A memo from an agency developing a campaign for ESPN’s college basketball coverage hit the news this week. The idea was to have a person representing the school working an ESPN phone bank getting people from their school to watch ESPN’s college basketball coverage. The result was stereotyperiffic. ESPN killed the campaign after learning of the memo.

I’m shocked – SHOCKED – that a New York agency mostly overlooked the SEC for an ESPN college basketball marketing campaign, but it’s probably for the best. The banjo music would have been distracting. But don’t deny you laughed a little knowing chuckle and got an instant visual upon reading this…

[ TENNESSEE ]

FEMALE. Tennessee is orange crazy. The ice tray in her orange fridge, that freezes the water she dyes orange, is that orange. The party girl cowboy hat she wears is a white and orange zebra print. The tattoo on her lower back is Pantone 3 for that Tennessee orange. The only thing that’s not orange is her dog, which is the mascot Smokey. Did we mention she’s crazy? A slutty girl who would hang out at the cowgirl hall of fame.

Your defending SEC Tournament champions open the 2008-2009 season this Friday night. Sounds good to say, doesn’t it?

But like the tornado which triggered the unforgettable championship weekend back in March, the whirlwind finish of last season is a distant memory. It’s back to work for Dennis Felton’s squad, and they’ll try to make progress against an incrementally tougher schedule and looking to replace their starting backcourt and two leading scorers from a year ago.

Departures

It was a treat getting to watch Sundiata Gaines for four years, and he’ll be missed. He did many things well, but of course the most important was his ability to create offense when the halfcourt set broke down. That was usually a blessing, but it was also sometimes a curse as the offense stagnated and waited for Gaines to take on four defenders by himself. Center Dave Bliss was the other senior, and, to borrow a phrase from Dennis Felton, it was gratifying to see a healthy Bliss emerge as a quality player and leader towards the end of the season. The bad news is that his eligibility ended just as he came into form.

Two players are no longer with the program for other reasons. Guard Billy Humphrey was dismissed in June, and forward Jeremy Jacob left the program over dissatisfaction with his role.

The departures leave the Bulldogs without their leading scorers from a year ago (Gaines and Humphrey). They also leave the Dawgs very thin and young in the backcourt without much proven scoring ability.

Arrivals

As the Dennis Felton era continues, you hope each subsequent recruiting class is better than the last, and that seems to be the case this year. Georgia has added quality freshmen up front, on the wing, and in the backcourt.

The highlight of the incoming class is dynamic forward Howard Thompkins. He’ll be counted on to contribute immediately at a spot that’s already a strength of the Georgia team. Thompkins brings a developed offensive game to Athens with the ability to shoot the jumper or get position and score in the post.

Drazen Zlovaric will be an interesting addition on the wing. The Serbian native will bring a little European style to the team and can play away from the basket. His size and athleticism will be a unique matchup for opponents.

Dustin Ware is the heir apparent at the point guard position. Travis Leslie, at 6’4", is a little small to play the 3, but his athleticism is his calling card. Leslie probably won’t be the answer when it comes to outside shooting, but he is a leaper that can attack the rim and throw down some impressive dunks.

Guard Ebuka Anyaorah was expected to be a sharpshooter from outside, but he’s already been scratched for the season with an injury.

Returning Players

The strength of Georgia’s returning players lies up front. Forwards Jeremy Price (8.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG), Albert Jackson (7.4 PPG and 6.4 RPG over the last 20 games), and Terrance Woodbury (11.0 PPG, 33% 3PT, 4.1 RPG) will be the core of this season’s team and can match up with most frontcourts in the SEC. Chris Barnes (2.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG) also returns from an injury-plagued freshman year to provide depth down low.

The returning players in the backcourt were supporting cast members last year. Corey Butler (3.0 PPG) made a name for himself with high-energy defense and some timely shots. Zac Swansey (3.9 PPG) was one of the heros of the SEC Tournament, and he’ll take on a much greater role this year at point guard. Troy Brewer (2.7 PPG, 30% 3PT) is another option on the perimeter, but he saw very limited action as a freshman.

Schedule

The schedule has never really been a point of pride under Felton, but it’s more ambitious this year. The Dawgs are participating in the Preseason NIT, and the quality of competition will depend on how far Georgia advances. Purdue, Oklahoma, Boston College, and Davidson are all potential opponents. There will be the usual early season cupcakes, but there will also be games with Illinois, Virginia Tech, Missouri, and Georgia Tech. We should know plenty about this team before SEC play begins.

Speaking of SEC play, the Dawgs will measure up early on against its SEC East peers. The first three conference games include Tennessee and Kentucky with a road game at Vanderbilt squeezed between them. One late road trip could prove problematic: two of Georgia’s last three conference games are at Arkansas and Kentucky. If the season comes down to needing some wins late in the year, it’s usually tough to get them in Fayetteville and Lexington.

The SEC

It projects to be on the whole another weak group of SEC teams, and what strength the SEC has is heavily tilted towards the East. Tennessee and Florida are the only SEC teams in the preseason top 25. Kentucky and Vanderbilt also get mention. LSU and Alabama are unranked but receiving votes, and that’s about as good as it gets for the West.

