College Football Roundup

Sports can sure stir up the old emotions. Take the "2025 Atlanta Gridiron Classic". GT screwed up the opening kickoff, the return man stepping out of bounds and takes a knee on the 3 yard line. Then a one yard loss, then QB King is lucky he isn’t called for intentional grounding in the end zone, which would have been a safety. Three plays – all bad for the Jackets. Not the best way to beat the #4 team in the country.

Dawgs ran the ball well in the first half but kept trying unsuccessfully to mix in the pass. Tech played better defense than they did against NC State and Pitt. I would’ve rather seen Tech win those games than beat UGA.
 
Tech needed to play perfect to win, and they didn’t. Too many penalties. But they kept it close. Dawgs were down to one starting offensive lineman. GT TE Brett Seither made catches he had dropped in previous games. He’s one of at least two Jackets who had transferred from UGA. It eventually got to the point where UGA needed to quit making mistakes, and for the most part they did.  

Did not realize that Peyton Woodring is the most accurate kicker in NCAA history. And he's not even a semi-finalist for the Lou Groza Award. Woodring needs to ditch the Brett Thorson WalMart look. GT kicker Birr cut the Dawgs lead to 16-9 with 3 minutes remaining. Very little offense from the Dawgs in the second half. They’d throw an incompletion on first down, then Tech would stop the 2nd down running play - setting up too many 3rd & longs.

Tech used timeouts too early and too often. So many keepers by Stockton. Dawgs convert the key 3rd & one to take the clock down to the 2 minute timeout. Dawgs were flat out playing conservative, not running any plays they might run against December opponents.

UGA WR Branch is some talent. Transferred from USC. A good attitude and leader. Before Bama played last night, Stockton continued to be the highest-rated SEC QB against ranked teams.

As usual the Jackets came to play against UGA. Not sure why they can’t play that well against lesser teams. They take their final timeout with 1:55 and stopped the Dawgs for no gains on 1st and 2nd down.

Dawgs run the clock down to 21 ticks before having to punt, which takes another 8 seconds off the clock. Lucky for Tech that the punt bounced into the end zone, or the clock might’ve run out right then. Two completions move the ball to the UGA 45 with time for one last Hail Mary. Didn’t work. Crazy game.

Not really a neutral site game, but a home game for Tech played at Mercedes Benz. GT has a 1-5 record when playing in Mercedes Benz Stadium. UGA is 8-5. Pretty sure Tech won’t be playing any more home games in Mercedes Benz.

And I've just about had it with "Good clean old fashioned hate", or whatever it is I kept hearing over and over. UGA has a whole list of more bitter rivalries: Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, even Clemson. It ain't a rivalry when one side has won the last 8 straight. Tech fans need to do a little of that analysis they're supposed to be so famous for. All the nit-picking and complaining just makes for a worse look. 

On Thursday we had the three NFL games on the TV. All were close: Packers@Lions, Chiefs@Cowboys, Bengals@Ravens.

Nebraska sophomore QB Dylan Raiola broke his leg in early November and is out for the rest of the season. His replacement has been playing well. Now Raiola is thinking about transferring. He’s played okay in his year and a half at Nebraska, but hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. More of a game manager than a game changer. Raiola went to three different high schools, “committed” first to Ohio State, then UGA, then Nebraska. Not sure I’d want him on my team.

Ole Miss not cashing in on every opportunity but still comfortably led 24-13. Tough to blow out a rival. Mississippi State has played teams tough this year. Finished 38-19.

Some hate to admit it, but Arch had a little to do with Texas upsetting the undefeated #3 ranked Aggies. For sure Texas A&M had played a much less tougher schedule than Texas had. Despite the cutting wind that many “experts’ forgot about, Arch went 14-29 by mostly throwing deep downfield, with defenders repeatedly committing uncalled pass interference penalties, according to the rules official in the booth.

Arch put the game out of reach with a 35 yard TD run. Too bad for the Dawgs, who must play next week instead of getting a couple weeks rest to recover from injuries. Kirby don’t care.

