Georgia

College football picks: No. 1 Georgia steps into SEC play, No. 11 Tennessee heads to The Swamp

Published

1 year ago

September 13, 2023

College football picks: No. 1 Georgia steps into SEC play, No. 11 Tennessee heads to The Swamp

Expect some weirdness this weekend in college football.

With no games matching ranked teams, and what is shaping up to be a monster Saturday on the horizon, you might look at the schedule and think it’s a good time to get a little yard work in. Maybe run some errands.

Be careful.

The season is still young enough that we really don’t know which teams are good and which are headed for disappointing seasons.

This week, for example, as Southeastern Conference play opens, we get our first look at No. 1 Georgia against an opponent that might have a sliver of hope of actually beating the two-time defending national champions.

It’s not so much that you should expect the unexpected as much as we really don’t know what to expect.

No. 11 Tennessee at Florida

The Vols broke a five-game losing streak to the Gators last year, and haven’t won two in a row in the series since 2004. The rivalry seems to be on the verge of flipping back to Tennessee, with Florida still trying to find its groove in Year 2 under coach Billy Napier.

For the Vols, QB Joe Milton is still in the prove-it phase as starting quarterback. The Gators need a bounce back after the Week 1 clunker at Utah.

LINE: Tennessee by 6 1/2. PICK: Tennessee 34-24.

No. 8 Washington at Michigan State

Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies’ offense announced their arrival last season in an emphatic victory against the Spartans. Washington’s offense has been on point through two games this season, with Penix throwing for 859 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Spartans will play without suspended coach Mel Tucker, looking for the type of victory that it hasn’t had since 2021.

LINE: Washington by 16 1/2. PICK: Washington 28-17.

No. 15 Kansas State at Missouri

The defending Big 12 champion Wildcats have rolled through the first two weeks at home and now face what should be a good SEC road test. The Tigers rank 10th in the nation in yards per play allowed at 3.83. K-State has been solid on defense, too, allowing 3.98 yards per play.

LINE Kansas State 4 1/2. PICK: Kansas State 23-17.

Western Kentucky at No. 6 Ohio State

The Buckeyes have committed to Kyle McCord as their starting QB after he was better in Week 2 than in Week 1. Still, the explosive offense Ohio State has become accustomed to has yet to fully arrive.

The Buckeyes might need it this week. QB Austin Reed and the Hilltoppers like to sling it around. WKU WR Malachi Corley, who left the opener after taking a hard hit to the chest and sat out last week, is an NFL talent.

Don’t necessarily put the Buckeyes on upset alert, but they best not mess around.

LINE: Ohio State by 27 1/2. PICK: Ohio State 49-17.

South Carolina at No. 1 Georgia

The Gamecocks are the last team to beat the Bulldogs at home, back in 2020. That seems like a long time ago.

Georgia has the longest overall winning streak in the country at 19 games.

Getting a read on the Bulldogs through the first two games has been near impossible given the competition. News alert: They’re good again.

Facing the Gamecocks should provide a better assessment, though if the South Carolina offensive line that gave up nine sacks to North Carolina shows up in Athens, the ‘Dawgs will feast.

LINE: Georgia by 27 1/2. PICK: Georgia 34-10.

The rest of Saturday’s games matching Top 25 teams against FBS opponents, with lines by FanDuel Sportsbook:

Bowling Green (plus 40 1/2) at No. 2 Michigan

Wolverines have methodically buried their first two overmatched opponents, which hasn’t been a great approach for covering enormous point spreads … MICHIGAN 42-7.

No. 3 Florida State (minus 26 1/2) at Boston College

Seminoles have won four straight and 11 of 12 against BC … FLORIDA STATE 49-17.

Wyoming (plus 28 1/2) at No. 4 Texas

Could the Longhorns be a little sluggish after a big night in Tuscaloosa? … TEXAS 38-14.

No. 7 Penn State (minus 14 1/2) at Illinois

Last time these teams met, they slogged through a record nine OTs that the Illini won 20-18 … PENN STATE 35-17.

Central Michigan (plus 34 1/2) at No. 9 Notre Dame

One last tune-up for the Irish before Ohio State comes to town … NOTRE DAME 42-13.

No. 10 Alabama (minus 31 1/2) at South Florida

The last time Alabama played a road game against a team not from a Power Five conference was 1997 against Tulane … ALABAMA 52-17.

