Strike while the iron is hot.

Not only is Georgia foisting one of its weakest home schedules in recent memory on the fan base next season, but it plans on charging us more for the privilege of attendance.

It almost seems like a test, doesn’t it?

Georgia is spending money on an IPF.

Well, money for a study of the “conceptual design” for a facility, as well as the “most feasible location for a facility of this magnitude.”  $400,000.00.

It takes that much for McGarity to figure out how much of the cost to outsource to contributors as a match?

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Does Georgia have an elite defense?

Rhetorical question, that.

But if you’d ask Jeremy Pruitt, I think he’d say no.

The architect of last season’s Seminole defense – Jeremy Pruitt, now Georgia’s defensive coordinator – told me that elite defenses at the collegiate level should have at least six players who will be drafted in the first three rounds of the NFL draft when their time comes.

Hopefully, we’ll get a better answer with a few more recruiting classes in the door.

Just when Stacey Osburn thought it was safe to go back in the water…

The next round of antitrust litigation is heating up.

In his filing Thursday, Kessler wrote that the NCAA and conferences’ motion to dismiss is “based on a fundamental misconstruction” of what Wilken decided in O’Bannon. That ruling is being appealed by the NCAA.

The NCAA’s motion to dismiss “brazenly portrays the Court’s trial decision as an NCAA victory on the antitrust merits that affords Defendants blanket antitrust immunity for any NCAA restraint that does not conflict specifically with the terms of the Court’s O’Bannon injunction,” Kessler wrote. “No such per se lawful rule can be found in O’Bannon or anywhere else in the history of antitrust law.”

There’s a motion to dismiss hearing coming up next month.  If Kessler survives that, then the fun will really begin with more discovery.

Maybe we should talk about Troy’s long snappah.

Goodness gracious, Georgia’s upcoming opponent is in a world of statistical hurt.  The NCAA tracks 25 statistical categories at its site.  Troy ranks in the top fifty in only one:  turnover margin.  Troy is outside the top 100 in ten of those, and narrowly missed in three others.

The trouble doesn’t end there.  Troy’s starting quarterback suffered a concussion in last week’s loss to Abilene Christian and may not start tomorrow.

Still, I’m not sure Georgia covers the 40-point spread.  For one thing, even though running the ball looks like easy pickings against the 111th ranked rushing defense, I think there’s going to be some emphasis by Bobo on working on the passing game, to smooth out Mason’s timing issues with his receivers.  For another, Troy runs a passing spread attack which will put some pressure on the Georgia secondary.

And don’t forget how Blakeney coaches.  The last time these two teams met, he kept his starters on the field ’til the bitter end, scoring with five seconds left in the game to cut the final margin to ten points.  He’s taking some heat for Troy’s slow start this season and a respectable showing in Athens certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Cory Brinson has some more details about Troy here, if you’re interested.

Losing the chess match

One other thing Pruitt guessed wrong about last Saturday:

Several other defensive players, including Johnson, said the focus was on containing the outside, especially South Carolina’s screens. That was something the Gamecocks showed in the East Carolina game. But on Saturday, they switched to more pocket passes.

“We as a unit, we were focusing more on draws and screens instead of getting off the ball,” Georgia defensive end Sterling Bailey said. “It hurt us.”

Spurrier is one of the best in the biz – if not the best – at game planning.  Sometimes all you can do is tip your cap, learn from the experience and move on.

That rabbit’s foot looks pretty big from where I’m sitting.

Brandon Larrabee thinks Auburn’s due for “only get so much good fortune in one lifetime”, but the question is how much is too much?

I mean, a Bill Snyder-coached team gets a penalty called on it on the opening kickoff, fumbles one ball to set up a field goal, tosses a crazy interception in the Tigers’ end zone and had more than its share of misses throughout the night.

Speaking of which, three missed field goals?  If I’m coaching against Malzahn, I’m not sure I’d try kicking those anymore.