2012 SEC Schedule

In the same  fashion as the NFL schedule, we also made an SEC one and here it is.  I know the SEC officially started yesterday but some things you prepare for and some things you forget.

Again, to get the high resolution version, click on the picture to enlarge, and right click to save.  It will also look good on a 11x17 if printing it out is your thing.

National Signing Day 2012

by Arnaldo

Since this is a blog for everybody, including, and especially, those less knowledgeable, let's explain recruiting real quick.

Coaches and scouts for college programs spend all year traveling to high schools talking to prospective recruits, watching them play, and discussing why they should come to their institution.  If a coach is impressed with a player, he'll schedule home visits during the offseason and invite the potential recruit to visit the campus during a football game weekend in the fall, with dozens of phone calls in between.

The recruit juggles several pursuing coaches, visits, and offers while trying to graduate high school.  When they've reached a decision, they'll typically let the coach know how committed they are towards the institution, but until the papers are signed on National Signing Day, absolutely nothing is final.  Verbal commitments mean very little now a days.  Recruits sometimes decommit from one program only to commit to another and then subsequently decommit all over again.

"Recruiting's kind of like shaving.  If you don't do it every day, you look like a bum." - Will Muschamp

This leads to a good amount of National Signing Day drama and plenty to cover on ESPN, which held an eleven-hour block of live coverage.  We're gonna examine some of the National Signing Day drama that affected Florida, and the incoming freshmen that should make an immediate impact for the 2012 season.

I should mention that all recruits get rated two ways:  a 1-5 star rating, and a national rank.  There are several entities that rate recruits but the most popular are Rivals and ESPNU.  Then, an aggregate score determines a national ranking for overall recruiting classes for a school.  These are usually great for getting an idea of how talented a player and class should be, but in reality they should be taken with a giant grain of salt.  None of these players have made it to the SEC field of play yet.  A strong recruiting class determines very little actual success down the line.  Florida recruited the nation's top class in 2008 and look at all the national championships that class won for us in their four years.  

Okay, so we won one with them as freshmen, but that just brings me to my next point.  Players don't usually make the starting teams until their sophomore year, at least.  Only about an eighth of the class will see the field at any given game their first year.  That 2008 National Championship was won by the impressive sophomore and junior classes and the only freshman who really contributed was Jeff Demps.  The moral of the story is to not take any ratings for any player or recruiting class too seriously, sometimes these recruits prove they were underrated, and oftentimes they prove they were overrated in the years to come.

National Signing Day 

So what happened on National Signing Day for the Gators?  In short, not much.  We had already had 21 commitments and went into February 1st expecting news on a handful of swing prospects, the ones that decided to withhold their announcements until the very last moment.  Recruits do this for a variety of reasons, the most popular of which is simply to become famous.  If a five-star recruit announces where he'll be playing in the summer before his senior year in high school, it barely makes a blog.  No one is that interested quite yet.  However, if that same player withholds his announcement until say, the All-American Game, or National Signing Day, he gets treated like Tim Tebow.  Less than half of these guys have truly successful college careers and even fewer end up in the NFL so this kind of publicity is a lifetime achievement, even though they haven't actually done anything yet.  Once they sign, they become first year players and are back on the bottom of a totem pole where they'll only be noticed if they play spectacularly, or get arrested.

Or sometimes, both.

The second reason is simple:  they still can't decide where to play.  This even applies to the recruits who have decided where they're going.  Like I said earlier, even verbally committed players change their minds on National Signing Day.

