The Nettleton legend (IYKYK) and I made it back to our homes early this afternoon, much earlier than I was anticipating (no need to hang around when you get whooped like we did last night) so I was able to review the game tape (quickly, it was hard to watch) and prepare what I wanted to talk about in this post. TBPH, I do not have a whole lot of revelations that Neal, Chase, and others have not already talked about. We got whipped, in every phase Saturday night. Georgia was bigger, stronger, faster, more athletic, and very well-coached. They were dialed in, intense, and played with the support of a sellout crowd that was into the game from the very beginning and stayed in the game the whole night.
There are a lot of takeaways from a game like this. From the half-full perspective, we got their A-game. They did not overlook us. They had professional players there to participate in ceremonial things, Mark Richt' was there for his CF HOF announcement, Stetson Bennett was there, and several other festivities, on top of the fact that it was Senior night. We had their attention, we had earned their respect. There was not going to be any sneaking up on them. Cudos to their coaches and staff for having their team focused and prepared for us. They executed like a team on a mission. I don't think they are beatable by any team not in the NFL if they play like that going forward. From a half-empty perspective, we still have a lot of ground to make up if we want to climb into the upper echelon of the conference. We are still 2nd tier. We are at or near the top of the 2nd tier, but we are still 2nd tier.
This week I will talk about our experience at Athens and Sanford Stadium, the 3 phases of the game, coaching, officiating, and the way forward.
Athens Experience
We arrived in Athens at about 1800 local time Friday night. We went and conducted reconnaissance of the stadium and our assigned parking area (1.5 miles away), then went downtown and found a couple of good places to hang out. Athens is a nice college town and the campus reminds me somewhat of Ole Miss, but, and I say this as unbiased as I can possibly be, it is NO Oxford, MS. That said, we talked to some nice people (who almost to a person had an underlying smugness to them, they really need to be beaten) and had an enjoyable time. Athens is probably the closest thing to Oxford we have encountered.
Game/Stadium Experience
Things started off bad on gameday, as we walked around on campus like Hansel and Gretel trying to find the Grove Collective Tailgate. We went to the address on the invitation, as did several others we ran into who couldn't find it either, and there was nothing happening there except a building with some UGA fans tailgating. It was an omen of things to come. Their tailgating experience is nothing like ours. Spread out everywhere.
Kirby Smart challenged the crowd to be vocal this week, and they responded. It was a hostile environment. Their fans were cordial for the most part, with a few exceptions. We got barked at several times, and endured some insults like calling us Ole Piss and about Mississippi as a whole, but most of those were by young people who are just too stupid, drunk, or both, to know any better. Inside the stadium, we were surrounded by Georgia fans in the Ole Miss section (101). Most were nice with that previously mentioned smug confidence that has me circling next year's game in Oxford (I really want them to lose this year, just not to Alabama). That said, they were loud, active, and intense. They were READY for Ole MIss! It was a great environment if you were for them. Overall, I would rate their fans as offspring of a marriage of LSU and Alabama fans, with cousins whose parents are MSU and Auburn fans.
The stadium was huge. We got there early so entry was no issue. It was an early arriving crowd. The stadium was full during pregame festivities, which was entertaining. I am so glad I didn't skimp and buy tickets in the upper deck. Those seats looked to be farther away from the field than I can point and an oxygen mask looked to be necessary! The bathrooms were small with standard-size doors, which made entry and exit hard. The price of concessions was outrageously cheap! I bought 2 dogs, a stadium cup drink, a bottle of water, and a box of M&Ms for $14.00! Their concession setup was basically a grab-and-go as well. I wonder why our concessions are so expensive. Just saying.
Offense
We were outmatched on the LOS from the beginning. I have been a critic of Pettus all year, as I think he can be lazy with his feet and use poor technique, but we missed him last night. Then, Williams got hurt in the 1st series, and we spent the rest of the night like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dam, playing patchwork on the OL. We had trouble picking up their stunts and winning one-on-ones, which led to Georgia being able to slowly squeeze the running lanes and consistently get pressure on Dart after we went through our script. Judkins ran hard all night. He earned every one of the 75 yards he got. Dart is so tough, I hope he is ok. He missed a couple of throws early and then spent most of the night under duress as Georgia blanketed our receivers and kept consistent pressure on him Harris was a non-factor with 2 receptions for 12 yards. A very telling stat. Bottom line, we got outscored 38-3 after the 1st minute of the 2nd quarter.
