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Georgia football under the microscope after perplexing Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame
System
admin
Georgia football under the microscope after perplexing Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame
Mike Griffith
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Totally spot on analysis, Mike. And we have a lot of work to do in many areas. Improved OL, WR and coaching is most important in my view..
“Stockton played well enough to win if not for the two turnovers — both the result of disastrous blocking — and the outlier kick return for a touchdown.”
The blocking effort was definitely disastrous, and the 20+ day break served to create more rust than rest (to answer the question asked prior to the game by the pundits). The rust was far more evident on the offensive side of the ball, and particularly with the OL.
I wonder if the kick return team was so accustomed to the kick going out of the back of the end zone that they were caught of guard by an actual kick return.
None of the teams who had the “advantage” of the bye week are moving on to the semifinals!
GO DAWGS!
Great article, Mike. No notes.
Fire Bobo, Serarles, the receivers coach if there is one…. Yesterday. The Dawgs have been on a slippery slope and have decended deeper and deeper each and every year since 2021. Smart needs to apply the same or greater effort to recuriting world class assistant coaches as he does with high school players. If he doesn't, we will depart from the ranks of the Elite teams in 2025.
"The Irish returned the opening kick of the second half 98 yards, as an injured Cash Jones saw his tackle attempt get broken. Smart later revealed Jones was dealing with a bit of a shoulder injury and was not in peak tackling form."
Is MG (and CKS) suggesting that the UGA season hinged on a missed tackle from an undersized walk on player? Nothing is more indicative of the change in depth(productive, mature depth) at places like UGA and AL, due to NIL/TP, than losing a playoff game because a walk on player missed a tackle.
Based on these changes and the resultant impact on roster depth, the '24 UGA team just about reached its ceiling. In the end UGA could not overcome poor OL and WR play, losing the starting QB and conservative, unimaginative play calling.
An 11-3 record is mathematically a success. But, it's a thin veneer over a team (coaches and players) that has been consistently sluggish, sloppy, inconsistent, and spiraling downwards. We haven't seen 4 quarters of Dawg football all season. There has been a slow creeping rot for at least two seasons. Coach Smart cannot deny this any longer. Change is necessary. If we don't see the necessary change I fear next season will be a total embarrassment.
it wouldn’t have helped having the Robinson boys in there as they are 1 cut guys who lumber some what compared to the 2 little jitterbugs who have the ability to create their own yardage.
Critiquing UGA's offense....not just last Saturday, but, throughout the Season…is like picking low hanging fruit. It's easy....blocking, running, catching, assignments, quarterbacking....you name it...there's room for improvement.
The Dawgs failed to maintain "The Standard", and they know it. Was it Coaching?...Leadership?....Talent? Or....are they playing as expected, considering their youth, experience and injury status.?
IMO....Fear played it's part, too. Not just on UGA's side of the field, either. Fear of getting blown up, on the way to the stadium....fear of losing your Father, before the night is over [Kirby only]....fear of Family and Friends being exposed to Terrorist attack.
Due to their age and experience advantage....Notre Dame, handled it better than UGA.
@MikeGriffith is 100% correct…IMO. If the Dawgs played ND 10 times Saturday night....they would've won 7.
However, that being said....they would've won 10 out of 10, if they had met "The Standard", established in '20-'23. Somewhere along the line....UGA has strayed. I suspect it may be the Yourh to Experience ratio.
The defense played well, despite their occasional regression in tackling and pursuit-angles.
I have every confidence, that Kirby sees everything the rest of us see, and more...and, he'll get it fixed before next year. It's possible that the expectations for this team, were placed a little too high, due to the euphoria from success of years past. Complacency may have been a culprit. Lol
TEXAS or OSU. Which one is Champion? Forget Penn St and Notre Dame. They're good, but, not Elite. The Natty will be played on the 10th, between OSU & Texas. Then, we get an Exhibition Game on the 20th. Lol…hope it's Notre Dame, and Texas beats the living crap out of em.
