So, I got this question from a reader (thanks, Sean!):
Good evening, Senator:
I’ve been watching UGA vs Alabama games during my vacation, and i wonder what the difference is, in your opinion.
Ultimately, I’d chalk it up to two factors:
- Alabama’s offensive line
- An extra year of experience under Sarkisian’s belt
As has already been documented, the talent level between the two programs is extremely close at this point. What separated ‘Bama last season, not just from Georgia, but from every other team in D-1, was an offense that was locked and loaded from the get-go. There was no transition to speak of with the Tide’s offense; the skill position guys were experienced and settled in the scheme that Sark ran. He, in turn, had already tweaked what he took from Lincoln Riley (no shame in that, as long as it worked — and it did) for a full season before 2020 and was thus able to focus on in-game play calling, something he clearly excelled at. The o-line was as good as I saw last season.
Compare Georgia with that. Matt Luke took over from Sam Pittman. Not only did he change the blocking schemes, but he had to do so while replacing both tackles. The Dawgs also plugged a new offensive coordinator into the mix, and while Monken was a clear upgrade from Coley, especially as a play designer, he wasn’t given any spring practice time to work with his charges. Add on top of that a quarterback situation that wasn’t resolved until the last third of the season and you’ve got an offense that was clearly working behind the eight ball compared with Alabama.
It feels a little strange to write all that without mentioning the defenses, but that’s how it played out, at least in my mind.
The good news is Georgia should be in similar straits to ‘Bama for ’21 in terms of comfort with the offensive scheme and the quality of the skill position players. What we don’t know — and what may ultimately determine how far the Dawgs go this season — is how well the o-line will mesh.
That’s all I got. What say y’all?
Get The Picture 
Watching UGA/Bama games? Is that some kind of community service sentence?
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Ha ha. I was watching them while enjoying some beverages and I was literally surprised at how well we played for three quarters this year against what Bama fans would argue is the most talented and accomplished team in Tide history. Literally double taking as I watched…what I walked away with is we are simply cursed, but again, I was in my cups…
Thanks for the insight, Senator! Definitely aspects I hadn’t pondered!
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We played /really/ well, and they were relieved to get that win. (I know because I live in Crimson Tide country).
If not for Bennett panicking and trying to do it all at once at some point in the third quarter, it might have gone very differently.
Oh, well.
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Solid analysis, Senator. I was impressed the Dawgs hung with the Gumps for the better part of three quarters.
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Looking in the rear view mirror how did we ever have the lead at half time?
They had the best Oline and most dependable skill players on offense in CF.
The lack of off season prep certainly was a big advantage for a loaded team that needed little help.
So do we keep JT in bubble wrap before game one or hope the years of bad luck are finally gone in 2021.
All I want is this season to be one where injuries and or ineligibility due not factor into our chance os success.
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I shouldn’t bring this up, but we need, really need, to get that monkey off our back.
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You covered it Senator
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No mention of quarterback?
Their best skilled position players were better than ours and, save rb, they had more of them.
We were better than them on defense, when healthy, but not good enough to match up with their receivers.
Unless bryce young is some transcendent force, I think we’re better than them in 2021, for the first time in the smart era.
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Unless you’re saying QB isn’t a skill position, I think “the skill position guys were experienced and settled in the scheme” covered it.
Also, he wasn’t asking about the head-to-head game, but about a seasonal matchup. IMVHO, Daniels looked good enough to battle Jones evenly.
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It is typically a “skilled position.” Whether it qualifies when Stetson is playing the position is up to debate.
Had we stayed healthy on D and played bama with JT, we’d have given them a better game than any one else in the country.
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Blame the qbs in front of him, the coaches, or life events for having to play the 4th string qb but don’t slight Stetson. Stetson is a DGD and he excelled given the circumstances.
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Its not about dragging Stetson. Its just true. Thats all. I’ve seen a lot of damn good dawgs play some damn mediocre qb at georgia. Doesn’t make them bad people. Doesn’t mean they didn’t try their asses off. They just weren’t very good at it. I think its ok to make these observations on a blog.