Defense
Much like offense, we were presented with mismatches all over the place, primarily on the LOS. Their OL dominated our DL all night. They did whatever they wanted to do. I am an old man, and I could have found an open receiver with as much time as Beck had (I was very impressed with his accuracy though). We do not have a DL that could bull rush any of their OL and that was compounded with the fact that we could not pressure them on the edges either. UGA exposed our LB corps. Not a knock on him at all, but Tennison is too small to play LB in the SEC. Milton averaged 14 yards a carry! Our secondary was no match for their WRs. Their receivers ran free all night long. McConkey did whatever he wanted to do. Thomas had a couple of big catches as well. Bowers playing didn't give us any leeway, but honestly, we would not have been able to control Delp either. The bottom line, we just could not match up in the trenches or on the outside. We attributed to our problems by taking poor angles, sometimes to avoid contact with their blockers, who were consistently getting to the 2nd level.
Special Teams
I loved the fake punt ( I actually called it before the snap). I didn't see what happened on the dead-ball penalty afterward, but I thought it took some wind out of our sail. Davis being able to consistently put the kickoff into the endzone is such an underrated weapon. Masin had his best game to date, averaging 48 yards per punt.
Coaching
Not much to say here really. I thought we had a good script. We scored 14 points early. Once we got through the script, and we lost a couple of guys on the OL, the squeeze was on. Defensively, CPG and staff did about all they could do from a coaching standpoint. We were outmatched on the LOS. We were outmatched on the outside. We were outmatched at TE and in the Slot. We have got to recruit better on defense.
Officiating
Let's make this point clear, the officiating did not cost us, we just got beat. We had 9 penalties for 68 yards vs their 5 for 55 yards. That said, we did get a TD (that we scored again on the next play) called back for a hold on the 1st drive. Yes, James held the guy. It was obvious. WHY am I bringing it up? Well, on their first drive, their RG held Zxavian Harris on their scoring play in front of the whole world and amazingly, it WASN'T called. That is all I have to say about that.
The Way Forward
The solution can be summed up in one word. Recruiting! We have to hit the recruiting trail, both high school and portal, and get more elite players if we want to compete with teams like Georgia. They were talented everywhere. We simply aren't. They are 2nd in the talent composite (behind Alabama), we are 23rd. Coaching and effort can't make up that much of a gap. I am a proud member of The Grove Collective. I plan to recruit one person who is not in the collective to join (I have already recruited one last year). I plan to increase my contribution. Every effort helps. The bottom line, if we want to win games like last night, we need more (better) Jimmy's and Joe's, not X's and O's. Let's finish strong and get to 10 regular season wins again this year! That is all. LFG!
There are a lot of takeaways from a game like this. From the half-full perspective, we got their A-game. They did not overlook us. They had professional players there to participate in ceremonial things, Mark Richt' was there for his CF HOF announcement, Stetson Bennett was there, and several other festivities, on top of the fact that it was Senior night. We had their attention, we had earned their respect. There was not going to be any sneaking up on them. Cudos to their coaches and staff for having their team focused and prepared for us. They executed like a team on a mission. I don't think they are beatable by any team not in the NFL if they play like that going forward. From a half-empty perspective, we still have a lot of ground to make up if we want to climb into the upper echelon of the conference. We are still 2nd tier. We are at or near the top of the 2nd tier, but we are still 2nd tier.
This week I will talk about our experience at Athens and Sanford Stadium, the 3 phases of the game, coaching, officiating, and the way forward.
Athens Experience
We arrived in Athens at about 1800 local time Friday night. We went and conducted reconnaissance of the stadium and our assigned parking area (1.5 miles away), then went downtown and found a couple of good places to hang out. Athens is a nice college town and the campus reminds me somewhat of Ole Miss, but, and I say this as unbiased as I can possibly be, it is NO Oxford, MS. That said, we talked to some nice people (who almost to a person had an underlying smugness to them, they really need to be beaten) and had an enjoyable time. Athens is probably the closest thing to Oxford we have encountered.
Game/Stadium Experience
Things started off bad on gameday, as we walked around on campus like Hansel and Gretel trying to find the Grove Collective Tailgate. We went to the address on the invitation, as did several others we ran into who couldn't find it either, and there was nothing happening there except a building with some UGA fans tailgating. It was an omen of things to come. Their tailgating experience is nothing like ours. Spread out everywhere.
