Georgia lost two bullets out of its offensive gun in the second half, with season-ending injuries to Hutson Mason and Michael Bennett. Brice Ramsey threw a pick on his first play of the game. It didn’t take a genius to realize that John Lilly was going to rely heavily on the running game to get the Dawgs across the finish line.
And Todd Grantham’s no dummy. He proceeded to load the box up with eight and nine defenders to slow Georgia’s offense down. It didn’t matter. Georgia’s first score of the third quarter came on a 97-yard drive that consisted of three running plays. By the fourth quarter, Georgia simply countered by doing its own version of loading, running out of a single wideout I-formation set that mashed the Louisville defense.
Georgia wound up running the ball for 299 yards. It was the most rushing yardage Louisville had yielded in a game in more than six years.
You know what it reminded me of? The second half of the 2012 SECCG, when Nick Saban decided the best way to neutralize a Grantham-coached defense was to run the ball down its throat. Maybe it’s another part of the Alabama process that Mark Richt has taken to heart. Remember what he said about his offensive coordinator search:
“We’re gonna continue to do what we do offensively,” Richt said. “As far as we’re gonna be very serious about running the football, we’re gonna be very serious about play-action pass…”
Serious is a good way to describe what I saw last night.
We used to bitch a lot about the days when Richt had a finesse offense, one that was willing to settle for field goals in the red zone because it lacked the punch to overwhelm defenses with touchdown scores down there. No more. There’s plenty to criticize about Georgia’s 2014 season, but finding an offensive identity isn’t one of them anymore.
Get The Picture 
The last offensive series by UGA was great. Louisville was gassed and didn’t even want to tackle Chubb. What a kid.
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I really enjoyed that game, and I did feel like we were trying to send Grantham a not-so-subtle message. Also, I loved it when Chubb scored in the first half because Grantham’s defense couldn’t get lined up in time.
BTW, Grantham has apparently swallowed a lot of aggression, along with some large pizzas, since leaving UGA. I don’t remember him as being so portly.
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When the stadium you coach in is sponsored by a pizza chain, I guess that’s a perk of the job. You’re right. It looked like TG has put on some lbs.
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+1
He looked like Cartman from SouthPark in that big parka
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And the Dawgs hardly respected his authori-taay.
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I hated to see the injuries to Mason or Bennett. Any word on what the injuries were?
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Mason’s was described as a “vision issue”. Bennett hurt his knee.
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I assumed Mason’s was a concussion, though it could be truly vision (i.e. retina related). Neither is very nice. Hope he and Bennett fully recover.
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They said this morning that his head got slammed to the turf where he was exhibiting “concussion-like” symptoms. They also said he passed the on-field concussion tests. Get well soon, Bennett, Mason and Mauger.
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Mauger’s injury reminded me of Rambo’s against Auburn (2009?) for the sake of a PBU. DGD, and I wish him a speedy recovery.
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And I for one loved it. Maybe its the 80’s kid in me but there is nothing better than seeing your team just line up and run somebody over. 95 Nebraska is still the most dominant college team I can remember. I will never forget the way they ran flat over a very good Florida team. I’ve said it before but Tommy Frazier should never have to buy a lunch in the State of Georgia. What they did wasn’t complicated, mickey mouse you might say, but it was a thing of beauty to see them do it.
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Yep, I loved that Neb-UF game. My favorite part was when Spurrier lined them up in an empty backfield on about their 2-3 yard line and Nebraska sacked the QB (Weurffel?) into the third row for a safety. Complete domination that night.
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On the last play from scrimmage (after a series of pointless UofL TOs), did the first string defense end up back on the field? My DVD had shut off by then…stoopid commercials.
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The first team was out there but in prevent. Pruitt then attacked after the last TO, and Zo Carter did the rest. Carter, Floyd and Jenkins sounds like a good name for a law firm, but they will be a wrecking crew next season.
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The sack to end the game was the cherry on top. No way did they want to give up a cheap score at the end, especially after Penetrino called time out with under 20 seconds left in the game. Prick.
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The crowd loved it. Zo has Pollack’s motor with freakish athletic ability.
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Tweet of the Night from @celebrityhottub – “No coordinator looks and acts more like a Punch-Out opponent more than Todd Grantham.” That just about nailed it.
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Ouch! But that sums it up
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Give King Hippo a play sheet and a hat that’s two sizes too small and there you have it.
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King Hippo aka Todd Grantham
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chubb was spelled for a good amount of time early in the first half by both michel and douglas. and i think we really didn’t use hicks or maxey until the 2nd half, and it really paid off. 2nd half beat down like against clem-tech. grantham’s peeps were worn the hell out in the 3rd quarter, just when chubby was gettin’ good and lathered up.
ahhh.
you feel that sting? it’s pride, fuckin’ with you.
