Georgia football looks to make better usage of layoff as it preps for Ole Miss and Tulane

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Georgia football looks to make better usage of layoff as it preps for Ole Miss and Tulane

In the first season of a 12-team playoff, all four top seeds lost their first game following the layoff between conference championship weekend and the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.

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NCMtnDawg

I know I'm a dummy on football compared to Kirby, but I think I'd put 3 coaches on Ole Miss prep to every 1 coach put on Tulane prep😉

David1

https://forum.dawgnation.com/discussion/comment/820774#Comment_820774

I know most coaches, Including Kirby, say they only focus on one team at a time, but there's no way Georgia spent all week focusing on Charlotte. Unless someone gives me proof, Georgia probably spent one day on Charlotte and the rest of the week on tech. Even preparing for the possible match-up in the playoffs, Kirby says they'll scout each team the same, but I think they'll spend more time on ole miss than Tulane.

Eric_C

That loss to ND was absolutely bitter for everyone, and you can tell how just how bitter it was for Kirby by the way he's gone about this season, with a tremendous emphasis on the middle 8, and by the running of that crazy substitution play in 4th and short punting situations. I can't help but think about the heartbreak that surrounded the ND game and how it was detriment to Kirby's and the teams' focus, but I love that we're getting laser-eyed Kirby going into this playoff…not that I'd expect anything less. Pete Golding is a good coach and I respect his humble approach to media attention, but he'll be best to stay tight-lipped following their beat down of Tulane, especially when you consider his defense didn't allow a punt the entire game last time around. Go Dawgs

Bdw3184

https://forum.dawgnation.com/discussion/comment/820774#Comment_820774

Lip service is being paid…..I am sure that is exactly what he is doing!

Go Dawgs!

navydawg

https://forum.dawgnation.com/discussion/comment/820791#Comment_820791

I fully agree he’s just paying lip service to Tulane’s funeral cause Ole Miss will crush them then move on to get crushed by Kirby and the Guard Dawgs !! Kirby is so excited for redemption of last year. Oh they’ll study Tulane some but he’s not gonna let Ole Miss sneak in and steal the show !! Go Dawgs !!

Westtndawg

Can you practice throwing it to Elias?

randomsportsfan

No preparation would have changed the following set of bad facts:

1. UGA had no WRs or TEs who could reliably separate from defenders. Even this year, Zachariah Branch is the only UGA WR to reach 30 catches or 350 receiving yards.
2. UGA had no consistently effective tailbacks between the future NFL return specialist (Trevor Etienne) and not-ready-for-primetime Nate Frazier, with Dillon Bell and Cash Jones actually needing to take snaps at RB last year to rest those 2. Even with a much better and deeper group this year, long runs are still a rarity.
3. UGA's OT play wasn't SEC or playoff caliber, especially at LT. Yes, better skill players as well as a scrambling QB and a scheme with plenty of shotgun, roll-outs and quick passes as opposed to the dropback passer stuff of the prior 2 years helps. But Monroe Freeling and Earnest Greene III being juniors instead of sophomores last year plus the guys behind them being mostly 2nd year players helps. Doesn't approach the Broderick Jones, Amarius Mims and Warren McClendon trio of future NFL starters - all at OT for good OLs at that with none having to move to guard - or the earlier Andrew Thomas/Isaiah Wilson duo but the current players can hold up against anything short of a front seven loaded with future NFL players like the ones that UGA had 2021-2022, Clemson 2017-2018 or Michigan 2023.

The first job of coaching is putting together a roster good enough to compete. That didn't happen with the 2023 and 2024 UGA teams that were deficient at WR (Ladd McConkey in 2022 and no one else), RB (Edwards and Milton in 2023 were complimentary players at best and the guys in 2024 weren't even that good) and OT (granted 2024 only). Without that, it won't matter how good the coaching is.

Case in point: Mike Bobo went from "hot seat" in 2023 to Broyles Award finalist in 2024. That's the difference that having a WR that you can actually call plays for (Branch), RBs who consistently put the offense in good situations (Frazier, Bowens) and OTs who don't give up blindside hits that injure your 1st round pick prospect at QB and force him to come back to school to lead another team to the playoffs to salvage a shot at the NFL will give you. Nothing else changed. Yes, Dillon Bell had a monster SEC championship game (by his standards) but it was the product of a Bama defense that was schemed to stop Branch and Frazier. Bell had 0 catches in the SECCG last year and only 2 in that 8 OT 44-42 Georgia Tech game.