Well, here we go again.

Two weeks into the 2026 season and I’m prepared to make some incontrovertible, well-thought-out conclusions about 16 teams based on approximately 120 minutes of meaningful football.

What could possibly go wrong?

We have one legitimate heavyweight result in the books, a couple of teams that have looked really good against questionable competition, and several teams that I still have absolutely no idea what to make of.

Texas has the obvious marquee win, beating Ohio State 24-23 after looking not particularly scary for three quarters. LSU destroyed Clemson before sleepwalking through the first half against Louisiana Tech. Georgia has scored 133 points in two games. Texas A&M just put 48 on Arizona State. Alabama got a first half scare in Lexington. Tennessee extended Georgia Tech’s losing streak.

Then there’s Oklahoma, which lost to Michigan…in regulation no less.

I guess it’s time to rack ‘em and stack ‘em. I’ll get more dialed in as the season goes along…I promise.

1. Texas

I’ll hold my nose and do it.

I don’t think they’re going to stay here forever, but they had the stones to schedule a home and home with OSU and they did beat the #1 team in the country. Other than the 4^th quarter, it wasn’t particularly impressive, but let’s give them their flowers for the time being.

For now, they get the top spot.

2. LSU

I’m not going to make any more friends with this one.

To begin, I don’t think Clemson is good…at all. But, give credit to LSU for demolishing them in Week 1 because at least they are a P4 opponent who “should” have a pulse. The Louisiana Tech game left something to be desired if you’re an LSU fan, but they showed they can hit the on switch when needed.

We all know this could change this week with some appointment viewing television when Lane Kiffin returns to Ole Miss. Much like Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech, I’d like for neither team to win…but it’s going to be fun to watch.

3. Georgia

If you want to put Georgia higher, I can make the same argument and wouldn’t fight you. In terms of complete dominance, Georgia has convincingly looked the part…and that’s with second and third teamers playing most of the first two games.

The obvious disclaimer is competition level. Now we get Arkansas, a step up, but not a team that anyone could call elite at the moment.

If we make the Hogs look like a completely overmatched team on the road, it’s going to be hard for me to keep them at #3 based on a three week body of work.

4. Texas A&M

I guess we’ll put them at #4..

That Arizona State win looks better than on the scoreboard than reality…game was only 24-20 going into the 4^th quarter.

I never know what to do with these guys. They consistently fooled me last year, both good and bad. They’ve got plenty of talent, but like many other teams in the conference, I need to see a little more.

Let’s see if Kentucky can offer them any resistance.

5. Alabama

I don’t love putting Bama this low.

I hate to say it, but I think a lot of college football pundits are underestimating the Tide. They’ve still got a TON of talent when it comes to their blue chip ratio and while DeBoer may not be Saban, I don’t think he’s as bad as some would suggest.

That first half against Kentucky wasn’t their best look, but they rebounded and won very comfortably on the road in a conference game.

I’d love to believe they’re going back to pre-Saban years, but until I see it get to that level, I’m not going to poke the bear.

6. Ole Miss

I don’t know about these guys. We’ll quickly find out if Chambliss is as good as his 2025 version, or if Lane Kiffin is that damn good when it comes to quarterback development and coaching.

That Louisville game gave me plenty of reasons to think they’re not what they were last year, but it was also the first game of the season and a lot of improvement can be made. For now, #6 seems pretty fair.

Saturday will tell us a lot more about Ole Miss and what kind of team they have.

7. Tennessee

Beat up a Georgia Tech team that appears to be trending in the wrong direction. Freshman QB who looks the part, but hasn’t faced great opposition to this point.

A potential trap situation this week against Kennesaw State could be interesting if Tennessee is caught looking ahead to Texas in two weeks.

8. Florida

If Georgia hasn’t played anyone of note, then Florida definitely hasn’t played anyone of note.

Very curious to see how they perform at Auburn this weekend for a night kickoff. Auburn got a serious scare against Baylor before taking care of business against Southern Miss, but we all know that strange things can happen at night on the Plains.

Screw it…I’m gonna go ahead and call it…Gators are going down this weekend.

9. Missouri

I wasn’t a big believer in them last year and I don’t feel like starting now.

But, kudos to taking care of Kansas on the road and not letting the conference down.

10. Oklahoma

How could you do this to us?

Look at everything we’ve done for you guys. We bring you in, give you a nice conference home to play in, cut you in on revenue sharing, give you marquee matchups during conference play…and this is how you repay us?

11. South Carolina

How much do you really know after beating Kent State and Towson?

One word of caution, when South Carolina has zero expectations, they can be dangerous.

Would love for MSU to win this one and kill off any momentum South Carolina is trying to build because I don’t want them to have anything left to play for by the time we visit Columbia later in the year.

12. Mississippi State

Think I might be going a little too low for these guys?

Definitely have a chance to jump at least one spot after this weekend’s game.

QB looks like a legitimate star in the making and I like seeing Anthony Evans do well, even if it’s in a different uniform.

They’re looking at a brutal 6 game stretch ahead, do not envy their position right now.

13. Auburn

They’re 2-0 and have an opportunity to beat Florida this weekend.

The Baylor game did them no favors, about a half a foot from losing that one.

Gotta put ‘em somewhere.

14. Kentucky

You had me believing in that first half. You really did. I even sent a couple of texts out to a friend who is a Kentucky alumnus to let him know I was pulling for them.

Guess I jinxed the hell out of that…sorry Cameron.

15. Vanderbilt

Because Diego Pavia isn’t walking through that door anymore.

And I just heard Jared Curtis decommitted from us for the 16^th time.

16. Arkansas

You’ll always have WalMart.

Well…that escalated quickly. And with that, cupcake season is officially over.

I’m not sure what the appropriate emotional response is to scoring 60+ points in back-to-back games, but I’ll take it as a good thing. For the second straight week, the Dawgs were putting up PlayStation stats in the first half and eventually hung 70 on Western Kentucky.

We all know competition level has not been elite, but as many have pointed out in our Refugee community, we have played less than elite competition for several years now and seldom have we taken care of business looking this dominant/explosive (or whatever adjective fits your needs).

I don’t think we’re at the point of booking flights and hotel rooms for the CFP championship game yet, but we’ve looked as impressive as anyone else, no?

For now, I’m going to enjoy it.

Like last week, not going to go with traditional A-F letter grades because all we did was beat up a weakling, that’s all we did. The rest of this is just smoke-filled coffee house crap. We tortured and tormented a weaker team…(name that movie). On to the grades…

Quarterback: Put Gunner In Bubble Wrap

I know he hasn’t had to make Josh Allen level throws in these first two games, but I’m not sure we can ask a lot more out of Rabun County’s finest.

13-16 for 234 yards, 5 TD’s in basically a quarter and a half of football. Five different receivers caught those touchdown passes, and he left the game with Georgia up 42-0.

He took a couple of hits I didn’t love watching and made a decision or two resulting in incomplete passes when other receivers were open for big gains, but easy for me to say when I’m not seeing the field through his eyes. His deep ball to Dandridge was a little underthrown, but it almost “threw him more open” by the time he made the catch. Gunner also did a very nice job extending a couple plays with his feet and finding open receivers to keep drives going, great composure. Gunner’s played less than a full game’s worth of time in these first two contests and I’d sum it up as mistake free and incredibly efficient.

And what of Puglisi?

Well, he showed some wheels on a 70 yard TD run…didn’t have that one on my bingo card. I’ll admit that any time I see him throw the ball more than 15 yards over the middle of the field, I get little heart palpitations. He’s not afraid to take some chances, that’s for sure. His run that resulted in a fumble deep in our territory was a “learning opportunity” and I think his courage simply got the better of him.  

One thing that’s important to consider for any backup QB coming into a game that’s well in hand…they’re generally playing with a lot of second (and possibly third) teamers at all other positions. They’re not always going to be in sync the same way the starters will be. Not saying we could start him tomorrow and he’ll produce like Gunner does, but I can appreciate his situation as the backup where he wants to make some plays and they’re not always there to be had.  

Running Back: Still Very Much Bought In

I said it last week and I’ll repeat it…Nate Frazier is different this year. Statistically, he’s the most efficient runner in college football history right now (guessing). After 2 games he has 10 carries for 127 yards and 4 TD’s. Put the stats aside for a second…just put the eye test on him. He’s running different this year…he’s seeing the holes (of which there have been many), hitting them decisively, making people miss (that first run spin off the defender was special stuff) and finishing runs violently. Impossible to not love what we’ve seen from him this year.

Chauncey Bowens didn’t get much rushing production, but caught two passes for 45 yards, including a TD with the smoothest hurdle into the endzone I’ve ever seen…barely looked like he was trying. If he and Frazier can stay healthy this season, we have playmakers in the backfield.

My main man Dwight Lightning only had a couple of touches for 8 yards, so I can’t get on my soapbox this week…I know you’re all super disappointed.

Consider about half of our carries came from the combination of Nick Peal, Bo Walker and Jae Lamar…and we rushed for 234 yards on 35 carries (6.7 YPC)…not a bad day’s work.

