The knee is doing better than the line, thanks for asking.

Raise your hand if you’re surprised by this:

1. 234 of Nick Chubb’s (RB, Georgia) 302 yards have come after contact

Much has been made of Chubb’s devastating knee injury last October. Through two games, he seems to be fully recovered. Chubb leads the country with 234 yards after contact. Only 13 running backs in the country have more total yards than Chubb has after contact. One of the reasons for the large percentage of yards after contact is Georgia’s inability to run block – ranked 118^th through the first two weeks. If the Bulldogs offensive line can mesh as a unit, Chubb can run them into the college football playoff.

Yeah, me neither.

You know, it’s normally the back’s job to buy his linemen a nice dinner.  If this keeps up, those guys need to pitch in and get Chubb a Bones gift card, or something.

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There’s coachspeak…

… and then there’s whatever language Les Miles is fluent in.

LSU coach Les Miles says that he hasn’t named a starting QB for Saturday’s game against Mississippi State but then says he expects Danny Etling, who replaced former starter Brandon Harris against Jacksonville State last week, to take the first snaps. “I can’t imagine that Danny Etling won’t take the first snaps.” So Etling IS the starter?

He’s the first snappee.

Because, Mark Emmert.

Oh, FFS.

NCAA President Mark Emmert on Thursday expressed a clear desire for the NCAA to have direct power to punish schools and athletes in connection with sexual abuse cases.

Can you imagine what he would have done with the Duke lacrosse scandal?  Or how much the NCAA would have wound up spending to defend and settle the inevitable lawsuit arising from his reaction?

Though I admit watching Emmert go after Ken Starr would have a certain sense of pass the popcorn to it.  But not enough to make this even remotely a good idea.

First thoughts on Missouri

If you’re looking for some early poop on Missouri, here’s a Q&A with beat writer Dave Matter that may shed some light on a few things.

It sounds like the Tigers’ offense is being retooled, with some hope that it’s got the same DNA that caused Kirby Smart problems a few years ago.

Q: Do the Tigers believe they have the secret code for breaking a Kirby Smart defense in Josh Heupel? Can you explain their history for our readers?

Matter: “I’m not sure they believe they have the secret code, but at least five offensive players interviewed Monday mentioned the 2014 Sugar Bowl, when Heupel’s Oklahoma offense shredded Smart’s Alabama defense for 429 yards. The offense has been watching that film and it’s obvious we’ll see some elements from OU’s game plan show up on Saturday, possibly the heavy use of presnap shifts and motions the Sooners used.”

On the other hand, the defense appears to be different, too, which may not be such a good thing (remember that last year’s great defensive line coach is now with Richt in Miami).

“Missouri has switched to more of a read scheme along the front where linemen have to diagnose formations and adjust their assignments accordingly. In the past, they were free to burst off the ball and rush up field. There’s been a learning curve so far, and linemen are still adjusting to their new assignments. This group still has loads of talent, starting with Harris, though he hasn’t had much of an impact the first two games. West Virginia and Eastern Michigan neutralized MU’s pass rush with quick passes. Both teams had mobile quarterbacks who had some success on designed runs. This might be a better matchup for the front four because they don’t have to worry about either QB scrambling or keeping the ball on options.”

Missouri finished last season second in the conference in total defense.  After two 2016 games, the Tigers are thirteenth, yielding about 130 more yards per game — against West Virginia and Eastern Michigan.  Perhaps more surprisingly, they’ve gone from middle of the conference pack in sacks to dead last.

I don’t want to read too much into the sample size, but if Georgia can run on the Mizzou defense and its quarterbacks aren’t feeling much heat, those are good reasons to be optimistic that the Dawgs can put some points on the board.

The case of the missing rabbit’s foot has been cracked.

Gus dropped it and Booch found it.

The Vols have also been lucky. In theory, that’s not something they’ll be able to count on. They recovered three second-half fumbles against Appalachian State, when recovering only two of three might not have allowed them to take the game to OT. And on Saturday, there were seven fumbles (five by VT, two by UT) … and they recovered all seven.

… Tennessee has recovered 10 of the 12 fumbles in its two games. The Vols have been sloppy in fumbling six times, but they’ve lost only one. This is crazy, and it won’t last.

I know when I’d like to see the Vols’ luck run out.

Since you brought it up…

I noticed a comment yesterday referencing Jim Chaney’s stint at Purdue in a somewhat negative way, so for balance’s sake, here’s something else to tuck under your hat.

Ole Miss going for 3 vs Bama

Last time Saban lost 3 straight to a single foe? Michigan (1996-98) & Purdue (1997-99) pic.twitter.com/4VLkDT6IxT

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 14, 2016

That’s a bad ass turtleneck, though.

 

Wednesday morning buffet

Plenty to nosh on this morning…

• It sounds like Elijah Holyfield is having a tough time with his ankle injury.
• More Sony Michel is coming.
• The Egg Bowl is back on Thanksgiving.
• Mike Leach isn’t having a fun week.
• Missouri may be planning on giving Georgia a dose of its own version of old man football.
• Next year Georgia plays South Carolina in November.  Steve Spurrier doesn’t approve.
• If you’re interested, Fox Sports is broadcasting this week’s Ohio State-Oklahoma game in virtual reality to your smartphone.
• Good luck with this week’s pick ’em.
• Those of you who think the key to being a great college head coach is obsession might find this story about Urban Meyer of interest.
• What’s so scary about getting rid of the transfer eligibility rule?

When Kirby’s not happy, ain’t nobody happy.

From Chip Towers’ story about yesterday’s presser:

Throughout Smart’s 12-minute remarks, the noise below gradually increased. By the end of the session, it had grown to a full-blown ruckus. It got so loud that members of the press began to laugh. One reporter finally asked Smart what in the world was going on down there.

“Locker room,” Smart said sharply. “They’ve got more excitement than they did at practice, that’s for sure.”

Smart tried to smile when he said it, but his face was having none of it. You could tell he was perturbed on some level…

Smart’s news conference wrapped up abruptly and he disappeared in a quick walk out the side door. But the noise continued below.

And then it stopped.

Who was saying what to whom was unclear, but there was one booming voice that drowned out all the others. Then there was silence.

Hard to say who that says more about, but given that Smart noted last week’s practices were meh and that carried over into the Nicholls game, perhaps we’re seeing this week’s proverbial canary in the coal mine.

On the other hand, maybe somebody’s ass is really tight after an embarrassing game.  Either way, it sure would be nice to see this team take it out on Missouri.