What’s noticable this year is a real lack of star power. There are some great players in the league, but there is no Chris Lofton or Shan Foster. The top five players in the SEC might be Nick Calathes, Devan Downey, A.J. Ogilvy, Patrick Patterson, and Tyler Smith – again, all really solid players but none comes with the superstar package.

Injuries

As we mentioned above, freshman Ebuka Anyaorah is out for the year. Several other players are dealing with minor, though nagging, injuries entering the season. Thompkins has battled a stress fracture, a knee sprain, and now a sprained ankle, and it has impacted his conditioning. He is not expected to play in the season opener. Jeremy Price and Chris Barnes each had offseason surgery, and Barnes still isn’t 100%. Albert Jackson went down with a scary injury in last week’s exhibition, but it proved to be only a sprained ankle, and Jackson should be fine. Woodbury has had ankle issues of his own.

Outlook

Can Georgia get quality point guard play, and can anyone hit the three with any consistency? Those backcourt questions are keeping dampers on expectations and hopes for the team until answers can be found. Fans expecting a significant leap forward building on the end of last season might be disappointed. Losing the top two scorers leaves a big vacuum, and it’s questionable whether or not the Dawgs can find the firepower to compensate. The preseason consensus again has Georgia fighting to remain out of the basement in the SEC’s tougher division.

A lot will be expected of Woodbury in particular. He came on strong in the postseason last year, and he’s one of the few players on this team who can generate offense inside and outside. If the perimeter game struggles, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Dawgs ask Woodbury to take on the role of the shooting guard at times. Whether that would mean a bigger look with three post players or sliding someone like Zlovaric or Leslie in at the 3 is a situational decision up to the coaches, but options like that have to be considered if, as expected, offense is slow to come from the smaller guards. Still another option is to play Ware and Swansey at the same time and let Zac try his hand at the shooting guard position.

Unless the backcourt surprises, success will require big nights from the frontcourt as well as transition opportunities created by defense and rebounding. The frontcourt can expect to face some compact zones until someone proves they can bust the zone from a deeper three-point arc.

I’ll be thrilled…with an 8-8 or better finish in the SEC and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

I’ll be disappointed…with anything like last season’s 4-12 SEC regular season. It’s way past time to move forward.

I expect…between 6-8 SEC wins and an overall win total somewhere around 16-18. I’d like to at least split the four games with Illinois, Mizzou, and the two Techs. They should at least win the first game of the NIT, and it will be a good test to see if this Felton team can do better away from home than some of his others.

I realize that my expectations don’t call for an encore in the NCAA Tournament. The result is that we can likely expect the return of the same discussions about the future direction of the program which the tournament run helped to silence (temporarily) last year. It’s generally accepted that the SEC Tournament title saved Felton’s job, but did it buy him anything more than one more year?

Basketball season tips off this weekend (we should have our season preview tomorrow), and that’s all the excuse I need to post a picture of Kentucky’s new basketball uniforms. The Wildcats have pretty much become to basketball attire what Oregon is to football uniforms, so these new unis should come as no shock. They manage to pay tribute to everything from Secretariat to deceased equipment manager Bill Keightley. Even the freaking shorts have special significance:

In addition, on Kentucky’s white uniforms, a blue and white checkerboard swatch is centered on the waistband of their shorts and features eight individual “boxes.” Emblazoned in seven of the eight squares are the numbers ’48, ’49, ’51, ’58, ’78, ’96 and ’98, representing championship seasons for the Wildcats. The “empty” eighth quadrant serves as a reminder of the school’s legacy and motivation for the current Wildcats to ensure another year is soon inscribed within it.

Touching. One more square and you could put Paul Lynde in the middle. Here’s the new jersey:

Kentucky’s uniform experiments really took off in the 1990s. Here’s a reminder of some of the best, most of which are modeled by Tony Delk.

Georgia Southern (5-5): –

Central Michigan (7-2): Fans of the Chippewas can skip their cardiologist appointments. Four of CMU’s seven wins have come by three points or less. Still perfect in the MAC, they enter a key stretch in conference play. They will play on consecutive Wednesday nights against Northern Illinois and Ball State. The big question is the availability of QB Dan LeFevour. LeFevour has been banged up for the past month, and a starter still has not been named for the NIU game. Brian Brunner has been stellar in relief, and his line against Indiana was outstanding (35-53, 485 yds, 4 TD passing, 1 TD rushing). THIS WEEK: @ Northern Illinois

South Carolina (7-3): The good news? South Carolina has won 6 out of their last 7 and has deservedly returned to the rankings after a solid win over Arkansas. Beat Clemson and it’s at worst an 8-4 season with a decent bowl ahead. The bad news? Enjoy the trip to Gainesville. THIS WEEK: @ Florida

Arizona State (3-6): If you need to heal what ails you, play Washington. ASU was able to end a six-game slide by pulling away from the Huskies. It’s noteworthy that the pass-happy Sun Devils got it done with 182 rushing yards against Washington. They should also win this weekend’s game with Washington State before making a final push towards bowl eligibility. THIS WEEK: Washington State