SC head coach Beamer seems like a stand up guy. Even Dabo likes him. But Beamer pulled one over on me, and I want my money back. I ain’t never gonna trust what he says again. He said his QB LaNorris Sellers was a Heisman candidate. A flat out lie. Guess Beamer had to say that to keep his QB happy, to keep him from transferring. Sellers dad encouraged young LaNorris to be content with the millions the Gamecocks were funneling his way. But the kid is no Heisman candidate. Prove me wrong. Any team that courts Sellers and empties the bank for him will be sorry. Miami? Go ahead and take him.

Sellers played against Clemson, and played poorly. Uninspired. Down the stretch I saw no sense of urgency. Threw a costly pick six. After that play the speedy track star who moonlights as a SC WR didn’t seem too upset. The WR would lose a fumble on the next SC possession. The Tigers took advantage of these and other opportunities, and won easily.

More teams should take Dabo's lead and save special uniforms for special occasions - starting with the orange championship pants. Genius idea. The Gamecocks should be the next to adopt this idea. Carolina's black jerseys and pants didn't look too bad when coupled with white helmets and socks.

Vanderbilt coasted past Tennessee. The win should get QB Diego Pavia a ticket to NYC for the Heisman presentation. He’s not my winner. Ohio State and Indiana punched their tickets to the conference championship game. Will the winning QB therefore win the Heisman? Probably, though that’s not my criteria.

Oklahoma edged LSU. Miami blew out Pitt, the same Panthers who blew out Tech. Lots of teams fighting to make the playoff.

Bama got out to a 10-0 first quarter lead in the iron Bowl. Ten 17-0, but the War Eagles came back to tie the game at 20. Tide score the go ahead TD late. Auburn had a couple of opportunities, but kept putting the ball down on the turf. Tida will be a tough foe for the Dawgs in the SEC Championship Game, what with all the injuries on the UGA offensive line. I don’t think they were sandbagging. 

Never thought that in 2025 Tom Brady would look like Bo Schembechler, or even Jim Harbaugh. The world must be coming to an end.

Thanksgiving

We were on the go all day Thursday, getting ready for Thanksgiving. Ceil and Matthew and Anna were cooking. Caleb had cooked the turkey. 

Anna fixed a dip. M had brought a buttercream pie. He made an apple crisp, macaroni and cheese, green beans. C made the dressing, homemade rolls, cinnamon rolls, and mashed potatoes. 

Will arrived from work around 6 and we ate soon thereafter. After everyone left we were cleaning up until 9 pm. We were worn out. Terrible photo...

MC had the girlies up with her family up in Cartersville. Will had spent the night up there Wednesday night before driving back for his shift. Since he had to work again on Friday, we thought he might spend the night at our house.

With Will working, we didn’t know if we’d be able to eat before 730 - otherwise we could’ve invited out of town family members to eat with us. Just don’t have enough bedrooms set up to accommodate a bunch of people. Plus all three dogs. We’re just not good at having people over.

Friday: slept past 930 am. Leftovers for brunch. No plans for today. C was trying to buy things online. Will had to be back at the ER at 6 am. Anna and Matthew had to work Friday as well.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” —John F. Kennedy.

Denison: a Harvard study reports that thanksgiving leads to emotional and social well-being, better sleep quality, lower depression risks, favorable markers of cardiovascular health, and may even extend lives.

Francis Bacon, the father of modern science, observed: “It’s not happy people who are thankful. It’s thankful people who are happy.”

LLOYD WANER [SABR Bio] set the highest batting average by a NL rookie, hitting .355 for the Pirates in 1927.  The team made it to the postseason that year with a lineup that read, in part, “Waner, Waner, Traynor”. Lloyd Waner was born in Harrah, Oklahoma in 1902. Waner set the rookie record, but it was broken by the Cardinals’ George Watkins who hit .373 three years later. That year the Giants Bill Terry hit .401, the last NL player over .400. Waner holds the major league Modern Era rookie record for runs scored. He scored 133 times that year, more than Joe DiMaggio’s 132 and Ted Williams’ 131. Lloyd’s older brother Paul broke into the majors the year before Lloyd. The writers put Paul in the HOF in 1952. Lloyd was inducted as player in 1967, voted in by the Veterans Committee.