Florida had essentially four recruits that could still chose the Gators:  Nelson Agholor, Tracy Howard, Raphael Andrades, and Stefon Diggs.  In a one-two punch, both Agholor and Howard chose against us.  Agholor, a five-star athlete chose USC, and Howard, a five-star cornerback (and the No. 1 CB in the nation) chose Miami.  A bit of a blow considering both players are among the nation's elite.  Later that day a big surprise came when five-star defensive end, Dante Fowler Jr., announced he was coming to UF.  Though heavily recruited by Florida, Fowler kept saying he was "100%" a Florida State Seminole.  No one, especially FSU, expected him to decommit and join the Gators, marking an always satisfying victory over FSU.  Soon after, three-star wide receiver Raphael Andrades committed to UF.  The only piece of the puzzle left was five-star wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who opted to visit Maryland after National Signing Day, postponing his decision to February 10, delaying this article to today, two weeks after.  Diggs decided on Maryland over Florida, wrapping up our 2012 class to 23, and ranking us (according to Rivals) No. 3 recruiting class behind Alabama and Texas. 

You mad, Bros?

Players to Watch 

In general the entire class looks good and favors what the Gators lacked in 2011.  8 of the 23 are defensive linemen, which is a huge amount for a class.  Will Muschamp knows his top rebuilding needs are at the line of scrimmage, both of them.  

D.J. Humphries.  Who's ready to block?!

This brings up our top recruit, D.J. Humphries, five-star offensive tackle and the nation's top offensive lineman.  Rivals has him ranked No. 2 overall player, as in regardless of position.  He should make an immediate impact on pass rush protection, and power running game.  Offensive tackle is probably the least glorious position in football but for last years Gators squad, it was the most transparent.  Between the amount of John Brantley sacks and lack of run yardage accumulated, the impact D.J. Humphries has next year, even as a freshman, should be night and day.

Dante Fowler Jr., moments after flip flopping from
FSU to Florida. 

The next two players I'm most excited about happen to play the same position, which is great for us:  Jonathan Bullard and Dante Fowler Jr.  They'll both help contribute immediately to the depth of a defensive line that already oozes talent but has lacked productivity.  Excess depth is always the best solution for such a problem and both of these players happen to be two of the nation's best at defensive end (both five-star).  Fowler Jr., who has played both end and outside linebacker, will be a good fit at the buck position with Ronald Powell and William Green.

Is it me, or does he kind of look like John Brantley?

No matter what the recruit rankings say, the quarterback position is always incredibly difficult to predict.  Elite quaterbacks may come from no where while highly touted ones may disappear.  Enter Skyler Mornhinweg, a three-star prospect who happens to be the son of Marty Mornhinweg, the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles.  Needless to say, Skyler has football pedigree and a full time quarterback coach on his side.  I'm not here to say the Gators need him, but a year after recruiting two out of the top three quarterbacks, depth and competition are definitely healthy.  Look for solid competition between Jeff Driskel, Jacoby Brissett, Tyler Murphy, and Skyler Mornhinweg. 

Lastly, here is the entire 2012 Florida Gators class (position / hometown / high school / size).

Florida Gators Recruiting Class of 2012

Raphael Andrades  ★ ★ ★ 
WR / Tallahassee, FL/ Lincoln / 6'0'' 190 lbs

Willie Bailey  ★ ★ ★ 
DB / Hallandale, FL / Hallandale / 6'1'' 167 lbs

Jonathan Bullard  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 
DE / Shelby, NC / Crest / 6'3'' 263 lbs

Bryan Cox Jr.  ★ ★ ★ 
DE / Fort Lauderdale, FL / St. Thomas Aquinas / 6'3'' 247 lbs

Jessamen Dunker  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
OL / Boynton Beach, FL / Boynton Beach / 6'4'' 320 lbs

Dante Fowler Jr.  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 
LB/DE / St. Petersburg, FL / Lakewood / 6'3'' 261 lbs

Austin Hardin  ★ ★ 
K / Atlanta, GA / Marist / 5'10'' 204

D.J. Humphries  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 
OL / Charlotte, NC / Mallard Creek / 6'6'' 271 lbs

Damien Jacobs  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
DT / Houma, LA / H. L. Bourgeois / 6'4'' 290 lbs

Matt Jones  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
RB / Seffner, FL / Armwood / 6'2'' 213 lbs