Alabama (10-0): Alabama’s in the position we "enjoyed" at the start of the season. Sure, they’re #1, but everyone seems anxious for them to lose and make way for the real contenders. But unlike Georgia, Alabama keeps winning and won’t let go of their top ranking. Will they slip up before the showdown with Florida? Not likely, but that’s why they play the games. MSU did pull the upset last year. THIS WEEK: Mississippi State

Tennessee (3-7): Despite the resignation of Phil Fulmer, the Vols still had a shot at a bowl bid if they won remaining games against Wyoming, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt. In any other year, those would be gimmes, but this is no typical Vol season. Wyoming, who might be looking to replace their own bird-flipping coach, came into Knoxville, collected their paycheck, and left with an ugly 13-7 win. Rocky Top has hit rock bottom. What’s left for the Vols? Two things: one – play spoiler in Vanderbilt’s quest for bowl eligibility. Two – extend the 23-game winning streak over Kentucky. A Vol loss in either game is going to make a bit of history. Oh – and no Tennessee team has ever lost eight games in a season. THIS WEEK: BYE

Vanderbilt (5-4): Is the Tennessee game Vandy’s best last chance for that elusive 6th win? The Commodores are reeling and weren’t in the Florida game for more than 5 minutes. THIS WEEK: @ Kentucky

LSU (6-3): Georgia fans can relate. The defending SEC champion turns things over to a freshman quarterback who starts hemorrhaging killer interceptions. Sound familiar? It’s a down year relatively speaking, but the Tiger defense has kept it from being worse. LSU will be back, and things could be much worse in a rebuilding year. THIS WEEK: Troy

Florida (8-1): Florida’s starts against Kentucky and Vanderbilt made me think how good of a job Georgia did in the first half of the WLOCP. The Gators are doing whatever they want to in the first half these days, and if you give them an opening in something so minute as punt protection, they will exploit it in painful repetition. With the defense playing well, the Gators could most weeks survive an off game from the offense, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem that’s going to present itself. Two years ago it took a few blocked kicks to survive South Carolina’s trip to the Swamp. THIS WEEK: South Carolina

Kentucky (6-4): The Wildcats have to be wondering one thing: did they find something in Randall Cobb, or was that just the Georgia defense? The passing game wasn’t especially explosive, but who needs it when the most basic of running plays will move you up and down the field? Kentucky had a pair of eight win seasons with Andre Woodson. They’re two winnable regular season games away from eight wins and a decent bowl bid without Woodson and with a quarterback situation that would make Auburn and Tennessee hesitant to trade places. Not bad. THIS WEEK: Vanderbilt

Auburn (5-5): Auburn played to its strength and saw Kodi Burns and a trio of tailbacks lead the way to 290 yards on the ground in a 37-20 win over Tennessee-Martin. The story is incomplete without noting that this was a 27-20 game in the 4th quarter and that Auburn rested a few defensive starters. Auburn, though down, still has plenty of motivation in its final two games. Not only are these the traditional rivalry games; Auburn must also win at least one of them to avoid a losing season and avoid missing out on the postseason. THIS WEEK: Georgia

Georgia Tech (7-3): Tech’s ACC title hopes took a big hit with Saturday’s loss at UNC. Though the season has been positive to this point, the Jackets are just 1-3 in their division of the ACC and hold none of the tiebreakers they’d need even if they can beat Miami. Without an FSU fumble, we’d be talking about a team that lost three straight. Tech won’t play another Saturday game until their visit to Athens; a Thursday night home game with Miami wraps up their conference slate next week. THIS WEEK: BYE

There’s still a month to go in the season, but damn if there hasn’t been a flurry of playoff talk this week from some pretty high-profile people in the game and in the nation.

First Barack Obama weighed in with his support of a college playoff. I really need to rethink my position on this issue now. His stance failed to convince voters in SEC and Big 12 states though.

Then Pete Carroll says that the BCS "stinks" and wonders how his team could drop after a big win. (We wondered that after the first week of the season, too, Pete.) Urban Meyer also had some supportive things to say about a playoff earlier this week on Cowherd’s show.

Even Bob Stoops has "come full circle" and is now a playoff advocate. Like Carroll and Meyer, Stoops is part of the one-loss repechage trying to position itself for a spot in the national title game, so it’s pretty easy to see why a playoff would look attractive to them at this point.

The ideal outcome for playoff proponents is for Southern Cal and Penn State, the likely champs of the two conferences most resistant to a playoff, to be excluded from the BCS championship game and play a lovely and irrelevant Rose Bowl game – just as they would have it.

For some reason I couldn’t read this or this without recalling this.

We have the luxury of looking at Phil Fulmer’s departure from the perspective of our own self-interest. We get to enjoy and take advantage of this season’s Vol meltdown, temper our own misfortunes by recognizing that it could be much, much worse, and hope that they botch the search and ensure a few more years of chaos to our north. Odds are though that the Vols will probably get a decent coach. It’s a tough job, sure, but quality and ambitious coaches are attracted to that kind of challenge.

Knowing full well that the next Vol coach will probably be someone I’ve left off this list, here’s one Dawg fan’s breakdown of who I do and don’t want to see coaching the Vols. This list has nothing at all to do with how likely a certain guy is to take the job.

