Tony Barnhart
By Tony Barnhart
Okay, we have eight Saturdays in the books and the coaching
carousel is spinning at a record pace.
And I don’t see anything that makes me believe that the last
Saturday in October is going to do anything to slow it down.
November approaches and soon we will have the first rankings
from the CFP Selection Committee. And then the fun really
begins.
So what did we learn during Week No. 8?
1-Georgia looks like the toughest—mentally and
physically—team in college football.
Consider this. Two weeks ago against Auburn, Georgia trailed five
different times in the course of the game. Each time Georgia
regained the lead and then put the game away with a 75-yard
drive.
Saturday against Ole Miss it looked Georgia was going to get run
out of the stadium as the Rebels scored touchdowns on their first
five possessions. Georgia trailed 14-10, 21-20, 28-20 and 35-26
in the fourth quarter. Georgia won the game 43-35.
“Another Day in the SEC where one-possession games have
become the norm,” said Coach Kirby Smart. “I don’t know if I have
ever been a part of one like that.”
Georgia (6-1) has this week off before the annual showdown with
Florida in Jacksonville. The Gators fired coach Billy Napier on
Sunday. Wide receivers coach Bill Gonzalez will serve as interim
head coach.
2—Don’t sleep on Georgia Tech. After a solid 27-18 victory at Duke,
Georgia Tech (7-0) is the only undefeated team in the ACC. The
Yellow Jackets are ranked No. 7 in the latest Associated Press
poll. The last time Tech started 7-0 was 1966, Bobby Dodd’s last
season as head coach. The rest of the Georgia Tech schedule is
Syracuse, N.C. State, Boston College, Pitt and Georgia. It does
not play Miami, which lost to Louisville on Friday.
3—I don’t vote for the Heisman Trophy any more but if I did I
would be torn between Ty Simpson of Alabama and Diego Pavia
of Vanderbilt. Both certainly should be in New York for the
presentation. Both are great players and great leaders. But I have
to believe that Pavia’s compelling personal story would carry him
a long way. To that end, Saturday’s home game with Missouri is
HUGE!!!
4—If you are pulling for Pavia or Simpson, here is another name
to keep in mind:
Alex Mortensen was named interim head coach at UAB after
Trent Dilfer was fired on Oct. 11. In his first game as head coach
Mortensen’s UAB team was a 23.5-point underdog. The Blazers won,
31-24.
I worked with Mortensen’s dad, Chris, when we both were at the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution. So happy for the family. Mort was a
great guy and a damn fine reporter.
5—James Franklin had all of the numbers working against him,
but he made a smart move in appearing on ESPN's College Game Day on
Saturday.
When your former boss, Penn State athletics director Pat Kraft,
tells the world he fired you because you couldn’t win the big one,
most coaches would have gone into hiding.
The numbers to back up Franklin’s firing were out there
for the world to see. The most damning one: Franklin faced 19 Big
Ten opponents who were ranked in the top 10 at the time of the
game. Franklin lost 18 of those games. Yep. 18.
I say he won’t be employed long.
#30