The Chicken Bowl Calls

After a fun night at the Indy Bowl, the wife and I are off to Atlanta this afternoon for the Chick-fil-a Bowl, formerly the venerable Peach Bowl. I still like the Peach Bowl better than a corporate name, even though that corporation is responsible for chicken biscuits. In fact, I'm pretty certain that my pregnant wife agreed to go to the game solely on the premise that she would receive some coupons from the Chick. Please come through for me Truett Cathy.

As for the game, I am optimistic for the Dawgs, but guardedly so. We finished up the regular season in fine style, beating Auburn and Georgia Tech. Those victories seem somehow lessened now because they both involved opposing QB meltdowns. Brandon Cox threw more passes to our defense than his team and Reggie Ball, well, is Reggie Ball. Virginia Tech looked strong to finish the year, but the only decent teams they beat were Clemson and Wake Forest. That's not too impressive. In fact Wake is the only ranked team they beat. The rest of their schedule was pretty much the perennial trash of the ACC.

Tech does have the best statistical defense in the country. But, that defense played against opponents whose average total offensive rank is 77th. Georgia's defense is ranked 9th, but it played an average offense ranked 66th. The same correlation exists on offense. VT's offense is ranked a miserable 95th in the country, while UGA is slightly better. But on average, VT has played better statistical defenses than the Dawgs.

So what does this tell us? I think this is going to be an ugly game to watch if you like high powered offense. I still see a big nasty defensive battle in which field position and kickers control the outcome. For Georgia, as usual, turnovers equal certain demise. Matt Stafford must protect the ball when he gets hit and must pass efficiently. The Dawgs need to run the ball, always a challenge against VT, but they don't necessarily need Kregg Lumpkin or Danny Ware to get 100 yards. I think Mike Bobo, Georgia's newly crowned offensive coordinator, will call some deep stuff early. If they hit one or two, UGA's in for a good night.

Virginia Tech will run on Georgia's defense, so get ready.

I've had some dealings with Virginia Tech fans and have found them generally to be decent, God fearing people. We'll see how that impression holds up. I'm looking forward to hearing some turkey calls, just not in the fourth quarter.

The View From Shreveport

I admit it, I left when Bama was down 31-17. At that point it looked like they weren't going to score 20, much less tie it up at 31. The Okie State fans next to me kept saying that their defense wasn't good, but it held Bama at bay most of the game. Besides, Bama got back it the game in the 4th with special teams and a brilliant trick play to Andre Smith. Frankly, Oklahoma State just looked like a better team out there. Bama's offense never really looked sharp. OSU's Bobby Reid made good throws and Savage savaged Bama's run defense.

I know the Independence Bowl takes a lot of heat, but it really has had some great games recently. Mizzou had a huge comeback last year to beat Spurrier and the Cocks. Nebraska collapsed against Ole Miss in 2002. The snow bowl between Mississippi State and Texas A&M is an overtime classic. Plus, the bowl has really upgraded its facility from a few years ago. But then again, I am on the foundation, so I guess I'm biased.

Oklahoma State will be a good team next year. They return a load of starters. The offense is exciting and Bobby Reid looked good tonight. Their defense may be questionable but it, just like their whole team, is young. I was also impressed by their fans. They were out in force. Georgia opens next year against the Pokes and I think that will be a nasty opener for the Dawgs, especially with a rebuilt offensive line.

A Few Bowl Game Thoughts

Last night's Emerald Bowl must be the oddest bowl game out there. First, it's played in a baseball stadium, albeit a nice one. Second, because of the park's dimensions, both teams stood on the same sideline. I'd never seen that before, but it was interesting. The coaches looked like two basketball coaches walking down the sideline for the post game handshake. Third, Emerald Nuts has those odd commercials featuring "Envious Nomads" and "Entangled Nine-Year-Olds." Fourth, FSU's offense showed up against what was made out to be a certain mythical creature known as a good Pac-10 defense. Congrats to the Noles, but I was kind of creeped out through the whole thing.

I'm heading to Shreveport's own Independence Bowl this afternoon. I think I'm in for a good show. Okie State is young, but they have a decent offense. Bama has a solid defense, but could struggle to score points. I'll be cheering for the Tide and may even break out my houndstooth hat that I bought several years ago in Tuscaloosa. In any case, I'll have a full report tonight.

