Remember Kawika Mitchell? He was part of that great 1998 recruiting class of linebackers at Georgia. He transferred to USF after his freshman season (reportedly to be closer to his girlfriend), and he’s become a solid pro. He’s currently with Buffalo on injured reserve.

The Bills picked up lineman Richie Incognito this week, and Mitchell used his Twitter account to make sure everyone know what he thinks of the addition.

Since it’s a slow time before the bowls and it might be January before we get any concrete news about the new coaches, I’ll throw out a topic that has been getting a lot of play, of all places, in the legal blogosphere: should replay officials review plays de novo?

de novo, in the legal context, means to review a case fresh; that is, without considering the original outcome. Applied to football replays, de novo review would mean that replay officials would review the play and make a ruling based on the video without consideration for the ruling on the field. That’s contrary to most replay systems currently in use which defer to the field officials and require “indisputable video evidence” in order to overturn a call.

Why remove the burden of indisputable video evidence and instead ignore the original call? It centers around this one assumption: a replay official, with multiple angles and time to study the call, almost always has the advantage over a field official making the call in real time.

What about instances where the video replay is inconclusive? It could still be argued that the judgment of the replay official is the right way to go. If several moments and multiple camera angles aren’t enough to establish a conclusive ruling, why would the original call made in the heat of the moment be any more accurate?

Go back to calls like the LSU interception against Alabama. With the ruling on the field of a catch out of bounds, the burden under the current standard is to prove conclusively that the defender’s foot was in bounds. Based on the outcome of the review (the call was upheld), we conclude that the standard wasn’t met. But under a de novo review, the booth would be free to consider the play and the number of angles without being constrained by the ruling on the field.

Since there are a lot of educated minds kicking this topic around, some good points have been raised. Overuse of replay and its effect on the game’s pace are vaild concerns. There are also disagreements over whether multiple video angles really can provide a better look at a call than an official who is in great position to see the play. That’s especially valid considering the non-standardized equipment and video quality in the booth that’s often poorer than what home viewers see.

PS…regardless of the standards used for review, I’ll beat my drum here again for unmanned cameras positioned at goal lines.

PPS…I do like Josh Patashnik’s point about the arbitrariness of calls, especially when it comes to spotting the ball. It’s always amused me that the officials can eyeball the placement of the spot for every play – including the one that sets the chains to begin with – and yet the decision to award a first down depends on a (relatively) precise measurement.

Rivals has information this morning about which conferences will be assigned to referee the 2009 bowl games. Officials from the Mountain West conference will work Georgia’s Independence Bowl matchup with Texas A&M. The piece also looks at how conferences go about assigning their various crews to work the bowls – it’s as much a reward and merit-based system for the officials as it is for the teams.

After grading each official’s work during the regular season, each conference sends its top officials at each position to NCAA national coordinator David Parry, who assembles bowl crews by conference. Parry then assigns each bowl game a crew of neutral conference officials.

We offer our condolences to the teams playing in the Alamo, Champs Sports, Orange, and St. Petersburg Bowls. They’ll be getting SEC refs, and it will be interesting to see who the conference sends as its best officials.

Congratulations to Mark Ingram. He’s as good a choice as anyone this year, and his reaction to winning the Heisman was a great and genuine moment.

Ingram is barely home from New York, and he already faces the question faced by any underclassman winner: can he do it again? It would be a tough order, and history won’t be on his side. The previous two Heisman winners won as underclassmen and neither was able to repeat. In the case of Bradford, injury cut short any repeat talk before it could get started. In the case of Tebow, the phenomenon of Tebow fatigue and declining stats since that 2007 season kept him from repeating. Tebow still managed to become a rare 3-time finalist, and Ingram can still match that feat.

I don’t expect there to be nearly as much “Ingram fatigue” as there was Tebow fatigue. As star football players go, Ingram’s still relatively anonymous. He’s not the outspoken leader that Tebow is/was. With such teammates as Cody, McLain, and Julio Jones, it’s possible that Ingram isn’t even the biggest name on his own team. That will change almost immediately. The Ingram media blitz is underway, and he’ll be the centerpiece of the championship game coverage as well as every preseason publication next year. I still think it won’t be as obnoxious or overbearing as what we saw out of Gainesville, but that was as much the media’s creation as anything, and Ingram will only have so much control over his own image going forward.