Rhaheim Ledbetter  ★ ★ ★ 
S / Shelby, NC / Crest / 5'11'' 195 lbs

Jafar Mann  ★ ★ ★ 
DT / Stone Mountain, GA / Stephenson / 6'3'' 293 lbs

Marcus Maye  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
S/ Melbourne, FL / Holy Trinity Episcopal / 5'11'' 200 lbs

Alex McCalister  ★ ★ ★ 
LB / Clemmons, NC / West Forsyth / 6'6'' 223 lbs

Skyler Mornhinweg  ★ ★ ★ 
QB / Philadelphia, PA / St. Joesph's / 6'3'' 190 lbs

Antonio Morrison  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
LB / Bolingbrook, IL / Bolingbrook / 6'1'' 209 lbs

Omari Phillips  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
DT / Venice, FL / Venice / 6'6'' 315 lbs

Latroy Pittman  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
WR / Citra, FL / North Marion / 6'0'' 195 lbs

Brian Poole  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
CB / Bradenton, FL / Southeast / 5'10'' 202 lbs

Jeremi Powell  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
LB / Largo, FL / Pinellas Park / 6'1'' 193 lbs

Kent Taylor  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
TE / Land O'Lakes, FL / Land O'Lakes / 6'5'' 225 lbs

Colin Thompson  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
TE / Warminster, PA / Archbishop Wood / 6'4'' 252 lbs

Quinteze Williams  ★ ★ ★ 
DE / Tyrone, GA / Sandy Creek / 6'5'' 255 lbs

Gone Bowling: University of Georgia vs. Michigan State University

Free Bloomin' Onions for everyone!

by Dub

Throughout the coming weeks, B&A will be going through some of the SEC bowl game match-ups and giving you, the fans, a little bit of background for both the teams playing. I don't know about you, but when bowl season starts, I usually try to catch a little bit of each one, and would like to know a little more about key players on each team, and some of the background of the two teams playing. That being said, let's get started with our first Gone Bowling Match-up: UGA vs MSU.

For our first match-up, we have what look like two very good but not elite football teams. Both are 10-3 and played in their respective conference championship games. The difference between these two teams is that Georgia is the fourth best team in the SEC (first almost anywhere else), and MSU is the second best in the Big 10. What really gets a lot of MSU fans is that Michigan (a 10-2 team that did NOT play in its conference championship game and was beaten head to head by MSU) is going to a BCS bowl, simply for the fact that they did not lose an extra game to Wisconsin.

Georgia is excited to be going to the Outback Bowl, because they have a young team who will likely finish in the top 15 this year, and have a load of returning players, namely Aaron Murray (QB), Isaiah Crowell (RB), and Malcolm Mitchell (WR) who all lead the team in their respective categories. Michigan State is losing both their #1 quarterback and #1 wide receiver, and will likely not be this talented of a football team when Bowl Selection rolls around next December. The point here is that Georgia is a fiery, scrappy team who still has a lot of time left to improve, and is chomping at the bit to get into the bowl, and Michigan State is a team who feels like they were cheated out of "real competition". Now the issue is that when you think the opponent you're facing against isn't up to your level, often times, you let him run right up to you and punch you straight in the face.

Georgia is a team loaded with talent, and the only reason they aren't playing for a BCS bowl is that three other teams in the SEC could all win a national title, playing against anyone else in the nation. This season, Georgia had a front-loaded, painful schedule against two top 12 opponents, which set them back 0-2 right off the bat. They reeled off 10 straight on their way to Atlanta to face eventual SEC Champion LSU. The issue with Georgia isn't the players they have or the schemes they run. The issue is youth, and with youth comes inexperience. LSU was built for the long haul from day 1; when a player went down, another took his place, and played at an All American level. Georgia was decimated by injuries by the time they locked horns with LSU, and it showed.