Hawaii at No. 13 Oregon (minus 37 1/2)

After Alabama’s loss, Ducks have the nation’s longest home winning streak at 31 … OREGON 63-20.

No. 14 LSU at Mississippi State (plus 9 1/2)

Bulldogs have remade their offense, moving away from the late Mike Leach’s Air Raid and throwing just 46 passes in two games … MISSISSIPPI STATE 28-23, UPSET SPECIAL.

San Diego State (plus 24 1/2) at No. 16 Oregon State

Aztecs could be a future conference-mate for the Beavers … OREGON STATE 35-16.

Georgia Tech (plus 19 1/2) at No. 17 Mississippi

Rebels beat the Yellow Jackets 42-0 last season … OLE MISS 35-17.

Colorado State at No. 18 Colorado (minus 22 1/2)

Boulder is the place to be: Both ESPN and Fox’s pregame shows will be at CU … COLORADO 35-10.

No. 19 Oklahoma (minus 27 1/2) at Tulsa

Golden Hurricane last beat the Sooners in 1996 and last won at home against OU in 1942 … OKLAHOMA 48-17.

Minnesota (plus 7 1/2) at No. 20 North Carolina

First meeting ever matches Gophers’ ground-and-pound vs. Tar Heels’ star QB Drake Maye … NORTH CAROLINA 26-20.

Northwestern (plus 18 1/2) at No. 21 Duke

Blue Devils have won four straight in the ACC-Big Ten Brainiac Bowl … DUKE 28-13.

Western Michigan (plus 28 1/2) at No. 25 Iowa

Broncos were losing 45-7 at the half to Syracuse last week; Time for an offensive breakout from the Hawkeyes? … IOWA 31-6.

TWITTER REQUESTS

James Madison (plus 2 1/2) at Troy — @MDWDFW: Two of the Sun Belt’s best teams .. JMU 27-23.

Pittsburgh (minus 1 1/2) at West Virginia — @romo2020extra: Backyard Brawl returned last year and Pitt won a wild one; Mountaineers coach Neal Brown could really use this … PITT 26-23.

BYU at Arkansas (minus 8 1/2) — @yehonala04: Razorbacks expected to be without star RB Raheim Sanders (knee) … ARKANSAS 28-17.

Northern Illinois at Nebraska (minus 10 1/2) — @willminich: Cornhuskers’ minus-6 turnover margin is worst in the nation … NEBRASKA 27-13.

South Alabama (plus 7 1/2) at Oklahoma State — @mroberson3: Cowboys looking for seventh straight 3-0 start … OKLAHOMA 23-17.

Fresno State at Arizona State (plus 3) — @ArtWMoore: Bulldogs already have a victory against a Big Ten team, now try to add a Pac-12 … ARIZONA STATE 31-28.

___

RECORD

Last week: Straight-up — 18-6; Against spread — 7-17.

Season: Straight-up — 36-12; Against spread — 16-32.

___

Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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Georgia

Georgia Ann Udby

Published

27 minutes ago

December 23, 2024

Press Room

Georgia Ann (Langowski) Udby, age 65 of Lankin, ND passed away on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at the First Care Health Center of Park River, ND.

Georgia was born on May 25, 1959, in Grafton, ND to Joseph and Emeline Langowski. Coming in as child 13 out of 14, she was the youngest and tallest girl in the family. This sweet, cheerful, and generous lady who loved to dance grew up in Grafton, ND.

During high school, Georgia participated in various athletics including volleyball where she received the “Most Desire” award. She graduated from Grafton High School as a Spoiler in 1977. She went on to further her education as NDSSS, Wahpeton, ND and then Thief River Falls College, where she achieved her RN Degree. She was so proud to become a nurse; it was a lifelong career accomplishment.

Her desire to care for others as an RN carried over to her personal life as well. Georgia was a super generous person; she took great joy in giving gifts and sending thoughtful cards to family and friends so everyone would be cherished. Georgia always stopped to talk and visit with anyone she recognized and enjoyed participating in Grafton class reunions. She loved to laugh, have fun and had a great sense of humor. Georgia looked forward to traveling to various farm conferences and conventions, such as the Norsk Host Fest and State Fair in Minot, ND, and the Pride of ND shows. She especially loved going to the North Dakota Farmers Convention where she could visit non-stop for four days with our Bismarck friends. She loved to knit and challenged herself to try some complex patterns.

