Exile on Philip Fulmer Way

Banishing Aaron Douglas from the southeastern United States and then watching him sign with a hated rival?  Hey, it’s all good for Derek Dooley, master of spin.

“First of all, I wanted to release him,” Dooley said. “I didn’t want to deny a release, which is what we normally do. But I thought he needed to get away and I thought it was good for our team that he wasn’t close by, so I thought everybody benefited — that we just get away from the deal for a little bit. And I think it worked out well for our team and it worked out well for Aaron, so everybody should be happy.”

Dude, let’s be straight here – you forced the kid out and did it on terms where you hoped he’d sign with some school nobody in these parts would ever see.  Instead, Douglas called your bluff and you’ll have the pleasure of facing him next year.

It should make for a great story on the recruiting trail… for Nick Saban.  That should make Dooley happy, too.

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Monday morning buffet

Starting off what should be a fun week with a few things to nibble on:

• Dan Mullen rubs salt in the wound:  “The game shouldn’t have been as close as it was. We had some opportunities to put that game away early, and we had some opportunities to put that game away late.”
• My first thought on reading this was “why wasn’t that the rule in the first place?”.  My second thought was “I wonder what the SEC rule is?”.
• Mike Hamilton is a funny guy:  “But this is far, far, far from a program that doesn’t have institutional control or is not trying to live by the letter of the law.”
• Eloquence like this deserves to be noted.
• Measuring the Tebow effect:  “CBS’ SEC ratings had been on a roll. But Saturday’s Arkansas-Auburn game drew a 2.7 overnight, translating into 2.7% of the 56 urban markets measured for overnights — down 44% from comparable coverage of an Arkansas-Florida game last year.”
• Les Miles has a better winning percentage at LSU than Nick Saban did.
• Heh.
• There’s only one freshman quarterback in the top 35 nationally in passer rating – Aaron Murray at #19.
• Tim Brewster is the first coaching casualty of the season, and Minnesota’s AD has words of encouragement for whoever turns out to be his successor:  “You’re not following Vince Lombardi here.”

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UPDATE: Speaking of SEC officiating gaffes, the Wiz catches a good one from the UF-MSU game (watch the ref on the left).

My, he sure talks purty.

Dan Mullen lays out the praise for his team’s opponent this week, our beloved Georgia Bulldogs.

“In my view of things, and their record might now show it, but they’re a top 25 football team in the country – easily — right now,” Mullen said on today’s SEC coaches’ teleconference.

Easily. Hoo, boy, ain’t that nice?

Except for one thing.

… Mullen, by the way, votes in the USA Today coaches’ poll. He did not have Georgia in his top 25 this week (none of the 59 voting coaches did)…

It just worked out that way.

The Wall Street Journal looked at media guides to tally what college football players study.  Included in their findings is this:

… Some majors seemed extra popular at specific schools, like the 16 starters at Georgia Tech who are majoring in management. (A team spokesman says it’s not easier than other majors, it’s just “really popular.”)

Sheer coincidence, I’m sure.

Thursday morning buffet

The buffet is not currently serving a suspension.

• The next time somebody tells you that they don’t believe athletes in college need any special attention – they’re in college, after all, right? – show him or her this.
• Year2′s review of South Carolina’s game against Southern Miss is worth a read, especially the last section.
• And CFN’s preview of Saturday’s game isn’t bad.
• It doesn’t concern football, but anything Michael Lewis writes about – in this case, the financial shenanigans that have driven Greece into virtual bankruptcy – is a must read.
• Tonight’s Auburn-Mississippi State game should be as far removed from 3-2 as imaginable.
• Joe Montana calls bullshit on Rudy.  I’ve always liked Joe Montana.
• Friend of the blog and author of the most inspired college football-in-the-state-of-Florida analogy I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading Tommy Perkins is back in the blogging business at The SEC Pigskin Podcast.  (You only get one guess as to his pen name there.)
• Football Outsiders delves deeply into the issue of Boise State’s strength of schedule.
• Week 1 results of the SEC Power Poll are here.

