You know, it’s not like you couldn’t have helped, Justin.

There’s a certain amount of disconnected self-absolution on display here that’s almost a thing of beauty.

https://twitter.com/#!/kentbabb/status/114727265350324225

https://twitter.com/#!/kentbabb/status/114727415376379906

This from a guy who, while undeniably talented, was suspended at the start of the ’09 season for violating team rules.

I grow ever more amazed at Richt’s failure to have sensed the change in attitudes that affected the program over the past three or four years.  (Or, even worse, to have sensed it, but failed to act on it.)

Eight million and counting

Damn, I love you guys.  Thanks for dropping by.

“I do think we’ll be more judicious in the future about agreeing to play on Thursday.”

The ESPN contract requires the SEC to serve up two Thursday night games per season.  The problem is that the volunteers aren’t exactly lining up in a hurry to serve anymore.

Aside from the usual hassles with traffic and parking and the fact that the road team gets paid nothing for the inconvenience, this really does seem to be one situation where the student-athlete is adversely affected and the coaches don’t appreciate the inconvenience.

“It’s very tough to play a road game on a Saturday, then turn around the next Wednesday and leave (for a Thursday night game),” Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt said. “When we played a Thursday night game at South Carolina a couple of years ago, we didn’t get back to Oxford until four in the morning. Our players had to be in class just a few hours later.”

Spurrier’s got a good point about opening the season on a Thursday night, and I suppose it can work equally well for a game played over a holiday like Thanksgiving, but this may be a case to watch where resistance isn’t necessarily futile.  ESPN may wind up with two games involving SEC teams which will take national exposure on any day of the week they can get it.  Must-see TV, indeed.

[By the way, don’t miss this unrelated quote from Mark Richt:  “… Our campus chief of police likes when our games are decided midway through the fourth quarter and people start to leave early.”  Go Dawgs!  At least, just go.]

Careful what you wish for, coaches.

Steve Shaw had some enlightening comments about the celebration rule in the wake of the snafu that wrapped up the Utah-Southern Cal game last weekend.

My overall sense is that he thinks the rule is stupid and cumbersome.  He doesn’t like it very much, in case you don’t get the point:

“There is a perception that this penalty is called differently in some parts of the country than it is in others. It’s really not. And keep in mind, it is not the officials doing this. It is the coaches. Not one official is on the rules committee.

“The rules are made by the coaches. This is what they agreed on and how they want the game run. We are trying to implement the rule they made.”

And how about this Tyler Bray-ish scenario?

… The penalized action must occur during the play for it to cause points to be taken down, as in a player celebrating improperly as he approaches the end zone. But, Shaw cautioned, it is not just the player who has the ball who can be flagged for the more serious offense.

“It is a spot foul,” Shaw said. “Say a quarterback throws a long touchdown pass and during the play he runs to midfield and does the throat-slash gesture to the opposing team.

“The ball would be returned to midfield and the 15 yards marked off from there. The touchdown wouldn’t count.”

This isn’t going to end well.

WWL, please.

You don’t have to agree with Kevin Scarbinsky’s take on Urban Meyer calling the Auburn-Clemson game to think that ESPN’s Norby Williamson is completely full of shit when he says,

“Is Lou Holtz sometimes soft on Notre Dame? Yes. But nobody is hiding anything,” he says. Williamson notes two analysts associated with big-name schools — ex-Ohio State star Kirk Herbstreit and Jay Bilas, from Duke — as “two of our most popular analysts,” he says. “The key is to be transparent.”

He should be a lot of fun to listen to when he’s cross-examined in the Mike Leach lawsuit.

Last night in Starkville, from a Georgia perspective

As I sat there watching the LSU defense bludgeon Mississippi State into submission (52 total rushing yards; 15 LSU tackles for loss), I couldn’t help but gain a greater appreciation for Georgia’s scheduling advantage this season.  Avoiding the Tigers’ fast, ferocious and fundamentally sound defense should make the regular season a more pleasant experience.  Check this box out:

LSU’S Rush Defense – 2011 Opponents

	2010 Rush YPG	2011 vs. LSU
Oregon	287.6	95
Northwestern St.	106.2	-4
Mississippi St	215.9	52*
* Fewest Since 2008

Have a nice October, Gators.

And while LSU’s offense won’t win any admirers amongst the Gang of Six set, it’s well suited for a team which strength is in a muscular run game.  LSU’s receivers won’t scare anybody and Jarrett Lee won’t either.  However, they’ve stripped out all the busyness of Crowton’s playbook and while what’s left may be crude, it’s effective.  Witness Lee’s stats:  21-27, 213 yards, 1 TD, 1, INT, 148.86 passer rating.  That’s a competent performance and with that defense, LSU really doesn’t need more than that to win.  (Sort of reminds you of Georgia during VanGorder’s time, doesn’t it?)

Their schedule is daunting, with five top 25 teams remaining, so they’ll have to stay on top of their game.  The meeting in Tuscaloosa is shaping up as a classic SEC slug fest, but it’s the Arkansas game that looks really intriguing from here, as that should be the most dynamic offense LSU will see this season.  Still, if defense wins championships, you’ve got to say the Tigers definitely have a shot.

As for Mississippi State, Dan Mullen’s ability to control a game is admirable, but he doesn’t have the horses to translate that into a win against as good a team as LSU is.  MSU’s offensive line was exposed last night.  So was its receiving corps.  And Relf simply isn’t talented enough to carry that offense on his own.

Mississippi State’s defense is still fun to watch and it’s disruptive.  But LSU ground it down with a steady diet of running plays behind that big, strong offensive line and efficient play-action passing.

So what does that mean in Athens in three weeks’ time?  Well, nobody is going to confuse Georgia’s defense with LSU’s, but it’s not like MSU is walking in with an offensive line as good as South Carolina’s, a wide receiver like Alshon Jeffery, a running back like Marcus Lattimore or a quarterback as good as Kellen Moore.  I’m not expecting domination, but it’s an offense that can be controlled.  (Admittedly, I’d feel better about that if the Dawgs had at least one of the missing ILBs back on the field.)

The question is whether Georgia’s offense can function better than it did last year in Starkville and whether the Dawgs can avoid their penchant for self-destruction with untimely turnovers.  One thing I expect against that defense is for Orson Charles to have a big game.  If Aaron Murray can stay on his feet all day, I like Georgia’s chances.