @ Stanford. I wanted to put this one down as my upset of the week as well, but then decided against it. As much as I love Screech's cousin, I think he is losing his recruiting class for 2010 and it will affect him this week. (How, I don't know. Maybe he should show these kids the guest spot he did on SBTB:TNC...wait, that was my generation and these kids aren't impressed by that but they would be if he appeared on american idol?) Ducks quack out a win.

#16 Ohio State @ #11 Penn State. I thought the Terrelle Cryer shirts were he-lar-ious. But Penn State then took the shirts off the table and claimed that they weren't doing it to make fun of Pryor but instead to galvanize the student body. (Umm, you were doing that by making fun of Pryor.) But you know what? I'm NOT making fun of Penn State, mainly because I don't want Penn Cake calling me up to heckle me again. Penn Cake don't worry, I'm taking PSU.

Wazzou @ #18 Arizona. If the Wildcats keep this up, I'll be able to wear the Arizona golf polo that my in-laws got me during football season too, not just basketball season. Wazzou on the menu? Heck, put the Wildcats down for a move up to No.16! Go Wildcats! Sorry F-I-L, looks like Stoops is sticking around for at least another year.

#19 Okie State @ Iowa State. No Dez Bryant because he lied to the NCAA officials. Won't matter against Paul Rhodes's Cyclones. PS, Rhodes' hiring may have been the worst knee-jerk hire since....Bill Stewart? Larry Coker? Oh YEAH? You took our coach? We'll take your former DCor and make him OUR head coach! TAKE THAT! Good one Iowa State. Seneca Wallace isn't walking through that door for this game. Mike Gundy wins this one.

Duke @ UNC. ESPNU is airing this one. Just for fun, shouldn't the Worldwide leader have Dickie V as an analyst for this game? Just for kicks? Come on.....come on....you know he'd be JUST AS GOOD as Chris Doering. I'm just saying...Take Duke, setting the stage for a HUGE showdown next week against GaTech!

Memphis @ Tennessee. Lane Kiffin needs this one to shore up the Vols as the best team in the state of Tennessee for recruiting purposes. Since apparently that is all he cares about. He beat Georgia and it was good for recruiting. He beat SoCar with those ugly jerseys and it was good for recruiting. That is all this guy cares about. Not coaching, no he is a puss on the sidelines. He is the guy that buys NCAA 2009 for his PS3 and plays dynasty mode so he can recruit, then simulate the season through so he can recruit more. (Well, I used to be that guy too...) Vols win because it will be good for recruiting.

FSU @ Clemson. Did I seriously read where Bobby Bowden was considering bringing in Tommy Bowden as his DCor for next season? Seriously? HA. That would be rich. BANG. What was that? Oh, it WAS Jimbo Fisher.....Take Dabo at home with Christian Ponder banged up. (See I do offer a bit of real news.)

UConn @ #5 Cincy. This is one of ABC's regional Games of the week? Really? UConn @ Cincy? WOW. I guess it is better than a rerun of Ugly Betty. Cincy wins with ME at QB. That's how good Brian Kelly is.

#12 USC @ Arizona State. I found it really distracting when I went to Tempe last year to see the entire student section doing The Shocker hand gesture at all times in the student section. They were claiming it was a hand gesture as in the Sun Devils' pitchfork. USC will be baffled for the first half, snickering and whatnot, but the Men Of Troy recover and blow out Dennis' boys in the second half.

#24 OU @ Nebraska. Could OU lose a fourth game? They are almost Georgia bad. Wait, though, they are actually prepping for their future with a redshirt QB in there, getting invaluable reps instead of leaving him on the bench to just watch and try and learn by osmosis. Nevermind. I think the Blackshirts get a victory at home because Bo Pelini OWNS the Sooners!

Week after Halloween specials....Reese's Cups on sale at Kroger!
Lock of the Week. Vandy @ #1 Florida. No Brandon Spikes because he wanted to sit this one out on his own. Rumor has Urban Meyer maybe sitting this one out too. (doubtful that will happen. If it did, Urban would call two timeouts next season while starring down the SEC Commish after he wrote about it in an autobiography.) Going against Vandy, unless Florida imported GT's defense, the Gators have this one locked up. Shoot, Florida can even put that FB #15 back there at QB for the entire game and still win....(Being handed something. That IS their QB? Wow. He certainly doesn't throw like one? Being handed something else. WHAT? The Jags are considering taking him in the first round next year? Well they DID take Matt Jones in the first round once.)Take the Gators.

Upset of the week. UVa @ #17 Miami. The Cavs closed down The OB with a win over the Canes. I refuse to say that THE U is back, especially after they lost to Clemson. UVa will win this one to temporarily save Groh's job, but it won't be enough. Take the Hoos and lose Groh.

