The State of Georgia is in flames like it’s 1865 all over again. Much like Gone With the Wind, last week started with so much optimism in the State of Georgia.
The Braves lost (twice, got eliminated), Georgia was upset by South Carolina, the Falcons lost, the Hawks still suck and the Thrashers are in Winnipeg, Georgia Tech got throttled again.
That’s a pretty brutal week.
Week 7 was a blast. We’re finally getting into the thick, juicy parts of the conference schedules and this is where the magic happens. We’ve got Kinnick night games, Michigan giving up 25 unanswered points to Illinois, Death Valley rivalry games at night and the ACC wheel of destiny. We’re halfway through football season but it feels like it’s just getting started.
What is Michigan?
A fair question, sure. Michigan is the Great Lakes State, the 26th State to be admitted to the Union. Did you know it has more coastline than every state except for Alaska? There’s a fun fact for ya.
Anyway, the Michigan Wolverines are an enigma. Saturday against Illinois was a perfect, aggravating microcosm for their entire season. They played roughly 26 minutes of great football, about 19 minutes of horrible football and the rest just kinda happened.
With about 3:37 to play in the second half, Michigan led Illinois 28-0. The crowd was pretty quiet but it was a nice day and everyone looked like they were having fun, especially those donning Blue and Maize. I turned off the game, “nothing more to see here,” I thought to myself. I was wrong. After a nap that lasted about 45 minutes, I woke up and checked the box score. I had to make sure that fantasy QB Shea Patterson was building on his decent day. Instead, I saw that it was a three-point game! What the hell! 28-25!!!!!
Michigan isn’t necessarily bad. What they are bad at is taking that next big step. I have no clue what it is with this team. Michigan ended up winning by the most uncomfortable 17 points of all time.
Wisconsin, Rightful Owners of the UP
Let’s be honest, most everyone in the UP is a Packers fan anyways. The Badgers have dominated the State of Michigan this year. They’ve soundly crushed Michigan, Michigan State and Central Michigan, shutting out CMU and MSU. They’ve now shutout four of their six opponents.
What scares me is how they’re doing it. Every player on that team looks and plays like they know exactly what they’re supposed to do, how they’re supposed to do it and when they’re supposed to do it. They make their blocks, make their tackles, cover their man and they make the plays they need to make. Paul Chryst had every right to be as confident as he was about this group, they are the real deal.
It’s honestly fun to watch. Yeah, they run a pretty bland offense. But that’s who they are, everyone knows that. They’re the epitome of what Big Ten football looks like in the West division. To make it even better, Paul Chryst looks like 89% of the Male population over the age of 45 in Wisconsin. This program is all about their identity and he fits it perfectly. He’s as perfect a fit for a job as there ever was in the sport. This team is absolutely for real this year.
Georgia….
If it weren’t for Georgia’s premier football program, Kennesaw State, I’d call the whole state a failure. As it stands, Georgia is somehow more popular than the Fighting Owls. Which is why it’s so funny that they lost at home to South Carolina.
Jake Fromm threw three interceptions. He’d never done that before as Georgia’s starting quarterback. Rodrigo Blankenship had never missed from inside whatever distance it was that he missed in OT. He missed on Saturday. It’s nice to know that there’s a first time for everything. It’s one of my favorite things in the world. When one of those first times comes around, some pretty special shit can happen. On Saturday, two first things happened, and Georgia lost. Luckily for them, it’ll end up as a trademark SEC quality loss. South Carolina would go 12-0 in any other conference but this is the SEC, REAL football. You gotta go out there and earn it in the SEC East.
Random Things
Mark Dantonio may not be cut out for this anymore.
Navy is the best of the service academies.
Temple is a lot better than I gave them credit for, I’m sorry.
I forgot to rank App State and ranked Temple instead. I’m going to double down on that. If App State can win as a ranked team I’ll put them in.
Oregon is really good.
Minnesota’s 6-0. Their next two games are against Rutgers and Maryland. 8-0 Minnesota is almost a certainty.
Random Random Things
I was a staunch Melissa McCarthy hater. That changed when I saw Can You Ever Forgive Me? She was absolutely brilliant.
The series finale of Ballers was so on brand for this season. All of these plot lines converged in one cathartic moment for all of our favorite characters. But like the rest of the season, it was a disorganized mess that just kind of happened. There were so many interesting things going on and I don’t feel like any of them got the attention that they deserved.
But now it’s all over. I think this show was exactly what it wanted to be. It was an entertaining ride all the way through. It’s got a ton of rewatchability.