Two outstanding quarterbacks put on a great show of football this weekend

Published 8:37 pm Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Two highly successful college football teams, one in the powerful Southeastern Conference and one in the Atlantic Coast Conference, had outstanding games Saturday with staring quarterbacks who had transferred from other schools.

I am talking about quarterback Greyson Lambert, a transfer from Virginia, who along with running back Nick Chubb, helped lead the Bulldogs to an impressive 51-14 season opening victory over the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks in Athens, and quarterback Everett Golson, a transfer from Notre Dame, who along with running back Mario Pender helped led the Seminoles to an impressive 59-16 victory over the Texas State University Bobcats in Tallahassee.

Under a new NCAA eligibility rule, if players like Lambert and Golson received their degrees from the previous school, which both did, they can have a fifth year of eligibility at another school.

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I look for the Bulldogs and Seminoles both to have big seasons in 2015. In addition to strong running and passing offenses, they also feature strong defenses.

This week, the Bulldogs begin their SEC schedule with a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Seminoles will host the South Florida Bulls in Tallahassee.

I like both the Bulldogs and Seminoles, and since they do not play each other, I can root for both every week. I remember coach Vince Dooley’s 1980 National Championship led by All-American running back Herschel Walker.

As a former season ticket holder at Florida State for more than 30 years, the great years under coach Bobby Bowden were preceded by the struggling years under coach Larry Jones and coach Darrell Mudra. I saw Bearcat tight end coach Tom Wheeler play tight end for the Seminoles. He was an outstanding player and is now an outstanding coach and my good friend. His son Russell Wheeler is the Bearcats senior starting tight end.

I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing both Coach Vince Dooley and coach Bobby Bowden. They were both great coaches and class individuals.

I also had the pleasure and honor of covering and interviewing former Bainbridge High School Bearcats Region 1-AAAA defensive player of the year, University of Georgia Bulldogs All Southeastern Conference defensive back and current University of Alabama Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who played for his dad and my good friend coach Sonny Smart with the Bearcats.