Michigan State is a team that lost a head scratcher to Notre Dame in September by three scores. Then again, one might look at a schedule from the past couple of years and realize that MSU has lost a game to an unranked opponent early in the season for three out of the last four years. When you don't play in a hyperconference where everyone and their mother is ranked in the top 25, you don't have the strength of wins to be a two loss team and skyrocket through the BCS rankings to play in a big time bowl. Michigan State was blown out by Nebraska by three touchdowns, got it back together, and then lost by a field goal to Big 10 Champion Wisconsin. However, MSU did have big regular season wins over #6 Wisconsin and #11 Michigan. Michigan State doesn't have issues with talent, but with consistency, and unfortunately, they play consistently bad during bowl season against SEC teams.

Now we'll go through and look at three players to look at as these teams meet in January.


Georgia

• Jarvis Jones #29 LB: His 13.5 sacks are good enough for 2nd in the nation, and he is an absolute monster at disrupting the comfort and poise of the opposing QB. Fast getoff, great balance and technique, and a speed rush that could leave even the best offensive lineman dizzy.
• Bacarri Rambo #18 S: An absolute ballhawk who rarely let a big play develop. His 7 picks this year are, like Jones, good enough for 2nd in the nation. He's got a nose for the ball, and he takes advantage of QB mistakes.
• Aaron Murray #11 QB: Passed for 2861 yards and 33 touchdowns, which broke the UGA single season mark of 25 set by Matt Stafford in 2008. Murray is an undersized quarterback who plays a lot like Drew Brees, making up for lack of size in arm strength and timing. Look for him to utilize his tight ends, Charles and Bennett.

Michigan State

• Kirk Cousins #8 QB: Cousins is as good a quarterback as there is in the Big 10 and holds the MSU career passing touchdown record at 62. He's got good arm strength and good anticipation, which leads to a number of good plays against lazy defenses. Look for him to work the pro sets he has in this game, and to be rolling out of the pocket, as he'll be feeling the pressure of UGA's pass rush. The good news is that he is as deadly on the rollout as he is in the pocket.
• Denicos Allen #28 LB: This season, Allen has 10 sacks, and plays a similar style to Jarvis Jones, a speed rushing outside linebacker who disrupts the backfield. He is very athletic, and makes plays that force his opponents to account for him on every down. If you want to see how much of a pure athlete he is, go here.
• BJ Cunningham #3 WR: Cunningham is a big bodied, big play machine. He has 72 catches for 1200+ yards and 12 touchdowns this year, and looks to improve upon those numbers against Georgia's smallish cornerbacks. In order for him and Cousins to have a good game, MSU will need to implement short, quick routes to keep the defense honest and allow the field to open up.

Ultimately, both of these teams are very similar in play style and in ability. Georgia has a bit more of an undersized speedy defense, whereas MSU has a bigger albeit slower defense that relies on sound gap protection to minimize big runs. Both teams are ranked in the top 10 nationally in total defense, and are both top 20 in scoring defense. The series between these two teams is tipped in Georgia's favor, winning 34-27 in the 1989 Gator Bowl and 24-12 in the 2009 Capital One Bowl.

For Georgia to win, they must control the line of scrimmage and force Michigan State to beat them through the air. If one of Georgia's (many) hurt running backs is back for this game, I think UGA wins, propelling themselves into next season with high hopes and a very talented football team.

For Michigan State to win, they must run the ball well against Georgia's very talented front 7. Look for Michigan State to use screen packages and quick pass plays to force Georgia to play off the ball a little bit and give themselves room to run. Michigan State can not win if they cannot establish a run game.

Dub's Prediction: Georgia 37 Michigan State 24

Conference Realignment: What It Means for the SEC and Florida

by Arnaldo

A conference is like a party.  You go where your friends go, that is after all, the whole point of the party, being with your friends.  If one person wants to leave to go to another party, chances are, they'll take someone with them.  Two less people there give a third person less reason to be there instead of another party.  A chain reaction ensues and before you know it, said party is over and the keg is still full.  Now I don't know what the keg is in this metaphor but the rest should be pretty clear, and that's exactly what's been happening the last year of college football.


