Still carrying that torch

Mark Schlabach, of all people:

By season’s end, more than a few Georgia fans will still be questioning why coach Kirby Smart chose Stetson Bennett over Daniels.

True, or nah?

Kentucky is back?

Mark Stoops has never won an SEC West road game. This fall he'll try to become the first Kentucky head coach to win in Gainesville and Knoxville in the same season. https://t.co/yZk95Z2D5S

— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) August 26, 2022

That’s… a lot of history to overcome.

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The future’s so bright…

You’ll probably want to inject the AJ-C’s Georgia Tech preview directly into your veins.  [HINT:  It’s pretty grim.]

What could go wrong: With 17 transfers and 15 incoming freshmen added to the roster, more than one-third of the scholarship players on the team were not with the team last year. That’s a lot of players who are having to learn new teammates (and vice versa) and also the culture and processes that Collins has tried to instill in his first three seasons. Further, more than half of the coaching staff is new.

Before the season begins, coaches can try to put players into situations where their mettle is tested, and the crucible of the preseason is real. But, let’s say the Jackets open the season with losses to Clemson, Ole Miss and Central Florida to start 1-3. For good measure, imagine the losses aren’t close.

That’s a challenging place for any team, let alone one with so many new players and with a coaching staff with its future at stake. Would team leaders such as Sims and linebacker Ayinde Eley be able to keep the locker room together? If they can’t, things could go downhill quickly.

Honestly, I don’t think it’s gonna take much imagination to think the first three losses won’t be close.

Dan Lanning is teasing us.

Dan Lanning says he won't tell the public who starts and where. Says it doesn't help Oregon in anyway letting that info out. We'll find out starters when they take the field vs Georgia next weekend.

— Matt Prehm (@MattPrehm) August 25, 2022

C’mon, man.  The suspense is killing us.

Envy and jealousy, the Voice edition

Great stuff this morning from Andy Staples ($$):

Though the fans of the team whose games Kelley will call probably disagree quite vehemently, the best words ever uttered following a touchdown in a college football game covered the following topics:

• The thickness of the cushion that sat atop a broken chair.
• The duration of certain condominium rentals.
• Potential damage to the aforementioned condominiums by the renters.

To the uninitiated, this must sound absurd.

But Larry Munson didn’t give a damn what you might consider appropriate commentary following a touchdown 42 years after the fact. Georgia quarterback Buck Belue and receiver Lindsay Scott had just performed a bona fide miracle. Ninety-two yards. To win the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. To save a national title season.

Truer words were never written.