The Plan. It is working. I'll be the first to admit: I was not convinced that an opening weekend game in the Georgia Dome would ever lead to much. I thought Alabama's thrashing of Clemson last year was interesting from a football standpoint, of course, but I figured that would mostly be that. I couldn't imagine that the Chick-fil-A Bowl committee could find a notable SEC and ACC team every year willing to sacrifice a home game pay day to make it an every year event.
But then, ESPN stepped up in a big way to make it worth schools' whiles. It's an event that is basically now taking over the opening weekend, considering that College GameDay is kicking off the season from Atlanta for the second consecutive year. It's a matchup of preseason top ten teams and definitely the best game of the weekend.
Remember when FSU and Miami chose to move their game to opening weekend to get lots of TV eyeballs? It was nice in theory, except that the teams kept delivering one stink bomb after another. This SEC-ACC event should deliver this year, though I wonder how long the ACC will hold the spot opposite the SEC.
Your questions, answered. If you had any questions regarding the SEC's new media policy, chances are they're answered by the Rocky Top Talk gang. A lot of them are unenforceable in practice when it comes to fans, bloggers, and other folks of the sort. I agree with hooper, the author of the post, that the ones who are hurt most are small, local media outlets. Onward and upward with ESPN, I guess.
This year is all about the Gator D, isn't it? The Florida coaching staff has been hounded for months by folks wondering who would step into the "Percy Position," the rushing and receiving role vacated by Percy Harvin. They've listed off lots of names, but a new one has surfaced for the Wildcat formaiton part of the role: CB Joe Haden.
Nothing is final yet, but Haden is getting some snaps on offense. He played quarterback in high school in Maryland, passing for more than 70 TDs in his career, but Tim Tebow's presence convinced him to focus full time on defense. After impressing Urban Meyer with a throw this off season, he's got a shot. If it works well, don't be surprised to see fellow former QB-turned-defensive back Will Hill get a crack at it before he leaves Gainesville.
Good to know. There are probably going to be only two offenses in the West worth watching on a regular basis for people who are not fans of those teams. Catch up with one of them with this practice report on Arkansas' offense. Did you hear that Arkansas has a running back who transferred from USC? If not, now you did. Anyone else find it somewhat fitting that Bobby Petrino is good at attracting transfers?
It's funny. Laugh. Even though the season is fast approaching, it's still the off season and that means there's still time to squeeze in some more off season humor. This time, it's SEC lightbulb jokes. As in, "how many ________ students does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" They're cheesy, sophomoric, stereotypical, and pretty funny.
Speaking of funny... There's also always time to make fun of the ACC. Today's turn? Clemson. The Tigers from the Upstate got docked two practices because its players wore girdles to the first two of this month's workouts. No, really.