Offensive Line: Not Hating What I’ve Seen

When the offense is scoring at will, running backs have holes to run through and Guner has time and throwing lanes, they’re doing their job in my eyes.

Again, they’ve been beating up on TSU and WKU, so too hard to judge because they’re manhandling these teams. Arkansas should give us a better idea of what this unit looks like…not that Arkansas is considered an elite SEC squad, but they are an SEC opponent we will play on the road.  

Why don’t we sum it up this way, after two games I don’t believe our offense is limited by our offensive line. I didn’t love watching Gunner take a couple of hits, so not a perfect outing…but still better than last year in my opinion. I reserve the right to change my opinion in future weeks. Our first teamers are helping to produce chunk plays in the running and passing game and we’re jumping on top of teams immediately.

Receivers (WR’s + TE’s): Who Wants To Score This Week?

Nearly all of the damage was done while Gunner was in the game, so that’s where I’ll put my judgment.

Sacovie took full advantage of his lone catch…grabbing a long slant in stride and took it 70 yards to the house. He showed some nice speed to outrace a few defenders. Loved the route, throw, catch and run on this one.

Craig Dandridge caught two balls for 56 yards, including the early 43 yarder. He continues to make me look smart and represent Milton, GA like the badass he is. I’m trying to figure out what makes him different. He’s got a really nice skillset when it comes to speed, quickness, hands, etc. But there’s a “slipperiness” to him that’s unusual to me. Maybe someone smarter than me can verbalize it better than I can.

Talyn Taylor had two catches and another touchdown. Start buying that stock now if you haven’t already. London Humphreys got into the end zone. Ethan Barbour caught his first career touchdown.

Not a whole lot more from the rest of the receiving group in terms of noteworthy performances, but we shut it down VERY early. No reason to show anything more than we had to after we built such a big early lead. We didn’t even target guys like Reddell and Prothro this week…wasn’t necessary.

What was of some concern in the offseason has not been a concern at all through these cupcake games. I’ll stay optimistic with a little caution until we see them matched up against more worthy competition.

Defensive Line: Doing Their Job

I’ll keep this short and sweet.

Defensive linemen are winning their battles, pushing the pocket, taking time away from the QB and creating opportunities for linebackers to do their job.

Gabe Harris continues to stand out when he’s on the field. Nice to see Elijah Griffin record a couple of tackles this week. I don’t know if Jordan Hall is “fully back” from his injury last year, but he continues to show up with another couple of tackles.

We’ve been able to get a lot of different guys reps in these first two games, so that’s always a plus and we should have a fresh squad going into SEC play.

Most of WKU’s production came against backups and their backup QB was responsible for more than half of their rushing yardage. Not too worried.  

Linebackers: Not Worried At All

It’s too hard to use statistics as a judgment here because guys like Raylen Wilson didn’t even record a tackle, and I think we’d all agree he’s not a bad football player.

Guys like AJ Kruah, Nick Abrams and Terrell Foster were leading tacklers…and those are all second and/or third teamers.

Chris Cole looks like a guided missile and once he’s needed on the field for a majority of snaps, he looks like a guy who could win the Butkus award. I don’t know if the total production will be there, but he can impact the game in so many ways…great against the run, can cover and might be our best pass rusher on obvious passing downs.

Still very high on Justin Williams, it’s going to show once we need him on the field in closer games.

We didn’t even get to see Zayden Walker record any statistics, so there’s that to consider.

So many weapons.

Defensive Backs: Loaded

Let’s enjoy this while we can.

Ellis Robinson still looks the part of a lockdown corner. I know there was a pass or two thrown his way that was completed, or should have been completed. But he nearly had a pick on a ball he played perfectly and laid a nice hit on a receiver to jar the ball loose on what should have been a completion. This will almost certainly be his last year in Athens.

KJ Bolden is unmistakably elite. He has incredible instincts, closing speed and tackling ability. This will almost certainly be his last year in Athens.

Demello Jones has gotten better and made a beautiful interception that nearly turned into a pick 6. I don’t know that we’ll lose him after this year, but he will one day be playing in the NFL.

How about Blake Stewart being Johnny On The Spot with the interception of the batted pass? The ensuing run/fumble pickup by Green, fumbled around by Green, recovery by Green for a touchdown was a fun little sequence.

Let’s sum up…WKU did very little in the passing game, we created some turnovers via interceptions and many of our starting players will be playing on Sundays in the future. Arrow up.

Special Teams: Mostly Great

Peyton Woodring was perfect on all ten extra points.

Drew Miller averaged 46 yards on four punts, including a 57-yarder.

Sacovie had a couple of solid punt returns.

AJ Kruah caused a fumble on the opening kickoff that the Dawgs recovered and quickly turned into points.

Oh yeah, Tyriq Green took a kickoff 91 yards to the house…so not bad. Last kickoff returned for a TD was in 2016 according to my mental rolodex (and some help from Google).

On the negative, Roldan’s punt return attempt was mishandled leading to a fumble and turnover…think he saw a lot of green grass in front of him and started running before he secured the catch.

Tyriq Green got injured on a return that wasn’t necessary. Rumor is a high ankle sprain and not expected to miss extensive time.

Certainly like the good more than I don’t like the bad, and the bad can definitely be cleaned up.

Offensive Coaching: Let’s Give Bobo Some Credit To Start The Season

We scored 70 points.

We scored touchdowns on our first seven possessions.

Four of those touchdown drives took less than a minute.

We had 493 yards of offense with most of that coming in one half of play.

Gunner threw five touchdown passes.

Twelve different players caught passes.

And we did all of that while pulling the starters in less than a half of play.

It’s tough for me to complain about anything when we score 70 points.

I couldn’t tell anyone if Mike Bobo is the greatest OC ever. I certainly wouldn’t call him the worst. He’s put together his fair share of great offenses (I think 2014 is still the most productive offense UGA has ever had statistically). I’ll admit, I’ve scratched my head at some of the play calls in certain situations in the past…because I’m a football fan and that’s just what we do. What I have loved thus far after two games…we are jumping all over teams immediately and putting inferior teams away in emphatic fashion.

We have not always done this against cupcakes and it’s a welcome change.

Defensive Coaching: Seek And Destroy

Our first team defense (and even most of the second team defense) has looked frighteningly fast, physical sharp.

Good luck running the ball conventionally against this group. Good luck taking your chances through the air if this defense forces you to be one dimensional…not sure if you’ve heard, but our secondary situation is promising.

My biggest concern would be facing a very athletic QB who can extend plays with his feet…because that can be kryptonite for even great defenses. Aside from that, it seems we have great to outstanding players at every level when it comes to our starters.

I’m not too worried about the first half touchdown we gave up and definitely not worried about the 14 points we gave up in the 4^th quarter against our 3^rd and 4^th team guys.

Let’s see how we come out of the gate against Arkansas next week. If we can keep them from moving the ball, or force them to make phenomenal individual efforts to move the ball, that’s another proof point that we’re in better shape than we were last year.

White Uniforms: I Admit…They Looked Great

I’m a traditionalist like many others in the Refugee community. I love the red helmet, red jerseys and silver britches. That said, if we’re going to do the occasional one off uniform change, I think these were damn sharp. We had all seen sneak previews of these a million times, but seeing them in action…I didn’t hate it.

When we do the alternate uniforms right, they can look great. Black jerseys with the red helmet and silver britches is a sharp look in my opinion. I liked the red pants, red helmet and white jerseys combination for the 2020 Arkansas game.

Where we have gotten it wrong…1998 Outback Bowl with the black pants and white jerseys, not a fan. 1998 Florida game with the black pants and red jerseys, even worse. 2009 Florida game with whatever the hell that was, revolting. The Power Ranger costumes for the 2011 kickoff against Boise State, awful.

I’m not saying I want to do any kind of alternate uniform frequently, hell, I don’t care if we ever do them again. But, if/when we’re going to do some alternate combinations, keep it simple and clean like we saw on Saturday.   

Go Dawgs!

Welcome back to college football Refugee community! As openers go, not the greatest test we’ll ever face, and that’s being polite. You can’t fault TSU for wanting a paycheck game to start the season, and you can’t fault the Dawgs for the entire depth chart playing hard. I get this was a mismatch of epic proportions, but is it alright if I get a little bit excited about what I saw? We’ve been favored by enormous spreads in the past and didn’t execute on that kind of level. All that said, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to give traditional A-F grades for a game where one team is overwhelmingly superior in every aspect, so we’ll use a slightly different grading system for this week. On to the grades…

Quarterback: Feeling Great If Gunner Stays Healthy

• Gunner looked like a guy who was perfectly comfortable running the offense. Brutally efficient from a statistical perspective and the timing on plays looked very sharp. His one incompletion was an accurate ball that was well defended, but he missed an uncovered Dandridge crossing over the middle that would have been a big gain…nitpicking. Puglisi didn’t light the world on fire with his first few throws, but it didn’t help that Barbour dropped one right in his mitts…really doesn’t help when a backup QB could use a shot of confidence. He got better and the stat line wasn’t anything to be ashamed of, but I wasn’t ready to celebrate the throw to Tyler Williams…amazing grab by Williams, but not the best decision to throw into triple coverage. I like Montgomery and he did well in limited time, very nice deep ball to Bell for six…might just be me, but feels like Montgomery has a nice poise about him when he plays. Same story for Millender, limited time, but respectable play.            

