Today is called “Cloud Hammer” in the Universal Solar Calendar and this morning, it became official: Cal, Stanford, and SMU will join the ACC. Oregon State and Washington State will be the only teams left in the PAC-12, if they don’t go and join the Mountain West Conference. So after this last season, we’ll have two California teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and two SoCal teams (USC and UCLA) and two PNW teams (Oregon and Washington) in the Big-10 (or Big-20 or whatever they’re calling themselves these days).
Yes, College Football is changing - not only massive Conference realignment but starting next season, we’ll have a 12-team playoff system. Already this season, the clock won’t automatically stop on 1st Down so that the networks can squeeze in more advertising time. And for over a year now, we’ve had players getting paid for their Name-Image-Likeness, transferring through a magic portal if they feel they’re not getting enough playing time, and opting out of games just minutes before kickoff if they’re concerned a potential injury might hurt their pro prospects. No, 21st-Century Schizoid Football ain’t your Big Brother’s sport anymore.
But today, Cloud Hammer, marks the start of the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs’ season and their quest for a three-peat National Championship. Can they do it? I’ll be the first to admit they have the easiest schedule in the SEC. Of the 13 teams on their regular-season schedule, only two teams (No. 12 Tennessee and No. 22 Mississippi) are in the Top 25. Tennessee might be the most dangerous game on Georgia’s schedule because although the Vols don’t have much Playoff potential, they might decide to play spoiler and crush the dreams of other contenders (they also have a game at Alabama). Other than that, it looks like a cakewalk for Georgia. Florida, the Dogs’ traditional arch-rival, has fallen on hard times and looked awful Thursday night in their 24-11 loss to No. 14 Utah (nine penalties cost them 46 yards and their QB got sacked five times).
My big worry is Georgia will go undefeated during the regular season but then, having never been seriously challenged, get blown out in the SEC Championship (probably by Alabama) or in the Playoffs if they win the SEC.
Today, the Dogs start their campaign in probably the most one-sided mismatch of the season. No. 1 Georgia, the repeat National Champion, is so heavily favored against unranked UT-Martin you can’t even bet on the game - Vegas and the sports books don’t even have a line for the game. And good luck trying to watch it - you have to subscribe to the SEC Network if you want to see the game.
I live in the South so of course I get the SEC Network, and I’ll be watching the game because of mental-health issues. Also to see how Georgia’s new starting QB, Carson Beck, performs. Playing behind Stetson Bennett the last couple years, Beck has appeared in 11 games that Georgia was leading its opponent with blow-out leads. In those games, he threw 58 passes, six of them for touchdowns, but always in “garbage time.” I wanna see how well he plays in Prime Time.
Other games worth watching today include Boise State at No. 10 Washington (3:30, ABC). As previously reported, Penix and the Huskies currently have the Magnificent Seven CFP Championship Belts and the Holy, Moley, Guacamole One True Belt (blessed be Its name) as well as one of the most dynamic offenses in the country. Today, they put their defense of the belts up against the Mountain West favorite.
If you like regional rivalries, Bonix and the Oregon Ducks play Portland State at 3:30. My dream is to see Bonix get drafted by the Patriots after this season. If you want to get an idea of what coast-to-coast competition might look like after the ACC expansion, Coastal Carolina plays at UCLA 10:30 tonight (warning: last night’s Arizona State-Southern Utah game lasted until 4:00 am this morning).
Finally, tomorrow night No. 5 LSU plays No. 8 Florida State in probably the best matchup of Week 1. It’ll certainly be more interesting than two-time National Champion No. 1 Georgia against unranked UT-Martin. Both the Tigers and the Seminoles are loaded with talent, although LSU will be without DL Maason Smith, who was suspended for receiving an “improper benefit.”
There are other games, but who’s got time for that shit? So enjoy College Football while it’s still around, and GO BULLDOGS!
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