The proverbial kiss of death?

His-toe-ree.

Godspeed Georgia: 17 of last 19 AP preseason No. 1 ranked teams failed to win national title. Only Alabama in 2017 & USC in 2004 overcame the preseason No. 1 jinx. Georgia also trying to become 1st 3-peat champion since Minnesota (1934-36)

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 14, 2023

Can’t wait to find out how Kirby incorporates this into his motivational program.

TFW time’s a wastin’

Jeez, what’s left of the Pac-12’s body is still warm…

https://twitter.com/FOS/status/1690902636323606528

Well, the December weather’s certainly nicer.  But, if true, that’s a helluva kick in the wallet to those fans following a team playing in that championship game and then going on to the CFP.  Then again, in certain quarters that’s probably seen as a feature, not a bug.

***********************************************************************

UPDATE:  I see the tweet has been removed, so apparently it’s either wrong or premature.  Good news for the wallets of Michigan and Ohio State fans, I guess.

An upsetting stat

This (“How Often Do Underdogs Win Outright?”) seems like the kind of thing Phil Steele would obsess over.

Naturally there are different levels of underdogs and if you know me by now, you know that I will head to my computer and get all the details. There has been a lot of college football played since 1997, 26-years’ worth of games.

26 years?  Lawdy.  Here’s his breakdown:

Basically, if you’re more than a two-touchdown favorite, the odds are strongly in your favor that you’re walking off the field with a win.  And those odds occur about 40% of the time.

The man never quits.

Steve Spurrier has a negative opinion about Georgia’s schedule, surprise, surprise.

While recently appearing on Open Mike with Mike Bianchi, Spurrier discussed college football expansion, his stance on if he thinks Florida State should join the SEC, and scheduling within the conference.

In a characteristic manner, Spurrier noted that a mere two schools in the SEC are actually scheduling multiple nonconference Power Five opponents —ironically, the same two institutions he was associated with: Florida and South Carolina.

“Right now, in the SEC, only two teams are playing two Power Five teams,” Spurrier said. “We’re playing Utah and FSU, and South Carolina is playing North Carolina and Clemson. And all the others are just one, some of them maybe none.”

That’s when Spurrier transitioned to talking about Georgia and the Bulldogs’ Week 1 opponent being UT-Martin, while the Gators are traveling to Utah to face the reigning Pac-12 champs.

“I think Georgia opens up with UT-Martin, and we’re going out to Utah, the team that just won the Pac-12,” Spurrier added. “You know, there’s a difference in scheduling to what your record’s going to be.”

Gee, Steve, I dunno.  Get back to us with that after the Cocktail Party.

A timeless expression of reality

Care to guess who said this, and when?

“The trouble with football… is the money that is in it.” … “Athleticism is not athletics or physical education, but sports promotion, and it is carried on for the monetary profit of the colleges through the entertainment of the public.”

Full quote, with attribution, is in the comments.

Glory, glory

Is there any doubt that this game contained the greatest seven-and-one-half-minute start in Georgia history?

2017 vs. Florida

In what would be the most lopsided win over the Gators in 35 years, the Bulldogs ended their three-game losing streak in the series after pounding the Gators, 42-7, in Jacksonville.#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/QH52yjoiIE

— UGA Rewind (@UGARewind) August 13, 2023

I think not.

I bet Felipe Franks still wakes up occasionally in the middle of the night with cold sweats having nightmares about that game.

Musical palate cleanser, behind the scenes edition

How it started.

How it’s (still) going.

And now you know…