Ye shall know him by the grades he hands out.

I expect that from now on when I cite something Bill Connelly writes, there will be a contingent here who will refer to him thusly:  “isn’t he the guy who gave the defense a B+ in the Clemson game?”.

There’s no crying in football.

Okay, fess up.  Which one of you guys is “Tyler in Atlanta”?

Dayum, son.

“Whatever happened last year is last year.”

David Ching pretty much nails where I’m at right now with what feels like Georgia’s biggest concern this week.

While it might seem odd to criticize an offensive line that helped Georgia generate 545 yards — on the road in one of the louder stadiums the Bulldogs will visit this season, no less — it is clear that offensive line coach Will Friend has not settled on a lineup that he loves after Saturday’s 38-35 loss to Clemson.

With Jadeveon Clowney and South Carolina’s fearsome defensive front on deck Saturday, that is not a particularly encouraging sign for the Bulldogs.

I do think there are some things Bobo can take away from North Carolina’s gameplan to reduce Clowney’s impact.  But the Heels also had a left tackle in James Hurst who got some preseason All-American attention.  Friend doesn’t appear to have that option.  Even scarier may be the prospect of Clowney lining up over center.

If necessity is the mother of invention, here’s hoping that Bobo gets truly inspired this Saturday.

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My SEC Power Poll ballot, Week 1

Well, the SEC Power Poll is back again at Team Speed Kills this year and for some reason they still want me to take part.  Of course it’s way too early to draw too many serious conclusions about the relative strength of conference teams, but don’t let that stop you from overreacting to any of my picks in the comments.

1. Alabama.  The offensive line is a work in progress, McCarron and his toe don’t show up… and ‘Bama beats an upper-tier ACC team by 25 points, anyway.  Why do I have the feeling a flawed opening win makes Nick Saban happy?
2. LSU.  448 yards of offense against TCU is nothing to sneer at.
3. South Carolina.  I suspect the ‘Cocks will be a lot more interested this week than they appeared for the last three quarters against North Carolina.
4. Texas A&M.  Hard to tell too much with all the suspensions, but if I were Kevin Sumlin, I’d be a lot more worried about the defense than Johnny Football.
5. Georgia.  It remains to be seen whether Malcolm Mitchell’s season-ending celebration injury turns out to be some sort of perverse metaphor for Georgia’s year.
6. Florida.  Anemic passing game, excellent defense.  So far, Florida 2013 looks a lot like Florida 2012.  (For all intents and purposes, I see the Gators as 5B to Georgia’s 5A.)
7. Ole Miss.  Firmly nailed down the middle of the pack with a win in Nashville.
8. Vanderbilt.  If the Commodores play an entire game against a good team they way the looked in the second quarter in their opener, they’re gonna upset somebody this season.
9. Auburn.  Now come the cupcake beaters.  Auburn had the only win over a major conference opponent, so they go first.  Nick Marshall didn’t exactly look like the second coming of Cam, though.
10. Arkansas.  The Hogs looked better against Louisiana-Lafayette than Florida did last year.
11. Missouri.  I know it was against a FCS team, but it was still a convincing win once the Tigers got rolling.
12. Tennessee.  I’m sure the Vols will look just as good in a couple of weeks against Oregon.
13. Mississippi State.  Isn’t Dan Mullen supposed to be some sort of offensive guru?
14. Kentucky.  Mark Stoops, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it.

Craig James, too much for Fox (Sports)?

I guess this is proof that Fox Sports and Fox News are run separately:

The Craig James era at Fox Sports Southwest will be a short one.

SI.com has learned that the veteran broadcaster will no longer appear on the network. Fox Sports executives were not happy with the hire by the regional network, according to sources, and the hire had not been fully vetted at the highest levels of Fox Sports management. A formal agreement had not been finalized, even though James appeared on FSS on Saturday night. “Craig James will not be making any further appearances on Fox Sports Southwest’s football coverage this season,” said a Fox Sports spokesperson, when asked for a comment.

Of course, you could argue that makes James’ next career move pretty obvious.