I Love You, I Love You Not – Tennessee Game Edition

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Trying something a little different for Sunday posting, so thought I’d give this a try. The concept is pretty simple, from a fan’s perspective, and to steal a line from James, from a fan who never played football at any credible level, here’s the things I Loved and the things I Loved Not from yesterday’s game.

I Love You – Raylen Wilson

Finished third in tackles with nine, but I have to think Aguilar might’ve thought about some business decisions after this hit here:

To be fair, unlike other Tennessee quarterbacks, Aguilar didn’t succumb to the pop and kept balling. But man, that’s the way you tackle. Didn’t see a lot of that last season.

I Love You Not – Ellis Robinson

I get it, he’s still young, and Kirby likes to put his CBs on an island, but Ellis look young and lost at sea. The first of two haunting bad plays on an under thrown ball from Aguilar lead to a very familiar feeling of Williams and Humphries at Alabama last year.

I’m sure he’ll improve as time goes on, but a costly DPI on a third and long swung the game and allowed Tennessee to build their lead to 14.

I Love You – Joenel Aguero

Interception aside, Aguero played violent, and I’m here for it.

Three solo tackles, two deflections, and a pick. Not a bad day at the office.

I Love You Not – Earnest Greene

To be fair, Freeling wasn’t looking all that great much of the day either, but something about Greene comes across as just, well, lazy and soft.

It’s not just yesterday, but has been a seeming pattern with Greene, especially in situations where he has to kick out and clear and outside defender and just “ole’” the guy and allows a stop.

I Love You – Bo Hughley

Where Greene faltered Hughley stepped up. The emotions showed after the game, too.

I Love You Not – Conservative Play calling with a Lead

Georgia goes up three points. Granted we were leaking yards in defense like a sieve, but suddenly we go back to runs into the middle and predictable play calling. Is it Kirby? is it Bobo? Who knows, but if the offense is humming, step on the throat and keep making them pay.

I Love You – Death Marches and Everyone Runs the Ball

With momentum at their backs, Georgia opened the second half on a 14 play, 13 run, nearly 8 minute 75 yard scoring drive ending with a McCray touchdown. Maybe that was the reason behind conservative play calling, as Manball made a second half appearance again. Would’ve loved to see the next drive open with another deep ball to a receiver.

I’ll also mention here I’m loving Frazier’s seeming second level he’s hit, running fast and violent to set up the overtime score. Jesus, it’s like he sees the running back room by committee (eight Bulldogs registered a carry on Saturday) approach to man ball and wants to let everyone know he’s RB1.

I Love You Not – Noah Thomas

This is less about Thomas and more about why did we even get the guy in the first place if we’re not going to use him. It was my understanding that he was going to the long, rangy threat for short field situations who could go up and get it. Where is he?

I Love You – Gunner Stockton

The guy has four starts under his belt and already has two memorable wins against Texas and now Tennessee. I’ve seen Beck rattled, Fromm rattled, and even Bennett a time or two, but to be in Kneeland with what was reported a 143 decibel level distracted or in the background, I never got the sense he ever gave a shit and seems dialed in throughout.

4th and 7 and he was calm as a Hindu cow. And clutch.

I Love You – Kirby Smart

Heupel is going to catch hell for a long long while until he can see Georgia again (SECCG?) for mismanaging the game in the final seconds of regulation. Kirby, on the other hand, put on a clinic. From gutsy fourth down conversions to great clock management, it’s easy to see Kirby is truly the best in the business.

I Love You Not – Getting Bailed Out by Kickers

Trust when I say I’m happy the kid missed the field goal. But if that doesn’t happen and, likewise, doesn’t happen with Ohio State a couple years back, and the resume looks different. The defense seemed to be the biggest problem on the day, and not the offense, and it’s a troubling trend to see our DBs getting burned like they are. What’s more troubling is that Connor’s best with a Davis and Carter on the DL, and we just don’t have those guys there. We’ve got two weeks to get that figured out, or Ryan Williams is going to be dancing and spinning in Sanford Stadium.