Oregon's Holograms

Did you see Oregon's new helmets last night at the Las Vegas Bowl? They were the only thing interesting about the Ducks as they got pasted by BYU. One thing Phil Knight and the OU athletic department has made sure of is that they experiment with uniforms, but every decision has been progressively worse. From the pinstriped Joey Harrington unis, to the steel plate pattern of a year ago, to now hologram helmets that change color depending on your point of view.

I think there is a method to the madness. Oregon is slowly moving toward Predator like, super camo. Eventually, opposing teams will only see the Ducks if they are wearing heat sensitive goggles or if it is raining. Jonathan Stewart will run wild through and around dumbfounded defenders unaware that Stewart is even on the field.

West Virginia Loses Reggie Ball

Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball was declared academically ineligible today and he will miss the Gator Bowl because of it. This deprives West Virginia of at least one hand wrapped defensive score off an interception or fumble recovery. Taylor Bennett will start in Ball's place.

Be fearful o fans of college football! Did your star player turn in his biology lab quiz? Without it he might drop below a 2.0 and have to stay at home. Or, if your star player is Chris Rix, did he set his alarm clock?

Ole Miss Gets Snead

Coach O just got a shiny new QB. Texas refugee Jevan Snead has announced he will transfer to Ole Miss. So, Ole Miss has a brand new savior to go along side Brent Schaeffer, their old savior. Not exactly. NCAA transfer rules prevent Snead from playing next year, but he should be ready to take over when Schaeffer leaves.

Coach O is amusing, but the guy seems to be getting some players. The Rebels at least look like they are getting better.

Scott Brothers to Feud Over Peach/Chicken Bowl

The Peach/Chicken Bowl is likely to figure in several key arguments later this month. Is the SEC as strong a conference as everyone thinks? Is the ACC really down this year such that their second best team would lose to the SEC's fifth best? Etc., etc. But for brothers Dennis and Lindsay Scott, it will settle which brother gets to taunt the other for years to come.

Georgia fans will no doubt know who Lindsay Scott is. Not only did he catch the most famous pass in Georgia history but he is responsible for one of Larry Munson's greatest calls.


Dawg people will probably not know that Lindsay's brother went to Virgina Tech where he was an All-American track athlete and played for the Hokie football team. Given this sibling rivalry, the brothers are fired up over the Peach/Chicken Bowl. Virginia Tech's SID department has the whole story.

The Dawgs better come to play on December 30 or Lindsay will be listening to the Hokie Pokie for a year. Since we never play each other, Lindsay may never get Dennis back if the Dawgs lose.

Coaching Carousel

As rumored on Friday, Georgia assistant Neil Callaway has taken the head coaching job at UAB. The Alabama media decries the hire as the product of Paul Bryant, Jr.'s good ole boy network. Georgia is left without an offensive line coach, but most Dawg fans think Callaway was due to leave soon anyway. Paul has a list of potential replacements, led by Art Kehoe, the former Miami O-line coach who is now in Oxford. Kehoe and Richt played together at Miami.

Elsewhere, Derek Dooley, former LSU assistant and son of Vince Dooley, came out of nowhere and has taken the reins at Louisiana Tech. Dooley was on Nick Saban's 2003 staff that won LSU a national championship and was most recently a Miami Dolphins assistant. Tech is a decent job. You can win there, but the fan base is not much. Most of their home games are not that well attended because their fans are in deer stands at kickoff. An alum recently told me that their mascot didn't show up to the last game because its family was going to the LSU game instead. The cheerleaders had to borrow a bulldog from someone else. Can't see the Seilers ditching the Georgia game because they got Georgia Tech tickets. Tech has had several excellent quarterbacks over the years and have pulled some big upsets. Alabama in 1999 comes to mind.

So where to, Jimbo Fisher? If FSU wants him, they might want to break out some booster checkbooks. Jimbo makes a heap of money in Baton Rouge and FSU's highest paid assistant makes about half of Jimbo's current salary.

