“BARNEY, TRUST ME. I HAVE EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL. JESUS.”

Sometimes, I suppose, the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Last Dec. 1, Farrar spoke with NCAA investigators and members of the Ole Miss legal team. A week later, Bjork summoned Farrar to another meeting. That morning, Farrar said, he received a text from Freeze: “Love you like a brother.”

Farrar said when he arrived at the meeting, Bjork handed him a letter explaining his career at Ole Miss was over.

“You have not met our expectations with respect to university policies and NCAA rules compliance. Therefore, effective immediately, we are terminating your job duties,” Bjork wrote. The letter did not specify which rules Farrar violated, and Bjork did not elaborate, Farrar said.

I wonder how straightforward Freeze is with those he doesn’t love so much.

Freeze, who answered the door of his Oxford home last week, declined to answer questions about Farrar and threatened to have a reporter arrested.

Uhh… never mind.

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Never tweak a tweaker.

Though we’re talking about @MummePoll’s loons here — they’re smarter loons than most. 🙂

— Bill Connelly (@SBN_BillC) August 10, 2017

Bill Connelly spills the beans in this week’s edition of Podcast Ain’t Played Nobody:  he occasionally checks the comments section here to see what kind of reaction he’s gotten to something he’s posted, and he’s amused by some of your takes on his Georgia preview.  Dial it up to the 27:20 mark and listen to the next four or so minutes of discussion.  (I can’t argue with what they have to say about the hiring process, either.)

You are somebody, guys.  Wear it and be proud.

If slogans are all it takes, then…

… Booch will never lose another football game.

An NFL scout told SEC Country that the draft-eligible players on the 2017 Tennessee roster not only lack star power, but more notably, toughness.

That’s probably one reason Coach Butch Jones’ 2017 slogan is D.A.T. — Details, Accountability and Toughness.

It’s probably also why Jones emphasized heart and character in his last two recruiting classes.

True ‘d.a.t., I guess.  Long may he run, Tennessee.

Give ’em something to think about.

Now you’re just messing with us, Kirby.

With five talented running backs and a former high school quarterback-turned-receiver at its disposal, Georgia spent some time during Wednesday’s practice working on plays out of the Wildcat formation.

Sophomore Mecole Hardman, a high school quarterback at Elberton who is now a receiver, was with the group taking direct snaps and practicing reads with Georgia running backs.

Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my chin.  Ah, that’s better.

Seriously, this has the potential to be an excellent idea.  Hardman didn’t throw the ball a lot in high school, but he did throw it to the tune of 17.7 yards per catch over his three years.  If his ability to throw a pass for a decent gain is perceived as a legitimate threat, that should open up the run options out of the Wildcat dramatically.

Obviously, with Chubb, Michel and Eason, the Wildcat isn’t going to be anything more than a change of pace for Georgia’s offense, but, damn, if the possibilities aren’t delicious to consider.  And I’d say, given that the coaches let the media see it in practice, they want their opponents to spend preparation time doing just that.

Hugh Freeze has lost control.

For some reason, Ole Miss decided to release the NCAA’s case summary and the enforcement staff’s written response to its own response to the NCAA’s notice of infractions.

It’s not a good look.

“The facts uncovered during a fair and thorough investigation substantiated numerous violations and revealed a culture of noncompliance infecting the football program, both internally among personnel and externally among boosters,” the enforcement staff’s written response stated…

The enforcement staff doubled down on Lewis’ statements.

“The institution, certain involved individuals and others have speculated that [redacted] fabricated statements implicating the institution to redirect attention away from his current institution,” the enforcement staff’s response read. “These suggestions are baseless and should be disregarded by the hearing panel. The enforcement staff finds [redacted] to be credible and notes his various incentives to provide truthful information in the infractions process. Furthermore, when possible the enforcement staff tested information [redacted] shared and found it to be reliable.”

… The enforcement staff claimed former staffers Chris Kiffin and Barney Farrar arranged for those three to receive the free merchandise.

“The enforcement staff determined the independent, matching reports from [redacted] [redacted] and [redacted] were compelling and corroborative of one another,” the enforcement staff’s response stated, “and show the systematic way in which Kiffin and Farrar arranged the provision of free merchandise.”

… During the hearing, the university will also have to defend Hugh Freeze’s compliance record, but the enforcement staff laid out its case for why he was charged with violating his head coach responsibility legislation.

