Do the Gators have a chance in this year’s meteor game?

If they do, this will probably be a big reason why.

The starters played all 60 minutes in a sloppy, 30-13 decision over Austin Peay, Tennessee’s lowest-scoring win over any opponent since the end of the 2019 season. (Even the 2020 pandemic team that went 3-7 under Jeremy Pruitt scored 31+ in each victory.) For his part, Milton was just 1-for-10 on attempts that traveled at least 10 yards downfield, resurfacing concerns about his accuracy against the most overmatched team on the schedule. This weekend’s trip to Florida will be a big one for resetting expectations for the rest of the season.  [Emphasis added.]

When you can’t even live up to the lofty standards set by Pruitt and Chaney — against Austin Peay! — that’s quite a statement of offensive mediocrity.

As I said in my SEC preseason preview, people forget that Milton has lost the starting job twice in his career, the last time being at Tennessee.  Heupel’s quarterback whispering hasn’t taken hold yet.  Maybe he needs to raise his voice.

Adapt or die.

You may have noticed that Spencer Rattler went from being sacked nine times in South Carolina’s opener to only once in their second game.  Some of that was no doubt due to the change in opposition, but some was due to a change in tactics.

even against furman, there was a clear plan early to get the ball out to the flat quickly. None of Rattler's 1Q attempts traveled over ten yards downfield and 5 were behind the line https://t.co/H0LNqXwkdq

— Clark Brooks (@SEC_StatCat) September 13, 2023

I’m expecting more of the same Saturday.  That said, it’s not as if SC’s offensive line has dramatically improved, so it’s likely that a running game that averaged less than three yards a carry against Furman is going to find little success against Georgia’s defensive front.

Oh, and then there’s this fun stat:

The Gamecocks have allowed the second-most tackles for loss in the nation – 23 – nothing is happening on the ground, and Georgia isn’t the run defense to deal with when trying to improve.

In other words, Rattler’s going to need to play the game of his life for the ‘Cocks to have a real chance at an upset.

Not smiling anymore

Holy crap.  This is something, emotionally, at least.

“Nobody wants to win more than the players that play” – Nick Saban 🐐

Time for players, coaches, and fans to respond the RIGHT way for us to get to the ultimate goal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/014x439gHQ

— Alabama DieHards (@DiehardsAlabama) September 12, 2023

As I said to a reader, I thought ‘Bama would be okay this season, despite the quarterback situation, but I’m having second thoughts about that.  Not because of the loss, but because of the reaction to the loss.

This program is on an interesting journey now, to say the least.

“There certainly are financial challenges to this agreement.”

If you’re UCLA, heading out for financially greener pastures, this is kind of a kick in the pants on your way out the door:

The University of California regents will discuss Cal’s move into the Atlantic Coast Conference next week on UCLA’s campus. It’s an appropriate location given that the governing board is expected to consider whether to impose a subsidy on the Bruins — the so-called Berkeley tax, or Cal-imony.

… The controversial issue first surfaced last summer, after UCLA announced it would enter the Big Ten in 2024 (along with USC) and leave its sister campus behind.

Expecting the depleted Pac-12 to lose significant media revenue without the Los Angeles market, the regents voted in December to retain the authority to force the Westwood campus to subsidize Berkeley…

Since then, the Pac-12 has collapsed, with Cal (and Stanford) fleeing to the ACC starting next summer.

But to gain admittance to their new home, the Bay Area schools were forced to accept reduced revenue from the ACC’s media rights contract with ESPN for nine years. The discounted rate reportedly begins at 30 percent of a full share.

Basically, since Cal agreed to take a revenue shave to join the ACC, the case for UCLA to kick in a few bucks to cover the shortfall has become more compelling.

UCLA isn’t on the hook to cover the entire discrepancy. As the measure indicates, the maximum “contribution” is $10 million annually. (It was set for $5 million until a last-minute suggestion to double the ceiling was approved by the full board.)

It’s possible the regents will mull the issue for several months, then decline to slap the Bruins with the Berkeley tax.

Possible, but unlikely.

Both campuses expect the subsidy to be imposed — one’s relieved; the other’s frustrated — but neither of them knows the amount.

Actually, they probably do.  Enjoy the new gig, Bruins.

It’s never too early to pot stir.

I warned y’all about this crap ($$).

Welp. The first couple of weekends couldn’t have gone much worse. In fact, they have gone so bad that I’m not really sure who in the league is actually good. It feels semi-safe to assume that Georgia is, but beating UT Martin and Ball State by a combined score of 93-10 doesn’t tell me much. So let me put this to my fellow panelists: Is the SEC down? Is the rest of college football catching up? A bit of both? Or has this just been a ragged start for the league and the universe will return to order any day now? [Emphasis added.]

Are we really supposed to believe that The Athletic’s paid college football writers haven’t observed enough of the game over the years to have an informed opinion of what a quality team looks like unless it’s in the context of playing a P5 opponent?  (Or maybe even in the context of a good opponent, depending on how you define the word?)  If that’s the case, why should we pay attention to their bloviation?

These are, of course, rhetorical questions.  It’s pretty obvious that the media is starting to leave markers for a debate later in the season about what teams should (or shouldn’t) be in the CFP discussion.  Or, to put it more baldly,

A potential down-the-road question to ponder: The SEC has lived off the strength of the conference when it comes to College Football Playoff implications. Due to the lack of dominance in early, non-conference games, could you see the committee leaving out a potential one-loss, non-SEC champion team from the field if compared to other one-loss teams? In past years, that seemed to be an automatic qualifier, but this year seems more unlikely.

He’s just asking, you know.  After a mere two weeks!

Do as I say, not as I say.

Shot.

Full Mack Brown here. Scorched earth. pic.twitter.com/Uv4wYI6Nk2

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 7, 2023

Chaser.

The DI Board is troubled by the public remarks made last week by some of the University of North Carolina leadership. Those comments directly contradict what we and our fellow Division I members and coaches called for vociferously – including UNC’s own football coach. We are a membership organization, and rather than pursue a public relations campaign that can contribute to a charged environment for our peers who volunteer on committees, we encourage members to use established and agreed upon procedures to voice concerns and propose and adopt rule or policy changes if they are dissatisfied.”  [Emphasis added.]

As much as I dislike the NCAA, good on them for pointing out the hypocrisy of Brown and every other coach who takes a “have my cake and eat it, too” approach to player transfers.  It sucks for the kid, no doubt.  Maybe Mack will remember that the next time he bitches about transfers at other programs besides North Carolina.

That said, it also sucks for the kid because the NCAA has taken a hypertechnical approach to enforcing the rule in this particular situation, so Jere can stuff his troubles.  In short, there are no heroes here.

“I’ve gotten past it.”

This is pretty good.

Shane Beamer on Tyler Simmons being onside. pic.twitter.com/mJ4kKgNNN0

— DawgPost (@Dawg_Post) September 12, 2023

That call has certainly left its mark on folks.

Musical palate cleanser, goin’ global edition

A song that takes me back to my junior year in high school, updated:

Given that we’re talking 50 years later, I’m impressed there are still three of the original artists around to play on this remake.  Nicely done, all.