South Carolina loses starting DT for UGA game

The State is reporting that Gamecock defensive tackle Ladi Ajiboye will miss the first three games of the season for South Carolina due to a suspension following an arrest on possession of weed charges. They play the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 2. Ladi found the bright side:

If there was a silver lining to his situation, Ajiboye said his inactivity while suspended for spring practice caused him to lose 25 pounds from last season's playing weight of 300. "I feel like that worked out for the better because I feel like I'm in better shape because I lost so much fat," Ajiboye said. "I was pretty fat, I'm not going to lie. It wasn't all muscle."

Now, I've never been an SEC caliber athlete, but I do know a little something about "inactivity" as I most certainly subscribed to the chiseled "Body by Playstation" look. As an expert, I can tell you that inactivity doesn't cause one to lose weight. I'm also not a drug user, but I would suggest that cutting down on the weed may have been a factor in the weight loss big fella.

Ajiboye had started 22 games over the past two years for the Chickens. This will only help as Georgia works to establish ownership of the line of scrimmage in this game.

See Also:
-- Tickets: South Carolina Gamecocks at Georgia

PWD

Digital Media Guide Up and Running

For those of you who didn't give a grand to the Hartman Fund or buy a copy already, the 2009 football media guide is fully accessible on the athletic administrations's website.  You can virtually thumb through it in full screen mode by clicking the cover page.  

The media guide is Georgia football's best version of itself.  Pages 76-112 are the recruiting portion of the guide and they are quite compelling.  

Quinton

Top Trap Games of 2009?

Yesterday, Tony Barnhart listed his Top 5 Trap games for 2009. These are games that don't look so difficult on paper but can really trip a team up. His top five are:

1. Arkansas at Florida
2. Tennessee at Alabama
3. Georgia at Arkansas
4. LSU at Georgia
5. Ole Miss at Vanderbilt

He explains his reasoning, and there's some merit in those selections. However, I'd argue for a few differences.

First off, Florida is going to slaughter Arkansas. The Ole Miss debacle last year wasn't just caused by Florida's ambivalence towards the underrated Rebels. It was also caused by Dan Mullen not finding his rhythm with utilizing Demps, Rainey and Harvin at tailback to take pressure off of Tebow. Once they sorted their personnel utilization issues out, they were borderline unstoppable offensively. I don't see the Gators being tripped up at home against the worst defense in the SEC.

Separately, Tony's hedged remarks about the LSU at Georgia game aside, that's not a trap for LSU. Even though they play Florida the following week, Miles will have them squarely focused on the Dawgs. You don't give up 52 points at home and forget about it.

Alternative Selections
I'd replace one of those two games with Ole Miss at South Carolina on Thursday Night of Week 4. The Gamecocks start the season at NC State and at Georgia before coming home in Week 3 against Florida Atlantic. At best, they'll likely be 2-1 coming into the Ole Miss game, and I'm inclinded to believe they'll be 1-2.

Ole Miss should paste the Gamecocks, but you have the Houston Nutt Implosion Factor(TM) combined with Ole Miss' four decade long struggle with Altitude Sickness. They blow themselves up anytime the thin air of a high ranking gets too much for them. Also, the Gamecocks beat the Rebels last year in Oxford, and this year's game is on a Thursday night where home teams do pretty well. I think the Rebels win, but this is a very dangerous game for Nutt.

Secondly, I'd list Kentucky at Auburn as a trap for Auburn. You could argue that this can't be classified as a trap for AU because Kentucky is likely better than the Tigers. However, most Aubies would have trouble admitting that UK is ahead of them. The Tigers will be coming off consecutive away games at Tennessee and Arkansas, and they get LSU and Ole Miss following the UK game. For the Cats, the trip to The Plains could be the difference between a Peach Bowl birth and a Liberty Bowl game. I think those factors converge to make for a brutally disappointing game for Aubies.

What do you think is the biggest trap game in the SEC?

See Also:
-- SEC Schedule Grid

PWD

Cover Pokes

Okie State QB Zac Robinson is a newly minted SI coverboy for their college football preview issue.  These are regional covers but the picks were surprising: Penn State, Okie State, Ole Miss, and Oregon.  (How can SI not have Timmy Tebow on their cover?  That is something Urban Meyer will never forget.)  Let me be the first to say it: Jinx! Jinx! JINX!

 

As we know, SI is a reliable predictor of football success.

On another, more-expensive note:  Forbes has scoured the secondary market place for the most expensive tickets to 2009 college football games.  Their rankings were based on StubHub numbers.  First on the list is USC's visit to Notre Dame.  Not shocking.  The second, however, is "The University of Georgia - All home games."  Florida's trip to LSU is fifth.  The Red River Shootout is eighth!  So a normal home game in Athens is more expensive that two of the most anticipated games of the year in college football. 

Quinton

Away Game Cut-Off Scores for Georgia Tech and Vandy Announced

Geno Atkins vs. Tech in '07 (Image: Hipple)
The Athletic Department announced the ticket cut-off for the Georgia Bulldog games at GT and Vanderbilt.

• Vanderbilt: All Hartman Fund contributors who ordered with a cumulative score of 11,300 and higher will receive tickets.
  
• Georgia Tech: All Hartman Fund contributors who ordered with a cumulative score of 30,000 and higher will receive tickets.

If you don't have tickets and are interested in aftermarket sources, I may be able to help. Our relationship with Stubhub gives you access to tickets in almost any section of Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium or Vandy's Dudley Field. Links to ticket information from Stubhub is below:

• UGA at Georgia Tech (Boddy Dodd Stadium at Grant Field)
  
• UGA at Vanderbilt (Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field)

The UGA Athletic Department hasn't announced the cutoff scores for the Cocktail Party this year. When they announce for the Florida game, we'll let you know.

PWD

Kickoffs Coming into Focus

The ABH sat down with Coach Fabris to talk kickoff coverage. Fabris was fairly candid in talking about an open mindedness to change the kickoff approach with Bogotay's strong leg.

"Do you change?" asked assistant coach Jon Fabris, who oversees the unit. "That's kind of like saying we've been running the offense we've been running here and we sign a Michael Vick - that kind of guy. Do you implement some things for (Georgia's dual-threat backup quarterback) Logan Gray? Do you emphasize some things to show him off? That's no different than that deal."

We'll see. The more interesting thing to me will be today's practice report when we hopefully hear how many freshmen skill players were on the kick coverage unit vs. how many older, slower walk-ons.

See Also:
-- Hidden Yardage: Kickoff Coverage - Georgia Sports Blog

PWD

Excellent recap of Monday's Activities

If you don't read anything else today, read David Hale's exhaustive recap of practice from yesterday. He talks running back depth, injuries and practice tempo. Some of the encouraging tidbits include only 1 penalty yesterday by the offense and none by the defense.

Separately, it appears that the Bulldogs are dreaming of Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant. The Chattanooga Free Press has a good article on prepping for the Cowboys. (ht - ESPN) Prince Miller's quote on the topic is:

Only visions of Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant, and lots of them. "You can't help but think of him every day," Miller said. "He's one of the best players in the country, and this is what I've trained for all summer."

PWD