OK, it’s official now: Georgia vs. Boise State on Sept. 3, 2011, to kick off the football season.
And Georgia’s previously scheduled series with Louisville, set for 2011-12, is now off, "much to the dismay" of Louisville, which still hopes to play Georgia sometime in the future.
Here are the pertinent details:
- Why play this Boise State game? It appears the key was not really the 2011 opener, but not having to go to Louisville in 2012.
In place of that, Georgia athletics director Greg McGarity said he was “really close” to scheduling a non-BCS opponent for Sanford Stadium in September of 2012.
“This game, I think it’s one game that I know the University of Georgia has never really played in,” McGarity said. “We felt like it was important that we be on the national stage. We felt it would bring a level of national excitement that we really need in our program. … It allows us in 2012 to schedule a home game, which would give us seven home games in 2012.”
- As for why Georgia and Boise State? Gary Stokan of the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, which puts together the event, said thusly:
“You’ve got two powerful, nationally known football brands. My belief (is) that led by Aaron Murray, Georgia will be nationally ranked going into this game. And so will Boise State.”
(Notice he didn’t say A.J. Green.)
- McGarity was asked for head coach Mark Richt’s reaction to the Boise State game.
“Oh I think he was very excited. I mean he wanted to make it work,” McGarity said.
Richt wasn't on the call, but in a statement released by Georgia, he said: “This is the type game that excites me, it will excite our players and I know it will excite our fans. We know it will put Georgia on a national stage in the season opener. It will make for a great off-season of preparation and anticipation to play a great team at a great facility in our home state.”
- Boise State and Georgia will each receive 7,500 tickets. The rest basically go to the general public.
- Georgia will not owe Louisville to cancel the series, as the Chick-fil-A people worked that out with Louisville. But Georgia will receive a payout of “somewhere around” $1.7 million, according to bowl chairman Gary Stokan.
That’s about $600,000 less than North Carolina and LSU each received to play in this year’s game. And $600,000 just happens to be the amount Georgia would have owed to Louisville for each of the canceled games.
Georgia still gets out pretty well financially. According to the wording of the contract, it would have owed Louisville $1.2 million.
Louisville will now play North Carolina in 2011 and 2012, in a game apparently helped put together by ESPN and the Chick-Fil-A. Those latter two entities apparently had a hand in brokering almost all of this.
- Interestingly, a release from Louisville said Georgia’s cancellation off the series was “much to the dismay of the Cardinals.” But athletics director Tom Jurich said in a statement he would like to explore still playing Georgia at some point in the future.
"While we certainly would have preferred to keep the series with Georgia, we are pleased to open up the season next year at North Carolina and look forward to hosting them at Papa John's Stadium in 2012," Jurich said. "We were thrilled when we secured a series with Georgia five years ago. We were approached to mutually agree to cancel this series, but we declined. Georgia exercised their option to cancel our series so they could participate in the 2011 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
"Obviously, we wanted to retain the series as we know our fans have been looking forward to playing them since 2005. Even though we are disappointed in this series of events, we appreciate ESPN for their assistance in attaining another quality BCS opponent and for their commitment in televising the games. We look forward to playing North Carolina, we will have discussions with Georgia about a possible future series, and we will continue to explore future dates with other quality opponents."
- Ole Miss will play Boise State in the 2014 kickoff game. That will be on a Thursday night, on Aug. 28.
Ole Miss is getting $2 million and Boise State is getting $1.1 million. Officials said the payout difference was due to Ole Miss giving up a home game.
The Rebels were originally scheduled to play Boise State in the 2011 opener in Oxford, Miss.
TICKETS
I'm getting a lot of questions about tickets. McGarity said they were going to meet Monday to go over the plan. But he indicated that the yearly Jacksonville plan was a good guide.
Friday, November 19, 2010
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28 comments:
Though today is exciting, I'm not sure it will make up for the disappointment of playing another Idaho State etc opponent in 2012.
Anyone know how one get tickets from the Chicfila folk?
Yes, any word on tickets...PLEASE let me (us) know!!!!
This is following McGarity's tact of playing cupcakes. He traded an at best average BCS team to get an extra home game in 2012 versus a cupcake non-BCS team. Boise will be way down due to graduation, the fans will still have to pay more to get the tickets and there we are as fans screwed out of a nice intersectional matchup that is NOT across the country.....the reason McGarity cancelled Oregon. It's all about the money. Why can't McGarity just tell the truth? In my letter he said it was about getting the student athletes home early....LOL sic!!As a season ticket holder and donor YOU MUST write McGarity and NOT accept $40 games + about $50 more in donations to play crmmy opponents.
ALADAWG
Seth,
What is the deal with UGA requesting permission to speak with Will Muschamp? Does Todd Grantham has an NFL def coordinator job (Dallas?) lined up? Time for a little investigative journalism.
Tim, if there was any contact between Georgia and Muschamp - and it doesn't look like there was - it was not on any official basis. Simply nothing to report.
Tim where are you getting your info from?
I have learned over the last couple of years to not just discount everything I read like this. There have been countless blog or message board post that many looked at as nonsense over the years that have turned out to be true.