Georgia met the man of her dreams during the summer of 2004. Scott literally swept her off her feet, they fell in love and married in June of 2005 and settled on the farm in Lankin, ND.

Everyone who knew Georgia knew how much she loved her family. She especially loved to visit with everyone about her only child, Erick, and all his accomplishments. Georgia deeply enjoyed spending time with her siblings, nieces and nephews at family gatherings throughout the years.

She was preceded in death by her son Erick Rhen, Thief River Falls, MN; her beloved dog Lucy; her parents Joseph and Emeline Langowski, Grafton, ND; siblings: John Langowski, Grafton, ND, Inny Praska, Seattle, WA, and Mark Langowski, Santa Rosa, CA; and Scott’s parents Glenn and Carol Udby, Lankin, ND.

She is survived by her husband Scott; siblings: Vicky (Jim) Bryn, Reno, NV, Joe (Janet) Langowski, Pacific, WA, Odo (Chris) Langowski, Peoria, AZ, Gontron “Buster” (Connie) Langowski, Hazen, ND, Ora (Henry) Meyer and Jeanne Quinn, Coeur d’Alene, ID, Lester Langowski and Mary (Wally) Sturdivant, Grafton, ND, Sylvia (Maurel) Mattson, West Fargo, ND, Veronica (Arlyn) Askim, Park River, ND; in-laws: Brian (Cynthia) Udby, Lankin, ND, Connie and Keith Glatt, Pahrump, NV, Ray Praska, Seattle, WA and Cathy Langowski, Santa Rosa, CA; along with several niece, nephews, great nieces and nephews, great-great nieces and nephews whom she loved.

Mass of Christian Burial will be Friday, December 27, 2024 at 10:30 am at the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church of Grafton. Visitation will be for one hour prior to the service at the church. The service will be live streamed on the Tollefson Funeral Home website. Interment will be at the Hoff Lutheran Cemetery of Rural Adams in the spring.

An online guestbook is available at: www.tollefsonfuneralhome.com

The Tollefson Funeral Home of Park River is in charge of the arrangements.

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Georgia

Georgia’s all-time JUCO transfers

Published

8 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Georgia’s all-time JUCO transfers

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s lawsuit against the NCAA, claiming a player’s time in junior college should not count towards his overall years of eligibility, was granted an injunction last week. This will allow Pavia, a former JUCO transfer to the Commodores, to pursue another year of eligibility.

The ruling prompted UGASports to attempt to discover Georgia football’s all-time JUCO transfers with the thought of: What if, like Pravia’s, the NCAA playing career of each of Georgia’s nearly 100 (from what we discovered) all-time JUCO transfers could be extended another season or two based on their time attending junior college? In other words, imagine if former JUCO transfers-turned-Georgia stars like Stetson Bennett or Devonte Wyatt had been granted an additional season(s) of eligibility with the Bulldogs because of their time previously spent in junior college.

After scanning over eight decades of newspaper articles, player rosters, and signee listings, we have assembled Georgia football’s all-time JUCO-transfer team, along with a “notable reserve” at most positions. Only those players whose time in junior college counted towards their overall years of eligibility were considered. Players who attended a preparatory school, like Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy, which isn’t recognized as counting towards playing eligibility, were not considered. Also not considered were the few Georgia players who briefly attended classes at a junior college but never played football there (like star running backs Tim Worley and Keith Henderson at Northeast Oklahoma A&M in 1987), and therefore did not lose any playing eligibility. Selections were made based on their Georgia playing careers. Listed below each player is his JUCO followed by the seasons he later lettered at Georgia.

All-JUCO-transfer – OFFENSE

Georgia’s All-JUCO offense is headed by Stetson Bennett who, among many other accolades, has to be one of the greatest JUCO transfers in college football history. Also under center is Ken Schulte, who starred at the same JUCO as Bennett in the mid-1950s before coming to Georgia. Schulte, however, could never quite take the Bulldogs’ starting job and finished with only 42 career yards of total offense in 15 plays. Although he did not letter, quarterback Mark McKay of Visalia (Calif.) Junior College was a member of Georgia’s 1980 national championship team. Eventually transferring out of UGA, McKay returned to California where he was a standout at San Diego State in 1982 and 1983.

