One nooner down, one nooner to go

Could be worse…

Two more kickoff times: UT-Martin at Georgia, 6 p.m. on Sept. 2 on ESPN+ and SEC Network+ and Ball State at Georgia on Sept. 9 at 12 p.m. on SEC Network

— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) May 31, 2023

Nice brag, SEC

Pretty, pretty cool, if you ask me.

#Longhorns and #Sooners expected to renew their contract with the State Fair of Texas, giving the #SEC two of the greatest neutral site rivalry games in college football (along with Georgia-Florida, the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party).https://t.co/T1EZFO0nTS.

— Chip Brown (@ChipBrown247) May 31, 2023

Kudos to Chip for getting the name of the rivalry correct.  Georgia always precedes Florida.

TFW you don’t have time for that traditional shit

Gotta tell you, this off the cuff comment from Smart didn’t sit well with me.

Kirby Smart on the 8- vs. 9-game debate in SEC: "Most overrated conversation there ever was. … It's just not that big of a deal to me."

Still gonna play everybody every four years, no matter the model.

— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) May 30, 2023

Yeah, losing a 100+ year old tradition game is no big deal.

I think even he realized he overshot the mark with that, as he tried to play the nuance game later ($$).

That schedule variance is carrying the day here, even if it’s at the expense of traditional rivalries. Auburn-Georgia, for instance, would be reduced to twice every four years in the eight-game format, which Smart agreed “would be tough.” But not so tough that Smart is using it to publicly lobby for the nine-game format.

“There’s so many people that want that historic rivalry, including me. I grew up with it; it’s one of the best there is,” Smart said. “But it’s one of the costs of progress, bringing two more teams in. One of the costs of scheduling and getting more balance, getting to play everybody.”

In Kirby’s world, the only tradition that matters is making the CFP.  Everything else is maleable.

Georgia offense, you’ve come a long way, baby.

Never thought the day would come when I’d read something like this ($$):

With Roman now gone, the Ravens hope they can take the next step with their new offensive coordinator, Todd Monken, who has roots in the air raid offense. Monken was an offensive coordinator with the Buccaneers and Browns before enjoying a wildly successful two-year stint at the University of Georgia…

There are a lot of concepts from Monken’s Georgia offense that should translate to the Ravens.

Let’s just hope we’re saying the same thing about translating to Bobo’s Georgia offense.

By the way, there’s a ton of good stuff in the linked article, so take a look, if you can.

Measure this

The ultimate point to the scoreboard shade here:

Georgia's Kirby Smart asked about idea Georgia has surpassed Alabama as college football's elite program. "I don't measure our program based on their program. Our success is based on how we perform. I have the utmost respect for Nick & the Alabama program"

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 30, 2023

There’s only room for one two-time defending champ in this sport, boys.

Inside the sausage factory

Expect to hear more of this ($$):

Georgia football players arrested this year for speeding are being punished, coach Kirby Smart said Tuesday, but he declined to announce what that punishment entails.

“Everybody wants to know what the punishment is. Well, the players know what the punishment is,” Smart said while attending SEC spring meetings. “And that’s important for our guys to acknowledge that and understand it. But I want to educate further, I want to make sure they understand.”

He’s right, you know.  I don’t care what the punishment is.  I just care whether it works.

CBS’ farewell tour

They’re not gonna miss Georgia this season, if they can help it.

South Carolina vs. Georgia.

📅: September 16
🕞: 3:30 PM ET
📺: SEC on CBS#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/FzTOtKllL4

— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) May 30, 2023

They chose that over the Florida-Tennessee meteor game, which is their usual staple.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

The next motto?

Kirby Smart with an interesting response when asked about the challenge of dealing with CFB's recruiting calendar while his team is in the middle of a championship run:

"(The SEC coaches) got mad at me in Birmingham and (Mark) Stoops told me, 'There's no crying from the yacht,'…

— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) May 30, 2023

“There’s no crying from the yacht” has a ring to it, admittedly, although I doubt it’s the vibe Kirby’s looking for.

That’s so SEC, SEC.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said expansion is not an active process but he's paying attention to the landscape while staying focused on the 16-team alignment for the SEC.

— David Ubben (@davidubben) May 30, 2023

They haven’t even finished fucking up this round of conference scheduling and they’re already pondering their next mess.  Gotta love it.

That’s entertainment

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz says college players, thru NIL, are making more money than his brother-in-law, who is a pediatrician. “He saves lives.”

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 30, 2023

Anybody wanna tell him who else is making more money than his brother in law?