Auburn is now apparently claiming a national championship for its 1993 season – you know, the one (one of the ones?) during which the Tigers were on probation.
Does that mean Southern Cal’s 2004 championship is still recognized on the Plains? I bet Tubs is pissed.
(h/t Jason Kirk)
Filed under Auburn's Cast of Thousands
One thing the injuries took away last season was the big play on offense.
“It’s hard to go eight, 10-play drives all the time,” Bobo said. “You like those plays where you throw it out there and they take one to the house, or they take a swing pass and go for 20-to-30 yards. And we had to work for it a bit more last year. We still had our fair share of big plays, but not as many as we had the year before.”
Last year, Georgia had just three completions of 50 yards or more, and one was a catch-and-run by tailback Todd Gurley. (The 75-yard touchdown against Florida.) Another was the 85-yarder to Scott-Wesley, whose services were no longer available after he tore his ACL at Tennessee in the fifth game.
Compare that to 2012, when Georgia had nine pass plays of 50-plus yards, all but one of them by wide receivers.
Last season the Bulldogs also saw a dip in pass plays of 40-plus yards (just 11, down from 19 in 2012) and 30-plus yards (28, down from 32). Michael Bennett and Chris Conley, the team’s leading receivers last year, didn’t have a catch of 50 yards or more.
The low point came in the loss at Vanderbilt, when the longest catch was a 17-yarder to tailback J.J. Green.
I get where Bobo’s coming from here, but here comes the big “if”:
“If we can get Reggie (up to speed), and Malcolm and Justin back, that opens up not just the passing game, but the running game,” Bobo said.
Davis actually showed me something at G-Day, enough that I can see him as a real contributor this season. But this offense is probably going to open up as far as Mitchell and Scott-Wesley can take it. And that’s something we won’t know until we see if Mitchell shows up healthy for the opener.
Filed under Georgia Football
I’m sorry, but there are some things you just shouldn’t do to a dog, people. Even at Clemson.
Poor critter. Have at it in the comments.
Filed under Name That Caption
Boy, here’s a real dilemma.
To someone with a business background as rich and deep as Bill Battle’s, the pros and cons of beer sales at the collegiate level are simple.
“The pros,” Battle said, “are money.”
And the cons?
“What you think they would be,” the Alabama athletic director said in an interview Tuesday with AL.com. “Security issues, fan behavior issues, all the things that go along with it.”
Yeah, there’s a tough call. Were I in the beer business, I think I’d have my sales pitch ready to go.
Filed under It's Just Bidness
Andy Staples, on the Big Ten’s decision to go to a nine-game conference schedule:
… Consider what Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany — whose league will play a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2016 — told USA Today last week. “We want our fans to come to games,” Delany told the paper. “We’ve got to give them good games. We also have a network. We also have season-ticket holders.”
Translated, that means that in the age of 60-inch televisions, conference leaders didn’t think fans of Big Ten schools would continue to make the significant investment in season tickets if three or four home games a year were against MAC or FCS schools. Even with a league that has expanded to 14 schools, this keeps Ohio State or Michigan or Penn State visiting Minnesota consistently, and that should provide an incentive for fans as they decide whether to slap down hard-earned money for Golden Gophers season tickets…
“We also have a network” is not a declaration you’d have heard from a conference commissioner a few short years ago. Yet there it is now as justification for an expanded conference schedule.
In that regard, the only difference between the Big Ten and the SEC is a head start. So, when Staples goes on to write,
… Ticket sales haven’t been a problem in the SEC, but privately some administrators have worried about the growing number of no-shows for certain games. A person who is currently paying to not come to games will soon realize he can save money by not paying to not come. This is why SEC schools have been trying to ramp up the in-stadium experience. Of course, the best way to improve the in-stadium experience is to bring in a quality opponent, and that fact — not criticism from coaches in other leagues — is more likely to induce change.
… it’s worth noting that the SEC hasn’t even begun to face the pressure that will be created by needing to feed its new baby with enough inventory. From where I sit, I have to wonder when the financial reality from that hits the presidents hard enough to overcome the qualms shared by ADs and coaches about adding another conference opponent to the football schedule. And I do mean when, not if.
Which is why I bet Mike Slive watches how much a nine-game regular season conference schedule affects the postseason chances for the Pac-12, the Big 12 and the Big Ten as closely as he watches how much the eight-game regular season conference schedule affects the postseason chances for the SEC.
Filed under Big Ten Football, It's Just Bidness, SEC Football
Even on a slow news day, the buffet is there for you.
Nick Saban tells assembled media to kiss his ass for asking a stupid question.
Gee, that’s unusual.
Filed under Nick Saban Rules
Rice sends recruiting letter to a cat.
Filed under Recruiting
Get The Picture 