If someone other than Ingram is going to win the 2010 Heisman, he’s likely going to have to come from relative obscurity (much as Ingram did). 2009 was unusual with established stars like Tebow, McCoy, and Bradford all returning, but that won’t be the case next year. Of the top 10 from this year’s results, only three – Ingram, Boise’s Kellen Moore, and Houston’s Case Keenum – might be back next year. That number might dwindle further as Keenum explores his draft options.

You’re sure to hear some specific names come up next year. There are the stars from traditional powers: Pryor for sure will at least be in the preseason discussion and given every chance to win it. Even young players like Barkley and Forcier could come into play if their teams have strong seasons. Then there are exciting players from the next tier of programs: Dion Lewis at Pitt is bound to draw some attention. Kellen Moore could launch his candidacy with a BCS bowl win this year. Ryan Williams at Virginia Tech and LaMichael James at Oregon were phenomenal freshmen. The Pac-10 will have several high-profile quarterbacks (Luck, Masoli, Barkley, and even Locker). Finally there are the gaudy stat guys. Keenum would be the head of this class if he returns. Ryan Mathews at Fresno put up over 1,600 yards rushing despite missing a game. Ryan Mallett had a strong season for Arkansas and could put up big numbers in Petrino’s offense, but turnover on the staff and general questions about the quality of Arkansas could hurt his Heisman chances.

But, yeah. There don’t seem to be many sure-fire candidates – as it stands now – to challenge Ingram. That’s the story of Ingram’s improbable season though. If someone other than the Big 3 quarterbacks was going to win the Heisman this year, hardly anyone mentioned that it could be the sophomore tailback from Alabama. Coming into 2009 Reggie Bush was the only non-quarterback to win the award this decade. Ingram himself was barely on the Heisman radar at midseason. A lot of players had some very good seasons, but the lack of a real focal point (think Tebow in 2007 or Bush in 2005) opened up the race to a group of nontraditional candidates like Gerhart, Suh, and of course the first Heisman winner from Alabama. As stark as the Heisman landscape might look entering 2010, we know there will be several players who emerge.

Ingram’s biggest obstacle to repeating might be sharing a locker room with him. Even playing behind a Heisman winner true freshman Trent Richardson managed 642 yards and 5.1 YPC. I’m not suggesting that Richardson will beat out Ingram next year, but they will split time. It’s a fact of life as a tailback. Will Ingram get enough carries to put up Heisman-type numbers, and can he match his 6+ YPC number again? The presence of another capable back isn’t necessarily a death sentence for Heisman hopes though – Ingram won it this year despite Richardson’s impressive freshman season, and Reggie Bush managed just fine alongside another NFL-quality back.

What does Ingram have to do to repeat? At the bare minimum, he’ll need to:

• Stay healthy. Ingram played through some pain late in the season, but anything more serious could have cost him valuable exposure and stats in a tight race. It was only two years ago that Dennis Dixon had his legitimate Heisman chances stopped cold by injury.
• Put up far better numbers. Ingram’s 2009 stats were enough for him to win a close vote this year, but they were the fewest rushing yards by any Heisman-winning back since 1975. He can’t hope to repeat if his stats drop or even stay constant – the bar has been set. The challenge will be getting his numbers while playing alongside Richardson and a maturing passing game that features McElroy, Jones, and Maze.
• Feature on a winning team. Bama still figures to be strong, but just dropping a game or two along the way could derail a Heisman candidate. Alabama will play Penn State and Florida in addition to the usual SEC slate in 2010.

I know it’s my job as a Georgia fan to look down on the ACC. OUR 7-5 TEAMS BEAT YER CHAMPS HAHA. That’s more like it. But when I read how bad the ratings were for the ACC Championship game (h/t Get the Picture), especially relative to the Big 12 Championship, I have to ask: what were you all thinking? You were watching the wrong game.