Places to Travel inexpensively: Minneapolis. Myrtle Beach. Denver. Atlanta. Houston. Orlando. Vegas. Portland. Chicago. Austin.

How to stop taking everything so personally:

1. Learn what actually belongs to you, and what never did.

2. Most of what others say is a reflection of their inner weather, not a judgement of your worth.

3. When a storm passes overhead, you do not ask What did I do wrong?” You simply let it pass. In the same way, another person’s moods, words, or actions are often storms that were brewing long before you arrived.

4. Your peace isn’t threatened unless you hand it over.

5. Taking things personally comes from believing you most control how others think, feel, or receive you.

6. You are not responsible for managing the emotions that live inside someone else’s mind.

7. The moment you stop trying to be understood be everyone, you reclaim your freedom.

8. Respond from clarity – not from old wounds.

9. Be curious, not defensive. Be grounded, not reactive.

10. When your heart is steady, even harsh words lose their power.    

11. Do not let someone else’s chaos decide the temperature of your inner world.

12. Protect your inner peace.

13. You are allowed to walk away from anything that tries to pull you into a battle that isn’t yours.

14. Repeat this truth: nothing others do is because of me. Everything they do is because of them.

Passed on a cheap pair of like-new adidas Cloudfoam sneakers. Nice, but I try to stay away from grey shoes. Plus they didn't have stripes on the inside part of the shoe. And the last thing I need is another pair of shoes.

Georgia National Cemetery

Wednesday was a memorable day. W&MC dropped the girls off at our house. Then it didn’t take the girlies 5 minutes to get markers all over their clothes, hands, and faces. Cleaned them up a bit before leaving.

Then there were no pacifiers for little Millie, and the girls were having a breakdown right when we were trying to leave. We had to get on the road because we couldn’t be late. The Georgia National Cemetery in Canton was an hour away. I’d told C we needed to leave at 1245. We didn’t leave until 125.

Ceil got the girlies there on time. I had to drive separately, and had to stop off to buy some pacifiers. Bought extras to have here at the house for future emergencies.

The cemetery is located on top of a mountain. Right at 3 pm the procession started. A short drive from the marshaling center to where the service would take place. Less than 40 in attendance, mostly family. Taps was played by a bugeler, and rifles were fired. MC’s mother had prepared a speech, praising her late husband.

Shivonne and Millie were sitting with W&MC but were antsy. W&MC let them come back to me and C, and we let them roam around the pathways of the cemetery. A beautiful, cloudless day.

Will’s brother-in-law Thomas and sister-in-law Holly were home from San Francisco. They’d attended the Monday Night Football game in SF. Holly works there at Levi’s Stadium, and will be working on the upcoming Super Bowl and World Cup.

Ceil and I drove back home. Lots of people out on the roads. Ate at Moxie Burger. Ceil fixed an eggy boy for breakfast on Thursday morning.

Dishes for Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, dressing, gravy, green beans, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, an apple dessert, M made a pie, vanilla ice cream, ambrosia, French bread, homemade cranberry sauce, cinnamon rolls.

JOE SEWELL  [SABR Bio] had two brothers and a cousin who played in the majors. Sewell was born in Titus, Alabama in 1898 and played 14 years. His brother, Luke Sewell was a catcher who played 20 years, and was an All-Star in 1937. Their brother Tommy Sewell had only one pinch at-bat for the Cubs in 1927. A ”Cub of coffee” if you will. Cousin Rip Sewell compensated for a battlefield injury by inventing the “eephus” pitch. Joe was the second player to play more than 1000 consecutive games. His streak lasted 1103 games, beginning on 13-Sep-1922 when he pinch-hit for his brother Luke. It lasted until 30-Apr-1930. From 1931-1933 Sewell played for the Yankees and was a teammate of Lou Gehrig. The player whose record Gehrig broke (Everett Scott played 1307 straight games), was also briefly a teammate of the Iron Horse. Joe once said of his consecutive games streak, “No one made a big fuss about playing streaks 50-60 years ago. At that time, my straight games plus a dime would be good for a cup of coffee.”

