Sidelines & Headlines

Sidelines & Headlines

di Jim Hardin

Football americano

Stagione 1

The Squirrel Stew Episode

Hosts Blake Giles, retired sports journalist, and Jim Hardin, former Auburn walkon (who never played) review the results from rivalry weekend. Blake describes how Georgia broke Florida State’s football program, and it goes beyond the 63-3 beatdown in the Orange Bowl. And then they preview the conference championships, particularly Georgia and Alabama. Who is on the bubble of the CFP, and who is in? Blake introduces his stress-free seconds calculator as a gauge. Finally, Lane Kiffen did what everyone assumed he would do, take the LSU job, and then the floodgates opened, as colleges filled vacancies. They had to hurry because signing day is looming, and the news is that No. 1 QB prospect Jared Curtis is flipping from Georgia to Vanderbilt. That leaves the Dogs without a QB in their commitments. And the Athens area teams, except for Jefferson, were bumped from the playoffs. It was a great year for Jackson County, and a rough end for Athens Academy and Prince Avenue Christian. And North Oconee lost on a walk-off field goal. Finally, Jim reveals the history of squirrel stew.

Georgia Peaking at Just the Right Time

Hosts Blake Giles, a veteran of four decades of sports journalism, and Jim Hardin, a devoted fan, evaluate Georgia’s convincing win over Texas. The pre-game hype for Texas was greater than the on-field version. Then, how many SEC teams will get into the College Football Playoff? And just how good No. 3 Texas A&M. It may have the weakest schedule in the league. What is the future for conference championship games? Will the Atlanta Falcons ever have a functional from office? High school playoffs reach the second round.

Texas Comes to Athens for the First Time, but It’s not the First Trip for the Mannings

Georgia hosts Texas in a showdown that has been on everyone’s calendar for two years. Hosts Blake Giles and Jim Hardin review the history between the two schools. Even though that game may suck the air out of Athens, there is more going on in college football. The two review last week’s games. Georgia played a complete game at Mississippi State. Auburn discovered an offense, but its defense collapsed in an overtime loss at Vanderbilt. Indiana toe-tapped past Penn State. Meanwhile, high school football playoffs start this week in Georgia.

Georgia Escapes Again, but not Auburn Coach Hugh Freeze

Hosts Jim Hardin and Blake Giles review the firing of Hugh Freeze at Auburn and wonder how long Georgia can keep escaping. And who is in the playoffs, and who is not. And an abbreviated look at the playoffs is interrupted by a technical difficulty that cuts off the podcast abruptly. No worry. Everybody is fine, and we will be back next week.

The Coaching Carousel Is Just Starting To Spin

Hosts Blake Giles and Jim Hardin discuss the many vacancies in college coaching created by a flood of dismissals. The media focuses on other head coaches. But 14 of the current top 25 teams have head coaches who previously had been only assistant coaches. The high school season reaches its regular-season zenith as teams jockey for playoff position. And its Georgia-Florida week. Blake remembers the 1993 game, when weather socked in the rest of the newspaper staff.

Front-line Report from High School Reporters

Hosts Jim Hardin and Blake Giles catch up with two reporters who specialize in high school sports: Sara Tidwell of the Athens Banner-Herald and Stuart Steele of the Oconee Enterprise. As the regular season winds down, they peek ahead to the playoffs. Then they all chime in on Georgia’s win over Ole Miss. On the college scene, Jim and Blake review the latest firing, Billy Napier at Florida. Is Hugh Freeze next? How big could the Georgia-Georgia Tech game be? Stuart picks his player of the year, Keyon Standifer of Athens Academy. Sara likes the “dynamic duo” at Prince Avenue Christian, Ben Musser and Andrew Beard.

Touchdown or Fumble? Depends on Who You Ask

Hosts Blake Giles and Jim Hardin discuss the controversial call of a fumble by Auburn at the Georgia goal line. Did Kirby Smart call a timeout? Did it matter? What has happened to Auburn football, once a conference power? Is Hugh Freeze in trouble? What is the difference between first-half Georgia and second-half Georgia? Lane Kiffen likes to gig his opponents, but in a gentler fashion than Steve Spurrier. It’s a big weekend in the SEC with eight conference games, most of them close. On the high school front, Oglethorpe County beats Rabun County for the first time in decades. The Patriots have their eyes on the playoffs. Brett’s Restaurant serves as podcast host.