Running Back: I’m Bought In

• Nate Frazier had 4 carries for 72 yards and 3 TD’s…that’s absurd as stats are concerned. More importantly, he looked super decisive when he saw the big holes to run through and got upfield…think he’s had some cases of “happy feet” in his first two seasons. Loved that he saw the hole and hit the gas. Chauncey Bowens looked nice in that #5 with a couple of big gains in the running and passing game. My personal player crush, Dwight Lightning, did a solid job on his three carries, same with Bo Walker and Jae Lamar. Tons of depth, lots of versatility and great production on Saturday. I think our backfield is absolutely good enough to be an asset for a team with championship aspirations.      

Offensive Line: Better Than Last Year

• The grade isn’t to say they didn’t dominate on Saturday…I actually felt a little sorry for TSU in that first quarter. TSU was getting overwhelmed and destroyed on every snap. Impressive debut for Helton, Bobo didn’t appear to have any ring rust, Gaston is still an enormous human being, Greene and Glover looked great as well. Here’s what’s most promising from my point of view…we’ve played a number of teams where the talent disparity on the lines was stark, but we didn’t look nearly as dominant as we did on Saturday. We’ve had several games where we weren’t getting that same kind of push, dominance or level of pass protection we had on Saturday. I’m sure Kirby would be able to find some things I’m not smart enough to see, but we finished the day averaging 10.1 YPC and that was with three quarters of backups and going DEEP into the depth chart. If we’re going to be a run first team with some play action deep shots, this is the group we need to perform and I’m more bullish on this unit than I was on the 2025 unit.

Receivers (WR’s + TE’s): What Were We So Worried About?

• Where to begin? The Reddell offseason hype does not look oversold…I don’t want to say it, don’t let me do it, it’s not fair to anyone…but admit it, some of those efforts when he had the ball in his hands looked a lot like a certain #19. Elyiss Williams is a freak of nature, but we already knew that. Prothro looks like another lab experiment gone right. We know what we have with Luckie even if he didn’t get targeted. Loved everything I saw from Talyn Taylor and hope we continue to target him in the passing game, as well as reverse opportunities. We didn’t get to see too much of him last year due to injury, but he’s got some jets and a really unique ability to cut without losing a lot of speed…Hardman was unique that way as well. Loved what I saw out of Craig Dandridge on the two balls thrown his way…making me look a little smarter as my breakout offensive player pick. Sacovie looks like he has taken the next step and ready to emerge as a productive player. Tyler Williams had the catch of the day on a ball that should have never been thrown, so good on him. Jeremy Bell gets the send ‘em home happy award…who couldn’t be happy for that guy with what he’s been through. Tons of production all the way through the depth chart and the only thing to be critical of was the Barbour drop…better to happen in this game than a conference game. Competition level will ramp up the next two weeks before the big showdown with Oklahoma, so this group will have plenty of opportunities to gain confidence and reps before our first major challenge.       

Defensive Line: So Far, So Good

• Similar to the OL, I didn’t see anything I didn’t like. They completely dominated an overmatched opponent. Not a game where the DL was lighting up the stat sheet, but they were doing their job and creating opportunities for 3 sacks and 7 TFL’s. Tons of guys saw the field and that’s never a bad thing. Only nitpick was JJA picking up 2 personal fouls for hands to the face…same as earlier, would rather it happen in a 60 point win than a close conference game. We’ll learn more in the next couple of weeks.

Linebackers: So Much Quality Depth           

• If our TE room isn’t the best unit on the team, then it’s this group. Justin Williams, Raylen Wilson, Chris Cole and Zayden Walker…every one of them was a 5 star talent coming out of high school, all look scary athletic and fast on the field. PJ Dean looked fantastic in his first action, as did Khamari Brooks. Gabe Harris nearly killed TSU’s QB in the first quarter and looks to be 100% following an unfortunate late season injury last year. Ikinnagbon chipped in with a couple of tackles, while Quintavious Johnson was quiet and Linton didn’t play due to an injury. We definitely saw a pass rush yesterday, but not going to check that box as “solved” until we see it against meaningful competition. I’m cautiously optimistic.   

Defensive Backs: Probably Very Good

• Can anyone honestly say they know based on this game? TSU had 99 yards on 15 receptions. I don’t think the starters played more than a quarter, if that. I liked what I saw from Kyron Jones, dude looks like a guy who is willing to risk his body on any play to make a big hit. Bolden laid a monster hit on a TSU receiver after one of their more successful passing plays. No opportunity to hear anything from Ellis Robinson, which could be a consistent theme all year…try him if you dare. Demello should be a year better. Khalil was one of the few portal guys we invested in. This is a group we should have a lot of confidence in based on talent and experience, but too hard to say how great they might be based on an incredibly small sample size.     

Special Teams: Not A Great Start

• That first field goal attempt was pretty much a disaster…twice. Two guys with the same number to negate a made field goal, then a dropped snap on the second attempt. Sacovie showed he can be a great punt returner even if he let one bounce and roll. Dandridge also looks like a great option if needed. Drew Miller looks like he has plenty of leg strength to be a capable successor to everyone’s favorite Aussie. I’m not going to jump off ledges about some of the miscues. Our special teams play has been great to outstanding for most of Smart’s tenure, so I’m guessing this game will be the exception and not the rule.

Offensive Coaching: We Kicked Their A** Didn’t We?

• I can’t say anything negative after we put up 28 points in less than a quarter. We continued to score at will with guys who might not see the field the rest of the year. Execution looked very good from my point of view and we didn’t need to resort to anything tricky to keep drives alive. Loved that we were getting chunk plays on first and second down for much of the game. Most of all, I loved that we were getting the ball to playmakers like Taylor, Reddell, Elyiss, Frazier, etc. More to come…      

Defensive Coaching: We Kicked Their A** Didn’t We?

• Yes, we probably should have shut them out, but who really cares? The defense looked super fast, tackled well and played WAY into the depth chart. They gave up all of 109 yards and most of those came against backups. Much like all of these sections, let’s see what we get next week and the week after before we make any grand declarations.

Week One Games: We Used To Have It So Good

• It’s a shame that the supposed best game of Week One was supposed to be LSU vs. Clemson, and it clearly wasn’t a good game. Ole Miss vs. Louisville was fun, so good on them for scheduling that one. But, it’s a shame that we’re no longer getting some of those incredible non-conference matchups that Week One was so famous for prior to the 57 game season and advent of the 12 team playoff. Is what it is I guess.

Another tune-up before we get into conference play. Have a great week Refugees!

It’s been too long of an offseason and only a little over a week remains until the Dawgs tee it up to start the season. Plenty of content out there about our 2026 team, how we stack up against college football’s elite, projected win/loss record, how Lane Kiffin impossibly became even more dislikable over the offseason, etc. I don’t have anything unique to add in those arenas. But, I do have some thoughts on what I’d like to see, maybe some things I’d rather not see, and a warm/hot take or two for Georgia’s 2026 season. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts.

1. More Dwight Phillips. He’s the fastest guy on the team and has shown some big play promise. I get it, he’s not a huge guy and isn’t going to remind anyone of Earl Campbell. I’m not asking for him to play the Josh McCray role from last season and I’m not asking for 15+ touches a game. I just want us to scheme some ways to get him the ball with a little space to work with. Maybe 4-5 touches a game in non-garbage time moments?

2. Could we ease up on the 3^rd and long WR screens a little bit? I know, I know…Branch was a unique talent and he averaged over 7 yards per reception on WR screens last year. He even broke a couple for really big gains and/or touchdowns. But, we also killed more than a couple drives when we telegraphed WR screens and/or got holding penalties on the outside. If we’re using the WR screen on early downs and getting 7+ yards to get us in favorable down and distance, you won’t hear a complaint out of me. But, running an essentially announced WR screen on 3^rd and 12…not a fan.

3. Wouldn’t it be cool to see our TE’s catch more passes? Todd Hartley has put together the deepest TE room in the history of college football (hyperbole?) with a blend of size, speed and skills. It would seem criminal to finish any game where the TE group has 2-3 receptions for 20 yards. Surely we can create some mismatches with this group and take advantage of this crazy deep situation.

4. Can we do something about the slow starts on defense? It definitely got better towards the end of the year, but DAMN…those games against Tennessee, Bama and Ole Miss gave me some stomach ulcers. We’ve got some great defensive personnel, playing experience and coaching stability…surely this won’t happen again, right?

