CBS picks the 9/23 meeting between Alabama and Vanderbilt for the 3:30 broadcast, which means…
Daily Archives: September 11, 2017
Today, in no brainers
Had it been anyone else, I would have been offended.
Filed under Georgia Football
Popcorn will not be served.
Ole Miss’ hearing in front of the NCAA Committee on Infractions begins today. Sad to say that one requested observer isn’t being allowed to attend.
COI chair and Xaiver University athletic director Greg Christopher denied an August 16 request by Mississippi State to have officials from MSU attend the event “as observers.” Christopher states MSU requested to attend the event “to guard the interests of one of its student athletes [Lewis] who will attend the hearing,” per language from Mississippi State counsel.
There is one slight concession made with regard to Lewis, though.
Christopher stated that representatives from the Southeastern Conference would be permitted to attend “to support the student athlete [Lewis].”
Mississippi State declined comment. The Southeastern Conference declined comment, but confirmed that the league would have representation at the hearing as part of its standard procedure when a member institute goes in front of the NCAA COI.
MSU isn’t the only disappointed party, either.
Parties representing former Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze, former Ole Miss defensive line coach, current FAU defensive coordinator Chris Kiffin, and the university itself requested access to materials related to a NCAA investigation into claims by Mississippi State linebacker Leo Lewis that he received cash payments from boosters for MSU. The request was also denied by Christopher.
Man, you had the makings of a first-rate food fight there and you cleaned it up. Where’s the fun in that?
Filed under SEC Football, The NCAA
Observations from the end zone, Notre Dame edition
It was a great game. What else is there to say?
…
Okay, okay, I keed a little. It was the perfect capper to a wonderful football weekend, if you’re a Georgia fan, and there was plenty to take away from the sixty minutes of action. On to the bullet points.
- It’s only fair to start with the defense this week, since that’s where the game was won. There’s this feeling I’ve gotten on occasion — the 2002 Florida game, the 2011 Mississippi State game, the second half against Clemson in 2014 — where the defense has settled in to the extent that it’s almost a relief when they step on the field. I’m not gonna say I wound up exactly in that place, but that may be more a case of me needing to overcome my natural skepticism than how they played and were coached. I do know that over the course of the last two defensive plays of the game, the seventeen-yard completion and the sack and fumble recovery, my emotions ran the gamut.
- I can see why Kirby was happy Carter and Bellamy elected to come back. If those two keep it up, they’re probably going to be just as happy with their rising draft stock. Notre Dame’s tackles are good, but they were simply unable to handle the speed rush from those two. Nice to see an opponent struggle with that for a change.
- Another tremendous game from Roquan Smith, who seemed to be everywhere. That Reed wound up leading the team in tackles ought to tell you how well he played. Every week I watch Reed, I grow more impressed.
- While Smith may have seemed to be everywhere, Lorenzo Carter actually was. I didn’t focus on him every play, but I did notice that he lined up at either end, at the star position guarding a slot receiver and at middle linebacker.
- Notre Dame’s longest run of the day was eight yards. That doesn’t happen without a front seven playing relentless run defense. I’m not missing Tracy Rocker, in other words.
- If there’s one area to criticize, it’s that the pass rush needs more consistency. Wimbush did pretty well when he had time to throw, because he was able to find the soft spots in the zone defense.
- Okay, maybe two: Georgia should have had at least one interception on the night, and maybe more. Admittedly, that’s quibbling to some extent, but, still.
- I have never seen an offensive line hold more consistently than Notre Dame’s. Still, if the refs are going to let you hold, why wouldn’t you?
- Special teams play was not as pristine as it was opening week, which isn’t to say it was awful. Nizialek was bailed out on his weakest punt by a great roll and did manage excellent hang time most of the game, which helped manage coverage. Blankenship missed one field goal attempt, which loomed large for much of the second half, and only managed one touchback, which seemed largely by design, but also led to one big return. Godwin botched a punt return. Holyfield had a great kickoff return nullified by a holding penalty. That being said, I had the feeling all night that Hardman was this close to breaking a return. He’s turning into a special teams weapon.
