First and 10: If Smart has his way, Cocktail Party will have new address
1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …
He has joined the exclusive club, and with it brings a certain unique power that can’t be quantified.
But it sure as hell can be felt.
Kirby Smart is on the big stage now, the national championship he won at Georgia last January opening pathways few coaches experience — and fewer can handle.
“This program was built to be here for a long time,” Smart said.
With an impact that stretches far outside Athens, Ga.
When Nick Saban or Dabo Swinney speaks, the college football world stops to listen. When Pete Carroll had it going at USC, or Urban Meyer at Florida, his voice and statements carried.
Some never wanted the power (Jim Tressel, Gene Chizik), others never had the reach (Ed Orgeron, Larry Coker) because their careers didn’t sustain.
Smart has it — and his sights are set on one of the biggest traditions in college football history: the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.
“Recruiting is the lifeblood of your program,” Smart said on my radio show on 1010XL-Jacksonville. “I have to do what’s in the best interest of the University of Georgia.”
Smart believes this is a simple argument: Playing a neutral-site game against Florida in Jacksonville every year is detrimental to his ability to recruit.
Each SEC team has 4 home conference game weekends to bring recruits to campus and allow them to experience the program, the university and the campus on its best days. Except Florida and Georgia.
Because they play the Cocktail Party annually in Jacksonville, they lose a home game recruiting weekend.
“It would be like me saying in June, there’s 4 weekends you can have prospects on campus — and at Georgia, you can only have 3,” Smart said. “I’m self-sanctioning an opportunity to have the best prospects in the country fly into Atlanta and drive (to Athens) every other year to see Florida play Georgia.”
Smart may not be alone in his desire to potentially move the game. New Florida coach Billy Napier, like Smart, has been adamant that there’s 1 path to returning the Gators to the elite of college football: recruiting.
Napier was hired at Florida because the previous coach (Dan Mullen) wasn’t exactly obsessive about the way he procured high school talent. Napier places the same value on recruiting that Smart does — that they both did as assistant coaches under Saban at Alabama.
So even though the game is in the state of Florida and clearly an advantage logistically for the Gators, Napier was noncommittal when I asked him about the Cocktail Party staying in Jacksonville.
“I think it’s wrong for me to speak on that until I’ve experienced it,” he said. “I’ve always been aware of some of that dialogue about making it a home-and-home (series). There are a lot of advantages of that. But there’s tradition to the rivalry (in Jacksonville). I’ll be better equipped to answer that once we experience Jacksonville.”
But understand this: Florida’s interest in playing the game in Jacksonville has nothing to do with Georgia. Smart wants a home game, and he doesn’t care what happens to Florida’s half of the series — if it moves back to Gainesville, or if it stays in Jacksonville.
“I understand it, I get it,” Smart said. “It’s traditional. I played there, I grew up in South Georgia. I have friends all over that area that want the game to stay.”
The only difference is that Smart now has capital and power from the national championship. Now he can effect change.
2. Dollars and sense
Before Georgia won its first national championship in 41 years, Smart’s talk of moving the game was more anecdotal than impactful.
Now he might have enough power to supersede the almighty dollar.
For years, the city of Jacksonville has made it too difficult for the universities to ignore the fiscal impact. The schools earn about $5.5 million each for the game, about $3 million more than they would for a typical home game.
But you don’t make your football coach the highest-paid in the game — Smart last week signed a 10-year deal worth $112 million — and not listen to what he inherently believes will make the program better.
The contract with Jacksonville ends after the 2023 season, and the game is so important to the SEC media rights deal, CBS announces well in advance of the season — every year — that the Cocktail Party is locked in at the coveted 3:30 p.m. spot.
Or as one industry source told me last week, “You’d have to be crazy to not put that game in that spot, no matter what their records are. It’s ratings gold.”
Ultimately the decision to keep the game in Jacksonville will come down to money. Or as Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry told me, “That’s probably 95 percent of it.”
In other words, Jacksonville must overpay Georgia and Florida and force them to say no. If the payout moves to $7 million-plus per team, will Georgia say no to $14 million every 2 seasons to cash $5 million and keep 4 home games over the same span?
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That’s a big number ($9 million) to walk away from.
The universities could likely petition the NCAA — or make a rule after the current NCAA restructuring gives the Power 5 schools complete control — to allow both teams to host recruits at the game. The schools could then pass along the expense of doing so to Jacksonville.