We don’t want:

• Butch Davis. National championship cred? Check. Ahead of schedule on his present turnaround job? Check. A recruiting track record in the South? Check. Attainable? Most likely; Tennessee is a step up from UNC (as much as it pains my Tar Heel upbringing to say so), and Davis hasn’t exactly been hesitant to jump at a better offer. Negatives? Sure. Tennessee is used to hiring a coach every few decades, and the same job-hopping that makes Davis seem attainable might also make Vol fans wonder if he’d hang around. He’s no choir boy when it comes to recruiting, but that would likely be a plus in Big Orange country. He’s also nearing 60 years of age and has had health issues – the lack of stress at UNC (relative to what it’d be at Tennessee) could be a factor.
  
  I don’t see why he wouldn’t be choice #1 for the job, and from what I’ve read he seems to be. He has a head-to-head bowl win over a Spurrier-coached Florida team. He’d join Saban and Spurrier as failed NFL experiments, but he’d at least be able to point to a NFL playoff appearance. Consider this scenario, Dawg fans: Davis might have his pick of Tennessee or Auburn. Where would you rather see him?

We’d rather not:

• Mike Leach. Someone’s going to get him, and no coach’s stock is higher right now. Even in a pass-happy offense, he places a premium on the offensive line which will be appreciated by the UT old guard. His demeanor and brand of offense might require some adjustment after decades of a much more conservative style, but it’s not hard to adjust to winning.
• Chris Petersen. Boise’s only become stronger since Dan Hawkins left, and the Broncos already have one former coach toiling in the SEC. If you can build (and, more importantly, sustain) a quality program in Boise, why not Knoxville?
• The Utah guys. Kyle Whittingham and Bronco Mendenhall are both quality coaches, but both seem pretty rooted to their home state. It would be an unexpected coup to convince either to leave for the South.
• Gary Patterson. Dennis Franchione’s successor at TCU has won at over a 70% clip since taking over in 2001. He’s also recorded recent wins over Oklahoma and Texas Tech.

Ain’t skeered:

• The NFL guys. You’ll see Gruden and Cowher mentioned for one reason or another. Both are tough, no-nonsense men’s men whose style would probably mesh well with what they expect at UT. We don’t know if either has a taste for the college game or recruiting. It’s one thing to be a dedicated football man, but it’s another when 3/4 of the job is fundraising and kissing the tail of some 17-year-old prima donna who just told you the same thing he told Mack Brown.
• Tim Brewster. A great turnaround from last season, but it’s not time yet.
• David Cutcliffe. We know that Georgia hasn’t beaten Tennessee when the Vols have had Cutcliffe coaching the offense, but Cutcliffe as head coach is another story. The Dawgs were able to handle even his better Ole Miss teams.
• Randy Edsall. He’s done a fine job building UConn into a place where people no longer say, "oh, you have a football team too?" But building a somewhat competitive Big East program isn’t the same as turning around an SEC power.

Please, oh please:

• Will Muschamp. Muschamp is the up-and-coming coordinator riding a rocket through the coaching ranks and seems to be the choice of those wanting young blood. Fine. His BOOM, MFer!!! style is attractive to any football fan, but Georgia hasn’t had many problems against Muschamp defenses lately. He’d be heavily reliant on his assembled staff as he lacks the head coaching experience and recruiting roots to be effective out of the gate. One also has to wonder how much a last-minute Texas Tech drive tarnishes the Muschamp reputation.
• The UT guys. John Chavis probably has too much baggage to be considered, but even the popular Trooper Taylor would be an awkward choice. Most Vol fans seem to realize that this is the time for a clean break, and I don’t expect any of the former staff to be candidates.
• Lane Kiffin. I’ll let HP explain why we’d love to see Kiffin in Knoxville.

Auburn has had a halftime lead in every game this year, and they’ve jumped out to double-digit leads against teams like Vanderbilt and West Virginia. The second half hasn’t been so kind to the Tigers, and suddenly stagnant offense has had a lot to do with those collapses. Auburn’s outstanding defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks tried to explain what’s going on with the offense but could only come up with an answer accurately described as "amusingly diplomatic and seemingly incongruent" by the Montgomery Advertiser.

"They made a lot of progress. Y’all have seen what they did in the last game — move the ball in the first half and really had a lot of success," Marks said. " I really don’t play attention to what they’re doing or how they do it. I play defense and I don’t really pay attention to them."

Georgia Southern (4-4): I haven’t bothered to track GSU this year, but their win last weekend deserves mention. The Eagles were down 31-3 to Western Carolina in the fourth quarter and were able to come back to force overtime and win the game. A 28-point fourth quarter comeback will turn heads.