SEC News & Notes

-Jimbo Fisher, LSU's offensive coordinator, is rumored to be the leading candidate for the head coaching position at Louisiana Tech after UAB decided not to interview him. UAB thought they would not be able to pay Fisher enough to lure him from Baton Rouge. Fisher has been rumored for so many positions lately, I'm surprised that he would settle for La Tech, but his options are drying up.

-Auburn has suspended future killing machine Tray Blackmon indefinitely today for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Also suspended were Kevin Sears and Brad Lester. I state today that Blackmon, who was suspended for several games earlier this year, is not done at Auburn. He's too good. They'll wait until the jury convicts and all appeals are exhausted before telling that guy he can't play anymore. Prove me wrong, Tubs.

-In better news for the Aubs, Quinton Groves is upholding Auburn tradition by not forgoing his senior year for the NFL. When was the last time the War Eagles lost a guy early? It seems like never.

-Bama has evidently been banned from recruiting at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Miami because their coach doesn't agree with the firing of Mike Shula. This is easily solved by Mal Moore offering the coach the head job in Tuscaloosa.

-Lastly, while Jimbo Fisher is too expensive for UAB, Georgia's Neil Callaway evidently is not. Calloway, master of the fullback trap, is the leading candidate for the UAB job. Finebaum will explode if he gets the job.

Ask A Gator

Per Paul Westerdawg, please find linked this brilliant, brilliant advice column.

Arkansas Revolt

In case you haven't been on a college football message board recently, all hell has broken out in Arkansas. It started last January when QB Mitch Mustain, WR Damian Williams, and TE Ben Cleveland, all teamates at powerhouse Springdale High School last year, committed to Arkansas after Houston Nutt hired their high school coach as offensive coordinator. Mustain and his sidekicks evidently didn't get what they wanted this year. Mustain couldn't beat out Casey Dick for the starting QB job through the season. Williams only caught 19 passes, but was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Cleveland had 11 catches and one very big TD catch against Alabama. Not bad considering they were all true freshmen and they had this beast competing for touches:

That wasn't enough for these guys or their parents. The parents had a meeting with Frank Broyles regarding the Arkansas offense. Evidently, the recievers want to catch 60 balls a year, an accomplishment only one Razorback has ever done. Transfer rumors abound and evidently Williams has made his transfer request formal. Mustain's mother has attempted to calm Hawg nerves, but the whole situation is causing the porkers to freak.

With all due respect, is this a joke? Let me explain football to you parents. First, coach is in charge. Second, no one, not Calvin Johnson, not Jerry Rice, no one is catching 60 balls a year with Darren Freakin' McFadden on their team. Did you watch that clip? That wasn't the Southside Rebels, that was LaRon Landry, Glenn Dorsey, and LSU. Third, every college has decent players. If you can't beat out Casey Dick, what makes you think you can beat out other QBs at big programs?

Good luck to all these kids. I hope the Hawgs have Mustain next year because that offense could be hell on wheels with a decent passing attack paired with McFadden. But, Mom and Dad need to stay out of the coaching decisions. Houston Nutt has his issues, but you can't blame the guy for giving his horse the ball.

See the RazorBloggers for the whole story.

The Cost of Championships

Yesterday was a bad day. Not only did my firm's insurance guy tell me how much money I will hemorrage when my wife has our first child in May, but I also received my request from UGA for my annual "donation" for football tickets. Only several more hundreds of dollars for the right to see the Dawgs play in Athens maybe once next year. I guess I will have to sneak that payment by my wife.

I have to hand it to the UGA Athletic Department because the brochure is a great little document. On page 13, they have shown the athletic budgets for each SEC school and the number of conference championships each school has won since the 1991-1992 school year.

With these budget numbers, I decided to see how much each school pays for a conference championship. Using the athletic budget numbers provided by UGA, I divided each budget by the number of conference championships each school won in the 2005-2006 school year. (I'm including co-champions for regular season champions and tournament champions to spread the wealth.) I guess my point in this calculation is just to see who gets the most championships out of their athletic budget. Call it the Championship Efficiency Quotient (CEQ). I should be happy if my athletic department spends its dollars efficiently, wrenching championships out of each dollar better than the other guys.

