And Bama, OSU and UGA were all 3 around 80% last year. Since Kirby cranked up recruiting in 2017, 3-stars are rare in his classes. Out of 110 signees the past 4 years, only 19 were 3 stars (247 rankings). That’s 83% 4- and 5-stars.

Bud Elliott is. Based off the 85-man scholarship roster, as I understand his calcs.

He’d be well advised to stay away from LeCounte’s side of the field. If he goes there too often, the streak may end.

Assuming nothing dramatic happens this week, I expect Stetson to start Saturday. Kirby is a big believer in rewarding game production (see Fromm, Jake), and Bennett delivered big time. Most importantly, the team responded well to him and quit shooting themselves in the foot. He’ll likely get the majority of snaps with the ones this week. Assuming he remains the QB we saw Saturday, I’m not sure how Kirby couldn’t start him. Remember, Monken’s offense in not about heaving the ball 60 yards downfield several times a series - it’s about controlled, quick passes to athletes in space. Or QB ROs. Stetson is excellent at both, and makes quick reads/decisions. In fact, there were several handoffs Saturday where the edge crashed in on the RB, leaving 15-20 yards of open green on one side. Stetson probably had a red light on changing the plays or freelancing, but if he starts against Auburn I expect the DEs to get burned a time or two if they concentrate to hard on stuffing the RBs. I expect we’ll see D’Wan too at some point. Daniels, I suppose it depends on how he does in practice this week as fully cleared.

Been a while since I found myself deliberately searching out a Miss State game to watch on Saturdays, but I suspect I’ll be doing that this year.

Stetson is 5’11”, not 5’9” - an inch taller than Heisman winner Kyler Murray. He’s in his third year at UGA, and second on scholarship. He walked on in 2017, but that was his only year not on scholarship. By no means a “newbie”. He also played a complete season as starting QB at a lower division school in MS, which is why he could walk into the Arkansas game cool as a cucumber and get things turned around. The dude can run an offense and the UGA defense are some of his biggest fans. Richard LeCounte lobbied hard for him to return to UGA. Yes, I wish he was 2 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier, but he can throw accurately, gets the ball out quickly, and creates havoc for defenses in the run game.

That one surprised me, especially coming under Pittman. Way too much time spent tossing the ball around in/near your own end zone.

I expect UF to jump UGA. It’s the trendy thing and they deserve it after that offensive showing.

Apparently he performed much better in non-contact practices and scrimmages. Gotta remember he hasn’t taken a real lick in two years and is recovering from brain surgery. When he got hammered on the sideline early in the game, it definitely affected his play. Mathis has crazy skills, but he needs live-fire experience to restore his confidence.

387 yards of offense and another 140 in returns, the vast majority in the second half - not sure “terrible” is the right term. Take away the first half and they looked pretty strong. I have concerns about experience, but “in trouble”? Nope.

Maybe you noticed that once they quit shooting themselves in the foot with penalties, the yards started to pile up? First game/start for a lot of guys on offense - they looked pretty good in the second half once they settled in and quit making dumb mistakes.

They both have good reasons to pull for them. We may see a lot of both yet this year. Stetson was cool as a cucumber and I actually stopped worrying about him throwing to the wrong color jersey after a couple of series ;-)

And I think Felipe Franks is very happy not to ever face another Dawg’s D. Three INTs with a pick-six.

Coupl’a things: first, UGA has more passing plays than running plays: 47 to 42. Can’t remember the last time that happened in a win. Second, a lot of D’Wan’s first half ineffectiveness was a result of penalties. No doubt, Stetson looked better overall, but D’Wan was not as bad as his 1st half stats looked.

Similar to Bud Elliott’s Blue Chip Ratio for 2020: Alabama 83% Georgia 82% Ohio St 80% Texas 64% LSU 63% Oklahoma 63% Clemson 63% Florida 63% Michigan 59% Auburn 59% Penn St 59% Notre Dame 56% Washington 54% Southern Cal 50% Texas A&M 50%

And it’s looking more likely that all 10 FBS conferences will eventually suit up. Nine are now in and the MAC votes today.