- As far as the way the offense played, it was definitely a mixed bag. I heard plenty of grumbling about Chaney’s playcalling, and while I wouldn’t absolve him of blame, it wasn’t realistic to expect smooth sailing with Fromm’s first start. The freshman quarterback played like one. The fumble was the result of two mistakes, mishandling the read option hand off and failing to fall on the ball when it hit the ground. You could see the interception coming. Notre Dame’s defense didn’t respect the pass much of the night. That being said, Fromm didn’t lose it. He hit three big passes, none bigger than the 30-yarder to Wims, to set the last scoring drive. He continues to show nice touch on his throws, especially that lovely back shoulder toss that brought back Aaron Murray memories.
- And while he got help from his receivers at times, he should have gotten more. There were a few passes dropped that shouldn’t have been, the most prominent of which belonged to Hardman, on what should have been a big touchdown. (That play also demonstrated that Fromm’s range, while decent, isn’t on the same level as Eason’s.)
- The offensive line was up and down. Baker was inconsistent at left guard, throwing some great blocks, but also allowing penetration on the Payne run in the fourth quarter that got stoned on third-and-one when they were trying to salt the game away. Tackle play was pretty decent. I did think that when Kindley was in the game, run blocking was improved. Hope his ankle heals soon.
- The receivers show promise, but lack consistency, both in catching the ball and in creating separation from the defensive backs. Some of that went into Fromm’s less than stellar night passing.
- A quiet night from the tight ends again. Maybe I read too much into the moment, but it sure looked like Nauta was frustrated walking off the field after one failed third-down conversion attempt.
- Speaking of which, Georgia was bad on third down conversions all night.
- On the other hand, red zone play was pretty good. In fact, you can argue that ultimately it turned out to be the difference in the game, as the Dawgs converted two red zone series into touchdowns, while Notre Dame converted only one.
- Speaking of which, that screen pass to the back that Notre Dame completed for a big gain to set up their touchdown was the best playcall of the night, I thought. Beautifully executed, too.
- Question for Jim Chaney: How do you go an entire quarter without giving Nick Chubb the ball?
- Observation for Jim Chaney: When you’re giving Jake Fromm the opportunity to throw the ball more than you’re giving Chubb and Michel the opportunity to run the ball, you’re doing something wrong.
- One developmental item worth noting is that Chaney is clearly invested in getting the ball in Mecole Hardman’s hands. It may be frustrating at times in the short run, as Hardman isn’t a polished receiver, but you’ve got the feeling it’ll pay off in the long run.
- D’Andre Swift looks like a keeper, doesn’t he? With Georgia’s willingness to rely on freshman running backs, can you imagine what kind of year he might be having if Chubb and Michel hadn’t come back for their senior seasons?
- Like pretty much everyone else, I see little use for the wildcat. With no passing threat, defenses are able to key on the run game. Even worse, on one play Chaney managed to give up its one standard advantage of having an extra blocker, by lining it up with three backs in the backfield. Right now, it looks like a wasted formation every time they run out of it.
- As far as Chaney’s playcalling went, it ranged from the great — the first touchdown drive, for instance — to the execrable, like the last series of the first half. (Fortunately, the Notre Dame series that followed was even worse.) I get that he’s got a lot of moving parts that aren’t meshing yet, but I’m not gonna lie and say it wasn’t frustrating to watch at times, especially because he shows at other times that he clearly knows what to do.
- Tucker, on the other hand, painted a masterpiece. When you take a great game plan and great preparation and wed it to fast, talented players, you get nights like Saturday. The trick now is consistency from week to week.
- I’ve already mentioned in a prior post how Smart impressed me this week. There is still work for him to do, though, as there was plenty of sloppy play that needs to be cleaned up. Twelve penalties for 127 yards in a game where offensive yards were hard to come by could have been fatal. Undisciplined play may be understandable to some extent from a young team early in the season; the problem was that some of the more egregious penalties were coming from players who weren’t seeing their first action. We’ll see how Smart works to eliminate that.
- The post game scene, with the players and Smart acknowledging the fans, was terrific. One only hopes it’s far from the last time we’ll get to experience that this season. (***Cough***Cough***Jacksonville.)
