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By: LONNY DEMAREE
Though the Wildcats have problems and trepidation of their own, the Georgia Bulldogs have some of the same consternation wrapped up in a very different package.
The Cats have a somewhat different problem in that depending on who of the BBN you talked to about pre-season’s expectations the Mark Stoops honeymoon is over. This is not to say the coach’s job is in question. Now, the more realistic BBN fan would argue the Cats are on track to go to a bowl to go to a post-season bowl. This would show the football team on track to graduate to the next level in the Mark Stoops regime.
In Georgia’s case, they were picked to be the SEC East champions. The Bulldogs haven’t achieved to the level of success expected given the talent rich area they reside in and they are now dysfunctional. Mark Richt won the SEC East only once since he been the head coach which most Bulldog fans would view as under-achieving. Richt is now embroiled in a fight to keep his job. But the Bobby Bowden disciple who both are strong members in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, said they have been trying to fire Richt for several years “but God won’t let them” (ha ha.)
The Wildcat Mood
The team meeting is a good indicator that they came out of the Tennessee game in a somber mood bordering on lack of confidence. There is a sense of trepidation that the season might slip away and culminate much in the same manner of last season’s finish.
New Leadership
Are player’s only team meetings productive? There are mixed opinions on that happening because at the end of the day it’s the ‘Jimmy’s and Joe’ that execute what produces wins. To get that accomplished somebody must lead on the field. On the offensive side of the ball Patrick Towles has been the one the team has looked to but on various occasions someone else has to step up to get the players attention. The player’s only meeting produced a new leader on the offensive side of the football, in the person of sophomore running back Mikel Horton. Horton said that at one time in the South Carolina game in which he score from eight yards out, he suffered a concussion. He was sub-par until Saturday when he lowered head and took on a tackler and it wasn’t until then that he regained his confidence.
Quarterbacking
Good quarterbacking covers a multitude of what ails a football team and Georgia at this point of the season is still trying to settle on one. Kentucky has felt all along this season they have a quarterback but he has to have confidence in his offensive line. On the other hand Towles has to make the simple throws which at times he is woefully inept. South Carolina First Half its’ a consensus of opinion that if an athlete does something well at some point he can do it again. The first half of the SC game the Towles led offense looked as sharp as at any point in the last several years. Stoops brushed off the question of how he captures the same results. “I don’t know, I don’t know,” the coach responded.
At the end of the day Stoops has to ready his team to face a desperate Georgia team. The Kentucky Wildcats will be going up against a different style of offense than they have seen the last two games. He said about the different style of offense – “It starts with being physical up front and running the ball with a talented back and play action off of that. They hurt you with the run and add numbers and throw the ball down the field.”
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