But how does it affect us?

First of all, it really shouldn't.  The SEC scheduling looks like this (as of before the realignment): there are 12 teams and 2 divisions.  Each school plays the five other divisional schools, one permanent school from the other division, and two rotating home-away basis schools from the other division.  The four remaining games are out of division and up to the school itself to schedule.  I say this because intraconference scheduling is up to the conferences and not the NCAA.  Each conference schedules differently.  The Pac-12 plays a 9 game conference schedule with 12 teams.

So does this mean the SEC needs to move to a 9 game conference schedule?  Not necessarily, but it isn't a bad idea.  The problem here is that removing one of those slots removes the SEC's much needed "padded match-ups".  Coaches will tell you they need these games, especially in the beginning of the season.  The SEC is obviously the toughest conference in the NCAA; that's no longer a point of contention.  Each match-up has the potential to be unforgiving and disastrous.

We have to contrast this to the problem with keeping an 8 game conference schedule.  With one more team in each division (Texas A&M to the west and Missouri to the east [sure, moving Auburn to the east was rumored and makes more sense, but that's just making too many waves]), one interdivisional game has to go.  Schools and fans will not allow the permanent match-up to dissolve.  Florida would lose playing LSU every year, and Deep South's Oldest Rivalry (Auburn-Georgia) would need a new name, or actually no name at all.  The SEC, however, will probably prefer this option so that there is more complete competition.

Trust me, we NEED this game.

Either way, the media loves to pretend these things are already decided and that all rivalries will cease to exist starting next year, but they're just plain wrong.  The worst case scenario involves some teams losing secondary or tertiary rivalries, which is a loss, don't get me wrong.  When the SEC was last expanded in 1992, Florida and Miami had to stop meeting up yearly.  Miami's rivalry with Florida State held together because Miami moved from the Big East to the ACC in 2004, FSU's conference.  The teams that suffer the most are the teams actually moving, and they elected to move in the first place.  Texas A&M will most likely keep their rivalry with Texas in the same way Florida plays Florida State every year even though they're in separate conferences.  They will lose yearly match-ups with Texas Tech and Baylor, but coincidentally, the Aggies are rivals with Arkansas and LSU and total over 60 match-ups with each.  Obviously they'll be awarded those rivalries back.  In the same fashion, Missouri should keep their Border War with Kansas but lose their rivalries with Oklahoma and Illinois.  Their rivalry with Nebraska already dissolved when The Cornhuskers moved to the Big 10.  Hopefully, Mizzou will develop another Border War with Arkansas in the upcoming seasons.


Where do we go from here?

But we JUST made this cool new logo.

The SEC looks pretty comfortable with 14 teams; let's hope the superconference trend ends there.  I say this because larger conferences only complicate things.  Think about it, if conferences get bigger, more divisions will be formed, more rivalries lost, and there will be a larger pool of teams from which to play all around.  The end result is a copy of the NFL, where there are no real rivalries and nobody remembers which conference they're in, because the conferences mean nothing, only the divisions do.

However, I see no problem with the constant changing of conferences for teams scattered around the map; not only is it happening now, it's been happening for years.  This holds with me as long as the party scenario doesn't happen again.  Conferences were already nicely set geographically across the map, rivalries were well established, and scheduling was simple.  The sad news is that despite adding TCU and West Virginia, the Big 12 is still not stable.  Less stable than them is the Big East.  Losing their BCS automatic qualification is looking inevitable, and hopefully this may make them less desperate to add more significant teams and help them to stabilize.

What's most important to remember is the SEC is looking indestructable. Five consecutive national championships (six soon), the addition of two teams that should be growing back to prominence (new management at Texas A&M with an SEC budget should help), and a sweet TV deal with CBS that should (God willing) be opting for an ESPN upgrade in the near future makes the SEC party look like New Years at the Playboy Mansion.

This actually looks kind of awesome.