Here’s something that’ll put “I saw it on the Internet, so it must be true” to the test.

The surprise isn’t that Stephen Garcia is predicting that South Carolina will win the SEC East this season.  It’s that there’s a web site out there that describes Stephen Garcia as an “expert”.

More than one way to skin that cat

ESPN purports to survey the entire SEC landscape about its starting quarterback prospects, looks at all the programs replacing starters at the position, sees plenty of uncertainty and concludes thusly:

The only place in the SEC that doesn’t have to be patient in the matter is South Carolina. Coach Steve Spurrier named Dylan Thompson the starter well before spring practice ever began.

Ahem.

The starting job is now essentially Mason’s. The coaches give lip service to the idea that someone could push Mason for the job, but that’s mostly to keep Mason, a fifth-year senior, on his toes.

“Hutson’s obviously ahead of everybody,” head coach Mark Richt said. “But we don’t want any position to think, ‘There’s no chance anyone can take my job’ or take playing time or whatever. So we’re telling everybody to compete for the starting job. We’re not saying, ‘Hey try to compete for the No. 2 job.’

“I’m not trying to cause a controversy at all, because Hutson is clearly in the lead. But it’s gonna be his job to keep it that way, and it’s gonna be the other guy’s job to try to close the gap.”

The only difference between Richt’s and Spurrier’s approaches is how they threaten their starters’ hold on the position.  Richt’s just trying to goose his guy a little to keep him sharp.  Spurrier uses the unspoken threat of being Steve Spurrier, in-game changer of quarterbacks, to do the same.  Either way, does anyone doubt right now who the starting quarterbacks for the Georgia-South Carolina game will be?

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2014/03/23/3007656/a-real-quarterback-competition.html#storylink=cpy

Wednesday morning buffet

Dig in, peeps.

• From his new role as H-Back, Quayvon Hicks vows that this year will be different.  “I fell off and it won’t happen again,” the junior said. “I’m going to do what I’ve got to do to make sure I’m on the field all season this coming fall.”  I’ll leave it to you to ask the obvious follow-up question.
• Football Study Hall looks at how sack rates affect point production.
• Barrett Sallee argues that SEC teams have a track record of thriving with inexperienced quarterbacks.
• Division III is struggling financially, but is is likely opposed to the easiest way to cut costs, limiting the number of teams in the NCAA championships.  Typical.
• Man, it hurts a little reading this.  What could have been.
• The NCAA is looking at adding parties other than college presidents and giving them voting rights to its Board of Directors, while reserving an option go into a president-only executive session when desired.  Accountability without effect – it’s the NCAA way!
• Another Mark Richt has lost control incident.  You think he’ll make a crack about it?
• Dr Pepper spends the money to have its name plastered on the CFP championship trophy.

Thursday morning buffet

If you’re facing the same weather conditions I am, it’s not like you’ve got anything better to do right now than to slip into the buffet line.

• Sorry, Missouri, but you just got the KC Joyner kiss of death.
• Stewart Mandel throws in the towel on oversigning.
• Clowney says he might have stayed in Columbia for his senior year if he were paid enough to support his family.  Now he tells ‘em.
• The NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors hopes to have a new management structure in place by August.
• Here’s a coach who’s on his eighth job in eight years.
• It turns out that among all the Vols who were arrested at that wild party last weekend, a man who identified himself as an assistant strength coach for Tennessee’s football team was handcuffed and put in the back of a squad car when he tried to intervene.
• “An online survey by a group of Canadian researchers suggests that Internet trolls are more likely than others to show signs of sadism, psychopathy and “Machiavellianism”: a disregard for morality and tendency to manipulate or exploit others.”
• The NLRB held its first hearing yesterday on the Northwestern players’ move to be certified as a union.

Thursday morning buffet

Post-signing day tidbits:

• I’m guessing this is another story about momma not being happy with her son’s college choice.  This stuff is more sad than funny for the kid.
• Give Derek Mason some credit for salvaging Vanderbilt’s class after James Franklin stripped it bare.  The Commodores finished with 22 signees, including 17 prospects ranked three stars or higher by ESPN.
• Matt Hinton reminds us why recruiting matters.
• A Jeff Schultz column about Georgia Tech recruiting partly entitled “Just the facts (no spin)” winds up sounding otherwise.  As for the two possibilities suggested in his piece, let me add a third:  the Jackets don’t play a lot of good opponents.
• Boy, how things have changed in Texas.  Charlie Strong takes a swipe at TAMU:  “We don’t need gadgets. We’re not going to be a gadget program.”
• Hakuna Matata, Eastern Michigan.
• A little South Carolina crowing:  “You certainly shouldn’t let your friendly neighborhood Dawgs fan tell you that Mark Richt let Carolina win these battles.”
• And Mike Bobo on in-state recruiting:  “The way Atlanta is now, it’s not like you’re recruiting south Georgia. A lot of people in Atlanta didn’t grow up there, where in south Georgia, those people are from Georgia and they have roots. It’s a constant battle, but that’s part of it. We’re still the state school, and I believe you can get everything any young man wants here.”

“But I’m going ahead and declaring us the national champion of the bowl season.”

Man, Dabo really got to Spurdog this time, didn’t he?

No hard feelings

What’s a little speed between friends?

We in here me and my boys lol http://t.co/sKfDdvMoDo—
jadeveon clowney 7 (@clownejd) December 27, 2013

Jimmy Williamson disapproves of this message.

Eat mor Gamecock.

There’s something truly… er, delicious about the possibility of 10-win South Carolina falling to the Chick-fil-A Bowl and listening to the man who taunted Fulmer for years about landing in the Citrus Bowl try to put a happy face on it.

We got your bucket list right here, ‘Cock fans.

When life throws you a fastball down the middle, peeps, you gotta turn on it.

I’m sure we can improve on Kendall’s list, right?  Please add your suggestions in the comments.

Tuesday morning buffet

Come, you must be hungry.

• The Bielema-Malzahn feud continues.  I’m kind of enjoying it.  (But I expect Arky’s gonna get pounded this weekend.)
• Clowney:  “Last year, I really didn’t practice real hard.”
• Boom is starting to get hot seat questions.
• Macon Dawg scores a nice interview with ESPN’s Rece Davis, in which Davis talks a good bit about Georgia, Florida and the Cocktail Party.  It would have been even better with an awkward Jesse Palmer question, but I guess you can’t have everything.
• You may think Bill Connelly is just a stat guru, but he’s a CFB fan first, as this eloquent post demonstrates.
• However, some Mizzou fans are finding other (NSFW) ways to cope with the loss to South Carolina (h/t MrSEC.com).
• “If you’re not an alumnus with access to skyboxes and everything else,” Parker said, “this is kind of the common man’s skybox.”
• Division I coaches in non-revenue sports want in on the new super-division action, too.
• “I thought it was a celebration penalty, because everybody was jumping around. Then they were talking about I was ejected.”
• Shaq Wiggins asked Mark Richt about the weather on Saturday.  Don’t forget to ask about the unfair travel arrangements, Shaq!
• Another day, another shocking item of evidence the NCAA wants to introduce in the O’Bannon case.