- SEC refs gonna SEC ref, baby. Really a poorly called game on the field that without a decent replay official would have resulted in a Georgia loss.
- As far as the venue goes, recently renovated Notre Dame Stadium is a pleasure. Wide concourses that are easy to navigate, clean efficient bathrooms and terrific sight lines are exactly how you do it. No advertising clutter inside and the sound system, while loud, didn’t assault the senses. Friendly staff, too. My only knock is that seating, while not down to Knoxville standards, was a little crowded.
- To add to that, the Notre Dame fans were great and definitely deserve to have their classiness returned when they visit in a couple of years.
One kudoKudos to NBC, as well: your in-game commercial interruptions seemed less time consuming than ESPN’s or CBS’. Much appreciated.
All in all, while tense at times, a grade-A experience. (A more consistent team would have won by ten, so no plus sign, guys.) It cost a small fortune, but I regret nothing about the outlay.
We’re still another week away from the conference opener, with a game this week against Samford. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect something of an emotional let down, but I’d like to see a business as usual attitude. A repeat of the Nicholls debacle from last season is the last thing this team needs right now.
Filed under Georgia Football
SEC Power Poll, Week 2
Another mere two-loss week for the conference. Lots of cupcakes tends to lead to lots of winning.
- Alabama. Wake me up when something exciting happens.
- LSU. Spotted an FCS opponent three points, and then rolled to a 35-point win.
- Georgia. How far can you go on the shoulders of an elite defense? We may be on the verge of finding out.
- Tennessee. Team Trash Can whupped up on a hapless Indiana State.
- South Carolina. Boom goes your SEC East leader, peeps.
- Auburn. Eleven. Sacks. Allowed. Dayum, Gus.
- Mississippi State. They haven’t played anybody special so far, but at least they’ve looked good doing it.
- Vanderbilt. Ditto.
- Ole Miss. Last week I wrote, “Shea Patterson makes this team watchable, but I can’t help but wonder how long the party lasts.” Nothing’s changed.
- Florida. By virtue of the unscheduled bye week, the Gators remain the only winless team in the SEC, and the only one underwater on point differential.
- Texas A&M. Tied with Nicholls in the fourth quarter? Georgia feels your shame, dog.
- Arkansas. Throttled by TCU, and you have to wonder if Bielema will ever make the Hogs into something more than an SEC West also ran.
- Kentucky. Easily the conference’s least impressive undefeated team.
- Missouri. Hey, Tigers, you were minus-3 in turnover margin and gave up a 97-yard kickoff return, so it only makes sense to fire the defensive coordinator the next day.
Filed under SEC Football
Of signature wins and other such things
It’s way too early for me to assign deep meaning to Georgia’s win Saturday night. Only two games in, we don’t know how each team’s season will develop. Reflect back on how half the fan base was ready to anoint Jim Donnan as the second coming of Steve Spurrier after the Dawgs demolished the Gators in 1997. How did that turn out?
While I’m not ready to draw any big picture conclusions about the state of the program based on the Notre Dame game, I will say that there are certain things about Kirby Smart to take away from it.
For one, I think we can dismiss the “it was Nick Saban’s defense” narrative. Georgia took on an offense that generated over six hundred yards of total offense the week before and held it to 265. Notre Dame’s yards per play declined from 8.19 to 3.44. The Irish offense that ran for 422 yards against Temple only managed 55 rushing yards against the Dawgs.
While it was the last, it wasn’t nearly the first time Wimbush was hit Saturday night. Due to the impressive speed on the defensive side of the ball, Georgia was able to get into the backfield often and make Wimbush uncomfortable. They also were able to stick with Notre Dame wide receivers all night and quickly shutdown running lanes. The Irish offense looked much different than it did against Temple the week prior.
“Yeah, it was everything I thought it would be, but I never played against a team with speed like that,” said Wimbush, who was genuinely impressed with the Bulldogs’ speed defensively. All 11 positions, all the guys were really physical and had speed. That was a little different. It’s hard to emulate that during the week, but our scout guys do the best job they can do.”
Georgia was fast, well-prepared, mechanically sound and Nick Saban was nowhere in the neighborhood. Kirby can coach a little D all by his lonesome, it turns out.
