Georgia Bulldogs: Fran Tarkenton Says It's A "Disturbing Time" At Georgia

Fran Tarkenton recently had plenty to say about the direction he feels his alma mater is headed under the guidance of head coach, Mark Richt, and it's clear that he's not impressed.

During a recent radio interview, Tarkenton unleashed hell on Richt and made it very clear that he thinks a change is overdue in Athens. The entirety of the interview can be heard here, but here are just a few of the highlights—with my commentary, of course.

When asked about his overall impression of the program, Tarkenton had this to say,

"We don’t want to look at the signs.  There are always signs out there that show us that we've got impending disaster, be it the financial crisis or the Georgia crisis or the Florida crisis or what.  We knew something before the Florida crisis didn’t we?  The guy, he had a meltdown.  His mojo was down and he recognized it, they recognized it and he got out.  They bring a great coach in Will Muschamp in, they bring in the top offensive coordinator in the world, Charlie Weis, and they are in the SEC, and here we are at Georgia. 

For the last three years our program has been god-awful.  Our schedule, we play two sisters of the poor every year.  We play Kentucky and Vanderbilt that aren’t true SEC teams and then we play Georgia Tech that is not going to have the talent we have.  That is five times we play every year that we are much better than our opponents—doesn’t mean we're gonna win em' all."

While it seems unfair to dismiss the evolution of Kentucky football, Tarkenton isn't saying anything that any other SEC fan wouldn't say—teams expect to beat Vanderbilt and Kentucky every year. Those are supposed to be wins, regardless to how hard either of those teams fight on the football field. Most years, Georgia should come out on top of that match-up. Yet, we have come to view those games as potential losses—is that okay?

Tarkenton also had this to say about Richt's statement that he was now "freed up" for giving more of his attention to the game of football,

"...What has he been doing for nine years? I have never heard of any college, high school, professional coach that ever said that I was not able to spend enough time on football.  I had other issues."

I must admit, I had a similar response. Although I was more focused on what that statement meant in regards to 2010. It's a valid question to ask and Tarkenton lays it on as to why he felt it was a poor choice of words coming from Richt,

"...it sounds like a cop-out!  It sounds like I'm not going to take responsibility.  I have other things.  We hire people to be football coaches.  We pay him and others millions of dollars to be football coaches not to be administrators.  He didn’t do a very good job there...Mark and everybody is a wonderful guy and he is a wonderful guy.  He is a good Christian guy.  He wants to be a missionary.  He goes on missions.  That is a wonderful thing but do you know the religion of Nick Saban?  Or Gus Malzahn?  Or Chip Kelly playing for the national championship?  I don’t think we care what their religion.  We hire them to be football coaches.  If we are hiring religious instructors, let’s go to the Campbell School of Theology over here in Decatur and get some of their people to come and coach our football team."

Ouch, Fran, tell us how you really feel.

Richt is both praised and persecuted for being the kind of coach who seems more passionate about spreading his beliefs than coaching his football players. How many times have you heard he's "too nice" to win a championship? Too soft? Too passive? Too...much not like Nick Saban or Urban Meyer?

It's a common refrain and the voices singing it have grown louder and louder over the last three-years.

To top it off, Tarkenton had this to say about Richt's inability to make changes in the strength program until now,

"...Every person, every scout, all of the combine people that train/workout all of these college athletes have told me for the last five or six years, the Georgia football players are not in anywhere near the condition that the rest of the players from all of the other schools, they didn’t say they ranked second or third, they say they ranked dead last.  Why couldn’t this coach recognize that before now?  Before disaster happens?"  

Again, good question. One that most attribute to loyalty and not ignorance. Either way, it's a problem that Richt has proven to have—in spades—and one that isn't likely to change in 2011.

It's probably safe to assume that we won't be seeing Tarkenton on the sidelines of a Georgia football game anytime soon, but you have to admit, his questions and statements have validity—even if they lack a bit of tact.

What say you?

College Football Betting Odds: Will The Auburn Tigers Be The Next No. 1 To Fall?

The Lady got back to being average last week, finishing the weekend slate with a 5-5 record. The challenge for this site has become to complete the season ABOVE .500 and, sitting at 34-41 on the year, there is still plenty of work left to do before that goal is accomplished.

So, this week, the usual ten picks will be upped to fifteen—just for kicks. To keep it interesting, there will be no "cupcakes"—all Division-I. The Lady will either sink or swim with her choices but, there again, she always does.