Local rooting interest.
Wake Forest @ #10 Georgia Tech. Remind me why talk radio here in Atlanta is speculating about the Yellow Jackets in the national title game? Umm, did you think Florida and/or Alabama would lose twice in the next few weeks (because a one-loss SEC is better than a one-loss ACC, for the record)? Did you think Texas would slip up? Did you think you'd jump over an undefeated Iowa? Now if Texas loses, and Iowa loses and Bama loses this Saturday and then LSU beats Florida in the SECCG, then PERHAPS Tech can ENTER the conversation that will also HAVE to include Oregon. Tech wins this one going away in a rematch of the much-watched 2006 ACCCG! (Sadly, I DID watch that game, but only because there was just ONE TV at mellow mushroom on Ashford Dunwood road. And then I proposed to my wife the next day! Nice story there.)

Tennessee Tech @ Georgia. On PPV, which means Fletcher WON'T BE WATCHING. I'll listen to the game while picking my cousin Ross up at the airport, but that's about it. No AJ Green and YES on Joe Cox. That plus PPV is a recipe for me NOT watching...or even going to a sportsbar to watch. THAT, Ladies and gents is the state of Georgia football.

One game I WILL be watching (Other than Lassiter v Roswell tonight on gpb.org/football) is the Redskins v Falcons at the GA Dome. Now, do the Redskins have a chance, no. But I LOVE giving it to Falcons fans, asking them how many picks Matty Ice has thrown the last two weeks while reminding them that the Redskins boast a top 10 defense. ALBERT HAYNESWORTH, MUCH? Won't matter. The Campbell/Zorn combo is too much for my Skins to overcome. But you KNOW the Body is sweating. Dude, if the Falcons lost this one....season over. You NEED this one. Don't get too tight.

Have a great weekend. Enjoy this Atlanta weather and log on to gpb.org/football for Lassiter/Roswell with the winner getting the Region 6-AAAAA crown. Plus on handsome man will be providing color. That's me.

Free Preview of Score Atlanta's Around The Dial!

Just because I love you here on Sportsbyfletch, I'm giving you a little taste of the back page of Score Atlanta. Here is this week's Around the Dial. Be sure and pick up Score Atlanta at any metro-area QuikTrip, Kroger or Blockbuster.

History was made in Atlanta last week as a groundbreaking partnership was entered by two of the city’s big-time sports players. Sports Radio 790 The Zone and WGCL-CBS Atlanta announced a partnership that will lead to 790 The Zone assuming all on-air sports responsibilities for the CBS affiliate. The deal will include all local and national sports coverage for the station. According to a press release sent out by the AM sports radio station, The Zone will provide all on-air content and hosts for CBS Atlanta newscasts and original sports programming. Some of CBS Atlanta’s sports programming includes the SEC Wrap-up Show, CBS Atlanta Dawg Show and Sportsline. The Zone has already been integrated into the sports programming of CBS Atlanta as Mayhem in the AM co-host Steak Shapiro was featured alongside Gil Tyree on CBS Atlanta’s Countdown to Kickoff for last Monday night’s game between the Falcons and the Saints. Andrew Saltzman, President of 790, said of the partnership, “This dynamic alliance will only strengthen our ability to connect to the Atlanta sports fan.”
Senior VP and General Manager of WGCL-TV Kirk Black commented, “the experience and personality of Atlanta’s premiere sports talk radio station will add valuable resources to CBS Atlanta.”
For years 790 The Zone personalities have appeared on CBS programming. Chuck Smith, Chuck Oliver, Nick Cellini and Brandon Adams, among others have appeared on CBS Atlanta Saturday nights. While this partnership is official, these two groups have seemingly always been using each other. I will be interested to see how this progresses and if anything truly changes.

This past Monday, the Falcons traveled to New Orleans and CBS Atlanta hosted a pregame show called Countdown to Kickoff, along with the game as NFL television rules state that the game must be allowed to be shown over the broadcast air in the markets of the teams involved. CBS used ESPN’s coverage for the actual game but used its own staff for the intro. Besides Tyree and Shapiro live at the Super Dome, Mark Harmon and David Wilcox were live in studio in Atlanta. I’m not certain who Wilcox is, though a graphic stated that he is a former Tight End. The crew did a reasonable job setting up the action, better in my opinion than 11 Alive did with the preseason coverage of the Falcons.

Speaking of the Falcons, I cannot underscore how much of a treat it is to hear Wes Durham call the Falcons games. His pace is on target, never getting too quick to bypass the action and force the listener to wait and never too slow to cause the listener to hear the crowd and wonder what is happening in the game. And as a Georgia fan, his call of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets makes me jealous that the Dawgs don’t have as polished of a play-by-play man.

Florida Gator linebacker Brandon Spikes has been put through the ringer following his eye gouge of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey in last Saturday’s contest. ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning discussed it at length with Mike Golic chastising Spikes, saying that his actions had no place in college football. ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption also spent a segment discussing it and several AJC writers talked about it in internet blogs/columns. Florida head coach Urban Meyer told reporters that he initially was going to just move on but the overflow of negative publicity led to Meyer suspending him for the first half of this week’s Vanderbilt game. Meyer and quarterback Tim Tebow remarked to a Florida newspaper that Spikes was doing just what Georgia was doing. The difference though is the former Heisman winner’s claim didn’t have the video evidence like the clip that showed Spikes inserting his hand into Ealey’s helmet and moving it around as though he was the fourth Stooge, after Larry, Moe and Curly. Interestingly enough, Ealey told an Atlanta newspaper that he did not believe that Spikes should have been suspended.