Where was your sentiment when I was on our fans about booing?
Lots of damn good dawgs working their asses off trying their best are more likely to hear that shit than reading my post.
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“It is typically a “skilled position.” Whether it qualifies when Stetson is playing the position is up to debate.”
I’m on the debate side he has some skills. Yes, it seemed like you were unfairly dogging him to me. I’m glad we at least both agree he’s a DGD.
Some fans definitely need to be booed on occasion.
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Count me as one who is underwhelmed by his skill set.
This shouldn’t be surprising given that I was also underwhelmed by Fromm.
I’m just tough on our QB’s…. Zeier is about the only one I don’t have a real complaint about. I hope JT joins the club this fall.
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Buck says…”Hold my beer”…
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everything sets up nicely for us…from talent, overall experience, “schematic advantage”, coaching stability, schedule, etc
just need the intangibles to fall into place.
season can’t start fast enough imho.
We are about to go on an early 80’s run but we don’t lose to ‘Pitt and Penn St’.
C’est l’heure du Dawg!
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Bama had great players all over the field on both sides of the ball. In particular, Bama was excellent in the offensive line. Bama showed you don’t have to have a generational talent at QB to win the whole thing. I don’t mean that as a knock on Mac Jones (he was outstanding, but he wasn’t a 5-star talent coming into Bama). He had GREAT talent around him. They did everything they did without Jaylen Waddle for much of the season. On defense, they did what great teams do. They improved throughout the season, and other than defending Kyle Pitts, they were really good late in the season.
OTOH, Georgia HAS to get better in the passing game. Daniels is a big step in the right direction, and more 5-star QBs are on the way. We have equivalent talent at the skilled positions. In 2021, the only thing that could hold us back is the offensive line. That’s why a full spring practice is super important for us. We have to find the right combination of Jimmies and Joes up front to do what Monken and Luke want to do. On defense, we are replacing a ton of experience and athleticism in the secondary. Once again, the talent is there. The question is whether we’ll be able to get it to mesh in the spring.
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I’m starting to think we’re under valuing Jones. For most of the season I pegged him as equal to Trask, but throughout the postseason he looked good against great teams.
He definitely doesn’t have a Lawrence or Fields arm though.
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I thought the whole season that Jones > Trask and not just because of their supporting casts.
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Trask and Jones’ stats are eerily similar though: http://www.cfbstats.com/2020/leader/national/player/split01/category02/sort01.html
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Not sure if you read it or not, but June Jones thinks Mac Jones is the best QB prospect in this years draft. Not sure that I agree with that, but understand where he is coming from:
https://www.aol.com/2021-nfl-draft-trevor-lawrence-205523707.html
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In my totally unqualified opinion, i’d be wary of overvaluing any QB coming from Alabama given his built in advantages vs the opposition. How would [X] guy do when the field is mostly level ?
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It’s at QB. Bama recruits and develops elite QBs and it’s the key to a dominant offense these days. Saban gave up on the game manager years ago.
Our OL is good to great every season, RBs are elite, WRs are finally elite, and TE is always solid.
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Mac Jones was a 3-star QB in high school.
https://247sports.com/player/mac-jones-80433/
Jake was a high 4-star. #3 pro-style QB.
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David Pollack told me those hs recruiting ratings are always right.
One thing that helped Mac was coming in with Tua, working hard and sticking it out. I hope his story will encourage some of these guys to bide their time. Many of the Mac Jones-types Saban has signed left the program never to be heard from again. Saban didn’t develop any of those kids into potential first rounders. Mac deserves the credit for doing that.
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I said elsewhere in the thread that Mac Jones was outstanding, but he is an example that you don’t have to have a Lawrence or Fields type of recruit to win it all.
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You do have to wonder how many pieces you have to have around a Mac Jones-type to win it all tho don’t you? There is an advantage in having a guy that runs for a few cheap first downs when the called play breaks down and/or can pick up short yardage on his own. Without that you’re going to need to be that much more efficient.
