Your game day post, anchor down edition

I don’t intend to inundate you with stats today, but I do have one worth sharing as we wait for kickoff.

The SEC offenses with the lowest 3NOut Rate in league play ahead of WK7

1. Georgia
2. Missouri
3. LSU
4. Tennessee
5. TAMU
6. Florida
7. Alabama
8. Ole Miss
9. Kentucky
10. SC
11. Miss State
12. Arkansas
13. Vandy
14. Auburnhttps://t.co/ZenJMliWIG pic.twitter.com/Tt4fBq2EqX

— Clark Brooks (@SEC_StatCat) October 13, 2023

Look at that in conjunction with time of possession stats in league games.

Yeah, TOP on its own is a pretty meaningless stat, but not in this context.  Georgia is way more efficient with the ball than Vanderbilt, and in this new clock rules era, he who can keep the clock running without giving up the ball can choke an opponent to death.  If Vandy turns the ball over a few times, you may be able to count the number of possessions they get today on one hand.

One area where the ‘Dores may be able to test the Dawgs is with their top two receivers, Will Sheppard and Jayden McGowan.  Sheppard, in particular, is a load.  He’s second in the conference in receiving TDs.  Their quarterback, Ken Seals, is a senior who’s biggest attribute is that he doesn’t turn the ball over a lot, as did Swann, the kid who started at QB when the season began.  Seals isn’t bad, but he’s not going to carry an offense, either.

Their punter, Matthew Hayball, leads the SEC in punting average, which is a good thing, since he also leads the SEC in the number of balls punted.  (Vince Dooley would have a field day with that.)

Vanderbilt hasn’t scored a touchdown on Georgia in any form or fashion since… 2018!  Will that streak be broken today?  Maybe.  The defense has given up at least one touchdown in five out of six games this season and as bad and Vanderbilt is, they’re not as bad as UT Martin or UAB.

None of which is to say Georgia won’t win, and win comfortably.  That should be the case, even if they come out a little sleepy.  Hopefully it’ll be a good day to fine tune a few things and they’ll get out of town without any injury issues.

One thing that should be interesting to observe will be the makeup of the crowd.  Attendance has been reduced from 40,350 to 28,500. Georgia’s ticket allotment is 5,000, down from 6,000 in 2021.  I’d bet good money there will be a lot more than 5,000 people there wearing red and black.

Share your feelings about the game in the comments.

Your 10/14 (ND) game day schedule

Got some good stuff on the telly today.

What I’ll be watching:

• Arkansas at Alabama.  ‘Bama needs to crush the Hogs to maintain momentum.  Arky’s offense versus the Tide defense doesn’t seem like a fair fight, but we’ll see.
• Oregon at Washington.  The game of the day.  Hard to believe this is the first two the two have faced off as top ten opponents.
• Texas A&M at Tennessee.  Can’t say I care too much about who wins.  I just hope both teams look like shit.
• Florida at South Carolina.  The Gators haven’t won on the road.  The ‘Cocks haven’t lost at home.  I assume that’s why SC is a slight favorite.
• Auburn at LSU.  If Auburn can’t throw the ball against that LSU secondary, that’s how you’ll know they really suck.
• USC at Notre Dame.  Ditto for the ND offense against the Southern Cal defense.
• Missouri at Kentucky.  I’m not sure how Kentucky remains ranked after last week’s debacle.  We’ll see if they can bounce back.

What’s on your list?

It’s Saturday… in Nashville!

This may be the most laid back hype clip I’ve ever listened to.

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 | Game 7 Trailer#GoDawgs | @callme_raymond pic.twitter.com/HO8JxFTrYS

— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) October 13, 2023

Good vibes, though… it’s all good.