The College Football Season might be over and done with, but I had a few notes regarding how these teams preformed in 2010. I hope you enjoy the reading material!
Georgia
I had high hopes for the DAWGS this season and even though Georgia finished 3rd in the East, they could have done much better. Yes, I know not having superstar A.J. Green for the first four games hurt the maturation process for young signal-caller Aaron Murray, but this team was deep in other positions. Georgia played tough against South Carolina, Arkansas, and Auburn despite losing in all three of those contests. However, you have to raise an eyebrow at the Bulldogs’ losses to Colorado and Mississippi State.
Florida
At the start of the season, many people wondered how the Gators would fair without all-everything, golden boy: Tim Tebow under center. Well, despite winning their 21st consecutive season-opener, the Gators’ offense was sluggish against Miami (OH). The poor start certainly had people questioning whether or not Florida would continue it’s reign of dominance. After the first four wins against cupcake squads, UF would lose the next 3 games and eventually drop out of the top 25. An 8-5 record would be good for most schools, but Florida expects more. This was Urban Meyer’s worst season while at Florida and I’m sure it wasn’t the way he intended on leaving the program.
South Carolina
Who would have thought South Carolina would reign supreme in the SEC East this season? Especially when it seemed Spurrier wasn’t sold on his junior QB Stephen Garcia at the beginning of the season. He did eventually hand the keys over to Garcia and he certainly didn’t disappoint. He led South Carolina to an exciting victory against Alabama, and then took the Gamecocks to the SEC Championships for the first time, ever! And truthfully, next season I think South Carolina has a good chance as any to repeat out in the East.
Tennessee
I thought Tennessee would finish the season off with a losing record but I never envisioned HC Dooley taking the Volunteers to a bowl in his first season. Lane Kiffin left the program in somewhat of disarray and amidst all the chaos, Derek Dooley was hired to try and put it back together. I remember looking at his losing record while at La Tech and being like, WTF…They actually hired this loser? But then I heard his speech when he first arrived at UT, and I was hooked: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dSa9Gpu-v4) (Dooley has a good lesson about life at 4:49). I think under the circumstances of going through 3 Head Coaches in three seasons, the Volunteers were successful this season. Sure they had a losing season, but Dooley is symbol of hope. I truly believe he is the guy to take the Volunteers back to national prominence.
Kentucky
I thought Kentucky would finish off the season at 4-8, but they did a little bit better at 6-7. The stunning win against #10 South Carolina was the Wildcats’ first win against a ranked opponent since 2007 (#1 LSU). The win put Kentucky at 4-3 and had the ‘Cats believing that ‘Impossible is Nothing’ as they headed into the second half of their season…However, they’d end up losing 3 of the next 5 and then get embarrassed by a coach-less Pittsburgh squad in its bowl game. Maybe next season, right?
Vanderbilt
I hit this one right on the head when I predicted in the preseason that Vandy would only win 1 game this season. What else is there to say, though?
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