SEC RACE HOTTER THAN EVER

It is still early and a lot can happen, but the SEC race looks like it has slimmed down to 4 teams.

The SEC’s divisional races are ratings gold. In the latest edition of the South’s edition of "Must See TV", the SEC West race between Alabama and LSU is barreling down the tracks to November 5th in Tuscaloosa. This game will be out of hand, and no doubt be one of the best games of the year. Both have had their downs, but South Carolina and Georgia are both improving and appear to be on the upswing.


Over in the West...
LSU has been sensational. This team is playing with so much confidence, even their punter is talking trash. Les Miles has to be one of the most entertaining coaches in the history of the game. His players love him, and it is easy to see why. Tyrann Mathieu is making a claim for the Heisman and he's a cornerback, so that gives you a good indication of the talent in Baton Rouge. The QB situation has largely been a non-issue, and LSU's ground game has been solid behind Spencer Ware and Michael Floyd. Both LSU and Bama are body slamming opponents with clinical grade nasty-jaw dropping defense. Looking ahead, LSU heads to Rocky Top, then to Auburn, then has a bye week, and then Tuscaloosa.

Bama has been trotting out, quite possibly, Nick Saban’s best defense ever. They have pitched 2 shutouts they have a legit shot a pitching a couple more. Gameballs to Hightower and the entire defensive secondary at this point. The offense is clicking behind AJ McCarron, Trent Richardson, and Marquis Maze. Trent Richardson is another Heisman hopeful. He's been having a solid year. There are still some games left to play, but The Crimson Tide have to head to Oxford, then to Rocky Top, off week, then host LSU. The Crimson Tide could have a legitimate shot at another undefeated season.

Back in the East...
With South Carolina losing to Auburn back in Week 5, the door is still cracked open for Georgia to hang around. The Gamecocks, behind Conner Shaw (for the moment), look to continue the momentum they harnessed in this past weekend’s game against one the SEC’s most futile teams, Kentucky. They have to hit the road, head over to Starkville and face a damaged Mississippi State team, then an off week, then the Gamecocks go to Rocky Top, to Arkansas, and then host Florida. This could be a rocky 34 days for Carolina fans. With the offense appearing to be on the rebound this Carolina team could be tough to stop. The defense has been stellar this year. Melvin Ingram, Jadaveon Clowney and Marcus Lattimore get the Carolina mid-season game balls.

As for Georgia, they have seen the ship righted on the defensive side of the ball. A few Dawgs get some mid-season game balls: Jarvis Jones, Brandon Boykin, Bacarri Rambo on the Defensive side and Isaiah Crowell and Malcolm Mitchell on the offensive side. Showing tremendous upside, Todd Grantham’s defense is getting that foamy-at-the-mouth look that Georgia fans have been praying for in Athens. The offense for Georgia is showing signs of running smoothly, just not for long. As Georgia came of the second half gates and put up 14 points, they quickly popped the clutch in the second half and kept Tennessee in the game. Let’s give Tennessee credit. Injured, they have one of the best passing attacks around that is on the verge of full tilt. Isaiah Crowell and the return to a legitimate running threat at Georgia, have been the other driving forces in Georgia’s leveling off of the program. Malcolm Mitchell has stepped up in the wake of AJ Green.

Georgia heads to Vandy, then have an off week (which comes in at a big time with Crowell and Mitchell both needing to heal up), then head to The Cocktail Party, host New Mexico State, host Auburn, host Kentucky, and finish the season in Atlanata against GA Tech. The regular season finale has nothing to do with the SEC race, but watching GA Tech's ground game, against Georgia's increasingly stingy defense will be a fun one indeed.

Odds are muddy on Coach Richt bringing home the "W" from Jacksonville and running the table AND The Gamecocks dropping another SEC game, maybe Arkansas on the road. Who knows?

Both SEC matchups are equally interesting to keep an eye one. One matchup, The West, is a race between 2 thoroughbreds. The Dysfunctional SEC East is going to really show us what the 2 teams trying to find their way really have in them. Who wants it?

Look for Garcia to get thrown back into the fire before this one is done and on a big stage.

This is surely going to be fun watch pan out.

HERE COME THE GOOD BOWLS: Part II

Alright this is another great day of games. The New Year's Eve slate of college football games is on point. We have 4 really good looking match ups on the board. Now mind you, these are not all traditional match ups, but pretty good looking match ups none the less.

Friday December 31st:

#1 South Florida vs Clemson in the Car Care Bowl
(12/31) Noon ESPN
Clemson has had a tough year. Seems like ever since Kyle Parker took a shot in the back against Auburn earlier in the year, that something has not been right. Clemson is sitting on 6-6 and Dabo does not want to finish with a loosing record. Both teams roll into Charlotte having lost their last game. South Florida had a big time win over Miami in the Overtime thriller back on Thanksgiving weekend. Look for some turnovers and some otherwise sloppy play, but a thrilling game as there on athletes for both teams on both sides of the ball. Look for Clemson's Defensive front to be the difference.


