The next statue in Gainesville

You know, if you wanna say John Brantley is one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC going into the season, well… it’s a stretch, but at least you can try to justify it by arguing that the conference lacks experienced, talented players at that position.

But when you put forward the idea that he’s one of the top fifteen quarterbacks in the country – right now – you’re just angling for a new Lexicon entry.

I’m leaning towards the GPOOPTE™ (Greatest Player Of Our Post-Tebow Era).  There are some bandwagons you can’t jump on too early.

A preseason ranking that’ll catch your eye.

In Jeremy Fowler’s mind, mediocre 2009 season + redshirt freshman QB in the SEC = 64th best team in the country.

At least he’s ranked Georgia higher than Kentucky.

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UPDATE: Pre Snap Read’s Paul Myerberg isn’t favorably impressed.

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UPDATE #2: My bad – Fowler didn’t assign the rating.  His cohort Andrea Adelson takes the credit for that.  She sees Georgia as a 6-6 team this season.

Andrea Adelson:
they also have to play arkansas and auburn from the west, too. i think those 2 teams are better than UGA. miss state is better, and a tough place to play (ask UF). georgia tech will be able to win this year.

There’s plenty more at the link, if you want it.

The devil you know…

Although Boise State’s departure leaves the rest of the WAC on shaky ground, I don’t see how going independent is a viable option for Hawaii.  Football scheduling, as the linked article notes, would be a nightmare in the middle of the season (don’t forget that UH found itself in a deep hole in 2007 when two D-1 schools bailed out on playing the Warriors).  And even Notre Dame gave up on going it alone in all of its other sports programs.

The scariest part of going that route, though, would be Hawaii’s total reliance on ESPN for its survival.

… While UH receives upwards of $2.5 million for its TV and pay-per-view rights, it would likely have to strike a wide-ranging deal with ESPN if it were to consider going independent. When June Jones was the UH coach, he floated the idea of selling ESPN on a last-game-of-the-night package for UH home games, a concept that has long had appeal at UH but is currently prevented by the school’s rights being tied to the WAC agreement with ESPN.

ESPN’s cooperation on a couple of fronts would be important for any UH bid for independence since without the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, which ESPN subsidiary ESPN Regional TV (ERT) owns and operates, the school would have no conference affiliation to fall back on for a postseason bid.

In addition, ERT owns and operates the Diamond Head Classic basketball tournament, which UH hosts.

That gives a whole new meaning to “independent”.

(h/t Her Loyal Sons)

Monday morning buffet

Welcome to the working week, people.

• Matt Hayes talks to all the SEC coaches (except for Nick Saban, who rates his own interview) about the league.  No real surprises – you’ve got your typical mixture of coach-ese (Meyer:  “This is the only league in America where… every fan base, is put together with the intent to go win the conference.” Every fan base?  WTF?), repetition (how many times is Spurrier going to tell that Doug Johnson-didn’t-prepare-in-1997 story this summer?) and, of course, Richt on the hot seat.  I did like Miles’ response to the hot seat question, though:  “The whole (hot seat) notion is crazy. But that’s today, that’s America. We want it now.” U-S-A! U-S-A!
• Mike Hugenin takes a look at nine programs trying to compete for a conference title while breaking in a new quarterback.  The one name on his list with zero prior college experience?  Aaron Murray.
• ESPN’s Pac-10 beat writer takes a look at three reasons why you shouldn’t write off Tennessee’s chances in its opener against Oregon.  Reason number two seems the most compelling.  Tennessee may not be deep on the defensive side of the ball, but the Vols are certainly not without talent.  And the new defensive coordinator did a fine job controlling Oregon’s offense at Boise State last season.
• The problem for Tennessee in that game is how the offense is going to produce points with a newbie QB at the helm.  The quarterbacks coach isn’t going to spend time changing anybody’s mechanics, though.
• Blitzology looks at some 3-4 blitzes and various ways to attack an offensive line’s blocking schemes.  It will get you excited.
• Jerry Hinnen makes the case for the SEC to add a ninth conference game to the schedule.  I’m all for it, but you know the coaches would hate it for all the obvious reasons (too hard!  unbalanced home/away isn’t fair!) and the ADs probably wouldn’t be too thrilled at the prospect of losing a home game in certain years without some meticulous planning.