43 thoughts on “I Love You, I Love You Not – Tennessee Game Edition”

  1. In the postgame interview, Kirby seemed to indicate involvement in the conservative play calling. I don’t know, but Man Ball seems something he gets comfortable with. This teams needs better offensive tackle play to make it a staple that can be depended on.

    This is a glorious run that the Dawgs are on and we (I) need to appreciate it for what it is.

  2. It might be time for Kirby to have his scouts discreetly start looking for an offensive line coach. Stacy Searels is like Brian Van Gorder. Had a few good years in the early 2000’s but regressed after that. I saw the mighty third quarter drive. I also saw how many times we had whiffs and lookout blocks in the 4th quarter. Memories are rosy, but we were better with Pittman and Matt Luke.

  3. THE OFFICIAL HOGBODY OFFICIAL GRIPE. If Herbstreit had to consult the officiating consultant about Tennessee’s third quarter TD, he knows it was probably worth calling. The guru went chicken shit too, saying it was only a laying on of the hands. Kaka Del Toro, so how come the DB was moved away?

    Good receiver though. Probably a little big for Ellis Robinson to handle alone.

  4. The guy over at Dawg Sports has it right. We stole that one. I’ll take it.

  5. I love Gunner ! I do not love E. Greene; I think he is not tough and he’s protecting himself for NFL. TIME TO MOVE ON. These young OL will mature. I love our mental toughness. I don’t love not trying the fade route with Young or Thomas. I love trusting Kirby with the young CB’s. I don’t love officials allowing receivers shove off DB’s. I love beating the bowels and breaking their hearts. I love the dawgs!
    Aladawg

  6. Love Gunners grit. He will get better as confidence grows. I don’t love our edge rush. The edge was a problem last year, it needs to be fixed NOW!

  7. I love winning! I do not love our D-line…we appear to lack difference makers capable of taking the game over. I love our RB room…we have guys that have speed, guys who have power, and guys who have wiggle. I do not love our O-line…they look apprehensive at times and meek at the tackle spot. I do not love Stacy Searlel…I have seen enough it is time for a change. I am not sure if I love or do not love Gunner Stockton…he looked great at times throwing the ball deep down the sidelines. He is tough kid who is not afraid to take a hit. He bails out on plays at times and leaves the pocket too early. Is he Jake Fromm with better mobility? Time will tell.

    • SD did you take in any of the GT/Clemson game? Clemson has 2-3, 5 stars who are 2nd/3rd year players on the DLine, TJ Parker and Peter Woods. Either showed up or made a difference.Most of the commentary was on the Purdue transfer edge rusher. I say that to say, who does have a dominant D-line this year??

  8. If there ever was a game that Kirby can look at film and see who WANTS to play this game was it. Especially on the o line.

  9. I love the resilience of this team. I’m not thrilled with some of the decisions by the offensive coaching staff at times, but I won’t say that I don’t love them because they came through when it counted. Same goes the for the players. Some of them played poorly, but they never gave up. What I don’t love is the non-stop complaining and overreacting from a segment of this fan base. Yes, I fully admit I have a fair amount of Munson in me, but my god some of the folks on here are the biggest negative Nancys.

    Yes, this team has a lot of work to do. No, this team isn’t anywhere near the ’21 or ’22 teams. But you know what? We never will be again. Neither will anyone else. NIL and the portal have eviscerated the depth from every team and there’s no going back. Long gone are the days of stacking 4- and 5-star players at key positions. What we see is the future of not just UGA but all teams. Heck, look at OSU yesterday. They were in a dog fight with Ohio. Both Florida and LSU looked bad. Texas and the Second Coming struggled against whatever directional school they played.

    Bottom line, we better get used to this. We need to stop expecting undefeated seasons. College football is going to be more like the NFL and we’re going to see more 2-loss champions like last year than undefeated champs going forward. If we had lost yesterday, I’d be unhappy but I wouldn’t be giving up on the team. I believe is Kirby and I’m confident the team will continue to improve.