#2 Notre Dame vs Miami in the Sun Bowl
(12/31) 2:00 PM CBS
Catholics vs Convicts renewed. The 2010 edition of this rivalry will propel Notre Dame into the national spotlight and keep them there for the next decade. Look for Brian Kelly to seize this golden opportunity. With Miami burning in the background the Golden Domers will step back up on stage. Since she took office, I've been very critical of the University President, Donna Shalala, and exactly who was behind the "Let's resign, then fire Coach Randy Shannon" decision is beyond me. Talk about a costly decision. But from the looks of the U from the outside, things to do not look they are being handled properly. Harris throws too many picks. Irish win.


#3 Georgia vs Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl
(12/31) 3:30 PM ESPN
What a difference selling a bowl jersey makes. Georgia really has to look in the mirror after this year and dig deep. The recruiting needs to step up. The defense needs to step up. The offense needs to learn to not fumble in the red zone. And the toughness (strength and conditioning) needs to return and reach new heights. Just a few things and this team is playing their bowl game on New Year's Day again. Mark Richt has "The Year" coming up next year with a kick off classic looming against Boise State, and Florida game with a new coach. Yeah Coach Richt is going to really want to go into the off season on a high note. A resounding win over Central Florida accomplishes that. There are still some really good recruits out there for the Dawgs to land, and this game is a big component of decisions to come. Plain and simple this is a trap game. Georgia has a ton to loose, and very little on the National Stage to gain outside of rebuilding respect. But Richt will have things in order. Look for Liberty Bowl records to be broken by Murray and Green. Dawgs win this one. Because Lord knows if they lose it, The Guns of Navarone will be pointing towards Athens.


#4 South Carolina vs Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Bowl
(12/31) 7:30 PM ESPN
This is the main event of the day. What a great match up. Which Garcia will show up? Will Spurrier find ways to get the ball to Lattimore throughout the game? Remember last year's bowl game where UCONN blew the doors of USC? Ouch! Yeah I love this match up. Jimbo Fisher has some really good mojo going on in Tallahassee, and Spurrier has the Gamecocks believing. Hope is something that has not been in Columbia's football discussion for an entire football season in some time. But its back now and the the SEC Championship game aside, these Gamecocks are really good. I know they wish they could have that 2nd Quarter back in Atlanta. They finally got Auburn to punt, and they did nothing with it. They finally got Cam to fumble and did nothing with it. If they convert those in 14, then maybe that game rolled out differently. Nah probably not, but it needs to be said. Look for the Gamecocks in this win. Spurrier loves beating the Seminoles and this year's no different.

Come back tomorrow, where we will have Part III in HERE COME THE GOOD BOWLS.

Please be safe out there and Happy New Years!!!!!

Follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cfdaily

Georgia Defeats A&M in the Independence Bowl

Georgia handles their business in Shreveport and defeats Texas A&M 44 - 20.

Both teams came out a little rusty and punted away the first quarter. Texas A&M connected first with a touchdown from Johnson to McCoy. The pair connected on 15 yard pass.

Georgia's defense led via a group effort (Coach Richt, Coach Garner and two Graduate Assistants) did a pretty good job of bending but not breaking. A&M racked up the yardage but they did not rack up the points.

Georgia's offense did not really show up in the first half, but the special teams did. A blocked field goal by big Geno Atkins set the tone early, and ignited the Dawgs.

(Photo courtesy of Georgiadogs.com)

After the initial touchdown by Texas A&M, Georgia's Brandon Boykin returned the kick 81 yards for a TD.

The next possession A&M was back to punt and Bacarri Rambo blocked the kick. Georgia setup First and Goal and Caleb King punched it in (Michael Moore was present to scoop up the touchdown, but the officials credited King with the TD).

A&M was short on timeouts as the first half wrapped up and the score at the half was UGA 14 - A&M 7.

Georgia pulled away big time in the second half putting up an additional 30 points to A&M's 13. Aaron White put a pair of TD's and Caleb King and Shaun Chapas both got a TD.

Even though Georgia was out gained in the game in total yards as A&M gained 471 to Georgia's 366, the final score did not reflect as Georgia had the lead and kept it via some key interceptions, and grinded it out on the ground in the second half.

Georgia finished the night with 208 yards on the ground and 158 in the air. Georgia's secondary got 2 interceptions on the night and shutdown A&M's comeback attempts.

Georgia has won 13 of last 16 bowl games and improves to 7-2 in the postseason under coach Mark Richt.

(Photo courtesy of Georgiadogs.com)