There are numerous answers to keeping the tradition of the Cocktail Party alive, but it will ultimately come down to Georgia president Jere Morehead and deep-pocket boosters — who just made Smart the highest-paid coach in college football.
You’re not doing that and ignoring something he feels is vital to avoiding 41 more years between championships.
3. Embracing power, The Epilogue
Nearly 40 years ago, after he was named head coach and athletic director at Auburn in 1981, Pat Dye told then-Alabama coach Bear Bryant that Auburn’s home game in the Iron Bowl would move from Birmingham to Auburn as soon as the contract expired after the 1988 season.
Auburn played the game on campus in 1989, and upset No.2-ranked Alabama — and Auburn would never host the game in Birmingham again. Dye has said numerous times that he wouldn’t have been able to move the game without university and board of trustees support.
Nearly 10 years later in 1998, Alabama hosted the Iron Bowl in Birmingham for the last time.
So there’s precedent. There’s also a new twist: the Red River Shootout.
If Florida and Georgia leave Jacksonville after the 2023 season, what happens to the annual neutral-site game between Oklahoma and Texas in Dallas?
All 4 schools are coached by men who learned early in their careers with 2 of the game’s greats (Saban, Swinney) that recruiting is everything. Will Steve Sarkisian (Texas) and Brent Venables (Oklahoma) be willing to give up a recruiting weekend in the name of tradition?
The simple answer: They, and Napier, don’t have the power. Yet.
Smart has the ability to effect change, especially with the looming restructuring of the SEC schedule. This is likely the last year of divisional play, and the conference — despite pushback from a handful of universities — seems destined to move to a 9-game league schedule when Texas and Oklahoma officially arrive (as early as next year).
“I love the tradition of (Jacksonville),” Smart said. “It’s going to be interesting to see if that can hold with the new schedule and model.”
It will be just as interesting to see how much power Smart now wields at Georgia — on and off the field.
4. The end of an era
The Cocktail Party isn’t the only neutral-site game in danger of not making it.
The Southwest Classic (Texas A&M vs. Arkansas) and The Battle Line Rivalry (Missouri vs. Arkansas) are also likely on the way out.
The Southwest Classic was brought about because Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is an Arkansas alum and paid the schools a ridiculous amount of money for a 10-year contract that ends in 2024. No amount of money will likely bring that game back to Arlington because both schools want it at campus sites.
Likewise, no amount of money from Little Rock, Ark., will keep the Missouri game there. Arkansas has spent too much in facilities upgrades recently to ship an SEC home game to Little Rock.
That contract ends in 2023, and Missouri plays its home game in that series — and will continue to do so — in Columbia.
But those games don’t have the history and tradition of the Cocktail Party and the Red River Shootout. While there are deeply ingrained feelings among the old guard at each school — and from deep-pocket boosters — who want to keep those games neutral, the younger fan base wants the game on campus.
All arguments are logical in each case, but how many really stand up to a financial offer that the schools can’t turn down? Money will be the determining factor — unless the coaches at the 4 schools have the power to make it happen.
5. The Weekly 5
Five coaches facing the most pressure in 2022.
1. Bryan Harsin, Auburn: The Auburn board of trustees and boosters rarely lose power struggles.
2. Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri: Tigers need November games that matter under Drinkwitz.
3. Brian Kelly, LSU: Forget about the fat contract, Les Miles and Orgeron won national titles. Nothing else matters.
4. Napier, Florida: No matter how it fell apart, Mullen brought Florida to 3 New Year’s 6 bowls in 4 seasons, and it wasn’t enough.
5. Mark Stoops, Kentucky: Set the bar with 2 10-win seasons in the last 4 years.
6. Your tape is your resume
An NFL scout analyzes a draft-eligible SEC player. This week: South Carolina CB Cam Smith.
“Long and athletic, and he’s tougher than he looks. Just look at the numbers — quarterbacks had a 35 rating when throwing at him. He is a cover corner. He can lock down in man, he will thrive in zone. He’s not at the Jaycee Horn level yet, but he could get there. I wouldn’t be shocked in the least if he develops into a first-day pick. He needs to be more consistent in his effort. He has a really good hand punch at the point of attack, and he can run and chase.”
7. Powered Up
This week’s Power Poll, and one big thing: What I learned from SEC Media Days.
1. Georgia: OLB Nolan Smith is in the best shape of his career. He and Robert Beal Jr. will be a load to handle on the edge.