Other than the legendary performance of Suh, the Big 12 game was mind-numbingly awful. I couldn’t turn away from it quickly enough. I know what was at stake – a spot in the BCS title game and even the Heisman. Even that wasn’t enough to hold interest.

Meanwhile the ACC game was compelling from start to finish. Clemson started the scoring right away. It was clear from the start that Spiller – playing through injury – would be a major story. Tech’s relentless option was also in fine form, and Nesbitt dragging his team down the field for a key third quarter touchdown was more impressive and skillful than anything Mr. Sideline Pass did on ABC.

Fortunately I was able to watch both endings and see Texas do their best to give the conference title, national title, and Heisman away. But I also got to see Clemson come back from two scores down before Tech began their slow and inevitable march to the winning score. There was no question which game was more entertaining and a better use of my time. Blame the low ratings on the the fact that it’s ACC football, but I’m surprised that a lot more people didn’t abandon ABC for ESPN as the night went on.

Clay Travis does the art of rationalization proud with his piece on the NCAA’s interest in Tennessee’s recruiting practices. He asks some good questions, but he veers into in-the-tank-land with arguments like this one:

And how about using “nearly 200 miles” as the distance instead of writing, “three hours in a car.” Is it really that surprising that a college student would take a road trip of three hours? Especially in the South, for a football game? Is it even that uncommon for someone to drive three hours to watch a sporting event? Nearly 200 miles makes the trip sound much further, especially to east coast readers.

Sure – I mean what college student hasn’t taken a nearly 200-mile (178-mile, sorry) road trip to watch an otherwise meaningless high school game whose only redeeming value is that it features a couple of kids who have committed to play for the college you attend and represent? Though I was one of the rare college students who chose to, you know, remain in a vibrant college town on a Friday night in the fall, I have to admit that it was tempting to pack up and – completely unprompted – head a few hours deep into South Freaking Carolina to show my school spirit.

A deeper look at Travis’s column over at TSK.

The AP All-SEC teams were announced yesterday, and Georgia placed seven on the lists including Curran, Butler, and Green on the first team. The good news for Georgia is that as many as six of their seven all-conference players could be returning for 2010 (depending of course on what juniors like Curran and Boling decide to do).

It’s usually interesting to go back to the preseason all-conference teams to see which assumptions were closest, who emerged during the season, and who didn’t live up to expectations or had to deal with the heartbreak of injuries. We’ll start with the offense:

Quarterback:

Preseason 1st Team: Tim Tebow
Preseason 2nd Team: Jevan Snead

Postseason 1st Team: Tim Tebow
Postseason 2nd Team: Ryan Mallett

Comments: That Mallett would win postseason honors isn’t a big surprise. He was expected to have a big season in Bobby Petrino’s second year, and he delivered this year’s Tim Couch performance – nice stats on an average team. He led the league in passing as well as total offense. There’s not much to say about Tebow holding on to the first team spot – it was his to lose, and he didn’t slip up.

The story at quarterback was Snead. Few players were hotter at the end of 2008, and, contrary to the circus at SEC Media Days, it wasn’t heresy to suggest that Snead was a worthy challenger to Tebow’s supremacy. Signs of trouble were there in the opener when he threw two interceptions against Memphis. Preseason hopes were finally dashed at South Carolina where the flaws of the Ole Miss team were laid out bare on national television. On the year he threw for 20 TD against 17 INT. Ole Miss still won 8 games, but it wasn’t the season that the Rebels or Snead expected.

Running Back:

Preseason 1st Team: Charles Scott, Michael Smith
Preseason 2nd Team: Mark Ingram, Anthony Dixon

Postseason 1st Team: Mark Ingram, Anthony Dixon
Postseason 2nd Team: Dexter McCluster, Montario Hardesty, Ben Tate

Comments: The preseason first team gave way to the second team. Ingram built on a solid freshman season to emerge as a legitimate Heisman candidate, and Dixon was the primary weapon on offense for a Mississippi State team that claimed a few scalps and scared several others in an impressive debut for Dan Mullen.

