Thursday morning buffet

Plenty of goodies to get your day started with:

• The rents Gator football prices are too damn high.
• The Maryland athletic department has a few more lean years ahead of it, despite the upcoming move to the Big Ten.
• More love for Georgia’s receivers coach:  “Coach Ball really does a good job with guys like that that are bigger bodies and maybe a little bit raw.”
• The SEC’s new scheduling tradition is to ignore the old scheduling traditions.
• The SEC and Big Ten announce they won’t license their trademarks to EA Sports anymore.  The Pac-12, too.
• Here’s Sports Illustrated‘s preseason Top 25 list.  I wish somebody there would explain how Texas A&M is third and Georgia is twelfth.
• On the other hand, check out CFN‘s prediction for who plays in the national title game.
• Unsurprisingly, Tennessee has released single-game tickets for its game against Georgia.
• Dawg Blog explores what we might expect to see from Clemson on offense and defense in the opener.
• Georgia Tech plays a small role in Texas A&M’s approach to the Manziel mess.
• One more thing about Florida this season – just as overlooked as the turnover margin story is the fact that the Gators have to replace Caleb Sturgis.
• And here’s a long interview with Bill Connelly about his new book.

Monday morning buffet

It’s the start of a new week.  You need to eat.

• If this is the kind of stuff I’m missing, I could get used to the AJ-C‘s new paywall real fast.
• When I say it’s not easy being a mid-major, this is what I’m talking about.
• Todd Grantham’s not worried about his young safeties.  We’ll see if he feels the same way after the Clemson game.
• It looks like Mike Slive’s got more catching up to do on the commissioner pay front.
• Bernie’s a braver Dawg than I am.
• Most surprising thing about this poll?  That better than forty percent of the participants aren’t willing to pay more on their cable bills for the SEC Network.  Least surprising? That more than a quarter of them would be interested in a Finebaum show on the network.
• Do you care about this?  I don’t.

Wednesday morning buffet

The buffet is sticking with the college game this morning, thank you very much.

• Mark Richt says SEC head coaches are in favor of an early signing period, explains why.
• Hey, here’s something refreshing – an article about Johnny Manziel that actually sticks to football talk.
• To answer this question, probably not.
• Mike Slive would prefer if you didn’t ask him about Auburn right now.
• Here’s another SEC quarterback rankings list, if your you’re interested.
• Does Georgia need for its offensive line to be dominant?  Its head coach doesn’t think so.  (That worked out in 2003, admittedly.)
• Is the Pac-12 considering going to an eight-game conference schedule?
• Texas A&M is about to make Kyle Field into one big ass stadium.

Gettin’ while the gettin’s good

Two things about this report that Oregon and the NCAA are in agreement that the Ducks have committed a bunch of major violations.  First, the obvious:  no wonder Chip Kelly was ready to take his act to the NFL. 

Finding 6 – Did the school promote an atmosphere of compliance?

This section is difficult to decipher because of redactions, but centers on an NCAA bylaw that says the head coach much promote an “atmosphere of compliance.”

In the report, the school and NCAA agree a violation happened, although the NCAA cautions that the report does not include a finding that [redacted] failed “to promote an atmosphere of compliance.” It does not state if that person is Chip Kelly.

Hmm… maybe there was a Coach Redacted on the Oregon staff.

Second, the surprising.  Somehow the NCAA has managed to look at a program that (1) let Will Lyles run amok with recruits; (2) paid money to Lyles for services that were questionable; (3) allowed somebody to make hundreds of impermissible phone calls over a four-year period; (4) exceeded the limit on the number of coaches allowed to recruit, again over a multi-year period; (5) was essentially left to do as it pleased with regard to “…the use of recruiting and scouting services, giving out school apparel and telephone calls between high school athletes and coaches” and reached this rather startling conclusion:

“There were underlying major violations coupled with failure to monitor violations involving the head coach (2009 through 2011) and the athletics department (2008-2011),” NCAA enforcement staff wrote in the report. “While the violations were not intentional in nature, coaches and administrators of a sports program at an NCAA member institution have an obligation to ensure that the activities being engaged in comply with NCAA legislation.”

The report also outlines two crucial points for the Ducks. First, NCAA enforcement staff said they had “no finding of lack of institutional control and no finding of unethical conduct.”

Can anybody explain how the first sentence and the last sentence there have any logical consistency?  Or should I just skip straight to conspiracy theory and wonder if the NCAA is being deferential to Nike?

You thought I was serious about that?, part two

This story just blows my mind.

Pac-12 coordinator of basketball officials and former NBA referee Ed Rush has been investigated by the Pac-12 for comments made about Arizona coach Sean Miller in meetings that included several Pac-12 referees.

Rush, according to a source within the Pac-12 officiating group, told a group of referees on the Thursday of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas that he would give them $5,000 or a trip to Cancun if they either “rang him up” or “ran him,” meaning hit Miller with a technical or toss him out of the game. Rush then reiterated during a Friday morning meeting, according to one referee in attendance, that officials should take similar action against Miller if he did anything on Friday in the Pac-12 semifinals against UCLA.

“He was emphatic about not dealing with him (Miller),” the ref told CBSSports.com. “He made that perfectly clear.”

And in fact, Rush got his wish.  Miller was rung up for a questionable technical foul in the game against UCLA and then was fined $25,000 by the league for confronting a game official after the game had concluded.

What about Rush, though?  Pac-12 commish Larry Scott is on the mother.

