This is cold, Ari Wasserman ($$).
Napier’s goal as Florida’s coach was to assemble a roster that stacks up with SEC powers Alabama and Georgia. The Gators, though, are starting to resemble what Auburn looked like under Bryan Harsin. It’s harsh but true.
Sounds like what happens when you cross a recruiting gap with a failure to follow the First Rule of Holes.
Filed under Gators, Gators..., Recruiting
Marc Weiszer reminds us that, while overall, FSU loses a lot of regular season production in the bowl game, more of that loss comes on the offensive side than the defensive.
Florida State is missing most of its key pieces on offense due to opt-outs and injury, but most of one of the nation’s best defenses still is expected to play.
The big loss on that side of the ball is defensive end Jared Verse, a projected first-round draft pick.
Even with Verse opting out, the Seminoles have some players that can put pressure on Beck and the offensive line from a defense that ranks sixth in the nation in points allowed at 15.9.
Linebackers Kalen DeLoach (7 sacks) and Patrick Payton (6) and defensive lineman Braden Fiske (5) remain for a Florida State team that ranks third nationally in sacks with 45. Verse accounted for a team-high 9 of those.
Georgia still leads the SEC in fewest sacks given up with 12 even after giving up two to Alabama.
The Seminoles lead the nation in opponent completion percentage at 46.8 and pass breakups with 77. Cornerback Renardo Green led the ACC in pass breakups with 13.
Mims is not expected to play, so it’s not unreasonable to expect the o-line to face something of a challenge.
Filed under ACC Football, Georgia Football
Apart from the obvious, the one thing that really gets me about the SECCG outcome is how there’s this general impression that Alabama outmuscled the Dawgs and physically dominated the game from start to finish. I’m not trying to argue that Georgia deserved to win — too many key mistakes for that claim — but it’s like Alabama being forced to punt on three of its first four possessions of the second half (and only gaining one yard on the fourth, after the fumble — has gone straight down the memory hole.
Anyway, I mention this because there’s a deep dive on the game at mgoblog, as they preview Alabama’s offense before their game and it’s worth a read to remind you that Georgia-Alabama was actually a fairly evenly matched affair. This, in particular, strikes me as a good take on the outcome:
Though Alabama was able to win that game, they did not have a sensational offensive performance, and Georgia’s defensive blueprint is fairly instructive for Michigan. They held Alabama to 306 yards and 27 points and if anything, it felt like Georgia was unlucky to give up that many points. The story of this matchup between the ‘Bama offense and the Georgia defense was how Alabama was able to stack their best plays on top of each other in big drives, while largely being stuck in the mud for multiple possessions on end otherwise.
The Alabama-Georgia game was something like a baseball game in which one team only gets five hits but because all five hits are in a row, they do pretty well on the scoreboard. Consider the Alabama-Georgia game versus the Michigan-Ohio State game from 2021. Ohio State and Alabama both scored 27 points and didn’t turn the ball over, but Ohio State scored 27 points on over 450 yards of offense… Alabama on just 308 yards. Alabama maximized their yardage by putting all their best plays on the same drives and then had a bunch of futility. Drive chart:
- 3 plays, -2 yards, punt
- 3 plays, 6 yards, punt
- 8 plays, 26 yards, FG
- 10 plays, 92 yards, TD
- 9 plays, 69 yards, TD
- 3 plays, 2 yards, punt
- 8 plays, 30 yards, punt
- 3 plays, 1 yard, FG
- 3 plays, 3 yards, punt
- 9 plays, 75 yards, TD
- 6 plays, 40 yards, end of game
Out of 11 drives, five three-and-outs and two drives that lasted eight plays but failed to surpass 30 yards of offense. Their three TD drives combined for 77% of the yards they gained in that game. If Georgia had been a little bit sharper in the red zone, forcing more field goals, and not turned it over/handed Bama points through field position, they’d probably have won.
The Dawgs played a lot of close games this season, and were usually on top because of their efficiency. Alabama beat them at their own game.
Filed under Georgia Football
To catch the joke in full, make sure you take in the name of the institution on the front of the building (second clip).
When you become a punchline on the Simpsons, you’re really arrived.
Filed under Heard About Harbaugh?
Get The Picture 