Cocktail Thursday: Vanderbilt Edition

Are your Georgia Bulldogs rolling through the early SEC schedule, with a potential look-ahead game this weekend before heading to Tuscaloosa next Saturday to take on the Crimson Tide? Then you could probably use a drink. I can help with that.

Kirby Smart has said that Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis'a last minute decommitment from the Bulldogs is not a central issue in this game. And there's certainly every reason to believe him. There are plenty of other deciding factors to focus on. Will Nate Frazier be able to play? How will Gunner Stockton handle a Commodore defense that blitzes more and harder than just about anyone else in the SEC? But the truth is Curtis's defection after being a longtime commit is a story that fans and media observers see as the central narrative of this game. Pretending otherwise is perhaps at least a little disingenuous. That's at least in part because Curtis is the biggest name on a Vandy roster that no longer features Diego Pavia or Mackey Award winner Eli Stowers. Curtis isn't just the biggest name player on the Vanderbilt roaterHe's the biggest commitment in Vandy football history. And good for him for that. He's going to be the toast of the town for that big Gasparilla Bowl victory he leads right before declaring for the NFL Draft.