We Will Always Have This

Pure college football ridiculousness.

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See Also:
Hugh Freeze Meets a Snare (EDSBS)

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Oh, now I get's Florida's offense

Florida QB Will Grier suspended for season for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, source told @ESPN

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) October 12, 2015

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McKenzie goes to Chili's; isn't amused by something

Not a good look:

The incident took place at 10:40 p.m. at the Chili's on Alps Road in Athens, Georgia. McKenzie reportedly told the female that "he was going to call some friends and they were going to come out and he was going to kill her.”
No charges have been filed in the incident, which is still being investigated by the Athens-Clarke County Police.
The report also names four other Georgia players -- S Dominick Sanders, WR Terry Godwin, LB D'Andre Walker and S Jarvis Wilson -- as witnesses.

Cue the 'players don't respect Richt' meme machine. Not a great week for this, guys.
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Don't cry for me, Villa Rica: The Bryan Allen Story

I thnk Staples does a balanced piece here without taking Allens' woe-is-me bait (McMurphy's ESPN piece is a bit less balanced, but overall had more quotes). While I think the things some people did and statements directed at him are unfortunate and sad, the story reads like he is still trying to convince the world that he is a poor working stiff just trying to make a living. Oh, and he was just a pawn in game of life.

My favorite part is the nebulous 'calls from blocked numbers' asking about the Gurley autographs coming shortly after he tried to sell some, but got less than he was expecting. Then he started shopping the story.
Yet, he claims his calls to the school were done purely because he wanted to come clean about this whole situation. But, don't fear, it wasn't for nefarious reasons:

I never wanted to screw over their fans or anything like that. That was never my intention. I wish I had never even gone down there. It’s not worth it.

Yeah, hindsight is 20/20. Gurley shouldn't have signed those autographs, but Bryan Allen is the one that showed up in Athens with cash, shopped the story, and called UGA compliance. I'm sure Shane Smith will come out of the woodwork somewhere, too, but he's already a step ahead of Allen by letting his lawyer do the talking.

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Charles Grant troubles?

Just got word that Grant was fired from Bowie State (as a volunteer assistant coach) for body slamming a student athlete. TMZ has video.
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(h/t Bryan Tackett)

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The full Gurley story

Several outlets have it, but will it quell the angst of those that feel Georgia should have done more to help Gurley out? I'm going to say no, because someone, by God, has to be blamed.
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UGA to request reinstatement for Gurley: But how many games will he be out?

Can be found here.

Todd has confirmed his desire to seek reinstatement, and the University fully supports Todd's request. The University plans to file the necessary paperwork with the NCAA later today.

The rub is it looks like the University was done on October 9th, which was the day he was suspended. The DawgVent melt down begins in 3....2.....1....

My take is absent information to the contrary, and with consultation of William King, Gurley's UGA funded compliance lawyer, UGA felt they had enough to show he would be out at least two games. And King was holding UGA off so he could do his diligence.

What the statement didn't address, and the $400 question out there, is how many games did UGA ask for him to be reinstated after.
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Profiles in irony: Bryan Allen doesn't like reporters

I know it is as shocking to you as it is to Bryan Allen, but reporters want to talk to him:

SB Nation reported that Allen's email to them said he would be "crucified if my name was released."

Copyright: Mack Williams
Used with permission

He also asked police to come back to his house late one night last week. But according to cell phone video shot by a neighbor, Allen seemed more worried about reporters than burglars.

He recognized that he'd be in for a rough patch if his name came out, while failing to see the irony of that recognition while emailing with reporters. I'm not saying it is ok for Georgia fans to assault him or burglar his house, but calling police to get the very people he was inviting into his life off of the street in front of his house is high comedy. Apparently not all publicity is good publicity.

The funniest part of his predicament is that it only ranks second in UGA's historical record of incidences where police are called to fix a problem that is caused by the doings of the person making the call.

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Notre Dame vs. FSU

Catholics Obfuscating investigations, at best vs. Alleged Criminals Criminals Definitely didn't sign 1000's of items for money because he said he didn't

It's only funny because it's not funny

Yeah, I'm not excited about the match up. We've been derisive, maybe rightfully so, maybe not, of the "Georgia Way" this week. Notre Dame and Florida State are examples of programs that we should never want our program to be.

You can argue that FSU is merely trying to help their star. I'd argue they've gone a very long way in fostering his mindset of invincibility. As much as I want to win a National Championship, it should never come at the cost of being a program that is willing to actively thwart a rape investigation.

Same goes for FSU.