Central Michigan (6-2): The Chippewas are flying high at 6-2, but their 5-0 conference record hasn’t been without its close calls. Three of their conference wins have been by three points or less, and it doesn’t get much closer than their one-point comeback win over Toledo last week. CMU’s only losses of the season have been against teams from BCS conferences, and they will dive back in to that pool this week for their second game of the season against a Big 10 team. THIS WEEK: @ Indiana

South Carolina (5-3): The loss to LSU took some of the steam out of a nice run, and the Gamecocks have had a bye week to regroup for the home stretch. There’s still quite a lot to play for, and it’s very reasonable that they could win three of their last four games to finish 8-4 and head to a decent bowl. First they’ll have to face a Tennessee team playing for its own postseason fate and the fate of its coach. The strong South Carolina defense should see no reason to fear the Vol offense. THIS WEEK: Tennessee

Arizona State (2-5): Georgia’s marquee nonconference opponent has gone down the drain. The defense, as we saw, is porous, but the high-powered offense also isn’t doing much. Things don’t project to get much better on a road trip to Corvallis. THIS WEEK: @ Oregon State

Alabama (8-0): Pundits wanted to see Alabama close the door on a team, and they did it in Knoxville. The Tide didn’t come out of the gate with all guns blazing and even gave Tennessee several chances to take early control of the game. But the Alabama defense, even without Cody, was too much for the punchless Vols. They get the next best thing to a bye this week before the big showdown in Baton Rouge next week. THIS WEEK: Arkansas State

Tennessee (3-5): The Tennessee defense did what it could to give the team a chance in the rivalry game with Alabama, but it was painful to watch that offense try to cash in on its opportunites. The usual lightweight November fare actually gives Tennessee an even shot at finishing 7-5, but they’ll have to win this weekend in Columbia. If they’re going to pull the upset, it’s going to take big plays by Eric Berry and the defense. THIS WEEK: @ South Carolina

Vanderbilt (5-3): Heading into their first bye week a month ago, Vandy was 4-0 and on top of the world heading into the Auburn game. Now they’ve dropped three in a row with a week to rest up for Florida. The opponent mistakes on which they feasted early in the season aren’t occurring as often, and games which had been won by the narrowest of margins are losses now. Is Bobby Johnson still doing a great job and likely to be in demand after the season? THIS WEEK: BYE

LSU (5-2): LSU has two losses as they did a year ago, but neither was an overtime nailbiter. With two sound defeats already and Alabama still out there, the Tigers are in danger of three regular season losses for the first time since 2002. Like Alabama, they get a lightweight nonconference game this week to prepare for the showdown next week. THIS WEEK: Tulane

Florida (6-1): We wondered if another 12:30 start would find the Gators still asleep against Kentucky, but it took about five minutes for them to prove otherwise. Florida has put up over 100 combined points in their last two games, and the defense and special teams aren’t too shabby either. No excuses this time – Georgia will get a Florida team playing out of its mind lately. THIS WEEK: Georgia

Kentucky (5-3): A tight win over Arkansas stopped the bleeding after a pair of close losses, but Kentucky never had a chance at Florida. The Wildcats were down before the Florida band returned to their seats and were simply overwhelmed for the first time this season. Injuries took their toll for sure, but even the healthy part of the team fell apart in Gainesville. There’s no time to dwell on that blowout though – they remain on the road for what’s become a must-win for the homestanding Bulldogs. A win locks up at worst a .500 season for the Wildcats and all but closes the door on MSU’s postseason hopes. THIS WEEK: @ Mississippi State

Auburn (4-4): With Georgia and Alabama still to go, this week’s game at Ole Miss would seem to be do-or-die for Auburn’s postseason chances. Needless to say, it hasn’t been a pleasant time for Auburn since the West Virginia loss. THIS WEEK: @ Ole Miss (Nov. 1)

Georgia Tech (6-2): Tech’s presence in the rankings didn’t last long, and a loss to Virginia might only be the beginning. Some strong teams remain on the schedule starting this week against FSU when the ACC’s top two rushing offenses meet the conference’s top two rushing defenses. Turnovers continue to be an issue; Tech has lost a staggering 14 fumbles this year. THIS WEEK: Florida State

If you need to drum up some kind of grudge for the game, both teams will have to reach. LSU can look back at the last two meetings between the teams – way back in 2004 and 2005. Georgia can drum up indignation over the 2007 BCS. There’s not much bad blood – certainly not as much as you’ll see in coming weeks when Georgia plays Florida and LSU plays Alabama. But that doesn’t mean that it’s casual and insignificant when Georgia and LSU play. Two of the last three meetings have been in the Georgia Dome with the SEC title up for grabs, and the odd game out was between the defending national champion and the #3 team in the nation.

Both teams enter this game with an opportunity for a little bit of redemption. The lopsided nature of Georgia’s loss to Alabama and LSU’s loss at Florida knocked both teams down several pegs, and both have been waiting for another chance on the national stage to put up a better result. Georgia bounced back with wins over Tennessee and Vanderbilt, and LSU put away a resurgent South Carolina team. With a lot on the line, here’s what I’ll be looking at in the game:

Keying on the run

There’s no question that the running game is the focal points of both teams’ offenses. One of the biggest consequences of Alabama’s quick start at Georgia was taking Knowshon Moreno out of the game, but Moreno is coming off a season-high effort last week. Mark Richt kind of bristled on Saturday when he was asked why Knowshon Moreno kept coming out of the Vanderbilt game. It’s true that it’s more or less Moreno’s call, and that’s fine. I think the question has more to do with this: after that touchdown run on the opening drive of the second half, the SEC Offense Player of the Week was more or less a non-factor until the drive that began with 8:29 remaining in the game. He had three carries for three yards and a nice 10-yard reception over a span of time that was a little longer than a quarter.