Here are the numbers in descending budget size:
-Tennessee spent $13.98 million per SEC champion ($69.9 million budget, 5 championships)
-Florida spent $13.86 million ($69.3 million, 5 championships)
-LSU spent $30.85 million ($61.7 million, 2 championships)
-Georgia spent $7.69 million ($61.5 million, 8 championships)
-Kentucky spent $61.2 million (1 championship)
-Auburn spent $27 million ($54 million, 2 championships)
-Alabama spent $26.6 million ($53.2 million, 2 championships)
-Arkansas spent $13.2 million ($39.6 million, 3 championships)
-Ole Miss spent $30.7 million (1 championship)

Everyone else didn't have a championship team. So, Georgia had the highest CEQ last year, followed by the Hawgs. Historically, the Hawgs and Gators are the most efficient and Vandy is the least efficient.

So, I guess I shouldn't complain too much. The Dawgs win with the money I send them.

Your athletic departments wants it, needs it, please give it to them!

Free Advice to Brady Quinn

Pay your dental insurance premium, soon.

NYT Attacks Auburn, Again

The New York Times has another piece about the Auburn sociology investigation. (The Times first looked into the AU sociology department last July.) The big charge this time is that a football player's grade was changed from an incomplete to an A without the knowledge of the course instructor. The instructor "did not teach the course to the athlete that semester and did not recall ever meeting the athlete." The player graduated with a sociology degree from Auburn with a 2.01 GPA, just enough to stay eligible. No wonder that APR was so high.

Diamond Dawgs Photo Feature

Sports Illustrated has a photo feature on a few members of the Georgia baseball team. It's mostly shots from the players' house. It's good to know the baseball team lives just like the rest of male college America: poor, messy, repellent, and with Widespread Panic no doubt playing 24 hours a day.

The Dawgs lost a lot from last year's team that made an appearance in Omaha. They've got their work cut out for them to start the season, as they open with defending champion Oregon State.

UMass Does the Impossible

Congratulations to UMass who, by beating the Grizzlies of Montana in their home stadium, have reached the NCAA Division 1 football final. Montana is a notoriously bad place for visiting teams because they always have a big crowd, their teams are usually very good, and it is freezing cold. In fact, last night was the first time Montana has lost a semifinal game at home, ever. A victory there is quite a feat.

If you don't follow I-AA football, oops, Division 1 football, it is a lot of fun. They play good football and the big programs have great fan bases. Here in Louisiana, we have several good programs around and I enjoy following them. Plus, I had a relative coach Stephen F. Austin for several years. They also decide things on the field, not with computers and beauty contests. Here's a great website on Division 1 football if you're interested.

If you live in Chattanooga, go see the championship game next weekend. I promise a good time. You might even see something ridiculous, like this run from Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson in the 1999 championship game.

Make Mine Texas Sized!

The University of Texas broke ground on its new stadium renovations today by starting to destroy its North endzone. Once the $176 million project is complete, UT will seat over 90,000 orange clad Texans doing their shadow puppet routine. The renovations should put Texas up with the big boys as far as seating capacity. The project also includes a long list of other amenities. Your facilities are now obsolete, everyone else!

My reaction is why wasn't this done sooner? The UT program is kind of a mystery to me. They are highly successful, have a huge student body, have a huge alumni base, and have more money than anyone outside of the educational super elite. Yet, their stadium seemed outdated, seating only 80,000. I've seen some photos of other current facilities and they are plush. Which made me wonder why they don't have a gigantic stadium. I guess they are now agreeing with me. Those boosters, at $68 a barrel, can afford to build whatever the hell they want.

New Stadium? How about a hoverdome? Yeee Haw!

Don't Burn Your Couch, Tide

Finebaum and Cecil Hurt report that Rich Rodriguez is staying in Morgantown.

The Tide coaching search just turned nasty. More thoughts later. While you ponder this news, stop by EDSBS and buy this shirt. It will let Mal Moore know you're not interested.

Quick Update on Coach Rod

The Birmingham News reports that Rich Rodriguez has agreed to a 6 year, $12 million deal with Bama. This report, however, stands alone right now.

ESPN.com reports an offer without acceptance (which does not constitute a contract, unless the law has changed since I took the bar exam), but some players are quoted saying Rodriguez told them he is staying.