Mike, great article, but I DO think we have beaten a dead horse on this entire season at this point. We all know the issues, and I feel sure Kirby knows them as well.
Bottom line: The same offensive issues cropped up in every single game we lost and some of the games we barely won.
Nope....but,, I'm suggesting that #57/Freeling missed a Seasons worth of blocks…because he was slow out of his stance and not quick enough to make up the difference to the edge. If that one position (LT) blocked better during this game....you could probably take 10 ND Pts off the board and add 14 pts to UGA's score, giving them a win.
The "Loss" is on the left side of UGA's Offensive Line and their Coach Searels. Not the QB....or, the Running Backs…or, the WR's. Should that have been caught and corrected?
I would say "corrected sooner"....however, it was Freeling that gave up another sack off the edge late in the 4th qtr.…so, I'm not sure they ever did correct it. I know, they identified it. Everybody in the stadium could identify what was causing the Dawgs, their offensive woes. That concerns me, more than anything else.
The way I see it....if they had had an answer for the left side of the line....they would've used it. I would've had a TE helping out…or have the RB chip the DE on his way outside.
But, they were essentially, operating with a rookie quarterback, for all intents and purposes. I don't know, what his preparation entailed. Like Mike said, Tight Ends were sparsely used. Bad news for Freeling. Lol
While it is easy to lament the fact we lost decisively to ND, the larger point is that we would have been crushed had we met up with tOSU in the title game. The team from Columbus, Ohio has made so many gains in the latter part of the season that they are likely to wipe the floor with Texas and whoever comes after that. While arguments can be made that Georgia is regressing in areas, tOSU is hitting their stride at just the right time. They made some major improvements in the off season and look like they want it more than anyone else. Is Georgia going to be happy with the status quo and leave the coaching staff intact? Is Kirby going to be hyper-focused on the transfer portal and bring in talent that can stop this erosion felt throughout the 2024 dawg season? And how much is the university going to be able to muster in NIL money to make the type of moves that tOSU made this year? I guess it all depends on how badly Georgia wants it. There is another hard season coming up in 2025…Kirby's excuse of a "tough schedule" is not going to resonate next season. Time to prepare for what's to come, now. Let's get the elite, proven playmakers we need and let's get the depth we need for when the injuries occur. And you know they will. GO DAWGS!
Underperformed. I say that because our offense started slow ALLLLLL season. O-line play was inconsistent at best, which affected running game and protecting QB giving him time to throw. And let's not forget all the freaking drops by the WRs all season.
Underperformed??? I'm thinking…we fans and observers, over-expected. We expected more than this roster proved capable of providing....cause, we believed the hype and became complacent with our evaluations .
Classic mistake....don't believe your indicators and crash into the ground. Lol
In retrospect....all things considered....this may be Kirby Smart's best Head Coaching job to-date. He could've easily wound up with 4 or 5 losses this year. There were NO losses to the likes of Vandy or Kentucky or Miss State.
No inexplicable breakdowns, like we saw out of Tuscaloosa, South Bend, Columbus or Knoxville. The Dawgs' losses came against one of the Nation's best Offenses [Ole Miss]....and one of the most talented CFP hopefuls [Alabama]. In their house. We all know the deal.
My "Fan" critique, is.....Because we "expected" more....Kirby doesn't get the credit he deserves. Like Saban got in his "rebuilding year" or Lea got, for losing his last 3 games.
IMO...This year, became a "rebuilding year", for all intents & purposes. Look at it this way….UGA made it to the CFP with one of it's weakest offenses in, what?.....8 years?. Sweet!!!!
It's been Fun.....Looking forward to next year's Run. Lol
The Dawgs had a good year. Winning the SEC is a big achievement. Second place is the first looser for sure. The first time Bobo called the plays it was kinda like this I just don't think he is that good at OC. This is only my opinion and we all know what that is like.