Oh, noes, Kevin Scarbinsky di’int. Oh, yes, indeedy, he went there.
One week shy of one year since USC fired him as head coach at LAX in a nightmarish conclusion to his dream job, is Kiffin starting to make a case to one day succeed Nick Saban?
It’s possible to ask that question without snark or sarcasm, without having everyone in earshot question your sanity.
Actually, it’s not. Unless you’re trolling for hits.
Filed under Don't Mess With Lane Kiffin, Media Punditry/Foibles
Give Spurrier credit – no matter how pissed off he might be about his team’s performance, he still manages to work Georgia into the conversation.
Filed under The Evil Genius
The Dawgs have a chance to get off the division schneid Saturday, as Rocky Top comes to town. To get a start on what’s about to arrive, you might take a look at this mid-season overview. Some high points from it:
Through three games, Tennessee’s allowed nine sacks after the veteran group that put four players on NFL rosters surrendered just 15 all of last season. A better comparison is perhaps the 2010 offensive line, also an inexperienced group, that also allowed nine in the season’s first three games, including six to Florida.
Against Oklahoma, Tennessee often stacked the box with up to eight defenders and used a variety of slants and twists on the defensive line, and it largely worked. With an undersized group, the Vols likely will have to rely on a similar blueprint for the power-run teams left on the schedule. Tennessee also must find more depth after using essentially six linemen so far.
If the Vols have to continue to gear their defensive game plans toward stopping opponents from running the ball, Tennessee’s secondary will have to manage being left in some one-on-one matchups. Against Oklahoma, the Vols allowed five passing plays of 20-plus yards, and eight missed tackles were a big reason why.
And my thoughts:
First, it’s not just sacks that are a problem. Check out how the Vols have done with tackles for loss allowed. That ain’t pretty. It’s also more than twice Georgia’s rate. Does that mean Georgia’s offensive line has performed better than Tennessee’s? Probably, but it’s just as likely to mean that Worley’s holding the ball longer than Mason and that UT’s running backs aren’t as good as avoiding tackles in the backfield as Todd Gurley. It’s probably going to be the case every week, but the biggest key to a win on Saturday is Georgia’s pass rush.
Stacking eight undersized defenders in the box to slow down the run reminds me of something Todd Gurley said: “Because if they want to put six or seven guys in the box I’m like, OK, do that. I like that though, because it’s good because if you get past that second level all you have is the safeties.” It brings to mind how Georgia ground down Clemson’s defense until the dam broke in the fourth quarter.
And as long as Georgia sells the run, you know what else that means. Butch Jones knows what else that means.
Finally, Jones is talking about starting as many as five true freshmen on offense Saturday. That’s a lot of green you’re asking to face a hostile SEC crowd on the road.
It was a night game. Fisher comes out of the Nick Saban school of micromanagement. And we’re supposed to believe that FSU’s staff had all day to get their act together and didn’t.
Yeah, I’d say Winston was tremendously effected by that, my man. Tree-men-dous-ly.
Filed under ACC Football
Mark Emmert, of course.
There’s a reason Stacey Osburn keeps her mouth shut most of the time, Mark. You should ask her about that.
Filed under The NCAA
I thought Georgia would throw the ball a fair amount against Troy. Evidently the Troy defensive staff did, too.
The plan was actually to throw it more against Troy on Saturday, but the Trojans surprised the Bulldogs by not packing the box as much. They played two safeties back most of the time, causing Mason and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo to audible into run plays.
“This last game, we might could’ve said, Hey let’s throw it 50 times and see what kind of success we can have,” Richt said. “But we just felt it was more important to basically take what they give us.”
The Dawgs wound up averaging more yards per rush than per pass, so I’d say Troy’s strategy didn’t work out too well.
Filed under Georgia Football, Strategery And Mechanics
I know it’s a cheap shot, but doesn’t this kid look like he belongs at Georgia Tech?
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UPDATE: Tech’s just screwing with me now.
Filed under Georgia Tech Football
In a move that comes as no surprise, Clemson names Deshaun Watson its starting quarterback.
He impressed the hell out of me when I saw him in the opener.
Filed under Clemson: Auburn With A Lake
Another small logjam at the top this week.
STANDINGS for WEEK 4
Adjustment
34-291 carpie Adj 8-2 8 28-31** 1 Hobnail_Boot Adj 8-2 8 14-24 1 Valley Dawg Adj 8-2 8 10-17
Congrats to carpie for pulling out the tiebreaker.
And on the season…
SEASON STANDINGS through Week 4 1 Valley Dawg 28-12 28 1 Turfman25 28-12 28 3 Scubadawg 26-14 26 3 BR Dawg 26-14 26 3 Second String Secondary 26-14 26 3 Pistol Formation 26-14 26
The West is pretty damned potent. The East… not so much.
Filed under SEC Football
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