“It’s all about gratitude.”

NCAA to college athletes:  free college, room and board, and a COA stipend are plenty fair compensation for you.

UL football coach Billy Napier:  hold my beer, assholes.

Starting with the beginning of this school year, all scholarship UL football players will be required to be a minimal level $50 member of the RCAF. The rule will be optional for walk-on members of the squad.

If you’ve wondered where the first football players’ strike might originate…

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UPDATE:  Looks like we have another First Rule of Holes violation.

Napier reappeared in front of the media Friday after this blew up into a national story and said he misspoke the first time around and that the program was voluntary. However, he clearly doubled-down on the donation as a positive gesture as opposed to a completely misguided and inappropriate idea that never should have seen the light of day.

“If they cant afford it or maybe they feel like they’re stretched a little thin, they can easily come see me personally, or if they disagree with it they can see me personally and I’ll pay theirs on my behalf,” Napier said. “This is something I think we need. I think young people need it and I feel like it’s part of my job to teach them those principles and values that go along with our football program. and we’re talking about 50 a year for four years, 200 bucks, $4 and a quarter a month, 17 cents a day to basically say thank you to the people who have contributed to their experience.”

Yep, amateurs being persuaded to help fund the salaries of professionals is a principle and value that goes with a football program.

I never thought it was possible, but it appears that someone is worse at PR than Greg McGarity.

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Your Daily Gator is having another one of those days.

Arjei Henderson will be released from his NLI, source says.

wide receiver who signed with Florida didn't get eligible.

— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) August 16, 2019

Remember, it’s all part of the plan ($$).

Attrition for a freshly signed class can be as unpredictable as it is destructive, so why potentially further complicate the situation by inking prospects who are academic risks?

“Because there’s a chance for them to make it,” Mullen said. “They want to be Gators. They can still go to junior college and qualify there. They can go to prep school depending on their situation with NCAA eligibility numbers. So a lot of it is, it’s a guy you start recruiting a little bit later in his career, and you look, their freshman, sophomore grades, and they really don’t have much of a chance. But all of a sudden, they pick it up as they move on and you say, OK, this guy is going to figure it out and can be a good player. I’ve had success with that with junior college players in the past as a head coach.”

When do we start referring to Gainesville as Starkville East?

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UPDATE:  In case you were wondering about the math…

Oh, I forgot that CJ McWilliams is probably gone for the year with an Achilles injury. So, 74 recruited scholarship players who can go.

— David Wunderlich (@Year2) August 16, 2019

In other words, Mark Richt has lost control over Florida’s roster numbers.

Envy and jealousy, gone but not forgotten edition

From Seth Emerson’s post ($$) about havoc rate at Georgia:

In fact, the last time Georgia finished in the top 5 in the SEC in sacks was 2013, when it was second. That was a very down year for Georgia’s defense, but it was the last for aggressive defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. That’s what Grantham, now Florida’s defensive coordinator, is known for. But it comes with risk. Insert your “third-and-Grantham” comment here.

I would have, too, if Seth hadn’t beaten me to the punch.

And, from Junior and Lulu, there was much rejoicing.

Finally, a decent reason for Vol Nation to attend home games.

Tennessee athletics will serve alcohol at sporting events, beginning with the BYU football game. From AD Phillip Fulmer: pic.twitter.com/tEXfw6wAcZ

— David Ubben (@davidubben) August 16, 2019

You could say that’s the first sensible decision a Tennessee athletic director has made this decade.

Lies, damned lies and Greg McGarity’s math

You know, when I posted something about what the latest USA Today athletics fiscal report disclosed about Georgia’s healthy net, I was tempted to conclude with a snarky comment about how that would probably mean Georgia’s athletic director would run to DawgNation’s Mike Griffith to get his take on the numbers out there.

Welp, lather, rinse, repeat for the win.

Georgia ranked sixth in the nation in total revenue ($176,699,893) while reflecting $133,941,585 in “total expenses.”

However, quick math — and some misleading terminology — could lead to a misperception UGA stowed away more than $40 million in surplus.

Bulldogs athletic director Greg McGarity explained how the category the USA Today refers to as “total expenses” does not include money paid out for construction on the Sanford Stadium West End Zone project along with other sports facilities upgrades.

McGarity revealed that $67 million of the more than $176 million in revenue came from contributions while sharing insight into other numbers.

“This report illustrates that we are doing a good job fundraising, which allows us to pay for the facilities we are building,” McGarity told DawgNation.

“As for what we’re doing with the net number that’s reflected, which is about $44 million, approximately 95 percent is going to pay the contractors and architects — the money is reinvested into our facilities for projects that are in motion.”

McGarity said the USA Today chart also does not include the $4.5 million donation the athletic department gave back to the University of Georgia.

That is akin to saying if you made $100000 last year, spent $5000 on a vacation and another $45000 on a car, you really only made half of what you earned.  Maybe I should try that argument on the IRS next year.

Meanwhile, this hasn’t changed.

Georgia finished 21st in the Directors’ Cup standings, which ranks schools by how they did in every NCAA sport, from big to small. Last year Georgia finished eighth in the same standings. The previous year it was 13th. The last time Georgia finished this low in the rankings was 1997.

I guess Griffith was too busy taking dictation to ask about that.

