Other than the elation felt after attending the two national championship games, last night’s SECCG gave the most “feels” of the Kirby Smart era. An absolute smashing of the Tide, a capital revenge murder, resulted in an early roll-out of their petulant and entitled fan base and made for a jubilant night around these parts. It was the largest margin of victory against Bama since I was in diapers, so yeah, we’re gonna have some fun celebrating this win for the next few weeks. The Dawgs came fully prepared, totally dialed in, and hungry. Not sure many teams can beat this bunch when they arrive to a game like that. On to the bullets:

• There seemed to be a different buzz in the stadium, per my friends in attendance, but I was still skeptical because of the Bobo injury and how Toliver played against Tech.
• First key to the game was whether Toliver could block the uber-talented Tim Keenan all night, or if Georgia needed to play multiple backs in order to help him. Other than a couple early misses, Toliver and the guards held Keenan in check without having to change much of the blocking scheme. Huge props to Toliver and the OL coaches for getting him to play at a championship level within a week.
• Also, how different did all the freshmen look vs. the game in September? Along with Toliver, Gaston and Glover played with a ton of power and control. This group has changed from a weakness to a strength in 2 months. I know the rest of the top 5 teams have great DLs, but I don’t think any of them are a matchup nightmare for us anymore.
• We didn’t give up an offensive score on the first drive! Raise your hand if you also jumped up and down as if that was as good as scoring a TD ourselves. At that point, I felt like perhaps things could be different.
• Like a white blur across the screen, Cole Speer perfectly timed and directed his sprint for the ball off Bama’s punter’s foot and set the tone for the game early. The Dawgs would be the aggressors all night.
• Although Gunner started the game with unease in the pocket again, it was understandable based on the early hits he took. After the blocked punt, he seemed to find more confidence and played well. He missed a couple of open downfield throws in exchange for checkdowns, but he was pretty accurate, and nails on the called draws. I really don’t understand how he isn’t concussed every game. What a warrior.
• I said in my pregame note that I thought Bell and Thomas would be another key to the game since Branch would be bracketed by Bama. Womack did bracket Branch with success at times, but Branch (with some elite UGA perimeter blocking) got free anyway.
• That said, Bell had a whale of a game as a receiver and runner. His DGD status was attained long ago, but now he has a legacy game.
• Gunner’s scrambling opened up the middle of the field often for some nice slants and drag routes, although a TD to Taylor was batted down by Bama at one point. TEs got a few touches, but they were open quite a bit.
• ELEET edge setting by Q, Cole, and the DBs last night. So impressed. That and better QB pressure is all this defense needs to win another championship.
• Speaking of, how about Gabe Harris, Cole and Q with the vertical pass rush? Bart Simpson was rattled all night. Even though those guys only accounted for a half sack, it was Bama’s preoccupation with them that allowed JaCorey and Zayden to get their sacks.
• Ellis Robinson is finally dominating in big games. Look out, Buckeyes.
• Schumann dialed up some fun and new pressures that targeted Bart early in the play rather than the delayed pressures he used last time. We all knew Bart couldn’t repeat the crazy game he had last time, but these pressures were the main reason he buckled.
• Is “Miller and Overton” the new “Metchie and Williams?” Asking for a friend.
• Middle 8 was a push, partially due to some turtling at the end of the first half, but Kirby going for it on 4th and 1 at midfield also probably saved us from a Bama FG.
• Turnovers were critical, but they came in different ways. BART’s poor throw that was tipped by SECCG part-owner Daylen Everette was nice, but conventional. The blocked punt (which I consider a turnover) set up one score and DeBoer’s overly aggressive decision to go for it on 4th down in his own red zone gave the Dawgs another short field to finish off the Tide.
• I really hope what we saw out of Resean Dinkins is real so he can supplant Joenel Aguero at star. The slot guys for Bama were awfully quiet last night.
• Bolden had a weird game and that’s a few in a row. I’m wondering if he’s hurt. Schumann was passing off the crossing routes earlier to the safeties (since the LBs struggled in coverage the last game), which mostly worked. KJ was good in coverage but just didn’t tackle very well, which is unusual.
• Absolutely loved seeing RodRob healthy and getting a TD. Picked himself up from a turf monster trip and coasted into the end zone. Hold on to that ball longer though, son. 😬
• I thought Greene’s false start near the goal line was gonna be a killer, but a nifty play design/call from Bobo opened up Dillon Bell for a perfect throw from Gunner. After that series, I thought we had them.
• Demello had a rough night, as Bama targeted him quite a bit with success.
• The only obvious #bamarefs play was their TD, when their OL was 12 yards downfield blocking before the pass was released.
• CJ Allen with the tackle of the year on 3rd and 2 in the 4th quarter, and after DeBoer’s terrible decision to go for it on 4th, it was all over but the shouting.

You can’t say enough about the OL. Yes, LT Overton was out, but there’s no way him playing would have made that much of a difference. Bama’s DL was out-schemed, out-played, and out-manned by a Georgia group of THREE FRESHMEN that played out of their minds. With a vastly improved secondary, a deeper OL, a tough SOB at quarterback and an unguardable slot WR, where are the holes on this team? You really have to squint, don’t you? I don’t think anyone wants to play the Dawgs, and that includes the defending champs.

I’m trying to figure out which CFP game to book plans to attend, because work is conspiring against my Road Dawg tendencies. But I’ll admit, I did book a flight to Ft. Lauderdale already. Go Dawgs!