They got nothin’.

As a follow up to the previous post, check out two quotes from Washington State’s President Kirk Schulz.

“What the SEC has done is unify the other conferences in a way that nothing else could have, in terms of working together,” Schulz told the Hotline.

“A lot of people now are very concerned about the predatory nature of the SEC. More presidents are talking. There’s a lot of back and forth.”

Unified!  Predatory!  Heavy shit, but what exactly does it call for?

“After the Texas and Oklahoma news, there was some pushback and some thought that maybe we don’t need to expand. But the CFP still needs to expand to create more opportunities for more teams. There is more opportunity for Pac-12 schools with expansion with 12 teams than with four. Does it need tweaking? Perhaps. But I think there’s broad consensus that we need to move forward.

“I haven’t heard anyone in the Pac-12 footprint who thinks we shouldn’t expand. Look at small-market schools like Washington State and that year we had with Gardner Minshew. What’s our best shot to take advantage of a magical year like that? It’s an expanded playoff.”

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

In passing, here’s one last point:

It’s probably not said enough, but if Texas knocks on any conference commissioner’s door, they open it. https://t.co/cuzadecAns

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 4, 2021

Of course they do.

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TFW cutting off your nose to spite your face is a business plan

Stewart Mandel ($$) notes how counterproductive the grudge the other P5 kids have against Greg Sankey is:

… In particular, the Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC — none of which were on the four-person working group that spent two years secretly devising the 12-team proposal — feel like Greg Sankey (who did serve on that group) pulled a fast one on them, and so if nothing else, they want to hit pause on the process. It now seems overly optimistic that they’d rubber stamp the thing at the next CFP meetings on Sept. 28.

The question is, would they only be hurting themselves to delay it? The Pac-12 in particular really shouldn’t wait another five years for Playoff expansion to kick in. The league’s reputation has suffered immensely from having missed the last four editions; what if that drought continues? The ACC is always one 9-3 Clemson season away from going MIA itself. And of course, you’d think the Big 12 would support it because if Oklahoma and Texas do manage to leave before 2025, the leftovers are really going to need those six automatic berths.

That almost makes me root for an all Big Ten-SEC edition of the CFP.

On a more serious note, let’s say these other conferences really intend to sulk badly enough to risk costing themselves prestige and money.  Is there any possibility those feelings would carry over to the selection committee’s deliberations?  Maybe there are some hats you can’t leave at the door.

“I’m here because you asked me to come in…”

Can’t say that I’m a huge Joey Galloway fan, but, damn, if he doesn’t nail the worthlessness of preseason rankings here:

A reminder why we don’t start the Mumme Poll until six weeks of football are in the books.

JT Daniels: point/counter point

Bill Connelly goes all “Jane, you ignorant slut” … on himself ($$):

On one hand, Daniels’ torched three sketchy defenses but made mistakes against an awesome Cincinnati defense; he lost go-to receiver George Pickens to a spring knee injury, too, and it’s uncertain when or whether the junior will play this season.

On the other hand, (A) Daniels’ excellent Total QBR was opponent-adjusted, and (B) he will still have Kearis Jackson, Jermaine Burton and Dominick Blaylock (injured in 2020) at his disposal, plus two sophomore TEs (Darnell Washington and LSU transfer Arik Gilbert) with otherworldly potential. Add in one of the best RB rooms in the country (led by Zamir White), and you’ve got a ridiculously high ceiling.

You know, we’ll probably be happy if Daniels lands somewhere in the middle.  (Which is not to say I’m not greedy for more, Monken!)

Is it the Year of Two Quarterbacks in the SEC?

Probably not, but…

Maybe LSU losing Brennan isn’t a death knell? Similar sample size Max Johnson had a higher EPA/Play. There is a clear cut returning QB top tier in the SEC though with JT Daniels and Matt Corral. pic.twitter.com/IQrs3ZQoWw

— Sam Moss (@howlmoss) August 4, 2021

When Stetson Bennett is firmly ensconced in the second tier of a performance metric, that doesn’t exactly shriek quality.

By the way, about EPA…

Of the 272 FBS vs FBS games in 2020, the team that had:

• more total EPA won 81.99% of the time.
• more total yards won 76.4% of the time.
• better avg starting field position won 48.9% of the time.
• more turnovers won 35.7% of the time.

— parker (@statsowar) August 3, 2021

And let’s remember what the most important position on the field is these days.

Emmert’s way of saying you have too much money

I mean, what can you say?

If approved, this would mean that plaintiffs' lawyers in the O'Bannon and Alston cases will have come away with a combined total of $79 million in fees and costs, some of which was offset by insurance the NCAA carried https://t.co/ndKpeP8b5f

— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) August 4, 2021

You spend close to $80 million to have somebody blow up your business model, and then, to top that…

ESPN pays the NCAA around $34 million for women’s hoops AND 28 other championships. The report says WBB could be worth more than $100 million on its own.

The media rights deals and CBS/Turner ties perpetuating gender inequity is really notable. pic.twitter.com/yhAadxbdwV

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) August 3, 2021

Just giving it away.  Might as well stack a big ol’ bunch of money in a pile and set fire to it.

Mark Richt Field PSA

Just a heads up for those of you contemplating going to the Tech game this year.  Single game tickets are on sale at the Georgia Tech website — and there are some pretty good seats available, to boot.

That’s right, it’s a straight shot deal, not part of a three-pack, or any other ways they’ve sucked us in to buying tickets we don’t want.  Which probably says something about the current state of enthusiasm on the Flats.

(h/t CGKIV)

Musical palate cleanser, no hit wonders edition

The Remains were your classic ’60s American garage band, with a crazy resume that ended with a twist.

The resume:

The Remains formed in 1964 at Boston University, where all four members were first-year students living in the same dorm in Kenmore Square. Singer-guitarist Barry Tashian and keyboardist Bill Briggs were from Westport, Connecticut, drummer Chip Damiani from Wolcott, Connecticut, and bassist Vern Miller from Livingston, New Jersey. They began playing r&b and rock’n’roll covers, as well as some Tashian originals, at The Rathskeller, a tavern across the square from their dorm. Soon, fans were lining up from Kenmore Square to Fenway Park to see them, and management had to clear out a disused basement to accommodate the crowds.^[1]

The band became a popular live act throughout New England and appeared on the CBS TV program The Ed Sullivan Christmas Show of 1965. After signing with Epic Records, they enjoyed local hits with a catchy, swinging Tashian original, “Why Do I Cry”, and their hard-driving version of the Bo Diddley/Willie Dixon classic “Diddy Wah Diddy“.^[2] In 1965, the Remains relocated to New York City—where they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show—and then, after about a year, moved on to California.^[2] They recorded an album, The Remains, appeared on NBC TV’s ‘Hullabaloo‘, and released the soulful, hard-rocking single “Don’t Look Back”.^[3]

In 1966 came the opportunity which might have broken the band nationally, but proved instead to be their last hurrah: they were offered a three-week stint as an opening act for the Beatles, on what would turn out to be the Fab Four’s final tour.

So, in less than two years, they formed, became a regional fave, signed with a national label, appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and opened for The Beatles.  Impressive, no?  So why haven’t you heard of them?

The band broke up in late 1966, and Epic released their self-titled debut album to little fanfare.

That’s it — they broke up and then their record was released.  A truly American success story.

Here’s their appearance on the Sullivan show.

And this is their first single, probably my favorite tune of theirs:

A garagier, live version of “Why Do I Cry”, in case you’re interested:

(FWIW, the only reason I know about ’em is because they had a song on Nuggets.)