Bye week happy talk

Those stars just won’t quit aligning, peeps.

After an injury scare to Georgia’s leading receiver, and two games without its best defensive lineman, it appears Terry Godwin and Trenton Thompson are on track to play against Florida.

Both players were in uniform at Tuesday’s practice, the team’s first of the bye week.

I keep waiting for a shoe to drop.  This is Florida we’re talking about, after all.

When you take your foot off the gas pedal of the Gus Bus…

Malzahn said his thought process on going conservative at the half: "How many points can they really score versus our defense"

— SportsCall Auburn (@SportsCallAU) October 17, 2017

… shit happens, like blowing at 20-point lead to a team that lost to Troy two weeks before.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the revised rankings of the SEC coaches after the season from all the geniuses in the punditocracy who were singing the praises of Dan Mullen (who, admittedly, ain’t bad) and Malzahn.

When you don’t allow yourself to play down to the level of your opponent…

For those of you still freaking out that OMG! MIZZOU SCORED 28 POINTS ON GEORGIA!!!, allow Mr. Connelly to provide some context.

Mizzou won the field position battle, finished every scoring chance in the end zone (thanks to that whole “only score via big play” thing), got a smidgen of turnovers luck, and created bigger big plays. All the things the Tigers needed to do against South Carolina, they did in a blowout loss. Cool, cool.

Three things here:  one, Georgia brought its B-minus, C-plus game against a lesser conference opponent and still won by 25, going away.  Two, that doesn’t mean Georgia can bring the same kind of game against, say, Auburn, and expect the same results.  (Somewhat shockingly, I expect the coaches already know that.)  (Yes, that’s sarcasm.)

Most importantly, how many times over the past few years have we seen the Dawgs bring their B-minus, C-plus game against inferior opposition… and lose?  Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Shelley Meyer is pointed to and stared at.

You had to know letting yourself get painted into a corner equating Colin Kaepernick and Aaron Hernandez wouldn’t be a good look.

Bless your heart.  Maybe the next time your hubby warns about the perils of social media, you ought to listen.  In the meantime, I’m sure a lot of his players appreciate your thoughtful sentiment.

Life after regression to the mean

These are the D-1 teams that are currently undefeated:

• Alabama
• Central Florida
• Georgia
• Miami
• Penn State
• South Florida
• TCU
• Wisconsin

Of those eight teams, the only one with a lower turnover margin than Georgia’s +1 is Wisconsin, which is even.  Of the remaining six teams, four are in the top five in that category.

That Georgia has been able to roll thus far without being dominant in turnovers surprises me.  It’s an indication of how solid this team has been everywhere else.

Georgia and Points Per Drive

Brian Fremeau tracks points per drive in all its permutations.

Points Per Drive data are a function of all offensive possessions in FBS vs. FBS games, excluding first-half clock kills and end-of-game garbage drives and scores. Teams are ranked by net points scored per drive (NPD), the difference between points scored per offensive drive (OPD) and points allowed per opponent offensive drive (DPD). Points per long drive for the offense (OLD) and opponent offenses (DLD) are calculated on possessions that begin inside the offense’s own 20-yard line. Points per remaining drive for the offense (ORD) and opponent offenses (DRD) are calculated on possessions that begin within 80 yards of the end zone. Points per value drive for the offense (OVD) and opponent offenses (DVD) are calculated on possessions that begin on the offense’s own side of midfield and reach at least the opponent’s 30-yard line.

Georgia currently ranks fifth this season in overall points per drive.  What’s really impressive about its showing is the consistency.  Across nine categories, the rankings range from 2nd to 21st.  Even Alabama has a bigger spread than that.

In case you’re wondering, Georgia finished 65th in PPD in 2016.

Oh, you Herschel Walker.

Back in the days when the weather wasn’t a factor travel time wasn’t a factor the Gator Bowl wasn’t in the state of Florida Herschel Walker roamed the college football world, life in Jacksonville was pretty boss.

Three wins.  Unhappy Charlie Pell is the best Charlie Pell.  When you’re talented and have the right mindset, good things happen.  Amazing how that works.

Upon further review, Missouri edition

When you watch the replay, there’s a graphic that comes up early in the fourth quarter, showing yardage by quarters, that neatly summarizes what the game came down to.

Third quarter:  UGA 158  UM 21

When Georgia is focused and turns it on, it’s as good as any team in the country.  That was the story of the third quarter, which in turn made it the story of the game.

On defense, the secondary made adjustments to take away the deep pass that had burned them repeatedly in the first half and the defensive line dominated the line of scrimmage.  Much of the game, the pass rush was lacking, but that was not the case in the third quarter; although Lock wasn’t sacked, he definitely felt the pressure.

On offense, as Jordan Rodgers (who did a pretty good job as the color guy all night) noted, Georgia did an excellent job of exploiting the structural weaknesses of the Mizzou defense, in this case, poor pass coverage and a complete inability to defend the run on the boundaries.

All told, it was brutally efficient.  But for a procedure penalty on Brian Herrien, it would have been even worse.

