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Comments
Yeah....looked to me like somebody threw cold water on that "fire & passion", sometime between the SECCG and the Qtr Finals. Not the same team. At all.
In Atlanta....they ATTACKED Alabama on both sides of the ball. Never gave em a chance to breathe.
In New Orleans....they played on their heels, like they forgot how to play. The Dawgs were in a defensive posture all night. Occasionally, having a bright spot with Lady Luck.…such as, that fumble return for a TD.
This was not the same team, that played the last 4 or 5 games of the season. Hope that shoplifting incident didn't create dissension in the locker room, that spilled over to the field.
I can't explain the drop-off. Maybe Schumann & Bobo will explain it....if Kirby won't.
I think Kirby is extremely proud of this team. In his eyes....they outperformed his expectations. They entered the season young and thin....and they're leaving it, Experienced and Salty. If these guys return for another year....they'll win it all, next year. Easily.
I hate to see this one get away. However....it still doesn't hurt as much as the 2017 letdown.
Even when you have a team like the UGA Bulldogs....you still need a little luck to win a Natty. That's never been more true, than it is, in this expanded playoff.
Let's backup for a moment and look at the bigger picture:
Ole Miss is the only SEC team left in the playoffs, and we all know they have zero chance of winning the Natty.
Will the B1G win another National Championship and make it (3) in a row?
More broadly across bowl games, the “It Just Means More” conference is at the bottom of the Power 4 leagues in records, trailing the Big Ten (9-4), the ACC (8-4) and the Big 12 (4-4). In bowl games through this weekend, the SEC is 2-7 against teams from other conferences. The SEC team was favored in seven of those nine games. The SEC is 4-9 overall.
The football landscape has changed. Money now rules the roost and the parity is evident across conferences. Teams like Georgia and Ohio State may have top recruiting classes and some of the best starters, but what they cannot hoard any longer is that same kind of talent with their backups. And some of their/our starters are no better and some not even as good as many other team's starters across the conferences now.
Some are saying the SEC just comes to the playoffs after a tougher regular season than others more injured, more worn out, and more vulnerable to getting beat. But is that it? Personally, I'm not buying that in its entirety. And we just added another conference game to every SEC team's schedule.
I do think Kirby and the rest of the SEC teams and coaches are in for a shock if they aren't realizing the changed landscape already. It's getting fully baked in now. Teams like Wisconsin are flipping guys that were originally committed to Bama, and Indiana has got the best overall team in the country this season. And a lot of those players are from the G5.
How crazy is this?
I thought right before the half Ole Miss didn’t score. Because their player stayed in bounds and they couldn’t get the FG team out because they had no time outs. I do agree we went way too conservative.
@flemingislanddawg…Hmmm…I thought they did score a FG, but maybe you are right. In any case, we were way too conservative during that final 2 minutes. That was my main point. I couldn't believe we weren't taking advantage of the time left in the half with all 3 timeouts left. I just updated my original post, because I do think you are right.
I still think, regardless of CKS’s explanation, that when we were in that first and goal at the 8 yd line and Gunner had gained 5 yds on first down we should have run straight ahead with the qb or rb the next 3 downs. No veering outside, no passing. I cannot imagine that with straight ahead pushes we could not have gained 3 yds in 3 plays. We certainly would have never lost yardage on any of those and surely would have scored a td with essentially no time on the clock at all for Ole Miss.
"KS is not the best coach in college football, just like Dabo he is stuck in his ways." You are a lot like my Kids, if it wasn't developed yesterday, it is outdated and should be given to Goodwill or sent to the dump. Successful people don't just jump on the band wagon. They observe and then make decisions. If CKS doesn't alter his thinking on the crap that is college football, you should complain all you want but have a little patience.
I’ve got the game recorded so I’d have to go back and watch. But I’m pretty sure you’re right. Ole Miss ran out of time before they could get the FG unit out there.
I’m no Coach, no Expert, just a fan. Kirby knows light years more about football than I do. But the Dawgs had the ball with 1:50 on the clock. Ole Miss had scored and kicked it off to us. I was hoping for At Least a FG try by the Dawgs, maybe even get a TD.
But the series of plays they ran seemed obvious they just wanted to burn off the time and get to the locker room. They ended up having to punt to OM. When OM got the ball they started driving up field THEN tried to get the FG unit out but time expired. For me that was very frustrating and disappointing clock management by Kirby. As I said the plays the Dawgs ran were just killing time unless OM made some massive mistake. Oh well it is what it is.
I still wouldn’t want anyone but Kirby as HC. Hes still real young at 50 and if he so desires has plenty of coaching years in front of him. Unless he regresses Really bad it’d be foolish to fire him in my view.
OFF TOPIC Some but not really as it’s about our Dawgs trying to win games.
Ever notice how often it seems UGA gets the butt end of officiating ? I used to think that was just my Dawgs bias showing up. But my wife totally agrees that it’s True.
Like the Targetting call on Thomas and he gets tossed. Even the announcers questioned it . YET the OM guy led with his helmet right under Gunner’s chin, surprised it didn’t break his jaw !! In plain sight, No flag.