Heck even this year someone at this blog was saying Aj sold a jersey, long before anyone in the media had that info.
This game gives UGA more money,the national stage through the summer till the start of next season and should play well as a recruiting tool for this signing class.Seems like a win,win, win.
I like the move by McGarity....
Louisville added NOTHING. Glad they are goners.
Even if Boise State loses many players (I know Moore is a Sr., but I don't know about any of the rest of their starters), they are still going to be ranked high in the preseason polls, so it will be an opportunity for us.
I dislike dropping BCS-AQ teams for FCS teams, but since we don't know who McGarrity is going to get yet, we can't say that's the case just yet.
Overall, I think this is kind of a no-brainer: you have the opportunity for a national stage, and you make more money, against a respectable opponent-- you cannot pass it up.
Besides, it'll be some serious motivation for the players to bust their butts in the off-season.
Moore is a junior.
Ok I just went and did a little research on Boise and they wont be as bad next year as I had expected.
They will lose five offensive starters. Both of there starting wide receivers and there starting tight end. That is by far there biggest loss. They will also lose two starting offensive linemen. They will return there starting rb who is highly productive.
On defense they will lose four starters. A defensive end, two safeties, and a cornerback.
On our side we will lose assuming Green and Houston enter the draft four offensive and four defensive starters. This is according to our current depth chart.
On offense we will lose Green, Durham, Chapas, and Boling.
On defense we will lose Dobbs, Houston, Dent, and Gamble.
Damn Willb you just answered a whole lot of question I had about Ga and Boise with that one post! Keep it up.
Ah, my bad. Moore redshirted a year. Didn't know that. I imagine it's still a high probability he's not there next year, esp. if he gets invited to New York, and is expected to be drafted high.
Does anyone know if Moore is expected to be a high draft pick? I watched him last night, and he doesn't seem like your typical NFL quarterback. Still, that would be huge if Boise loses their QB, both starting WRs, and their TE.
I could be wrong but I do not believe that Kellen Moore is a big time NFL prospect. I have not seen anywhere where he is projected to be drafted high. He doesn't have the height, arm strength, or athletic ability to leave early for the NFL draft. This is not to say that he can't play in the NFL and do it at a high level he just doesn't have the skill set that NFL scouts look for.
I am pretty sure he will still be at Boise St next year unless his stock gets to a point where it can not get any higher. Kind of like Gordon Heyward at Butler last year. He had nothing to gain from returning to Butler for his senior season of basketball. His stock was as high as it was going to be. If Moore wins the Heisman and possibly the National Championship there's a slight chance he could enter the draft with the knowledge that his stock was at an all-time high and couldn't go higher.
Still I would expect Kellen Moore to be at Boise St next year. Without him I would say we would easily be the favorites. With him I still slightly favor us. We will have the size and speed advantage almost at every position. Although Boise enters most of there big time match ups with this disadvantage and for the most part they pull through with a win.
Look at the teams Boise has beat throughout the years. Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon St, Va Tech, TCU. Those are very good schools and some pretty good teams but I believe as far as athletic ability Ga is ahead of them all. The Boise team that got blown out by us in 05 was almost the same team that beat Oklahoma. I think we are a bad matchup for a team like Boise. Boise can play with a lot of pac10 acc or big12 schools but i wouldnt be suprised if they got totally man handled by an SEC team.
I could be wronng though. Maybe we will find out how good Boise is in there BCS game.
I'm with you Willb, as hyped as Boise State always seems to be, I still think Georgia can hang 48 on them again. Maybe I'm a homer, but with the talent on our team, I'll always think Georgia can beat anyone.
Hey what is everyone hearing about the recruits coming to the Tech game? I hear Crowell, Drew, and Rome might all be there! This could be a huge game for the Dawgs next Sat. Not only for our bowl hopes but for the future of the program.
I always like it when we are the last visit for a recruit. We stay fresh on there minds! With the season coming to an end we have to be the last visit for atleast a couple of these kids coming on Sat.
I'm not gonna be able to be there myself but I hope all the fans that are there show these kids just how passionate we are about the Dawgs! We can't control a lot of things about the program but we can control this. Let's show these kids that we have the greatest fans in the SEC!
After next weekend the next time were gonna see Crowell or Drew there gonna be lining up against those weak ass off and def lines of Boise St!
Hey Willb, of the big names, I think Crowell and Drew are definitely comeing. Last I heard, Rome was trying to make it.
Everything I've read about Moore is that he'll be the 3rd or 4th QB taken if he came out: at 6ft. 200lbs, he has a chance to make decent NFL money. I think the big consideration is going to be whether or not the risk of injury outweighs the potential for him to improve his stock. Since the knocks against him are about his size and stature (which won't improve), and not about his skills, I think it's probably a tossup as to whether or not he goes pro.
Well here's hoping he leaves and never looks back.
Where are you reading that he will come out? I have not read anything like that myself. I believe it would be a huge mistake at this point for Moore to declare for the draft. He is a mid to late draft pick at this point. Nothing worth coming out early for. He is short, not athletic, has a weak arm, and is viewed by most as a system qb.
