BREAKING: Steve Spurrier thinks Mark Bradley is a Georgia homer.

If I understand things correctly, Steve Spurrier called a presser on short notice today because… well, because of this:

Spurrier: He's upset with The State running Mark Bradley's piece. Says the paper shouldn't have let him have say. #Gamecocks

— Ron Aiken (@RonAiken) July 22, 2015

Jesus, dude, you’re losing it.

"We've got some enemies that write for the Atlanta paper. They cover the Bulldogs"

— Brandon Larrabee (@TeamSpeedKills) July 22, 2015

Now you’re really losing it.

If Spurrier gets a little cocky when he thinks he’s got a good team going into the season, what the hell does today indicate?

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UPDATE:  If you’re interested, here’s the piece that set the OBC off.

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If it’s July in Athens, ctd…

Hey, it’s the season for Dawg Porn!

“I know, because of being out there watching practice on the defensive side, you’ll see Trent Thompson, Roquan Smith and some of those guys, they are good players,” Theus said of UGA’s freshmen. “Some guys who will definitely be able to help us. I’ll be gone after this year but they’ll develop into some really good players.”

According to the Bulldogs’ starting left tackle, it isn’t just the athleticism of the newcomers that is standing out. The freshmen have plenty of physical ability, but Theus has also been impressed with how some of the top guys are advanced when it comes to their knowledge of the game.

“With Trent, obviously he’s a big ole boy but what impressed me is that he’s not just crazy bull rush and just using all his size. He’s got some football IQ about him, some technique, and I was impressed for a freshman to do that,” Theus said. “With Roquan, it’s just the way he runs. You know, (Alec) Ogletree was able to run sideline to sideline. I think Roquan possesses that same type of ability.”  [Emphasis added.]

Be still, mine heart.

Another day, another whine

Gus Malzahn has his complaint with the CFP; Art Briles has his.

Art Briles: “If Baylor or TCU had an older brand name, one of us would have got in the @CFBPlayoff”

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) July 22, 2015

Geez.  If the playoffs are going to reduce every coach in America to behaving like a petulant seven-year old, then either give us a strictly objective field (conference champs need only apply) or go back to the BCS.  Have a little dignity, fellas.

“He’s as healthy as I’ve seen him since he’s been to Georgia.”

There’s preseason happy talk that makes me roll my eyes, and then there’s preseason happy talk that makes me hopeful.

This is the latter kind.  Gawd knows Keith Marshall deserves it.

“We’ve got the talent to do a lot of great things this year, but we’ve just gotta capitalize on it.”

Gee, where have we heard that before?

Seth Emerson delves into what he calls Georgia’s “ugly-loss syndrome” and coaxes a quote out of Jordan Jenkins about the loss to Missouri in 2013 that makes me want to hurl something at my monitor.

… The Tigers came into Athens on Oct. 12 unbeaten but without any impressive wins. Georgia was 4-1, and although injuries had piled up by then (Gurley and Keith Marshall were both out, as were Malcolm Mitchell and Michael Bennett) the Bulldogs were caught by surprise.

“Coming into that game I don’t think anybody thought we were gonna lose,” Jenkins said. “I think a lot of guys were remembering the 2012 game against them, saying, ‘OK it’s the same team as last season. They’re the little brothers of the SEC, we’re gonna come in, dominate, clock in, clock out, leave.’ And as the game went on we quickly realized that was a dire mistake we shouldn’t have made.”

You’re virtually pulling people out of the stands to play on offense, the biggest reason you kicked Mizzou’s ass the previous season now wears a Steelers jersey and you think the game’s gonna be a cakewalk?  Yeah, “dire mistake”, alright.

Jeebus.  Words fail me.

“A roomful of geniuses”

Bob Bowlsby admits he’s on the verge of going medieval on the Big 12’s round robin schedule if the conference gets shut out of the CFP for the second year in a row.  That generates a “remain calm, all is well” response from Bill Hancock, of all people.

Of course, if the Big 12 does go ahead and adopt a conference championship game after this season, I fully expect Hancock to praise the move as making the CFP that much stronger.  ‘Cause that’s just how he rolls.

I blame Schotty.

If you’re looking for an area where it’s likely that we’ll see a change in approach as a result of the transition at offensive coordinator, use of the tight ends is as good a place to start as any.

In that regard, Saturday Down South’s Murf Baldwin takes a look at where Schottenheimer’s come from and where he may be going.  I’m not sure if I’m ready to make any Patriots comparisons yet, but there’s definitely some food for thought in his two posts.

One thing I will say is the timing of this for Georgia looks to be fortuitous, in that if there’s ever a time to put more emphasis on the TE position, it’s a year in which (1) your offense is likely to be run-heavy; (2) the experience in your wide receiver group is lacking; and (3) you’ve got more than respectable depth at tight end.

Scheduling as a factor in this year’s SEC East

It’s not as straightforward as you might think in 2015.  Yes, Missouri goes in with a leg up on the competition, as the Tigers’ conference opponents this season have the worst combined league record from 2014 of all the other SEC teams’ opponents.

And here’s an eye-popping stat for you:

Missouri’s gone 10-0 on the road over the past two years. Georgia’s gone 5-4. 

That’s one way to overcome a 34-point shellacking in Columbia last year.

However, check out the home/road splits for this season (based on the 2014 conference records of schools’ 2015 opponents) David Morrison’s compiled in his article.  Particularly the latter:

Road

1. LSU: 21-11 (38-15)

2. Ole Miss: 21-11 (37-15)

3. Tennessee: 20-12 (35-17)

4. Alabama: 19-13 (36-16)

5. Arkansas: 19-13 (36-17)

5. South Carolina: 19-13 (36-17)

7. Mississippi State: 16-16 (34-19)

8. Florida: 16-16 (31-21)

9. Kentucky: 15-17 (30-21)

9. Vanderbilt: 15-17 (30-21)

11. Texas A&M: 9-15 (20-18)

12. Auburn: 11-21 (28-23)

13. Missouri: 10-22 (25-25)

14. Georgia: 7-17 (18-20)

That should definitely be an equalizer.  If it’s not, that doesn’t say much for Georgia’s improvement (or chances) in 2015.

If it’s July in Athens…

… you know it’s time for that great Georgia tradition, preseason happy talk.

John Theus has noticed a positive change in the strength and conditioning program over the past seven months since Mark Hocke took over this past winter.

Hocke arrived from Alabama after spending the past six seasons as a strength and conditioning assistant. Now that Hocke is running the show at Georgia, Theus said his position group has already seen some encouraging results.

“The linemen are leaner,” Theus said. “They’re doing a great job, along with the nutritionists, of giving us the ability to play with high energy. They’re pushing us every day to be the best that we can be. I think a lot of the linemen have also taken the initiative to better their bodies as well. We have all gained muscle mass.”

I will say we haven’t paid much attention to the S&C transition from Joe T to Hocke.  It probably deserves more than that.  (Although I thought the team’s conditioning last season appeared improved from years past.)