Magnolia Tribune
This article was produced by Magnolia Tribune staff.
Why UGA will win it all in this season
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/bradley/entries/2008/07/17/why_uga_will_win_it_all_in_thi.html
Citing the 10 reasons Georgia will win the BCS national title drew the predictable responses: Bulldog fans figured I’d jinxed them, while non-Bulldogs hooted and pointed to that road schedule as the reason this touted team will fail. And while I’ll admit to being wrong once or twice in my so-called life - the Braves were not, alas, in first place on the Fourth of July - I’ll also note something else:
Mark Richt is a pretty fair road coach.
His record on the opponent’s field is 25-4. More than simply good, that’s obscene. He’s 2-1 at Auburn, 3-0 in Columbia, 3-1 in Knoxville, 2-0 in Tuscaloosa. (OK, so he’s only 2-5 against Florida in Jacksonville, but that’s about to get a lot better.) Of those four road losses, one was to a team (LSU in 2003) that finished No. 1, and another (Auburn in 2004) was to a team that went undefeated.
Urban Meyer is, I believe we can all agree, an outstanding head coach. (His performance in the BCS title game against Ohio State was the single greatest tactical job I’ve ever seen.) In three seasons at Florida, Meyer has lost more road games (five) than Richt has lost in seven seasons at Georgia. Think about that.
I’m not saying the Bulldogs will win all five of their road games. Playing at South Carolina, at Arizona State, at LSU, at Kentucky and at Auburn is a daunting assignment, not to mention Florida in Jax. But Georgia seems stout enough to negotiate that path with only one loss - coming at Auburn on Nov. 15, I’m guessing - and one loss against that schedule will almost surely book passage to the BCS title game.
Atlanta Journal Constitution
7/17/08