Stadium was lit. Georgia played lights out. Great win for them and their fans. I was wrong. Great win for UGA. š Goodnight
— Erik Ainge (@ErikAinge3) November 5, 2022
Bet that hurt.
Daily Archives: November 5, 2022
So much for those 2019 LSU comparisons
Damn, that defense came to play today.
Filed under Georgia Football
Knew it all along
If you happen to run into a Vol fan running their mouth about how great their team is and how sure they are of a win today, ask them a simple question.
Tennessee sold 3,000 of its 5,000 ticket allotment from Georgia. Tickets had to be returned by July 1, which might explain why UT fans left 2,000 tickets on the table because those tickets were $120 each.
You can bet the Vol Nation wishes it hadnāt done that.
The cheapest get-in ticket for the game is $626, according to TickPick. That is the highest ever for a regular-season college football game. The previous high was $519 for an Ohio State-Michigan game.
Ask them how much they paid for their ticket.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
Your game day post, Urnge edition
Could it be that Greg McGarity was playing three-dimensional chess with the SEC when he acceded to the conference’s wishes and allowed the Auburn game to be moved to earlier in the season?
Here me out.Ā Auburn moved to October, which meant that some other team would be displaced to a November game on Georgia’s schedule.Ā In 2022, that turned out to be Tennessee.Ā And in 2022, that meant Tennessee played Alabama before Tennessee played Georgia.Ā AndĀ that means Kirby gets to go second, after seeing what Saban’s team did right and what they did wrong in Knoxville.Ā Checkmate, chumps!
Okay, okay, I’m obviously joking about McGarity’s negotiating skills, but my point about going second after ‘Bama stands.Ā Smart knows how his former boss coaches and I’ve got to think that tape from the game two weeks ago has been immensely valuable in game prep this week, though it’s also worth remembering that Smart approaches Heupel’s offense the same way he approached Paul Johnson’s.Ā If another coach is running an exotic offensive scheme, Georgia spends time throughout the season prepping for it, not just during game week.
I said it earlier this week — Georgia won’t be outcoached today.
I’ve posted what seems like a hundred keys to the game this week, but to me, everything boils back down to what always seems to matter the most in an SEC game, and that’s which team can run the ball better.Ā If the Dawgs can establish a run game that manages, say, 150 yards rushing (that would be the most the Vols have yielded this season), that’s going to make Stetson Bennett’s life a lot easier.Ā And if they’re able to defend Tennessee’s ground game without having to throw more than five or six guys in the box, they should be able to have enough bodies to stand a chance against the Vols’ passing game.
Can they do it?Ā Well, I feel pretty comfortable saying they can do at least half of it.
Tennessee’s defense is vulnerable.Ā It hasn’t really mattered because the offense is so prolific, but it would have mattered in Knoxville if Alabama hadn’t played such a sloppy, undisciplined game.Ā (I wonder what was the over/under on the number of times Georgia’s coaches harped on that this week in practice.)Ā By contrast, Georgia is tied for fourth nationally in penalties.
If there are sloppiness or discipline issues affecting Georgia’s play today, I worry about those more in the context of stupid turnovers, which means I’m worried about Stetson Bennett, gunslinger.Ā The Dawgs handled the Gators last week, despite being minus-three in turnover margin.Ā That dog won’t hunt this week.Ā Giving UT’s offense three additional opportunities with the ball would be extremely risky.Ā I assume Stetson has been gently reminded about avoiding such risk; whether he takes such advice to heart in the heat of battle is something we’ll have to wait and see.
To make a long story short, I like Georgia’s chances to post the W today.Ā They’re at home and they’ve been in this setting plenty of times now under Kirby.Ā Meanwhile, the Vols are playing their second pressure packed game against an elite opponent, and this time it’s on the road in front of what I expect will be a hostile Sanford Stadium crowd.Ā That being said, I’m not kidding myself; UT certainly has a puncher’s chance with that passing attack and Hooker’s skill set.Ā Like many, I can see any number of ways this game could play out.Ā I’ll settle for taking Georgia to win and Tennessee to cover.
Say your say in the comments.
Filed under Georgia Football
Because they can.
Oh, for the love of Gawd.
He’s got a 15-16 record at Missouri.Ā There isn’t another school jumping at the chance to make him their head coach.Ā Why on earth would you do this?
