B-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z…

You have been warned, friends.

… The vuvuzela, heard prominently during the World Cup this summer, has become a popular topic of conversation and frustration. The sound is relentless and, when played by thousands in a stadium, one may mistake the sound for a swarm of killer bees.

But how does this affect you?

This instrument, no matter how irritating to some, will not be banned from SEC games this upcoming season, according to the SEC. The instrument of choice in South Africa, which may or may not catch on here in the states, can be brought into stadiums across the league.

The vuvuzela, along with any artificial noisemaker, will fall under the revamped guidelines of the Mississippi State cowbell, according to SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom. Fans are only allowed to use the cowbells (or vuvuzelas) during pregame, between quarters, halftime, timeouts, after scores and during possession changes.

SEC noize, baybee!

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It’s a long way from Bear Bryant to Jim Harbaugh.

Whoa.

If you send them, they will come. At least you hope they will.

This comment ran with a post that’s dropped off the front page at GTP, so you may not have read it, but take a look at this particular observation:

… The numbers would suggest that Richt’s biggest weakness is recruiting real talent that produces in CFB. His Rivals rankings are great, but those kids are not turning into high NFL picks. The NFL draft is the best measure of college football talent (which is all I care about…college football). Based on the 2002-2007 recruiting classes and the 2005-2010 drafts, Georgia ranks 45th in terms of converting Rivals talent into NFL talent. [Emphasis added.] This shows up dramatically when one looks at the fact that Richt took over a team that had over 200 NFL talent points consistently and has yet to get back to 150 with his recruiting.

That’s in spite of having two very high draft picks in 2009.

Now I’m not one who measures the success of a college program by the number of players who get selected in the first two rounds of the NFL draft, but I’m also not naïve enough to think that has no relevancy on the recruiting trail.

Here’s the list of UGA players now on NFL rosters.  See how many defensive players on that list you can find who’ve been taken in the first or second rounds of a recent NFL draft.  (Hint: that hasn’t been one of Martinez’ strong suits.)

And it’s not like there aren’t plenty of in state kids to get ready for the next level.

… Fifteen players drafted by NFL teams this year played high school football in Georgia. Only Florida with 34 and Texas with 26 had more.

On a per-capita basis, Georgia ranked fourth in producing NFL players behind only Hawaii, Louisiana and Florida, according to USA Football. The state produces one NFL player per 545,764 people.

Dream Team talk aside, perhaps one reason Richt’s been hitting the recruits harder than ever this year is that he’s got something new and credible to sell to them.

Sink or swim.

In this whole “fairness” (translation:  who gets the money) debate surrounding the push for an expanded playoff for D-1 football, it’s easy for people like Barton and Hatch to use Utah, Boise State and TCU as the poster children for their advocacy.  And it’s just as easy for people like me to use the dregs of the Sun Belt and the MAC as good reasons for not spreading college football’s largesse to programs that don’t merit it.

But here’s the tough question for everybody:  what’s fair for Fresno State?

I mean, here’s a program that has a moderate national profile – I bet some of Mandel’s Montana buddies have heard of the school – has enjoyed some success over the past few years (seven bowl games in the past eight seasons), plays a respectable schedule for a mid-major, has enjoyed some historical stability and support (the fundraising organization for the school’s athletics is 60 years old) draws respectably (better than Duke and comparable to last year’s BCS participant Cincinnati) and isn’t particularly profligate in its spending (FSU will end this fiscal year with a small deficit that will be covered and projects a 2011 budget with a tiny surplus).

And yet it’s got a legitimate concern about its future in D-1 athletics.  Why?

… Fresno State’s problem is that revenues — the lifeblood of any Division I athletic program — are stagnant at best while expenses, even after years of belt-tightening, remain stubbornly high.

This also comes in the wake of recent NCAA conference realignment decisions that have weakened the Western Athletic Conference, to which Fresno State belongs, raising questions about the Bulldogs’ future in Division I athletics.

With Boise State’s impending departure, the WAC is reduced to a Sun Belt Conference with bad demographics, spread from Hawaii to Louisiana.  Its best source of revenue comes from serving as cannon fodder in football road games.

… Fresno State is concerned about weak football ticket sales for this fall. Even though the Bulldogs play a rare seven-game home schedule that includes two high-profile Bowl Championship Series schools, Athletic Corp. director Larry Layne said the football program is projected to net about $200,000 less than it did last season.  [Emphasis added.]

Last season, if you’re counting, only saw FSU play five home games.

So here’s the tough question again – is it worth saving Fresno State over the long haul as a D-1 program?  And assuming that it’s doing everything it can, doing it right, yet still not able to keep its head above water, how much do you divert to it to help and where do you send it from?

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not advocating for these Bulldogs.  Even with enough money to avoid extinction as a D-1 program, it’s hard to see Fresno State joining the ranks of the elite, or even the quasi-elite.  I’m not particularly enamored of sending SEC money to a school for which I have little rooting interest.  But I can’t say that I don’t feel a certain amount of sympathy for FSU as a result of the way it finds itself squeezed.

Again, if there’s a compromise worth consideration, maybe it’s in a modest reduction in the number of football  scholarships offered by D-1 schools.  That would serve to reduce the financial pressure the Fresno States of the world face and would also enhance competition.   I doubt that’s in the cards, though.

(h/t The Wiz of Odds)

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UPDATE: This won’t help.

Wednesday morning buffet

Get ‘yer hump day nourishment:

• My math isn’t always the best, but if I used my fingers and toes correctly, Mark Richt is claiming that Georgia’s coaches visited more than 350 high schools around the state during the spring evaluation period.  Whew.
• There’s plenty of Justin Houston love in this SEC Blogger Roundtable at CFN.  (And bonus points to Billy G. for the “regression to the mean” reference re:  Arky’s turnover margin.)
• Heather Dinich’s 2:20 ramble about the LSU-UNC game could have been boiled down to a single sentence:  North Carolina will win the game because of defense.  What a waste of time…
• Chris Brown reflects on who’s the spread’s daddy.
• The reason this is so funny is because it’s true.
• Here’s Football Outsiders’ preseason top 10 projected power rankings.  Let’s just say the SEC fares well.
• Brophy looks at Norm Parker’s Iowa defense’s domination of Georgia Tech’s triple option in the Orange Bowl and concludes that it’s all about the execution, baby.
• And best wishes to David Hale on his new gig.  You will be missed, sir.