Finally, 680 The Fan has seemingly cornered the market on Friday nights in Atlanta with its extensive high school football coverage. After its game of the week (which 790 and Score Atlanta partner up to provide as well), 680 runs the Friday Night Scoreboard Show from 10 p.m. until midnight. The show is great in the sense that scores are given about every ten minutes, however the panel is a bit crowded. The talented Steve West is the ringmaster but he has to run point with three other co-hosts, and sometimes the discussion can get off course and opinions are missed just because of the sheer number of voices involved. The show is a fine production and it makes up for the void left by the disappearance of High School High Five from 790 The Zone. The only drawback is the one extra voice that could be removed to allow for more of a flow.

Big B's Top Ten Recruiting classes to this point

Score Atlanta's Brian Jones offers his look at the top ten recruiting classes for CFB's Signing Day 2010 as they stand right now. For more of Big B, tune in Monday night to Sports Radio 790 The Zone from 8-10 pm for Score Atlanta's Official Visit, starring ME, Scott Janovitz with Brian Jones.

10. Notre Dame

9. Tennessee

8. USC

7. Georgia

6. Alabama

5. Florida

4. LSU

3. Penn State

2. Oklahoma

1. Texas

On a side note: I believe with a strong finish, Georgia could move up into the top 3 or even 3. Scott Janovitz has Texas No.1 with Florida No.2 and UGA No.3
Myself, I have 1. Bama 2. Texas 3. Florida (doing it with defense) 4. Georgia.
I was hoping Georgia would be able to pull in the Ed Clements kid from Miami, but just last night he committed to The U and will join Storm Johnson at RB. If Georgia can pull in Juwan James and maybe pry away either Rajion Neal (RB) or Blake Sims (QB/WR/S) from Miss State and Bama, respectively, and maybe grab Jeff Luc, an uncommitted Florida LB prospect, this class could be one of the top ones nationally.

But once those great players get on campus, who will be coaching them up and can they improve......

Midweek Entertainment report 11/04/09

Someone ELSE trying to make money off Obama, Barbie is a vampire?, A thief to co-host Oscars, Freddie has a girlfriend (he must have met her on the playground) and Kristin yells at Audrina....

Ladies and gentlemen, IT'S THE MIDWEEK ENTERTAINMENT REPORT

(and the crowd goes MILD!)

Apparently someone ELSE is trying to make money off of Obama now, only this guy is sorta related to the President. Obama's half-brother has written a semi-autobiographical novel (that is how Yahoo! described it) about his painful childhood with an abusive father. Now in Obama's book, he didn't talk about the father, but the half-brother decided to. GREAT. That is JUST want I want to read about. A guy whining about his bad childhood. Maybe I can read the book while listening to Everclear.... Honestly though, are people REALLY going to buy this book? The guy is in China promoting the book. Interesting how he was out of the public eye until the chance to make money came along....

I saw on yahoo! where the Barbie people decided to jump on the Twilight craze and they made a Twilight Barbie. So she is a vampire now? Sucks for Ken and I guess Skipper will never grow up now...

It was announced that Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin will co-host the Oscars. I think Alec Baldwin is pretty funny in roles like that (even though I don't agree with his politics) and he should be fabulous. Steve Martin, however, isn't funny to begin with (hasn't been since the FIRST Father of the Bride and even then.... The Jerk? Enh) AND he stole my brother's CMA for writing the liner notes. I will mute Martin EVERY time he speaks. Take THAT Steve Martin!

On The City last night, Freddie invited Sammy and Whitney to the Hamptons to visit and Harry (Freddie's younger brother who is WAYYYYYYYYY closer in age to these chicks but has a mullet) would be there. Roxy invited herself (shocker!) and was pretty rude the entire time to Sammy, Harry AND Freddie. When they went out dancing in East Hampton (because West Hampton is WORST Hampton!) Harry got shite-faced and not only hit on Whitney (which you could tell she kinda liked) but also revealed that Freddie had a girlfriend. This was something that Freddie didn't deny and in fact he said it shouldn't matter. Freddie, these chicks are half your age. They don't understand that. They think that you should be going steady with them, walk them to their locker in between classes and whatnot. And calling yourself Freddie makes you seem TOO young. I know you were trying for 20s but you went back to 6. You are 35...deal with it.
Also, Erin had to follow up and do Olivia's job in with interviewing bloggers which Joe Zee seemed surprised about. Ummm she did the job that Olivia didn't do. Just say Thanks For Getting the Job done and move on.