The time stamp offered by this posting may not reflect the lines as you may find them to be as of Thursday morning, but as of 8:33 Wednesday night, these were the lines offered by VegasInsider.com.

Let's get it going, shall we:

1. Ole Miss vs. Auburn: Auburn (-7)

The Tigers are really feeling like winners right now, aren't they? They're the No. 1 team in the nation, undefeated in the SEC, sporting a Heisman contender (likely the Heisman winner) at quarterback...things are looking sweet on The Plains right now.

Well, here's the thing about that, Auburn has looked lights out all season EXCEPT on the road where they've struggled against both Kentucky and Mississippi State. Ole Miss has one of the most mobile quarterbacks the Tigers have faced all season and Masoli is coming off one of his best games of the season.

Don't sleep on the Rebels.

The Lady's Pick: Ole Miss

2. Southern Cal vs. Oregon: Oregon (-7)

Oregon is mad as hell, and they aren't gonna take it any more!

If you're Chip Kelly's bunch, you have to be wondering what on earth you have to do in order to see some BCS respect—a little No. 1 love? Well, the best way to get that is to go to L.A. and stomp the living crap out of Lane Kiffin's boys.

If they can do that, they might be able to get enough of a boost to pull those Auburn Tigers right off their mantle.

The Lady's Pick:  Oregon

3. Connecticut vs. West Virginia: (-6.5)

Connecticut has to break in another quarterback this week and, although, they are playing at home, they have looked another shade of awful over the last two weeks—against both Rutgers and Louisville.

Are they really going to improve that much between then and Friday?...Not likely.

The Lady's Pick: West Virginia

4.  Illinois vs. Purdue: Illinois (-17.5) 

What did Illinois do to deserve this much respect?

Purdue hasn't been good this year, but they've played every team they have faced in a tough fashion this season. Illinois beat the crap out of Indiana last week, and no disrespect to the Hoosiers, but that's not saying much.

The Lady's Pick: Purdue

5.  Iowa vs. Michigan State: Iowa (-6)

Michigan State averted a disaster in Illinois last week against a tough Northwestern team. That won't happen again in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes will be ready to get stop the Spartans streak in Iowa City.

The Lady's Pick: Iowa

6. South Carolina vs. Tennessee: South Carolina (-17.5)

Tennessee doesn't look good. The lack of depth, the issues on the offensive line, the quarterback spot, etc...all look completely exhausted at this point.

By stark contrast, the Gamecocks will be playing at home...with Marcus Lattimore.

The Lady's Pick: South Carolina

7. Mississippi State vs. Kentucky: Mississippi State (-6.5)

Kentucky is better than their record. Mississippi State isn't as good as theirs.

The Lady's Pick: Kentucky

8. Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State: Oklahoma State (-5.5)

Brandon Weeden just, unexpectedly, lost his No. 1 receiver. That means the Cowboys offense just got run-heavy. The Wildcats would be wise to take advantage of the Cowboys period of adjustment.

The Lady's Pick: Kansas State

9. Nebraska vs. Missouri: Missouri (-7.5)

The Cornhuskers were on the opposite side of this line two-weeks ago against the Longhorns—they blew it. Don't look for Pelini's bunch to make the same mistake twice.

The Lady's Pick: Nebraska

10. Oregon State vs. California: Oregon State (-2.5)

The Golden Bears feel pretty good about themselves after a huge win over the Sun Devils last week, but they should be careful not to bring too much of that ego into Oregon this weekend. The Beavers play well at home and the Bears have been woeful on the road.

The Lady's Pick: Oregon State

Lady's Luck Picks:

11. Washington State (+21) at Arizona State


12. Minnesota (+25.5) vs. Ohio State


13. Penn State (-3) vs. Michigan


14. Miami (-15.5) at Virginia


15. Kansas (+19) at Iowa State

College Football Rankings: It's Time to Ditch The Preseason AP Poll—It's Useless

If you're a fan of Michigan State, South Carolina or Nevada, you felt good waking up this past Sunday, finding your team making moves in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25.

After all, it's reassuring to have a team that's recognized on a national level as one to be reckoned with—respected.

However, if you’re a fan of one of the above-mentioned, then you also recall that they were not given such respect a mere five weeks ago—when none of them were ranked.

That's right, South Carolina (a team that just beat the brakes off the No. 1 team in the land), Michigan State (the only team that has been able to slow Denard Robinson down), nor Nevada (who managed to beat BYU in Provo) were listed in the AP Preseason Top 25—not a one.