5. Get to the quarterback. I’m not talking about just sacks (although more would be nice). If we can at least get consistent pressure (especially on obvious passing downs), mess up the timing of plays, force incompletions and get off the field on third down, that’s good enough for me. I don’t want to have any more sleepless nights thinking of Trinidad Chambliss playing sandlot football in the Sugar Bowl. Maybe Chris Cole turns into Jalon Walker? Loved what I saw out of Zayden Walker to close the season, is he one of the answers? Will Elijah Griffin be the catalyst to get more pressure? Harris and Johnson should only be better. We’ve got some guys like Linton, Ikinnagbon and Gibson entering their second year…at least one of them can help the cause, right? My point being…we don’t lack talent to get this done. It needs to happen.

6. Use the whole field on offense. We have a quarterback entering his 5^th year in the program. We almost certainly have the best TE room in the country (see #3). Humphreys has shown his receiving versatility, we went to the portal and landed a proven commodity in Canion, Sacovie is in his 3^rd year, Talyn Taylor was a borderline 5-star talent, CJ Wiley and Craig Dandridge were both top 20 WR recruits. I don’t see any reason we shouldn’t be able to competently throw and complete passes somewhere other than the sidelines. Last I checked, a football field is 53.3 yards wide, but we tend to focus on that space 10 yards inside of each sideline. Hell, I’d be thrilled to see us target receivers running more than 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. If we get a nasty case of the “dropsies” or our receivers prove they can’t get separation, I’ll (un)happily admit I’m wrong.

7. Who is going to be the player that has “been killing it in the offseason” that will not meet impossibly high expectations. This could be called the Carlton Thomas award. Note: This does not mean I think someone is a bad player. I’m going with Talyn Taylor on offense. It’s not because Taylor isn’t a supremely talented dude, or I have a low opinion of him. I think he is likely the best wide receiver on the team. I just don’t think he’ll get the targets for one reason or another. On defense…I’ll go with Elijah Griffin. He’s a total dude and I think he’s going to be great…but I think a lot of people are expecting a Jalen Carter level of play and that’s unicorn stuff. I’ve been wrong many times before. I definitely don’t want to be right on either of these takes.

8. Who will be the player who produces more than expected? Maybe this could be called the Donald Glover award. Can’t say Zykie Helton because he’s already appeared to crack the OL starting lineup. I’ll take a guess with Craig Dandridge. I know he’s made some noise in the offseason and had a lot of targets at G-Day, but I think he still qualifies. It’s tough for freshmen WR’s to get a lot of opportunities, but I think Dandridge will earn some snaps and make some meaningful plays…also biased because Dandridge attended Cambridge High School, where both of my boys go currently. On defense, I’ll go with Tyriq Green. He’s a total Kirby “football player” guy…played for a great HS program, played at a high level on offense, defense, special teams…think he’s got an opportunity to make an impact.

9. When the throat is exposed, step on it. I can’t say this was a recurring theme last year because we played in a LOT of tight games. But, flashbacks to the Tennessee game continue to haunt me. We had two very good opportunities in the second half to extend a lead, kill their spirit and we did very little with either of them. I love a good run heavy, soul crushing drive as much as the next guy…but I’ll take points however we can get them when those opportunities arise. Instead, we got all of 3 points on those 2 drives (if memory serves me correct), Tennessee hits on a deep touchdown pass on their next drive, we’re back in a dogfight, and needed a huge play combined with a small miracle to get the win.

10. Keep Gunner healthy. I’m on record as saying Gunner is the toughest QB in the nation…that’s CFB and the NFL. Some of the hits that guy took last year and was able to still get up, play the next down and lead the team was otherworldly. I don’t want to take his legs out of the game because he’s great on keepers and can move the chains on broken plays. That’s a big part of his differentiation and value. I just want to keep the guy in one piece for the entire season because it sounds like the backup QB situation is…unsettled? I don’t know how any of this looks in a game situation, but I trust coaches will make sure Gunner is keenly aware of the risk/reward scenario when it comes to potentially big hits.

11. Bonus Take – Ellis Robinson wins the Thorpe award. Towards the end of the year, he began to turn into the lockdown CB many of us envisioned. Think he’ll take home some hardware at the end of the year and be a first rounder.

Would love to hear what all of you would like to see (or not see) this season and some of your warm/hot takes for this 2026 team. Looking forward to Week 1 and being back in touch with the GTP Refugee community.

Well…that sure sucked a lot. Count me among the Dawg fans convinced we were peaking at the right time and ready to make a deep run in the CFP. Going into the game, my high level assumption was we beat Ole Miss earlier in the year and our defense has improved considerably since that game…ipso facto, Dawgs win. Glad I don’t wager on Dawgs football. Let’s get this depressing exercise over with. On to the grades…

Quarterback: B

• I thought about going lower on this grade, but settled here. I don’t know if the 4 batted balls (what I counted anyway) are all on Gunner, but it seems there is a high correlation of batted balls and Gunner throwing them. There were a couple of important downs where Gunner could/should have kept it on the read option where there was a lot of room for him to run, but he gave to a RB who got smothered. In our last three games, Gunner has been very quick to tuck and run after a quick read. I don’t know if all receivers are covered in those situations, but as fast as the decision is being made, I’m guessing he’s taking off when the first option isn’t open. If he’s picking up 5-7 yards on those plays, no problem on my end…but that was not the case in this game. Why didn’t I go lower on this grade? Because Gunner made a couple of big plays that eventually resulted in scoring drives, and he took some MASSIVE hits in the process. It’s almost becoming cliché, but Gunner Stockton might be the toughest football player in America. Paul Blake took less punishment against the Texas Colts than Gunner took in the Sugar Bowl. For whatever shortcomings Gunner may have, we never have to worry about his desire and will to win. I need to keep reminding myself that this was his first year as a starter…he’s not supposed to be a perfect, finished product at this point. Playing behind an inconsistent OL (I think that’s fair to say), he still finished 7^th in the Heisman race, showed up huge in some clutch moments all season, and brought home 12 wins and an SEC Championship. If we see some improvement from Gunner in the downfield passing game next year, the offense should go to another level.            

Running Back: B

• Nate Frazier came to play and was abusing the Ole Miss defense in the running game as well as passing game, especially in the first half. He finished the season as the clear #1 RB, just short of 1000 yards rushing and a very solid 5.5 YPC. Cash Jones showed up big on his 4 touches in the game…happy he was able to finish his UGA career with a nice performance. Chauncey Bowens didn’t have a lot of room to run on his carries, so not a lot of production. His late season injury seemed to change the direction of his season. Here’s to hoping he can get back to 100% and return to his 2025 mid-season form. Josh McCray wasn’t able to make an impression on the game with a couple of carries for -3 yards on the evening. Just one man’s opinion, I don’t think our coaches knew how they wanted to use McCray. I was puzzled when McCray would get in before Bowens on a couple of occasions. He looked to be pigeon holed into the “short yardage” guy earlier in the season, but he broke a couple of important runs (Auburn game comes to mind) and showed a little versatility. I don’t want to call it a wasted season for McCray, but I doubt he transferred in to amass 135 rushing yards in total. I’ll give him this, he finished off Tennessee and converted a huge 4^th down against Ole Miss in the regular season to keep hope alive in that game. No Dwight Phillips sightings, which just makes me sad.      

Offensive Line – C-

• The OL did not pick a great game to play some of their worst ball. Ole Miss sacked Gunner twice and totaled 9 TFL’s on the evening. Let’s not forget, the Ole Miss defense was not exactly the strength of their team this season. We reverted back to our slow starting ways before the OL looked dominant on our first TD drive…Frazier had holes to run through and I thought we’d be in for a fun evening at that point. Our follow up TD drive didn’t really feel very OL dominant…just a couple of great individual efforts from Branch, Jones, Frazier. After 14-12 with about 4 minutes remaining in the first half, the running game was effectively shut down and we couldn’t move the ball at all until midway through the 4^th quarter after going down 34-24. Maybe Ole Miss deserves some credit for an improving DL and/or out scheming our OL…it’s certainly possible. Playing without Drew Bobo wasn’t good for the cause (and he probably doesn’t snap the ball on that 4^th and 2) and maybe the 26 day layoff hurt some continuity. There are more than enough maybe’s and if’s to go around, but outside of a couple of drives, the OL got outplayed by their counterparts and was the biggest reason we continued to put ourselves in 3^rd and long situations to kill drive opportunities.     

Receivers (WR’s + TE’s) – B

• Another classic example of having a small sample to work with for this game. Only 3 WR’s caught passes and 2 TE’s caught passes…so not a lot to work with. Branch did what we’ve come to expect and was solely responsible for keeping our second TD drive alive by slipping a sure tackle around the LOS and turning it into a big gain on 3^rd and long. He also caught the 4^th quarter TD to get us back in the game. On behalf of the rest of Dawg Nation, list whatever demands you may require and please come back in 2026. Colbie Young picked right up where he left off making an insane grab after a long injury layoff. Delp opened the game with a nice catch and run, which turned out to be the last reception of his UGA career…hope he gets a good opportunity to play on Sundays because he’s been a DGD. Lawson converted the fake punt catch and did a great job securing the ball before getting tackled immediately after he turned his head upfield…it’s the little things. Landon Roldan delivered the ball on the money to Lawson, so want to give him credit for perfect execution. Dillon Bell was quiet all game, same with Noah Thomas, London Humphreys and Elyiss Williams. No drops that I can remember and receivers did a good job with the opportunities provided.     

