Maybe I can figure Mandel out while I shave.

I just got out of the shower and noticed that Stewart Mandel picks Auburn to defeat Georgia tomorrow. No shame in that.

Except that rang a bell with me. Sure enough, four days ago Mandel predicted that Georgia would face Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl as a BCS at large team.

Just curious, Stewart: has a three loss team that didn’t win its conference championship ever earned a BCS at large spot?

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There’s something else you can burn after the next big win.

Now West Virginia has an entry in the contest for the ugliest uniform of 2007:

(AP Photo/Jeff Gentner)

Things aren’t black for Georgia’s offense.

If we can skip past the blackout talk for just a minute, David Paschall in today’s Chattanooga Times Free Press has a good piece on how Georgia’s offense is coming together.

Consider these statistics:

• Stafford has 15 passing touchdowns and six 200-yard passing games through nine games this season after throwing seven touchdowns and accounting for all three of Georgia’s 200-yard efforts in 13 games last year.

• Georgia’s receivers have nine touchdowns after combining for only four a season ago.

• Moreno and Thomas Brown have combined to give Georgia five 100-yard rushing games after Kregg Lumpkin accounted for the only two last year.

• The Bulldogs have scored more than 40 points four times this season. The only time they accomplished that last year was in a 48-12 opening win over Western Kentucky.

• Georgia has eight touchdowns offensively of 25 yards or longer. The season tally from a year ago was one, with Danny Ware’s 41-yard score also coming at the expense of the Hilltoppers.

• Georgia surpassed 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing last week and almost did the same against Florida, just missing out with 196 rushing yards. The Bulldogs are averaging 206 passing yards and 173.7 rushing yards a game, which is close to the 200-200 balance offensive coordinator Mike Bobo would love to have.

• Last year’s Bulldogs averaged 184.4 passing yards and 127.4 rushing yards per game.

Now some of the improvement can be attributed to the return to the old NCAA clock rules, but there’s no denying that Stafford’s maturation, Moreno’s emergence and the steady improvement of the offensive line are having a positive impact.

More of this on Saturday would be a good thing, regardless of the color of the jerseys.

Bartender, another Diet Mountain Dew for my friend here.

All I can say is that if Phil Steele is right, there are going to be a lot of happy Georgia fans this Saturday night.

Another peek inside the looney bin

Assuming that the Nuttster and the University of Arkansas part ways after this season, I have one burning question: who in his right mind would accept that job?

I mean, the qualifications for the job don’t just include the usual “X’s and O’s” and “Jimmies and Joes” stuff that every other D-1 coach is expected to have mastered. You’ve got to have intimate familiarity with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act if you expect to succeed in Fayetteville. You’ve got to anticipate the legal ramifications of benching a popular player.

In short, the next Head Hog needs to be a lawyer.

Fortunately, such a man exists…

Mike Leach… coach, lawyer, pirate. A true renaissance man.

It’s a great match. After all, we’ve been assured that Arkansas fans are some of the best fans in the nation. Coach, you’ve got nothing to worry about.

Actually, that guy’s a pretty good shot.