3… 2… 1…

The definite answer on where they should play the Georgia-Florida game will be here momentarily.

Working on column on whether or not the Georgia-Florida (or Florida-Georgia) game should remain in Jacksonville when the current contract expires. Yes or no? And tell me why.

— Tony Barnhart (@MrCFB) July 27, 2022

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Back to Jax

Chip Towers, tossing out some Cocktail Party info:

• Forty-five million dollars – at least – is how much money UGA will receive over the next 10 years if it continues to play the game in Jacksonville under the current agreement it has with the University of Florida and the city of Jacksonville. Nineteen million dollars is how much Georgia’s athletic department will bring in from the game over that span if it were to be played home-and-home, as coach Kirby Smart and a portion of the fan base think it should be.
• Recruits can request and receive tickets from either school and attend the game in Jacksonville. There simply is no opportunity for coaches or school personnel to show off their respective campuses or offer their well-rehearsed sales pitches.
• Both schools have requested waivers from the NCAA to be able to visit or at least interact with prospects in Jacksonville. To date, no such exception has been granted.

I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t come across as a crisis worthy of abandoning a tradition to me.  In fact, it sounds quite a bit like the road map I suggested yesterday for coming up with a resolution satisfactory to many fans, Kirby Smart and the reserve fund.  (Obviously, the NCAA lobbying needs to take a step up in class.)  But what do I know?  As Towers writes,

But, of course, it’s not as simple as that. As one administrator told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “there is no room for logic in this conversation. This is an emotional issue for fans.”

And for coaches.

And for Mike Griffith.

Jimbo’s new playoff math

Feel the excitement!! ($$)

“I think it should be at least 12, but I wouldn’t be against 16 (teams),” Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said last week. “Think of the excitement in college football when there’s 12 or 16 teams getting in the Playoff. When you’ve got four, there’s two or three other teams with a really legit (argument), maybe four in a great year.

“But if you’ve got 16, there are gonna be 30-35 teams that will legitimately have a chance to get into that Playoff. That would make the season mean more.”

If you’re a coach looking for that “CFP” affirmation on your resume, it sure would.  Or Jimmy Sexton, always looking for a new talking point to score with SEC ADs…

Roster update

Kipp Adams counts the comings and goings this offseason and comes up with a current tally of 88 scholarship players on Georgia’s roster.  Breakdown by position looks like this:

• Quarterbacks – 4
• Running backs – 5
• Wide Receiver – 12
• Tight End – 5
• Offensive Tackle – 7
• Offensive Guard – 8
• Center – 3
• Nose Guard – 3
• Defensive Tackle – 5
• Defensive End – 4
• Outside Linebacker (Jack and Sam) – 7
• Inside Linebacker (Mac and Money) – 8
• Cornerback – 7
• Star – 3
• Safety – 4
• Specialists – 3

Remarkably, there are only ten seniors in their numbers, although pretty much all ten will be starters.  But I digress.  There will be roster management to come, in one form or fashion

Piece of cake

Yeah, that Georgia Tech schedule is setting up Coach 404 for a memorable season.

Toughest Power 5 nonconference schedule

Brutal nonconference schedules are never ideal for a coach who is on the so-called hot seat, but that’s exactly what Georgia Tech’s Geoff Collins faces in 2022. The Yellow Jackets, coming off three consecutive three-win seasons under Collins, get No. 21 Ole Miss at home the third week of the season, then turn around and play at UCF the following week. The “fun” part is the annual regular-season finale against No. 3 Georgia, which happens to be in Athens this year.

But wait!  There’s more.

Toughest open to the season

See the above section on the toughest Power 5 nonconference schedule, and not much of an explanation is needed. Georgia Tech opens the season on Monday, Sept. 5 against No. 13 Clemson. Sure, the game is in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but that place will be splattered in orange. After a short week to get ready for Western Carolina at home, the Yellow Jackets move on to No. 21 Ole Miss at home and Group of 5 power UCF on the road to close out September. They remain on the road as the calendar flips to October to face No. 15 Pittsburgh.

On top of that, Low neglects to mention that the Jackets have back to back road games three times on their schedule.  Yet somehow, despite all of that, he doesn’t rate GT as having the toughest overall schedule.  That honor goes to Arkansas, something that is beginning to have an evergreen feel to it.  I guess Geoff can console himself with that the next time he gets a Waffle House coffee.

“If you don’t got it, you definitely don’t got it.”

Regrets?  Matt Corral’s got a few.

When asked about dealing with a quarterback competition, Corral looked back to his college days at Ole Miss.

“I took the easy way out because I felt I could play right away,” he said about his decision to go to Oxford, Miss. “Knowing what I know now and trusting my instincts and trusting my work ethic, I would have went to a place that would have made me compete.”

… That process of learning the playbook is a key reason why Corral isn’t expected to be a serious competitor for the team’s starting job.

The transition between Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin’s system to Panthers’ offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s hasn’t been easy even as Corral’s made good progress during the offseason.

I can’t imagine anyone would want to use that in a negative way against Junior on the recruiting trail.  Well, actually I can.

Say wut?

So, who’s got the bigger loose screw, the media member who, at SEC Media Days, gave Vandy a first place vote to win the SEC East, or the person…

⭐️ 2022 ACC Football Preseason Poll ⭐️

Who do you think wins the Atlantic and Coastal? 🤔

📰: https://t.co/T19nYFEkFv pic.twitter.com/cBjpMrJGPy

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) July 26, 2022

… who gave Georgia Tech a first place vote to win the ACC Coastal?

Somebody needs to have their credentials revoked.

Musical palate cleanser, birfday boy edition

Mick Jagger turned 79 yesterday.  To honor that, let’s give a listen to my favorite cut on the Live at the El Mocambo 1977 album, the Stones’ cover of that hoary chestnut “Route 66”.

The band, razor sharp through the whole show (remarkable, considering the circumstances), is especially on for this song.  The guitar interplay between Ron and Keef is electrifying — I say that as a big Mick Taylor fanboy — and Charlie Watts just drives everything.  Mick’s having a blast, too.