If there is one phrase other than “Florida home-and-home” that sends Georgia fans into an endless debate, it’s “quarterback rotation.”  From 2002-2004, the merits and disadvantages of the Greene-Shockley rotation were debated endlessly with nothing to show for it except two SEC titles.

With Matthew Stafford firmly established as Georgia’s starting quarterback at the end of last season, Dawg fans might have thought that they wouldn’t see the backup again until the fourth quarter with a 20+ point lead.

But Mark Richt lit the fuse again Wednesday night, and it didn’t take long for the reaction to start coming in.

Here is what Richt actually said as transcribed by UGASports.com:

…If (Joe Cox) plays (in the opener), it is because we believe that he has earned it. Right now, we are leaning towards trying to get him into the game.

We just want to get him in the game at one point or another. It could be in the first half. I do not want to pigeon-hole ourselves because sometimes you have every intention of getting a guy in there and you do not. People will question why you didn’t and you hurt the kid’s feelings. We will not promise him anything, but the way he has been performing, he deserves to get in there. Hopefully we will find the right time to do that.

It didn’t take long for this interpretation to emerge:

We will have a quarterback rotation with Cox and Stafford splitting time.

Yes, Richt said that Joe Cox has earned some playing time, though Richt will not promise Cox anything.  Richt hopes he can find the right opportunity to play Cox.  Wow.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  Run for the hills!  Light ourselves on fire!

Actually, this is a brilliant tactic by Richt.  With so much attention on mundane things like the offensive line and linebackers, he knew that even hinting at the possibility of playing a second quarterback would distract the fans for the next two weeks while the QB rotation debate gets stoked one more time.