This is how you get to arguing that Trent Dilfer was a better quarterback than Dan Marino.

Listy, list, list…

3. Aaron Murray, Georgia

… Aaron Murray has thrown for 10,901 yards and 95 touchdowns in his career. How in the world is he No. 3 on the list? Despite his 4-10 record against top 25 teams in three seasons, Murray hasn’t been able to win the big game yet, but that’s not all his fault. Georgia tends to avoid showing up against ranked opponents on the biggest stage, and that includes Murray. Over the longevity of his career, Murray has produced numbers, but he has very little accolades and hardware to show for it…

2. AJ McCarron, Alabama

AJ McCarron has won back-to-back national championships. And if he had as many attempts as Aaron Murray over the last two seasons (789 compared to 642), his numbers would be much more prolific. McCarron has registered 5,950 yards passing and 49 touchdowns, compared to just eight INTs, in just two years as a full-time starter.

I know somebody’s gotta be three and somebody’s gotta be two, but can I ask the obvious question here:  if Murray and McCarron had swapped teams the past two seasons, does anybody really think there’d be two more crystal footballs gracing Butts-Mehre today?  Unless you’re willing to say yes to that, how is a natty relevant to a discussion of which quarterback is better?

I think about this particularly in the context of the SECCG.  ‘Bama won the game by taking the ball out of McCarron’s hands (except for that play action TD pass that you knew was coming).  Georgia almost won the game by putting the ball in Murray’s hands.  Does that Georgia’s defense couldn’t stop the Alabama running game make McCarron a better quarterback than Murray?  I guess for some people, maybe it does.

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“I don’t think they did us any favors, that’s for sure.”

The genius sounds a mite bit perturbed with the ACC scheduling office.

On the plus side, at least he’s got his excuse ready when Tech finishes the season 7-5.

Things that make Greg McGarity shake his head.

‘Dem ol’ coaching salary blues:

University of Arkansas offensive line coach Sam Pittman has yet to coach a game and already has received a raise and contract extension.

Pittman, according to documents released by the UA in response to a Freedom of Information Act Request, will earn $500,000 annually and received an additional two years on his contract. He was hired in December at $275,000 with a deal that ran through June 30, 2014.

Yes, Arkansas’ o-line coach now makes more money than Mike Bobo and has a multi-year deal to boot.

Maybe McGarity can lobby the NCAA about that.

“So all this talk about loopholes, there’s not a lot of ground for that.”

Not too surprisingly, the NCAA has shut down what’s been called the Manziel loophole by telling Texas A & M it would consider an intentional copyright violation for the purposes of funneling money to a player to be a violation.

You can be skeptical about how much effect that would have on a booster and a student-athlete testing the system.  However, I think this is the part that makes such a scheme more unlikely to succeed:

Hinckley said the Johnny Football phenomenon has been a learning experience on the business and legal side. He calls the situation a “three-headed monster” involving Manziel’s likeness, his intellectual property rights and the intellectual property rights of Texas A&M. Hinckley said about 20 percent of the unlicensed Johnny Football merchandise he’s seen has also infringed upon Texas A&M’s marks. Texas A&M is not allowed to market merchandise bearing Manziel’s name or nickname. It is allowed to sell his No. 2 jersey with no name attached. Still, even if Texas A&M’s marks are not used by a Johnny Football merchandise seller, Hinckley said any use of the school colors (maroon and white) could be considered a violation of the school’s intellectual property rights based on the 2009 ruling in favor of LSU against Florida-based T-shirt maker Smack Apparel.

It’s hard to see how a school would be willing to take part in such an arrangement, because in addition to risking the wrath of the NCAA if it’s caught, it’s also risking its own intellectual property rights by tolerating that.  There simply isn’t enough money in t-shirts to make that worthwhile.  Particularly when the money isn’t even flowing to the school for its trouble.

Factoid of the day

… comes via Athlon:

Auburn and Georgia are the only two schools in the SEC with at least five winning conference seasons in each of the past four decades.

That’s the kind of stuff you run into when you acknowledge there’s life before 1990, Gator fans.