Separated at birth: nate bargatze and GT QB Haynes King.

The Next Terry Bradshaw?

Back in the day Terry Bradshaw used to drive an old pickup truck. Country boy. Not the greatest hair. Tough as nails. Took a beating but usually got back up. UGA QB Gunner Stockton shares several of those same traits. May be his “hair” apparent. Replied to a tweet with this information and received over 6000 views. Ya never know. 

A good in depth article about Gunner in DawgNation. The kid had great hair in high school (with his sister). Wonder what happened?

Current college football total QB Rating. Calculated differently than the NFL rating system. Factors in rushing yards to better compare dual threat QBs with the less mobile dropback passers. I think. Seems like the better the team is doing, the higher the QBR. Seems to go hand in hand. You can just about pick games by comparing the QBR of the two QBs. Crazy that the top five Heisman contenders have the five highest QBRs.

1. 91.4 Jaydin Maiava USC

2. 90.3 Julian Sayin Ohio State

3. 89.5 Gunner Stockton UGA

4. 88.8 Fernando Mendoza Indiana

5. 86.9 Diego Pavia Vanderbilt

10. 81.7 CJ Carr Notre Dame

12. 80.9 Carson Beck Miami

13. 79.6 Ty Simpson Alabama

15. 78.8 Haynes King GT

34. 69.9 Cameran Brown Georgia State

45. 67.2 Brendon Lewis Memphis

46. 67.2 Arch Manning Texas

54. 64.3 LaNorris Sellars SC

56. 64.0 Dylan Raiola Nebraska

59. 62.9 Cade Klubnik Clemson

65. 61.3 Nico Iamaleava UCLA

67. 61.0 Amari Odom Kennesaw State

90. 55.1 JC French Georgia Southern

99. 50.1 Gio Lopez UNC has risen from the ashes and climbed out of the QBR cellar.

I like how on NFL games the players no longer introduce themselves with what college they attended, but some other random fact about their lives. What street they grew up on. Pictures of their daughters. Who can be the most different. Soon they’ll be sharing vacation photos, or putting on a little play, or endorsing a product. Bet Peyton and Eli hate missing out on this fad.

Crazy about that big fight between Gainesville and Brunswick. Gainesville is where former MLB pitcher Chris Carpenter was athletic director and former MLB pitcher / hitter Micah Owings used to coach.

Callaway is selling their share in Topgolf, and will only receive $770 million from the sale. I was never a fan. They spent $2 billion when they bought Topgolf in 2021.

WILLIE KEELER  [SABR Bio] once played on a team with seven Hall of Famers on the 1894 National League Champion Baltimore Orioles: John McGraw 1937, Dan Brouthers 1945, Hughie Jennings 1945, Wilbert Robinson 1945, Joe Kelley 1971, & Ned Hanlon 1996. Keeler was born in Brooklyn in 1872 and was voted into the HOF in 1939. He had more than 200 hits in eight consecutive seasons, averaging 132 games played per year in that streak. Between 1894 & 1901, he had 219, 213, 210, 239, 216, 216, 204 & 202 hits. His wise counsel on hitting is known by many but practiced by few: “Hit ‘em where they ain’t”. Story here.

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.” —Cicero.

Rating NFL QBs

Watched the new Peyton’s Places episode, featuring Kirk Cousins. Cousins is kinda like Peyton. Learned the complicated formula the NFL uses to determine their passing efficiency rating, which is a quarter of the following four components: completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdowns, and interceptions (below). Cousins career rating is higher than Peyton’s. Later we watched the Manningcast, with guests Jerry Rice and some country music star who grew up in Asheville.