By stark contrast, you know what teams were listed in said poll: Pittsburgh (a team that has two wins on the year), Virginia Tech (a team that lost to a I-AA opponent in week two), and Penn State (a team that just lost by 20 points to Illinos...in HAPPY VALLEY).

Did any of those teams really deserve to be considered Top 25 worthy?  Think about it? Did any of them warrant as much respect as they received earlier in the year?

Of course, it's easy to say "no" now because we’ve seen them play. We know who has playmakers (Marcus Lattimore of South Carolina and Kirk Cousins of Michigan State) and who’s missing their departed players (Tim Tebow of Florida and Daryll Clark of Penn State).

However, why did it have to take so many of these teams losing before anyone started taking a closer look at the teams that were actually playing good football? After all, if you follow a particular conference, most of these things weren’t hard to miss.

For example, people are looking at South Carolina as being "for real" now that they’ve beaten Alabama, but the average SEC fan knew this was a possibility eight months ago.

Outsiders looked at the Oregon Ducks as being done after the Jeremiah Masoli suspension, but the average Pac-10 fan knew better—Chip Kelly is no slouch where quarterback development is concerned—and most felt Oregon would be just fine as long as the defense didn’t regress too much. 

As for Nevada, well, the college football world is so focused on that "other team from the WAC" that they can't see the forest for the large tree growing in Boise.

The more games that are played, the greater ability people have at separating the good from the bad, the contenders from the pretenders, and the winners from the losers. The picture gets clearer because you have better criteria to assess a team’s overall value.

That said, why on earth does college football still allow preseason rankings?  Why not wait until teams have played a couple months of football before you assign a number to the left of their name?

It's not fair that South Carolina has to start at the bottom, while Alabama gets a pass to the top— just because they played great football...in 2009.

This is a new year, with new players, new teams, and new schedules. No team should start off with the advantage of being "number" anything because they haven't done anything to prove they deserve that distinction—yet.

If you look back at the preseason poll, released just before the start of the 2010 season, you will find that 10 of the 25 teams that were listed, have either dropped significantly or have exited altogether —two of those teams were once listed in the top 5 (Texas and Florida).

The polls are useless. The only thing they serve to do is create an unfair advantage for teams who may or may not live up to the expectations that the "experts" have place on them.

Of course, some might argue that there is just as much of a chance that more teams will tumble. It’s still early enough and some of these teams still haven’t “played anybody” yet.  It’s possible that this week’s poll isn’t any more right than it was six weeks ago.

All of that is true but, at least we know more about the teams we’re choosing to rank. At least our assessments can be based more on fact than fiction...at least we know who truly has a team worth writing and talking about.

It's time to stop releasing the AP Poll and the useless Coaches Poll that comes before it because, in truth, both are worthless.

What say you? 

College Football Preseason: Ten Big Questions for The Top Ten Teams

Phil Steele is a well-respected college football sportswriter and analyst. His college football preseason magazine is often one of the most highly-anticipated sports publications of the year. He's nothing if not thorough and he tends to be one of the more spot-on prognosticators in the industry.

That said, when he released his Top 25 in late May, quite a few people were interested in what he had to say. He drew both praise and disdain for going out on a limb to pick Oklahoma as his No. 1, but you had to respect his logic in doing so because, well...he's Phil Steele.

However, since that time, a lot has happened in the world of college football and that Top 10 that seemed to make sense in May isn't looking nearly as air-tight in August. This article is a brief, and I do mean brief, look at the potential weakness of each team Phil Steele listed in his Top 10.

I'll leave the further discussion of said "weaknesses" to you, the reader, because I consider us all to be savvy enough to make a quick, smart, and balanced analysis. Plus, it's always nice to see a different point of view.

As always, I ask that you be respectful of each other and allow for intelligent discussion—thanks in advance for the look. Much appreciated.

10. Oregon Ducks

The obvious place to begin would be at quarterback, right? After all the Ducks lost a possible Heisman contender in Jeremiah Masoli—leaving two inexperienced guys fighting for the right to lead the Ducks back to the promised land.

However, a closer look at the Ducks QB situation and you have to feel like either Nate Costa or Darron Thomas can come in and perform—Chip Kelly knows how to find a good quarterback. The Ducks should be fine at signal-caller as long as Costa can stay healthy and Thomas can stay poised.

So, if there is one weakness that can be found, it would have to be located on the defensive line where the Ducks lost stud defensive end, Will Tukuafu. Can the team repeat the success they had as a unit in 2010 minus one of their best leaders?