2. Alabama: QB Bryce Young believes Georgia transfer WR Jermaine Burton can have a Jameson Williams-type impact.
3. Texas A&M: A strange sense of unwavering confidence — almost a prove-it confidence — from coach Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies players.
4. Kentucky: QB Will Levis is loose and confident and embracing expectations and NFL talk.
5. Arkansas: Biggest area of improvement for 2022 will be intermediate passing. Hogs are deeper at wide receiver, and QB KJ Jefferson’s accuracy is critical.
6. LSU: Kelly wants a quarterback who can extend plays. While Myles Brennan may start, Jayden Daniels and/or Garrett Nussmeier might be the long-term answer.
7. Tennessee: If Tennessee can improve on third-down defense (SEC opponents converted a whopping 53 percent last season), big wins will come.
8. Mississippi State: This will be DC Zach Arnett’s last season at MSU. He’s a rising star — and the Bulldogs’ defense will be among the best in the SEC.
9. South Carolina: With all the attention on offense, the defense will be much better in the front 7 (specifically in pass rush).
10. Florida: Napier believes QB Anthony Richardson will have a big season. If he does, Florida will finish in the upper third of the conference.
11. Ole Miss: Don’t count out QB Luke Altmyer, who didn’t flinch when Jaxson Dart arrived from USC.
12. Auburn: Sounds like Harsin is counting on Texas A&M transfer QB Zach Calzada to win the job. (Fisher raved about Calzada, and said he wanted him back).
13. Missouri: MLB teams passed until the later rounds on QB Sam Horn, who was waiting for the perfect deal — and will now compete for the starting job at Missouri.
14. Vanderbilt: I’d love to see Clark Lea coaching an SEC blueblood. A dynamic, charismatic personality.
8. Ask and you shall receive
Matt: What’s the difference between winning at the elite level of the SEC, and all the other teams that constantly change coaches. Phaedra Franklin, Nashville.
Phaedra:
The easy answer is players. No matter what anyone tells you, players win games. The better the players, the better chance to win. That said, the road to player procurement and development is another story.
Smart played and starred at Georgia and knows the value of the Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville — yet still wants it moved to the Athens campus because of how it impacts recruiting. You can argue that Smart consistently recruits in the top 5 of the nation at Georgia, so how much better can it get?
When you’re at that level, and one player can make a dramatic difference between winning a rematch with Alabama or losing it– a player like Nakobe Dean or Travon Walker or Jalen Carter — every recruiting weekend matters.
I’ve said this since last July when the NIL rule was enacted, and I’ll continue to do so despite coaches saying otherwise: NIL will even the playing field. There’s a reason Missouri and Kentucky had top-15 recruiting classes.
Stoops and Drinkwitz work hard at recruiting, but they’re not landing the best recruiting classes in the respective history of each school without the help of what could be with NIL. Let those 2 hit top-15 classes for 3 straight years, and watch how much better those programs become.
9. Numbers
45. The narrative is that offense now wins games in football, both college football and the NFL. It’s a quarterback-driven, vertical-passing sport. Well, maybe.
The top 4 scoring defense teams (Georgia, Texas A&M, Alabama, Kentucky) in the SEC in 2021 combined to win 45 games. The bottom 4 (Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Missouri, Florida) combined for 21.
The team that led the SEC in scoring defense won the national championship, and the team that finished third in scoring defense won a Playoff game and lost in the national title game.
10. Quote to note
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin on conference expansion: “When you go to places, you’ve been to USC, all these different places, you see how passionate fans are about certain things, what matters, rivalries. For those to be dismantled for money is kind of a shame.”
Has anyone petitioned the NCAA to allow the designated home team for regular season neutral site games to host recruits? That doesn’t seem like an unreasonable request.
That wouldn’t solve all the problems though because you’re also trying to showcase to recruits how you do home games. You want them to see your own facilities for a *home* game. Getting a special allowance to take recruits hundreds of miles to somebody else’s stadium just isn’t going to do what you want to do for those recruits.
Because clearly UGA’s recruiting is suffering due to the game being in Jax. :eyeroll
Usually UGA always complains about the game being in Jax when the series isn’t going in their favor, but this recruiting angle is new.
No, it’s not. Smart has been saying this almost since he took over the program.
The funny thing is, you’d expect Florida to be even more concerned than UGA about the loss of the biggest potential recruiting weekend of the year. Gators need that time with recruits far more than Kirby. And Napier seems to be recognizing that.