The only way I see he comes out is if he feels at the end of this season his stock is as high as it will ever be. Even then I don't know how high his stock would be. Definately not a first rounder and more than likely not a second rounder. I don't know if he would step out of a situation like Boise St to be a possible mid to late round pick. We have seen more talented and more physically gifted players like Mccoy, and Tebow stay for there senior seasons in recent years.
With all that said I hope he does come out too! Without Moore that changes the Boise game completely. A win against Boise St to start the season would be a tremendous start. Even if they are without Moore and not as highly ranked the media loves them some Boise St and a win against them would give us a nice boost in the polls. Thats if were in them of course.
Joeski I'm gonna agree with willb on this one. I really don't see Moore coming out early. Your argument about stature sounds very similar to Rennie Curran. The only difference is that a player like Curran has the Strengh and athletic ability to eventually play in the NFL. Moore could play in the NFL but he we will not get drafted very high at all!
If he came out this year there is Luck, Locker, Newton, Mallett and a couple of other big12 qb's like Gabbert and Johnson. I think all of these qb's would go ahead of Moore. I could be missing other qb's.
Now an NFL scout or head coach could fall in love with Kellen Moores skills and shoot for him earlier than he should go but is he lacking every single physical quality that the NFL looks for.
Let's not forget Boises BCS game. Moore could go up against a tough BCS conference defense and get totally embarrassed. Remember Colt Brennan? The only problem with that is that there are really no tough defenses left that can to the BCS title game. Auburn is not your typical SEC team like LSU or Alabama. Oregon has a weak def. TCU has the toughest def but they are not from a BCS conference and I don't know how much I trust there Def. Moore has faced TCUs def every year he has played though and Boises off is nothing the same when they play them.
I think Aaron Murray is much more of an NFL qb than Moore is.
Seth, I heard that Nick Williams was transfering to Florida State. Can you check on this?? At the beginning of the season, he is all you heard about, but hasn't played hardly any. whats the deal??? did he piss of the coaches or something??
Ya'll are probably right. Now that I had a little time, I did a more research, and it looks like it would really depend on who else came out early. (Newton, Luck, Foles, Mallet, etc.) The talk of Moore being a good NFL prospect is mostly the PNW media (where I live). He's pretty much overlooked everywhere else.
I still say that he could very well jump if he gets invited to the Heisman ceremony, what with the way Locker's stock took a nose dive this season being an object lesson on 'get your money while the getting is good'.
Regardless, while I wouldn't necessarily say that we are that much superior talent-wise to the other BCS schools that Boise has beaten, I don't fear Boise State. As Willb pointed out, they're losing starting WRs, TE, and- and this could be a big deal- both their punter and kicker: might give us a good edge in special teams.
On a unrelated kind of related subject who's to say that Mark Ingram comes out after this year? Everyone is saying that Crowell will go to Bama and team with Richardson but who's to say that Ingram won't still be there?
He has had an extremely disappointing junior season. All the mocks still show him as a first rounder but I wonder if he really still is. I think he's gonna go to but it's not as a sure thing as it looked last year.
Maybe that's something for Crowell to look at. Come to Ga and start from day one with a great QB and a veteran off line or go to Alabama and who knows what happens.
I know it doesn't really mean that much but I didn't like seeing Crowell in that Alabama hat at the Auburn game. He does have Ga stickers on his car though! Does any of this mean anything?
Great call on Boise losing there punter and kicker joeski! There the same guy it looks like and after looking through his stats he is pretty good. One of there wrs is also there kickoff and punt returner and he is not coming back either. Looks like they will be replacing everything on there special teams almost.
I didn't even bother to look at special teams for some reason. Another thing that we will for sure have the advantage in. Heck next year with Walsh and Butler, and even Boykin as seniors we will have that edge over everyone we play more than likely.
Who is the say that Walsh and Butler will be back for sure next year? It's very possible that 1 or both of them could go pro after this season....
Wouldn't that be something if Walsh or Butler went pro after this season! I wouldn't expect it from either one but you never know. Neither one of them has had as good of a season as they had last year. They are still having great seasons but there not in the mix to win the awards for there positions like they were last year.
Blair Walsh definatley projects as an NFL kicker though. Very strong leg for field goals and kicking off now that we have stopped that directional kicking crap. Kickers rarely leave early though cause a kicking job in the NFL is not a sure thing. The one that comes to mind is Janakowski who was a first round pick. There could be more that I don't know about though cause kickers don't have to be as physically ready as other positions.
Punters from college to the NFL is something that I know very little about. Has one even ever left early? Could be something that happens all the time, I don't know. I know that very good punters sometimes don't even get drafted and even when they do it is a very late draft pick with no guerentee to make the team. Butler would seem to have an NFL leg but i don't know if he would take that chance while he is a god (for a punter) at Ga.
Also with kickers and punters it is not like other positions. There are only one of each on each team that actually play. It's not like there are a ton of NFL kicking or punting jobs actually open. For Walsh or Butler to leave a great situation like UGA for a chance at the NFL would be a great risk.
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