Daniels it seems to me has a bit more raw arm talent than Mac. He may even be ahead of him in the mental aspects of the game.
My concerns are:
whether JT and George and co. will get to the same level of efficiency as we saw from the teams that have won the past three titles.
whether the OL can come together.
If they do, I won’t have to cancel my room in Indy….
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HA!….you’re right though. Measurables are probably used more than they should be. But what else are they gonna use, hard to see them all.
Pollack is a good example what hard work will do, hard to measure heart….and there are a lot more. It is unfair to blame the coach on every 5 star that didn’t live up to it.
The “want to” goes a long way …in most anything you do.
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Yep. And if you think the 5 star all everything at the in state school is lazy and shiftless and you turn out wrong then you’re the worst coach in history.
The biggest thing that recruiting at a top level does is eliminating complacency. Everyone said CMR could recruit and that was true to a point. But if Geno Atkins has no one to fight for playing time with and he decides to coast, what can the coach do? Play the shittier player and lose?
Recruiting is a crap shoot for everyone. Outcomes are totally different when you sign top 3 classes every year. If you recruit 85 studs and a little under half need to really produce on game day, you’re gonna be ok vs. most opponents.
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Yeah, it’s not all about stars. Saban saw something in Jones and then the staff coached him to a first round draft guy.
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What did Saban see in Blake Barnett? What did Saban see in David Cornwell? What did Saban see in Cooper Bateman?
Didn’t all if those qb signees light it up…because Nick?
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Saban goes through a lot of QBs that don’t end up as the starter, but isn’t that normal for the position?
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You mean guys that they don’t see anything in but sign anyway?
Sure.
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They all got beat out by Jalen Hurts, who was a top 50 draft pick. And Cornwell and Bateman were poor fits for what Lane wanted to do, largely recruited with more their 2012 offense in mind than their 2016-forward.
Jalen-Tua-Mac. You gotta admit, that’s a hell of a run at QB for a college program. I’m not sure that can be sustained.
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At least one or two were beaten out by Blake Sims.
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A converted running back who could run the +1 running game and threw a nice deep ball. Made that horizontal stretch thing Lane loves so much work. Gainesville kid who everyone shredded for choosing Alabama and thinking he’d play QB. 🙂 Got there in the end, didn’t he?
Cornwell was a true freshman who was coming off 2 years of not playing football? And Bateman was recruited by Nussmeier for their 2012-13 style offense. Everyone assumed it would be Coker out of FSU, not realizing how radically Lane was going to remake that offense.
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All my point is is that saban is fucking human. Some guys do the work. Some don’t. Some can’t. Saban’s not a wizard with a wand. He had a roster spot for a qb the same year he had a stud five star on the hook and he’d lost fromm. He got lucky and found a kid who wanted it.
Good for them both.
If its all about Nick then explain Ben Davis.
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In my opinion, the OL has not played up to the recruiting and coaching hype for most of Kirby’s tenure. Don’t get me wrong: on a scale of 1 to 10 the OL has been an 8-8.5. Problem is they’ve been expected to be an 11 a couple of seasons, last year excepted with the transition to Luke and the new tackles as mentioned.
2021 is all about the OL.
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Agree..but I’d go as low as 7 with it. They could have been better if they had not been called on to run block a stacked box so much. Better offensive scheming will help the O line much.
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I would say 3 years in the system, not 2. Sark expanded what Locksley ran in 2018, but they’ve been wide open on offense 3 years now.
You could even say 6 if you count Lane’s years transitioning them from a RB-centric offense to a QB-centric system.
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Prior to the 2020 game – 2017,2018 games a dominate DT was a noticeable difference. In 2012 roster management by Saban wore down a thin DL.
The only position group in question for Georgia is the secondary. Kirby has 12 games (fingers crossed) to get the secondary playing well.