“Freeze could rebut the presumption by demonstrating that he both promoted an atmosphere of compliance and monitored his staff,” the enforcement staff’s response stated. “He failed to do both. The atmosphere was anything but compliant and Freeze’s monitoring efforts, as noted above, were many times deficient.”

Er… for example?

NCAA says Freeze suspected Lewis had his hand out but continued recruiting him pic.twitter.com/xgyw3uWs24

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) August 9, 2017

That’s by Freeze’s own admission, mind you.  Yeah, not a good look at all.

The hearing before the Committee on Infractions is scheduled for September 11th and Freeze will be there.  A fun time will be had by all, no doubt.

A very clever tactical retreat, major.

Ole Miss has been dismissed from Houston Nutt’s lawsuit.  But Nutt’s attorney doesn’t seem particularly nonplussed by the development.

Here's Thomas Mars' statement regarding the motion to dismiss. pic.twitter.com/DBBxRd6PeG

— Antonio Morales (@AntonioCMorales) August 9, 2017

LOL.  That’s the sound of a man who’s already claimed one scalp and looks to be back in state court to see what more he can get.

As a side note, how perfect is it that’s there’s a lawyer named Bubba involved in this?

Behold, the new video journalism

So, this is how the next phase of sports media operates.  I have to admit outsourcing all your research is a real cost saver.

Good luck with that, Fox Sports.

“I’m going to be in media and in a number of different places,” he said, “and I’m going to have a blast.”

He’s got time on his hands, so Les Miles is going to hit the broadcast trail, at least for one season.

“I’m a guy who knows a lot about football,” Miles said. “Certainly the situations and adjectives that describe college football are going to be something I’m easily accustomed to. I’ll be able to tell you after the first quarter what thoughts are going through the coach’s mind.

Adjectives are awesome.  I just wish somebody would pair him with Spurrier and let them call a game together.

**************************************************************************

UPDATE:  There’s all kinds of media.

Les Miles here. Looking forward to being back on Twitter. I'll be covering some of my favorite teams this fall. Gotta love college football🏈

— Les Miles (@CoachLesMiles) August 9, 2017

**************************************************************************

UPDATE #2:  That didn’t take long.

SEC Network’s traveling pre-game show, SEC Nation presented by AT&T, is back for its fourth season on Saturday, Sept. 2, in a special three-hour edition (9 a.m. – noon ET) from Arlington, Texas, site of the Advocare Classic where the Florida Gators will face off with the Michigan Wolverines for both teams’ season openers. The show marks the first time SEC Nation has opened the season from a neutral site game and only the second time the show has aired from a neutral site city during the regular-season.

The show will include live reports, analysis and features surrounding all the Week One SEC football action…

Longtime LSU head coach Les Miles will serve as a guest analyst for the season opener. In addition to his extensive SEC background, Miles was a player and coach at Michigan. Miles’ former running back, Derrius Guice, will be featured in an in-depth story reported by Rutledge. Also, former South Carolina and longtime Florida head coach Steve Spurrier, and additional guests, will stop by the set throughout the telecast.

Cool and hot takes

There appears to be a lot of consensus among the pundit class about Georgia’s place in the preseason universe.

AP poll still to come, but based on 11 preseason polls published to date here's your consensus Top 25 heading into the season. pic.twitter.com/a0llLP2jZd

— Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) August 9, 2017

Sports Illustrated’s right there, with the Dawgs at number 16 in its preseason projections.  But not for the reason you might expect.

Georgia needs playmakers on the perimeter, and 5’ 11″, 185-pound junior receiver Terry Godwin can help. He ranked second on the Bulldogs with 397 receiving yards in 2016, but he could turn into sophomore quarterback Jacob Eason’s go-to target this season. Godwin looked good in spring practice and hauled in five passes for a team-high 130 yards in Georgia’s spring game in April. His ability to scamper for big gains after catching short and intermediate passes will strain defenses already worried about how to stop senior running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. That’s why the Bulldogs will likely go as far as Godwin—and its other wide receivers—can carry them.  [Emphasis added.]

The wide receivers?  Really?  I think I’ll stick with the conventional wisdom and wait to see how the offensive line comes together, SI.

First Chomp in The Swamp

Nice gesture, Gators.

I thought about the chances of Georgia doing something like that, but then realized the only way that might happen is if McGarity challenged boosters to pay for it.