Seems like the perfect year to scrap a few of these superfluous bowls. They’ve grown like weeds this century, and have only watered down the significance of a bowl invite. When almost two-thirds of 130 teams go bowling it’s no longer about recognizing a deserving season. Having a 6-6 MAC team play a 5-7 AAC team in a post-season reward game is just pointless.

Exactly. This is shaping up to be the class for UT that can turn the talent corner for them. Pruitt really needs a positive feel for this 2020 season to lock that class in.

My only question is why now, 4 days before the season begins? Seems a move this fundamental would have been made months ago.

Nothing is verified, but after last year’s Chris Steele/Jalon Jones fiasco it certainly deserves some scrutiny. Could be a case of parental blame-game, but it’s also not the first time Dan and staff have been accused of a lax attitude towards a player’s concern for their well-being. Potential recruits have a built-in BS filter for complaints stemming from playing time or depth chart status. They know the score. This allegation (and last year’s) though, are on a different level. Dan needs to get out in front of this before it becomes too much of a thing with recruits and parents.

Good grief, he had a higher QB rating than all but 5 QBs in the country. His 2017 freshman results were what set tongues wagging about Jake nationally. To suggest that UGA wins the SEC, Rose Bowl, and almost the NCG without it having a LOT to do with Jake’s play is ludicrous.

I would be shocked if anyone other than D’Wan starts. If JT is cleared, I certainly expect to see him in the game, but I don’t think Kirby will start him. I also expect we’ll see Beck before the final gun if the Dawgs can get a comfortable lead.

Kirby’s first presser he said UGA had to get bigger and faster. Sam addressed the first concern immediately with the hosses he recruited in his first year. Now Kirby and Matt Luke want to shed a few pounds on the O-line while increasing mobility - presumably to fit Monken’s schemes. When I first heard that I flashed back to Richt’s preference for “more athletic” linemen that too often resulted in our relatively light OL getting mauled by elite SEC D-lines. This time, though, I think “lighter” means 315-320 rather than 350. I don’t think we’ll see any 290-lb O-linemen under Kirby.

If he produces another season like last year, the overtures will really heat up. A DC who can coach lights-out AND recruit elite talent? No brainer. I hope we can hold on to him for another couple of years, and that he doesn’t take the first FBS HC job offer at some MAC or MWC school. He’s making more at UGA as a DC than some G5 HCs. He should be able to afford to wait for the right P5 offer if he continues the top-notch job he’s doing.

Power 6? And no serious big-boy program will travel to UCF - it’s just not a financial win. If UCF wants to establish any ongoing cred with the P5, they’re gonna have to go the Boise State route and travel a lot. It’s in no strong program’s interest to take a monetary hit in order to help UCF puff it’s chest out and pretend they’re in the big leagues.

Not in the same league with UF, but this UCF squad could give quite a few P5 teams fits. That offense is legit - the QB is very good, and their hurry-up scheme will have defenses sucking wind in the second half. They absolutely overwhelmed Tech once the D began to tire. Through two weeks of play a couple of things have jumped out at me. First, home field advantage ain’t what it used to be with these sparse crowds. There’s very little intimidation factor, and canned noise is not having much of an impact. Second, the line between P5 and G5 is blurred more than ever before, likely due to the vagaries of conditioning and preparation due to COVID. So far, the lack of a spring season seems to be affecting the big boys more than the little guys. In this CFB Lite season so far, I’ve found myself doing something unimaginable - I’ve watched both Georgia Tech games start to finish. Jeez, am I starved for football . . .

Assuming everyone in the SEC has 85 scholarship players, this would require having 33 of them unavailable. Even with kids out with injuries, that’s a lot. I’m guessing, assuming no huge COVID quarantine on a team, that those position group numbers will be the biggest factor in cancellations. I’m also assuming postponements will be almost impossible, with just one bye week for each team. Does a 6-0 team win a division over an 8-1 team? Has the conference even addressed the potential (likelihood) of disparate game totals in determining division champs?

It does seem a bit karmic . . .

Who’s the “big umbrella” party now? Never thought I’d live to see the day.

Excellent post, Corch. Almost precisely my situation, and very well articulated. JFK would be sickened by the party if he could see it now.