We've got our problems at UGA. I get the argument that we may have taken the hardest of roads with the Gurley investigation, but I think that complaint is not ripe until more information is made public. But if you want UGA to become FSU or Notre Dame in the pursuit of a National Championship, from my view, you are way more concerned with yourself than UGA.

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Richt on Gurley

I will try to clear up Todd's status. "We will let you know if his status changes. Not anticipating it to change this week."
— Mark Richt (@MarkRicht) October 16, 2014

Gamemanship? His way of saying 'move on?'

Honestly, I hope the team is way more focused on Arkansas than our fans are. Half seem to want to burn BMHH down because 'we ain't fighting for our guy' hard enough, and the other half wants to release Gurley because 'he knew what he did was wrong.' I feel pretty confident that the folks in Athens who are making decision want Gurley back just as much as the random fan. The difference is that they are the ones with skin in the game if they take a misstep.

And yes, I think the Baurele situation has Georgia being very careful.

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When crappy weeks get worse

Great googly moo:

SI.com has learned that a person confirmed to Georgia’s compliance office this week that he paid Gurley $400 to sign 80 items on campus in Athens, Ga., one day this past spring. The person claimed to have a photo and video of Gurley signing the items, but neither the photo nor the video showed money changing hands. NCAA rules require schools to immediately declare a player ineligible if they discover a violation has been committed.

Any of you that were bitching about UGA not protecting athletes want to issue a retraction? No?

This is going to turn out well:

The last time Georgia turned in a violation involving a piece of memorabilia, receiver A.J. Green was suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season after he sold a game-worn Independence Bowl jersey to a person the NCAA considered an agent.

At least there were no agents involved.
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Sheldon Dawson off the team

Developing story, but it was abrupt, as he played Saturday. There is some insider speculation on the boards, but this isn't a great thing to be happening 1/3 of the way through the season.
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UPDATE: Dasher at UGASports has a bit more:

No other details were given, but according to two sources familiar with the situation, the dismissal had to do with a disagreement the Memphis native had with defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, allegedly over playing time. 

If he got in a pissing match with a coach at practice, that is what is to be expected, from what I've heard about Coach Pruitt.

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"Thugs and jerks"

Well, I think you are missing your mark, Rodney:

“I don’t have any interest in recruiting thugs and jerks to Auburn,” Garner said. “But I do believe some kids make mistakes, even though they are actually good kids. They make poor decisions. They have to answer for it.”

I'm going to put a pin in this quote, because I'm pretty sure it'll come back to bite him in the ass at some point. Unless, of course, you don't recruit those types to your school, because, you know, we'd never find out about what happens on campus in a class room between a player and a professor.
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The UGA process

Y'all, the sky ain't falling.

I'm as nervous as the next guy about Georgia's defensive backfield, and it wasn't caused by the departure of a starting CB and safety, I assure you. It was because of this:



In case you were wondering, that was "it's not us, it's THEM" throwing his hands up after Mauger doesn't bail his blown coverage out with a tackle.

The problem I see is that it was X's and O's as well as Jimmy and Joes last year. Not to say those guys aren't or weren't talented, because they clearly are. The problem is talent alone isn't enough, especially if there is a position coach or coordinator that isn't holding players accountable.

Which gets me back to Mr. Matthews. I mentioned yesterday that where ever he goes, those coaches will do their diligence by talking to Mark Richt and others. Any chance Matthews and his attitude lasts longer than 5 minutes in Tuscaloosa (or Gainesville, if we are being honest)?

Go back and watch that video. Pruitt was hired to make sure that doesn't happen again. The last guy certainly didn't make sure it wasn't happening, and he's the one that recruited the guys that have left (notably, to go play for him at Louisville). I'll admit I have a blind spot about UGA football, but if firing a player that has stolen from the University and is intentionally disruptive in a class is not the right thing, you are the one with the problem, not us.

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See also:
- This might be why Tray Matthews was dismissed (Andrew Hall, Dude You Crazy)
- They can't joke around like they used to (Gentry Estes, Dawgs 24/7)
- Tray Matthews, victim of circumstance (Blutarsky)
- Former Georgia player says upheaval a good thing (Seth Emerson, Macon Telegraph)

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Mathews not doing things right

Consequently, he's been fired.

“We are trying to make room for guys who want to do things right,” said Bulldog head coach Mark Richt.

I'll not speculate on why, but if Coach Richt was this direct and terse, then that's good enough for me.
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Blerg!

At some point, it just becomes comedy....

