Here’s almost eight minutes on the chance that either Florida or Tennessee wins the SEC East this season:
Daily Archives: March 23, 2020
The spirit was willing, but…
About that whole “Georgia didn’t throw the ball deep in 2019” thing:
Filed under Georgia Football, Strategery And Mechanics
Turning of the Tide
Well, if there’s anything to take from this preseason look at Alabama, it’s that as stout as Saban’s defense looks at linebacker, there are some real holes to fill in the secondary.
Will Georgia’s passing game be able to take advantage?
Filed under Alabama
Your Daily Gator don’t stop believin’.
Brad Crawford, who writes for the Florida Sports247 site, takes a preseason ninth-place ranking for the Gators and runs with it.
9. Florida Gators
NCAA.com: “Yes, the Gators have to solve rival Georgia. But Florida has gone 10-3 and 11-2 in Dan Mullen’s first two seasons, including a pair of New Year’s Six wins.”
247Sports take: We’re on the Florida bandwagon too, picking the Gators as our surprise final four team next season largely due to Kyle Trask’s return as one of the SEC’s top-level signal callers. For the first time in years, the Gators don’t have to worry about protection being an issue with a front that should be able to dominate at the point of attack. Mullen has the program moving in a noteworthy direction and the next huge leap comes in 2020.
If Trask doesn’t win the Heisman, it’ll likely be because Florida’s offensive line does as a group.
Filed under Gators, Gators...
All dressed up and nowhere to go
Another “the math doesn’t work” quote:
The really dark cloud on the horizon is, what happens if impact of the coronavirus continues into August and beyond, impacting college football — the lifeblood of the FBS conferences?
All those new or upgraded stadiums and offices from the last decade — the facilities arms race — are built upon revenue projections related to football media contracts and attendance projections.
“I can’t comprehend it, especially looking at our place where you have facilities built specifically for housing these large gatherings, 100,000-plus people,” Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork said in a recent interview, “and you have financing related to that based on ticket sales and advertising and suite sales and donations.
“So the whole model rises and falls based on football. If there’s no spectators maybe we can play, but if there’s no spectators, the economics just don’t work. That’s what we have to focus on is that long-term picture.”
ZOMG! Think of the waterfalls, people! Talk about your first-world problems.
On the bright side, schools that have been using student fees to buy football tickets to meet NCAA attendance requirements are off the hook for the time being.
(h/t)
Filed under College Football
The lines, they are a-changin’.
Wow, check out how the early SEC lines have moved in just a week or so.
The only game on that list in which LSU isn’t a favorite is against Florida.
Florida is a 1.5-point dog against Georgia.
Alabama is a touchdown favorite hosting Georgia.
Filed under SEC Football, What's Bet In Vegas Stays In Vegas
They just can’t help themselves.
Shot.
Spring practice around college football has been heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic across the country.
While that has been a big inconvenience to coaches and players, they at least haven’t had their entire season canceled like athletes participating in NCAA spring sports. However, with estimates that it could take months to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, what would happen if football were put on ice just like everything else?
Financially speaking, some athletic directors would say it would be dire for the entire college system.
“For right now, it’s all manageable,” Florida AD Scott Stricklin told the Orlando Sentinel, “but the question your mind goes to really quickly is if this lasts into another school year. From a financial standpoint, if we’re not playing football games in the fall, it will shake the foundation of college athletics. As everyone knows, football pays for the enterprise to go forward.”
Auburn athletics may be on hold due to the coronavirus but the school is moving forward on a new football facility.
Speaking to reporters late last week, Tigers athletic director Allen Greene confirmed that plans will still be progressing on putting shovels in the ground on a brand new football palace on the plains.
“Right now we are full steam ahead on the football facility,” Greene said Friday, according to AL.com. “Obviously, as things change on our campus and in our country and around the world, we will audible as we see fit, but we have been given the directive to move forward full steam ahead.”
“Audible”. Greene thinks using a football expression makes him sound more competent. All he’s really proving is that the facilities race never sleeps, even during a pandemic.
Filed under It's Just Bidness
“Just because a run works in Game 1 does not mean it will work in Game 10.”
This one’s for the “but, the receivers” crowd.
Dayne: Situational football is what separates a good coach from a good planner. Traditional football logic says one thing, analytics say another. We are still relatively young in the analytics movement and I don’t think we often see coaches make bold decisions in important moments simply because the numbers say so. Here are some of the situations where many coaches should rethink what they normally do.
Traditional RB stats can lie
This was the first game of the season when Georgia’s halfhearted attempt at the option read was still enough to make defenders stutter. As the season progressed and there was little willingness for the quarterback to keep the football, defenses lost respect and focused on the running back.
Coley did get more creative with his playcalling late in the season when it was clear that Georgia’s offense was stalling out. But to keep relying on a play as a staple when it was clear that defensive coordinators no longer respected the threat was… well, a good example of why the offense was stalling out.
Filed under Georgia Football, Strategery And Mechanics
Science
Guys, I think we’ve figured out a way to have a spring game.
Filed under The Body Is A Temple
Get The Picture 