Lotto buzz on the old social media about a certain NFL QB’s performance last weekend. News: at least 30 other QB’s also played. Should a veteran QB be expected to have a good game? Should a rookie QB be excused for having a bad game? Josh Allen had a bad game last week. So did Baker Mayfield. But are Jameis Winston and Jacoby Brissett great? They had great stats but lost. Geno Smith lost to a two win team. 

I’ve listed some stats below so we can compare, to see who had a good weekend, and who maybe not so much. The top 18 NFL QB’s from last week, based on passing yards. Got these numbers before SF and Carolina played Monday night.

YD comp % att-comp rating TD INT team QB result vs opponent’s record

366 50.0% 18-36 093.0…2 TD INT NYG Winston lost to DET 7-4

354 63.9% 23-36 103.2…2 TD INT DAL Prescott beat PHIL 8-3

352 63.0% 29-46 077.5…INT KC P Mahomes beat Colts 8-3

317 67.3% 33-49 092.0…TD Cards J Brissett lost to Jax 7-4

294 62.9% 22-35 087.1…TD INT NE Drake Maye beat CIN 3-8

289 69.2% 27-39 099.2…TD PHIL J Hurts lost to Dallas 5-5

285 68.2% 30-44 093.5…TD Raiders G Smith lost to CLE 3-8

279 66.7% 28-42 091.3…2 TD, INT DET J Goff beat NYG 2-10

273 71.4% 25-35 122.7…3 TD Rams M Stafford beat TB 6-5

256 66.7% 28-42 091.0…TD TEN C Ward lost to SEA 8-3

256 60.0% 18-30 081.4…3 TD 3 INT JAX Lawrence beat ARIZ 3-8

253 70.6% 24-34 067.4…2 INT BUF J Allen lost to HOU 6-5

244 61.5% 16-26 118.1…2 TD SEA S Darnold beat TEN 1-10

243 69.8% 30-43 074.1…INT NO Slough lost to ATL 4-7

239 54.3% 19-35 104.4…3 TD CHI C Williams beat PITT 6-5

222 60.7% 17-28 082.7…INT NYJ T Taylor lost to BALT 6-5

209 55.0% 11-20 087.3…TD INT CLE Sanders beat Raiders 2-9

199 69.6% 16-23 107.0…2 TD, INT ATL Cousins beat NO 2-9

Plenty of football to watch, for five straight days…

100 Thursday Packers @ Lions

430 Thursday Chiefs @ Cowboys

820 Thursday Bengals @ Ravens

1200 Friday #6 Ole Miss @ Miss State

300 Friday Bears @ Eagles

330 Friday #4 Georgia @ #23 Georgia Tech

700 Friday 11-1 Marist @ 12-0 North Oconee

730 Friday #3 Texas A&M @ #17 Texas

1200 Saturday #1 Ohio State @ #18 Michigan

1200 Saturday #13 Miami @ Pitt

1200 Saturday Clemson @ South Carolina

130 Saturday Georgia Southern @ Marshall

200 Saturday Georgia State @ Old Dominion

330 Saturday #14 Vanderbilt @ #20 Tennessee

330 Saturday LSU @ #8 Oklahoma

730 Saturday #10 Alabama @ Auburn

1030 Saturday #9 Notre Dame @ Stanford

100 Sunday Falcons @ Jets

820 Sunday Broncos @ Washington

815 Monday Giants @ Patriots

Tim Keller: "If God is not at the center of your life, something else is.”

