Three Classic City Thoughts

Is this headed toward “Man Ball, 2.0?”

It’s fair to call Georgia’s offense of 2019 the dark ages.

That was obviously before an inadvertent turning point with LSU’s offense on the other side of the ball in that year’s SEC championship game. From there, Georgia’s new offensive approach ended up including the arrival of Todd Monken. And rest, they say, is history.

Part of that season, however, was Georgia not getting as explosive as Georgia fans would have liked, prompting the phrase, “man ball” to be used.

One pivot of that mindset was that it didn’t matter how explosive the offense was - as long as it resulted in enough points to win, it’d be publicly and staunchly defended by Kirby Smart.

You’re seeing some of that this year. For all purposes of perception, this coaching staff is zeroed in not on any points per game but an offense doing what it takes to win. The fact that it’s a few weeks into the season and Kirby Smart is already going to bat for Carson Beck and Mike Bobo speaks volumes that there’s a belief in who Georgia has on offense.

From earlier this week via DawgNation

“Everybody thinks it’s some kind of different offense. It’s the exact same,” Smart said. “It’s not different. The results have not been the same. That’s statistical proof. He’s transitioning well because of the fact he’s in the offense that he’s been in.

As it was noted in last week’s halftime video, this team is outcome-related, and if the offense results in the outcome of winning games, that’s where this team is anchored.

Final Respite Is This Week

There sure were lots of “boy, if we play like this later this year” last week during the first half against South Carolina. This week might be the final respite until that time comes. It’s hard to gauge how new coaching staff will move a team along as a season progresses, but next week will still be Auburn...in Auburn. And if Florida’s talent gap is still trying to catch up and if Tennessee is as much of a fraud as it looked last week, then Kentucky will be, as has been in the past, the second-best team in the SEC East.

That’s why this week is a prime chance for the offense to do what it has not done so far this season - start fast. If Carson Beck can play in the first half as he did in the third quarter last week, it’ll give fans a lot less heartburn going into the meat of SEC play.

Is Colorado A View Of College Football’s Future?

What will college football look like in a few years? Nobody knows for sure, but Coach Prime and Colorado have offered a possible look.

No, I don’t foresee entire rosters walking around with hats and sunglasses with who’s who of entertainers on the sidelines, ala the 1991 Atlanta Falcons that yes, included Deion Sanders.

But if Colorado gets big ratings again this weekend against Oregon that surpass Notre Dame - Ohio State, then it’ll reinforce that TV ratings will be king.

I know not everyone here follows the NFL, but if TV ratings end up being the kingmakers, you’ll see a college football landscape of the NFL where despite the talent across the board, marquee games figure to be ones that pull in eyeballs regardless of record - kind of like all the games in primetime in the NFL involving the Cowboys regardless of their record.

Go Dawgs!