At running back, transfer Tony Mangram was promptly Georgia’s starting tailback to begin the 1984 season and led the team in rushing through a few games. He was later moved to fullback and started a game at cornerback as a senior in 1985. After rushing for 3,570 yards and 35 touchdowns in two seasons at Merced (Calif.) Junior College, Odell Collins of nearby Jefferson, Georgia, was an instant fan favorite in Athens. Although he totaled just 32 touches as a Bulldog, his final one—a 10-yard touchdown run against Georgia Tech in 1996 on Senior Day—is one to remember with respect to the late Collins.

At wide receiver, Hason Graham totaled 1,834 receiving yards in three seasons. Javon Wims led Georgia’s 2017 national title game team in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdown catches. After junior college, Nate Lewis was one of the nation’s top punt returners at Georgia in 1987 before transferring to Oregon Tech and later playing in the NFL for six seasons. Bill Herron, a right end for Georgia in the late 1950s, is slotted at tight end. Although totaling just 15 career catches, Herron’s game-winning touchdown reception from Fran Tarkenton against Auburn in 1959 is still regarded as one of the program’s all-time greatest plays.

Each of the first-team offensive linemen was considered a starter for at least one season at Georgia. After a year at Wake Forest and a year at Ferrum (Va.) Junior College, Joe Happe came to Georgia as one of the program’s first JUCO signees in some time. An offensive guard at Ferrum, Happe was a two-year starting center for the Bulldogs and an All-SEC honoree as a senior in 1981. Although he never qualified academically, offensive tackle Alex Vega deserves mention because of his sheer size. At 373 pounds, Vega remains—30 years after his signing—the heaviest signee in Georgia football history.

The kicker, Brandon Bogotay, served as Georgia’s backup placekicker for three seasons from 2009-2011, scoring 10 points and kicking off a combined 29 times.

All-JUCO-transfer – DEFENSE

When it comes to JUCO transfers, you could say that Georgia is “Defensive Lineman U.” Headed by first-round pick Devonte Wyatt, 12-year tackle Jason Ferguson, and current long-time veteran John Jenkins, nearly every defensive lineman listed played multiple seasons in the NFL. Other JUCO-transfer defensive linemen also worthy of mention include Toby Johnson, Chris Mayes, and Jermaine Johnson.

At linebacker, it’s head shaking to think of either Odell Thurman, Dwayne Simmons, or Kendrell Bell getting a season or two added to what were already spectacular careers. Each could be defensively dominant and take over a game. Rich Robich was an interesting case of a recruit who signed and played for Ole Miss as a true freshman (and made tackles vs. Georgia) in 1994, transferred to Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College in 1995, transferred to Georgia in 1996 when he was redshirted, before playing a significant reserve role for the Bulldogs in 1997 and 1998 (and made tackles vs. Ole Miss).

Georgia’s effort in the early 1980s to recruit the West Coast for quick JUCO defensive backs and wide receivers ultimately landed secondary standouts Ronnie Harris and Jeff Sanchez. A first-team All-American as a senior in 1984, Sanchez earned first-team All-SEC honors for each of his two seasons at Georgia. Ben Smith was a terrorizing “hit man” as a cornerback before being moved to safety as a senior when he intercepted 10 passes. Worthy of mention because of his nickname alone, “The Hit Man,” Jakar Hamilton was a part-time starter for Georgia in 2010 before transferring to South Carolina State and later appearing in the NFL.

What do you think of our listing of Georgia’s all-time JUCO transfers? Who did we miss?

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Georgia

New Year's Eve celebrations & dining in North Georgia | 2024-2025

Published

16 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

New Year's Eve celebrations & dining in North Georgia | 2024-2025

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NORTH GEORGIA – Ring in the New Year in style with an array of exciting celebrations across North Georgia! There’s something for everyone to enjoy. Whether you’re looking for a glamorous night out or a unique way to welcome 2025, these top picks will help you make the most of New Year’s Eve.

FAYETTE COUNTY

Trilith Guest House – Prologue Dining & Drinks

When: 5-10 p.m., Dec. 31
Where: 350 Trilith Parkway, Fayetteville
What: Savor a four-course dinner featuring dishes like seared scallops, cowboy ribeye, and decadent desserts. Afterward, toast to 2025 at Oliver’s Twist Bar & View on the rooftop.
How Much: $95 per adult, $55 per child 12 and under
Reservations

FORSYTH COUNTY

NYE Forsythia Ball Drop

When: Dec. 31, 8 p.m.–midnight
Where: Forsyth Courthouse Square
What: Family-friendly celebration with food trucks, music, games, and a Forsythia ball drop.
How Much: Free
More Info