Wednesday lunch buffet

One more day…

• It sounds like the Oregon trip is destined to become the last of its kind, so savor it, Dawgnation.
• My kind of focus:  “Richt again said his No. 1 message to his team this year has been fixing the turnover ratio. “Flip that stat and we probably win 10 or 11 games last year. Make them beat us. Let’s not beat ourselves.” Along those lines, he said, in practice players are disciplined for every turnover or penalty and then after practice their unit is also disciplined.”
• Easily the wettest I’ve ever been at a football game.  It was as if God took a gigantic bucket of water and dumped it on Sanford Stadium.  Fun game, in spite of that.
• Nobody blows smoke up your ass more than Houston Nutt:  “We’re in the people-helping business.” Nobody.
• I hate to say it, but this is so similar to what we’ve heard out of Athens that it’s almost depressing.  It’s certainly a reality check about our expectations.
• Some of the contributors at friend of the blog Saurian Sagacity have started a new blog here.
• Paul reminds me that it’s about time to start surfing the South Carolina message boards.
• Jerry Hinnen’s preview of the Auburn-Georgia game is definitely worth a read, even if you don’t agree with his ultimate game prediction.

“It’s not a bad thing.”

Les Miles is so FOS about this ex post facto grayshirting debacle with Elliott Porter that you wonder why he decided to open his mouth about it in the first place.

Such as:

… He noted that Porter’s scholarship offer was still good, just postponed a semester. He said if somebody made the same offer to one of his sons, they would “certainly be disappointed that day, but recognize that, long-term, it’s not a bad thing.”

Miles said grayshirting can benefit players who could use time to allow their bodies to mature.

“He might take his time to come in shape and to benefit his body and compete,” he said.

All of which might have come off a bit more convincing if Miles had asked Porter to grayshirt before he moved into his dorm room.  Besides, I thought that’s what a redshirt is for.  Maybe ol’ Les’ problem is that he’s colorblind.

Surely he jests.

Shorter Rogers Redding:  it’s not that SEC officiating has gotten worse, it’s that the coaches are complaining more.

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UPDATE: Nick Saban doesn’t have time for this ref-bashing shit.

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UPDATE #2: According to David Parry, the former supervisor of Big Ten football officials and the national coordinator of College Football Officiating, it may be a technology problem.

“… One of the problems that may be out there starting to surface is some of the monitors in the replay booths are nowhere near as sophisticated as those who have high-definition at home. (The replay official) is probably looking at a monitor that’s 5 or 6 years old and doesn’t have all the technical advantages that we purchase for ourselves.”

Jesus, guys, go down to Costco and blow a few bucks on some decent sets.  It’s not like you can’t afford it.

Al Groh channels his inner Orson Welles.

He gave himself the day off last Saturday, cracked open a beer, grabbed the remote, settled down on the couch, scratched himself in a couple of places and watched some football.

… Preparing for Saturday’s game against North Carolina, Groh watched the Tar Heels play Georgia Tech. He also watched Indiana-Michigan, Alabama-Arkansas, Texas-UTEP, Virginia Tech-Miami, Oregon State-Arizona, Purdue-Notre Dame and Houston-Texas Tech. He even caught an Ivy League game “for the fun of it.”

And after all these years of coaching (and presumably watching countless hours of game tape), he was suddenly blinded by this amazing insight:

“Certainly revealed that there’s probably far too many teams and players that are anointed way too early in the season and far too many teams and players that are condemned too early in the season to see the significant turnarounds that occur in so many games — that a season is to played out rather than to be seen in microcosm,” Groh said. “I realize that’s not the reality of the way things seem, but that’s the reality of the way things go.”

Too true.  Too, too, too, true.

Yes, a football season is meant to be savored.  It must be allowed to ripen in the fullness of time, so that another 5-7 year can be fully appreciated for itself.

Al Groh will judge no college football before its time.

Also, it probably needs to be allowed to breathe a little before consuming.

Opening day can’t get here soon enough.

Andre Sexton, Oklahoma State linebacker, has taken it upon himself to be a one man source of bulletin board material for Georgia’s opener.

Two years later, Andre Sexton remembers the famous hedges at Georgia’s Sanford Stadium. He remembers the “G” on the Bulldogs’ helmets, the huge crowd, and the excitement of opening a college football season knowing much of the country was watching.

Most of all, though, he remembers the fear.

Back before the Oklahoma State Cowboys had grown accustomed to attention — before their coach became a YouTube sensation and their national ranking vaulted into the Top 10 — Sexton and his teammates didn’t know how to handle it. So they allowed themselves to be intimidated.

But with another season-opening date against Georgia a little more than a month away, the Cowboys can’t wait to show how much they’ve changed.

“Now we know,” said Sexton, a senior OSU linebacker, “Georgia’s the one that has to be scared. Not us.”

Damn, son, I’m not sure I would have said that.