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Excellent, fact-based analysis. That said, while I don't think every UGA fan "will take it as 100% truth" (hardly), I do agree it's 100% clickbait... and it appears to have worked since we're all commenting ☺️😁🤣
@BigDawg61
Huh? I never said that USC was doubted. I said that not doubting USC was totally justified because they had nearly their entire team back. Heisman Trophy winning QB Matt Leinart. Heisman Trophy winning RB Reggie Bush. 1000 yard rusher as a backup LenDale White. Both starting WRs and the starting TE. Most of the OL including both OTs. On defense, they had pretty much everyone back except for the pass rushers. They deserved to be more hyped than a UGA team that lost its starting QB, starting RB, #2 TE, 3 of its top 5 WRs (the top returnees had 1100 yards and 9 TDs combined in 15 games), both OTs and on defense its best DT, OLB and CB plus the starting S and another starting OLB. You give me a reason why USC shouldn't have been a bigger favorite in 2005 than UGA should be this year.
As for Nebraska, ESPN and USA Today ripped them for being a slow midwestern option team that played in a weak conference. The program that everyone hyped over Nebraska wasn't Florida by the way, but Florida State as well as the Big 10 and Pac-10 teams. ESPN wasn't as powerful as they are now .... yeah not true. (Note that I mentioned USA Today also, which absolutely was far more influential than it is today). Before the Internet, legacy media was 100% dominant, and that meant America's only national cable sports network - ESPN - and America's only national newspaper (USA Today) had a ton of power. The only other national media outlet - CNN - didn't care about sports. When they saw the need to compete with ESPN on some level, they signed an agreement with Sports Illustrated and let SI handle it. Fox News didn't exist back then, but when they came along they didn't care about sports either. The local newspapers with national respect and influence like the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Miami Herald etc. were mostly concerned with pro sports and if anything cared more about college basketball than college football so they either ignored it, or parroted ESPN. The papers that actually covered the areas where people cared about college football and had an interest in deviating from the ESPN/USA Today line were considered backwater. And back then without the Internet it was way harder to push back against ESPN and USA Today.
ESPN and USA Today did a ton of damage to the college game. ESPN's lobbying was why FSU played Nebraska for the 1993 national title instead of Notre Dame despite Notre Dame beating FSU head to head and the teams having the same record. ESPN lobbying was also why Gino Torreta won the 1992 Heisman over UGA's Garrison Hearst and Marshall Faulk. ESPN also discredited power football and defensive football in the eyes of boosters, college presidents and ADs which is why the game is basically flag football now. The Big 12 got more media praise for 20 years of spread football that never won them squat than they did when power football was winning Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado and Texas national titles. As for the Big 10, they never won many titles, but at least before they all adopted the spread it was more than just Ohio State and Michigan every year like now. Big 10 football was a lot more interesting when Penn State, Iowa, Wisconsin etc. had real chances. ESPN and USA Today also worked overtime to discredit the bowl system and the conferences because they wanted a playoff. And yes, they had a longtime agenda in seeing college football players get paid.
Well they got what they wanted and you see the result: an inferior imitation of the NFL that is struggling with declining ratings and attendance because the only games that are meaningful are those that implicate the playoff chase, and fans know that only maybe a dozen teams have a real shot at making the playoff, much less winning a game in it. There is nothing to somewhat level the playing field like the pro leagues have. The pro leagues mandate that each team gets sufficient TV coverage including guaranteed Monday Night Football slots, drafts to try to even the talent distribution, salary caps and revenue sharing. College football by contrast allows the same 4-5 programs to hoover up blue chip recruits year after year, give as much airtime to the winning and major market programs as possible and NIL is completely unregulated. All so the college game would be more similar to the NFL, making it easier for ESPN to relate to it and cover it.
Thanks ESPN!
Wow...that's a lot to talk about. Lol
I misunderstood, regarding your take on USC. My bad...i stand corrected..
