Where’s the love, I ask you?

Hey, I thought you guys liked us!

Richt tried to tell us, part deux.

Good advanced stats catch by David Wunderlich – Georgia is only one spot ahead of Georgia Southern in Football Outsiders’ S&P+ ratings.

If you’re a defensive lineman, it’s gonna be a long two weeks.

Well, Georgia Southern may not run the same version of the triple option Georgia Tech runs – more shotgun and spread, for example – but the Eagles do continue the use of one proud Paul Johnson tradition.

“Their offense is very unique, watching film,” defensive tackle James DeLoach said. “They have a lot of athletes and they spread the ball out. They get the ball on the perimeter, chop block… [Emphasis added.]

Better watch those knees, boys.

Advertisement

Richt tried to tell us.

Saban: "People forget about Georgia Southern. They went through us like shit through a tin horn."

— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) November 19, 2015

Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Run the damned ball, Eagles.

There pretty much isn’t a down and distance when Georgia Southern won’t run the football.

Tendencies

1st Down: GSU has run the football on over 85 percent of first downs this season. But both of The Eagles’ touchdown passes on the year have come on first down.

2nd Down: No matter the distance, second down is a run-heavy down across the board for Georgia Southern. Second and long (seven or more yards) is actually a heavier run down than second and medium (four to six yards).

3rd Down: GSU even runs the football more than it passes it on third and long. All downs and distances are run-heavy.

Sagarin has GSU ranked as the 65th best team in the country.  For context, that’s about on par with South Carolina and better than Kentucky and Vanderbilt.  (Quick:  what’s the common element between Georgia and those three teams?)  The Eagles’ strength of schedule, ranked 121st, is about what you’d expect from a Sun Belt team playing in its tenth game of the season, and both of its losses came against teams ranked higher by Sagarin.

All in all, no surprises there.

This week’s name of the week

I’ve been saving this one for a little while, but thanks to Reservoir Dawg for bringing Georgia Southern’s Ironhead Gallon to my attention… and now to yours.

Tuesday morning buffet

Sample exotic dishes from around the world of college football… just kidding.

• Georgia Southern takes tailgating to the next level. (h/t)
• When Virginia faced Louisville last season, Greyson Lambert got some tips about Todd Grantham from former Georgia quarterback Parker Welch.
• I’ve got to admit, if Georgia Tech won the ACC this season and this happened, I’d enjoy it.
• Mark Richt made a recruit berry, berry happy the other day.
• Why is Kentucky opposed to satellite camps?
• And why is Alabama’s quarterback situation any more intriguing than Georgia’s?
• Richt and Schottenheimer did a good job of tag teaming Georgia’s first commit for the class of 2017, Bailey Hockman.

The genius and “That Coach”

Proving there’s a first time for everything, here’s a Paul Johnson story I actually enjoyed.

What Southern feared most was a repeat of the man referred to throughout Statesboro as “That Coach,” Brian VanGorder. The current Notre Dame defensive coordinator was GS’ head coach in 2006. He dumped tradition — the triple-option, the buses, etc. — in favor of appealing to top recruits.

The move infuriated Johnson, who wanted his Navy program to schedule Southern so he “could beat ‘That Coach’s’ ass,” as the story goes.

“Oh yeah, it really sounded sexy when someone came in and said they were going to throw the ball all over the field, until they didn’t win any playoff games and started losing five, six times a season,” Johnson said. “Then it wasn’t so much fun.”

If you’re gonna break something that wasn’t broken in the first place, you’d damn sure better fix it.

Tuesday morning buffet

A little snow, a little buffet…

• You’d think the one place where they wouldn’t have to dumb down the defense would be Vanderbilt.
• Bill Connelly does all the heavy lifting on Georgia Southern, a Dawg opponent this season, so that you don’t (okay, so I don’t) have to.
• Michigan’s policy for student football tickets now includes need-based discounts.
• “That was an incredible testament to Bobby Petrino.”  Oy.
• What’s in a name:  dual-threat quarterback vs. pocket passer.
• Thomas Brown likes Brian Schottenheimer’s open-mindedness with his assistant coaches.
• Hey, Snapchat and recruiting.  What could go wrong?
• Auburn’s explanation of the two players and the service dog incident?  They may have been dumbasses, but there was no malicious intent.  Hey, it’s Auburn; I can buy that.

Another reason to love the NCAA

Tough luck, Georgia Southern.