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They had us on the dl in 2012 as well. The third and short we had right before we punted back to them and they went up top to Cooper still haunts me. Play call: Gurley up the guy for 0 yards…
We pick up a a couple of first downs there and that game may well be over. Can I get a little p/a pass to Arthur, Bobo?!?
Still can’t figure out why we haven’t been able to replicate something close to what bama had on ol in 2012. They were just mauling us in the run game. I keep thinking we’ll get there and it just never happens. We consistently seem to be better at pass pro than moving opposing dls around.
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Far better wide receivers, better QBs, better coaching.
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Somehow (or so it seems) Saban has his teams functioning at a very efficient level at the beginning of every season. It’s as if there’s no lack of continuity when players leave early or graduate. Somehow their proficiency and execution is far beyond every other teams. They rarely slip up and look sloppy. How Saban gets them to this level of fine tuning?
Either they have found a way to have tons of practice in the guise of another name or activity, or everyone is either so completely inspired or terrified (take your pick) of Saban that they are motivated to seeking self perfection as a player.
I’m not suggesting Alabama is cheating on practice times/ rules. Saban is too smart for that. But they’re doing something to keep the machine running that smooth.
Is it that they have a zillion coaches? Is that it?
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Sure:
https://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=401237100
Its not too often that they play anyone with a pulse in September.
They played No. 11 Ole Miss in game 5 of 2014. And lost.
You have to go back to 2013 to see them play a top ten team: A&M. They won by 7 and allowed a wr to get 7 catches for over 40 yards a catch.
The lets all suck saban’s dick fest is tiresome.
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The 2013 reference was to a September match up. They definitely play a lot of highly ranked teams in November and beyond.
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I think the talent differential between us and Bama is actually pretty substantial. Too lazy to look it up but alabama churns out first rounders and all sec guys annually we have one or two every other year. They have also done a much much better job of getting all sec type production from their 5 star, high 4 star recruits. I’m not sure anyone on our roster would have started on the Bama offense, maybe pickens. Going position by position, we have no receiver as good as metchie, waddle and Smith, again maybe pickens but he has yet to put together a full season of sustained production. Mac jones and tua before him were way better than the QB play we’ve had. We have no running back that’s the equivalent of najee Harris and no lineman that’s equivalent to leatherwood. We recruit a bunch of 5 stars but they don’t produce like bamas 5 stars and frankly we have a hard time keeping many in the program as well (cox, Eason, fields, etc.) Layer on the fact that we have 4 and 5 star players who leave after 3 years who aren’t even 1st or 2nd round material and didn’t produce in college like 1st and 2nd round material (nauta, holyfield, ridley esp. compared to his brother, fromm) and it’s no wonder we’ve lost the last 6 contests to alabama. Georgia has guys like todd gurley, Bama puts an nfl offense around a todd gurley type player EVERY year. THAT is the difference. Kirby can recruit and weve had good production but to get over the hump he needs to translate elite talent to elite production.
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Charlotte, I agree with this 100%. I see very few teams in college football that on the same level as Alabama. This is no knock on Kirby, but rather a huge tip of the cap to Saban. I have come to the realization that Georgia is simply not in the same group as Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State…those are the elite program across the nation. Kirby has made incredible strides in Athens with our program and I believe that he will continue to improve the Georgia program. But as of today, UGA are a 2nd tier program and nothing more. I do not believe that this program is capable of beating Alabama, Clemson nor Ohio State.
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We gon see about, that ain’t we pal?
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Georgia has a better roster than Clemson right now. Kirby hasn’t had the QB play (that’s on him), but he also hasn’t been able to skate through a tissue-soft ACC to an automatic playoff berth, either.
Clemson got crushed by LSU and Ohio State to end their last 2 seasons, gave up well over 600 yards in both. Does that make them 2nd tier now?
Georgia is going to beat Clemson to open next season. The issues Clemson had against Ohio State were not unique to Ohio State – they were just one team being pushed around on the line of scrimmage and not being able to hold up in coverage. DJ, Justyn Ross, B Breese and M Murphy are legit first round candidates, so it’s not like they won’t be dangerous or make any plays.