I think it has more to do with coaches seeing that the SEC is moving closer to parity than it has in a long time. Any slight recruiting advantage/disadvantage could become more pronounced the closer we get to SEC parity.
UGA owns the UGA/UF series 53-44 …
It really is about recruiting, the better you recruit the more you win. The more you win the more $ you take in.
Kirby is playing 3-D checkers and he’ll win
Is a 5 game swing over nearly 100 games really “owning” a series? Go look at KY series stats against most SEC teams in basketball to see what being owned means
“Is a 5 game swing over nearly 100 games really “owning” a series?”
Are 18 wins in a 21-year period?
18 in 21 would be a great run. Just like the run Spurrier had as head coach of UF against the dogs.
Exactly. The recruits and parents want to see and experience life on campus. Tour facilities, speak with coaches and academic advisors, get a feel for Athens. In Jax on a road trip, the coaching staff (and layers) would have even less time to focus on recruits and their families than they would on a game weekend at home.
When this topic of ditching the Cocktail Party first came up seriously a few years ago, I was against it. Too much tradition, too much part of the series culture. Now, I’m totally sold. The playoffs and NCG are WAY more fun than any Cocktail Party in Jax.
Beating Florida has been the out-sized focus of too many seasons for UGA . Kirby knows it’s important, but that it’s really just a step in reaching higher goals.
Let the NCAA allow recruiting for the game regardless of site. That opens up the possibility UGA could have a regular home game against UF with the full recruiting smorgasbord, OR the occasional home game at MBS just an hour and a half down the road. Recruits could get all their on-campus reviews done and still easily make the game, and back to Athens. Same for UF in Jax if they chose the site for a “home” game now and then.
Why does Georgia schedule so many neutral site games if it hurts recruiting so bad?
They are non-conference games. Great exposure to a national audience that increases recruiting across the country.
And they aren’t counted against the 6 home game total…the WLOCP is every other year…
What 6 home game count? There isn’t a limit on home games is there?
Teams are required to schedule a minimum of 5 home games. I guess you’re probably right, if a program can schedule 4 non conference home games I suppose it may be allowed. Generally most SEC teams play 2 home 2 away.
Maybe just ignore the NCAA and do it anyway.
I’m all for that.
Greg Sankey as co-chair of the Transition Committee likely has the power to get this on.
P5 football at least and also most likely G5 football programs will no longer be under the control of the NCAA.
Soon these schools will decide upon the # of scholarships, transfer windows, signing days, academic requirements for eligibility, etc.
Can a Collective pay a kid’s way to attend a game played on a neutral field?
Five coaches facing the most pressure. This list would indicate that there aren’t a lot of SEC coaches facing much abnormal pressure. The pressure to win is always there, but Kelly and Napier just got to their positions and Stoops is completely secure in his position. Drink just had a great signing class by Missouri standards. That leaves Harsin. Definitely facing abnormal pressure.
I’d say there’s no pressure on CBK to win, but he did build this roster to win immediately. I expect him with this roster to win 9-10 games his first year. That’s not unreasonable. He’ll be competing for a national title as soon as 2023.
The only coach in the SEC really facing pressure to win NOW is Harsin. I expect him to be terminated by the end of the season if not during like Orgeron.
Agreed. LSU is a top 10 (at least) football program and, with the type of players that play there, your expected floor should always be 9 wins.
I’ll agree with that and I would like our floor to be 10
You own words contradict your point. You say Brian Kelly is under no pressure to win, which is ridiculous as all coaches at that level are under pressure to win, then you say that YOU expect him to win 9-10 games with that roster in his first season. That is pressure. Expectations of the fans and the administration is the only pressure there is. If you don’t meet those expectations, you won’t be there long.
My thoughts exactly. No pressure, just win 10.
I didn’t understand Stoops on that list, either. He’s sittin’ like a Cheshire Cat with the Krogercats.
Totally agree in regards to Stoops. Have no idea why he is on the list other than someone had to be #5 I guess?
Harsin’s seat is scalding hot and he is facing a tough schedule.
The WLOCP is a bowl game in the middle of the season. One big party with a sea of orange, blue, red, and black. With the SEC likely to move to a 9 game slate, the recruiting impact is minimal. Keep it there and let both teams have exemptions to host recruits.
Any chance to go to 10 conference games? This is being discussed in the B1G once SC/UCLA come on board in 2024.