    In Kirby We Trust!

  10. When Greene and Gaston were both in there the offense looked different. Just saying.

    My guess on Noah Thomas is he doesn’t block well. Nobody wants to hear that but we know how Kirby is about that.

    Man ball worked to perfection opening the second half as you said. I imagine that was why they thought they could do it later innthe first half. I will say that when they tried it on one possession and it didn’t work, they shouldn’t have stubbornly gone right back to it.

    I personally don’t think that performer is who the defense is. I don’t know why we were right there with the receiver on two of those three long touchdowns and kind of just didn’t stop it but I believe our defense will look a lot better than that against offenses that aren’t Bobby Hill’s.

  11. Also, weird to me that Monroe Freeling is taking heat here as I thought he played pretty well. He got beat maybe twice. The problem is when a lineman gets beat and everybody else does their job it stands out. Like Dontrell Glover blocking the wrong man on the goal line. He played well but on that play he decided to block down and the guy he was supposed to have blew up the play. That doesn’t mean he’s not any good though. I’m just not sure about Searles as some people are. When two of his starters are down we score innthe forties and get that many yards that doesn’t scream that the offensive line coach sucks to me. If Tennessee had been down two starting linemen we would have thought that was going to make a difference and wouldn’t have thought their O line coach sucked. But if it’s us we throw common sense out the window.

  12. Oh and if Radi Nabulsi is a reader here, stop calling our backup tackle “Michael Weenie.” His last name is pronounced Ooneee. Thanks.

  13. I’m so glad the methbillies have to discuss “moral victories.”
    Ain’t nuff’n better than being a BullDAWG on Saturday night!!
    As always, GO DAWGS!!

  14. Kirby said he wanted to run the ball in the second half. When allowed Bobo had the correct crayons. That required two point conversion was a beautiful play. As perfect as Gunner’s TD pass was that catch was just as clutch. Where was the pass rush pressure that’s crushed recent vile QB’s. Who thought the defense would be the weak link. Kirby has grown in the best in the business now. I think it was FPD who said their kicker wore his hobnailed boots on that miss. 9 straight is now a fact hillbillies.

    • I forgot to say as bad as the oline was at times. The offense controlled the ball over 50 minutes. Double the viles time of possession. I think playing keep away from the hillbillies was the reason Kirby went Man Ball.

        • If it’s a typo it’s not mine. SEC football final show posted just over 50 minutes time of possession by UGA. Just under 24 minutes by the hillbillies. Just sharing their numbers. Probably furnished by SEC officials so it could be incorrect.

  15. My goodness that was a schizophrenic performance. Pick any player or position group and there was a lot to love…and not love. Gunner…not seeing the field, not great on the back shoulder pass. Superb when he had to be with pro level vision and touch. OL…right side a mess. TD drive of 13 runs and the blocking in OT! DL stopped the run but no pressure on Joey, but the blitz on 3rd down was perfect. You can keep going through the entire squad other than our kickers who are the best in the nation. I think upon further review we’ll recognize a very young team did very well against a tough opponent in a hostile environment and won. And it was resilient but I heard that all last season and would much prefer to start crushing opponents than being great at last minute comebacks. Have you seen the price of Pepto lately?!

  16. Are we allowed to comment if we haven’t coached for a living? Asking for a friend?

  17. I love: throwing on 1st down. Occasionally. Sometime. Anytime.
    I love not: lose the lead, 2nd & 14 ‘draw play’ or run up the middle. It’s not like it was catching them off guard, we’d been ‘trying’ the middle all day.
    I love not: playing Canadian football. U man ball your way to the lead- great! Then u force a punt. 2 plays up the middle, then sideline screen. Punt. Then u get an interception in plus territory- great! Then u go 2 plays up the middle, sideline screen, field goal. It feels like ur sacrificing a down per drive there. Hence playing Canadian football. It’s not like they don’t know it’s coming if I do.
    I don’t hate Bobo. I don’t love him. I think he’s too conservative at times, or perhaps just boring.
    Anyway, I love the Dawgs and let me formally apologize to those of you who think I’m not a ‘real fan’ cuz I have questions and concerns.

