Blame Bobo.

Wondered if this might be coming…

#Georgia OC Mike Bobo is expected to speak w/ Ga. Southern abt its coaching vacancy after the Gator Bowl, per source.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 31, 2013

Though it would probably mean a pay cut for him if he got the job.

Advertisement

This is so Georgia Tech.

One Chantastic fake punt flop, coming up!

That logo’s a bitch, man.

Embracing Jacksonville

Mike Bobo gets it, by Gawd:

“Our philosophy is Jacksonville is just an extension of Georgia,” Bobo said. “A lot of fans and people look at it that way, too.”

The Bulldogs have always had a strong recruiting presence in this area. They’ve been playing Florida on the banks of the St. Johns every year since 1933 and have actually comported themselves very well in those games, managing to win or tie 44 of the 82 games played on the site of what is currently known as EverBank Field.

“Playing here every year against Florida definitely helps,” Bobo said. “People in this area don’t have a college team, so they kind of pick one of those two. Kids in this area grow up seeing Georgia, hearing about Georgia, seeing Georgia play, those young kids. If you can get a kid interested in your school early you think you’ve got a chance. That’s why it’s always good to coach in a state that has good talent, because they see that team and hear about them and grow up liking that team.”

That’s the kind of mindset that breaks losing streaks against the Gators.  Now he just needs to get in McGarity’s ear about inviting recruits to the Cocktail Party and we’ll really be on to something.

Shit’s gettin’ real at the SEC Network.

First Finebaum.  Now, the GPOOE™.  Be still, mine heart.

Tebow is the first college football analyst hired for the SEC Network.

If you weren’t already sick of him, ESPN pretty much guarantees you’re going to be soon enough.

Through a multi-year agreement, Tebow’s primary role will be as an analyst for SEC Nation, the network’s traveling pregame show that will originate from a different SEC campus each week beginning August 28, 2014. In the months leading up to launch and after, he will contribute to a variety of ESPN platforms including SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, and the network’s Heisman Trophy coverage, offering in-depth perspective as a legendary Southeastern Conference player.

On Monday, Jan. 6, Tebow will make his first appearance as an ESPN analyst during pregame coverage of the 2013 VIZIO BCS National Championship. He will contribute to the 9 a.m. ET edition of SportsCenter, College Football Live (3 p.m.) and College GameDay Built by The Home Depot (7 p.m.). He will also be part of studio coverage for the new College Football Playoff (semifinals and championship game), which begins next season.

Hoo, boy.  Overexposed much?

There is, though, one potential fly in the ointment.

“I am so excited that ESPN has given me this incredible opportunity,” said Tebow. “When I was six years old I fell in love with the game of football, and while I continue to pursue my dream of playing quarterback in the NFL, this is an amazing opportunity to be part of the unparalleled passion of college football and the SEC.”

I’m guessing the WWL isn’t losing much sleep over the possibility.

Toomer’s Corner goes west.

You can take the Plainsman out of the Plains, but you can’t take the Plains out of the Plainsman… or something like that.

@AUFAMILY Please do not attempt to roll the palm trees. PPD will take action if necessary.

— Rose Bowl Stadium (@RoseBowlStadium) December 30, 2013

Which reminds me – anybody seen Harvey Updyke lately?

“I think we’re blessed to be here.”

Bad luck aside, what’s the worst thing you worry about coming out of the Gator Bowl?

Me, I think it will make for a tough offseason if Mason comes out and plays poorly.  Mind you, I’m not expecting him to, but having a real question mark at the quarterback position going into next season isn’t something Georgia needs.

Your thoughts?

How quaint.

I don’t think you’ll ever hear anybody bitch about this again.

“When they added Miami, Florida State, Boston College and Virginia Tech, it became a conference that rivals the SEC,” Tuberville said in November 2005 while complaining about the lack of SEC exposure on ESPN.  [Emphasis added.]

Tubs probably believes the WWL listened to him.

First thought on Gator Bowl

Okay, it’s my second.  My first was wondering how long it’s been since we could accurately refer to the venue as the Gator Bowl.  But I digress.

I’d like to think that this will be a game where everybody manages to stay the hell out of Todd Gurley’s way and let him tote Georgia to a win, but seeing as 2013 can be characterized as the Year of Living Generously, it should be no surprise that this Georgia fan’s mind worries about turnovers, among other things.

The pleasant surprise is, for once this season, that the Dawgs are actually playing a team worse in the turnover margin department than they are.

The Bulldogs are minus-six in turnover margin, 13th in the SEC and tied for 97th in the nation. Nebraska is even worse — the Huskers are minus-12, tied for 119th in the nation.

The problem isn’t so much giving the ball away a lot as it is forcing turnovers. Nebraska has come up with only three fumble recoveries this season in the run-oriented Big Ten, and has 16 turnovers.

Georgia has only six interceptions in the pass-happy SEC and has 14 turnovers gained.

In games against D-1 opponents, Georgia is 2-4 in games in which it had a negative turnover margin.  (I assume you can do the math on what that means when the Dawgs didn’t lose the turnover battle.)

Nebraska’s story is more interesting.  The Cornhuskers are 4-3 in similar games, but those games were their last seven straight of the season.  Nebraska is a whopping minus-17 in turnover margin over that stretch.  Wowzer.

Those are two trends that give me some hope, but we’ll see.

“I hate overtime. I just wanted that game to be over with as soon as possible.”

Seeing how well he took care of the end of the Tech game, I think we should compile a list of other things Todd Gurley needs to hate.

New, improved commenting (maybe)

In response to some reader requests, I’ve dug around at WordPress and activated something new for commenting.  It’s called Markdown and you can read about how to use it here.  The short version is that it should enable you to italicize, bold, quote, etc. in comments fairly easily (at least that’s what I’m hoping).

Play around with it and let me know if it’s worth leaving it in place for you guys.