Tukuafu's loss isn't a deal breaker but it's definitely something to consider, especially where line chemistry is concerned—can the Ducks keep it together, stay healthy, and remain focused enough to carry their 2009 success into 2010?

9. Miami Hurricanes

 The Hurricanes come into 2010 with a lot of expectations. However, one look at their first road trip of the season—to Columbus to play Ohio State—and you have to wonder if those expectations shouldn't be tempered just a little bit.

The Canes' are loaded with talent, both in the secondary and on the defensive line—despite what their ACC sack totals will tell you—and I don't suspect they will have much of a problem finding a capable back for Jacory Harris to hand the ball off to.

That said, the fact that the offensive line lost two major cogs in Jason Fox (OT) and A.J. Trump (C) is a concern. Harris was already on the ground way too much last season and if fans are looking for him to take the next step in his development, it would help if he weren't running for his life.

Can the Canes' find capable replacements on the offensive line in time to make those title dreams come true in Miami?

8. USC

USC has been taken through the ringer this offseason. From the departure of Pete Carroll to the quasi-erasure of Reggie Bush from their history books, the program has seen better days.

However, just because they won't be eligible for the postseason for a couple years, doesn't mean they can't offer a preview of what might be coming in the future—make no mistake, there is still plenty of talent at USC.

The only true weakness on this team is its secondary. Taylor Mays is gone and the only guy with any significant starting time in the outfield is Shareece Wright. Will the lack of experience in the secondary become a major factor for the Trojans in a pass-happy conference like the Pac-10?

7. Florida

The Gators are not without talent. Tebow may be gone, but John Brantley promises a new approach to the Gator offensive attack—one that will present more balance on the field than the SEC has seen from the Swamp since the departure of Chris Leak.

You could arbitrarily pick a spot and say it could pose a problem for the Gators, but then you'd remember they still have a ton of talent bringing up the rear.

For instance, they lost Brandon Spikes at linebacker, right? Well,big deal, they have plenty more horses in that stable. Joe Haden will be a tough act to follow, but if there is one thing the Gators can find, it's a speedy defensive back to patrol the outfield. Brandon James will be missed on special teams, but I'm pretty sure someone can both catch the ball and run it really fast when the time comes.

So, in honesty, the one weakness, if you are hard-pressed to find one, has to be at wide receiver, where the only significant experience that returns comes with Deonte Thompson—both Aaron Hernandez (TE) and Riley Cooper (WR) are gone.

Will Brantley have enough targets to compliment his talented arm in 2010?

6. Boise State

The Broncos have everything on their side right now, schedule (although that match-up with Virginia Tech could make or break their season), experience (they return 20 starters), coaching (there are few better than Chris Petersen), and expectation (they finally have the respect and the ear of the BCS).

However, what they don't have is an experienced starter returning at the left tackle position. The position that, arguably, is the most important guy on the offensive line. Last season, Nate Potter performed the job very well but he has moved to guard to make way for redshirt freshman, Charles Leno.

Leno may be all that the coaches want him to be, but he hasn't started a game yet, and he will be expected to protect the blindside of the teams most treasured commodity—can he do it?

5.  Nebraska

The Big Red Machine came within an eyelash of winning the Big XII outright last season. Now, with Texas nearly in their rear view, they will look to leave said conference with a bang, not a whimper—hopefully at the Longhorns expense.

In order to do so, they will first need to address their offensive inconsistency. That task will start with the quarterback position where the Cornhuskers seemed to find both joy and pain with Lee at the helm last season.

Nebraska will be fine without Suh, despite what many think, and they have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball to make another appearance at the Big 12 Championship game in 2010. But, if they want to go further, they will need to bring their offense up to the same level as their defense.

Can Lee or Green take the next step and make Nebraska's final season in the Big XII a triumphant one?

4. TCU

The Horned Frogs have long been an under-appreciated, fiercely talented, and consistently steady performer in the Mountain West. All they do is win football games and produce some of the best NFL prospects in the nation—two last season alone in both Darryl Washington and Jerry Hughes.

However, their loss to Boise State in last year's Fiesta Bowl left a bad taste in the mouths of the TCU faithful who figured their program was finally going to get its moment in the sun. Well, that was then.

It's a new year and, even with some key personnel losses on defense, the team still looks poised to make another run at BCS glory if they can address the holes created in the secondary when both Rafael Priest and Nick Sanders departed.

Will the loss of veteran leadership in the secondary be a sore spot for the Frogs this season?


3. Alabama

What can you say about the Crimson Tide? They have one of the best offensive lines in the conference, one of the best running back tandems in the country, and one of the best coaches—in the nation. Nuff said.

