There were some concerns out there that Georgia was so upset with the loss to Alabama, and with a sleepy noon start, they might let Alabama beat them twice. That didn’t happen, as the Dawgs handled Kentucky with relative ease, controlled the game from the start, and then got in a ton of good reps for the backups. I’d much rather these freshmen and sophomores screw up and learn the ropes with huge leads than during critical moments of the Bama game. This is probably close to how Kirby dreamed up this game, and it was nice as a fan to watch the team assert their will. They are still far from a finished product, and the mistakes they continue to make will bite them against better competition. But that’s for another week, and hopefully another week of drills will help this defense grow up even more. But my biggest concern at this point is the injuries that continue to pile up on the OL, because the second unit is still struggling, and adding 1-2 of them into the starting lineup could be the difference between winning and losing. On to the bullets!
- How about that fast start? Glad to see they still have it in them. Really liked that opening drive, with more stretch plays and misdirection. The OL performed really well and Elyiss Williams showed his freakiness on one play (but missed a block on the very next one). The first injury of the day happened on this drive as well, as Freeling limped off, never to return. And although Gunner made a bad decision on one RPO, he made a great one to keep the ball and run for the TD. Progress!
- I want to take a moment to note that Chauncey Bowens can officially be taken out of the “not an SEC back” bucket. The guy has reshaped his body since spring, he’s breaking solo tackles all over the place, showing good vision, and overpowering LBs. What a second year leap. While Frazier remains a slightly more explosive athlete, he still misses holes and obviously needs to work on ball security, so it’s good to have two horses to ride at RB.
- Other than Kentucky’s first drive, I thought the defensive line held up pretty well. Other than Hall and Miller, though, they still don’t shed enough blocks.
- The OLBs and pass rush in general was not all that great. Kirby keeps saying that they don’t have enough opportunities, but I think he’s protecting them because I saw several that they just didn’t finish. Quintavius Johnson continues to improve, but Gabe Harris has disappeared and Modozie has yet to have an impact. Those guys need big games next week.
- Zachariah Branch looked like Reggie Bush on that screen pass in the first half where he juked half the Kentucky defense out of their jocks. Where would this team be without him this year?
- Tallying up the injuries on the OL so far: Freeling, Greene, Gaston, Calhoun and Morris – 5 of the top 6 linemen on the team going into the year – have all missed significant portions of games. And given the fact that a couple of them have only recently started playing meaningful minutes, you have to give it to Stacy Searels for keeping this group playing well enough to win SEC games. The black hole that is the 2024 OL recruiting class notwithstanding, he deserves props for developing continuity in a significant headwind this year. Or maybe it’s just the new analysts. 😉
- Speaking of injuries, Nate Frazier got hurt in the game, Gunner got dinged up, and Jordan Hall got knocked out for a little while too. Need to get a couple of wins and then get to that second off week without anymore major injuries.
- Since we’re praising coaches with bad reputations amongst the fanbase, I thought Bobo’s QB runs for Gunner were well-designed and the alignments should set them up for some passes over the middle down the road. He also was good with mixing the run schemes throughout. Those new OL assistants have been a godsend.
- Rough game from the secondary again, as Demello Jones took a terrible angle on the long screen play from Kentucky, KJ never covered on the TD, and wide receivers were running free way too much.
- Looked like from the back camera angle that Gunner’s view of the safety may have been screened by the umpire on his first(!) pick of the season.
- CJ and Raylen are always good for a couple of big pops, and CJ had a great punchout and fumble recovery in the 3rd quarter, but is there a better tackler than Justin Williams? That dude needs more snaps.
- How did we not get called for roughing the kicker? SEC, that is not a good enough reimbursement for all the #bamaref calls, but we do accept it as partial tribute. Nice punt and coverage from Thorson and Humphreys, respectively, as well. Best special teams in football, if Branch can improve on his fair catching and returning decisions.
- I know many people hate the screen game, but it really is an extension of the run game for Georgia, because so many teams play deep coverage against these great wideouts, Branch is so good in space, and Gunner throws a great screen pass. I do think they will diminish as the conventional run game continues to develop, though.
- Another bad defensive series at the end of the first half. They didn’t get lined up quick enough, failed to cover guys, Robinson and Jones had bad leverage on slants and they got lucky on that choke job of a FG attempt. Have to do better in those spots.
- The TEs finally got some touches!! Delp was rewarded for all his terrific blocking this year with a beautiful pass from Gunner and some nice blocking for him. Luckie next?
- How about that game from Dillon Bell? There were rumblings about him being unhappy getting buried on the depth chart (although Kirby denied it in the press conference), but he reminded us how explosive he is out of the backfield and on end-arounds. Happiest he’s seemed in a while, which was great to see. And that one-handed catch was money.
