SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Team Speed Kills Now. Then. Miss our podcast on the SEC Champoinship Game with bloggers from Roll Bama Roll, Capstone Report and Alligator Army as well as our own Year2? Podcast version below, and you can always get a recording of any of the episodes on the show site.
What should we call it? The favorite in corners like Dr. Saturday is Florabamaggedon. I'm more partial to Florabamapocalypse or Floridalabamapocalypse. We put a few names below in a poll question to leave things up to you. The winner by the end of Wednesday will be the official Team Speed Kills name.
Nothing like a coaching rumor before a big game
Tomahawk Nation, which covers Florida State for us here at SB Nation, floats a name for the now vacant defensive coordinator position in Tallahassee: Kirby Smart, currently holding the same position at Alabama.
I am not saying this will happen but rather that there are legitimate reasons why Smart would want to come to Florida State. ...
'Bama could pay more money than Florida State, but the question is would they pay more money than Florida State. This ties in with the "it's Saban's defense" issue. Does Saban think Smart is worth what FSU might be willing to pay, or does he think he could just get another protege? If Florida State offered something like $800K, would Bama match the offer? If Saban taught Smart he might think he could easily get someone else to do a similar job, and because of his defensive prowess, he is probably right.
Ah. Distractions.
Also, Florida is a swing state, which helps
President Obama is cheering for the Gators because the father of RT Marcus Gilbert is on his Secret Service detail. When the guy is willing to take a bullet for you, you root for his son.
Paul Johnson approves
Now you can beat up Nick Saban or Urban Meyer in a computer game. Because that's really what we needed in this world.
OTHER NEWS
Bowl confirmations
We handled most of these in projections earlier, but the last three spots look to have Arkansas in the Liberty, Georgia playing the Independence and South Carolina signed up for the Papajohns.com. I don't name the things.
Just to stay ahead of the inevitable rumors and FlightAware tracking
Steve Spurrier is going to get a recruit-pleasing extension through 2013 and hope to get on pace for one of his less impressive goals.
"I like our freshmen and I like the guys coming in, and they need to know I certainly plan on being here four more years," Spurrier said in a phone interview. "And if I'm going to be the all-time winning coach here - which I said that was my goal when I was hired - I've got to average about eight wins a year instead of seven. We hope to get up to that eight to 10 (wins) range soon."
Spurrier is 35-27 in five seasons at USC and has had the Gamecocks bowl-eligible every year. Enright is No. 1 on USC's victories list with 64.
No, it's not JoePa. But it's something.
Hint
Wonder to whom Damon Evans could possibly be referring when he said this to the Athens Banner-Herald.
If Georgia coach Mark Richt decides to make changes to his coaching staff, athletic director Damon Evans said he's willing to be "competitive" to attract top candidates.
Subtle, Mr. Evans.
Stay classy, Atlanta
Paul Johnson has a solution for any Georgia Tech fan who's having trouble with the fans of Georgia, a team that defeated the Yellow Jackets' ACC Championship-bound squad despite having the most disappointing season of their head coach's career.
"Why would the University of Georgia define Georgia Tech?" Johnson said during an apperance on 790 The Zone's Brandon and Woolvey program. "What have they done to be the mark for Georgia Tech football? What's the last thing they won? 1980?"
Actually, the Bulldogs have won two SEC championships since Mark Richt took over as head coach in 2001. Richt is 8-1 vs. the Jackets -- the sole loss coming last year in Athens. ...
"Get a thick skin. Guy giving you a hard time and you get tired of it, punch him in the face," he said, tongue-in-cheek.
Why would the University of Georgia define Georgia Tech? Maybe because they're better than you even when having their worst team in a decade while you have your best team in at least a decade. Not to mention the fact that the Dawgs' coach doesn't half-jokingly endorse violence against opposing fans.
Richt on the Bowden resignation
As a South Carolina fan, I always hoped that the end of Bobby Bowden's time in Tallahassee would be the beginning of Mark Richt's. Oh well; no such luck. But Richt puts out a classy statement to mark the end of the legend's time at Florida State.
"I'm thankful for my relationship with him and the lesson I learned that not only is winning games important, but also keeping the game in the proper perspective. I can only imagine how many lives have been impacted by him in a positive way, including my own. Other than my father, he's been the most influential man in my life."
Richt also credits Bowden for his Christian faith. He often tells the story of Bowden praying with him as Richt converted to Christianity in Bowden's Tallahassee office in 1986 after an FSU player was shot and killed.
This is something that it's easy to lose track of when we're wondering whether Bowden still has his sanity or joking about his seeming indifference to the football on the field. By most accounts, he was a good man. That's not a reason to keep a football coach around, but it should count for something.
It was handled about as badly as you could
Nobody from the school was actually there? The main take-away: This was not an amicable split and Bowden did not leave willingly.
But at least he can go to the Gator Bowl
No reason for him not to get an invite, since we've now basically established that a lack of resume is no reason to actually keep a team out of a New Year's Day bowl.
SMU going to a bowl
This isn't really an SEC story, but it's nice to see the Mustangs finally back in the postseason after becoming the first and probably last major college football team to ever get the death penalty.