You lose some, and then you lose some.

Jamar Hornsby’s had better days than today – indicted on a felony assault charge and then cut loose by the Nuttster.

And, Chris Low, about that “Coaches take similar chances all the time” line, exactly who did you have in mind?  The only other coach in the conference I can think of who’s lately offered a scholarship to a player with a seriously checkered past is Lane Kiffin, and in his defense, it seems like he and UT did a helluva lot more due diligence with that offer than Houston Nutt ever engaged in regarding Hornsby.

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UPDATE: Bonus bad news for Hornsby – the indictment may be a violation of his Florida probation deal.  Is it possible for one player to rack up Fulmer Cup points for two schools simultaneously?

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Friday morning buffet

The capper to the working week, my friends…

• Now Spurrier regrets his response to Tebowgate.  Just shut up about it already, OK, Coach?
• T. Kyle answers my call.  Magnificently, I might add.
• This is just a little creepy, but doesn’t new Pac-10 commish Larry Scott look like he was separated at birth from Jim Delany?
• I don’t know about you, but the idea of playing bowl games at outdoor baseball stadiums that are hosting NHL games in January doesn’t sound that appealing to the fan in me.
• This is the best consulting report that $715,900 can buy.
• Brian Cook, I feel your pain, brother.
• Rivals.com’s preview of #15 Georgia is a decent summary.
• HeismanPundit will carry a torch for the Pac-10 until the day he dies.

Playoffs. Because everyone deserves a second chance.

HeismanPundit talks to Pete Carroll.  Pete Carroll talks back:

… If anyone in the country can ask ‘what if?’, it’s Carroll.  He was 19 seconds from a third-straight national title in 2005 and then dropped games to lesser teams like UCLA, Oregon State and Stanford since then that have kept USC out of at least two more national title games.  That has led Carroll to be a staunch proponent of a playoff system.

“(If I were in charge of the NCAA) we would have an awesome playoff system,” he said.  “I’d find a way to create a system we can all get excited about while still maintaining the bowl games that make the sport so special.”

It would be awesome because Southern Cal would be in it every year. Awesome!

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

This may be the greatest violation of the First Rule of Holes by a head coach that I’ve ever seen. (h/t Graham Watson’s Twitter feed)

Coach McMackin, here seen objecting to the playing of the Village People's "YMCA" by the Notre Dame band.

There will be a quiz on the materials.

Two excellent nuts and bolts pieces that should be of interest to every Dawg fan:

First, Paul takes a look at Georgia’s penalty situation last season.  He makes the case that while the volume of penalties isn’t that important to wins and losses, the timing sure can be.

Then read this post of Chris Brown’s over at Doc Saturday where he breaks down Oklahoma State’s offensive scheme.  It’s the usual great stuff you get from Chris, including my favorite line in the post:

The Cowboys’ best pass play last year was often “Just throw it up to Dez”.

We have been warned…

Have-nots, meet the haves.

What more can you say about this?

University of Alabama trustees approved $6.5 million in salaries for Crimson Tide football coaches in 2009. According to Equity in Athletics Data Analysis (EADA) reports compiled for the U.S. Department of Education, Alabama will spend more for its 10-member staff this fall than 32 Division I-A schools from outside the BCS leagues spent operating their entire programs in 2007-08, the most recent data available…

John Jancek and Mark Bradley: inquiring minds want to know.

Mark Bradley keeps bringing up the subject that John Jancek was named co-defensive coordinator in the offseason.  I thought the title was granted for compensation purposes, but Bradley seems to hint that there’s something else behind the move.

Anybody know if there’s something to that, or is Bradley simply talking out of his derriere?

The return of the Mumme Poll

The coach reflects on the poll outlasting his stint at New Mexico State.

I’m starting to get some questions about the Mumme Poll, both at the site and in e-mails, so I thought I’d take a moment and address them in a quick post.

• First off, yes, I plan on hosting the Mumme Poll again this year.  I thought the format proved successful last season, so I won’t tinker with it this year.
• No, you don’t have to be a blogger to participate (although bloggers are certainly welcome).  And, no, if you weren’t a voter last year, it doesn’t mean you can’t come on board this year.  If you’re a knowledgeable, interested football fan, you’re eligible.  That should include everyone who drops by GTP on a regular basis.  Except for the Russian spammers, of course.
• I am looking for a greater pool of participants than we had last year.  We started in the sixties and wound up with about half that at season’s end.  I’d like to get the voting pool up to around 100.  And I’d like it to stay there, so I’m looking for folks who will be motivated to stick around all season.
• I would really, really like more geographic diversity than we had the first go around.  While I didn’t see much evidence of Georgia bias in the voting, I still think it’s healthier to get perspectives from outside of the school, the conference and the region.
• The first official vote won’t take place until after the games of week six, with a practice vote after the games of week five, so you’ll have until then to decide to hop on board.

If you’ve got any questions, comments or suggestions, let me know.

Early 2009 betting lines

The Las Vegas Sun has a piece up on the betting lines for the biggest games of the 2009 college football season.

As you might expect, the Gators are getting a lot of love right now.

Florida, the heavy preseason favorite to win the national championship, commands some of the largest point spreads on the board. The Gators opened as a 24-point favorite against Tennessee on Sept. 19 and are favored by 22 points against Florida State on Nov. 28. The Gators are a favorite of 2-1 — or less — to win the national title in Las Vegas sports books. Florida even inspired a “yes/no” proposition at all Lucky’s books that allows gamblers to lay minus 240 (risk $2.40 to net $1) that it will not win the national title.

If you look at some of the lines on individual games, there’s some other stuff of interest.

• Bettors like Georgia Tech’s chances in the ACC.  The Jackets are listed as favorites against Clemson, Miami, Florida State and Virginia Tech.
• Georgia is now a one point favorite in Atlanta against Tech, though.
• Ole Miss is favored against both LSU and Alabama.  And ‘Bama is the favorite against LSU, as well.
• The line most likely to change between now and game time?  USC is only giving six points against Notre Dame.
• A close second is Alabama -5 against Auburn.
• And that Ohio State -6 against Michigan might not be there, either.
• On the other hand, the Red River Shootout looks pretty solid with Texas as a one-point favorite.

Factoid of the day

This one goes out to every dolt who thinks the Georgia fan base is growing restless enough with Mark Richt to put him on a “hot seat”.

Fun fact: The Bulldogs are seeking their seventh 10-win season in nine years under Mark Richt. Georgia had seven 10-win seasons in 25 years under Vince Dooley.

We may get impatient now and then, but we ain’t stupid.