It’s official, folks, Mark Richt is on the hot seat. An 0-2 start in Georgia (for the first time since 1996) isn’t what the fanbase wants, especially after a losing season a year ago. And no, it doesn’t matter that the Bulldogs opened with two teams that could realistically end the season in the top 10.

Richt is in 11th season as the Bulldogs head coach, and the team is certainly headed in the wrong direction record wise. Since the 11-2 season in 2007, the Bulldogs have gone 10-3, 8-5 and 6-7. That’s not the kind of progression you want to see in a major program this late into a coach’s tenure. And unfortunately for Richt, he doesn’t have a national title or legendary status to fall back on like a Joe Paterno.

The schedule gets easier for the Bulldogs, even in the SEC. They’re fortunate to be in the East, and they just played the divisional favorite down to the wire. It’s not out of the question for Georgia to still find a way to get to nine or 10 wins. I’m serious. They’re young and talented at some key positions, and should only get better as the season goes on.

If they do that, Richt should stay to see what he can do with a junior version of Aaron Murray and a sophomore Isaiah Crowell.

But if they don’t, and end up with a seven-, or six-win season, That young talent won’t be Richt’s to deal with anymore.

I woke up today with an extra spring in my step because I knew it was the first Saturday of the 2011 college football season. But what really got me going was knowing I would once again be providing quality fade material for bettors around the world.

It’s about people helping people, folks.

No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 4 LSU, 8:00PM ET
The last time Jarrett Lee opened a season as a starting quarterback was in 2006…for Brenham High School. LSU was going to have uncertainty at the quarterback position regardless of whether or not Lee or Jordan Jefferson was named the starter. But where the problem comes in is that Jefferson was assumed to be the starter for months. Now, just weeks before the season, they switch to Lee because of Jefferson’s off-field issues. It’s usually unwise to go against the SEC in a non-conference game but I’m not that bright so I’ll assume the risk. I think LSU’s outstanding defense will tire late in the second half after trying to keep up with Darron Thomas and LaMichael James for most of the game. The Tigers’ D figures to be on the field an awful lot tonight.
THE PICK: OREGON -3

No. 7 Boise State vs. No. 22 Georgia
All the talk in this one has revolved around Aaron Murray but I expect Kellen Moore to once again play mistake free. He has all new weapons this year but the Broncos’ offense rarely misses a beat from season to season. Never go against Boise State in their opener or in their bowl game. These types of games might as well be their freaking Super Bowl…
THE PICK: BOISE STATE -3

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Everyone seems to be hyper-cautious these days, so Boise State is holding back three players from tomorrow night’s showdown with Georgia at the Georgia Dome.

The Broncos announced in a brief statement Friday that senior safety Cedric Febis, sophomore defensive tackle Ricky Tjong-a-Tjoe and sophomore wide receiver Geraldo Boldewijn had not accompanied the team to Atlanta.

“The three are being held out of the game due to a review of their NCAA eligibility,” the statement read. “The review is not academic or violation of team rules.”

The three players all have a few noteworthy things in common. The first is that all three are originally from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where they each played for local football club teams before coming to the U.S. All three played for prep high schools in Boise before joining the Broncos.

The second is that all three are expected to be major contributors for the Broncos this season. A fifth-year senior, Febis was in line to earn a starting safety position following the graduation of Jeron Johnson. He is likely to be replaced by redshirt freshman Jeremy Ioane.

The spread has moved from Boise State by 3.5 to Boise by 3.

ESPN Insider also has a great article about how Aaron Murray is as good as Kellen Moore. One thing to keep in mind is that Murray will be behind a veteran offensive line and Moore will be playing behind three new starters. I remember Mel Kiper making the point that the experience of the offensive line was one of the best predictors of success for a college football team. This should be a great game but I think Georgia might pull this one out.

Almost a year ago we decided to try to quantify the stature of college football programs so that we could rank them against one another. (Click here for the 2010 Rankings.) Then our football guru, Anthony Stalter, wrote a little bit about each program and the direction that it’s headed.

Here’s how the total points are determined — 20 points for a national championship, 10 for a BCS title game loss, seven for a BCS bowl win, five for a BCS bowl loss, five for a BCS conference championship, three for a mid-major conference championship, two for a BCS conference runner-up and one for a major bowl appearance (i.e. a bowl that has a recent payout of more than $2 million, so for 2011 that would be Capital One, Outback, Chick-fil-A, Cotton, Gator, Insight, Holiday, Champs Sports and Alamo.) You’ll see the total points in parenthesis after the team’s name.

We put some thought into the point values for each accomplishment, paying special attention to how the point values are relative to one another. For example, we figured that one national championship would equate to four BCS conference championships, or three BCS bowl wins. We only looked at the last five years, as college football has increasingly become a fluid and fickle sport, and that’s about how far back a recruit will go when deciding amongst a list of schools.

Lastly, since a program is so dependent on the guy in charge, we added or subtracted points if the program saw an upgrade or downgrade at the head coach position in the last five years. A max of 10 points would be granted (or docked) based on the level of upgrade or downgrade. Again, we tried to quantify the hire relative to the program’s other accomplishments. For example, hiring Nick Saban is probably worth two BCS bowl appearances, or 10 points. (Sure, he might lead Alabama to more, but he also might bolt for another job in a year or two.)

So, without further ado, here are the rankings. Every year we’ll go through and update the numbers based on what the program did that year (while throwing out the oldest year of data), so don’t fret if your team isn’t quite where you want them right now. Everyone has a chance to move up.

1. Ohio State (58)

Previous Rank: #2 (+1)
Some college football fans will take issue with the Buckeyes being No. 1 because of their “soft schedule.” But this is a team that has dominated its conference five of the past six years and has finished no worse than second in each of the past six seasons. They’ve also appeared in two title games (though they lost both) and nine straight BCS bowl games, winning the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl in the past two years. They’ve got an interesting season coming up though. Five of their players including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, running back Dan Herron and receiver DeVier Posey will miss the first five games next year after being suspended. Can the Buckeyes stay unscathed until those players return?

2. Florida (51)

Previous Rank: #1 (-1)
If it weren’t for Urban Meyer leaving the program (and their lousy 2010 season), the Gators would probably still be ranked No. 1. They have three conference championships and two national championships in two years, but the lose of Meyer hurts big-time in these rankings. But don’t fret Florida fans, if Will Muschamp gets the program back on the right track then the Gators won’t be at No. 2 for long.

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Amid rumors swirling about his eligibility and participation in a pay-to-play scandal, Cam Newton went out and did what he does best on Saturday — dominate.

Newton had 148 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and added 151 yards and two more scores on the ground as Auburn remained undefeated with a 49-31 win against Georgia. The win clinches the SEC West Division title for the Tigers, who will enter their annual Iron Bowl showdown with Alabama at 11-0.

What happens between now and Nov. 26 — the day of the Iron Bowl — with Newton is unknown. At the rate news breaks on the subject, I imagine things will be a lot more clear before that.

Apparently Auburn feels safe enough with the information it has about Newton’s eligibility. Or maybe it doesn’t, and just doesn’t care. Why sit him and miss out on a national title without knowing for sure if he’s going to be ruled ineligible? Maybe he goes through the season, wins the Heisman and a national title and nothing happens.

Or maybe they’re stripped of everything after the fact. The only thing I think we can say with any level of certainty is that without Newton on the field, none of that matters, because Auburn isn’t beating Alabama without him. Heck, it might not beat the Tide with him.

I guess the other thing we can be certain of is that this story isn’t going away any time soon.