Filed under It's Just Bidness, SEC Football
Your (non-Dawg) game day post
Today’s menu:
What I’ll be watching, when I’m not watching Georgia:
- Florida at Texas A&M.Ā It’s the Underachievers Bowl!
- Alabama at LSU.Ā Somebody’s dropping out of the West race.
- Texas at Kansas State.Ā Are the Longhorns back… yet again?
- Clemson at Notre Dame.Ā If you’re hoping for the Tigers to drop out of the CFP conversation, this may be your last, best hope.
- Auburn at Mississippi State.Ā The dawn of the post-Harsin era.
- South Carolina at Vanderbilt.Ā Somebody’s gotta win this one.
What’s on your viewing agenda today?Ā Have at it in the comments.
Filed under College Football
TFW you confuse coaching for fear
Tell me you know nothing about Kirby Smart’s coaching style without saying you know nothing about Kirby Smart’s coaching style.
Can I get a “bless their heart” from the congregation?
Watered down, like greed, is good.
I can scarcely contain my excitement thinking about what an expanded playoff is about to bring me.
In an expanded College Football Playoff, this week’s massive No. 1Ā GeorgiaĀ vs. No. 3Ā TennesseeĀ showdown might be for seeding. Same thing for No. 6Ā AlabamaĀ vs. No. 10Ā LSU. And it would be wonderful.
As fans, we are conditioned for resolution, finality:Ā My team beat your team. But with more noses under the tent in the new 12-team playoff, the drama will be distributed a different way. Think of less “Games of the Century” and more lingering spectacles.
“It’s going to be really good forĀ college football,” Tennessee athletic director Danny White told CBS Sports this week. “I’ve been a proponent for a while. I think about theĀ NFLĀ late in the season when they’re playing for potentially getting a wild card. People are watching high-level games that, in college, they wouldn’t care about. Teams would have no chance of making a four-team playoff.”
Spoken like a true former AD at UCF.
The FBS commissioners continue to discuss when the expanded playoff will begin. Meanwhile, there are critics that mourn the loss of do-or-die weeks like this. Alabama’s season is at stake in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The winner of Georgia-Tennessee will have the inside track to the SEC Championship Game.
As they should be.
In an expanded playoff, there would instead be downstream impact. For example: Schools in playoff contention who played these teams would get a boost (or not) from the result. Plus, there will still be a chase for the top four spots with byes going to the highest-ranked conference champions. The expanded playoff has been structured so it remains important who wins their conferences.
So, yes, Georgia-Tennessee would still be important. But so would Oregon State-Washington this week as both are 6-2. AAC contenders No. 19Ā Tulane, No. 25Ā UCFĀ andĀ CincinnatiĀ would still be in contention for a CFP berth.
Yes, I’ll be on the edge of my seat wondering how the AAC race plays out.Ā But at least the commissioners will be getting bigger checks.
Filed under BCS/Playoffs
The difference between smart money and Tennessee money
Vegas knows what it wants.
Even with all the money that came in on the Vols this week, Vegas never let the line drop to a touchdown.
āI knew the plays they were going to call and it still didnāt matter. They were that fast.ā
Sorry if you don’t subscribe, but the best summary I’ve read of what Tennessee’s offense does (and does well) is this article in The AthleticĀ ($$).
Velus Jones Jr., now a receiver for the Chicago Bears, transferred to Tennessee from USC and caught 62 passes for 807 yards in 2021.
āThe most challenging part for me was to stop thinking so much,ā he said. āComing from a West Coast system, you get used to looking at coverage and pre-snapping everything. Now itās just about being fast and being decisive.ā
Rule 1 in the receiver room is to get off the ball like your hair is on fire. And that starts with a 10-yard vertical stem, followed by a route adjustment based on the leverage and reaction of the defender. While the subject of this analysis is the deep choice concept, every route in this system (aside from a quick screen that Tennessee runs quite a bit) is about breaking the cushion of the defender covering you ā clearly not a problem for star receivers likeĀ Jalin Hyatt, a former high school track star with a verified 4.31 40-yard time. Then youāre playing off a reaction and taking what the defense gives you.
āItās all about speed,ā Jones said. āRun, have fun and be dangerous when the ball is in your hands. In this system, you never make a wrong decision, but you can make a better decision to catch a touchdown instead of a 15-yard pass. Itās about making the best choice, not the right choice.ā
Georgia’s defensive backs had better be in sync with each other today, or there will be a price to pay.
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