That pot’s not gonna stir itself.

Crisis time! “Missed field goals cranks up kicking competition for Georgia“.

Chip Towers brings the strong AJ-C business model with this:

Georgia has a kicking problem.

That’s a rarity for the Bulldogs, who have one of the greatest place-kicking traditions in college football. And it wasn’t expected to be an issue this season with junior Jack Podlesny coming back after a stellar 2020 season.

But the kicker known as “Hot Pod,” after his legendary predecessor Rodrigo “Hot Rod” Blankenship, has experienced some early hiccups. He has missed two of his first three field-goal attempts, with the failed kicks coming from just 32- and 36-yards. His one successful kick was from 22 yards out. Podlesny also has grazed an upright on one of his nine point-after attempts and been well off center on a few others.

“Well off center”?  Holy shit, Georgia’s doomed.

Read down five paragraphs — assuming you haven’t already dropped the article in panic and run from the room screaming, that is — and you’ll discover that Kirby isn’t quite at DEFCON 1 yet.

For now, Smart remains patient and hopeful that Podlesny can work out the kinks.

“We’re always in competition, as you well know…”

I’m sorry if I scared you with that.

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Too much information

Interesting Q&A from Kirby’s presser yesterday:

When other team about to snap the ball, when is it too late to adjust your defense?
“I don’t think it’s ever too late to adjust, but it’s probably too late for them to hear us. At some point, they’ve got to go get ready to go play the play. That is probably simultaneous with snapping the ball. We always say the hay’s never in the barn at Georgia. You’re always getting ready before the game. We’re going over adjustments and going over things that could happen. At halftime, we’re going over things that can happen. In drives, we’ll pull a guy out and go over something new that they did and say hey, this is how we’ve got to play this. A lot of times you see us doing that it’s if a guy’s not lined up right. We want him to get wider or we might know a tendency the other team has and try to help somebody out with what we think it is because ultimately offenses try to copycat other offenses. If we’ve given up whatever the play might be—an inside zone, this formation, they might try to copy that. We sometimes know the answer to the test better than the players so we’re trying to help them out. A lot of time it doesn’t help, we just confuse them more.”

I can’t help but wonder what Todd Grantham’s answer would sound like.  I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t include the last sentence, even though… well, you know.

“Sometimes there’s nothing left to do but go and drink.”

I guess that’s a natural response when Chip Kelly turns down your job offer and you’re forced to turn to Dan Mullen.

Now, if only Dellenger can get the story on Greg McGarity wanting to replace Richt with Mullen and being told to forget it.

“We’ve got a real problem that’s brewing…”

So, they’re really gonna do it.

Officials are set to pass a 1-year waiver next month to immediately expand the 25-man FB signing limit, sources tell @SINow.

Coaches can replace up to 7 players who leave for the portal. Max signing # would be 32 (25+7).

Our story from last month on this https://t.co/73XooFUM5j

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 14, 2021

It’s a move to help out coaches who aren’t aces at roster management first, and high school recruits second.  But you know and I know who’s really going to benefit from this.  So does Todd Berry.

“We’ve been working on this since June, and it has gone round and round, the subject matter is really important to our coaches right now because, quite honestly, with the one-time transfer and with NIL, all of your players are basically potentially in the portal and not just the ones that are looking for more playing time,” Berry said. “The problem that our coaches were facing was the fact that if I sign 25 players in the December and February signing dates, then that leaves me with no initials to be able to handle the five offensive linemen that I might lose in the summer of next year. So, everybody was feeling like they had to hold a significant number of scholarships back with the idea that I’ve got to hold them back, because I don’t know exactly what I’m going to lose next summer.”

The committee has wanted to find ways to discourage coaches from purging their rosters by just suggesting they will have as many initial counters as they want, no matter how many players transfer. But also wanted to give programs the opportunity to stay at or near the 85-scholarship limit if they do lose a significant number of players to the transfer portal.

Coaches like Saban and Smart have been rubbing their hands thinking about the possibilities once a rule like this goes into effect.  Alabama and Georgia signing 32 players in a class is about as “let the rich get richer” move as college football could allow.  If a player doesn’t show out, I assume he will be encouraged to seek greener pastures.  And if he can’t take the hint…

One change from the plan in that story: Teams can replace *any* 7 players who enter the portal (even if they're dismissed).

Those leaving for NFL or retire can't be replaced.

Key date is December signing period. Players entering the portal after that can be replaced (up to 7).

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 14, 2021

“Even if they’re dismissed”.  It’s an aggressive roster manager’s wet dream.

Oh, yeah — it’s only a one-year, patchwork proposal.

Officials will evaluate things next year & plan to create permanent legislation similar to this temporary solution.

