If it were that easy, anyone could do it.

A reminder that winning consistently isn’t exactly a common thing in college football.

How difficult is it to win consistently year-in & year-out in college football? This difficult: From '12-present, just 15 FBS tms have won 7+ gms each yr; just eight have won 8+ gms each yr; just three have won 9+ gms each yr; & just 20 have not had a season of less than 6 wins.

— SportSourceAnalytics (@SportSourceA) December 11, 2018

Richt had his flaws and Georgia has certainly upped its game with the changeover, but to act like winning 8-10 games a season on a regular basis was no big deal ignores reality.  It’s no sin to acknowledge that.

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Hard road

Just another data point…

2018 overall opponent record:

Georgia 97-60
Clemson 89-66
Alabama 85-72
Oklahoma 82-74
Notre Dame 77-69
Ohio State 75-82
UCF 70-76

— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) December 6, 2018

And, yes, I know, in and of itself, that’s not a complete indication of schedule strength, but here’s Sagarin’s SOS rankings on that:

• Georgia 6
• Clemson 48
• Alabama 44
• Oklahoma 31
• Notre Dame 42
• Ohio State 40
• UCF 90

One of those numbers really isn’t like the others.  (Well, okay, two, but I digress.)

The point here, again, isn’t to re-litigate whether Georgia belongs in the CFP field this year — that ship’s already done sailed.  Rather, it’s to say that the debate about whether the Dawgs, two losses and all, deserved to be part of the discussion was certainly a valid one.

One of life’s little mysteries

I can’t say I’m gonna lose a minute of sleep over this, but can someone explain how the conference coaches selected Drew Lock over Jake Fromm for this year’s All-SEC second team?

I mean, look at the stats:  Fromm’s ypa is a yard-and-a-half better, he’s thrown more touchdowns and fewer interceptions and his passer rating (which is third nationally) is thirty points higher than Lock’s.

Seriously, what am I missing here, coaches?

And now, a word about Jake Fromm

I have a love-hate relationship with Gary Danielson.  He’s as good as it gets as an in-game analyst, but, damn, he can drive me crazy when he goes off on a non-game tangent.

Yesterday, he was harping on the perception of Jake Fromm as a game manager instead of an elite quarterback.  While on its face, that’s a strange dichotomy — why can’t a quarterback be good at managing the game while being an elite talent? — I do think there’s an underlying truth to the point he was clumsily making.

In a year of brilliance from Kyler Murray (205.72 passer rating) and Tua Tagovailoa (202.30 passer rating), it is easy to overlook Jake Fromm, who, by the way, is third-ranked nationally in passer rating behind those two.  That is for a couple of reasons.  One, Fromm isn’t the runner those two are.  Two, he’s generally not called on to carry the team with his arm.  (He’s 84th nationally in pass attempts.)

But that doesn’t mean he’s not an elite talent.  Consider this:

In #UGA's loss to #Alabama, Jake Fromm became the first QB to throw for 300 yards or more against the Crimson Tide since Deshaun Watson in the 2016 National Championship game. Watson threw for 420. Watson averaged 7.4 per attempt. Fromm 7.7.

— Jake Rowe (@Rowe247) December 2, 2018

If that’s not elite, then I guess Watson was just a game manager, too.

By the way, Jake finished yesterday’s game with a passer rating of 154.31.  Tua’s was 92.30.

Saturday morning buffet

Today, the chafing dishes are chock full of nothing but SECCG goodness.

• Matt Hinton’s deep dive into the game is definitely worth a read, albeit a somewhat depressing one if you’re a Dawg fan.  He went into it looking for another close game like the national championship, but came out in the end with this:  Alabama wins, 36–24.
• Marcus Spears thinks Georgia can run the ball, which would be big, but wants you to know he’s not saying that to blow smoke up our asses: “Look, I’m not trying to build this up. I think Alabama is the better team, but with that being said, when scheme, coaching, and all that comes into play, you’re looking at two staffs who really have it figured out.”
• This al.com preview spends a good deal of time elaborating why Alabama outclasses Georgia, but winds up predicting a narrow 36-30 win for the Tide.
• FOTB Mr. McCart had a flash and sees a Georgia win.
• Macondawg ain’t waxing too optimistic in this Q&A at Roll ‘Bama Roll.
• On the flip side, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the reciprocal Q&A is brimming with confidence.  (Though I’m now admittedly curious about the state of Quinnen Williams’ health.  Also, FWIW, Saban said Terrell Lewis won’t play today.)
• Last but not least, if you’re looking for a long read on the game from a Georgia perspective, here you go.

A sobering thought

For anyone who’s tried to comfort themselves with the thought that last year’s Rose Bowl is proof that Georgia can handle a high-powered offensive attack when the chips are down, this tweet is definitely not for you:

In 2016, Baker Mayfield set college football passer rating and AY/A records at 196.4 and 12.3 AY/A.

In 2017, Mayfield topped that and averaged 198.9 and 12.9 AY/A.

In 2018, Mayfield's replacement, Kyler Murray, has averaged 206.8/13.4 AY/A.

But Tua Tagovailoa is at 212.5/14.2.

— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) December 1, 2018

Also, unlike that Oklahoma team, ‘Bama actually has some guys who can play defense.

There’s more than one way to impose your will.

This is pretty impressive.

So far in 2018, 13% of @AlabamaFTBL QB @Tuaamann’s pass attempts have resulted in a touchdown. This is the best percentage at the FBS level among the top 60 QBs with the most TD throws over the last ten years.

— SportSourceAnalytics (@SportSourceA) November 30, 2018

To date, against Georgia’s defense, opposing FBS quarterbacks have managed to convert only 3.24% of their pass attempts into touchdowns.

Something’s gotta give.