Something else Saban doesn’t have time for.

It’s always fascinating to watch a cyborg glitch.

Nick Saban: “Well. I’m not a fan. I’ve never been to … what do you call it when you get in the parking lot …

… tailgating.

I’ve never been to one of those.”

— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) August 15, 2019

He’s a coach, so sure, I get that (well, okay, except for not coming up with the word), but one day maybe somebody should invite him to one, so he can find out what he’s been missing all these years.

“Our old friend Regression to the Mean shows up at the party.”

Allow Bill Connelly to explain:

When a team improves by 18 or more adjusted points per game in S&P+, it averages a dip of 4.9 ppg the following year. When a team improves by 9-18 points per game, it sees a dip of two points. On the flip side, when a team regresses by 18 or more points, it averages an uptick of 5.8 points per game the following year. Regressing by 9-18 points? That’s followed by a surge of 3.4 points per game on average.

That being said, Bill finds a couple of factors that may mitigate a return to the middle and allow a team to retain its gains.

That said, this group of improved programs has solid stability in that only one team lost its head coach, and only four lost their starting QBs. Nine return both, which maybe makes for a softer landing?

As I like to say, that question mark is doing a shitload of heavy lifting, but for now, let’s work with Bill.  Here’s one of those nine teams:

Florida Gators
Last year: Improved from 4-7 to 10-3, from 34th to ninth in S&P+, and from 50th to 11th in FPI
2019 projections: Sixth in S&P+ (8.7 wins) and eighth in FPI (8.2 wins)

A lot of Florida’s 2018 improvement came after people had stopped paying attention. Florida’s decades-long win streak over Kentucky ended early in the year, and the Gators lost to Georgia and Missouri by a combined 40 points. But the Gators won their final four games, averaging 45 points and wrecking Florida State and Michigan in the process.

Better yet, they return most of those responsible for that late-season surge. Quarterback Feleipe Franks and an ultra-deep skill corps are back, and last year’s sophomore-heavy defense is now junior-heavy. The offensive line is undergoing a major rebuild, but the continuity is strong everywhere else despite recent attrition in the secondary.

Florida also has history on its side. While the 2010s haven’t been nearly as fun in Gainesville as the 2000s, the Gators have still finished four of the past five seasons in the S&P+ top 25. It’s more likely that 2017 was the outlier, not 2018.

To some extent, I can see where he’s coming from, particularly that last sentence.

I’ve been thinking about my SEC preseason prediction list and I have to admit I can see Florida at a 9 or 10 win level this season, with one huge caveat.  The starting 22 for the Gators will be competitive, but depth is a scary issue for Florida.  Injuries in the secondary or offensive line I suspect will derail that train quickly.

If the Gators are going to defy regression to the mean in 2019, Dan Mullen is going to need some real injury luck.

They can leave their hats on.

GTP old timers can recall why I started the Mumme Poll here.

The inspiration for the Mumme Poll came from the final 2007 regular season Coaches Poll and Tony Barnhart’s post breaking down some of the more curious ballots cast.  (You can read that post here.)  The poll is named in honor of perhaps the most questionable vote of that Coaches Poll – Hal Mumme’s ballot listing Hawaii as the number one team in the country.

The Coaches Poll voting was rife with bias and conflicts of interest.  The best thing the CFP accomplished was putting the coaches vote out to pasture.

That doesn’t mean there’s no longer a problem with bias and conflicts of interest.  It’s just morphed into something equally dumb.

Ten of the 13 members of the College Football Playoff selection committee are recused from voting on certain schools this season, according to a release Thursday from the CFP.

The recusal policy remains the same as it has in the past five years, stating, “A recused member is permitted to answer only factual questions about the institution from which the member is recused but shall not be present during any deliberations regarding that team’s selection or seeding.”

When more than three-quarters of your voters have to excuse themselves from voting, that’s a pretty good sign you’re not doing it right.

Maybe I need to bring the Mumme Poll back.

“The havoc rate is out the roof right now.”

Looking for some preseason happy talk?  J.R. Reed is prepared to dish out the happy talk you need.

By Reed’s estimation, Georgia’s havoc rate — which includes sacks, tackles for a loss, interceptions, pass breakups, and forced fumbles — is higher this preseason than it has been in his four years with the program. The defense is being more disruptive, creating more turnovers, and practicing how they want to play on Saturdays.

And against the best offensive line they’ll see all season!

From your lips to Gawd’s ears, J.R.

Gambling in Casablanca

In perhaps the least surprising development in the state of Alabama ever,

A prosecutor wants to know why a University of Alabama fan who pleaded guilty to poisoning landmark oak trees at Auburn University isn’t making court-ordered restitution payments.

Harvey Updyke was ordered to appear in court Oct. 30 to explain himself, Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes told WRBL-TV.

Updyke served more than 70 days in jail in 2013 and was ordered to pay about $800,000 in restitution after admitting to poisoning trees at Toomer’s Corner in Auburn. Fans traditionally rolled the trees with toilet paper after a win, but the original oaks died after being doused with herbicide.

Updyke has paid less than $5,000 and often misses payments, Hughes said.

”We have been keeping an eye on his payments or more specifically, his non-payment, and he has made exactly two payments for a total of $200 in the past year…”