Mark Richt has lost control of… something.

Spencer Hall adds Mike Bobo to the EDSBS Enemies List:  “Who the hell said you were allowed to become good at your job, Mike?”

Taking stock of Georgia’s 2013 chances

Just a couple of quick hitters for your perusal on a mid-Friday afternoon…

First, Marc Weiszer notes that Vegas loves the Dawgs.

Georgia is favored in every football game on its schedule.

Just like it was last year at this time.

The Golden Nugget released 250 college football point spreads today via the blog Kegs ‘N Eggs.

Here’s the breakdown of the Georgia games:
at Clemson -3.5
vs. South Carolina -4
vs. North Texas (no line provided but think like -35)
vs. LSU -6
at Tennessee -11
vs. Missouri -18
at Vanderbilt -10
vs. Florida in Jacksonville -4
vs. Appalachian State (no line provided but again think big)
at Auburn -15
vs. Kentucky -29
at Georgia Tech -9

The line on the Clemson game has swung in Georgia’s favor by almost a touchdown from where it was a couple of months ago, and that’s even with the JHC suspension in the works.  That’s a pretty big move against a top 10 team on the road.  My overall impression is that Vegas likes the Georgia offense very, very much.

Meanwhile, Bill Connelly’s wrapped up his SEC previews with this look at Alabama (summary:  they’re AWWW-SUM!)  But it’s the bit at the end of his piece that interests me more:

As has been done for each conference, let’s wrap things up with a look at how I perceive the conference’s balance of power at this point in the offseason:

Tier 1
1. Alabama

Tier 2
2. LSU
3. Texas A&M
4. Georgia
5. South Carolina
6. Florida

Tier 3
7. Ole Miss
8. Vanderbilt
9. Missouri
10. Mississippi State
11. Arkansas
12. Tennessee
13. Auburn

Tier 4
14. Kentucky

Now Bill doesn’t indicate how much of a gap there is between teams in the same tier, so I don’t want to read too much into his hierarchy.  (By the way, I do think he’s right about LSU, which strikes me as the preseason anti-Florida – a team that deserves more credit than it’s getting.  Yeah, the Tigers lost a boat load on defense, but so did almost every other team in his second tier.  The big question for me with LSU is whether Miles has finally hired a competent offensive coordinator.)  If the gaps are small, then I don’t have too much of a problem with his order there… and I’m glad South Carolina and LSU are heading to Athens this season.

What do y’all think?

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Apocalypse not

Jim Delany admits under oath that “some [Big Ten school presidents and chancellors] probably would — may be disagreeable” with Delany’s statement about how the schools would respond if they had to share much revenue with athletes in the event the O’Bannon plaintiffs prevailed in their lawsuit.

Gee, now there’s a shocker.

A conference, but only when it’s convenient for him.

There’s no question Steve Spurrier’s always had one of the more creative minds in the football business.  Recently, he’s turned all that intellectual firepower towards the issue of SEC scheduling.  His solution to the problem has essentially been to devalue certain conference games.  A couple of years ago, he proposed not counting the cross-division games in determining division winners.  Now, it’s about not counting rivalry games at all.

… The SEC wants to protect traditional rivalry games Alabama-Tennessee and Georgia-Auburn. Fine, Spurrier says. Let them play—the games just won’t count as a conference game.

“Nick Saban wants nine games, well he can have nine and be happy,” Spurrier said. “Yep, nine games against conference opponents—but one of them won’t count, that’s all.”

That’s all.

I’m sure a lot of thought went into that.  But I can’t help but wonder – wouldn’t it just have been easier to have come up with a better game plan against Auburn in 2011?

By the way, that isn’t to knock one legitimate gripe Spurrier has about SEC scheduling.

Moreover, in the last two “bridge” schedules in 2012-2013 – schedules made without specific opposite division rotating concepts – have given the Tide rotating games against East Division second-tier Missouri and Kentucky.

“You tell me why that happened,” Spurrier. “I still haven’t gotten an answer.”

I’d like to know, too.  A more judicious approach there would have lessened the complaining from Miles and others about the permanent cross-division games.  Not that we’re ever likely to hear an explanation…

The coolest thing you’ll watch today.

Via kleph at Football Study Hall, check out this video of the Yale vs Princeton game held on Nov. 14, 1903 in New Haven, Connecticut, filmed by none other than Thomas Edison:

You know, a little ESPN GameDay would have made that experience so much better…

Musical palate cleanser: the coolest thing you’ll hear today.

It’s 1990.  How somebody came up with the idea to pair John Lee Hooker and Miles Davis together to make a movie soundtrack I don’t know, but it works brilliantly.  From the movie The Hot Spot, this is “Bank Robbery”.

That is some badass tuneage, my friends.  So – why not? – here’s a bonus track, “Murder”.