What we think we know: Week 9 (post-election edition)

Sorry for the two-day delay, but we at The Observer were covering a small inter-squad scrimmage called Democracy. Now back to the big games.

1. Even though we picked Georgia-Florida down to the very last Dawg turnover, there's no crowing this morning -- just an unsettledness that has nothing to do with wins and losses and everything to do with what a football program stands for.

We're talking, of course, about the sideline antics of Todd Grantham. The Georgia defensive coordinator screamed and F-bombed Florida kicker Chas Henry -- while giving him the universal choke sign -- as Henry lined up for the winning overtime field goal.

Henry says when he first noticed Grantham's signs of support, he took off his helmet and blew him a kiss, a gesture that appears to have really set Grantham off.

But let's be clear here: Grantham was caught on camera violating the trust given to him as an adult and a highly paid coach (he makes $750,000). To date, neither he nor head coach Mark Richt has apologized, though Richt in his folksy, faux humble, you just know I'm a great guy kind of way has talked about the "heat of the battle," "learning from mistakes" and moving on.

That's not his call. Georgia President Michael Adams, who's never been shy about injecting himself in athletic matters, has been mum on the incident. Maybe he's out of breath. Adams has already fired Athletic Director Damon Evans after he was charged with DWI while in the company of a young woman, not his wife, who had somehow misplaced her underwear. Adams also has had plenty to say about the rash of player arrests, and about holding the football program to a standard of behavior it has so far failed to meet.

Consider, too, the reactions of Georgia fans, who are mounting defenses as embarrassing as Grantham's teaching moment.

Trust me, Alabama fans know embarrassing: From the Albert Means scandal to Mike Price's cavorting with strippers to Mike Dubose's affair with his secretary, then saying he was angry at Jesus for costing him a win at Tennessee . . . we'll match bad headlines with anybody.

But here's the point: On each of those occasions when my school was diminished, I felt diminished, too. That's the deal you make with college sports: For better or worse, you're part of something bigger than yourself.

If we're lucky, we can still remember what it meant to be a college student, how it set us apart, made us feel special, and gave us an institution that we could root for in all aspects of life because we felt pride in it and, indirectly, in ourselves.

The song says "Glory, glory to old Georgia," so here's the question Michael Adams should be asking this morning: Do Georgia fans feel proud? Does he?

2. Perhaps the best matchup in SEC football takes places in Baton Rouge on Saturday. Not Alabama vs. LSU, but Patrick Patterson one-on-one with Julio Jones.

Both players are easily in the Top 5 in the SEC, if not the nation. Jones is relentless, setting a school receiving record against Tennessee two weeks ago while playing with a broken hand. Patterson, though, is one of the few defensive backs anywhere with the size and speed to compete physically with the Tide All-American. This will be their third battle; Alabama won the first two. As freshmen, Jones made his remarkable overtime catch with Patterson practically in his uniform. As sophomores, Jones's game-changing, fourth-quarter catch and run came with Patterson on the sideline with cramps. With the Western Conference title and possible BCS championship on the line, Alabama needs Jones to make plays and LSU needs Patterson to prevent them. It's the game within the game Saturday, and a big one.

3. Auburn is clearly the best team in the SEC, and it's Alabama's task to show it should be included within the borders of the same conversation. First, the Tide must beat LSU in Death Valley, then it must take care or ornery Mississippi State. Win those two, and the Iron Bowl turns platinum.


4. You heard it here: I don't think South Carolinas has the emotional and physical toughness to beat Arkansas and Florida and get to Atlanta. I hope I'm wrong, but the Gamecocks are spewing fragility.


5. This week's power rankings:

1. Auburn

2. Alabama

3. LSU

4. Mississippi State.

5. Everybody else.


MG