Finally on The Hills (or The Bu as is should be called) Heidi had a birthday where she got two new dogs (what happened to the old one her EX got her in season 1?). Also Kristin and Audrina started arguing over Justin Bobby. Why Why Why? Brody is available ladies. Argue over him. Seriously.
I thought it was funny when JB said to Kristin, "I hope you talk to Audrina and I want her to tell you everything." Why don't YOU just tell her everything. Like how you aren't Italian. The Episode ends with Stacie (apparently no longer a bartender but now Kristin's friend...why is Kristin friends with the help?) telling Kristin that JB's talking to Audrina was strike three.

Tonight we've got The Ruins where if the Rookies lose anymore, they might need to go ahead and give the money to the champs since all of the challengers will all be gone. And it looks like Derrick goes off on Johnny Bananas. It is about time someone does. Johnny Bananas is starting to wear out my last nerve. Just saying. And too bad Wes was sent packing.
It needed to happen because there were too many Champs, but I wish Wes could have stuck around. Get rid of Darrell or Big Cy. They add NOTHING to the show.

Have a great rest of the week everybody

Georgia High School review and preview 11/3/09

Several regions were clinched over the weekend and a nickname was assigned in the next to last week of the regular season. Running backs again ruled the week and a huge upset highlighted the week, but before we get too far into this thing, let me start by saying Jabari Johnson of Stephenson was a treat to speak with last night on Score Atlanta's Official Visit on Sports Radio 790 the Zone, and though I'm a Georgia fan, I'll be rooting for this kid next season at UK as he plays either FB or LB. What a great kid, great personality and he sounds motivated to bring UK up to the level of Tennessee and Georgia in the SEC. His Stephenson Jaguars knocked out Greenbrier 48-13 with Jordan Tarver throwing 4 TDs and The Colonel Raymond Sanders scoring three times in the victory. (Sanders, headed to Kentucky, get it?) I will refer to Sanders as The Colonel for the rest of the season just to see if it can catch on.
Last night on the show, my co-host Scott Janovitz and I proposed the topic of Stephenson's defense to GHSFD's Todd Holcomb perhaps being better than Grayson and maybe, with Northside's loss, could Stephenson be No.1 instead of no.5. Holcomb agreed that the sheer talent and D-1 prospects makes the team special, but he was concerned about their experience and lack of a region. I still think that their defense could go up against anyone's in the state and with the Colonel running hard, as he has all season long, Stephenson could be a major player to watch come playoff time.
In the on-going battle of the Rajion/Rajaans Bennett got the better of Neal last Friday and McEachern's Rajaan rushed for 256 with 5TDs to help the Indians beat KMHS 42-14 to clinch the school's first region title in roughly a decade. The Pistol is really working and Bennett should be getting harder looks by the bigger schools. COuld UK be so lucky as to get both Bennett AND The Colonel? As for Rajion Neal, dude had three touchdowns and 99 yards as Sandy Creek took care of bidness, but numbers dictate that Bennett get the nod this week. I'm sure I'll get the Rajion bandwagon in a huff over that, but Bennett is doing it at a higher level, for the record.
Now to the big upset. Warner Robins trailed 20-0 entering the fourth quarter before scoring three fourth quarter TDs to edge out Northside (don't call them Northside-Warner Robins) 21-20. WR's reward? They have to beat Lowndes (No.22 in the NATION) now or hope Valdosta loses to Houston CO (3-6, 0-6). Sorry Warner Robins. PS, Valdosta is doing this with a lameduck coach in there. Tomberlin will get hired and will turn a program around. What does Valdosta expect right now? Too much methinks.

Up in Gwinnett County, Grayson was off but South Gwinnett clinched the No.2 spot with a 17-14 win over Brookwood. Aarom Wimberly posted 146 yards on 24 carries with 1 TD. The QB is more than serviceable in Kent Rollins 13-22, 194 1 TD to last year's leading receiver in the county, Jonathan Krause. SoGwinn could really surprise a team or two and John Small is a good enough coach to diagram up an upset or two come playoff time.
Peachtree Ridge and North Gwinnett both won (20-10 over Norcross and 34-0 over Duluth respectively) to set up a winner-take-region matchup at NoGwin this Friday. Chris Sawdey (Sawney?) rushed for 101 plus 1TD in the win over Norcross but Paul Lombardo scored once and the kicker Watts hit on two field goals. On the flip side, CJ Uzomah didn't play, but Soph Scott Hosch did and he ran for two scores, threw for one and Cordero Dixon helped out with a 53-yard PR for TD. In the "Battle for my neighborhood" I have to think that NoGwinn's big OLine holds an advantage. Brad Roby is really matched by Dixon in terms of playmakers in the special teams department.