  18. It amazes me how people swear we were running it up “the middle”. Do only outside runs work in football? And when the right side of our line is getting whipped and the running back is hit innthe mouth by unblocked defenders as soon as they get the handoff that’s not “running it up the middle.”

    • It works fine until it doesn’t. Like the first drive of the 3rd was amazing. The next two drives were awful. Yet on 4 of the 6 plays we still tried the middle.
      Also, yeah, when the RB gets hit in the mouth between the two tackles – it damn sure looks like a run in the middle whether that was the design or not. I mean, we could just, I don’t know, try a pass play occasionally on some of those occasions. Mix it up a bit.
      And I’ll be honest. I was a handful of barley pops in admittedly, but the only damn run to the outside I even remember was the one in overtime that worked gloriously. I mean, how come thats the only run to the outside by a RB I can recall?

      • Five hundred yards of offense just isnt good enough.

        We also still hear screaming about how Stacy Searles needs to be fired. Our offense just went for five hundred yards with two starters missing and in that insane environment we had ZERO false starts. Not one. But Stacy Searles sucks and needs to be fired. I think a bunch of people just talk out of their ass.

        • Ok man, 500 yards. In a game when we need OT AND a missed fg to get there. The D wasn’t having their best day. What if the 2nd & 3rd drive in the 3rd quarter had resulted in two td’s instead of one fg. Perhaps we let 100-150 yards out there.
          I consider Searles as an extension of Bobo, but YMMV.
          If you watched that offensive w zero concerns, good for u. I just didn’t. I also don’t think either of us are absolutely wrong. Just voicing concerns.

          • 😆Fice hundred yards of offense isnt enough. Thirty eight points on the road just isnt going to cut it. You watched that and your take away is, “Bobo and Searles. Concerns.”? I think you are the type that just doubles down because admitting you don’t know anything about what you’re watching is too hard.

      • Barley pops and dammit boboism. Usually goes away when the vowel kicker steps on the vowel’s collective weenie.
        A win is a win, boys…

  19. My continued CSS observations. CSS is really good at taking 3 start talent and turning them into solid SEC offensive lineman. He is absolutely terrible at identifying blue chip talent or in getting the blue chip talent to play up to a championship standards. Yesterday’s run blocking and pass blocking was individually ok but as a group of five, it was ugly. I got it that our line is banged up — so was Tennessee’s Defensive line. — and I think we have better players than they do.

    Second, like everyone, my initial take on the first drive of the second half was it appeared to be a masterpiece in execution and physicality. It was those things but more importantly, I have no idea what the Tennessee defensive adjustment was coming out of halftime but they appeared to be waaay out of position which led to massive chunk plays. The DL seemed to be misaligned the entire drive. UT adjusted after that which is why it looked like we went conservative and stop executing as well. I think our execution was about the same but Tennessee’s improved.

    Also, GS — talk about a tough dude who knows his OL can’t hold up to edge rushers and will still take the hit.

    • Searles is down two starters, the offense goes for five hundred and doesn’t have a single false start and we think Searles isnt a goid enough offensive line coach? I think we don’t know what we’re talking about.

        • Maybe. But youre just saying that because the truth hurts. But only when it should.

      • Of note, UT was down Defensive Linemen as well… include a starter.

        Last year we had 4 Offensive Lineman that are on NFL teams this fall. We averaged 4.06 yards per rush for the entire season (84th in the country). This year we are averaging 4.51 yards per rush. (66th in the country after going into a full SEC schedule).

  20. You’re WRONG on Greene. He is playing on instinct and grit. He is still having back issues and did his best to go. Not lazy or soft…still recovering from injuries. Now that Searals fellow putting him that situation…

  21. Calling Greene lazy and soft for having some struggles while playing through injury is dumb af.

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