MILLER HUGGINS [SABR Bio] received career advice from a future U.S. president. When Huggins was in law school at the University of Cincinnati, one of his more athletic-minded professors was one William H. Taft. Huggins sought his counsel on whether a career in law or a career in baseball would be the better choice. Taft was quick to respond with baseball for Huggins, in spite of Huggins’ diminutive—5'6"—stature. Both men rose to the tops of their respective fields. Huggins was the first manager to guide the Yankees to two straight Word Series defeats, in 1921 & 1922, both to their cross-town rival, John McGraw’s Giants. In ten Hall of Fame votes, Huggins went from 1.2% of the ballots to 63.9%. However the feeling among fans & other baseball cognoscenti was virtually unanimous when he was selected for enshrinement by the Veterans’ Committee. He became a Hall of Famer in 1964, 35 years after his death.

2nd Bite: Ponko & Cava

Drove Ceil around on her errands on Friday night. Dark, traffic, crowded places. Ate a late sup at Ponko Chicken in downtown Alpharetta. First time in several years. Not Ceil’s fave. Good, but the potato salad wasn’t. Missed out on a Sunday School gathering. 

Saturday AM: golf. Then I stopped by the popup farmers market in Sandy Springs.

Sunday: lunch at CAVA with the Rice’s and Hongs. Our second trip to CAVA was better than the first. I paid more attention to the ingredients. Grilled chicken bowl with rice and plenty of fixins. Was 3 pm before we got home. Watched some Falcons@Saints and Colts@Chiefs.

Monday: played golf. Teed off at 645 am. Had an audience – a guy had stopped to watch the sunrise. I vowed not to hit as many balls since I had to go to work. That lasted for about three holes.

1. Pulled my tee shot left. Two flubs. Worm burned, then a great 7 iron. Decent chip.

2. Pulled my tee shot left. Cruddy chip way right. One decent chip, one bad one. Good lag putt.  

3. Pulled my tee shot left. Mulligan went way right. Two decent chips. Good lag putts.

4. Decent tee shot. Didn’t go as far left. Two okay chips. Good lag putts.

5. Three straight worm burners off the tee. At least they weren’t left. Chips weren’t pretty, but they went in the right direction. Good lag putt.

6. Hit 2 good drives out of three. Flubbed two fairway shots. Flubbed two approach shots, but my third and fourth try were great. Took my six attempts to sink a three foot putt. Goodness.

7. Hit two good drives. Both faded right. Only one of my four fairway shots were good. Bad chip, but a decent mulligan. Hit three good lag putts.

8. Okay drive. Hit two approach shots short. Made great contact with my third try, but it bounced off the back of the green. Two decent chips. Three nice lag putts.

9. A good straight hybrid off the tee. Two poor approach chips, but the third was a worm burner that rolled off the back of the green. Putted out of the trap (because I could). Finished at 8:11 am.  Arrived at work at 9 am.

Got home around 6 pm. C had just returned from a late appointment. She wanted me to return some items to Trader Joes. Not a fun task but the clerks made it easy. Gassed up her car. Chili and tossed salad for supper.

Skipped the gym this morning, then slept way late (7 am). Thanks to super light traffic I made it to work just a few minutes after 8 am. Hit very few red lights. Even stopped at RaceTrac for gas and a drink. Tomorrow I am working from home.

Elizabeth Goldsmith Musser and husband Paul are retiring from the ministry. You can find their final newsletter here. Bob Marsh’s daughter in law Karen will be making an Atlanta appearance next week. I doubt Ceil will be going.

Overdramatic article: Clothes that Boomers still wear that younger generations find outdated: cargo shorts, graphic t-shirts, pleated pants. Not sure if I will ever stop wearing Colombia PFG shirts. Need to get rid of them so I won’t be tempted.

How to tell a good story.

“Harsh” writing lessons.

Denison: Warren Buffett recently wrote his farewell letter to shareholders. In it he advised: “Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it.”

CHARLIE COMISKEY  [SABR Bio] built a “monument to the fans”, a ballpark that bore his name. There have been a few serious changes, but the name Comiskey Park remains. He was known for profanely berating umpires during games. Records of ejections were not as carefully recorded in his day. He is said to have revolutionized the first base position by ranging far from the bag during play. He is credited with other innovations still in use today: boxes for base coaches, for example.