They are worthy of all the accolades and the camera-clicks they are getting at the moment and Nick Saban's crew can expect more of the same until their first loss of the season is a reality—pimpin' ain't easy, right?

Well, for all the talent and experience offered by the offense and the defense, there is at least one glaring weakness to speak of—special teams. The Tide lost Leigh Tiffin (K), P.J. Fitzgerald (P), and uber return man, Javier Arenas.

It doesn't matter what your stance is on the importance of the special teams unit, I can say without question, a game can be won or lost in the SEC with one swing of the leg or one badly returned ball.

Can the Tide reload there as well or will the lack of experience on special teams come back to haunt them in a tight game this season?


2. Ohio State

Big things are expected from the Buckeyes this year. Few would place a bet against Jim Tressel's crew in the Big Ten—except maybe Iowa, but that's another story.

However, if the Buckeyes expect to return to another National Title berth, they will need to address the inconsistency of their offensive line. There is just too much experience in that unit for them to play as poorly in 2010 as they did last season.

If they can't do better than that, it won't matter how nifty Terrelle Pryor is, things could get ugly for the Buckeyes in a hurry. 

Can the offensive line grow into the behemoth that many expect it should be already?


1. Oklahoma

Steele rattled a few cages when he chose to exalt Oklahoma to No. 1 over defending champion Alabama and, the heavily loaded, Ohio State. Heck, he rattled cages simply by choosing not to place the Texas longhorns anywhere near his Top 10—the horror.

However, the logic was sound enough that most could at least understand how he might have come to his conclusion.

The Sooners are pretty solid in most areas but the lack of experience at the corner spot could cause some hiccups along the way. Stoops lost two high-quality playmakers in both Domonique Franks and Brian Jackson. He'll need to insert two new able-bodied players at that spot in order to keep the heat off his talented safeties.

Will the Sooners be able to tighten their secondary up in time to be ready for the air attack of the Big 12?

(This article appears courtesy of The Lady Sportswriter)

Former Oregon Duck, Jeremiah Masoli, Proves You Can't Fix 'Stupid'

I have only one question for Jeremiah Masoli: "How stupid are you?"....No, I'm completely serious.
For those of you who have not heard the news, Jeremiah Masoli, the formerly suspended quarterback of the Oregon Ducks is now the dismissed, former starter of the Oregon Ducks after being arrested yet again.

To recap, back in March of 2010, Masoli and a former teammate were charged with second-degree burglary after they stole, among other things, a couple of Apples and a guitar. 

Okay, I'm being a bit glib with the Apple reference; they stole a couple of MacBooks and a guitar.

Anyway, after being forgiven for his trespasses by head coach, Chip Kelly, Masoli was extended a second-chance. He was going to be allowed to redeem himself by staying pristine, clean, and out of trouble.

Kelly even allowed him back to take some snaps with the team during spring practices. It was interpreted by some as a show of maturity by Masoli. There he was, providing not only advice to those who were vying to take his place but a window to 2011 as well. The message was clear: he was gone for 2010 but would definitely be looking to reclaim his spot in 2011.

There was some talk of a possible transfer, but it was clear that his best course of action was to stay at Oregon, take his one-year suspension, and then try return in 2011.

That was the plan.

Well, Masoli must have cement for sense because on Monday night, he was arrested again. What’s funny is the offense might have been dismissed as a minor traffic violation—he might have even had the chance to talk his way out of it altogether—if not for the marijuana and the suspended license.

What was he thinking?

Well, obviously he wasnt, but...really, it just brings me back to my original question: "How stupid do you have to be?"

I try hard not to ever bash on a player but this isn't a 17-year old high school student or an 18-year old freshman. This is a guy who stood to make a pretty penny at the next level if he could follow up on a great sophomore season. A season in which he threw for more than 2,000 yards while rushing for more than 600—scoring 28 total touchdowns—leading his team to both the Rose Bowl and a Pac-10 Championship.

Now, he’s just another cautionary tale of what happens when stupid is as stupid does.

He may still get his shot at playing football again, possibly even in 2010, now that he has no allegiances for 2011.

The FCS (Division II Football Championship Subdivision) has been kind to other athletes who couldn't seem to stay out of trouble—see Willie Williams and Ryan Perriloux—and if Masoli ends up going that route—good luck to him.

As for the Ducks, the era of Nate Costa can now, officially, begin as there is simply no longer a need to look over your shoulder at Oregon anymore—the thrill is definitely gone.