The running game is even more important to LSU. With a relatively inexperienced quarterback, the Tigers have leaned on Charles Scott this season with good results, and Keiland Williams has been more than an effective change of pace. LSU has started using both in the game at the same time with the bruising Scott playing a little fullback. Georgia will no doubt be paying attention to the run, and we’ll have to see if the dual-QB approach can make Georgia pay with opportunities in the passing game as Alabama did.

Turnovers

The Dawgs recorded a pair of interceptions last week, but the ones they missed have been the story this week. What’s also noteworthy has been Georgia’s giveaways. Though the season total is still relatively low, Georgia has had two giveaways in each of their last three games. That’s not a positive development after a relatively thrifty start to the season. Most concerning is Stafford’s five interceptions over those three games after zero in the first four games. This is as good of a chance as Stafford will get to shed the interception bug; LSU is 11th in the SEC (yes, behind even Georgia) with only four interceptions on the season.

Second half points

Georgia scored 30 points in the second half against Alabama. Whether or not the Tide let up, it was at the very least a commendable effort by Georgia to get back off the mat.

In the four other games against BCS conference teams, Georgia has managed in aggregate that same 30 points in the second half. The Dawgs scored no more than ten second half points in any of those games, and there has not been a single fourth quarter touchdown. Yes, those were all wins, but they were also (with one exception) one-possession games into the fourth quarter. It’s not like Georgia was sitting on leads of 20+ points. Mark Richt might not be worried about style points, but being able to close the door with the offense is another matter.

The third option

The emergence of A.J. Green should have opened things up for other Georgia receivers, but it hasn’t really happened. David Hale notes how the trend is actually towards the opposite: a higher concentration of passes going to Massaquoi and Green. Goodman is really the only other receiver to do much lately, and he only has a handful of catches. The disappearance of the tight end and injuries to Durham and King haven’t helped. LSU is right there with Georgia when it comes to struggles against the pass, but the Bulldog passing game – protection willing – should be in a better position to do something about it. Will Green and MoMass continue to make plays despite the attention they’ll get, or will that third option that Hale mentions emerge this week?

The matchup

Georgia’s young an injury-riddled offensive line versus LSU’s group of big, bad men. It seems every time we go to Baton Rouge lately, the Georgia offensive line is an issue. In 1998, Anthony McFarland was a menace against the interior Georgia line, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win for the Tigers. In 2003, David Greene was harassed all day, and numerous passes were tipped. The challenge for the Georgia line seems at least as great this year. If there’s positive news, it’s been the steady progress of the line over the past two games. The ability to lead solid fourth quarter drives against quality SEC defenses was very impressive, and the line held league-leading Vanderbilt without a sack last week. LSU is no Vanderbilt, but will this prove to be as big of a mismatch as people expect?

Georgia Southern (3-4) —

Central Michigan (5-2): CMU found themselves in a bit of a shootout with Western Michigan before a late field goal gave them a 10-point win. The Chippewas are a solid 4-0 in their conference, but they begin a three-game road trip this week. THIS WEEK: @ Toledo

South Carolina (5-3): With or without the help of the referees, the Gamecocks have to feel as if they missed out on a great chance to make some noise last week. They had LSU down, but the Tigers dominated down the stretch. With three SEC losses and Florida still left to play, the missed opportunity against LSU means that prospects for a New Years’ bowl game are fading fast. THIS WEEK: BYE

Arizona State (2-4): ASU has had two weeks to think about things after a disappointing start, and the rest has helped Rudy Carpenter’s ankle. The bad news is that they’ll try to get back on track against a decent Oregon team also coming off a bye. THIS WEEK: Oregon

Alabama (7-0): Ole Miss was the second team to push Alabama in the second half, but the Tide have been so good at establishing large halftime leads that it hasn’t cost them yet. The injury to Cody is a serious issue; Ole Miss was able to move the ball once Cody went out. Alabama’s balanced attack should be able to move the ball on the Vols at least as well as Georgia did. THIS WEEK: @ Tennessee

Tennessee (3-4): The Vols got a much-needed SEC win against Mississippi State, and a pair of defensive touchdowns helped them open up a close game. More big plays from the secondary will be Tennessee’s best chance to pull the upset in what might well be Fulmer’s Last Stand. Cody might be out, but can the Tennessee offense and the running game in particular take advantage of Cody’s absence? THIS WEEK: Alabama

Vanderbilt (5-2): Can you feel the slightest bit of pressure starting to surround Vandy? On one hand, they’re a solid and legitimate 5-2 with five games left in which to become bowl-eligible. On the other hand, they’ve lost two in a row and still have some very respectable teams to play. A lot seem to hang on this week’s game against an improved Duke. Win, and the pressure is off. They can poach another win or two down the stretch and end up with a decent bowl. Lose to Duke and things become interesting. Remaining games with Kentucky and Tennessee would become pushes at best, and they’d likely be underdogs to Florida and Wake Forest. THIS WEEK: Duke

LSU (5-1): LSU bounced back and, like Georgia, had to come from behind at South Carolina. Once the Tiger defense figured things out, they looked pretty impressive. The Tigers should be pretty healthy on their stout defensive front for the first time in weeks, and that’s not good news for opponents. THIS WEEK: Georgia