McCluster’s inclusion on the second team is another way of recognizing the SEC’s most versatile player. He also shows up on the postseason first team under “all-purpose.” In the preseason he was listed as a 2nd team all-SEC receiver (see below). That all should tell you what he meant to the Ole Miss offense and how enjoyable he was to watch this year. Hardesty and Tate became dependable workhorses that led their first-year coaches to bowl eligibility. Despite sharing time with other capable backs (Brown at Tennessee and Fanning at Auburn), Hardesty and Tate stood out enough to merit recognition.

Injuries took down the preseason favorites. But for a wonderful 145-yard outing against Auburn, Smith never got going this year and finally had to hang it up after struggling with a hamstring injury all season. Scott likewise never got going during the season, and the two touchdowns he scored at Georgia remain the only points he put up against SEC competition. He put up 100 yards only once: 112 yards against Tulane. Scott’s season came to an end after he suffered a broken collarbone against Alabama.

Tight End:

Preseason 1st Team: D.J. Williams
Preseason 2nd Team: Aaron Hernandez

Postseason 1st Team: Aaron Hernandez
Postseason 2nd Team: Colin Peek

Comments: Hernandez was enough of a known entity to rate a preseason mention, and his stature rose as he became one of Tebow’s favorite targets. He was effective either in close quarters on the shovel pass or downfield as a dependable receiver who could move the chains. Alabama’s strategy to disrupt the shovel pass on Florida’s opening series was a tip of the cap to the impact Hernandez has had. Peek likewise became one of his quarterback’s preferred targets. The Alabama offense seemed tailor-made for a traditional tight end, and Peek flourished after his transfer from Georgia Tech.

Preseason first-teamer D.J. Williams had a good season by tight end standards, but his chances to earn postseason honors were probably hurt by the performance of other Arkansas receivers like Greg Childs and Joe Adams. Williams had as many touchdowns as he had in 2008, but he had nearly half the receptions and yardage while battling a nagging ankle injury.

Receiver:

Preseason 1st Team: A.J. Green, Julio Jones
Preseason 2nd Team: Brandon LaFell, Dexter McCluster

Postseason 1st Team: Shay Hodge, A.J. Green
Postseason 2nd Team: Joe Adams, Riley Cooper, Brandon LaFell

Comments:

A.J. Green was good enough over the first half of the season that he managed only three receptions in November (due to missing the better part of four games due to various injuries) and still earned first team honors. Through the Florida game Green had at least three receptions per game and had no shortage of highlight-quality plays. Hodge meanwhile became the dependable and productive star of the Ole Miss offense. He might not have been as electrifying as McCluster, but you can’t ignore the SEC’s only 1,000 yard receiver.

The second-teamers are all solid choices. Adams was a big part of Mallett’s success. Cooper seemed headed for a future in baseball, but he returned for one more year with his roommate Tebow to lead the Gators in receiving yards and touchdowns. The LSU offense was unspectacular for much of the season, but LaFell remained one of the few bright spots.

As for Julio Jones, he didn’t have a disappointing season, but he was slowed by an injured ankle early in the season. He tallied only one touchdown and 175 yards through Alabama’s first seven games before coming to life with 7 receptions against Tennessee. He’s posted 398 yards and 3 TD in the final six games of the season. His highlight of the year had to be the short reception he turned into a 73-yard go-ahead touchdown against LSU. The play reminded everyone that, while his numbers might be down this year, Jones is still one of the most dangerous and explosive players in the SEC.

Offensive Line:

Preseason 1st Team: Ciron Black, Mike Johnson, John Jerry, Mike Pouncey, Maurkice Pouncey
Preseason 2nd Team: Clint Boling, Trinton Sturdivant, Lee Ziemba, Zipp Duncan, Josh McNeil

Postseason 1st Team: Mike Johnson, Ciron Black, Mike Pouncey, John Jerry, Maurkice Pouncey
Postseason 2nd Team: Clint Boling, Chris Scott, James Carpenter, Mitch Petrus, Ryan Pugh

Comments: I hope most honest fans would agree that line play is the toughest area to get a read on. There are few individual stats to compare other than the meaningless pancake block. So if the postseason first team is identical to the preseason line, I’ll take it.

