Hall of Fame quote

This one’s good enough to merit its own post for posterity’s sake.

Bulldog safety J.R. Reed on the job the defense did against Benny Snell: "We understood that Benny Snell was maybe the next Herschel Walker or something like that. We wanted to go out and prove that there’s only one Herschel."

— Anthony Dasher (@AnthonyDasher1) November 5, 2018

GATA, baby.

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They’ve been hurt, hurt, hurt…

Injury update from the always reliable Seth Emerson:

Georgia injury updates:
C Lamont Gaillard (hyperextended knee) will be limited in practice today.
G Ben Cleveland (leg) getting closer to returning.
WR-PR Mecole Hardman (ankle) should be able to practice today.

— Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) November 5, 2018

G-T Cade Mays (stinger) will be limited in practice today as well. https://t.co/mNDxiBIzlE

— Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) November 5, 2018

Gaillard’s sounds like the most serious injury from the Kentucky game.

It would be pretty awesome to get Big Ben back in time for him to get some game work in before December.

If you come, they will build it.

Dan Mullen says he’s found college football’s secret sauce.

“That’s how it works,” a frustrated Mullen said. “I’m gonna be honest with you, this is how it works too, when we sell out the stadium, we win a championship. It doesn’t go the other way. It’s not we win, you sell out. You sell out, you win. Go watch teams that have built programs. That’s how it works.”

If that’s really the case, why not give tickets away to make sure you fill the place every week?  If that’s really the case.

Here comes the Gus Bus.

Welp, there’s a lot to like in this paragraph.

Auburn opened as a 13 1/2-point underdog for the latest installment of The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry against No. 5 Georgia, according to VegasInsider.com. The Tigers, who were favored in each of their first nine games this season, travel to Sanford Stadium on Saturday…

Quantity and quality.  I’m impressed.

Of course, that can only mean one thing.  Georgia is about to get Auburn’s best shot.

Observations from the arm chair, Bluegrass edition

In a game involving two top ten teams, you don’t always expect the first series and exchange to set the tone for the entire affair, but that’s exactly what happened Saturday.  Georgia’s defense stuffed Benny Snell to force a punt, which Mecole Hardman returned 65 yards to set up a short scoring drive consisting of three Holyfield runs and a touchdown pass to Nauta.  Kentucky never got closer than 7-3 after that.

Run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense is the SEC’s tried and true formula for winning and Georgia pursued that with a vengeance, out-gaining the ‘Cats in rushing yardage 331 to 84 along the way to a 34-17 victory that didn’t feel as close as the score indicated.  (Some of that due, no doubt, to a couple of sloppy fumbles that blew up scoring opportunities.)

That wasn’t the only general point of interest for me.  Kentucky’s vaunted experience turned out not to be a factor, because (I suspect, as I mentioned pre-game) it wasn’t experience in the particular setting of a big game with serious consequences.  Georgia was the team playing the green kids — lots of ’em, as a matter of fact — but it was the senior laden ‘Cats that looked a little tight and lost their composure on occasion.  Score one for act like you’ve been there before.

And now, your bullet points.

• I’m sorry, but Kroger Field really doesn’t have the same cachet as, say, Death Valley.
• I simply can’t get over how well that patched up offensive line played.  Two sophomores, three freshmen, 331 rushing yards, zero sacks, four tackles for loss totaling a mere minus-6 yards.  Can you imagine how nuts Munson would have gone over that performance?  Sam Pittman is a frickin’ wizard.
• For those of you wondering if Jake Fromm would ever find his Javon Wims replacement, his name is Jeremiah Holloman.  The confidence Fromm has in Holloman is obvious, but he needs to be careful not to overdo it.  On the throw in the endzone where Holloman was covered, Jake had a wide open receiver (Ridley?) on the left side.
• Nice pass play to Nauta for the first touchdown.  If I’m calling plays for Georgia, next time the offense is on the opponent’s one-yard line, I’m telling one of the offensive linemen to draw a false start penalty to avoid running behind that useless power set.
• Either that, or keep using Jayson Stanley on the jet sweep.  Nobody saw that coming.
• Another week of concentrating the carries between Holyfield and Swift, another week of a solid running game.  By Jove, Holmes, I think they’re on to something.  Also good to see Swift getting his share of outlet passes.
• A Fields sighting this week!  And it wasn’t just for show, either, as he picked up a crucial first down with his feet.  I just wish he hadn’t given up so quickly on his one pass attempt on the day, as it looked like he had a receiver on the right breaking open just as he pulled the ball down.
• Jake Fromm, game manager.  He may not have been asked to do much, but what he did, he did effortlessly and efficiently.  Quite frankly, it’s good news for Georgia when Fromm doesn’t attempt more than 20 passes in a game.
• The receivers may not have had that many catches, but you don’t rush for over 300 yards without having some serious downfield blocking in the mix.  They did their part.
• Kentucky may have had the rep coming in, but it was the Dawgs’ defense with the four sacks on the day.  (Georgia also had more tackles for loss.)  The coaches committed to some of the youngsters (hey there, Tindall and Anderson!) playing early and often and the increased speed from the linebacking position was noticeable.  Hope that’s the start of a trend.
• That was easily Jonathan Ledbetter’s best game of the season.  If he made a mistake all day, I missed it.
• I can say the same thing about Brenton Cox (although he may not have been perfect).  He did a nice job of stepping up in D’Andre Walker’s absence.
• Man, that was some tough luck for Tae Crowder on Kentucky’s only big play of the day.
• He’s had a rough year in pass coverage, but Natrez Patrick had one brilliant pass break up.  He may have surprised even himself, as he was close to picking it off.
• They keep going right at Tyson Campbell and he keeps recovering fumbles.  That which does not kill you makes you stronger, young man.
• Yeah, that was a bullshit pass interference call on Deandre Baker.  Thanks, Hubert and crew.
• Special teams play was better than it had been in the past couple of games.  Rodrigo was flawless, with one exception on a kickoff.  (I’m beginning to believe the kickoff coverage team is simply too relaxed and reliant on touchbacks for its own good.)  The Hardman punt return set the tone for the day, as I mentioned.  Camarda only had to punt once on the day, but it was a 55-yard beaut with no return.
• Coaching?  I see the criticism Chaney’s getting in certain quarters, but, jeez, peeps, Kentucky’s defense hadn’t given up more than 20 points or 164 yards rushing in a game all year, Georgia goes for 34 and 331 and some of you want to gripe?  Methinks you’re getting spoiled.
• There’s a similar story to tell on the defensive side.  Playing a lot of single-safety looks, Georgia held Benny Snell and UK to its second-lowest rushing total of the season.  There was a price to be paid for that, as Wilson notched his best completion percentage of the season, largely by throwing short passes the defense gave him, but most of it was empty yardage.  Tucker made Wilson beat him and Kentucky’s passing attack wasn’t up to the challenge.
• Kirby deserves a ton of credit for the outcome, too.  For once, he had this team ready to play from the opening kickoff, and it showed as the Dawgs grabbed an early lead and never relinquished it.  No, his team didn’t play a perfect game — the two fumbles cost Georgia some points and the defense appeared to relax a little when it got to 28-3 — but they were better focused than any game I’ve seen them play so far in 2018.  Considering how many underclassmen got significant time on the field in a road game with a division title at stake, Smart did a helluva job on the day.