In Cobb, Lassiter got 231 yards and 4 TDs thru the air from Hutson Mason and 1 rushing TD from the QB to rally from a 21-7 hole to win 42-35. And it was the defense that did most of the rallying as the Trojans recovered the second half kickoff, then Rip Rowan intercepted a pass and the Trojans stopped a fake punt to comeback. Kudos to Lassiter and to Roswell (who also rallied to beat Walton) to set up an exciting matchup for the REgion6 title. (A game you can watch on gpb.org/football)

Moving on to 4A, I was uber-disappointed when Ken Malcome didn't play in SWD's game against Tucker (I mean, I pushed for the game for GPB and when I got to call the game, Malcome wasn't even playing, "tweaked ankle ;)" ) Oh well. What I DID get to see was TJ Stripling, even undersized, command a constant doubleteam and open up the Tucker backfield for Terrence Smith, the Junior DE on the otherside. I was also impressed with Jabari Carney, the DE/DT who just wreaked havoc all night. The most-telling thing about SWD was that even without Malcome, the Panthers still whitewashed the defending state champs 26-0. I don't care what the rankings say, SWD is the best team, just like how Tucker was last season and at the end, I'll be the one saying, "I told you so."
Speaking of I told you so....Westside Macon lost to TCC 27-10 after leading 10-7 at the half. Hmmmm, looks like WSM is already starting the swoon that I called for. I guess the only thing I did wrong was say that it wasn't going to happen until the playoffs. Oops. But I was still right.
North Clayton's Clarence Jackson was at it again: 163 + 3tds rushing and 1passing TD out of the Wildcat. Jackson is a beast and he deserves to be on my list for best RBs in the state and he's making a case for SBF Player of the Year for Class-AAAA.
Kudos to Dalton for the 35-11 win over NW Whitfield as the Catamounts improved to 7-2. Yet another year with a winning record. They remind me of Cal Ripken Jr. a little bit. Stryker Brown led the Catamounts with 113 rushing yards from the QB spot and 4 TDs. Shaquon Moore was the more traditional RB with 121 yards and 1 TD in the win. He's going to be one to watch as well come playoff time, especially with Watts Dantzler paving holes on Offense and Jalen Fields clobbering opposing QBs from the DLine side.

Hey Storm Johnson committed to The U. Good for him, the self-proclaimed best RB in the state. He interviewed him last night and he could be JUST WHAT MIAMI NEEDS: A big back to carry the load for Whipple's offense and Jacory Harris running around as a QB. But we'll have to see. He is getting numbers, but his team isn't doing as well as Loganville likely hoped when he moved over from Buford. If Johnson isn't asked to be a leader, Miami will probably be better.

Heading down to AAA, Isaiah Crowell...best junior in the state. Done. 230 yards with 2 TDs as Carver beat LaGrange 27-7. That gear he threw it in during the Baldwin game....unlike anything I've ever seen before.
Gainesville is still likely the team to beat from the northern part of the state, but I'd LOVE to see that matchup in the Dome. The Red Elephants against the Tigers. Blake Sims is one heck of a player and the defense might be able to contain Carver...we'll see.

In Class AA, Da'Rick Rogers finally broke out with 216 receiving yards, including a 96-yard catch for 6 plus a 33-yard TD run. Nash Nance and Rogers will be hard to beat, but if anyone can.....
it could be Buford. The champs seem to be getting things back together after the loss to Lovett. Buford's 21-0 win over Westminster was the fifth shutout in its last six games. The Wolves forced seven turnovers, five being INTS...from a defensive secondary that lost D.Carr to Gainesville. The rematch of last year's championship game could be a really good one, unlike last season.

In Class A, Kyle Karempelis rushed for 154 yards. Done. Ballgame. Wolves win, likely for the next 10 years. With the move down to Class A, Wesleyan will win EVERY SINGLE state championship EVERY YEAR in EVERY SPORT. Almost unfair, just so they could get away from Buford.....Disappointing.

This week, North Gwinnett will host Peachtree Ridge for one region title while Lassiter hosts Roswell for another. Colquitt Co can win a region title with some help, but first Rush's boys must knock out Northside at Northside. Not likely.
Warner Robins will cling to its small playoffs hopes with a game at Lowndes. I'd take the Vikings there as Valdosta gets into the playoffs for its lameduck coach.
In Region 8-AAAAA, Parkview's streak of consecutive playoff appearances is on the line at Brookwood. Winner between the Panthers and the Broncos is in the playoffs while the loser's season is donezo.

Should be a great final weekend of the regular season. Log on to gpb.org/football to check out Lassiter v Roswell with the Region 6 Title on the line. I want the ref to actually give a belt to the winner after the game. That would be awesome. Coverage with Charles Ward and myself begins at 7:15 with the kickoff at 7:27 this Friday.

Well at least the uniforms looked good...

Yep....it has happened. Georgia has become the butt of the uniform jokes along side Notre Dame's green shirts and Oregon's ever-changing attire. Whether it is black jerseys, the potential of red pants for a CODE:RED, or now black pants with black helmets, it is just head-scratching. It is bushleague. It is amateurish.