As I’ve said I’m not a Coach, or Expert, just a fan. Kirby knows light years more than I do. But I wish he’d start “working” the officials more.
Saban and Spurrier were masters at it !! Spurrier was either on the phone or writing the league office all the time. And it was public knowledge.
Oh Kirby will snip at Em some. But watch these other coaches they put on a drama show !! Throw their headsets down !! Toss their clipboard down etc. I know it looks sort of clownish. But it works !!
These officials can have their pay docked, be suspended, even fired. I honestly believe that many times these coaches scream “ I’m contacting the league office about this” !!
Again I know it’s sort of clownish but Dawgs Needed Thomas in an Already Thin Defense !! AND if their gonna toss Thomas out on a Very questionable call isn’t it fair to toss the OM guy that lead all the way under Gunner’s chin knocking his head back violently and him to the ground ? I don’t see how At Least one official didn’t see it !!
Think about it a moment. Bogus penalties have cost UGA heavily like the lousy off sides call vs Bama back some years where Dawgs had Em stopped and might well have won that game ? As Yall recall Tagliova threw a TD strike right after and they went on to play Notre Dame and destroyed them in the Ntl. Title game.
I know some will say it’s all fantasy in my mind. Rival fans Surely would. But No I’m convinced that the Dawgs get more bogus calls than they should. No I couldn’t prove it in a court of law and as a devout Dawgs fan I’m sure there’s a bit of bias. But my family and friends away from DN say they see the same. So I’m not alone. Just think Saban and Spurrier, think back to some games and even recent games now that those two are long gone. Dawgs get More raw deals than they do good deals. Just Sayin, Oops he plays for OSU !! 🤣
OMG, this. A thousand times THIS! Everyone keeps harping about the third down pass call — and I agree, it was a dubious play call — but I was more bothered by the SECOND DOWN play. Gunner had just run for five (or six) yards and the Ole Miss defense was clearly on its heels. As you point out, @Augustadog, at that point I thought we would just slam Stockton back in the line two more times, with maybe a **** push from Josh McCray to help. In fact, Greg McElroy had said that exact thing during the TV broadcast. I was stunned when we didn't keep the ball in Stockton's hand, and instead tried Chauncey Bowens who I still don't think was quite back to full strength. Had we run the ball with Stockton both times, in a worst-case scenario: Stockton doesn't score on either second or third down but we STILL kick the game-tying field goal, except there would have been less than 20 seconds left in regulation by that point. No guarantees we stop them, but I would have liked our chances. Kirby said after the game that he wanted to go for the win, and not play for overtime. Well, if that was really the case, then bite that entire apple and go for it on 4th down instead of kicking the field goal.?
Here's how you explain the drop-off and why our defense struggled, and why our very good offensive performance couldn't keep pace::
T-R-I-N-I-D-A-D
He had the game of a lifetime. He evaded our rushers and hit his receivers in stride. That last throw he made was amazing, among others. Kudos to Ole Miss. They hit on all cylinders and we made enough mistakes to lose the game.
For everybody complaining about Kirby losing his passion and letting the game pass him by like Dabo, that's ridiculous. He is still the best coach in college football. We had better hope he sticks around because L.A.K. (Life After Kirby) will be very different, much for the worse.
And lastly, my wife is an FSU alum and we lived near Tallahassee during Bowden's golden years, when at the same time Georgia was struggling. We used to talk about the unrealistic expectations FSU fans had, never expecting to lose a game and complaining when they did. Wouldn't they gladly go back to those days? And to think Georgia couldn't become another Florida, Auburn, Tennessee or FSU is not accepting reality, especially in the era of NIL and the portal.
Excellent Comments !! Ray Goff was a great player. A great DGD who loves UGA. But Terrible HC. I don’t like bashing on Anyone who is giving their all. But in my near 69 years the worse UGA football came under RG !! There’s No Law that says UGA can’t regress back to that as much as we’d hate it, and be full of sorrow.
Your comparisons serve as an Excellent Reality check and I Thank You !! YES it’s true we lost out two years in a row in the Qtr. Finals. But there are numerous very good CFB teams that didn’t even sniff where the Dawgs got to !! So it was Far from a fail !!
Having the #5 recruiting class out of All CFB is Not a fail either. Dawgs fans are just accustomed to having #1,2, or 3. But we as Dawgs fans constantly brag and tout how well our coaches can Develop players. And they Do !! So certainly they should be able to develop the #5 group to be high level competitors.
This was Gunner’s first year as the true starter. I trust Him and his coaches to build him higher. Bobo a former QB himself stated Cleary that Gunner is not even close to his ceiling. I’m gonna take him at his word. I
Also Im sure Kirby and staff are working the TP as hard as they can. As @UGADad20 said on another thread ( not his exact words but I believe the spirit of) with the advent of NIL and the TP there will be no more dynasties. I fully agree. From now on winning a B2B which was Already extremely difficult, will come close to being miraculous !!
To close this is NOT the end of Elite or Glory Days at UGA by a long shot !! BUT take the Wins and Enjoy them. Savor them. 12-2 with an SEC crown is pretty darn good !! Go Dawgs !!