Defensive Line – B

• This group was coming off their best performance of the year against Alabama. Unfortunately, they were not able to sustain that same level against Ole Miss. Christen Miller was able to deliver a TFL and Griffin was credited with the forced fumble that was returned for a touchdown (I really thought that would kill the Ole Miss spirit). Lacy was a little more productive than I would have preferred and he was able to hit the edge on a couple of runs for big gains that moved the sticks (Officials missed the hold on his TD run). I hate that Gabe Harris wasn’t able to go after his super disruptive performance against the Tide…feel like he could have made an impact, but JJA looks like a player on the rise that will be counted on in 2026. The stop on the Ole Miss 4^th down attempt was huge, but the offense didn’t do enough with it. As stated in previous columns this season, our defense generally goes as far as this unit will allow. I don’t think the DL played as poorly as their 37 offensive points would suggest, but missed some opportunities to kill Ole Miss drives…and a lot of credit to Chambliss for making some positively ridiculous plays in those situations. I think this is a unit to buy some stock in for 2026…lots of talent to work with even with Miller departing for the NFL draft.

Linebackers – B         

• Are you sensing a theme here with the grades? This wasn’t their best performance of the year, but similar to the defensive line, not as bad as 37 offensive points allowed would indicate. The usual 3 suspects (Allen, Cole, Wilson) all chipped in and made plays. Justin Williams has all the potential in the world once he sees the field more, but only 12 snaps in the Sugar Bowl to record a single tackle. Quintavious Johnson recorded 2 batted passes, continuing his great play in the second half of the season. How about Elo Modozie getting 19 snaps and chipping in with a few tackles…surely didn’t meet the production levels many expected of him this season, but he does have another year assuming he sticks around. For the second time against Ole Miss, Georgia did not record any sacks on Chambliss. Many Georgia blitzes were picked up well by the Ole Miss OL, and the ones they could not pick up, Chambliss was able to escape and/or pull off a couple of miracle plays reminiscent of Patrick Mahomes…thought Sean McDonough was going to require a change of pants on a couple of those plays…this was the same level glazing Gary Danielson gave Tim Tebow back in the day.  

Defensive Backs – B-

• Some might want to go harder on these guys and I wouldn’t argue the point. I guess my thought is a lot of the explosives were a result of Chambliss doing a great job of scrambling and extending a play, or throwing a perfect ball when coverage was good. The most damaging play of the night was obviously Demello getting beat for the 40 yarder that set up the game winning field goal. It’s easy for me to armchair that play, but we had an opportunity to get off the field, maybe get a big punt return, hit a play or two and go for a game winning field goal ourselves. I would not have guessed they would be so ballsy to throw downfield in that situation, and Chambliss put it right on the money. Hate it for Demello, but brighter days ahead for him. Ellis gave up a big explosive, but remember it being a bit of a scramble drill…other than that, think he looks like an All American player in 2026. Everette had an up and down day…gave up some big plays in coverage, missed an opportunity to get Chambliss for a huge sack, but also had a couple of PBU’s, 9 tackles and returned the forced fumble for a touchdown…he does have a knack for making impact plays in big games. KJ Bolden took home honors for most tackles with 10 and added a PBU to his stat sheet…could have sworn he separated his shoulder on that hit, but he returned to the game shortly afterward. Jacorey Thomas received the targeting ejection and I guess by letter of the law that was warranted, but I don’t know what a Safety is supposed to do when he’s leading with his shoulder and the player’s head drops to the legal strike zone area so quickly. Sure it looks bad when you play it in slow motion, but that’s happening in less than a second for Thomas and his job is to bring the receiver down. Zion Branch delivered a huge hit to break up a pass, unfortunately Chambliss hit Stribling on the very next play. I’ll stick with the theme, not as bad as the score suggests…giving a lot of credit to Chambliss for making spectacular plays.

Special Teams – B+

• Thorpedo had 4 punts for 154 yards and no returns…going to miss the Aussie. The fake punt was beautifully designed and executed. Woodring didn’t have any kicks returned, went 2/3 on FG attempts…yes, it would have been awfully nice to hit that 55 yarder, but not the easiest kick in the world. Branch returned a couple of punts for some positive yardage to help field position. I could be talked into an A- if needed, but the missed 55 yarder had a direct effect on the outcome going to the bad guys. Woodring has the leg to make that kick, just hit it a little fat.

Offensive Coaching – C

• I could go on a long-winded rant when it comes to the offensive coaching in this game. Bobo and his charges delivered 27 offensive points…not too bad for a playoff game.  But, I’d argue the devil is in the details. We started slow on offense, we had three different series that resulted in three and out, had to rely on a successful fake punt to generate a FG, needed a highly unlikely tackle break from Branch to keep a TD drive going, etc. We had a great opportunity to deflate Ole Miss with some points on the board to end the 1st half and didn’t do jack shit with it. We got the ball to start the 2^nd half and didn’t do jack shit with it. Other than a couple of drives, it looked like we had a very difficult time moving the ball for large stretches of this game. Two more thoughts on this…is it me, or does it feel like so many of our passing plays are super slow developing? Do we not have anything in that 5-7 yard range (not talking about WR screens) to put us in makable 3^rd down situations? Asking for a friend. And lastly, I have a theory on Bobo. Like any OC, Bobo puts together some sort of game plan for every game and I’m sure his DC counterpart on the other side is making assumptions on what Bobo will be doing. If the opposing DC makes incorrect assumptions, Bobo looks pretty good. When the opposing DC makes correct assumptions and is defending our game plan well, it doesn’t look like Bobo has a “Plan B”…we just continue to work “Plan A” and hope we can out talent the other side. Again, I’m not a Bobo hater nor apologist, but our YPP went from 5^th in the country in 2023 (Monken was 4^th in 2022) to 50^th and 71^st the past two years. Our plays of 20+ yards went from 6^th in the country in 2023 (Monken was 1st in 2022) to 29^th and 52^nd the past two years. Just some things to consider.

Defensive Coaching – B

• Could we have played better? Of course. I’d say the defense played well in the first half by holding Ole Miss to long FG’s and the one touchdown. We had Ole Miss all but stopped on three occasions on their go ahead touchdown drive, but Chambliss went video game on us. We gave them a super short field on their final touchdown when we botched whatever we were doing on 4^th and 2. From what I could see, the defense was playing aggressive, they were playing with effort and they were making some plays. I think we lost because the coaches put the defense in a couple of bad positions and Ole Miss simply made some great plays in big moments. I wasn’t near as frustrated with our defense in this game compared to the first Ole Miss contest when they had all day to throw and we were playing super soft coverage…that was infuriating. I’ll repeat an earlier point…the 26 day layoff probably did this unit no favors in terms of maintaining a lot of their momentum to finish the regular season.   

Sean McDonough – F+

• Could you have at least tried to act like you weren’t cheering for Ole Miss. I get that Chambliss was making some incredible plays, but was the screaming and celebrating in the booth that necessary? Officials in Cameron Indoor Stadium have shown less bias than Sean McDonough calling this year’s Sugar Bowl.           

Not the ending any of us wanted, but my thoughts on the season in totality. I think Gunner outplayed expectations of most media pundits (looking at you Finebaum). No clue where our season would have gone without the addition of Branch. Great to see the defense show big gains from the start of the season to finish. The OL was a box of chocolates all season. Overall, just really inconsistent from week to week…not a lot of complete games where both offense and defense played great at the same time. If you look at the makeup of our roster and how young we were as a team with contributing players, would you say we overachieved, underachieved or met expectations? I’m somewhere in between met expectations and overachieved. As a team, we escaped some close calls on more than a few occasions…needed a missed FG to escape Tennessee, came up with a miracle play on the goal line at Auburn to turn the momentum of that game, the Josh McCray second effort run (when he looked to be stopped cold) to keep us in the Ole Miss regular season game, and got a 4^th down stop against the Gators when we were down in the 4^th quarter. It’s almost improbable we didn’t slip up in at least one of those four games. It’s hard to cheat death that many times in a season and not get killed…death finally came to collect in the Sugar Bowl.   

Fun season and looking forward to a big 2026! Go Dawgs!           

