As if the 2020 college football season isn’t already shambolic enough…
Thanksgiving weekend? I can’t wait to hear Bill Hancock explain how the selection committee feels about 3-0 Ohio State’s chances to make the semifinals.
And, no, the ACC, Big 12 and SEC ain’t movin’ to Thanksgiving weekend.
Filed under Big Ten Football
Chip Towers thinks it might be so.
Don’t be surprised if Blaylock’s loss will mean even more playing time for James Cook in the slot this season. Cook, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound junior, remains a running back primarily. But he was already getting enough snaps at flanker over the summer and into camp this month to be considered second-team there. Blaylock’s loss just solidifies that.
Todd Monken’s got enough mileage under his belt to know how to adjust on the fly. And Cook’s got enough talent to be useful in that regard.
Filed under Georgia Football, Strategery And Mechanics
From Seth Emerson’s Mailbag ($$):
This year Georgia has 10 of the nation’s top 60 recruits in the 247Composite — an amazing stat in itself — and even more amazing, not only are none of them guaranteed a starting spot, none is really a favorite right now.
But something something Dan Mullen’s arguably the best game day coach in the SEC something something.
Sheesh. It’s almost like they’re telling us the Jimmies and Joes don’t matter anymore.
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UPDATE:
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UPDATE #2: It’s not just a one-time deal with Carter, evidently.
Jalen Carter, who was ranked as the No. 10 player in the nation by the 247Sports Composite, has drawn comparisons to former Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown “and early indications out of Athens is he is every bit as good as advertised. I would expect him to play meaningful minutes in his freshman year for the Bulldogs,” says Dawgs247 insider Rusty Mansell.
That’s saying something, not just about Carter, but just how deep the Bulldogs’ defense is this season. Rumblings out of Athens has some in the SEC believing this unit will be the best defense in the country this fall.
Filed under Georgia Football, Recruiting
… but you can’t make him drink is the old expression. Unfortunately, it won’t be horses attending football games.
When the Football Bowl Subdivision kicks off its season one week from now, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves plans to be in Hattiesburg, Miss. — watching Southern Miss face South Alabama from a seat in M.M. Roberts Stadium.
There is little doubt in Reeves’ mind that it is safe to play college football amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and little question about the sport’s value to broader society.
“It’s critically important to the mental health and the psyche of all Mississippians, that we have college football,” Reeves told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday…
In Mississippi, where pre-game revelry at The Grove in Oxford and The Junction in Starkville have become synonymous with college football gamedays, Reeves even went so far as to prohibit tailgating on a statewide level in an executive order, while also capping stadium attendance at 25%.
“We’ve gotten so good at (tailgating) now that, in my opinion, it lends itself the potential to be a high-risk environment for the spread of this virus,” Reeves said.
You can ban tailgates. You can plan down to the nth detail, like Georgia’s Josh Brooks.
Brooks said Georgia’s athletic department first started working on its plan for Sanford Stadium in late April and early May, using regulations from local and state authorities — and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — as a guide.
At the crux of the school’s plan, and most others, is the concept of social distancing — creating at least six feet of separation between fans whenever possible. This starts with seating arrangements, in which blocks of fans are buffered from one another in all directions by empty seats. The same concept applies at stadium entry points, where metal detectors are spaced out, and on the concourse, where a full complement of concession stands will be available for a fraction of the stadium’s normal fans.
Brooks said the school never set out to accommodate a certain number of fans, instead working backwards from what social-distancing measures would allow. Athletic department staffers even mapped out individual sections of the stadium by hand, he said.
In the end, though, it still comes down to hoping fans do the right thing.
In many instances, however, officials recognize it comes down to trust. At the end of a game, the school can open more gates in an attempt to avoid bottlenecking at an exit — but it is ultimately up to fans to utilize them…
As the mayor of Athens-Clarke County in Georgia, Kelly Girtz understands what Bulldogs football means to the community. But he also said there’s “absolutely some uneasiness” on his part about having 23,000 fans at Sanford Stadium for Georgia’s home opener on Oct. 3 — protocols or not.
Girtz said he worries about the possibility that crowds at football games could create a “network” of transmission between SEC cities, elevating the risks of spreading COVID-19 in all of their towns, collectively. He worries about the peripheral activities that come with football — the parties, the bar outings, the fans traveling in from neighboring counties or states to attend a game. And he worries about the burden that college football games with fans could put on first responders in Athens.
Good luck with that. Hope’s been doing a bang up job so far with college football.
Filed under College Football, Georgia Football, The Body Is A Temple
I’m genuinely curious what y’all think of this video the football program put out yesterday.
Admirable? Cynical? Stick to sports? What?
Any of you feel strongly enough about it to walk away from Georgia football?
How would you feel if the team took a page out of the Kentucky football players’ book?
Filed under Georgia Football, Political Wankery
“If they opt out because of the pandemic, then they opt into the pandemic.” Wut?
Filed under Wit And Wisdom From The Hat
Who the hell got ahold of Mike Leach’s cellphone?
Filed under Mike Leach. Yar!
Shot.
“While Coach Lou Holtz is a former coach at Notre Dame, his use of the University’s name at the Republican National Convention must not be taken to imply that the University endorses his views, any candidate or any political party. Moreover, we Catholics should remind ourselves that while we may judge the objective moral quality of another’s actions, we must never question the sincerity of another’s faith, which is due to the mysterious working of grace in that person’s heart. In this fractious time, let us remember that our highest calling is to love.”
Now, if only Mark May would weigh in.
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