George Pickens, a play in three acts

Take a look at these three stats, and tell me what you see.

The SEC targets with the most first down receptions entering Week 9

1. J. Ausbon 28
2. J. Jefferson 27
3. J. Jeudy 24
3. E. Moore 24
5. K. Pitts 18
6. D. Smith 17
6. B. Edwards 17
6. Q. Davis 17
6. G. Pickens 17
10. J. Jennings 16https://t.co/nKm7kLOhH9

— SEC StatCat (@SEC_StatCat) October 25, 2019

SEC targets with the highest percentage of catches that result in a first down – min 20 tgts

1. T. Burks 83.3%
1. D. Drummond 83.3%
3. G. Pickens 70.8%
4. T. Grimes 66.7%
4. A. Wagner 66.7%
4. J. Palmer 66.7%
7. J. Ausbon 65.1%
8. A. Smith 64.3%https://t.co/nKm7kLOhH9

— SEC StatCat (@SEC_StatCat) October 25, 2019

SEC receivers with the highest/lowest percentage of their yards coming after the catch – min 20 tgts

Low
1. G. Pickens 17%
2. J. Ausbon 17.3%
3. J. Mingo 19.4%
4. T. Marshall 21.1%

High
1. E. Stove 84.3%
2. J. Waddle 74%
3. C. Johnson 71.5%
4. J. Ali 70.7%

SEC average is 44.6%

— SEC StatCat (@SEC_StatCat) October 25, 2019

Here’s what I glean from them:  the Dawgs aren’t throwing much to pick up first downs, but when they do, Pickens is very productive at converting them.  Beyond that, generally speaking, his receptions are static; he makes the catch, but rarely gets any further.

Whether that’s the result of play design (sideline throws, for example), situations, chemistry with Fromm or inexperience, I don’t know, although I suspect a combination of all that is likely the best explanation.  The thing is, he’s Georgia’s leading receiver and he needs to be more productive.

Another bye week project for Smart’s honey do list, in other words.

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Today’s semi-meteor game

If you haven’t been paying attention — and, really, who could blame you for that? — the South Carolina-Tennessee series has been amazingly close for years now.

The Gamecocks have won the past three series meetings by a combined 12 points, the Vols won the three before that by a combined eight points and the matchup has not been decided by more than two touchdowns since 2009.

Whatever the reason for that, I don’t think it’s this:

“This matchup is always close and always a nail-biter, because they’re a good team, we’re a good team and good teams always fight it out until the very end,” Tennessee senior outside linebacker Darrell Taylor said.

Yeah, I’m not going with that, Darrell.  Sorry.

And how about this factoid?

Will Muschamp has never lost to Tennessee as a head coach, going 4-0 at Florida prior to winning the past three with the Gamecocks.

Between that and the Vanderbilt streak, these have definitely been the glory years for Vol football.  Today’s meeting has all the makings of a classic.

This should end well.

I know I’ve been met with varying degrees of skepticism and frustration for daring to suggest that the NCAA would be wise to head various legislatures off at the pass with regard to all the bills regarding NIL rights for college athletes by attempting to negotiate a compromise instead of following its usual path of maximal opposition.

Why do so?  Well, to start with, there’s the obvious legal threat if the organization continues to dig in its heels.

In the end, the NCAA’s sustained efforts to maintain rules barring athlete endorsement deals is a foolish move that will back the trade association into a legal corner with irreversible damages. NCAA rules, which are a product of the agreement among member colleges, are reasonably subject to antitrust challenge. If the NCAA were to truly attempt to ban member colleges for complying with state laws that require colleges to allow athletes to engage in free-market transactions, the NCAA would very likely be found to have engaged in an illegal conspiracy to restrain.

Beyond that, there may be a bigger threat — state legislatures could up the ante.

Moreover, even leaving aside the antitrust risk, if the NCAA does not reform its athlete endorsement rules, certain states may pass laws to require member colleges to leave the NCAA, much as a New Jersey legislator seems to propose in the latest iteration of that state’s bill.

If several states make it a violation of their own laws to remain a member of a trade association that concertedly denies athletes the right to control their own likenesses, the NCAA could reasonably lose its monopoly power over the college sports industry as new legislation is enacted.

It would be both ironic and fitting if Mark Emmert’s stubborn dumbassery led to the dismantling of the organization he leads.

Wanting it all when you can’t have it

I don’t know if he got stiffed on a hotel bill down there once, or has a piece of a bar in Athens, but Mike Griffith sure sounds peeved about Georgia’s inevitable decision to take the money Jacksonville offered.

If the Florida-Georgia football rivalry continues to be played in Jacksonville beyond 2021, one unintended consequence will be watered-down schedules at Sanford Stadium for several years.

Georgia plays home-and-home series with other SEC East Division teams, such as Vanderbilt, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and South Carolina. The Bulldogs’ annual West Division opponent, Auburn, also plays home-and-home.

But the UGA administration has painted themselves into a corner of sorts with their  non-conference scheduling…

Problem is, Mikey kinda buries the lede.

… UGA has contracts in place to play high-profile teams in Atlanta — not Athens — in coming seasons.

Georgia’s games in Atlanta are set for 2020 against Virginia, 2022 (Oregon) and 2024 (Clemson).

If you can play in Atlanta in 2020 and 2022, you sure could have chosen to schedule a home-and-home series instead.  Problem is, that doesn’t pay as well as the Kickoff Classic.

I know this is a hard concept for some to grasp, but if you want to gripe about the home schedule, don’t blame those of us who enjoy the tradition of the Cocktail Party, blame the driver of everything that runs college football.  Not that anyone’s gonna listen…

Order me one of them tasty malt beverages.

To no one’s surprise, SEC beer sales have proven popular and profitable.

In Athens, we’d rather drink to our principles… or at least save them for those who can afford them.