I have to admit I didn’t see this one coming.

Finebaum on Obama’s BCS letter to Hatch (h/t The Wiz):

… There may be another aspect of this as well.

One of Obama’s top aides and chief media strategists is a huge college football fan. He is Robert Gibbs, the president’s chief spokesperson, who grew up in Auburn, and is a huge fan of the program (even though he played soccer at North Carolina State). Perhaps Gibbs is still in a snit over the Tigers being shut out of the 2004 BCS game.

I’m in awe.  Admittedly, it’s insanely hackish (don’t miss him calling Boise State “a bunch of freeloaders”), but that just adds to the awesomeness.

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They don’t pay Trooper Taylor big bucks for his choice in hatwear.

There’s a good reason why schools chase after five-star recruits.  They’re where the best odds lay.

That’s right.  A five-star recruit is ten times more likely to become an All-American than the average recruit.

Those Thomas Davis-was-a-tw0-star-recruit stories are nice.  And we fret over the Da’Rick Rogers of the world’s choices.  But that’s all micro stuff.  The macro reality is that the schools that recruit the best talent over time tend to win more over time.  All the rest of the recruiting analysis you see is commentary.

“Any team with a pulse gets in.”

Because we all know that expanded college tournaments are a myth, like the Yeti.  And it’s not about the money if the NCAA runs the show.

Right.

More why Georgia is doomed in 2010

Since I’ve been cast in the role of yin to T. Kyle’s yang, I would be remiss if I didn’t bring next year’s schedule to your attention.

Here ’tis:

Sat, Sep 04	University of Louisiana-Lafayette	Athens, Ga.
Sat, Sep 11	South Carolina *	at Columbia, S.C.
Sat, Sep 18	Arkansas *	Athens, Ga.
Sat, Sep 25	Mississippi State *	at Starkville, Miss.
Sat, Oct 02	Colorado	at Boulder, Colo.
Sat, Oct 09	Tennessee *	Athens, Ga.
Sat, Oct 16	Vanderbilt *	Athens, Ga.
Sat, Oct 23	Kentucky *	at Lexington, Ky.
Sat, Oct 30	Florida *	at Jacksonville, Fla.
Sat, Nov 06	Idaho State	Athens, Ga.
Sat, Nov 13	Auburn *	at Auburn, Ala.
Sat, Nov 27	Georgia Tech	Athens, Ga.

The first thing that jumps out at you is the non-conference slate.  ULaLa, Colorado, Idaho State and Georgia Tech collectively is a less imposing bunch than last year’s group of Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Tennessee Tech and Georgia Tech was.

Georgia dodges Alabama from the SEC West.   Georgia travels to Auburn, true, but it comes after the kind of game that Auburn itself typically plays before facing the Dawgs.  And the Dawgs have done okay on the Plains of late.

We can bitch about not having the off week before the Florida game, but that didn’t exactly help last year, did it?

South Carolina will likely be its typical hot, pain in the ass matchup early on, but that’s no different than usual.  The ‘Cocks face Southern Mississippi in the opener on a Thursday night, so they’ll have a little more time to get ready than Georgia will.

If there’s a tough part, it’s back to back road games at Mississippi State and Colorado followed by a home game against a Tennessee team that waxed Georgia in Knoxville.  Still, I’d venture to say that Georgia will be favored to win in all three of those games.

All in all, the schedule is significantly more manageable than last year’s was.

Tuesday morning buffet

Don’t push.  There’s plenty for everyone.

• Georgia’s defensive recruits wonder where they’ll line up in Grantham’s 3-4.
• Mat drills!
• How much does it say for Houston Nutt’s hire of Dave Rader when SI.com’s header reads Ole Miss hires businessman as co-OC, QB coach?
• Tommy Tuberville can  still work that scheduling magic.
• College coaches’ culture clash.
• It looks like no single network wants to shoulder the cost of broadcasting a 96-team basketball tourney.
• You rely on Bleacher Report as a serious news source at your own peril.
• Andy Staples likens the BCS to an ice cream cartel.  He really should quit writing about this stuff.
• College football remains the sport of choice for young Southern Republicans.  That explains a lot about the way North Campus looks on Saturdays in the fall.
• Settlement rumors in the Mike Leach case…
• “Martinez, though, would seem to fit what Sooner coach Bob Stoops is looking for.”