Also, if the 12 team playoff does have automatic conference champ inclusion why not play a 10th game? Might hurt seeding but it would likely earn more media dollars.
The contract with Jacksonville has options that take it through the 2025, which will be exercised. The game will stay in Jax for the time-being regardless of what Kirby says or wants. It just is what it is.
On a personal note, I like the game where it is. Ever since I graduated in 2006 and moved to TN I’ve gone to the game every year with three Dawgs (only one of whom wants the game moved to a home and home) so it makes for a fun weekend. RV City, the old Landing memories, great games, shenanigans and whatnot it’d be tough to see it go by the wayside. And that’s not even counting my trips there as a kid or in college.
Options require all three parties to agree.
I agree, but I’d be willing to bet that y’all as UGA fans need to prepare for the next 4 years of the game being played in Jax.
The contract has monetary escalators, seating additions (or subtractions that require payment to the universities)… bottom line, Kirby won’t get his way for the next 4 years at a minimum. And might not after that unless he can convince a lot of other entities that aren’t UGA related to move the game.
All Kirby has to do is convince UGA to
Love the game which is looking more likely. Jax will have to pay UGA more money for them to stay especially since they know UF will keep the game there. Really it comes down to how much Georgia can squeeze from Jax and it would have to be a lot and more than UF gets
I’ll bet you like it where it is, never having to go to Athens to play.
Looks like the only way Kirby would be willing to keep the WLOCP in Jax is…..
1 – substantial increase in payout to UGA
2 – allow the home team to host recruits
Personally, I don’t have an issue alternating between the Benz and Jax as long as the Dawgs are the home team AND can host recruits.
Whatever happens it would appear that the WLOCP in its current configuration may be changing.
According to the posters here, allowing recruits won’t help. There are some high dollar dawg boosters in south GA that will need to be soothed over if the game is moved.
Allowing recruits won’t resolve the selling of the campus and facilities…Gainesville vs Athens, I can see why G8r fans are like ha il no don’t move it….
As a ole country boy that doesn’t have neighbors, you couldn’t sell me on living in either town….
Red and Black. I was not able to score a ticket for the Dawgs/Ducks game in Atlanta.
I’m a Ducks fan who lives in Aiken, SC and would like to watch the game in Athens in a sports bar while keeping my head down and mouth shut. (If I have anything to cheer about?)
Can you please give me a recommendation as to where to watch the game in Athens.
Thank you.
PS – I know I will have to show up real early to find a seat.
PPS – I am a grey beard member of Beta Theta Pi. Is there a Beta house on campus and if so would it be a good place to watch the game?
The blind pig is good. Food is solid, American fare. There is one downtown on Washington Street, so you can hop around to check one ofthe best college towns in America. As a local and alumnus, I do appreciate you coming to town and spending money. Go Dawgs!!
Fans attending the cocktail party seem to like the atmosphere and venue in Jacksonville. I love the city, but I get the recruiting talk. Would the schools be willing to forego $9M/ two years to play a home and home, though? Wow, that’s a lot of money to pass up for something that’s working pretty well already.
Keep in mind it’s not net $9M. UGA brought in $134M last year and the SEC is getting ready to sign a new media deal that will increase that. I am sure UF made a lot as well. The money may not be as big a factor as it seems.
Same. Our UAA brought in $138 million, which was about $40 million less than previous year thanks to the pandemic.
But the SEC also gave every school $23 million, borrowed against the new ESPN deal to help offset any loss of revenue.
I hate seeing traditions in College football go away. The traditions and pageantry is what brings so much of the passion we all have for college football and separates it from NFL.
I’m all for profit but there’s a cost benefit that should be taken into account
The new money at all costs schools are showing now are showing that cost benefit isn’t much of a consideration anymore.
Volbee- The pageantry won’t be going anywhere. The only difference will be the location.
Exactly. The game will be just as big as a home and home game. Jacksonville is hardly a preferred destination.
Some years the home schedule in Athens is absolutely pathetic. Having UF every other year at home would make a big difference.
Well that schlep from Atlanta and the traffic makes it a headache.
To all the dogs fans out in sds… all insults aside do you guys really want to have the game moved due to Recruting concerns ? I don’t think it will at all impact Kirby as it seems top 3 classes are the norm for him . I would hate to see the tradition of this classics rivalry moved as both schools can sure claim some great memories ( as well as heartaches ) from Jax
Many UGA season ticket holders do not receive tickets to the UF game. Think how they feel.
