“We’re following our policy without exceptions.”

I confess that I’m likely reading way too much into this comment, but still…

It appeared Patrick was set to play in the Rose Bowl, having been cleared of the marijuana charge in Barrow County, until news came out that a subsequent probation drug test in Athens-Clarke County had turned up positive.

Patrick has a hearing on Jan. 11 to deal with an alleged probation violation, because of the drug test that resulted in Athens-Clarke County resulting from the since-dismissed Barrow County charge.

“The Athens-Clarke County situation is a separate matter, and we’ll address that once it’s resolved,” Smart said on Monday.  [Emphasis added.]

Last time I checked, the CFP title game will be played on January 8th; the Rose Bowl on January 1st.  Counting on my fingers and toes, those appear to be a few days before the ACC situation is resolved.  As a rational human being, is it reasonable to assume Kirby is taking advantage of the calendar and intends to play Patrick in the playoffs?  What about as an irrational Georgia fan?

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

UPDATE:  A note from Patrick’s lawyer.

A message from Natrez Patrick's attorney regarding recent events and a possible probation violation.

Story: https://t.co/1N3W31qWco pic.twitter.com/MA3IAdLah1

— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) December 18, 2017

“Required” is a pretty strong verb there.

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Corch’s advice to Dan Mullen

Hunh, go figure.  When I saw this header, my thought was “always have an escape plan ready when you can’t replace Tebow and Harvin”.

Sticking around, for a little while longer

Dawgs247 is reporting that Kevin Sherrer will coach the outside linebackers through the playoffs.  Here’s hoping his stay in Athens is as long as possible.

Musical palate cleanser, still going edition

Happy birthday @officialKeef love Mick pic.twitter.com/MazvdKhba4

— Mick Jagger (@MickJagger) December 18, 2017

It’s times like this I’m kind of amazed Keith Richards is still around to celebrate his birthday.

In honor of the occasion, here’s one of my favorite, more obscure Stones tunes, from It’s only Rock ‘n Roll, “Luxury”.

It’s real.

And it’s spectacular.

The cover of Georgia's Rose Bowl media guide. pic.twitter.com/ZK2UMy1tzE

— Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) December 18, 2017

I have to admit, even after getting my tickets and the trip all lined up, the idea that Georgia is in the Rose Bowl is still sinking in.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Moar Rose Bowl thoughts

A series of random things that popped into my head over the weekend:

• Those of you trying to convince yourself that Georgia is walking into a similar situation to the 2008 Sugar Bowl need to disabuse yourselves of that notion.  For one thing, Oklahoma boasts three first-team AP All-Americans on offense and one defender who made the second team.  For another, unlike Hawaii’s, Oklahoma’s schedule isn’t a mirage.  Quite the opposite:  Sagarin rates the Sooners’ strength of schedule higher than Georgia’s; ESPN has Oklahoma first in strength of record and Georgia third; and Brian Fremeau’s FEI has Georgia narrowly leading Oklahoma in strength of schedule.  Oklahoma is a tested (at least as tested as the Dawgs), credible opponent and don’t kid yourself otherwise.
• One thing I do believe is underplayed is how dominant Georgia has been throughout the course of the season.  I mentioned before that the Dawgs have more wins by 21 or more points than any of the teams in the CFP field.  For more evidence of that, compare Bill Connelly’s percentile performances between the two teams:  Oklahoma has three over 90%; Georgia has eight.  (On the other hand, Georgia has that ugly 14% against Auburn on its résumé, while the Sooners’ worst showing was a 57% mark against Kansas State.)  Anyway, if the schedule strengths of the two are similar, what does it say that Georgia has been more dominant in the outcomes?
• Something else being underplayed are the special teams.  Oklahoma’s rank 56th in Bill’s S&P+.  Georgia’s are (gulp!) first.  FEI doesn’t show the Dawgs being as dominant, but it still shows Georgia with the advantage.  One area to keep an eye on may be punt returns.  Georgia ranks 34th in opponents’ punt returns, while Oklahoma is 128th.  Maybe it’s Mecole’s time to shine.
• That, in turn, probably factors into the wide gap Bill finds in starting field position:  Georgia’s offense ranked 26th; Oklahoma’s a much more daunting 114th.  Again, this may turn out to be another little thing that winds up mattering more than we thought.
• You can see from IsoPPP that the Sooners’ offense is more explosive than Georgia’s, but their defense is also far more prone to give up the big play than is Mel Tucker’s group. If there’s a shoot-out, there’s no reason to think Georgia will lack the fire power to stay with Oklahoma.
• Speaking of giving up big plays, this post at Georgia Sports Blog makes a good argument that Oklahoma is going to try to exploit that in much the same way Auburn did, substituting Mayfield’s prowess in the short passing game for what Malzahn does on offense with Auburn’s running game, to set up the big play.  Georgia made fantastic adjustments for the SECCG that put Stidham on his heels after the first quarter.  The question is, with a month’s worth of prep time, can Smart and Tucker dial up something similar for Mayfield?  A more specific question may be how well the linebackers handle pass coverage.  A Georgia defense from a few seasons back would have been eaten alive by the Oklahoma passing game, but this year’s bunch at least has a fighting chance.

Take your participation trophy and shove it.

After reading this Bill Connelly piece on whether there are too many bowl games (SPOILER ALERT:  There aren’t.), I can’t help but wonder what a Venn diagram composed of people who think we’ve got more bowl games than we need and people who are offended by players sitting out bowl games to protect their health before the draft would look like.

Coaches cornering

Three random bits on the hiring process:

1.  Hiring coups for head coaches aren’t as easy as they seem.

List of Power 5 schools whose current head coach was a sitting P5 head coach when hired by current school:
Florida State
Penn State
Wisconsin
Florida
Texas A&M

— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) December 14, 2017

(I’d probably add Virginia to the list, as BYU is a quasi-P5 school.  But I digress.)  The point is, all that money flushing through major college athletic departments cuts both ways.  Sure, the big boys have more money with which to entice Sexton’s clients, but they also have more money with which to play defense with Sexton’s clients.  That means if you’re an AD looking for the Next Big Thing, you’re probably dipping into the mid-majors ranks for an existing head coach, or going after an up-and-coming assistant.

2.  This article is a reminder that whatever on-field accomplishments a coach may have on his résumé, being weird in an interview may well count for more.  It’s also a reminder that Maryland passed on Mike Leach to hire Randy Edsall.  You’d think that might lead to some soul-searching about hiring priorities, but this is college football we’re talking about here.

3.  Is there a tool designed to help athletic director’s get their heads out of their asses when it comes to making hiring decisions?  Eh, maybe, but I think it’s easier to point a finger at a search firm than a computer program if things don’t work out.  Accountability can be a tricky beast.