Florida (5-1): The Gators have had two weeks to relish their best performance of the season in a dominant win over LSU. The challenge this week is getting back up after two weeks of rest for a 12:30 kickoff. Florida didn’t fare so well in their last early home game. Will they come out focused, or will they hit the snooze button for the early start as they dream about the big game next week? THIS WEEK: Kentucky

Kentucky (5-2): A comeback win over Arkansas stopped the bleeding after consecutive losses and kept alive hopes for a third-straight winning season. Injuries have taken their toll, though, and there’s not much in the tank as the team heads to Gainesville. Watch to see if Kentucky’s secondary full of playmakers can make things interesting for Tebow and his receivers. THIS WEEK: @ Florida

Auburn (4-4): If you caught either of Auburn’s games against Vanderbilt and West Virginia, you didn’t need to see the other. Up 13-0 in one and 17-3 in the other, the Tiger offense and ground game that looked unstoppable early on simply shut down and couldn’t muster an answer when the opponent came back. Auburn has led at halftime in every game this season, but they’ve been completely powerless to answer second half comebacks. When Tuberville – clad in his finest Longhorn orange – has to pull out the “deny them heat” tactic, you know there’s not much left that can be done. THIS WEEK: @ Ole Miss (Nov. 1)

Georgia Tech (6-1): Yes, that’s Georgia Tech as the ACC’s sole representative in the rankings. Close, ugly, very little passing, doesn’t matter. They’re winning. If the Florida schools can’t derail Tech, could this be a one-loss team coming to Athens in a month? THIS WEEK: Virginia

“I dunno…we’re not really ready to see LSU lose. Any way you can stop the QB run around the end?”

“No problem.”

There’s a great piece in the AJC today that could almost pass for an Onion article. I credit a UGA journalism grad for coming up with such a clever backhanded compliment of the football experience on North Avenue.

I must concede her point. If you care nothing about the quality of competition and the world revolves around keeping your five-year-old entertained, taking in a major college football game probably isn’t for you. McDonald’s will be a better dining choice than Five and Ten. A Thomas and Friends DVD would be a better family entertainment option than the Atlanta Symphony. It’s tough for wiggly kids to sit through Rachmaninov.

Offered as points in Tech’s favor:

• "Tech routinely has family deals and free ticket promotions. Last year for the Tech-Duke game we bought tickets that included a hotdog and Coke for each person."
• "This year we actually got FREE tickets for me and the kids…You will get free ticket offers every Tuesday."
• "Because Tech’s stadium isn’t usually filled to capacity, it is very easy for families to spread out. We sat in the top deck and had plenty of room."
• Plenty of family-friendly events…just avoid those soul-sucking video games.
• Parking is tight in Athens, and a walk back to the car can be of some distance. "I am certain the sight of me struggling up that hill with three children prevented some co-eds from having sex that night." Notice she said "some" and not "all" …that’s how you can tell she was describing the Georgia campus.

It’s all true, I’m afraid. If you can round up enough neighborhood kids, you might even be able to set the starting time to suit your busy schedule. And if the scene at Tech still proves too rowdy for you, try your local 8-year-old rec league.

I see this sentiment as nothing but win-win. Georgia tickets are in high demand, and the fewer that get used by uninterested kids and dispassionate parents who’d consider a Tech game a viable substitute, all the better. Anything to protect the kids from this:

"Two years ago when Michael took our then 3-year-old son to the Georgia game, there was a bunch of apparently drunk college girls trying to cuddle him." First, we have to clarify whether the girls were trying to cuddle the 3-year-old or Michael the husband. Cute kids are second-only to bulldogs as chick magnets. Either way, she writes as if this is a bad thing. The kid has learned a valuable lesson: at age 3, he’s already getting more female attention at a Georgia game than any guy who chose the alternative.

Georgia Southern (3-3) —

Central Michigan (4-2): CMU got by Temple and remain undefeated against opponents outside of BCS conferences. Now they get a Toledo team that won at Michigan last week. The Chippewas are winning, but their offense isn’t really lighting people up anymore. THIS WEEK: @ Toledo

South Carolina (5-2): Don’t look now, but the Gamecocks are 5-2. Losses to Georgia and Vandy had them reeling a bit in September, but a pair of nice SEC road wins have contributed to a four-game winning streak. The quarterback shuffle continues; now it’s Stephen Garcia’s turn to start under center. A primetime home game against LSU is their opportunity to get back into the SEC picture. THIS WEEK: LSU

Arizona State (2-4): The good news is that the toughest part of the schedule is past, but the bad news is the damage it did to the program. The Sun Devils haven’t won since the second week of the season. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that two of the four losses were out of conference, so they can still make some noise in the Pac-10. They have a bye week to rest up, regroup, and try to salvage the season. Will two weeks be enough time to heal Rudy Carpenter’s ankle? THIS WEEK: BYE