That’s on UGA. They can negotiate that if they want.
How, they are 60,000 season ticket holders. I guess they could ask UF to give up their half.
Same for uf on the season ticket holders deals jtf
Sure. I bet they don’t like it either.
There will be lots of fans from both teams left out of tix every other year if they move it. There are positives and negatives either way.
I am a season ticket holder for 20 year and never had an issue with it jtf.. I have been to many of the cocktail parties
Well I guess if you got tickets you wouldn’t.
I don’t want to see it moved from Jacksonville.
UF keeps it in Jacksonville and UGA goes on campus. Y’all keep the recruiting disadvantage and a couple extra mil and we get the best of both. Sounds like a plan
Seems reasonable.
Which means it’ll never happen :/
Best of both? I think you are missing something.
You mean UGA gets the best of both. Reasonable?
Yeah I don’t think so
If Jxville is such a great deal for y’all why would it not be reasonable? Gotta admit tho, I’d love to take in a Ga-Fl game in the ULL Gainesville Swamp…electric atmosphere…
It either stays as is or we do the home & home
With what he’s accomplished there is no way Mark Stoops is in the top 5 of any pressure list. Most fan bases in this conference expect/demand more of their coaches yearly than UK fans do. Go CATS!!!
I agree. Stoops is one of the safest coaches in the nation.
Napier should be #2 on the hot seat behind Harsin. Let UF only win 7-8 games and go to one of the bottom feeder bowls – a good portion of the fan base will turn on Sunbelt Billy.
If UF finishes around .500 then the I-75 Truck Stop will be the next Chernobyl.
This is the fan base that was flying “Fire Ron Zook” banners over home games during Zook’s first season.
Sunbelt Billy’s babble about building “infastructure” while getting his clock cleaned on the recruiting trail ain’t helping his cause.
Well as usual your in idiot tdow .. no uf fan ( sane one anyway) will be mad with a 7 to 8 win season just like your boy Kirby did in his first season at uga ( 8 and 5 I do believe )
Not sure why your so fixated on Florida all the time bud
mullet’s recruiting classes:
2018 – #14
2019 – #9
2020 – #9
2021 – #12
Sunbelt Billy’s recruiting classes:
2022 – #17
2023 – #23
But yeah, you’re right, trends are meaningless.
Kirby’s first 4 recruiting classes:
2016 – #6
2017 – #3
2018 – #1
2019 -#2
But yeah, you keep holding on to that “Kirby’s first season” data point, it’ll will mean a lot when those 20-ish ranked recruiting classes are the core of the UF team
First let me say in no way is Stoops under pressure. Best coach the Cats have ever had. He will be at Ky for as long as he wants. Second I have no opinion on UGA vs UF. What I will say is I wouldn’t brag about the recruiting classes UGA has had. With those classes you have one title. If Metchie hadn’t got hurt, it would be 42 yrs. without a title. I know the Cats haven’t won anything in 75 years. Give Stoops the #6,3,1,and 2 classes and it won’t take him three more years to win a title. Hey, just saying.
So he has not coached a game at Florida and so your comparing him to Mullen who was at uf for 4 years ? He has 60
Days to assemble a class and also the 2023 recruiting season is not over .. man I guess going 41 years between nattys and the fact Georgia doesn’t win at any other sport will def make you crazy there td dush
A lot of “ifs” in that statement cats64. Try just stating facts and not supposition. Like this fact stoops can’t recruit a top 5 class.
I always get a good chuckle when someone types “your” an idiot.
Well “your in idiot” ought to be worth a couple of hearty chuckles
“Thay” don’t realize what they’re saying lol
Mullet was the QB whisperer, the offensive genius and the one who could do more with less; just look at what he did at Miss St! Meanwhile Kirby Dumbs and UGA was the place where 5-stars go to waste. How did those narratives work out for turd nation?
Kirby just got a 10 year contract for over $100,000,000.00 and mullet is living the high life on Lake Oconee with $12,000,000.00 in the bank from his contract buy-out.
Wrap your pea brain around these facts – the last 2 UF HC’s, coming off SECE Title winning seasons, were fired after getting slobberknocked by UGA in JAX.
So yes, given Sunbelt Billy’s lack of recruiting success coupled with a win-at-all-cost, win-now, emotionally unstable fanbase – Sunbelt Billy is on a hot seat. If Sunbelt Billy were recruiting on the same level as say Cristobal at Miami, then no hot seat for Sunbelt Billy.