But around those 4? Lot of 3-star roster-filler in the 2 deep. Lanning and Monken are already dialing in how to leverage all those individual match-ups.
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I don’t think there’s much of a talent difference entering the two schools. I do think there’s a little bit of a difference between the talent leaving the two schools, meaning I think Bama still has a coaching edge. But Kirby is a fast learner and has been steadily upgrading the coaching. I think Monken will turn out to be a great hire. I think KirbLanning is getting better as a defensive coach, though this past season sure hurt.
I actually think our defense will be fine this season even with the new secondary. I think the schemes are changing somewhat and I think pressure on the QBs will help the young secondary.
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Najee Harris was a senior, right. And yea, Bama has a bruiser seemingly constantly. Devonte was a senior. Leatherwood was a senior. I am sensing a trend.
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They’re just a little bit better overall, and we hit a speedbump at QB and OC over the last couple years. Like the kind of speedbump that throws everyone’s head into the ceiling and throws the wheels out of alignment.
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Bluto, I’m buying what you’re selling…I think Bama’s 2020 offensive precision performance was due to highly recruited talent and coaching continuity. And maybe, just maybe that same recipe for success will benefit our beloved Junk Yard Dawgs in the upcoming season. Monken seems to have the right schemes and JT has the talent…if those 2 variables gel, we should be off to the races in scoring…my concern is our secondary on the defense…but I think we’ll get a portal fix there. GATA
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You can have a Ferrari but if you use regular gas it sputters. Obviously we get these great recruits but the coaching (regular gas) is causing us to sputter.You can say what you want about Saban but he has football figured out. Every year he has to replace coaches and he doesn’t miss a beat. Our mantra is always “next year” just as I am hearing now. I’m ready for the “show me now” mantra.
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Kirby doesn’t have twenty plus years experience as a HC as some of the boys. I expect the light to turn on for him soon. Gaining his composure on the sideline and losing the “get-back” guy would be a big step in the right direction.
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you ever look at my avatar? lol And yes, Kirby needs to be a HC in critical times.
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To me the season will not be a success until Kirby beats Bama. I know this year it will be in Atlanta for the SECCG that they will meet, assuming they do. I don’t live and die by beating Bama but until they do I will be waiting on the next chance to do it. I expect a SECCG game appearance and being in the play off discussion but at some point Kirby has to beat the Old Man.
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So, if for some reason Bama doesn’t make the SECCG and we win the whole enchilada without having to beat Alabama on the field, the season won’t be a success because Kirby didn’t have to beat Saban to do it.
We talk about living rent free in the Handbags’ heads. This is truly letting the Tide live rent free in your head.
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That isn’t necessary what I meant when I said “I don’t live and die by beating Bama.” If Kirby wins it all then yes I would be happy for the team even if they miss out on Saban! I expect the Dawgs to meet Bama in ATL and if they win after that no matter what happens I will consider the season a success.
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Well, just think that we can beat Clemson, AU, UF, UT, and GT before we even have to worry about that! An undefeated season with beating Clemson!
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If the Dawgs don’t beat ut and gt then we will have had probably the worst year since the 90’s I can remember.
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Ut, gt, sc, Vandy will be kicked into orbit
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From your keyboard to God’s scoreboard.
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In addition to the wheels coming off Stetson in the second half (we saw signs of it in the first half, most notably our last TD drive where he missed wide open WR’s for the TD before completing a pass for a TD on 3rd down), the game turned on a couple of bogus zebra decisions (a non call on Bama when our receiver was tackled) and a bullshit PI on one of our CBs that kept one of their TD drives alive. Plus, we missed a very makable FG. I know, ifs and buts, but absent a few Bama breaks, that game would have been much tighter.
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I feel like even with Daniels playing a full season, Bama’s offense was more than just a little better than UGA’s.
Hopefully the Dawgs continue to improve.
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