As a side note, I attended the team announcement party for Shreveport's own Independence Bowl last night. Joe Kines was there on behalf of Alabama. One of my Bama friends asked him if he was going to Texas to fill their vacant defensive coordiantor position. Kines told him he wasn't going to Texas and would stay at Alabama if asked. Kines reportedly said he would stay around even if only "to cut the grass." If Coach Rod does come to Bama, he would be well advised to keep the Tide's defensive staff. They have not been the problem.

Rich Rod to Bama - Done Deal

Cecil Hurt reports that Mal Moore has offered the Alabama head coaching position to Rich Rodriguez. Terms are as yet undisclosed. It's a "done deal."

Does anyone else get the suspicion that Rich Rod is playing Bama for more Mountaineer money? We know he has already met with Ed Pastilong about a facilities upgrade. Now that he has an offer from Bama, might they meet about a raise? It's certainly possible that he bolts for Tuscaloosa, but he's a WVU grad and native. You just don't see too many of those coaches leaving their alma mater voluntarily. Just a thought.

Evidently, Nick Saban turned down an interview for the Bama job. I doubt we ever see him in the college ranks again.

Hokies Power Up for the Peach

Bad news, Dawgs. It seems that Viriginia Tech, our opponent for the Peach Bowl, oops, the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, will be at full power for the game. Branden Ore, VT's sophomore 1,000 yard rusher is expected to return from a high ankle sprain suffered late in the Hokie's season. Ore ran for over 200 yards in back-to-back games this year and has been referred to, by those who do not know who Calvin Johnson is, as the best player in the ACC. Matt Hayes of the Sporting News is among that group and even wrote an article this year about Ore's turnaround from a troubled youth to a star athlete at VT.

Good for you Branden Ore. I wish you nothing but bad luck on December 30. Jarvis Jackson attack!

Where's Jesse?

UPDATE: It's not Jesse (although it might as well be), but AJC columnist Terence Moore demands that Bama hire Sly Croom.

Several head coaching positions remain open, but we have yet to hear from Jesse Jackson. Remember when Alabama hired Mike Shula? Jesse was outraged all over himself because Sly Croom wasn't hired. Jesse even called for an investigation into Alabama's hiring practices. The SEC was a racist conference who had never hired a black head football coach.

Well, where is Jesse now? Miami has an opening and a credible black candidate in Randy Shannon. Has the ACC ever had a black head coach? Get on that, Jesse. Quit hanging out with Kramer and work up some outrage. There are a lot of openings for black coaches, so start the press conferences.

Hell, Alabama is about to hire a hispanic coach. How can you let that happen, Jesse?

Thoughts on the BCS

As much as I enjoyed seeing UCLA beat USC in dramatic fashion Saturday, it presented me with a serious dilemma. I had to determine if I wanted to see a rematch of the Ohio State-Michigan game and thus endure a complete month's worth of incessant hype over the game, or see the hated Gators play for a national championship. After much soul searching, I have determined that the Gators did indeed deserve their shot at the Buckeyes and here's why: the schedule. I admit that Florida did not look impressive in several of its wins this year. But, they played teams that were better than the teams Michigan played. Michigan essentially played three games, Notre Dame (who beat, uh, nobody), Wisconsin, and Ohio State. Everyone else on their schedule is average. UF played four Top 25 teams, only one of which was in Gainsville. Michigan is a fine football team. But when you run the gauntlet of Florida's schedule with only one blemish, you get the tiebreaker.

I can't believe I just argued in favor of the Gators. I'll go take a shower now. My dealings with Ohio State fans are not good either. At the 1999 Sugar Bowl, I was riding downtown with several of them when one asked "What is that f#@*ing building? It looks pretty f#@*ing cool." Another responded, "That's the f#@*ing Superdome." I'll be cheering for the structural engineer of the Glendale stadium to have made a miscalculation.

USC's loss also hurt in another way. I really, really wanted to see LSU play Michigan. With those two defenses, I was expecting several bonecrushing, skullthumping hits. I also wanted to see JaMarcus Russell throw a ball fifty yards off his back foot with LaMarr Woodley and Rondell Biggs hanging off of him.