Here is what I am really worried about: Did this team really need EXTRA MOTIVATION such as a uniform change to go out and try to beat a team that smoked you 49-10 last season en route to a national championship? REALLY? Hey coaches, you couldn't get your team up enough with just that, plus the time outs? You had to go throw some black unis in there too?

That I don't care about though. Did we look high schoolish? Yes. But apparently, the kids like this stuff, just like how they like helicopters and limos in recruiting, so maybe at age 28, I'm just an old foggy.

No, what I care about is the performance from the players in those snazzy pants and helmets. You let Tebow and Co waltz down the field at 9 yards per play on the opening drive. Then after you start running the ball well, you get a DUMB penalty to kill your drive. (One of 8 penalties in the first half. NICE JOB COACHES) Then Tebow and Co go BACK DOWN THE FIELD THRU THE AIR and score again. I thought Florida couldn't pass the ball? Riley Cooper looked like AJ Green out there.

(PS, has anyone seen AJ GREEN? HE'S MISSING!)

After you get to within 4 at 14-10, you let Aaron Hernandez pick up a 3rd and 16. (Was Keith Brooking out there? Oh, no, he was off flapping his arms for someone else's play....). Florida grabs a field goal when they could have been off the field and then CMR goes into a shell with 2 minutes left. Urban....doesn't. He jams one down the Dawgs throats and it was 24-10 at the half.

Game over.
Joe Cox made sure of that on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, his first INT of 3. Logan Gray wasn't much better. He was a deer-in-the-headlights out there. Oh, and he too threw a pick. At the end, I could just laugh. well cry. BUT AT LEAST WE HAD SNAZZY BLACK PANTS!

Overall, the penalties were a joke. You can say all you want, "Oh we need to cut down on them." Screw that CMR, pull them OUT OF THE GAME. You commit a stupid penalty, you SIT THE REST OF THE GAME.
And defense..... 41 points, but 7 of those scored by a Pick-6. 34 points. 30+ YET AGAIN. Paul Mac once said that SBF was good at getting people Run (Felton and Teixeira) but I should try and use my "power" to get someone hired. So here goes. BRING KIRBY SMART HOME. SHELL OUT THE MONEY AND BRING HIM HOME! Seriously though Willie, things aren't looking good right now.
As far as Bobo, the running game was seeming to work but you cannot keep running when you have dumb penalties called. That isn't on Bobo. What is on BooBoo is the lack of going to AJ Green. I know he got hurt in the third, but COME ON. You should have fed him the ball all in the first half.

Finally, that last pick should have been the last pass of Joe Cox's career. Joe, thanks for sticking around, but I am going to have to agree with the AJC's Mark Bradley. Play Aaron Murray. I don't care that it will waste the redshirt year. Play him NOW so that he can maybe have the second season that Stafford had. Otherwise, we go 8-4 next year after going 6-6 this season. AWESOME. Play Murray now, start him against Tenn Tech, Auburn, and UK and see what he can do against GaTech's porous Defense. Then see how he burns it UP in the Independence bowl. (Shaking my head...)
PLUS he could get into a rhythm with AJ Green for next season and perhaps AJ will like his passing style and will stick around for his senior year...(too much wishful thinking?)

Bottom line, Georgia stinks. Why keep playing Cox? No need. Play the freshman QB and bench the idiots who commit the dumbbutt penalties. And if the coaches cannot motivate the players, it might be time to to change some of those up too. KIRBY, COME HOME! And if all of the coordinators are switched up and things don't change, then perhaps it is time to make a bigger change....And I'm not talking about the uniforms.

(Oh, and Brandon Spikes was caught ON TAPE poking Wayshaun Ealey in the eyes. Is this the WWE? SUSPEND HIM NOW. Dirty player. I hope he drops to the second round because of that. Character issue much?)

Friday's Halloween picks....The UGA pick could be scary

This weekend is Halloween. I have been VERY disappointed the last few years with my old Sandy Springs neighborhood in the fact that ZERO trick-or-treaters came up for candy. WHAT THE HECK? I was wearing my cow costume and the dogs were dressed up and for NOTHING. I had to eat ALL that candy by myself...Terrible. And the year before, Halloween was on a Wednesday, if I am remembering correctly. I remember getting a newsletter saying that the kids were going to go that Friday night, after halloween. NO. I'm sorry. When I was a kid, I went trick-or-treating ON HALLOWEEN, aka October 31. NOT the Friday/Saturday before or after. ON THE ACTUAL DAY. If a kid HAD come to my door three days after halloween, I would have thrown water in his face. If she/he had come early, I'd have said, "oops, sorry, I haven't bought my candy yet." Give me a break, NOT going on the Actual day? That is just stoopid. Sorry, but whatevs.

Let's get down to the picks. And we'll start with tonight's contest.
#21 West Va @ SoFla. West Va won last week over UConn in a very emotional game for the Huskies and really for the rednecks-er-Mountaineers. Will there be any sort of letdown against the free-falling SoFla Bulls? Doubtful. Hey, I wonder if West Va fired its head coach and got a Chinese Communist leader to become head coach, would they be called the Mao-untaineers? Sorry, I've been waiting to use that one.