Alabama (6-0): The bye week has come and gone for Alabama, and they got a chance to enjoy the unique experience of being jumped over for the #1 ranking. No worries, though. As the second half of the season begins, Alabama has to keep from being publicly giddy about how the remaining schedule has opened up for them. Traditional rivals Tennessee and Auburn are reeling. The only challenger for SEC West superiority, LSU, showed more than a little vulnerability last week. College football has a harsh way of making questions like this seem silly, but is LSU the only team left with a shot of derailing Bama in the regular season? THIS WEEK: Ole Miss

Tennessee (2-4): You know, Nick Stephens isn’t that bad, but the bread-and-butter of Tennessee football has been and should be the run. It’s amazing to me that quality backs like Foster and Hardesty can’t get much behind a veteran offensive line. Stars on defense like Ayers and Berry aren’t enough to cover for a weaker-than-usual supporting cast. Watching Georgia drive for ten minutes behind a piecemeal offensive line to seal last week’s game went against everything you thought you knew about Tennessee football. There’s no looking ahead to Alabama – the Vols are still looking for an SEC win, and MSU will do everything they can to make it close and ugly as usual. THIS WEEK: Mississippi State

Vanderbilt (5-1): The perfect start to the season is over, and now Vandy has to be looking at the schedule wondering where win #6 will come from. There’s a "new" quarterback who has posted points against the Dawgs, but Vandy’s lack of production on offense go deeper than the QB. It also isn’t a good sign that the SEC’s #10 rushing defense has to go up against Knowshon Moreno. Two years ago turnovers turned a comfortable Georgia halftime lead into a shocking upset. Can Vandy count on that happening again? THIS WEEK: @ Georgia

LSU (4-1): We can empathize with LSU. Two weeks ago, Georgia was the team who had to convince everyone that they weren’t as bad as their last game showed. Now it’s LSU’s turn, and not many teams will have the speed to shred LSU the way Florida did. They’ll have a tough job of getting back off the mat on the road against a South Carolina team regaining a bit of confidence. If LSU can’t move the ball against a tough Gamecock defense, this could be a close low-scoring game. THIS WEEK: @ South Carolina

Florida (5-1): Wow. It’s almost as if the Ole Miss game never happened. The Gators put it all together against LSU, and the results were impressive. Now they get the bye week to feel good about themselves, but the challenge will be sustaining that level of play through the bye and on into next week’s Kentucky game. As impressive as the offense was, let’s not overlook that Florida is #2 in the SEC in scoring defense at the midway point. I don’t know if that’ll hold up, but it’s hard not to give them their due. THIS WEEK: BYE

Kentucky (4-2): Last week everyone was patting Kentucky on the head for a nice effort in a loss at Alabama. That’s not the case this week. The Cats had every chance to put South Carolina away in the first half and couldn’t. It turned into a sloppy, unnecessary loss, and it – for now – flipped the fortunes of those two programs. Now the Cats have to deal with an Arkansas program feeling pretty good about themselves, and Kentucky will also have to play the rest of the season without playmaker Dicky Lyons Jr. THIS WEEK: South Carolina

Auburn (4-3): Tommy Tuberville got asked this question this week (h/t EDSBS): "What’s it been like for you guys being kind of passed by Alabama as the top team in the state?" Again, just because of questions like that, nothing would be funnier than to see Auburn find a way to extend the streak this year, especially if Bama comes in 11-0. THIS WEEK: BYE

Georgia Tech (5-1): Although they’re not beating the likes of Hawaii, I guess it’s a credit to Tech that they keep winning, and a lot of their remaining games seem, well, winnable. Carolina’s star is out for the year. FSU and Miami are average, and if Tech can prove to be above average, I guess that’s saying something relative to expectations for this year. Now Tech gets Clemson in the first post-Bowden game, and who knows what to expect? THIS WEEK: @ what’s left of Clemson

Back in August, Matthew Stafford laid out some ambitious personal goals for the 2008 season. Now that half the season is in the books, we’ll take a peek at how he’s coming along.

Goal: 35 TD
So far: 8 TD
Projected*: 16 TD
Comment: Not gonna happen. Even the Richt-era record of 24 set by Shockley in 2005 seems out of reach at this point. This isn’t a problem indicator; the SEC leaders only have 10 TD each, and the running game has been doing a great job of getting in the endzone. If Stafford can get to 20 TD on the season, I’ll be thrilled.

Goal: 3,700 – 4,000 yards passing
So far: 1503 yards
Projected*: 3000 yards
Comment: It’s probably not going to happen without a huge increase in production. Stafford did just post his first career 300-yard game. Even if Stafford averages 300 YPG the rest of the way, he’ll be at 3,300 yards heading into the postseason. That would put him in a position to beat Greene’s Richt-era record of 3,307 yards. If Stafford can average 250 YPG in the remaining six games, the SEC Championship, and the bowl, he’ll be in a position to challenge Eric Zeier’s all-time Georgia mark of just over 3,500 yards.

Goal: 64% completion rate
So far: 61.7%
Projected*: 61.7%
Comment: This goal is still very much within reach. Stafford has already improved his percentage over last season, and he just completed 69% of his passes against Tennessee. By completing just another couple of passes per game, he can get to 64%.

* – Projections are based on doubling the production so far. Yes, Georgia will likely face much better defenses the rest of the way. Production could also vary based on injuries and improvement. If my projections don’t suit you, fill in your own.