Sea of orange

For the love of Gawd, why does this matchup exist?

Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game announces Syracuse and Tennessee will play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2025.

— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) July 15, 2021

The only reason I can think of to have any interest in that game will be to get our first look at Heupel’s replacement.

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They’re still in Kansas, Toto.

I don’t know if this is karma, or what.

We were just told that Kansas had an issue with their private jet so Lance Leipold, Kwamie Lassiter and Kenny Logan won’t be here at Big 12 Media Days.

— Gabe Ikard (@GabeIkard) July 15, 2021

On the other hand, it does save them from being asked embarrassing questions about something they had nothing to do with.

So, what’s in a rivalry?

A reader (thanks, bwaredogs) emailed me a link to a site, Know Rivalry, that is researching college rivalries.

Why study rivalry?

Intergroup relations have profound psychological, cultural and commerce effects on society. To realize the potential of these effects for the common good, we must better understand the various antecedents and consequences of rivalries.

Also, developing and learning research methods for knowledge creation and empirical testing impacts decision-making and societal progress. This benefits everyone involved, including our students as they prepare for their careers.

Finally, it’s fun! We get to learn about fans, history, and sports. Further, the work creates a public engagement forum for our universities, thereby supporting their broad educational mission.

That may sound a little dry, but there’s a fun survey you can take that attempts to measure your feelings about your team’s rivals.

Georgia’s top three, as measured by the site, are Florida, Auburn and Georgia Tech.  There are a few graphs quantifying aspects of that, and this one’s my favorite for what are obvious reasons:

I’m a little surprised Auburn leads there, but it’s not like there are any wrong answers.

Anyway, do a little exploring and talk about rivalries (and what the site says about them) in the comments.

“As student athletes, you’re also rolling the dice on whether you’re going to participate.”

Bob Bowlsby delivered some choice remarks at yesterday’s Big 12 media days about COVID and vaccination.

Across the Big 12, most schools’ football teams are at least at a 75% vaccination level, Bowlsby told Sports Illustrated. As is the case in most if not all other conferences, the Big 12 is treating those unvaccinated differently from those who have had the shot. Unvaccinated players are still being tested regularly. That will continue through the season, Bowlsby says. Across the NCAA, players choosing not to get vaccinated will find themselves subject to contact tracing and quarantine rules, the biggest disrupters of 2020.

And there’s a big question:  how much disruption are we talking about?

In many conferences and at the NCAA governance level, COVID-19 protocols for the upcoming season are still being examined. The Big 12 hasn’t decided yet whether the league will employ roster limits or whether it will deem a canceled game a no-contest or a forfeit. Last fall, as the virus ravaged many teams, a program could cancel a game if too many players were not available, resulting in a no-contest.

At the NCAA level, the Division I Football Oversight Committee is exploring such issues, says West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons, but the group is waiting to make firm decisions.

“Some teams, in order to play, are going to have to be fully vaccinated because the university requires it, and others won’t have very many vaccinated,” says Todd Berry, the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, who sits on the Oversight Committee. “Maybe it needs to be a forfeiture. No-contest could allow for some gamesmanship.”

Maybe the difference between a no-contest and a forfeiture wouldn’t have made any difference to last year’s Vanderbilt team, but if you’re someone fighting for bowl eligibility or a divisional title in 2021, it might make a big damned difference.  Are the conferences and/or the NCAA willing to push things that far?

Thursday morning buffet

Sample the wares, peeps.

• Graham is reporting that College Gameday will head to Charlotte for Georgia’s opener.  Really, it would have been a surprise had it been announced it was going elsewhere.
• I’m old enough to remember when UCF said they’d play a 2-for-1 with Florida over their dead body.
• The best play in football is… (h/t Josh)
• Brent Venables is making serious bank.
• Georgia is sending two players to next week’s SEC Media Days, JT Daniels and Jordan Davis.  What’s the over/under on the number of times Daniels gets asked why he didn’t start sooner last season?
• “Is it now or never for Georgia?”  Narrative, if you’ve lost Mr. Conventional Wisdom…
• Take this for what it’s worth, a post from someone attending a luncheon yesterday at which Coach Smart spoke about the team.
• Geoff Collins, the college football director of player personnel pioneer.

A-portaling we shall go, a-portaling we shall go…

I’m not sure what I enjoy the most about Sports247’s transfer portal rankings…

… that Georgia has three of the top ten incoming, or that Tennessee has three of the top ten departures.

Okay, I kid a little bit there, but I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet how much damage Fulmer’s stint as athletic director did to the football program there.  But by the end of this season, it just may.

Somebody gets it.

Gary Patterson notes NIL likely helps TCU and he intends to help players make the most of it.

Says Ar'Darius Washington probably would have stuck at TCU another year if he could have used NIL to make some money for his family rather than taking a shot in the Draft.

— Asst to the Minister of Culture (@Ian_A_Boyd) July 14, 2021

Of all the unforeseen NIL consequences, this — players choosing to remain in school for another season instead of leaving early for the NFL draft — is the one I’m most curious to track over the next five years.  Will it happen and will the coaches who choose to embrace it benefit the most?