Was Derion Kendrick any good?

Derion Kendrick passer rating allowed in 2021: 38.6

Passer rating throwing the ball into the ground every play: 39.6 pic.twitter.com/vcXzN7zfu7

— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) March 12, 2022

Well, when you put it like that…

Inflation and the price of sausage

I don’t doubt the sincerity of those of you who are strongly opposed to player compensation.  What I do doubt at times, though, is the willingness to take stock of how much money is sloshing around P5 college sports these days.  It’s crazy.  Take this example:

Ever since sports betting has been legalized in many states throughout the U.S., the SEC has been one of the industry’s largest beneficiaries, according to commissioner Greg Sankey.

Sankey, in a recent appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, explained that the SEC has amassed an incredible amount of attention through the sports gambling space, with the total amount wagered on conference games turning in an incredible number.

“We’ve actually looked through statistics of what’s been wagered on Southeastern Conference games and it’s enormous,” Sankey said. “Nearly $2 billion through the fall.”

That number, of course, would exclude the greater part of SEC basketball season, as Finebaum said that the near-$2 billion total was only what was measured through the fall season.

Nearly $2 billion!  In a third of a year!  And that’s a mere revenue sideline for schools (or at least it is presently).  Sheesh.

It’s one thing to believe that players in the ’70s and ’80s were happy with a scholarship and free room and board.  That was an era when coaches routinely were paid in the five figures and athletic programs made do on a lot less revenue.  It’s another to think that players’ attitudes don’t change in the face of a revenue tsunami.  Clearly, coaches, administrators, college presidents and conference commissioners have all changed with the times.  “The times” in this case being the outsized emphasis we as a society put on the price of entertainment.

Ah, if only college athletes were as big amateurism romantics as some college fans are…

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TFW you’re no longer a football town

Gainesville, Florida.

Hey, don’t take my word for it.

I think you know how to reply in the comments.

(h/t Morris Day)

Is it possible we undervalued Jordan Davis?

I mean, sure,

He obviously doesn’t cover receivers. Davis only has 16 total quarterback pressures on 382 career pass-rush snaps and has played just 495 of a possible 1,616 defensive snaps over the past two seasons.

But…

The value of Jordan Davis @jordanxdavis99:

If he was on the field on early downs, the offense was forced into a 3rd down on 73% of those occasions (107/147).

AVG distance to go: 5.0 yards@DianteLeeFB @PFF_Eric @PFF_Anthony @PFF_George https://t.co/XO4SM4xHbh pic.twitter.com/HCMa7r7AnJ

— Brent Rollins (@BrentRollinsPhD) March 12, 2022

Not to mention, this:

… the Bulldogs had six or fewer defenders in the box on non-goal-line first or second down plays 67 percent of the time, and still had the highest run defense grade in the Power 5 (91.4) on early downs.

I suspect we’re gonna miss him, and I say that knowing Jalen Carter is a friggin’ stud.

Always follow the money.

You probably thought I was kidding the other day when I said “I’m really looking forward to the day when Jimmy Sexton takes on his first recruit as a client” — hell, I thought I was kidding — but I should have known better ($$).

How much has the game changed? CAA agent Jimmy Sexton, who runs CAA’s football division along with its coaching division, told ESPN that the last year has been seismic.

“From the college side, this is clearly the biggest time of change I’ve ever seen in 35 years in the business,” Sexton said. “A lot of times, change is good.”

If you’re Jimmy Sexton dealing with SEC ADs, when isn’t change good?

Do I really even need to say this?

Sure, it’s Mark Bradley, but this appears to be a fairly common take about Georgia’s hire of Mike White:

Here’s the thing, though: I can’t imagine many Gators fans are crushed he’s leaving. I wouldn’t take that as the greatest of signs.

Allow me to retort.  Since when do I give a shit what Florida fans think about anything?  A year ago, they all thought Dan Mullen was a better coach than Kirby Smart.  Look where that got them.

#FTMF

Musical palate cleanser, cross-cultural edition

How ’bout a little Dwight Yoakam covering the Clash, country-style?

What’s so great about this is that it all works much better in reality than it does in the abstract.