As we discuss in the story, this is being done as a response to (1) transfer surge, (2) falling roster #s & (3) impact on HS recruitinghttps://t.co/73XooFUM5j

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 14, 2021

Meaning, they’ll be right back at the same drawing board in a year’s time.  I mean, what could go wrong?

They never learn.

I’d ask why on earth a Florida player would say something like this…

'We're ready, of course. The big question is are they ready?' #Gators pass rusher Brenton Cox Jr. on Alabama.

— Edgar Thompson (@osgators) September 14, 2021

… but then I remember who his coach is.  At least he only has a few more days before he’ll find out.

Today, in punditry

Say you didn’t watch the Georgia-UAB game without saying you didn’t watch the Georgia-UAB game:

And yes, Georgia has questions at quarterback and still hasn’t stretched the field on offense.

A tree grows in Athens.

It’s kind of cool to take in that Kirby Smart is starting his sixth season as a head coach and is already facing two of his former assistants this season as head coaches in their own right.

But don’t call it a coaching tree.

Tucker, Pittman and Beamer now head Power Five programs — giving Smart a relatively quick and impressive coaching tree — with Beamer’s first South Carolina team set to visit Sanford Stadium this Saturday night.

“I definitely don’t see them as my tree,” Smart said Tuesday night on a Zoom call. “Two of them are my elders, and I learned a lot from them. Mel has a ton of experience and a lot more than I do, and he’s been all over NFL staffs and has been really successful. I was very blessed to have someone of Mel’s nature to help me start this program and build this thing.

“Sam was the same way. He was great for us here, and he’s a great friend, and I don’t take credit for either one of them.”

… Beamer was the first of the three to leave Georgia, doing so after the 2017 season, to become Oklahoma’s tight ends coach.

“Shane went and wanted to learn a different way,” Smart said. “He went to Oklahoma to do that, and he’s part of our tree and part of his dad’s tree and part of Lincoln Riley’s tree. He’s kind of his own person cutting his own cloth.”

Whatever you want to call it is fine.  Let’s just hope that Kirby has the same kind of success against them that Saban has had against his former assistants.

Trolling a troller

In case you didn’t know, Tulane, a founding member of the SEC, is playing The Laner’s team this week.  Here’s one way they’ve chosen to honor the moment.

👀 #RollWave 🌊 pic.twitter.com/Iv0FA3oS7Y

— Tulane University Football (@GreenWaveFB) September 14, 2021

It’s a nicely snarky response to Junior’s somewhat patronizing comment.

If it’s not one thing…

… it’s another.

Georgia defeated UAB 56-7 on Saturday without the services of starting quarterback JT Daniels, who is battling an oblique injury. The fourth-year junior quarterback is making strides in his effort to return to action but the guy responsible for five passing touchdowns in that win over the Blazers, Stetson Bennett IV, is dealing with an injury of his own.

According to Kirby Smart, both quarterbacks are practicing this week but it’s quite possible that neither of them are 100 percent healthy.

“Yeah JT feels much better,” Smart said on Tuesday. “He’s continuing to improve. He’s better now than he was on Saturday. I don’t know that he’s 100 percent. But he’s certainly getting closer to that. Stetson is repping, JT is repping, and Carson (Beck) is repping. Stetson’s actually got some lower-back issue that he strained some stuff, but the’s able to go, but I don’t know that he’s 100 percent. He’s been dinged up since Monday morning, but he went out and practiced. So they’re all three practicing, and I wouldn’t say – I think Carson is 100 percent healthy, but the other two are pushing back.”

That Herbstreit strategy is looking better and better.  Seriously, if there’s a good time to be working out the injury situation, it’s now, with South Carolina and Vanderbilt coming up.  Survive, advance and get healthy (healthier?) for Auburn.

Blazin’ against the Blazers

Brock Bowers’ first touchdown was jaw dropping from a sheer athleticism standpoint.  Tight ends simply aren’t supposed to move that fast.  I’ve seen the replay and as impressive as it looks on the tube, it doesn’t convey the same sense of “holy, shit!” that I got watching that play live.

Then again, this is impressive, too.

#CFB's Top 5 Max Speeds from Ball Carriers: Week 2

1️⃣ UM RB @blake_corum, 22.1 MPH
2️⃣ UGA TE @brockbowers17, 21.9 MPH
3️⃣ ND RB @chris_tyree4, 21.8 MPH
4️⃣ UF QB @GVOaant, 21.0 MPH
5️⃣ MSU WR @JaydenReed5, 20.9 MPH#myRAmaxspeed pic.twitter.com/MIJWoZEJDF

— Recruiting Analytics (@RAanalytics) September 14, 2021