#8 Cincy @ Da Cuse. Well, I'm now over the whole Greg Paulus as QB for Syracuse thing. It was fun for a while, but other things have captured that little space of my attention that Paulus as QB was holding hostage. For example...Why are the Slumdog millionaire kids jeopardizing their trust fund by not going to school? Why is a guy so stupid to think that he could drive his car into a sinkhole and then destroy/change evidence and this he would get away with it? Why do people CONTINUE to drive with hazards on in the rain? Those are just THREE things that I think about more these days than Greg Paulus as QB of the Orange. Cincy rolls.

NCSU @ FSU. I'm sure the Noles would LOVE to bust out their black unis for Halloween, but since they started stinking, they are now getting the crappy start times. I doubt they will bust out the black jerseys for a noon kickoff. And even if they did, the fans won't care. Why? Because FSU isn't that good this season....But NCState lost to Duke, so I'll go with the Noles in this one.

Purdue @ Wisconsin. This game is at noon on ESPN2....which means ONE THING. THE PAM WARD DANCE PARTY HITS MADISON THIS WEEKEND! The thing that makes this great is that Wiscon students already have a Burrow dance that they can do in unison. AWESOME. They will celebrate the Badgers win by doing the Burrow all night long. I am betting that Pam Ward might even bust out the cobra!

#25 Ole Miss @ Auburn. After this weekend all of the fools that said Chizik couldn't coach and was the wrong man for the job will come back out of the woodwork. You know, the same fools who yelled at him when he got off the airplane to accept the job...then who were singing his praises the first few weeks of the season. yep, they'll turn back. Take the Rebs.

San Jose State @ No.7 Boise State. And Bronco fans wonder why they aren't getting more respect about potentially playing in the national title game. Ummmm because you are playing SAN JOSE STATE! Listen, your conference is what your conference is. Yes, it sucks. However, when your conference schedule sucks, you MUST go out and play the hardest Non-conference known to man. Oh, you have to go on the road, DO IT. whatever money you lose this season, you'll make back in three or four years when you suddenly are recognized as a legit non-BCS power. Maybe even you get annexed into the Pac10 if/when they decide to expand. But UC Davis, Bowling Green....Crap Crap Schedule. Broncos will win. Why? Because they are playing SJSU!

19 Miami @ Wake. Did I really just read in Sporting News where they thought Riley Skinner was going to BUST OUT in this game? Rrrrrrrrrrrrrright, against Army, the guy loses, but against the No.19 team in the country, Riley Skinner is going to have a HUGE GAME? Against the ONLY team to shut down GT, Riley Skinner is going to go crazy? Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrright. I'll still go with the Canes. Hey Randy Shannon? What is the status of THE U? is it back?

#24 Cal @ Arizona State. This is what pac-10 teams do, I swear. They get into the top 10, lose two or three straight and drop out of sight, then beat up on the other crappy teams in the conference and suddenly, Cal is back ranked again, despite the fact that they'd lose to several teams not ranked and not even receiving votes in the AP Poll (I'm talking about Georgia.) But Cal will win and likely move into the top 20. Because it is SOOOO tough to go on the road in the Pac-10 that they'll get that bump.

Michigan @ Illinios. Could this be the final nail in Ron Zook's coffin? Possibly. Michigan will win (they owe me after last week) but I don't think the Illini fire Zook. Who is going to replace him? Who will be better than Zook? Think about it. The Illinois job isn't anything to write home about. Would Brian Kelly take it? NO. Would Chris Petersen take it? No. So you're going to hire the guy from Akron (for example) who will leave in two years for the Arkansas job? No. Illinois NEEDS Ron Zook.

KU @ Texas Tech. Wait, what happened to KU's ranking? Oh, that's right. They aren't good and don't deserve one. But I did hear that TTU will be starting a redshirt frosh at QB. Won't matter. they'll just pass and pass and pass and Todd Reesing won't be able to keep up. And can The KU QB change his name for the Halloween holiday to Todd Reese's? Just wondering. And PS, this HAS to be Mangino's favorite Holiday, right? I mean, he gets to eat candy all night long. How much candy do you think he buys, because you know he plows through a bag just standing in line a Kroger. "One for you, two for me...."

#12 Penn State @ Northwestern. I am too afraid of getting another phone call from Kate telling me I was wrong, so Kate, here you go. Penn State DESTROYS NU. Penn Kate!

Miss State @ UK. Hey Miss State, how come you couldn't nail Tebow a few more times? I know you just Pick-6'ed him twice, so now he won't throw when close to the endzone, instead he'll just bulldoze in there. Thanks. And hey Rich Brooks, way to pull the CMR and say, leading up to your blackout, "Um, last time I checked, our colors are blue and white..." when asked if you were going with black unis. You didn't answer the question, just like Richt didn't in 2007. We KNOW you are going with Black unis. As long as Randall Cobb is your QB, you'll beat Miss State.