Kirby Smart challenged the crowd to be vocal this week, and they responded. It was a hostile environment. Their fans were cordial for the most part, with a few exceptions. We got barked at several times, and endured some insults like calling us Ole Piss and about Mississippi as a whole, but most of those were by young people who are just too stupid, drunk, or both, to know any better. Inside the stadium, we were surrounded by Georgia fans in the Ole Miss section (101). Most were nice with that previously mentioned smug confidence that has me circling next year's game in Oxford (I really want them to lose this year, just not to Alabama). That said, they were loud, active, and intense. They were READY for Ole MIss! It was a great environment if you were for them. Overall, I would rate their fans as offspring of a marriage of LSU and Alabama fans, with cousins whose parents are MSU and Auburn fans.
The stadium was huge. We got there early so entry was no issue. It was an early arriving crowd. The stadium was full during pregame festivities, which was entertaining. I am so glad I didn't skimp and buy tickets in the upper deck. Those seats looked to be farther away from the field than I can point and an oxygen mask looked to be necessary! The bathrooms were small with standard-size doors, which made entry and exit hard. The price of concessions was outrageously cheap! I bought 2 dogs, a stadium cup drink, a bottle of water, and a box of M&Ms for $14.00! Their concession setup was basically a grab-and-go as well. I wonder why our concessions are so expensive. Just saying.
Offense
We were outmatched on the LOS from the beginning. I have been a critic of Pettus all year, as I think he can be lazy with his feet and use poor technique, but we missed him last night. Then, Williams got hurt in the 1st series, and we spent the rest of the night like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dam, playing patchwork on the OL. We had trouble picking up their stunts and winning one-on-ones, which led to Georgia being able to slowly squeeze the running lanes and consistently get pressure on Dart after we went through our script. Judkins ran hard all night. He earned every one of the 75 yards he got. Dart is so tough, I hope he is ok. He missed a couple of throws early and then spent most of the night under duress as Georgia blanketed our receivers and kept consistent pressure on him Harris was a non-factor with 2 receptions for 12 yards. A very telling stat. Bottom line, we got outscored 38-3 after the 1st minute of the 2nd quarter.
Defense
Much like offense, we were presented with mismatches all over the place, primarily on the LOS. Their OL dominated our DL all night. They did whatever they wanted to do. I am an old man, and I could have found an open receiver with as much time as Beck had (I was very impressed with his accuracy though). We do not have a DL that could bull rush any of their OL and that was compounded with the fact that we could not pressure them on the edges either. UGA exposed our LB corps. Not a knock on him at all, but Tennison is too small to play LB in the SEC. Milton averaged 14 yards a carry! Our secondary was no match for their WRs. Their receivers ran free all night long. McConkey did whatever he wanted to do. Thomas had a couple of big catches as well. Bowers playing didn't give us any leeway, but honestly, we would not have been able to control Delp either. The bottom line, we just could not match up in the trenches or on the outside. We attributed to our problems by taking poor angles, sometimes to avoid contact with their blockers, who were consistently getting to the 2nd level.
Special Teams
I loved the fake punt ( I actually called it before the snap). I didn't see what happened on the dead-ball penalty afterward, but I thought it took some wind out of our sail. Davis being able to consistently put the kickoff into the endzone is such an underrated weapon. Masin had his best game to date, averaging 48 yards per punt.
Coaching
Not much to say here really. I thought we had a good script. We scored 14 points early. Once we got through the script, and we lost a couple of guys on the OL, the squeeze was on. Defensively, CPG and staff did about all they could do from a coaching standpoint. We were outmatched on the LOS. We were outmatched on the outside. We were outmatched at TE and in the Slot. We have got to recruit better on defense.
Officiating
Let's make this point clear, the officiating did not cost us, we just got beat. We had 9 penalties for 68 yards vs their 5 for 55 yards. That said, we did get a TD (that we scored again on the next play) called back for a hold on the 1st drive. Yes, James held the guy. It was obvious. WHY am I bringing it up? Well, on their first drive, their RG held Zxavian Harris on their scoring play in front of the whole world and amazingly, it WASN'T called. That is all I have to say about that.
The Way Forward
The solution can be summed up in one word. Recruiting! We have to hit the recruiting trail, both high school and portal, and get more elite players if we want to compete with teams like Georgia. They were talented everywhere. We simply aren't. They are 2nd in the talent composite (behind Alabama), we are 23rd. Coaching and effort can't make up that much of a gap. I am a proud member of The Grove Collective. I plan to recruit one person who is not in the collective to join (I have already recruited one last year). I plan to increase my contribution. Every effort helps. The bottom line, if we want to win games like last night, we need more (better) Jimmy's and Joe's, not X's and O's. Let's finish strong and get to 10 regular season wins again this year! That is all. LFG!