Injuries cut into the preseason second team line. Sturdivant and McNeil were lost to knee injuries. Duncan and Ziemba didn’t have sub-par seasons; each received honorable mention on the postseason teams. Boling had another All-SEC season despite changing positions during the year for the second time due to injury elsewhere on the line.

The defensive staff might not be the only change when we meet up for another season of Georgia football in 2010. The editors of the Athens Banner-Herald have put their support behind the idea of charging a fee to tailgate on North Campus as a response to the ongoing trash problem.

In general outline, setting up some sort of fee for tailgating access to North Campus, presumably through some sort of permit system, seems to be the most workable option.

To be clear, there is currently no plan to implement such a fee. It’s just an idea floated as a possible solution to the problem that received much negative media coverage during the 2009 season. President Adams stated last week that he would “recoil a little bit” from the idea of a tailgating fee.

A fee/permit/registration system would have the benefit not only of keeping numbers down; it would also, in theory, help to identify those leaving the mess behind. Of course in practice that would also mean that some poor schmuck who holds a tailgating permit would be on the hook for trash left in their designated spot by friends-of-friends or passers-by on the heavily-traveled route from downtown. There’s also the question whether those who dump trash on North Campus would simply move to another area of campus or the surrounding town. Is it less of a problem if a less-scenic part of campus ends up looking like a landfill?

While a fee would bring certain obligations and responsibilities by tailgaters, tailgaters should also expect something for their money. Better access to portable restrooms, even more trash containers and dumpsters, and even things like access to electricity should be considered.

The idea isn’t without precedent. Auburn has implemented a fee to tailgate at a certain area, and their experience would be worth studying if UGA considers the idea. It’s not an exact analogue – Auburn’s space is prime real estate next to the stadium and carries a price tag to match.

It’s official – the Dawgs are going to meet the 6-6 Texas A&M Aggies in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl on Monday Dec. 28 at 5:00 ET.  The game will be televised on ESPN2.  Georgia is 1-3 all-time against the Aggies.  Georgia dropped the first three meetings – including a postseason loss in the 1950 Presidential Cup Bowl.  But the Dawgs took the most recent game – a 42-0 win in Athens in 1980.

If you wanted to find the least ideal opponent for a team that was short three defensive coaches, it would be a team that was near the top of a major conference and rated among the top 5 nationally in total offense.  That’s just what Georgia is getting in Texas A&M.  Through all games, the Aggies led the Big 12 in total offense and were third in scoring offense.  Isolating only conference games A&M was second in total offense and still third in scoring offense.  They got there primarily behind a rushing offense that was second-best in the league with 180 YPG, and they also averaged 245.4 YPG passing against Big 12 competition.

The Aggie running game is led by a duo of backs Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray.  The two have similar stats, but Michael leads the team in touchdowns and has been getting the bulk of the carries lately.  The running game is augmented by a mobile quarterback.  Jerrod Johnson is an efficient passer who torched Texas for 342 yards passing and 97 yards on the ground.  For the season Johnson has an impressive 455 net yards and 8 touchdowns rushing along with 28 TD through the air against just 6 INT. (By contrast, the Georgia record for passing touchdowns in a season is 25.) 

The Georgia defense and its hodgepodge of coaches will have a tough job first containing the triple running threat while paying attention to a diversified passing game that has seen nine Aggies (including both featured tailbacks) record at least 15 receptions during the season.  They convert third downs at nearly a 50% clip, thanks no doubt to Johnson’s ability to create.

There’s a silver lining of course and a reason why such a potent offense led to a 6-6 record.  The Aggies were the Big 12’s worst defense in terms of scoring defense and total defense.  They gave up over 460 YPG to conference opponents.  They were dead last in passing defense, and their rushing defense is also among the bottom quarter of the Big 12.  Against bowl-eligible Big 12 teams, the Aggies gave up an average of 42 PPG. 