Wazzou @ #23 Notre Dame. I read where ND's AD was catching some heat because the next few seasons, Notre Dame was shying away from some traditional rivalry games to play some new blood. Is Wazzou a traditional one for you? Didn't think so. I have a better idea....join the Big East and give that conference some cred (you are ALREADY in there in B-Ball) and you can play those 8 games Plus Still Michigan State, Michigan, Navy and USC as your non-conference. Done. You are welcome. Notre Dame beats Wazzou and IMMEDIATELY jumps to No.7 in the country. Hey, BC, you could have ended this. But you failed...

No.22 SoCar @ Tennessee. Steve Spurrier should challenge Kiffin to say that the loser has to pump gas for two hours. For Kiffin, he'd eat up the free ESPN press and if Tennessee wins, he can tell all of the recruits from SoCar, "See, I told you..." After Kiffin said the whole "if you go there, you'll end up pumping gas" comment, you'd have thought that the kid would have responded, "I bet you'd do it if it got you a free pop on ESPN." Take SoCar because Kiffin gets what is coming to him and I think Stevie believes he can make Atlanta. Not sure how, but he can hold out hope. (If UGA beats Florida, SoCar beats Florida and Vandy beats Florida, then UGA loses to either Aubie or UK....Steve can dream)

No.3 Texas @ #14 Okie State. So Dez Bryant has been ruled out for the rest of the season. Hey NCAA, thanks for dragging your feet on that one. But somehow, someway (thanks Snoop) they've kept winning, even without Kendall Hunter. That all stops in Stillwater when Tey-haas comes acallin'. Wifey's Boy Colt McCoy asserts himself as the Heisman frontrunner with a big game because, well, he's better than Joe Cox and Cox was able to slice this defense up (at least on the first drive).

#5 USC @ #10 Oregon. I've read the SI piece about how Oregon is doing it with Defense. I've read that Oregon is AT HOME, ready to take down USC, who is seemingly down this season, in a transition year. I really don't think it happens. Even if LeGarrett Blout is out there, I don't think it matters. USC's stable of RBs helps out the freshman QB, because it can be SOOOOOOOOOOOOO scary going ON THE ROAD in the Pac-10....Take the men of troy because I don't believe in the Ducks.

Michigan State @ Minnesota. After the beatdown last week at the hands of the Buckeyes, why would anyone with kids go to the Gophers game and miss trick-or-treating? Oh wait....because it is, what, -18 degrees in Minnesota right now? Ahhh. but wait, they now have an outdoor stadium. Seriously, and you guys want to have this at night? Sparty wins this one because I choose to punish the Gophers (and the Twins) for going from indoors to outdoors. Why do you hate your fans?

Special Treats...(Make sure the candy is factory-wrapped)
Lock of the week. Indiana @ No.4 Iowa. I know Iowa just lost another RB, but they are facing Indiana. Not good for the Hoosiers in that this isn't basketball. I am not certain I buy the idea that Fulmer heads to Indiana though. Just not certain that is going to happen. He'd be a more logical choice at Louisville. (keep dreaming if you think you Cards are getting Gruden). As for Iowa, they'll win this one and not look ahead because CKF is that good, that he can keep his players from looking ahead.

Upset of the week. Duke @ UVa. Daddio isn't going to be happy with me. UVa refused to run last week against GT and that is their strong suit. Duke can get to a bowl and I like Cutcliff as a coach WAY more than I do Groh. I say Groh loses this one (hey, the guy lost to William and Mary at home) and Groh really, finally goes at the end of the season. Duke is motivated, with two straight ACC wins. They are close to a bowl. I'd love to see Duke become eligible against GT, but that isn't likely to happen. This game IS likely however. If Simpson is healthy, UVA waltzes, but he didn't look healthy last week.

Local teams going at it.
No.11 GT @ Vandy. Hey, GT, stop trying to say that you could do well in the SEC. You've played Miss State (the worst team in the SEC West) and you will have played and beated Vandy (the worst team in the SEC East). Then you'll beat UGA (the worst team overall in the SEC, according to JCole) and you'll brag. Play LSU, wait you did and lost. Play Alabama. Play Florida. Play a real team (and UGA doesn't count. As long as CWM is there....) But you'll beat Vandy. I say next year, Georgia should play NC State and UVa and then claim it would OWN the ACC. That's the SAME THING YOU GUYS ARE DOING!

Georgia @ No.1 Florida in Jax. It IS a road game, but CMR doesn't have to count it in his "amazing road record." IF Georgia can get after Tebow, find a special play on special teams and hit AJ Green for AT LEAST two big plays....then Georgia has a chance. So much needs to go right for Georgia as well as several things need to go wrong for Florida for the Dawgs to have a chance. Come on bye-week majik! I refuse to pick a winner here because I love my alma mater.

If you have time tonight, log on to gpb.org/football to see ME (and Charles Ward) calling the SWD/Tucker game. Should be a great one!