Yep, that was full release. A couple of weeks ago I said I wanted another shot at Bama in the SECCG. I admit, it did seem unnecessary and a little naïve considering we had exactly 2 wins against Bama in 20 years. But, I’m beyond glad I got my wish. Beating teams like LSU and Texas to win the SEC Championship felt great, but this was on another level…and to do it in such an overwhelming and decisive manner made it feel euphoric. To make matters even better, I think we had more upside (on offense anyway). On to the grades…

Quarterback: A-

• Great rebound game for Rabun County’s finest. How should we characterize Gunner’s performance…extremely efficient? 20-26 for 156 and 3 TD’s, no INT’s…rushed for another 39 yards on 13 carries. The statistics aren’t going to remind anyone of Joe Burrow’s 2019 season, but the stats don’t tell the whole story of his game IMO. I’d venture to say Kirby and company assessed Alabama’s most recent offensive performances and felt pretty confident in our defense’s ability to stop/limit them. If that was the logic, no reason to ask Gunner to push the ball downfield and play too much high risk, high reward football. It was going to be a run first approach, with conservative passing plays, where check downs are your friend. Gunner did a great job picking up a couple of drive extending first downs, or creating better down and distance situations with his feet…love how he always dives forward to get those extra 2 to 3 yards instead of sliding…those yards make a difference. I’m not trying to throw shade at Carson Beck when I say this, but Gunner’s ability and willingness to run and pick up some tough yards when things break down are the biggest difference in QB play compared to last year. If Beck is playing QB in some of those situations, maybe drives stall and we have to settle for FG’s or punt more. The TD throw to Bell was a bullet and nice ball to Luckie to get us inside the 10 on a scoring drive. Gunner did exactly what he was asked to do and did it well…first UGA QB to defeat Alabama in the SECCG.      

Running Back: B+

• We knew how tough Gunner was, but Nate Frazier deserves every bit as much appreciation in the toughness category. Gunner threw a couple of balls that put Nate in a position where he might take a big shot, and damn if he didn’t. For a minute there, I thought Gunner must have caught Nate pissing on Gunner’s 1984 F-150 earlier this week. Regardless, Nate kept coming all game and was willing to run into the teeth of some stacked lines and fight for every yard. Awesome to see him get a touchdown going untouched to increase the lead to 21-0. He’s a very easy player to love. McCray picked up a very important 4^th and short, so nice contribution in his limited carries. How about Robinson catching our first TD pass…playing as a fullback no less. Chauncey didn’t have a ton of reps, but he made his last one count with a 19 yarder to ensure Bama wasn’t getting the ball back to put up a trash touchdown to make the game look closer than it was…word is he’s going to be fine after leaving the field hurt. Cash Jones caught a couple of balls for 21 yards…pretty typical line for him this year. Not an overwhelming statistical day from this group (41 for 141 and 1 TD), but effective enough and generally came through on the most important downs.

Offensive Line – B+

• I don’t think we can call it a dominant performance when you look at our total offensive production, but there’s something to be said for the production we achieved when we all but announced our game plan was to emphasize a physical running game. Not to mention, we started a RS Freshman at Center who probably had less than 75 snaps in his career. So I’m grading this on a bit of a curve…sue me. I’m sure Alabama fans will tell you LT Overton’s absence would have made a huge difference and our OL would have been more exposed…but, DILLIGAS (you figure out the acronym)? We just trotted out 3 freshmen OL to start the SECCG and won 28-7. Much like the RB’s, they showed up big after the punt block, and Everette’s interception, helped us go 2/2 in 4^th down situations and were the more physical team. Screw it…these guys deserve an A.  

Receivers (WR’s + TE’s) – A-

• This has been a common theme for other games this year…not an overwhelming day statistically, but how well did they do their job when called upon? Branch did what Branch does…maximized the opportunity when he got the ball with a little bit of space. He also had a big punt return giving us great field position to begin our third scoring drive. Dillon Bell probably had his best game of the season with 69 total yards on 8 touches…some very important gains on jet sweeps, a 19 yard reception on 2^nd and long (finished the catch and run with bad intentions) to put us inside the 5 yard line, and obviously the big touchdown catch on 3^rd down to put us up 14-0…great game for a loyal DGD. Quiet day for the TE’s on the receiving front, but loved the Luckie catch on a well designed play from Bobo and Delp made an important 1^st down catch following a Bama score to chew some clock and get a fresh series. It’s a broken record, but this crew always blocks their ass off and have to give a call to Humphreys for the big block to spring Frazier’s TD run, and also impressed with Reddell getting a lot of PT and showing some blocking chops on a few plays.   

Defensive Line – A+

• Been waiting to get to the defense…this is going to be fun. Said the same thing last week…go watch one of our first games of the season and take a look at the DL, then compare it to what we saw against Alabama. It’s not even close how much better this group is playing. There isn’t a player on the DL who isn’t playing at a much higher level than they started the season. Guys like JJA, McLeod, Griffin, Gabe Harris and even Miller look noticeably better than the early part of the season. Really loved the Gabe Harris hit when Simpson kept the ball on a read option…set the tone in a big way for what kind of game Bama was in for. The stats aren’t going to jump off the page individually…but the pressure they’re generating now is obvious, opposing QB’s have less time and rhythm…the entire defense has raised their level because of these guys starting things up front. I’ll leave you with this…Alabama had -3 yards rushing…and no, I don’t care if sack yardage is included in that figure. These guys are absolutely ballin’ right now.

Linebackers – A+       

• I’m not going to overthink it for the defensive groups…what more could the LB’s have done? Tackle Godzilla? Quintavious Johnson has become a difference maker and disruptor. We have the best group of ILB’s in the country…Allen posted 5 tackles and delivered a bone crushing hit that forced a 4^th down, Raylen Wilson chipped in with another 5 tackles and was all over the field, Chris Cole continues to look like a player created in an Xbox game, Justin Williams did a great job recovering the punt and helped pressure Simpson on that 4^th down desperation pass to the endzone…and Zayden Walker has forced his way onto the field as resident speed demon pass rushing extraordinaire. Again…Alabama had -3 yards rushing on the day…some serious BTA from this group.

Defensive Backs – A

• The only reason this isn’t an A+ is because Bolden dropped one interception…maybe two, if you want to count Simpson’s endzone desperation throw (but he did get a hand on it to alter the flight of the ball so it was a moot point anyway). The only other reason is because Demello didn’t stay composed getting a 15 yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct right after a sack that would’ve probably killed Bama’s eventual touchdown drive…and not a great job wrapping up Williams on a catch and run in the 1^st half. I’m a little more forgiving of the DPI he got on the TD drive because he had good coverage and the ball was underthrown…that’s hard as hell to avoid. Side note…I would love a world where DPI was called a lot less on underthrown balls…it almost encourages QB’s to throw bad balls and have receivers jump into DB’s…that wasn’t the case on the Demello play, just felt the need to express that opinion. How about Jacorey Thomas producing his best career game on a pretty damn important stage? Good on you dude. And…Resean Dinkins…stepping up like a boss with Aguero out. I don’t say this to knock Aguero, but did anyone else feel like Dinkins earned the starting spot moving forward with his play on Saturday? Oh yeah, Daylen Everette once again showed up huge in the SECCG with a great pick and return (mostly negated due to the facemask…but who gives a damn?). In other Bama games, that’s the kind of play we almost make and it ends up hitting the ground…but not on Saturday damnit! Oh yeah…Ellis Robinson continues to look like a shutdown corner…don’t think he gave up any catches where he was targeted, had great coverage and contested anything thrown his way…also showed some serious physicality on Bama’s first drive, stopping the ball carrier cold with a monster hit on 3^rd and short. Not sure this is even a hot take with the way he’s been playing, but calling Ellis to win the Thorpe award in 2026.

Special Teams – A+

• Easiest grade of the game…the Cole Speer blocked punt is one of those that will be remembered for a while and couldn’t have happened to a more loyal, hard working dude on our team. He put our offense in a great position to capitalize, and they rewarded his play with a big score a few plays later. Could that play be remembered as the play that changed the course of the UGA/Bama series moving forward? I know that’s very provocative…but just consider the possibility when you have a second. Branch had the big punt return that was the catalyst to our 3^rd touchdown of the game. Thorpedo was magnificent when called upon and Woodring was perfect on XP’s. Bama wasn’t able to return any punts (unless you count the muffed attempt) and their lone kickoff return went for all of 10 yards. Dominant special teams performance.       

Offensive Coaching – A-

• It’s not like we went for 500+ yards and 40+ points, but there was some genius in the game plan IMO. Like I said before, I think our coaches liked how our newfound badass defense matched up against Bama’s offense and opted for a conservative, high floor type of offensive game plan. I wouldn’t even say we methodically picked them apart, but I would say Bobo knew exactly when to hit the gas and he dialed up some great calls in critical moments. I admit, I wasn’t thrilled with our first two offensive series…felt like we were pulling the classic, “play to not lose” against Bama. But once we got the punt block, Bobo hit the right buttons at the right times. The play call on Robinson’s TD catch from the FB spot was perfect…reminded me of something we did in the 2007 Gator game with Brannan Southerland way back when. The 4^th down QB sneak where Freeling went in motion to the right side and gave Gunner a wide open path on the left side worked perfectly. The fake screen to Branch to hit Luckie on an explosive was a beauty and the execution on Nate’s untouched TD run was perfect. Bobo’s had some great games this year and a couple of head scratchers (as recently as last week) and on the head scratchers, I’ve mostly been critical of play calling that doesn’t seem to fit the situation at hand. Once we got up 14-0, I thought he called a great game based on the situation…didn’t get cute with play calls, kept delivering body blows with physical runs, picked his spots when we had short fields, didn’t risk turnovers and controlled the clock. I’m sure there will be a time in the playoff where we’ll need to be more explosive, but I thought Bobo and company managed the game very well.