As you might expect, that volatile combination of potent offense and toxic defense has led to A&M being on both sides of some lopsided scores.  They got blown out by Arkansas and Kansas State but rebounded to put up at least 35 points in wins over bowl-bound Texas Tech and Iowa State.  They followed those wins up by losing to a bad Colorado team and getting destroyed 65-10 by an Oklahoma squad that limped to a 7-5 record. 

Many saw A&M’s most recent outing – a 49-39 loss to Texas on Thanksgiving night.  The Aggies, led by Johnson’s incredible performance, kept pace with the #2 team in the nation but had their back broken by a 95-yard kickoff return.  The Aggies put up a prodigious 532 yards but allowed 597 (plus 186 return yards).

There are common opponents. Two weeks after losing to Georgia in Fayetteville, Arkansas put a 47-19 beating on Texas A&M at a neutral-site game in Dallas. Arkansas trailed after the first quarter but put up 23 points in the second quarter to break the game open.  The Hogs were able to move the ball on the ground as well as through the air, and their dominance of the game let Mallet have a relatively reserved 17-27-271 day with 4 TD passes.

The Aggies fared slightly better against Oklahoma State.  The Cowboys won by a close 36-31 margin in College Station. Georgia lost 24-10 in the season opener at Oklahoma State.

Georgia’s defense will have its work cut out, but the offense will be under pressure to put points on the board and keep the ball away from a potent Aggie attack.  The Dawgs led their conference in scoring (in conference games), but they’ve also done themselves in with turnovers. They’ll need the strong running game we saw at Georgia Tech to control the clock and keep the Aggie firepower on the bench.  There should also be opportunities in the passing game, and the return of A.J. Green could provide a big spark for Georgia.

As we wait for the BCS and bowl picture to shake out this afternoon…

• The final week of the regular season proved to be one of the most entertaining of the year.  From Fresno-Illinois to the big championship games, there was no shortage of drama, amazing individual performances, or great finishes.  It was also the week of the botched extra point.
• What has Texas done over the past two games to make their case as the presumptive opponent for Alabama?  Take another look at that non-conference schedule. Scheduling a championship season is something we talked about as soon as last season ended, and it looks as if the Longhorns are going to get there. 
• Most of the best individual efforts in yesterday’s game came from the losing side.  Suh, Spiller, Keenum, and Dion Lewis were all standouts in their games but were let down by those on the other side of the ball.
• Good news: Charlie Strong might be headed to Louisville.  Bad news:  Florida might join a crowded market for defensive coordinators.  Georgia’s under a lot of pressure already to make an impact hire, and, in the hyper-competitive SEC, you know that Georgia fans are going to measure their choice of coordinator against Florida’s.
• Speaking of which, I think we can safely remove Kevin Steele from Georgia’s list.  A lot of teams look bad against Tech’s offense, but that wasn’t the best audition last night. Given two shots against Tech this year Clemson’s defense actually looked worse last night than back in September.
• Will Tech be among those making defensive changes in the offseason?  Paul Johnson can’t like grinding out touchdown drives only to give up a quick score going the other way.  They’ve come out on the right side of most of their shootouts this year, but that’s mostly due to his offense’s ability to control the clock at the end of the game.
• I’m hoping for a Tech-Cincinnati matchup in the Orange Bowl.  We’d get to see whether that scoreboard has a third digit.
• Welcome Zander Ogletree to Georgia football.  UGASports.com broke the news ($) yesterday that the twin brother of safety Alec Ogletree would join the recruiting class of 2010. 
• Georgia’s defense is going to be short on coaches heading into the bowl game.  I can’t blame the departing coaches; their top priority now is finding their next gig.  Mark Richt and Rodney Garner will direct the defense with help from graduate assistants.  Hopefully the offensive scheme of the bowl opponent will be pretty straightforward – I wouldn’t be too excited about playing a team like Missouri.
• Congratulations to Alabama.  Incredible effort and plan on both sides of the ball.  Florida’s running game has been a storyline for several years now, and it was glaring yesterday. 