As to Nebraska and that time period. I may not be the best judge. I spent a good part of that whole decade underwater and my news was limited to what was provided by SUBLANT.
However...when I was home...I either read Florida Times or AJC...and, occassionally USA Today if i couldn't get one of the other guys. I barely knew what the internet was at the time. Lol. And, if I'm not mistaken...ESPN was only about 10 years old and still only had 1 channel....with a new Magazine like the Sports Illustrated people.
Nowhere near the power they currently wield. FOX Sports was getting more attention than ESPN Contributors. IMO. Now, they practically OWN DIV1 CFB. Unless you were into curling, equestrian sports, basketball, golf or tennis...you didn't watch a lot of ESPN back then. At least that's the way I remember it.
USA Today was actually "More Powerful" at the time. I just don't remember them "doubting" or "being down on" Nebraska. But....maybe they were. You've got me curious, now. I'm going have to go back and review that decade. Don't ya just love this newfangled internet thang?. Lol
I DO remember some rumblings about the BIG10/12 playing style. But, mostly because it was true. Those rumblings regarding slow offense went back a lot further than the '90's. Now...the rumblings are about their lack of defense. Also, true.
The Huskers' style of offense was supported by a ferocious defense. IMO, they put those "methodical offense", "Average Quarterback" concerns to bed, when they won the '94 & '95 Natty's. One of the best College Football "Teams" I've ever seen. So, I have a hard time believing anybody really doubted em.
I believe Belichick and Saban...and, now Smart...have taken their formula and perfected it.
I remember the very recent past where all preseason Alabama hype was based solely on the belief that, until someone beat them, they deserved to be number one.
Heck, we didn’t even get that benefit at the start of last season and then again in the middle of last season with that ridiculous number 3 ranking. Alabama lost more games last year than we have in 2 years. This is a joke and if I am a player, I am not happy and teams will pay a price for ever doubting me.
First off I want to thank you and @thadec for some very well written analysis and for the most part I agree with your assessments. I do think that as a traditionalist I liked the conferences the way they are now and am not excited about destroying the regional conferences. I do think ESPN and the boys in Connecticutt have done more harm to the college game then anything else in the last 20 years.
ESPN has turned the college game into the AAA of the NFL and the NCAA did a poor job of playing favorites. As far as ESPN goes they want to pick the winners just like in business where the wall street guys try to pick the winners. Is it a coincidence that both groups are basically in the Connecticutt area? I don't think so. This is the world we live in and unless Fox or someone diminishes ESPN's stranglehold on the sport nothing is going to change.
I think we are going through a time now where the powers that be are 'tired' of us winning already. I mean the media is jumping on a bunch of stuff trying to gin up the negativity and their is a growing anti-uga bias at ESPN. I'm not sure why it is ok for Alabama to continually win but I cannot recall any of Saban's teams getting the vitriol we are getting right now (I believe most of it is a hatchet job imo). When Florida was winning that team was engaged in outright criminal activity and it was covered up. We are talking about a couple serious incidents (one which was dropped, the other is still ongoing and the guy has been off the team for 2 years). Also, the speeding ticket stuff is standard college kid stuff unfortnately and does not warrant the press it has received.
The timing of this is all in the name of taking our program down. Fortunately, we have a really tight staff who I believe are doing everything by the book and our AD knows that and is heavily involved with the program and everyone will ride this through until people get tired of writing redundant and **** stories. At some point UGA may have to sue some of these media outlets for defamation since their is a lot of hearsay and innuendo with little proof. Lots of opinion pieces getting recycled.
What is great about our current staff and admin is the family and tightness of them all. They all know we are doing the right thing and doing everything we can do. They all understand what is really happening. The sports powers that be do not want us to rule this sport. It is that simple. They are afraid that we will dominate like Alabama or even moreso and they are right. We are going to dominate this sport for the foreseeable future.
Stay strong UGA and we will rewrite the history books and their isn't a d*mn thing ESPN or the boys in Connecticutt can do. We will own their favorites and beat them into submission. Go Dawgs!