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Georgia drops (improves) in Fulmer Cup standings for Kirby Smart's second year
Georgia football coach Kirby Smart (AP Photo)
Aug 31, 2017
Barring any last-minute arrests, the Georgia Bulldogs football team is poised for one of its worst (best) placements in the Fulmer Cup for “negative law enforcement contacts” by college football players during the offseason after it had one of its highest rankings during Kirby Smart's first year as head coach.
The latest update has Georgia tied for 15th in the standings for the Cup, which awards points based on the “level of crime” allegedly committed by players. Georgia was
tied for second
in last year’s Fulmer Cup race, its highest finish since “winning” the award for the 2010 offseason.
| School | Cup Points | Offenses | Division | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcorn State | 95 | 20 | FCS | SWAC |
| WKU | 42 | 6 | FBS | Conference USA |
| USF | 39 | 3 | FBS | American |
| Utah State | 25 | 3 | FBS | Mountain West |
| Illinois | 23 | 3 | FBS | Big Ten |
| Elon | 18 | 3 | FCS | CAA |
| Old Dominion | 19 | 3 | FBS | Conference USA |
| Montana State | 16 | 2 | FCS | Big Sky |
| Oklahoma | 15 | 4 | FBS | Big 12 |
| Monmouth | 14 | 2 | FCS | Big South |
| Colorado State | 12 | 2 | FBS | Mountain West |
| Bowling Green | 11 | 2 | FBS | MAC |
| Tennessee | 8 | 2 | FBS | SEC |
| Alabama | 7 | 2 | FBS | SEC |
| Northern Iowa | 7 | 2 | FCS | Missouri Valley |
| Nebraska | 6 | 2 | FBS | Big Ten |
| Georgia | 6 | 2 | FBS | SEC |
| TCU | 5 | 2 | FBS | Big 12 |
| LSU | 4 | 2 | FBS | SEC |
Two Georgia players have been arrested since the end of last season. Riley Ridley was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession in March and Elijah Hollyfield was arrested on a marijuana possession charge in May. Both players entered pre-trial diversion programs.
Second-year Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said discipline for both players will be "handled internally." The university's athlete handbook calls for a player to be suspended for 10 percent of games after a marijuana possession, which would be one game for football.
The Fulmer Cup is named for ex-Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer. According to the Cup rules, alleged crimes must be documented by “a court record, arrest record, or news article describing the citation, charges, and/or arrest.” Points began to accumulate when the national championship game ended and continue until the start of games on Saturday, and only teams that had at least two players accumulate points are eligible for the Cup.
Georgia “won” the Fulmer Cup in 2010. The Bulldogs placed 18th in the 2016 Cup standings, which may be their lowest finish—I couldn’t find the complete final standings for 2011 and 2009, though Georgia wasn’t among the top 10. The Bulldogs finished eighth or higher in the standings for the other eight years of the Cup.
The Fulmer Cup was started in 2006 by Spencer Hall, editor of the SB Nation college football blog Every Day Should Be Saturday. The Cup has been awarded every year since then with the exception of 2013, when the title was “vacated.”
The standings and other information about the Cup have since migrated from EDSBS to reddit.com/r/CFB.
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