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Beautiful!
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‘chubb was spelled for a good amount of time early in the first half…’
That idiot Griese sure didn’t seem to understand. Bless his yankee heart.
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If I had to lay money right now on who the starting QB will be game 1, I’m laying money on Jacob Park.
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After seeing him in some bowl practices I completely agree
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What kind of delivery does he have? Ramsey has more strength than HM but was clearly throwing on routes regardless of coverage.
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After the INT there were a few times that I thought Ramsey was aiming or pushing the ball, rather than cutting it loose. Comparable to what Mason was doing early on. The place we’ll likely miss Bobo most is coaching up the mental aspects of playing QB.
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As one who has been critical at times of CMR I believe it is also important to give credit where credit is due. While there where gaffs that lost 2 games and the team didn’t show up in JAX, Overall I think this season may have been CMR’s best job of coaching. If you consider the adversity this team had to face, winning 10 games is a tremendous accomplishment.
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+1
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I enjoyed watching Stafford and Murray shred defenses through the air, but nothing warms my heart more than a Georgia offense that just unmans a defense by running it. SC and Florida last year, Clemson, Missouri, Auburn and Louisville this year; we just physically destroyed them.
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+100
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The best is a solid mix of both. That’s what’s most dangerous. There will never be a defense that can completely stifle and offense who can succeed at the power run first, and then go vertical. I don’t know another offensive scheme that has proven itself so completely for such an extended period of time.
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And it begins with a powerful OL. See: Cowboys; Dallas
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I never thought I’d say this but the idea of continuity sounds kind of good. Keep Lilly as OC, promote the other assistants and find somebody new to fill in where he may be needed?
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My concern is with QB coach. Can Lilly do that too? Bobo was the QB coach first and then the OC.
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Richt can teach someone to be a QB coach. That’s what he did with Bobo.
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Bobo played QB in the SEC. I’m not sure Lilly has that playing experience. Bobo could grab a ball and show the guys what to do.
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I like bringing Mason in as a GA to help with QB’s and let him be groomed into the QB coach, what do you think?
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Is that what we did with Bobo?
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Donnan did that as I recall. I believe Bobo was already on staff when CMR arrived and CMR decided to keep him. Senator?
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I was thinking Joe Cox, but Hutson would work.
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Love continuity, and believe in promoting from within in many situations when you have qualified personnel, so I can support Lilly IF he is the best choice when all things are considered. I just feel we are so close to busting through with that next “half step” that I don’t want to act hastily and take the easiest, cheapest, most expedient choice before giving consideration to the multitude of OCs who would love to get their hands on the controls of this powerful offense we should have next year. That said, I don’t want a quick ‘pass through” guy who would leave after 1-3 years. Most importantly I hope we fix the issues we have with the AD and Prez to get behind this program. ASAP. That is my biggest concern, and the most likely to kill the excitement building here.
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I agree it ain’t broke, so just don’t screw it up
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Last night was beautiful. The only bad part was of course this was the year I moved out of the tar heel state so I couldn’t watch a bobo offense destroy Grantham in person. (No he wasn’t calling plays but to me its still Bobo’s offense until next year since it’s still his scheme and he authored & installed the game plan)
Am I the only one who thought Louisville looked exactly like a Grantham coached defense? Lots of jawing and chippiness even though a machine like offense is running you out of the building. I’m amazed but completely not surprised that Grantham called the unit that carried the team during his tenure, Mickey mouse. Btw dude you still can’t stop the run and you still can’t beat ranked teams.
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Sorry, you didn’t get to see it. I figured you would have been at the game. It was a beautiful thing to watch in person. By the way, last night was my first time inside B of A Stadium. It’s a 1st class facility with a very courteous staff. It beats the hell out of the Georgia Dome and EverBank Field. If Belk commits to the game, this game is going to be a desirable bowl game for an SEC team that doesn’t get to the New Year’s 6.
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You’re right, it was a nice venue. My only complaint was the weather. Maybe I should have worn 6 layers instead of 4. Also, I saw nothing in the way of hostility from Lville fans. They seemed like a nice enough bunch. Not anything like an SEC fanbase. 😉
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Missouri is not there yet. What a polite and helpful group of fans. UT and USC fans could learn a few things from them. I’m probably reaching with that.
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I’ve attended a few games there and agree that it’s a nice venue. Almost drove up for the game last night but decided against it at the last minute because of the uncertainty of the weather. It looked like it was quite chilly on tv.
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