It's Not the National Championship, But It's Something: Georgia Looks for Cap One Crown

by cocknfire on Jan 1, 2009 12:12 PM EST in SEC Football

Capital One Bowl, 1 p.m. ET, ABC

Georgia was always supposed to play in Florida at the end of the year. Well, some of us chose them to play there. But it was the year-end, national championship bout in South Florida that was a possible destination -- not the New Year-opening, Capital One Bowl in Central Florida.

In fact, some people did think Georgia would miss an undefeated season and chance to play for it all, but only because the SEC is tough and the Dawgs would fall somewhere. Not because of twin annihilations at the hands of Alabama and Florida and a heartbreaking loss to Georgia Tech.

For teams ranked No. 16 and No. 17 (as always, BlogPoll), this is not an even match statistically. Georgia is one spot better in polls and much better in everything except pass efficiency defense. And while Michigan State's 9-3 would be solid against any slate, the Spartans' schedule is not as tough as Georgia's.

On the other hand, both teams seemed to hold to a common theme int heir respective seasons: Defeat teams that are "worse," lose to teams that are "better." Georgia won against the lesser teams of the SEC and claimed a couple of good wins along the way; the same for Michigan State, which had showings against Ohio State and Penn State that were just as noncompetitive as Georgia's games against Alabama and Florida (if not more so).

But stick to the pattern. Michigan State is making progress under South Carolina alum Mark Dantonio, but Georgia is the better team. This is the last chance (probably) for QB Matt Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno to make a statement before heading to the NFL Draft. RB Javon Ringer (370 carries, 1,590 yards, 21 TDs) won't have a good enough day to save the Spartans. Georgia 31, Michigan State 20

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Stafford not looking so great while playing in front of his future fans.

Michigan State/ Lions fans are probably struggling over who to root for.

Clutch: A measurement of how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/glossary/

by bdalebs on Jan 1, 2009 2:39 PM EST reply actions

I think Detroit prefers Bradford, for some reason

I’d go with Stafford over someone from the Stoopsbot offense, but that’s just me

Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.

by cocknfire on Jan 1, 2009 4:16 PM EST up reply actions

Yep.

Esp. with Calvin Johnson lining up at WR. “Stafford to Johnson” could be a very scary combination for the rest of the NFC North (coming from a Bears fan).

by bdalebs on Jan 1, 2009 8:35 PM EST up reply actions

I had this convo with a Lions fan at work the other day

He seemed to prefer Bradford based on the sheer numbers he’s put up this year. I argued that Stafford is better suited to come into a bad situation like the Lions because he’s actually faced some adversity. His three seasons have been behind less than stellar offensive lines and receivers that sometimes get cases of the dropsies. Bradford has played behind one of the best offensive lines in the country and never gets hit. I fear that if Bradford walked into a situation like Detroit, he’s another Joey Harrington/David Carr waiting to happen. I fear he’d become as shell shocked as they were after he starts taking a lot of hits. Stafford, on the other hand, has taken his fair share of shots this year and shown an ability to move around in the pocked when protection breaks down to prolong a play. Should both these guys declare, I’m curious to see what Detroit chooses to do.

http://hobnailboot.blogspot.com/

by AuditDawg on Jan 1, 2009 9:28 PM EST up reply actions