Defensive Coaching – A+

• Whoever put the spirit of Buddy Ryan into Glenn Schumann beginning in the 4^th quarter of the Ole Miss game, we appreciate it. We went from a “keep everything in front of us, lots of outside cushion, bend but don’t break” type of philosophy, to a “kill anyone with the other uniform on every snap” type of philosophy. Simpson didn’t have the luxury of time on nearly every passing play. We’re sending blitzes from all over the place with great results. Look at our 3^rd down defense compared to where we were for the first half of the season. We haven’t given up more than 10 points in our last 4 games. I’ll do it one more time because it’s fun…Bama had -3 yards rushing…I don’t recall our 2021 defense even boasting that type of a stat. We held Bama to 7 total points and a little over 200 yards total offense…and those 7 points came on a drive we probably would have stopped them were it not for an unsportsmanlike penalty. Complete domination and they seem to get better every week…my compliments to you Schumann and company, you’ve more than earned it.  

CFP Drama – A+

• I’m one of those guys who didn’t want a 12 team playoff…I was fine with 4 teams, and I was cool with the idea of 6 teams…12 teams was a bridge too far for me, but we are where we are. That said, someone deserving as one of the 12 best teams was going to be left out of the mix and looks like Notre Dame got that (dis)honor. My take, I never thought it made sense that 5 conference champions had to be represented in the playoff…that’s how you end up with teams like JMU and Tulane in the playoff. I couldn’t care less about Notre Dame being left out of the playoff, but I’m more than convinced Notre Dame would smash either JMU or Tulane on any field. As much as I don’t like Alabama, I don’t think any team should be penalized (i.e. should not get removed from the CFP…but I’m open to adjusting seeds based on conference championship performances) for having to play a conference championship game, and they made that clear with Bama moving absolutely zero spots after a thorough a** kicking…wish they would have used that same logic in 2023 when Washington and Texas got the nod over us…man Bama has a golden horseshoe up their ass. I’ve not been overly impressed with Miami, but they at least beat Notre Dame in a H2H with the same win/loss record at the end of the season…so I get it. In summation, nobody should be at all surprised with the drama. It’s going to be a sh*t show every year and there will always be a handful of teams who feel they were worthy and got disrespected. What’s so awful about the whole thing is the best conference in America just played a conference championship game and what happened…absolutely nothing! Georgia came in as a #3 seed and left in the same spot after crushing Alabama. Alabama came in as a #9 seed, got smoked and guess what…they’re the #9 seed! That’s the kind of thing that’s going to convince decision makers that conference championship games should be eliminated…and that sucks for all of us.         

I don’t think anything will ever top 1/10/22 for me…but Saturday felt pretty damn great didn’t it? It’s not often you get a chance to avenge a defeat in the same season, and when you get that opportunity, you better take advantage…and Kirby made damn sure to do so. We’re one of the few teams that seems to be playing our best football at the end of the year. We have a few weeks to get a little healthier and all goals are still in front of us. We’ll see you in New Orleans! Go Dawgs!

OK, we wanted annihilation and only got a closely fought victory. Winning by fifty or winning by seven all counts the same in the win column, but close battles give keyboard warriors like myself something to get all worked up about before the next game against our version of the 800-pound gorilla. Most importantly, that’s EIGHT straight games over the Tri-Lambs (would be nine if they didn’t run away during the COVID year) and they’re losing approximately 90% of their offensive production with Haynes King’s exhausted eligibility following 13 years of college football. On to the grades…

Quarterback: D+

• I hate doing it, but that was not Gunner’s finest hour. When Kirby Smart publicly says, “It obviously wasn’t very good…” about Gunner’s performance, that’s very telling. I’m willing to bet there were some things Bobo could have done to put Gunner in better positions (more on that later), but that was tough to watch after seeing Gunner play so well in other big games this year. His first drive looked promising with a couple of runs for first downs, but the interception was of the really bad variety and things never improved from there. 11/21 for 70 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT is a bad line by any standards…but against one of the worst P4 defenses we played all year, that’s not going to get it done in tougher games. I don’t know if the pick got in his head and he played tight the rest of the game, but he seemed to be seeing ghosts out there for the final three quarters. He’s given us a big enough sample of great games over the course of the season, so I’m not going to believe he’s only as good as his last game. Let’s call this game an exception to the rule and he’s ready to ball out against the Tide this week.         

Running Back: B

• It was a tale of two halves. We got “Mississippi State” Frazier in the first half and he looked poised to put up about 200 yards for the day. McCray even had a couple of decent totes in the first half. Then, Bobo went down and the ground game went down with it. Maybe it was a perfect storm for Tech’s defense…they saw Gunner was off his game, we’re already one dimensional before our Center goes down, so play a run heavy defense…just a theory. We got almost nothing outside of Frazier and McCray…save one Cash Jones carry that barely eeked out an important first down. Biggest takeaway I have is that Frazier is looking like an All SEC back when he gets a little blocking. I’m a little disappointed (not surprised) that we didn’t throw in 2-3 special package plays for Dwight Lightning against a bad Tech defense…feels like he could have hit on an explosive or two.             

Offensive Line – C-

• See above on a tale of two halves. The running game looked good to great in the first half and Gunner had some time to throw (even if he wasn’t playing great). I won’t put the missed first half scoring opportunities on the OL, so solid effort there. Once Bobo went down, the entire complexion changed. There was no room to run and we couldn’t move the ball through the air. This Georgia Tech defense should have never had 7 TFL’s and 2 Sacks, yet they did. I’ll give Toliver a little less criticism due to lack of experience and playing time in big games, but it is what it is. I believe it was Gaston who completely missed an assignment that resulted in one of Tech’s sacks. Couple of false start penalties that hurt down and distance…just a bad effort in the second half. I’d bet Bobo is a no go for the rest of the year, so they’ll need to solve this puzzle…very quickly.   

Receivers (WR’s + TE’s) – Incomplete

• I don’t like doing this and know it’s a copout, but I couldn’t tell you how this group performed because they were seldom involved from a statistical production standpoint. Tight ends caught zero passes (one target?) and WR’s caught all of 7 balls on the afternoon with 5 of those going to Branch and 2 to Bell. I don’t have good enough game footage to know if we had receivers running open that Gunner wasn’t hitting, or if these guys were not getting separation. I’m generally not concerned about the blocking efforts of this group, they’re generally strong in this area. It felt like the first half gameplan was to beat Tech on the ground and the defense was allowing that, but when that was taken away in the second half, Gunner couldn’t elevate this group’s production. Credit to Sacovie White for a nice 15 yard punt return…he seems like he’ll be a good option for this when Branch is no longer with us (insert sad face emoji).    

Defensive Line – A

• Candidate for most improved position group from the beginning of the year to present. Gabe Harris was phenomenal and looked like Travon Walker on Tech’s first series…explosive as hell and made two big plays in a row (that was a Safety that didn’t get called). Christen Miller was winning battles, getting pressure and earned a sack on the afternoon. JJA seems to get better every game and has been a disruptive influence…same can be said of Elijah Griffin. Guys like McLeod have been steady and Ogboko seems to have carved out some solid playing time. I think the most important thing with this group is to look at one of the games from earlier in the season (e.g. Tennessee or Bama) and compare it to Texas or Georgia Tech…looks like a completely different group. They’re consistently getting pressure and being disruptive…can’t be a coincidence that our secondary play has also improved as the DL has picked up performance.    

Linebackers – A         

• This group has been a consistent force the past several weeks. Quintavious Johnson would be a candidate for most improved player on the team from the beginning of the season to present…physical as hell and having a bigger impact on games both in statistical and non-statistical fashion. Raylen Wilson had an important shoestring tackle on a Haynes King run and HUGE solo tackle to force Tech into a FG attempt in the first half. Another productive day for Chris Cole making tackles and assisting on a TFL. Credit to CJ Allen for being tougher than Mick Foley for starting a game less than two weeks removed from surgery. Bottom line, no touchdowns allowed on the day against one of the best offenses in the country…hard to do a lot better than that.       

Defensive Backs – A

• Yep, the entire defense balled out on Saturday. The highlight had to be the Ellis Robinson interception…is he turning into a shutdown corner? Great post from fellow GTP Refugee teammate eethomaswfnc yesterday showing how great Ellis has been following the tough outings against Tennessee and Alabama…essentially the most efficient CB in the conference since those games. We got word that Daniel Harris will be entering the portal (seriously, best of luck to him and hope he plays great wherever he lands) and I don’t think anyone would second guess that decision based on the play of Ellis and Demello…should we pull a “Gurshall” with these guys next year and just call them Demellis? KJ Bolden had a huge statistical day and Jacorey/Branch held down the other Safety spot adequately. If I want to nitpick…giving up a 30-yard completion on 3^rd and long with Tech backed up on their goal line, that pissed me off a little (especially considering it was Seither) and think it was KJ who got caught out of position on that one. The Aguero DPI call was frustrating as hell and he just never seems comfortable in one-on-one coverage situations…still not sure it was DPI because the contact looked very light and don’t think it influenced anything, but close call either way. I’m not going to overthink it…these dudes are playing their best ball as a unit and like the LB group, not a touchdown allowed all day to a damn good offense with a damn good quarterback…great day.      