The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry Renews

Hosts Jim Hardin, an Auburn man, and Blake Giles, a Georgia Bulldog, preview the annual rivalry game. Jim has missed only three Auburn games since 1984. They recollect the history of the series: Pat Dye, Vince Dooley, Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, the prayer at O’Hare, Joel Eaves, Buck Belue, orange jerseys, black jerseys, Pat Sullivan, Terry Beasley, Andy Johnson, Erk Russell, Joel Eaves, Columbus, Ga., Fran Tarkenton, Bill Herron, Shug Jordan, water hoses, missing quarterback, Lewis Grizzard, the famous photo from the four-overtime game, Mike Bobo, Kim Braswell, Robert Edwards, Tre Battle, the lack of a pass rush at Georgia, Gunner Stockton. Also on the agenda, North Oconee has championship banners galore in its gymnasium. Alas, star Khamari Brooks is done for the year with a fractured hip. The kickers in the Prince Avenue Christian-Stephens County game showed off strong legs. Speaking of kickers, the Kell kicker booted a late field goal to beat Blessed Trinity 3-0, an unusual score in the day of high-powered offenses. Blake’s high school mate Roger Harris kicked a 47-yard field goal for Athens High in 1967 and then kicked for the freshman team at Georgia. Blake proposes a radical idea to do away with penalty kick decisions in soccer games: In overtime, prevent even the goalie from using his hands. Soccer is a great game, but American football offers so much more interesting strategy. Habersham Central beats Clarke Central for the first time since 2007. Hebron Christian looks loaded. The Georgia High School Association is switching to a points-based system to determine the playoffs next year. Blake lobbies for the mile run to replace the 1,600 in high school meets, because the mile run is magical. What other podcast has ATV farm vehicles hauling supplies? Maybe the media overrated Texas and Arch Manning. Penn State is in a deep hole as it relates to the playoffs. Ole Miss rated as favorite to win the conference. Who said, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Frank Broyles and Keith Jackson worked together as commentators. In the end, Jim picks Auburn 30-28. Blake picks Georgia 30-20. The athleticism of professional wrestlers is impressive.

Russ Tanner Loves Barbecue and College Football

Hosts Jim Hardin and Blake Giles visit with former Georgia football player Russ Tanner. They are all amazed that Ty Cummings of West Laurens rushed for 615 yards, by himself. Johnson County, Russ’s alma mater, is undefeated. Georgia has an Alabama problem. How do you explain it? It used to be a Florida problem. NIL and transfer portal has evened the playing field in college football. Roster management is a critical mystery. Russ says you need eight or nine strong players to field a stable offensive line. Has the game been hurt by players getting paid? Russ said the “on-the-field” product is as good as it has ever been, making it the greatest sport in the world. (Russ offers our podcast services for $500,000: send an email if you are interested.) Look how competitive the SEC is. Vanderbilt is no longer a walkover. Jobs opening, and who will get hired. Dan Lanning is not leaving Oregon. How long will Kirby coach? Big-boy reception for Alabama: what are you going to do. No secrets in bouncing back from a loss: go to work. Where is the Auburn offense? Lane Kiffen learning how to be a head coach at Ole Miss, but wouldn’t he leave for the right paycheck? Florida’s had three decades of greatness, surrounded by mediocrity. Are schools going to have to deal with donor fatigue? Texas Tech is an interesting experiment, with a rich portal class. Talent can trump culture. The cat is out of the bag with paying players; there is no going back. No salary cap in the college game. Mark Richt coached three or four teams that would have made it into the expanded college playoffs. People who criticize coaches have no standing to evaluate coaches. Coaches want to win more than fans do. Russ never thought about coaching because he wanted to have a family life. Neither does he feel compelled to be a professional commentator. It took years for David Pollack to rise to prominence. Paul Finebaum says he is going to run for office. Russ has not been invited to be on Relatable, the podcast by his sister-in-law, Allie Beth Stuckey. And how can Arkansas make Bobby Petrino the face of their program again?

Dating News, Kirby's 10 Years and Alabama Comes to Athens

Hosts Blake Giles and Jim Hardin preview a big weekend in college football, including Alabama at Georgia, Oregon at Penn State, LSU at Ole Miss, Georgia Tech at Wake Forest, and Notre Dame at Arkansas. Blake quizzes Jim on the top 10 Heisman candidates, as listed on ESPN.com. How is it that David Weeks did not mention that his son Whit, an LSU linebacker, is dating Landry Kiffen, daughter of Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffen? And LSU plays at Ole Miss this week. Landry says she’s pulling for her dad’s team. How did Oklahoma get away with what Jim calls the Lonesome Polecat, which was his first suggestion for the name of this podcast. Auburn’s quarterback got sacked for nine time, because he held on to the ball too long. Clemson looks like toast after its loss to Syracuse. But the Orangemen were fined for faking injuries to slow play down. Jim asks about Dabo Sweeney’s defensiveness around the media. Kirby Smart is in his 10th season and is at the pinnacle of his profession. Mark Schlabach does an excellent profile on ESPN.com, which appears that Smart gave Schlabach access that he normally does not give to the local print media. On the high school front, Hebron Christian rocketed to No. 1 in the private class with a win over a strong Blessed Trinity team. Prince Avenue Christian won 59-34 over Westside of Anderson, S.C., which came to the area for the first time since the late 60s, when it played Burney-Harris, the black high school in Athens. Blake found an old story that mentioned some Burney-Harris players. Athens Academy’s Josh Alexander won his 100th game as a head coach. Jackson County beat Clarke Central by 50. Cedar Shoals lost to unbeaten Walnut Grove on a late field goal. East Jackson goes to 5-0 and gets ranked for the first time ever, just in time to play No. 1 Hebron Christian. Oklahoma State fired its head coach, Mike Gundy. Jim and Blake reminisce: Mike Rozier was a questionable role model. Bruce Pearl was a great basketball coach at Auburn. They remember Georgia’s great win over Alabama in 1976. Also, the 1965 flea-flicker win, when Blake was sitting in the high school bleachers. $2 seats where the president’s box is now. Would instant replay have overturned the play? What about in 1968 when Tennessee scored a TD and two-point play at the end of then game to tie Georgia? Channel 5 got tricked into running a bulletin on TV that the SEC Committee for Fair Play had reviewed the play and reversed the call and given Georgia the win. Turned out to be a hoax that the station put on the air.

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