Now we come to the final quarter of the season, with two traditional rivals and three straight home games before facing the Death Star in the conference championship game.  I am really curious to see how much growth is left to coax out of this team’s young talent in those three games and how Kirby manages it.

SEC Power Poll, Week Ten

You want to know how crazy Alabama’s season is?  Right now, Georgia’s points differential in conference play is a stout +108.

Alabama’s point differential is +206.  With one fewer game.

1. Alabama.  “Mark my words, special teams are going to cost this 2018 Alabama team a game this season,” said nobody ever.
2. Georgia.  The Dawgs cut their asses loose, ‘yo.
3. LSU.  Listening to Gary Danielson assure the viewing audience that LSU’s defense was doing its best en route to giving up almost 600 yards was surreal.
4. Kentucky.  So much for that season of destiny narrative.  Now we find out if the ‘Cats are a good enough team to deal with the aftermath of a disappointing loss.
5. Mississippi State.  Had to put ’em here, but it won’t last long, seeing as whom they’re playing Saturday.
6. Auburn.  Won a home game despite rushing for only 19 yards.  The Gus Bus is humming now!
7. Texas A&M.  You had that game, Aggies.  You had it.
8. Missouri.  Monster bounce back for Derek Dooley.  And, yeah, it felt weird to type that.
9. Florida.  Is it worth mentioning that ever since Florida brought up third-and-Grantham in its game notes, the Gators’ defense is 19 of 32 on third down conversions?
10. South Carolina.  Hey, remember when the ‘Cocks were the toast of the “biggest threat to Georgia in the East” crowd?  Good times.
11. Vanderbilt.  Didn’t play, but nothing happened to make me think the ‘Dores still don’t have a shot at bowl eligibility.
12. Ole Miss.  Gashed Boom’s defense for 616 yards and still lost.  Mississippi may be the worst tackling team I’ve seen play this season.
13. Tennessee.  Scored one offensive touchdown and didn’t manage 200 yards of offense… against Charlotte.
14. Arkansas.  The Hogs only wish they were as good as Tennessee.

The nicest compliment

After a season of wondering where the Dawgs’ heads were at times, it’s great to see stuff like this:

“Georgia has a great run defense, (and) they came in with a great game plan,” Kentucky tailback A.J. Rose said. “I give them credit for that. They came out more hungry than us the first half.”

Safety Davonte Robinson agreed.

“They came out, they wanted it more,” Robinson said. “They played hard and hungry.”

Georgia, the team that wanted it more?  Maybe Kirby’s messaging is starting to sink in.  Be still, my heart.

Musical palate cleanser, old farts edition

Always loved this song, but now that the lyrics resonate…

I’ve always been a little surprised Rod Stewart didn’t sing lead on this one (although he did cover it later).  C’est la vie.

Fabris Pool results, Week 10

Perfection this week.

STANDINGS for WEEK 10

Rank	Selection Name	Standings Adjustment	W-L	Pts	Tie Breaker Game 23-27
1	LagwagonDawg78	Adj	10-0	10	28-24

Well played, LagwagonDawg78.

As for the seasonal race, it’s starting to look like Ant123 is running away with things.

SEASON STANDINGS through Week 10

Rank	You	Selection Name	W-L	Pts
1		Ant123	67-33	67
2		jayelbee23	60-40	60
2		UPS-Dawg	60-40	60
2		StoneColdDawg	60-40	60
2		GaK9s	60-40	60
2		Call me Lilliputian, we in Swifts World	60-40	60

A seven-point lead with three weeks to go will be pretty tough to overcome. But that’s why they play the games, says the cliché.