Well…more and more, Corey Smith’s song remains true. Every Dawg does indeed Have Its Day. The flagship universities from the Yellow Hammer State and the Peach State contested a game of football on Saturday night in America’s greatest college town, and the result was the same as all but one of the recent meetings – disappointment for the red & black in a 24-21 loss.
1. Honestly, Saturday’s disappointment should have been seen a mile away. It was literally 17 years ago to the day since the infamous 2008 Blackout Game loss, one that we’d rather not even remember for various reasons. Even going in, it felt like the 2008 game leading up to kickoff with how juiced up campus was and how electric the crowd was. That included the LED wristbands, which should absolutely still be a thing despite this loss. Then…much like 2008, Georgia managed to tense up early on, allowing the Crimson Tide to steal all of that pre-game momentum and take the over-the-top energy of the crowd out of it. Give the fans credit though…they still made it tougher for Alabama on offense…see the use of all three timeouts early. But it was an advantage that the Dawgs could not build off of.
2. This loss did feel different. This wasn’t heartbreaking with some freakish circus play or last-second big dramatics. Saturday was not emotionally wrecking. No, it was just frustrating. Losing to Nick Saban was one thing. At some point, you had to step back and say, ‘you know what, you lost to the GOAT of coaches. So has everyone else.’ Saturday? This is a staff that looked punchless in a loss to FSU and last year got trucked by a very mediocre Oklahoma team, among other faceplants. That’s why Saturday was frustrating. When you faced a Nick Saban team, it was a group on the other side that had some kind of aura about them. On paper, this Crimson Tide team was very beatable, and Saturday was a game when Georgia had multiple chances to win and didn’t do it.
3. I grow tired of saying this, but Georgia’s goals are all in front of it. Remember, a loss to the Crimson Tide last year followed a run all the way to winning the SEC. That same season, by the way, saw the win over Georgia being Alabama’s highlight where Georgia used it to get better. Alabama’s season eventually came undone after this game last year. You can make the case that this game was once again, Alabama’s Super Bowl. I mean, they had multiple weeks to prepare thanks to playing a very bad Wisconsin team and two clunker games where Georgia had to play at Tennessee. That’s not entirely why Georgia lost on Saturday, but it didn’t help.
4. Georgia had a chance to bury the Crimson Tide and didn’t do it. This coaching staff that Alabama fans, a segment of them anyway, have deridden, was just gift-wrapped a whole lot of equity. With two wins over Texas last year, Saturday was a chance for Georgia to underscore itself as the standard-bearer of the SEC. Last night, however, placed as a Georgia as a “pretty good, except…” team. Oh, and allowing fans to chant “we just beat the hell out of you” after a one-score win got old a long time ago.
5. The day will come I am sure where somewhere on campus, a statue of Kirby Smart will be built. Every Georgia fan should and will be forever grateful for what Coach Smart has brought to Athens. But that does not mean he should be above reproach. Coach Smart is paid a lot of money to coach this team, and when things go bad, criticism should not be avoided. The facts are the facts. Kirby Smart was grossly outcoached, and the in-game coaching by this staff was…not good. Any time the smallest thing goes bad on offense, the OC gets blamed. But when your defense gets punched in the face throughout the first half on third down, that falls on the defensive staff, too. A portion of Georgia fans love them some Mike Bobo criticism. But if you want to point fingers at a coaching staff, it should go on both the ball. If not…Glenn Schumann’s nickname needs to be Teflon Glenn.
6. Speaking of coaching decisions…the fourth-down call was coaching malpractice personified. The lay-up criticism is the awful idea to line up in the shotgun and hand it to Cash Jones of all people. But Georgia should have never been in that position. If you delay and don’t run tempo, the officials possibly review the spot. Oh, and there’s also only needing a field goal to tie when you have one of the nation’s best kickers…
7. At some point, Georgia’s in-stadium game operations team needs to decide whether or not the University of Georgia Redcoat Marching Band is even desired to be there, or it’s just an afterthought as part of a show production. The way that the Redcoats have been minimalized once kickoff arrives is insulting, to be honest. If Georgia’s defense needs music being piped in at decibels raised before a big play, then you’ve got players in the wrong line of activity. Do you know what will fire a crowd up? A defense actually making plays on key downs. If fans want to have music cranked up before each play, then they can go watch the Falcons lose on Sundays.
8. It was probably not a coincidence that Demello Jones replaced Ellis Robinson late on Saturday. Between misplayed coverages and the mind-numbing leap in the fourth quarter, Robinson is…not really in a good spot to be an every-down player. That needs to be fixed, and trial and error on the field on Saturdays is not the best place to do that.
9. Remember how Gunner Stockton’s legs gave him an added element against Tennessee? More of that, minus two third-quarter plays would have probably helped Georgia run tempo more and spread Alabama out more. Hopefully, the Dawgs get back to that more starting next week against Kentucky.
10. Next week’s noon kickoff was already going to be a tough one for fans to get up for, and Kentucky is not exactly must-see football. That game now being one following a loss won’t help, so if you are bothered by empty seats or a lack of energy in the stands, prepare for next week accordingly.
As always, Go Dawgs!