So after yesterday’s fun it looks as if Shreveport and the Independence Bowl are the most likely postseason destination for Georgia. There’s enough griping about that, but it’s really not worth getting worked up over. I’ll still eat at Chick-fil-A (mmmmmmmm…Peppermint Chocolate Chip milkshake…..). Of course nothing’s official now until the conference allows bids to go out after the championship game, and it’s amusing to read all of the disclaimers and denials taking place since the announcements started breaking after Auburn and the Outback broke the logjam. “We haven’t extended an invitation to anyone yet. In fact, we’re still researching at this moment exactly which teams are in the SEC and ACC. Of course we’re still VERY interested in – what team are you calling about again?” said Chick-fil-A Bowl spokesman Gary Stokan.

So, at the risk of going against protocol, we’ll still assume it’s Shreveport for the Dawgs. And that’s life. As Texas Dawg noted in the comments yesterday, it could mean an interesting opponent from the Big 12. With teams like Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas A&M in play a decent matchup does seem to be a possibility. I’m about over playing the Big 10 at this point. And at the very least, Georgia will be an answer to a trivia question as the bowl will sever its tie with the SEC after this season.

Still, Shreveport remains a bit of a punchline among SEC fans, and people seem in agreement on what this destination offers as a lesson for Georgia: take care of business next time against Kentucky. Actually, that’s not the lesson. Auburn lost 5 of its last six games against FBS competition including a home game with Kentucky but still finds itself headed for a New Year’s Day bowl. That’s the thing about a glut of 7-5 teams: we can beat ourselves up for losing to Kentucky, but any of our peers can be singled out for their blunders and missed opportunities too. The lesson is something Mark Richt has said many times in the past. When you don’t take care of the things you can control, you leave your fate to the whims of others. It’s not about what one team or another deserves or has earned. The same whims can set you up on New Year’s Day in Florida or banish you to Shreveport, and either fate can be justified.

There’s another lesson, though. Would Georgia, at 8-4, be a more attractive to a bowl than a herd of 7-5 teams? Well, yes, that’s the point of the “just beat Kentucky next time” lesson. But Georgia is also the only one of the SEC’s six 7-5 teams to face three BCS conference opponents in their nonconference schedule, two of which were ranked. Where did that get us?

Tennessee and Georgia both finished the season with identical overall and conference records (7-5 and 4-4). The other four SEC teams with 7-5 records all were 3-5 in the league and got to seven wins with perfect nonconference records. Of those teams, only South Carolina played more than one nonconference opponent from a BCS conference. Would Tennessee or Georgia be more attractive bowl teams had they swapped UCLA or Oklahoma State for a generic mid-major to get to 8-4? It didn’t hurt Ole Miss, did it?

There’s another way to look at it of course. These trips to Tempe, Boulder, and – I suppose – Stillwater can be their own bowl trips within a season. Anyone who made the trip to Tempe can tell you that the scene felt just like a bowl (and a major bowl at that). The upside in a situation like 2008 is that you get a nice midseason bowl-like trip and get the win that builds your resume for a better postseason bowl bid. We saw the downside this year when a nonconference road loss to a quality opponent probably contributed (along with the whole losing 4 conference games thing) to missing out on a more attractive bowl game.

Damon Evans’ consistent message in his approach to scheduling is to “build the brand”. That brand took enough damage this year thanks to the results on the field, but the aggressive scheduling won’t be doing the brand any favors this bowl season.

We learned earlier that the Outback Bowl had selected Auburn. Now the Knoxville News Sentinel is reporting that the Chick-fil-A Bowl will pair Tennessee against Virginia Tech.

Is the Music City Bowl the next best option? Georgia might face strong competition from Kentucky where local sources are playing up the Wildcats’ chances.

“I think from all I know and am hearing, Kentucky will be in the Music City Bowl,” said a bowl source Monday.

The bowl’s preferences might have shifted during the course of the day as the Outback and Chick-fil-A Bowls made their moves. Kentucky has traveled well to Nashville, but they’ve been to that bowl after two of the past three seasons. Will fans be as enthusiastic for a third trip to Nashville since 2006?

South Carolina is another remote possibility for the Music City Bowl – a potential North Carolina vs. South Carolina matchup has been mentioned.

