Gator scouting report

… is about what you’d expect.  Florida likes to spread the ball around on offense and stay balanced between run and pass.  And the Gators are fast, solid and pretty conventional on defense.

I do wonder about how injuries may affect the game, though.  Georgia seems to be getting almost everyone back – do not underestimate what Christian Payne’s return may mean – while Florida has to deal with this.

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First, punting. Then, the world.

It’s fascinating to think that Pete Carroll’s lasting legacy to the sport of college football could be the introduction of a new, rugby-style approach to tackling.

I mean, say what you want about the tenets of the BCS, Dude, at least it’s an ethos.

David’s got a point here.  Parts of the BCS formula were severely flawed *** cough *** Coaches Poll  *** cough ***, but at least you knew where teams stood.  What you’ve got now with the CFP is a subjective process with almost no accountability.  That’s a recipe for further expansion, which I suspect is a feature, not a bug, for the people who put it together.

The parable of the farmers

Here’s a story that I know will drive some of you crazy.

When Georgia lost to Tennessee and dropped to 2-2 in the SEC, the critics howled. Richt responded by telling his team the story of the two farmers.

“Both were praying for rain to relieve a terrible drought,” Richt said. “One farmer decided to plow his field in case it rained. The other farmer did nothing but continue to hope that it rained.

“So when it finally rained, the farmer who had done the work — had plowed his field — was able to benefit.”

On Oct. 17, Florida lost its first game to LSU. On that same night, Georgia beat Missouri to set up Saturday’s showdown with the Gators by the St. Johns River.

“I just told our guys that if we took care of our business, then we could have a chance to dance in the rain,” Richt said. “And now we have that chance.”

Go ahead, you guys.  You know you want to.

Caveat emptor.

An Illinois judge just tossed a class-action lawsuit against the Illinois High School Association that asserted its concussion policies were negligent and did not do enough to protect the state’s football players.  His reasoning:

The judge, LeRoy K. Martin Jr., sided with the association, a nonprofit organization that oversees high school sports in Illinois, ruling that football players assume the risk of playing contact sports and that increased liability could harm high school football, potentially even causing it to be abandoned.

No worries, mon.

“It is clear to this court that I.H.S.A. has acted to protect student-athletes in this state,” Martin wrote.

That’s a relief.  The plaintiff alleged that he sustained a concussion before his junior season in 2012 and was not removed from practice, later needing an airlift to a nearby hospital.  One can only imagine how much worse things might be if the association hadn’t acted… uh…

Last week, Andre Smith, a football player at Bogan High School in Chicago, died from blows to the head he had sustained during a game. He was the seventh high school football player in the United States to die from injuries this season, the association said.

I don’t know about you, but I were the parent of a kid playing high school football in Illinois, I would have a hard time agreeing to let my kid’s career continue.

Worley, Worley running!

I’ve made every WLOCP game since 1979.  Sure, the iconic 1980 game ranks as one of the greatest experiences of my lifetime, but I’ve always had a fond spot in my heart for the 1985 game.  Florida came in ranked first in the country, something it had never experienced before and left on the short end of a 24-3 stick.

Here’s Tim Worley’s electrifying 90-yard TD run from that day.  Enjoy.

Your stat two-fer of the day

If you believe in trends in evaluating Georgia’s chances on Saturday, then there are a couple of things worth noting.

• Since 2006, Georgia is 4-0 against the Gators when rushing for 150 yards or more and 0-5 when it doesn’t.  (Before you ask, last season Chubb rushed for 156, but with Mason’s sacks, Georgia’s rushing yards totalled 141.)
• The Dawgs are 4-1 against Florida under Richt when breaking 20 points and 1-8 when they don’t.

I would argue that’s not a small sample size, but your mileage may vary.

Richt is tricksy, Precious.

If you’re wondering what Georgia coaches have done with the bye week, it sounds like they’ve introduced a hint of quarterback controversy into the mix.

The intrigue is back at Georgia’s quarterback spot, setting up three days of mystery – at least to the public, and Florida.

Greyson Lambert has started each of Georgia’s first seven games at quarterback. But coach Mark Richt, when asked after Wednesday if there was a chance someone else would start on Saturday, played it coy.

“All I can tell you is we’ve been repping more than one guy with the ones, and we’re going to continue to do that,” Richt said.

In the past Richt and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer have said outright that Lambert is the starter. But on Wednesday Richt had several opportunities to re-affirm that and didn’t.

“I think we evaluate that every week at every position,” Richt said. “That’s just how football is. That’s the type of environment that we’re in. Everybody’s job is up for grabs.”

Lambert was still working with the first team during the media viewing period of Wednesday’s practice, followed by Brice Ramsey and Faton Bauta. That’s the same order the quarterbacks have been in basically all season, and Lambert has started every game.

But Bauta, the fourth-year junior who was No. 3 on the depth chart most of the season, has been seeing increased snaps in practice this week, according to multiple sources. It’s not clear whether that’s simply because he has surpassed Ramsey on the depth chart, or whether Bauta is being prepared to see significant action against Florida.

Uh huh.  Whatevs.

Jeb Blazevich knows.  But if he told you, he’d have to kill you… or something.

Tight end Jeb Blazevich, speaking to the media later, was asked if the team knew what was going to happen.

“Yes,” he said.

So this is about keeping Florida in the dark. Thus, Blazevich knew he wasn’t supposed to divulge much information.

“I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say,” Blazevich said, laughing nervously. “But they’re definitely focusing on putting the pressure on guys, and everything like that. I’ll just kind of leave that open-ended. I don’t want to get in trouble.”

This strikes me as much ado about… well, if not nothing, then nothing much.  Even if they bring Bauta in for a change of pace, are we supposed to believe that Florida will be totally unprepared to defend a quarterback option?

Then again, if they bring Bauta in to pull off a play like this, I’ll say Schottenheimer is a damned genius.

In the meantime, this strikes me as the more important road to improvement in the passing game:

“I said that he played inconsistent, but I think I also said that the better we block, the bigger the pocket, the better it is for the quarterback to throw the ball,” Richt said. “The better the routes, the easier it is to hit a guy who has a little more separation, maybe. So really the inconsistency has been as a team, as a unit…”