- Once the reserves came in during the second half, it was all about who could flash. Puglisi looked great for a while but then chucked that terrible interception. That said, he looks the part. Ogboko flashed with a great rush and sack, but then he was gassed and couldn’t hold up on the next play. Dom Kelly looks like a young Daylen Everette (rangy and fast, but handsy). We just do not have any good stars and safeties after KJ, and it shows. Need someone to step up ASAP.
I thought the Dawgs played about the same as they did last week, albeit a little better on offense. But Kentucky just sucks and makes tons of mistakes, whereas Alabama didn’t make many and that was the difference. (That and the Grand Canyon-sized difference in the QB play on both teams.) The Dawgs are still a good team, but a good passing game is still going to beat them until they get better on defense. I like how Gunner continues to steadily improve, Bowens has arrived, the OL is starting to gel, and the TEs are blocking like animals. If Kirby can pair that with a better defense, this team can go places. On to the Plains, where we face another trash QB, but much better WRs and a better defense. Need health and improvement this week. Go Dawgs!
This pretty much says it all. Thanks for the good analysis.
One of the announcers made a comment that our defense was very vanilla & didn’t show the looks & schemes of Oklahoma & Texas A& M.
Any thoughts?
Why show that on film in a game where you don’t need it?
Which games were they referring to for OU and A&M? I haven’t watched all of them. There’s no question Georgia was vanilla after they got up by 3 TDs. That’s Kirby’s MO, to save wrinkles for bigger moments. I saw very few ILB blitzes, but I did see a corner blitz and they always play a pattern matching concept in the secondary where they switch between man and zone.
Forget it, DiA. It was the male bimbo himself Jesse Palmer who made the comment.
He’s gotten better over the years, but he’s still more focused on entertainment over analysis. And his hair. And he’s still a handbag.
I haven’t watched any breakdowns of this game and probably won’t but we certainly weren’t vanilla vs alabama.
Maybe they just wanted to focus on fundamentals this week and see who wants to play fast and aggressive because the opponent in front of them allowed that.
I’ve seen lots of dc’s come through with new bells and whistles and all sorts of exotic looks and millions blitzes. They never last very long.
Manny Diaz comes to mind.
Solid fundamentals (tackling, leverage, eye discipline) and good players will always perform over time better than the next new shiny toy. Especially on defense.
Eventually folks figure you out and there’s no where to go and nowhere to hide.
So where do you land on the idea that coaches have figured out how to beat Kirby’s secondary scheme? I think the inconsistent (a lot of poor) play is more about young players not yet being able to handle the required adjustments, but I’ve heard others say the way to beat his scheme has been shared and he needs to do something different.
Mobile QB’s have always been Kirby and Saban’s failings it’s the recipe to beat their defenses. That’s not news. Now we have more problems too.
The frustration and just my opinion is as I watch the rate of reaching and effecting the QB has fallen off. The points allowed has climbed as a direct result. We’re just not creating the havoc rate Kirby wants. The few turnovers are also part of this fault.
As Kirby says this team is really young. Compared to the rest of the league its starters are nowhere near experienced as most of our competition. Without a couple of sack specialists it’s exposing that learning curve on the back end. Hopefully they grow up fast. We’re close a single dropped INT against bama could have been a game changer. Kirby doesn’t have the tools right now.
Even when we had an NFL level defense, they didn’t wrack up monster sack numbers. What they did do was to collapse the pocket and make the QB have to make much quicker decisions and throw on the move. Only a handful of QBs can handle that on a regular basis. That made the DBs job MUCH easier. Combine a young and underperforming DB group along with ZERO pass rush and it’s “Houston, we have a problem” at present. Because of this Ole Miss is a huge worry.
Just getting a QB off his spot is often enough at this level.
They figured it out a long time ago. The problem is that few teams have the players to do it.
A really good qb and two bad ass outside receivers has been the antidote for decades.
Very few have that tho.
Football is an evolving game where the laws of physics means in football, every innovation meats and equal and opposite reaction in a few seasons.
Ole Miss worries me. I know we still have some time yet, but whichever QB they field is likely to feast on our secondary.
Anyone who can score and has talent on d is a threat until we can get a healthy OL.
We are lacking explosive plays on both sides of the ball.
I agree 100%. Florida as well now that Lagway and their great freshman WR is healthy. Auburn has terrific WRs too, but their QB just needs to be harassed at all times. Heck, if Miss State’s tackles get healthy they could pose a problem. And if Texas’ OL figures out how to block they will be tough. It’s quite a schedule.
Yes Sir. Not a single easy league game on the schedule now.
Yep.. it’s going to be a grind…getting through it will pay dividends but they may come to fruition next season.
As we’re becoming to expect now another good analysis. No pressure just keep up the excellent work.
