Barry Alvarez must be a lot of fun to work for.

Gary Andersen is leaving Wisconsin for… Oregon State.

Which begs the inevitable question:  think Jeremy Foley’s suffering from a case of buyer’s remorse about now?

“We’re not sure yet.”

With less than three weeks until the Belk Bowl, Bobby Petrino claims he doesn’t know who his starting quarterback will be.  Let the head games begin!

Awarding the obvious

Honestly, it would have been a travesty to give this to anyone else.

Finally the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for football is Georgia's Chris Conley. #SECHonors pic.twitter.com/mzXjaGDJrS

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) December 10, 2014

I guess the Force is still with him.

“He’s one of the smartest coaches I’ve ever seen.”

Tell the truth, everyone.  After that offseason, did you expect Georgia to finish the 2014 regular season ranked second nationally in pass yards allowed per game?

Sure, Pruitt’s got a ways to go to get that defense to a place we’d prefer, but you’ve got to admit he’s flashed the potential to get it there.

Uncle Verne on Georgia’s clock management

From an interview with Spencer Hall:

SH: You say that you rarely take stances, but the time I wanted to ask about was the 2009 call in the LSU-Ole Miss game. Facing something like fourth-and-26, Jordan Jefferson throws the ball close to the goal line in a situation where they end up with no time outs and needing a field goal with the clock showing 1 second. Your call on this was: “What are they doing?!??”

That’s all just reaction, right?

VL: Absolutely. I can remember one other circumstance similar to that, in Auburn-Georgia early in my years in the SEC. Mark Richt forgot he didn’t have any timeouts left, and he signaled from the sideline in a goal-line situation for David Greene to kill the clock. I just reacted like people at home did, which was to say “Inexplicable.”

Tradition!

Might have been interesting to hear Lundquist call the last minute of regulation in the Tech game…

Vegas settles it on the field.

Vegas may not know from “deserving” teams, but some there have an opinion about the best:

The College Football Playoff selection committee set out to identify the best four teams. Las Vegas oddsmakers aren’t sure they were successful.

Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State advanced to the national semifinals, with Baylor and TCU the last two teams out.

However, Ed Salmons, head football oddsmaker at the Westgate SuperBook, said both Baylor and TCU would be favored over Ohio State.

“Ohio State numbers are hard to make because of the quarterback situation,” Salmons said of the Buckeyes, who are down to their third quarterback. “I would say TCU probably would have been 4½ and Baylor about 2½ or 3½ (over Ohio State). Somewhere in that range. But Ohio State definitely would be ‘dogs to both those teams.”

Oddsmakers from sportsbooks at CG Technology, the Wynn and the Aliante casinos also said they’d have both Baylor and TCU favored over Ohio State.

Not that Vegas is always right, though.

Six teams — Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Marshall, Oklahoma and Oregon — were favored in every game this season.  [Emphasis added.]

Oh, well.

The butthurt is strong in this one, my friends.

If this guy (h/t Bernie) is representative of the Louisville folks (“Already the Georgia fans are belittling the opposition as unworthy of an SEC power like the Dawgs. Good!”  Hunh?), I guess the Dawgs will only have the second whiniest fan base at the Belk Bowl.

Wednesday morning buffet

Oh, there’s something here you can try…

• Nine of 18 previous winners of the Broyles Award have become head coaches?  That bodes well for Tom Herman, the latest winner.
• Speaking of coaching hires, I wonder if someone at one of the SEC schools with an opening at defensive coordinator looks at this guy.
• When’s the last time you saw a school’s faculty deliver a vote of no confidence in their president for shutting down a football program?
• And Mark Emmert is troubled to see the University of Alabama-Birmingham drop its football program.
• Surprisingly, Emmert doesn’t seem to be troubled by a lot of things he should be troubled by.  Okay, maybe not so surprisingly.
• If there’s one thing that unites politicians on the left and the right, it’s throwing taxpayer money at sports.  Sigh.
• Is Jim Tressel considering hiring Bo Pelini?
• This has to sting, if true.  But if at first you don’t succeed…

The GTP holiday gift guide

I thought I’d try something new – put together a list of things that might appeal to the guy or gal Dawg fan you know (or you are) for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa or whatever floats your boat this time of year.

Here goes nothing, in no particular order of significance:

• Pyle PWMA860i Wireless and Portable PA Speaker Sound System.  If you’re like me, music is a big deal at any tailgate.  (One reason I no longer tailgate on North Campus.)  I had a small block rocker that served me well for years, but, sadly, met its demise at this year’s Cocktail Party.  Finding a replacement wasn’t easy, because there are very few powered speakers out there anymore that take iPod Classics as their music source (for one thing, Apple discontinued that product this year and, for another, going Bluetooth with your phone seems to be what all the cool kids do these days).  But I did find this.  It’s a little on the heavy side and a bit kludgy to operate, but the sound and the power are both good and the battery holds up fine.
• Nike Lunar TR1.  I’ve linked to this product before.  Tell me you don’t know at least one Dawg fan who wouldn’t like to be sporting these babies.
• Allagash White.  One lesson I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older – life is too short for mediocre beer.  Allagash White is a Belgian Style wit beer and it’s delicious, especially when it’s warm outside.  Go ahead, class up somebody’s tailgate.
• Angel’s Envy Bourbon.  And when it’s cooler?  This is a great bourbon to drink neat, in the comfort of your home, at your tailgate… or for medicinal purposes, if you’re worried about how to deal with those chilly night games.
• Pennington & Bailes “Standing Bulldog” Long Sleeve Polo.  Word has it I’m in line to get one of these for the holidays.  Looking forward to it.
• Pennington & Bailes Georgia Polo Dress.  No doubt this will look killer with a pair of boots.
• “Dooley’s Junkyard Dawgs”.  The best 99 cents you could spend on iTunes.
• Onward Reserve Georgia/Florida hat.  You may only wear it one weekend a year, but at least you’ll look damned good when you do.
• 1980 Dawgs Collectors Edition DVD Set.  While we’re waiting for a shot at the next national title game…
• Towable Tailgates Ultimate Trailer.  Okay, this one’s borderline facetious.  But if one showed up in your driveway Christmas morning with a bow on it, I doubt you’d object.  (Besides, you need some place to put the beer and bourbon you got, right?)
• Victory on Plains – Framed.  I have one of these on the wall in my office.  You should, too.
• Barrons-Hunter Red & Black.  You like Georgia’s color scheme.  A lot.  But maybe you’d like a red and black accessory or two without a logo on it?  Well, here you go.
• Behind the Hedges.  Give this to somebody who is puzzled by my qualms about how Butts-Mehre operates.
• History and Reminiscences of the University of Georgia.  Vince Dooley’s book would help with that, too.  (Maybe not in the way Dooley intended, though.)

Whew.  That should get you started.  Let me know what you think.

By the way, I’d like for this to be a collaborative effort, so please add any suggestions you’re sure would be welcomed in the comments.  (Don’t forget to provide links.)