Well
Maybe give him a full year to recruit and then let’s see how Napier does td dush.. I mean unlike Kirby Napier proved he could build something somewhere and was not given the keys to a talented team
Like old march richt left
Oh and that comment on the last 2 uf coaches
Getting “sloberknoced( must be a word used in Athens) one of those coaches did have a 2 and a record against good old back uga
.. so just curious you are putting down a coach that bear uga more times then he loss?
Also turd nation As you say has 3 Nattys and back door u has 2 so all and all uf (like the pool boy on your
Wife ) is still on top
Typo 2 and 1
Funny how you can’t shake that Gator obsession even after finally winning a natty. Like the cat fan said, it took Kirby facing a team without WRs to break the 41 year curse, even with all those recruiting national championships.
No wonder Kirb is whining so much about the cocktail party, the day he can’t land a top 3 class is the day he can’t compete
I’d argue Lane Kiffin and Mike Leach are facing much more pressure than Stoops.
Especially Leach.
I think you are right – what has Leach produced, really?
Good call!
As much as I like the atmosphere in JAX, personally I’d like to see it between Athens and Gainesville.
I’m typically a campus sites guy. This is because I grew up with basketball as my first love and generally during the regular season home and home series fare better than neutral site games when it comes to filling up the stadium. I was ecstatic when UK-IU changed to home and home and I desperately want that back.
That being said, there are some rivalries that are built for neutral sites, especially in college football. I’m sure the atmosphere for the cocktail party would be tremendous at either Gainesville or Athens, but there’s something about having it in Jacksonville. Same thing with the Red River Shootout.
Since I don’t have a dog in the race, my opinion doesn’t have much pull, but I’ll watch that game whether it’s home-and-home, in Jacksonville, or in Fargo, ND.
It looks like Kirby’s success is leading to more eating out at high end steak houses with all those high dollar sides. He needs to push back from the table because he is looking like a tick that is about to pop.
Stupid post of the day.
Cut him some slack. Auburn is projected to finish last in the Division.
He does resemble Terry Bowden I suppose.
It’s stress eating. The pressure is only building. Plus, he now has even fatter coach in Mushypants to stand next to in the hopes it will make him appear skinny.
“Smart believes this is a simple argument: Playing a neutral-site game against Florida in Jacksonville every year is detrimental to his ability to recruit.”
Really? Doesn’t he have a top 5 class every year? Weak argument.
As my investment guy constantly reminds me, “Past performance is no guarantee of future results”.
2022: rank 3
2021: rank 4
2020: rank 1
2019: rank 2
2018: rank 1
Seems to me he’s doing just fine in recruiting even with his “disadvantage” of having to play in Jacksonville every year.
It’s true…Good recruiters will recruit good, seems you are glossing over the other half of the equation, the follow the money half…millions in lost revenue for not just the university but the entire Athens area every other year…
The university makes significantly more with the game being played in Jax. The local community is a different story.
Somewhat true at this moment I suppose but have you ever been to the bookstore in Athens on game day? It’s busier than the Masters Gift Shop on tournament Wednesday let me tell ya.
As to benefitting the local community part, financially healthy Athens equals a healthier UGa in the long run vs a healthier Jxvlle…but as a resident of the area I’m sure you would hate to see it move, as would I. Went to a lot of WLOCPs in my younger days, or should I say DAZE…
I leave town the week of the game. I have nothing against it, but my wife’s former boss invites us to the Bahamas then, and it’s hard to pass on a free week of golf there. I’m not sure how this became our week, but I’m good with it.
That’s a heck of a plan B for WLOCP week
I still watch football all Saturday. Much of it by myself as everyone else is off doing other things. I’m good with that too.
When you are at the level Smart is, you need any small advantage to get the 5 stars from the likes of Bama and Clemson. It’s not enough to be top 5 recruiting. It makes sense.
Could not agree more
KIrby’s goal is to be #1 every year. He is not satisfied with #3.
Not being able to host recruits is the best argument Smart has.
I’m just trying to figure out what recruiting disadvantage effect this is really having on GA. Hasn’t he been landing top 3 Recruiting classes since basically he arrived there? Is that really an issue?
I could buy the home atmosphere for the fans, the economic boost this game would give to Athens/Gainsville local business, but Kirby pinning this on being unfair recruiting wise is pretty weak imo. Bring something stronger to the table Kirby.
