SEC Football Roundup for Sept 3, 2011 jh12

We are learning a lot about other SEC teams as the season unfolds. Alabama and LSU have great defenses. Georgia has talent but they got beat soundly by Boise St. I really like Georgia’s coach and I will be upset if they let him go after this year. He is such a fine christian man and he has averaged 9 wins per season for 10 years now.

I really expect the SEC to again produce a team worthy of the BCS national championship game. In fact, I heard one ESPN announcer say that if the SEC champ has one loss then they should be in even if there are two other teams from other conferences that are undefeated.

(2) Alabama 48, Kent State 7 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.: AJ McCarron stepped up in Alabama’s quarterback race, throwing for a TD and 226 yards as the Crimson Tide beat Kent State.

Vying with Phillip Sims to replace Greg McElroy, McCarron had a 24-yard scoring toss to Marquis Maze and finished 14-of-23 passing.

McCarron was hardly perfect, throwing two interceptions. Sims also threw two interceptions — one that set up Kent State’s score — and finished 7-of-14 for 73 yards.

Starting in place of departed Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson scored three TDs and ran for 37 yards.

(5) Boise State 35, (19) Georgia 21 at Atlanta: Kellen Moore threw for three touchdowns — giving him 102 in his career — and the Broncos romped past the Bulldogs, boosting their hopes of making another run to a major bowl while dealing a huge blow to embattled Georgia coach Mark Richt.

Moore, the nation’s top-rated passer last season completed 28 of 34 for 261 yards.

(12) South Carolina 56, East Carolina 37 at Charlotte, N.C.: Fifth-year senior Stephen Garcia came off the bench to run for two TDs and throw for another as he rallied the Gamecocks past East Carolina.

Marcus Lattimore added 112 yards and three TDs.

Garcia sat the first quarter as South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier started sophomore Connor Shaw. But the Gamecocks fumbled three times, including one by Shaw, and trailed 17-0 before Garcia entered the game. That’s when the offense started to click and South Carolina took control of the season opener.

(22) Florida 41, Florida Atlantic 3 at Gainesville, Fla.: John Brantley looked comfortable in Florida’s new offense, Chris Rainey scored three different ways and the 22nd-ranked Gators opened the Will Muschamp era by beating Florida Atlantic.

Brantley completed 21 of 30 passes for 229 yards and a TD, showing marked improvement in Charlie Weis’ pro-style offense. Rainey touched the ball 18 times, scoring on a 14-yard reception and a 14-yard run. He also scooped a blocked punt and sprinted 22 yards for a score.

Vanderbilt 45, Elon 14 at Nashville: Larry Smith threw for two TDs and ran for another score, and Vanderbilt beat Elon in coach James Franklin’s debut with the Commodores.

Franklin showed his willingness to gamble with the team considered the worst in the SEC, going for it on fourth down three times to keep drives alive scoring 17 points.

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Mark Richt, Faith, and Fame

3 Comments • Christianity+Church • 425 Words • Saturday, March 1, 2008

Coach Mark Richt spoke at our Allen Hunt Show luncheon on Thursday. I had never met him before. The room was full, and anticipation buzzed in the room. While folks enjoyed discovering the virtually unknown, but extraordinarily important, ministry at Murphy Harpst Children’s Center (www.murphyharpst.org), nearly everyone attended to hear Richt. Coach Richt graciously signed autographs and posed for photos at the VIP reception before the luncheon. Watching him do that, I realized one of his most uncommon qualities. The guy has the rare ability to be completely present with whomever he is talking or posing. No distractions, no thinking about all the other things he needed to be doing, no worrying about the time. When I get in crowds and have a schedule to meet, my mind gets to spinning a million miles a second. Not Richt. We enjoyed lunch. While the rest of us ate, Coach Richt would take a bite or two, converse with one of the folks on his left or right, and then pick up his Bible, find something, make a note or two, and then go back to eating. I have to admit – I was very curious what he would say. Richt’s talk focused on faith as we had requested. The first ten minutes were devoted to walking the audience through the Bible on the faith of Abraham in Genesis and Hebrews. He took his time. He apologized for taking so long to get to his point but reassured us that he was getting there. Nearly the entire first half of his talk made the crowd restless as he poked through the Old Testament. Frankly, I had never seen anyone do what he was doing. Richt was unfazed. He unknowingly was making it OK for the men in that audience to delve into faith, the Bible, and even feel uncomfortable in doing so. And then he came on strong. By the end, after he had moved from the lessons of Genesis, to the real-life examples from his own life, marriage, family, and career, I found myself moved by the Spirit of God. Here was a man of considerable prominence who openly and rawly shared his own faith journey, warts, muscles and all. The raw honesty in sharing some of his deepest reflections and experiences stirred a lot of us. I am still receiving emails from folks who were moved by his remarks. Believers and non-believers alike. Very impressive. Unfiltered, raw, honest, and real. Very impressive indeed. We hope to have the audio posted on the web site this week. Well done, Coach Richt. Go Dawgs!

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