Second, this Georgia team was nothing if not resilient in South Bend.
4
Deficits Georgia faced and rallied from at Notre Dame. The Bulldogs trailed 3-0, 10-3, 16-10 and 19-17.
You sensed a couple of moments when things could have gotten away from them, especially when the offense struggled, but they never did. For a young team with a true freshman quarterback starting his first game on the road against a ranked opponent who was favored, that’s an indication that it has a head coach who is able to instill a sense of toughness and focus that’s been lacking at times over the past few seasons.
It might even turn out to be a statement.
Filed under Georgia Football
“So, what’s a fall bride to do?”
I’d say reschedule.
There are a few things to come to terms with once a fall wedding date is set in stone. First, don’t be surprised if your football-crazed guests send their regrets. Sure, Barbara and Tommy had a tough conversation about to handle the South Carolina vs. Georgia rivalry that weekend, but ultimately, their season tickets trumped your ceremony. Don’t take it too personally.
If making a friend choose between SEC football and your wedding isn’t personal, I’m not sure what qualifies. Friends don’t make friends choose like that. But if you must, even from your most loyal of mates, don’t expect them to act like normal wedding guests.
Second, guests missing a game, no matter how big or small, are going to search for a way to keep up with the score. They’re Southern football fans, after all. They can’t help but crave a play-by-play. It’s up to you to determine how important it is to save them from feeling compelled to stream the game during your first dance. Less traditional brides may be open to a television by the bar for important games only, but we will warn you that this tends to draw the crowd away from the dance floor. Others might consider more creative ways to update guests, like incorporating a well designed scoreboard into your reception décor or requesting intermittent score announcements from the band. Best yet, if you think guests can resist their smartphones during your celebration, record the game and host a watch party after the reception.
“A well designed scoreboard into your reception décor”? Well, at least you’d give them a memorable reception experience. I suspect they’d be talking about that for a while.
Filed under College Football
From one Heisman Trophy candidate to another
If anybody knows what Jarrett Stidham’s going through, it’s Jeremy Johnson.
Filed under Auburn's Cast of Thousands
The fans
We had a hint very early on Friday about what the Georgia turnout for the Notre Dame game would be like. Nah, not at Hartsfield or on the flight up to Chicago, both of which were heavily sprinkled with red (enough that one of the flight attendants made a ND crack when we were about to exit the plane). Coming from Atlanta, that was to be expected.
After we got there and got settled in, we walked about a mile or so from our hotel to a pizza joint that opened at 11 in the morning… and watched other Dawg fans walk in and keep walking in. We took an architectural boat tour on the Chicago River in the early afternoon and saw plenty of red on our boat and on other passing boats.
Came the evening and more of the same. Two of our group went to the Cubs game. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories about how the fan base took over Wrigley. The rest of us when to a classic steak diner and, you guessed it, there were plenty of Georgia fans chowing down.
Throw in the continuing comments from the locals we passed on the street while out and about regarding the number of us who made the trip and it was clear Dawgnation had made an impression. When you consider that this wasn’t some small college town in the South, but one of the largest cities in the world, that was quite the statement.
South Bend itself? Allow me to requote myself.
I’ve been to my fair share of road games over almost forty years, and what I saw from us over the past weekend was nothing short of amazing. Give us crap for being long-suffering, if you must, but don’t doubt our passion for the program. We showed up. It was indeed great to be a Georgia Bulldog.
I could do without this, though.
“When we pulled up, we thought it was a home game,” Smart said. “I am proud of this university, and I am proud of the fact that we’ve got a fan base that came to this game in droves. It makes us a special place. This was a special trip for our fan base, and we need our fan base to get behind this team, support this team and support this university.
“We’ve got a lot of projects right now that we’re trying to pay for, and these are the kind of games that help you get that done, because they see the promise in the program.”
Even Butts-Mehre seeing dollar signs everywhere can’t take away how special that trip was. You done good, gang.
Filed under Georgia Football
Not the Year of the Quarterback we were expecting
At 217.25, Vanderbilt’s Kyle Shurmur’s passer rating leads the SEC and is fifth nationally.
Filed under SEC Football, Stats Geek!
Get The Picture 
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