At issue with UGA football player arrests: 11 student tuition checks cashed twice each since January 2014. Reported initially March 3.
— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) March 18, 2014

Yes, you got that right. Four players thought that depositing a check via moble app, then going to Perry's to cash it would go unnoticed. The kicker?

UGA reported case to police. All checks in case are valued at less than $500, a misdemeanor. Worry of compliance issues if not reported.
— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) March 18, 2014

So you know we aren't cheating, so we've got that going for us, right?
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Monday, Monday

Ok, a little reset. 

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Alabama, Mississippi State, Tennessee all face questions over payments to players

When you've got Charles Robinson on the case, it is a whole new ballgame:

Five Southeastern Conference football stars violated NCAA rules by receiving extra benefits prior to completing their collegiate careers, a Yahoo Sports investigation has found. The benefits – which in some cases came from multiple individuals – were conveyed to University of Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker, University of Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray, Tennessee defensive end Maurice Couch, Mississippi State University defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and Mississippi State wideout Chad Bumphis.

Only Maurice Couch remains in college.

While there is some time to go before we know final resolutions, this is a well documented case, with text messages and bank records. You can always issue denials when you are fighting against words. Denials ring hollow when the media and NCAA are pouring over Western Union receipts.

The biggest part of this story is that Alabama may be facing vacating its 2012 SEC and BCS championships. Fluker was a starter on 'Bama's vaunted offensive line last year. If he is found to have been ineligible, it wouldn't be a stretch for the NCAA would have to force them to vacate their wins from 2012. The bigger issue for the Tide is that former player Luther Davis is the bag man in the scheme. It wouldn't shock me to see the NCAA go after them for lots of those status type things that have the words 'failure to maintain' in them, and ends with multiple years on probation.

Tennessee may have to vacate their SEC win from last year, too.

For UT and Mississippi State, they are currently on probation. Any hint the athletics department or coaches knew or should have know could mean serious penalties for either program.

For those of you wondering how any other conference would stop the SEC's run of dominance? This is the sort of thing that will do it.

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See also
-Yahoo!Sports accuses five SEC players of taking improper benefits (Team Speed Kills)
-Fluker among five players alleged to have recieved benefits (Bama Hammer)
-DJ Fluker's twitter account (from April), courtesy of Saturday Down South:

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Mr. McGarity, let's play some night games

Year2 uses magic and statistics to show that upsets don't happen at night in SEC stadiums: 

In those late contests, there were only three upsets in 80 total mismatches for an upset rate of 3.75%. Upsets basically don't happen in SEC games after dark. The three upsets were Vandy over Ole Miss in 2008, Kentucky over South Carolina in 2010, and Auburn over Florida in 2011. The last of the three isn't that titanic of an upset, and only the middle one, a classic let down game after the Gamecocks' upset of Alabama, involved a real conference contender.

The only saving grace is the early games toss ups are overwhelmingly wins for the home team. Let's schedule some night games.

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NCAA trouble brewing for Les Miles?

Les Miles has been at LSU since the 2005 season. He left Oklahoma State in very good shape after a couple of better than average years and a well stockpiled talent base (although eleven of his players never made it to Fall 2005 to play for Gundy), and a very good Offensive Coordinator in Mike Gundy to step in to fill his shoes.

Is there more to the story about how those players so fell in love with Stillwater?

Oklahoma State has already contacted the NCAA. It is a long way before any of this has resolution, but the distraction couldn't come at a better time for Georgia. If SI releases the story this week, as planned, it'll be a hot story in the next couple of weeks. LSU will be in Athens on Sept. 28th.

There is some pretty salacious stuff here:

• Coaches and boosters paying athletes, including bonus payments for good plays and payment for jobs not performed, or as we like to call it: Auburning.
• Tutors doing work for athletes, grade manipulation, and attendance roll falsification. 
• The Weed. 
• Tennessee's hostesses Orange Pride hostesses providing sex to recruits.

Most of this stuff isn't new hat (see what I did there), but paying the players is alleged to have happened as recently as 2011. However, Mike Gundy had an interesting quote:

When Gundy was asked if he fears the SI project will lead to NCAA trouble, he said, "(University officials) only (showed) me what I was involved in, if there was anything, which was zero."

Yeah. So Miles has already issued a denial, as well. For now, the primary focus will be on Joe DeForrest, the former assistant for both Miles and Gundy that is alleged to have provided bonus payments. DeForrest is currently an assistant at West Virginia.

While I'm all for vacating a loss in Stillwater, the big news is how will this roll through the LSU program and how much Miles will be questioned/have his focus shifted from coaching in the next two weeks.

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