Georgia Blasted New Mexico State!

NIL's impact at the top of the quasi-am food chain? Nil.

At one point in the quasi-am football championship of the world Monday, Georgia had as many points as plays. 45 and 45. A point a play. Their opponent, Arkansas State, was having a rough night.

The Bulldogs led Louisiana-Monroe 38-7 at halftime. The Warhawks came into the title game with high hopes, but they couldn’t get anything going. In the 2nd quarter, UGA players were seen on the sideline waving towels at their fans in the stands, many of whom had fallen asleep.

Who could blame them? Their team was up on Virginia Military Institute by four touchdowns. After three quarters, it was Georgia 52, Samford 7.

Ladies and gentlemen, your final score in the ultimate college football game of the year:

The Georgia Bulldogs 65, the Akron Zips 7.

Doc, Georgia played TCU.

That’s what you say. I say they played Alabama-Birmingham.

One good thing about the 12-team playoff arriving in 2024 is that, very likely, the national title game will not be a blowout. Teams will have to win at least twice to get to the mountaintop. There won’t be a chairlift.

Monday’s actual final was Georgia 72, TCU 13. That was the number of 4- and 5-star recruits on each team’s roster. Understand: Each team is permitted 85 scholarship guys. Georgia was 72-for-85 on the Stud Meter.

Conventional Wisdom holds that the NIL Era will mean greater parity in college football. Every school’s money spends the same, and not even Georgia has an endless supply of cash. (That’s Southern Cal’s domain.)

Maybe so. But last week, UGA coach Kirby Smart said what I’ve said since the NIL money started rolling in on 18-wheelers:

“I’m a lot more worried about retention than I am going to get them, you know what I'm saying? I want to spend time investing in people in our program, keep them in our program, than I am replacing them with someone else.”

In other words, keeping players is more important than signing them. Regardless, they’re all gonna wanna get paid. It could be that Georgia and a few other bank-vault oases will have so much talent, very good players will emigrate from Athens, Ga., by the van-load. It’s hard to turn down money and opportunity.

It could also be that UC’s best players will fill any void Georgia has. To me, NIL is just another form of NFL-style free agency. Musical players.

Lose a QB, sign a QB. The only thing that has changed dramatically is the money involved.

The Big Boys will still be swiping the lunch money of the masses. At least the masses will be paid for the privilege of losing. Let’s hope it won’t be 65-7, though. I felt really bad last night for New Mexico State.

Now, then. . .

HOW MUCH WILL THE MEN MISS CAPPA?

Not as much as you might think.

Yes, they’ll have backups at right guard and tackle and maybe that’ll impact the chemistry the O-line developed before La’el Collins went down. But they still have Inevitable Joe, and he will still make the Ravens make choices on defense.

Take advantage of the Men’s injuries by rushing more than four? Or keep the game in front of them by making Burrow check down or execute shorter throws?

Burrow doesn’t need as much time as most QBs. He’s also a better dancer. Getting to him doesn’t guarantee you’ll tackle him. Far from it. Brian Callahan/Zac Taylor have proven adept at scheming around pass rushes as the year has progressed. Burrow has proven adept at executing the schemes.

Hakeem Adeniji and Max Scharping aren’t Pro Bowlers. Before Sunday, Scharping hadn’t played a snap all year. The Bengals aren’t asking them to be great; just not disastrous. You have to think they’re up for that.

IT’S HARD NOT TO BE CYNICAL. Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh talked about Lamar Jackson yesterday. Jackson hasn’t played in five weeks. No one seems to know when he might. Harbaugh said his QB is "working super hard" to return Sunday night against the Bengals.

"He wants to play," Harbaugh said. "There's no doubt. That's my feeling."

Well isn’t that special.

Why wouldn’t Jackson want to play? It’s the playoffs. He’s in the option year of his rookie contract. He has said he wants very big money. If he can’t stay healthy, maybe he doesn’t get very big money.

Or maybe Jackson is taking his sweet time. In their five, Lamar-less games, the Ravens have averaged 13 points a game and have scored all of four touchdowns. Tyler Huntley and Anthony Brown have showed how hosed a team is if it doesn’t have a very good QB.

There is leverage to be had here, and it doesn’t belong to the club.

Of Jackson’s bad left knee, Harbaugh said, "Hopefully it's progressing to the point where he can get to practice sometime soon. That's really what we're all hoping for, for sure."

It could be as simple as the man’s knee isn’t well enough for him to play. Maybe Jackson is worried that the next hit could wreck his mega-payday. Maybe both.

Regardless, his team is preparing for the playoffs not knowing what its star QB’s deal is. And the Bengals are good with that.

AN EVERGREEN DEBATE on the heels of 7-65: Should anyone have an issue with Georgia running up the score?

Should any team, at any level, be taken to task for that?

I’ve always said no. It should not.

As a competitor, you’d rather be annihilated than patronized. Give me a punch in the mouth over a pat on the head, anytime. A blowout is less embarrassing when both teams play hard until the end.

Yeah?

YES, WE HAVE NO CUETO. . . The Reds were said to be interested in bringing Johnny back. He’s going to Miami instead, on a 1-year $8.5 mil deal. That’s OK by me. Because, really, what’s the point of signing him here?

Cueto has fashioned a nice coda to a good career. He went 8-10 with the underachieving White Sox last summer, with a 3.35 ERA. Cueto has always known how to Pitch, not simply Throw. That knowledge has served him well in his dotage. The Marlins are full of good, proven, young arms. He should be a great fit there.

Here? He might have schooled the Young Guns. But the Reds aren’t contending and 8-point-5 is a lot of money for schooling. It’s not as if Cueto would be the last puzzle-piece here.

TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . I’m fairly certain you haven’t heard this tune. Root was a cult god back in the day, in my hometown of Bethesda, MD. The musicianship is good, the lyrics are hilarious. Tell me you don’t like this a little bit.

When you turn 17, I’ll just be 32.