Another matchup that I wish we had gotten was Wake Forest against Rutgers in the Orange, just to see how low the ratings could get for a BCS bowl game.

CHAOS !!!

Grinning Bears are amused by exploding computers.

Stafford Got Robbed

I know some will disagree, but I think Matt Stafford got robbed yesterday when Tim Tebow was named quarterback of The Sporting News SEC All-Freshman team. Yeah, I know it's a homer opinion, but hear me out.

Let's look at the stats:
Rushing:
Tebow - 71 attempts for 399 yards, 7 TDs
Stafford - 40 attempts for 188 yards, 3 TDs

Passing:
Tebow - 21-32 for 357 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT
Stafford - 126-235 for 1,620 yards, 6 TDs, 12 INTs

Receiving:
Tebow - 0 receptions
Stafford - 1 reception for -6 yards

It's often said that stats are for losers, so let's take these numbers in context. Stafford was pressed into duty to start early in the season, forcing him to take control of an offense he wasn't quite ready to lead. The result was INTs, a point I will conceed to Tebow. He was throwing to receivers that dropped the ball a lot in the middle of the year. Defenses knew Stafford would play the whole game, while UF's opponents were geared toward Chris Leak. UGA's offensive line played like they wanted to be prosecuted for accessory to battery several games this year. After the UK game, Stafford looked like Taurean Charles dropped a keg on his head. But, let's look at Tebow. He saw essentially spot duty in UF's games for short yardage situations. His passing yards came mostly against Western Carolina, a Division 1-AA team. Most of his runs were power runs where he was a fullback and were meant to catch a defense surprised. He had a brilliant game against LSU, a team that looked like it didn't practice for that game. Every other game, he was a good change of pace running back, but not much else.

I imagine that UF would still have gotten to Atlanta without Tebow, although that may be a bit of a stretch. I can't imagine UGA beating Auburn or Georgia Tech without Stafford.

I'll take Stafford.

SEC Championship Pick

Is it just me or does this game seem to be flying under the radar? I haven't really heard much hype for the game and it doesn't seem to be getting much national attention. I guess when Ohio State and USC have already wrapped up the college football time on ESPN, this is what results. This post may even echo into a empty canyon of disinterest.

The silence on this game is a real shame because this has the potential to be the most exciting championship game in a while, at least going into the game. While Percy Harvin is out, fast and exciting players abound on each team. Plus, we'll get to watch two of the more unconventional offenses in the country, the Gator spread and the Hawg Wildcat formation.

When Arky has the ball: Arkansas has the homerun hitter in Darren McFadden, a superbad wrecking machine who shreds opposing defenses with the wings on his heels. Houston Nutt gets him in on almost every play, lining him up at QB, RB, and WR. The problem with the Hawgs is that they can't throw the ball worth a damn. And that fact is sad because they have Marcus Monk, a receiver that would be a star at UF. If Dick somehow steps up and can complete a forward pass, the Hawgs could be in business against a nasty Gator defense. The Gator defense though hasn't been quite as nasty without Marcus Thomas, the tree smoking D-tackle, and they'll miss him when McFadden runs all over the interior defensive line. The Gators have good ends, athletic linebackers, and a headhunter at safety in Reggie Nelson. Look for the Gators to load up on the line until Dick shows there is life in his arm. If they keep Arkansas in third and five or more, the Gators will win. Arkansas will score enough to stay in it, but any mistakes will push them further and further behind. And the Wildcat ain't built for a comeback.

When the jean shorters have the ball: UF's offense has been spectacular at times, but it lacks the nonstop scoring attack of Spurrier's teams. They score with unbelievable ease one minute, only to struggle the next minute, even when they shouldn't. This is Chris Leak's legacy game. If he can win it, maybe he can live up to the great hype he arrived in Gainsville with. If not, he's just the same 'ole soft Chris Leak. I don't see him breaking out now. He'll have a solid game, but nothing great. Just like his career at UF. The Arkansas defense should try to knock him around early, even if they give up some yards doing so. Leak doesn't play so well when he gets pressured early. The Hawg defense has been servicable all year, but not spectacular. Sam Olajubutu will contain Wynn, but the UF passing attack will score points in bursts, but not consistently.

In the end, I say the Gators win a close one, 28-27.