If Georgia slides past the Music City Bowl, they’ll be looking at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, or the PapaJohn’s Bowl in Birmingham. Paul thinks Arkansas is a lock for the Liberty, and we won’t argue with that. Shreveport seems most likely in that scenario.

WVLT in Knoxville is reporting that the Outback Bowl will select Auburn, and the Cotton Bowl will welcome back Ole Miss. If true, that would mean that the top five SEC bowl slots are now settled:

BCSC: Alabama/Florida
BCS: Alabama/Florida
Capital One: LSU
Cotton: Ole Miss
Outback: Auburn

There are six SEC teams with 7-5 records. Auburn is one of them. They are 1-3 against the others. But of course bowls aren’t about the best teams; the Outback is banking on Auburn fans traveling and selling tickets.

What does that mean for Georgia? Tennessee and Georgia, both at 4-4 in the conference and 7-5 overall, look to be the best remaining teams on the board. But as the Outback just demonstrated, the records don’t really matter now. Granting that the bowls could pick South Carolina, Kentucky, or Arkansas too, you’d expect the Chick-fil-A Bowl to pick between the Bulldogs and Volunteers. The outcome of the ACC Championship will have an impact since the availability of either Clemson or Georgia Tech will change things.

It’s true that a Clemson-Georgia matchup would sell tickets and draw a lot of regional interest, but I doubt that’s weighing on the committee of the CFA Bowl. This bowl is one of the few that rarely has trouble selling tickets, and Tennessee fans excited over this season would likely be able to fill the Dome as well as Georgia fans regardless of the opponent. It’s really a toss-up, and I don’t see it being settled until after the conference championships are played this weekend. It’s anyone’s guess what happens after the Chick-fil-A Bowl decides, but the Music City Bowl would seem to be the most likely destination for the team not selected to play in Atlanta. Again, though, there are still five SEC teams with 7-5 records from which to choose, and it will come down to which program and fan base is likely to sell the most tickets and generate tourism and interest for the host cities. Kentucky has traveled well to Nashville in the past, so Shreveport, Memphis, and Birmingham are still very much on the table for Georgia.

Since no one asked, my preference is for the Music City Bowl in Nashville. I know Atlanta’s a great town, but I live there. Nashville’s a fun town (even if the last visit to the Music City Bowl was frigid), and it’s an easy trip. The projected opponent in the MCB is North Carolina. I know some have a preference for a traditional rival like Clemson in the bowl game, but Georgia also has tradition with the Tar Heels though the teams haven’t met since 1971. Georgia holds a thin 16-12-2 advantage in the series that includes a 20-10 Georgia win in the 1947 Sugar Bowl which featured the great Charley Trippi.

I’m sure none of you are surprised by my preference to play the Heels.

Well…at least his jersey is.

Matthew Stafford, the NFL’s first overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, had a record-setting and gutsy effort in the Detroit Lions’ thrilling 38-37 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 11. The torn jersey he wore on Sunday and a football he threw for one of his five touchdowns in the win were delivered to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Tuesday.

The mementos were promptly placed on exhibit in the Hall of Fame’s Pro Football Today Gallery next to a number of other recent acquisitions from moments that made history this season.

Stafford was also wired for his record-setting performance by NFL Films, and NFL Films president Steve Sabol called it the “most dramatic player wiring ever.” Looking forward to hearing that – over 350 players have been wired since 1965, so a recording called the “most dramatic” out of all of those has to be pretty compelling.

SEE ALSO: Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford part of ‘cinematic folklore’ after win (h/t Hale). NFL Films president Steve Sabol said Stafford “earned a lasting place in the cinematic folklore of the NFL.”

This was one way to get through the second half:

A University student was arrested with felony possession of cocaine after a bag of white powder was discovered on him in Sanford Stadium during Saturday’s football game between Georgia and Kentucky.

My favorite part: explaining to the arresting officer how he came to have the bag.

The officer asked what the bag was, and Jahn said he did not know because he found it on the bathroom floor earlier in the evening.

Because picking up unknown bags of white powder from a stadium bathroom floor would have been entirely understandable and normal.