“Based on the review, we have concluded that while Rush made inappropriate comments that he now regrets during internal meetings that referenced rewards, he made the comments in jest and the officials in the room realized they were not serious offers,” Scott told CBSSports.com. “Following our review, we have discussed the matter with Rush, taken steps to ensure it does not happen again, and communicated our findings to all of our officials.”

That’s some joke.

I know this is a basketball matter, but don’t forget that the Pac-12 has a reputation for not giving a shit about what its officials do.  Scott’s gotten credit for cleaning things up on the football side, but there’s certainly more than a whiff of the more things change, the more things stay the same about this matter with Rush.

“He’s a bully,” the referee said of Rush. “He just bullies everyone. That was his whole tenor of the meeting on Friday. We’re all afraid of him. He’s the most respected basketball officiating person on the West Coast and he’s been given all the juice.”

Ed Rush did not wish to comment further, telling CBSSports.com, “Larry’s made a statement. I’m in concert with what he said. We’re going to move on from there.”

If you’re a football coach, what are you supposed to think about how the conference would deal with the next big officiating screw up?

Friday morning buffet

It’s the end of the week.  You must be hungry.

• SOD suspends Deion Bonner indefinitely.  Who’s got better odds on showing up at next year’s spring practice?
• UCLA-USC, getting pissy.
• Gurshall makes the Nuttster sentimentally reminisce.
• Mr. Gillett sees a little 2007 in this year’s Georgia.
• David Ching thinks the triple-option is going to make Rodney Garner rotate more.  Defensive linemen, that is.
• Pimping for his team to make the national title game, Nick Saban is forced to argue that “Two really good teams are going to play in the SEC championship game.”
• That 2012 division title plaque is nice, but Georgia players want more.
• The Hive asks:  Does Georgia hold back its starters for the Tech game?  Hey, if the Jackets back into the ACCCG, does the genius hold back starters for the Georgia game?
• Chris Low says it’s time to drop the whiny talk about Georgia’s schedule.

There’s game prep. And then there’s game prep.

Check out what Washington brought to today’s practice in preparation for this week’s game at LSU.

 

Sure would have loved to have seen the Washington players’ faces when they came to practice and caught that.

Tuesday morning buffet

Indulge yourselves.

• Patrick Garbin explores the topic of Georgia’s returning experience this season.
• David Ching talks to Richt and Grantham about what happens on defense after some of that experience leaves.
• Michael Elkon wonders if 2012 Southern Cal should take 2008 Georgia as a precautionary tale.
• From College Football by the Numbers, a chart of yards per play by down.
• Bill Connelly, on luck and turnovers.
• Ladies and gentlemen, these are your 2012 ESPN college football commentator assignments.  Uncle Ron, I still miss you.
• And Elkon Doug Gillett tries to divine what Georgia’s high preseason ranking may tell us about what’s in store for 2012.

Slive wins again!

The Big Ten and Pac-12 have dissolved their scheduling pact.

The two leagues announced Friday that their pact, which initially called for 12 football games per year, has been called off. The reason: at least four Pac-12 schools were unwilling to agree to mandatory scheduling, ESPN.com has learned. A key sticking point is that Pac-12 teams play nine conference games, while Big Ten teams play only eight. Adding in traditional non-league series like USC-Notre Dame, Stanford-Notre Dame and Utah-BYU, and it makes the scheduling situation tougher for those in the Pac-12.

Needless to say, that takes a ton of pressure off the SEC to adopt a nine-game conference schedule to answer strength of schedule concerns.  In fact, if this remains the status quo, Slive now finds Delany as an ally on that front as they figure out an eligibility formula for the playoff selection committee to use.

My only question is whether Slive’s known all along this is how this would play out.

Tuesday morning buffet

Rise and shine, campers.

• Interesting stat of the day:  Missouri was 5-1 last year when allowing fewer than 300 passing yards.  Of course, that was accomplished as a member of a conference not exactly synonymous with power running offenses.
• Speaking of Missouri, James Franklin is confident he’ll be ready in time for August practice.
• New Auburn defensive coordinator Brian Van Gorder’s full head of hair and distinctive mustache has folks talking on the plains. There have been Twitter parodies, and Photoshop interpretations, as well as comparisons to Magnum P.I. and Napoleon Dynamite’s Uncle Rico. Van Gorder doesn’t know what all the fuss is about;” All my years at Georgia and nobody ever said anything about it.”
• Although some of this piece is over the top, I can’t say I disagree with this sentiment:  “You say the public has wanted a playoff. I say the news media have wanted it most, and if a (playoff) drum gets beat on long enough, the public can end up thinking it’s Mozart.”  Not that it matters at this point.
• Joe at Coaches Hot Seat Blog talks to a long-time Gator fan about his assessment of the 2012 season and gets this response:  “I’m worried boys…..very Damn worried.”
• Meet Zeke Pike, Ted Roof’s lovely parting gift for Auburn University.
• Larry Scott knows why he wants a playoff selection committee:  “Listening to some of my colleagues that have served on the men’s basketball committee and realized we have a better chance as a Pac 12 conference to get a fair shake for the fact that we play a nine game conference schedule, the fact that USC and Stanford play Notre Dame, the fact that we play tough out of conference competition, tougher than the SEC or what the Big 12 is doing, and there’s a chance that humans can give us credit for the strength of schedule and credit for what it takes to be the champion of the Pac 12 conference the way that polls and computers cannot.”  Settling it on the field, for the win!
• Tyler Dawgden gives you reasons why he thinks things are looking up for Georgia’s offensive line.