Having recruits in town for a Gator game would be tremendous. Ask any recruit what game they would want to attend and UF would be their 1st pick.
And Mizzou played KU in Kansas City for years. I agree it was dumb but not for recruiting reasons. It was dumb because KC is 2 hours from campus, it hurt local businesses who count on Saturday home games and it ripped off the local (and surrounding area) fanbase against our Arch rival. He should go there with something more substantial like that. Just my opinion, but whining about only having the 3rd highest recruiting class because this game is not played in Athens every other year pulls out the miniature violin’s in a hurry.
Tradition is meant to be broken. Here in Our Prestigious SEC, it comes right to the heart. This is why we The SEC fans get sensitive; believe me, I comprehend the issue and situation,and truthfully when all is said, we adapt and adjust to the changes and move on, so farewell Jacksonville and Hello Athens and Gainesville.
The SEC The King of College Football. It Just Means More.
It’s one of the great college football spectacles and it would be a shame for it to go away.
Home and home would only give each team an extra recruiting weekend every other year and it would only matter for kids who couldn’t make it to campus on another weekend. Plus, the number of higher-value SEC home games is likely to increase by at least one in the next couple years anyway.
Like everything else in college football, whether the game remains in Jacksonville will probably come down to TV considerations.
It being every other year is a recruiting advantage for two classes though, so it becomes inconsequential that’s it every other year. EVERY home game is every other year (for the most part).
And you’re off on the “only matter for kids who couldn’t make it to campus on another weekend.” If I want to experience Florida/Georgia as close to being apart of the team as possible, which could be the selling factor on either side of the rivalry, then it would matter to me to make it to…you guessed it the WLOCP.
Personally, if I was a higher rated recruit than I was going through this process (I don’t even remember USF’s rival ..Im guessing UCF or FAU? idk) and had to choose a game to attend, I’d choose the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. That’s the game I’d want the game day experience for.
It’s not JUST about the game day experience. It’s about the game day experience in a specific rivalry. If I Was an AU/UA recruit, I’d want to experience the Iron Bowl or the Auburn-UGA game.
Does the game get ratings because of Jacksonville, though, or because of the teams? I say they just rebrand it as The World’s Greatest Rotating Outdoor Cocktail Party.
I believe the game will be moved no later than 2025 due to the probable new 9 game schedule. Putting recruiting aside, to play 9 games with 1 neutral site game plus one vs non conf rival Tech means Ga is locked into a non flexible schedule that only allows 1 variable date for any new team on the schedule. Cuz you have to have the guarantee game to make 6 home games ,plus Tech, so thats 11 fixed games every year. Too restrictive.
I’ve been to over 30 Cocktail parties in my 48 years as a season ticket holder. I once was opposed to changing but no longer. Jax has virtually nothing to do so you have to create your own entertainment all weekend. If Jax had Nashvilles vibe it might be different, but it doesn’t. Jax is Macon-by-the-Sea
I’ve only missed a few due to weddings or funerals over the past 50 years. Never been bored. Stayed in Amelia Island for years and took a boat over for many years. The last 5 years we have stayed in St Augustine.
I’m fine either way. But, it’s moving unless Coach Smart changes his mind. And money will have nothing to do with his decision.
I’ve never been bored at WOCP. But for the most part the fun has been self created. The Landing before it was gone was nothing but a Hooters. There is no place in Jax I’ve ever found to compare with e,g. Broadway in Nashville or The Highlands in Atlanta. Or even downtown Athens. I’ve stayed at Amelia several times. Too sleepy for me. I don’t ever stay at St A or anywhere south of Ponte Vedra. Too far and too many Gator fans.
I usually stay at Jax Beach, Ponte Vedra, or St Simons
I park at the TV station next to the stadium. About an hour from St Augustine, which is the same as a home game for me. Less traffic than coming from the north. Food, golf, history. It’s great.
We need a recruiting boost more than UGA, so this looks like a win for us, and with teams now looking at 100 million dollar payouts from the SEC, does the Jax money still carry so much weight?
I am a Gator, but I would be fine if the series was home and home. Jacksonville is kind of a dump in my opinion. The Alabama/Auburn series has had some classic games since they switched to home and home. Birmingham was also a dump. Get it over with and switch.
If you never went you have no idea how much fun it was for everyone. Guess it just doesn’t work for the new semi-pro league.