Other than that, a few other notes:

• I saw a few comments elsewhere that J’Mon Moore got in his coaches’ doghouse with his early unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and that was the reason he finished with only one catch for eight yards.  Nah uh.  He was a non-factor because Deandre Baker shut his ass down.  Baker’s stop at about the 7:15 mark in the third quarter is as well as any defensive back can play the quick slant on a third-and-two.
• Javon Wims had a great game, not just catching the ball, but also blocking.
• To those of you who insisted in the comments yesterday that the interception was just a lucky snag, I don’t know what you were watching.  The Missouri linebacker made the play watching Fromm’s eyes.  It wasn’t a good throw.
• That being said, Fromm is really growing into the starting role.  He’s got great pre-snap command of where his backs and receivers need to line up.  One good thing about Missouri’s soft coverage and lack of pressure was that it gave him enough time on a few plays to find and throw to a second option.  With more experience, the game will slow down for him and he’ll be able to do that against better defenses.
• The relaxed body language of Georgia’s running backs when the cameras cut to them on the sidelines in the second half is fun to watch.
• D’Andre Swift’s parents were a hoot.
• I mentioned in my Observations post yesterday that I really liked the play call that led to Missouri’s first score.  After watching the replay, the last score came off a call that was just as impressive.  Josh Heupel dialed up a perfect play to take advantage of the adjustments Mel Tucker made in the second half to take away the deep ball.  If Missouri’s staff gets blown up in the offseason, somebody’s gonna hire Heupel and do quite well by him.
• I see it every week, but Missouri’s offensive line holds a lot.  They’re good at it, too.  Again, if the refs aren’t gonna call it, keep on doing it.
• This was not one of Solomon Kindley’s better days.  As I mentioned yesterday, Chubb saved his ass by driving out of the end zone to prevent a safety when a Mizzou d-lineman shot past Kindley.
• You think Jim Chaney likes the run-pass option?  I think Jim Chaney likes the run-pass option.
• Man, next time Georgia gains 700 yards on the nose, maybe come up with something other than victory formation on the last play of the game.  (I keed, I keed.)

Ode to the Cocktail Party

For those of you who sneer about Georgia traveling to Jacksonville every year to play its annual rivalry game against Florida, I suggest you read this excellent tribute by Joe Vitale at CFN.

The SEC border clash between the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators is one of the great spectacles in all of sports. Pulling out of Saint Simons Island and Jekyll Island, the Bulldog faithful head south down I-95 towards River City. Driving down US Route 1, car loads of Georgia fans cross the St. John’s River over the Hart Bridge, with its green girders reminiscent of the old Gator Bowl. Reaching the crest of the bridge, the red and black and blue and orange clad fans come into view. RVs as far as the eye can see, school flags flying in the breeze, tents dotting the landscape, thousands of people tailgating, music blasting and the mesquite aroma of countless BBQs create the most festive atmosphere in college football.

Not only for the fans of both schools, but the atmosphere is electric for the players. They are amazed by the size of the crowds around the stadium. Including Sanford Stadium and Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, most college campus stadiums are situated in compact spaces and have a limited amount of open space. EverBank Stadium is surrounded by open fields and large parking lots, so the players are witnessing many more fans congregated in one spot than they are usually accustomed.

“I remember coming over the bridge and seeing tailgates set up everywhere, people walking around, and the festivities going on,” former Georgia center Ben Jones once said. “I’m like, ‘Wow! It’s 12 o’clock in the afternoon. How long have they been out here doing this?”

Ben, if they’re doing it right, at least since the sun came up.

The series dates to 1904, but Florida doesn’t count that first game, as it occurred before the modern establishment of the university by the Florida legislature in 1905. The first game was played in Macon between Georgia and the Florida Agriculture College, one of four predecessor colleges of Florida, based in Lake City.

However, it shouldn’t be Georgia’s fault that a majority of Floridians remained uneducated for 120 years after the establishment of the University of Georgia. Legendary Georgia sports historian Dan Magill summed it up best when he so eloquently stated, “That’s where Florida was back then. We can’t help it if they got run out of Lake City.”

It’s time for Georgia to do a little more running out this year.  Get after their asses, boys.

The way to a coach’s heart…

The end of Orgeron’s presser yesterday, when he’s asked if there’s anyone he misses from his days at Ole Miss is three shades of greatness:

Q. I know it’s been ten years. Is there anybody there that you still talk to that’s in administration or at the school at all? Any connection?
ED ORGERON: No, you know, I used to stop at the Exxon and get a chicken-on-a-stick, and they were fantastic. I hope that cook is still there, and I can stop and say hello to her. That’s about all I remember.

Q. This is in Oxford?
ED ORGERON: Yeah, chicken-on-a-stick. It was phenomenal.

Q. Good chicken-on-a-stick?
ED ORGERON: The best I ever had! Not better than Raising Cane’s! (Laughter.)

Coach O has a sponsorship deal with Raising Cane’s, which is what led to the add on there (and the laughter).

Maybe you don’t have to be a character to be LSU’s head coach, but it doesn’t hurt.