It’s always great to be a Georgia Bulldawg. This Saturday was much more enjoyable after nice routine beat down. Great to see backups getting meaningful minutes. For a moment I thought a possible QB competition was brewing until that really bad pick. Pugs has a cannon arm. You can’t teach that hopefully with seasoning and no portal we see the future results. Welcome back Dillion Bell that was what I’ve been expecting since fall of 2024. Keep it coming big guy this team needs leadership by example.
Kentucky has zero competition for the worst team in the league today. There were plenty of missed passes by their QB or it’s another ugly dawg fight. This was the type of game past coaches might have lost. Thinking of you James Franklin when that came to mind.
Kirby had them ready and focused no letdown. I’ve never said Kirby doesn’t make mistakes. I still give him credit for stealing a win in Knoxville and blowing one last week. He flat out beats teams he’s supposed to beat at an extremely high rate. Not prone to unexplainable upsets that our past coaches always seemed to find annually.
Two things we can all agree on is hopefully the injury bug goes elsewhere and Auburn sucks. It’s not just when I’m driving my truck either. I really don’t care for Auburn.
On the refs- there was a 2 play sequence that was crazy. UK threw a WR screen (bobo loved it) and Everette got called for a hold. How does the DB getting blocked get called for a hold? I was in the stadium so I did not see the TV replay. Next play a Georgia defender tackles a receiver 6-8 yards downfield, no flag. Same play our DB besides the receiver being throw to has his head looking away from the under thrown ball. The defender grabs the receiver’s arm as the receiver tries to go back to the ball. No flag. The roughing call and non catch near UGAs goal line were really bad obvious calls missed as well.
Everette wasn’t being blocked. He grabbed the guy who eventually got the ball. After watching the replay after the call, that’s one they got right.
I missed those other plays you mentioned but I did see Daylen pull that kid’s jersey for the hold. But I have to imagine that crew won’t get rewarded with the championship game. They were terrible.
You’re correct there were plenty of opportunities to question the officiating. For all the lip service to improving SEC officials it’s not getting better. It’s subjective week to week and crew to crew what’s called. It’s certainly effecting the outcomes. FU had after week two more TD’s called back 3 then allowed to score. Now I confess to enjoying that example.
In the bama game I was surprised when they got some key calls against them. I did see another bad spot no replay at the end of the game. It appeared Vandy may have made the first down. The spot was a yard short now it’s 4th down no replay to confirm the spot. Not saying bama privilege just there is a time and place to be certain you get it right. End of close game drives is that time to be certain.
Remember Brock Bowers Matrix level first down catch against tOSU. Without review and getting it right our season could have ended there. With all the high tech capabilities available and the insane amount of money involved. We deserve better more consistent officiating.
19 must get more quality reps! Dude is everywhere when he’s on the field!
Agree. Williams is a beast.
We have a logjam at ILB. If starters Allen or Wilson decide to return in ’26, I’m not sure we’ll be able to keep Williams (from Texas) or Cole (from Virginia). Maybe shift Cole to rush end? But we need to find a way to get those sophmore studs on the field more often.
Hard to see CJ returning, he’s been starting for 3 years. Raylen is probably 60/40 leaving, but if one stays I don’t think we lose Cole or Williams if they’re told it’s a 3-man rotation. That’s worked well in the past for Georgia LBs getting drafted.
Gunner running by design and on his own makes the offense better. Happy we discovered our TEs over the middle. Williams looks like a young Granddaddy. We run the ball as well as the beleaguered OL can provide.
I have been made aware that mentioning a certain college football talker or anything related to his film breakdowns is an automatic disqualifier because he doesn’t support favored narratives.
So far nobody has mentioned a moratorium on Radi Nabulsi’s takes. Yesterday when people were losing it over the inability to get to the quarterback he asked a question, “Who on this defense do you think would have been a starter in ‘21 or ‘22?” When you think about it that way it seems a lot more obvious. There’s just not as much talent there as there once was. Personally Im not convinced unrestricted free agency is here to stay. I mean I just can’t see it. But it’s not just a lack of depth. The starters aren’t the same caliber as a few years ago. They’re good. But that’s all. Just good. It’s closer Richt Georgia than it was and that’s why it looks more Richtian than it did.
Please link to anyone’s takes, Mike. What I asked was not to call people idiots (paraphrasing) for not sharing the same opinion. Film breakdowns are awesome.
And I agree that the talent is lesser in some spots, but we’re also playing a lot of first year guys. This feels like a transition year to me because of that.
I was surprised at the energy level of the crowd for a nooner against KY. On TV at least they sounded pretty hyped up and into it. I’m sure that was appreciated by the team. There have been times when those types of games sounded more like a library than a stadium.
I flipped over to the Skycast for a bit and was surprised to be able to hear both bands, and no canned noise. Did they turn it off for Homecoming?
Speaking of TE blocking, I’d like to point out how well our WRs are blocking – especially Young & Branch. Those guys are demon when blocking.
Branch is going to be a superstar.