Special Teams – A+

• Woodring is more Automatic than Weaver D’s. 3/3 on FG attempts and every single one of them mattered a lot…especially the 50 yarder that pushed it back to a two score game when our offense was looking awful. He has missed all of ONE FG this year…and SEVEN in three years as our starting kicker. He’s a certified badass…and no kickoffs out of bounds either. Thorpedo got his mojo back with 4 punts that averaged 51 yards, with a long of 61 and no punts were returned…good to have the Aussie back on his game going into the postseason. I mentioned Sacovie’s solid punt return, and the lone Tech kickoff return attempt was botched for a mere 2-yard gain. Can’t do better than that.     

Offensive Coaching – C- (or D+)

• I’ve stated before that I’m neither a Bobo hater, nor a Bobo apologist. He’s put together some great games this year, and he’s missed the mark on some games this year. Chalk this one up to the latter. I’ll give some leniency to Bobo in that Gunner was off his game and his offspring was out in the 2^nd half. But, Georgia Tech’s defense has been lousy for the last several games. NC State put up 48 points against this defense…hell, Boston College put up 36 against this defense. News flash, our offense is better than either of those squads. Let’s get to the list of grievances. The 2-minute drive play calls and clock management was abysmal. When something was working (like Frazier slaughtering Tech in the first half), we don’t stick with it until they stop it, or we sub out the hot hand, or get cute with some sort of reverse that goes for nothing. If we’re ever in 3^rd and long inside our 30-yard line, every defense can plan on one of two plays…inside run or WR screen…and they know it’s coming…can we at least try a different risk averse play? Another frustration (just my observation), this is at least the third game of the season where our offense has looked bad and Kirby has said, “They were playing a lot of Drop 8…” Do we not have any kind of solution for a “Drop 8” defensive game plan? Surely, we must have something in the playbook that can take advantage of that defensive approach? And finally, is it me, or do a lot of Bobo’s play calls seem to be very long developing and depend heavily on the OL providing protection for longer than normal? I don’t know this for sure…maybe some of this is on Gunner not playing confidently, maybe it really is on Bobo. What I do know is we could only produce 260 yards and 16 points against a very bad defense…and had early opportunities to bust the game wide open and didn’t.     

Defensive Coaching – A

• Take a look at everything above for the offensive coaching and go the exact opposite way. For all of Tech’s faults on defense, their offense is damn good and Schumann and company absolutely shut them down. No touchdowns, only 9 points and 250 total yards surrendered. Whatever light turned on for the DL, the entire defense has kicked ass since that moment. The pressure on Haynes was consistent, we shut down their running game, gave up only a few explosives, grabbed a highlight interception…basically cut Tech’s offense almost in half from their normal yardage output, and way under their average PPG. If we can keep up this kind of defensive performance in the postseason, I would not want to play Georgia.

Lane Kiffin Drama – A+

• Do I really need to go into detail here? Whatever security detail they’re planning for Lane Kiffin on that trip to Ole Miss next year…just go ahead and double it.       

I said a couple of weeks ago that I wanted another shot at Bama in the SECCG…knowing it was a little bit insane/delusional to wish that. Well, looks like I got my wish. I’m not so bold as to make a prediction (yet) on this one because they do seem to have some sort of voodoo curse against us (save the 1/10/2022 National Championship game…or as I like to call it, the greatest night of my life). What I will offer is our team is better than they were in late September. Our offense (while it sucked against Tech) has improved and shown what they’re capable of in big games (Ole Miss, MSU, Texas). Our defense has been peaking these past few games and Simpson has shown some vulnerability when pressured. I get those who argue it would have been better for us to avoid the SECCG…but any week with a big Georgia game isn’t a bad week, right? We’ve eventually gotta beat these a**holes, right? Might as well be this Saturday!

Go Dawgs!

What a night! Game atmosphere was world class and Kirby added another Top 10 victory to his impressive coaching resume. This was definitely a game where the Dawgs played in spurts, but the end result was a 25-point a** whippin’ that all but eliminated Wooderson’s favorite team. The eyes of Texas…are bruised and filled with tears. On to the grades…   

Quarterback: A-

• Gunner was flirting with another A+ until the 3^rd quarter pick. Let’s get that piece out of the way really quickly. I don’t think anyone will claim the throw was a good decision, but credit to the UT linebacker for making a great play on the ball and fooling Gunner with how he dropped in coverage. Beyond that…is there any Dawg fan who wants another QB leading this team? I sure as hell don’t. For the second time this season, Gunner accounted for as many TD’s as incomplete passes he threw…insane stat. His resiliency is on another level. Some of my favorite Gunner moments from Saturday night…his read option keep on our second offensive play (completely fooled the Texas defense) and ripped off a 20 yarder, the 3^rd down sideline rope to Dillon Bell that extended our first drive, the TD throw to Humphreys to match the Texas TD on the previous drive, and his TD run and ensuing celebration. Take a look at his play in the Marshall game and compare it to what we saw on Saturday night…the development is noticeable. He’s making better decisions overall, he trusts himself more on downfield throws, he knows when to rip it and when to put a little more touch on the ball…he’s made himself and the Georgia offense much harder to defend. He’s as deserving as any other player to be in the Heisman conversation.      

Running Back: C+

• If you look at the overall production from this unit, nothing to write home about…27 carries for 87 yards, and 6 receptions for 39 yards. Let’s credit Texas with having a strong defense and capable individual players. They were clearly focused on stopping our running game and taking their chances on Stockton beating them through the air…which we did. It wasn’t all bad for the RB group…the accumulation of those runs that weren’t very effective most of the game paid some dividends in the 4^th quarter as the Texas defense began to wilt physically and mentally. Frazier hit them for a couple of big gainers that were not available in the first three quarters, and you could tell the white flag was out. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the Cash Jones onside kick recovery…you will not find a more perfectly executed onside kick.          

Offensive Line – B-

• I could be talked into a C+ based on some of the overall running game production and some of the stat sheet issues…Texas got 2 sacks and 8 TFL’s. The 2^nd and 3^rd quarters were pretty forgettable, but the 1^st and 4^th quarters looked excellent. Again, this Texas defense was not from the state of Mississippi…they’re talented and they came to play. I’ll attribute some of the 2^nd and 3^rd quarter issues to going conservative on offense when we saw Texas having a hard time moving the ball against a much-improved Dawgs defense (more on that in a moment). I still think we’re in a much better place with this group than we were earlier in the year when we were working around injuries and figuring out who our best options were on the right side. We appear to have found a 6-man rotation we’re comfortable with and we’re no longer seeing completely blown pass protection assignments like the Tennessee game.         

Receivers (WR’s + TE’s) – A-

• This group put up 190 receiving yards on 18 receptions and produced 4 TD’s. I don’t recall any drops on the evening (Can you imagine saying that in 2024?). Dillon Bell chipped in with a couple of carries for 12 yards. The blocking from Delp and Luckie continues to be on point and difference making. We tried to get Elyiss involved on a shot play, but it fell incomplete…someone’s going to have to explain to me how a defender putting two hands on a receiver and pushing him out of bounds during his route is not some sort of penalty…but I digress. I think this group was a product of the game plan and play calling we employed…they did what was asked of them at a high level, and that’s all you can really judge them on. Maybe not a lot of spectacular grabs or highlight plays, but execution was excellent. I do want to give a call to Branch for a great individual effort on his catch and run where he hit the jets to beat a couple of Texas defenders to the sideline for a 30-yard gain…love that dude.  

Defensive Line – A

• Didn’t have this one on my bingo card. For my money, it was the best performance from our DL all season. I saw a lot more push and pressure from this group. Elijah didn’t light up the stat sheet, but definitely had an impact on the game winning some one on one battles, including a batted pass and drawing a holding penalty. Same could be said for JJA and Christen Miller…not overwhelming on the stat sheet, but were impacting the game and winning one on one battles. Gabe Harris had the best statistical performance with a sack and 1.5 TFL’s on the evening…has come on well the last couple of games. I’m definitely of the belief that our defensive success/failure hinges on this group. When they play well like Saturday night, our LB’s and DB’s jobs become easier and are able to make more plays. Great to see some of these key players in the rotation getting better as we get deeper in the year.  

Linebackers – A+       

• Hated to see CJ limp to the locker room…so hoping he’ll use this week to get right and be ready in time to hurt the Bees. Aside from that unfortunate circumstance, this group was outstanding. Chris Cole stepped up in a big way when CJ Allen went out…dude looks like a guided missile when he sniffs out a play. Raylen Wilson’s TFL sent a shockwave through the stadium. Justin Williams was very productive, and Zayden Walker got his first sack and forced fumble. But, want to give a special callout to Quintavious Johnson…something has clicked for this guy in the past couple of weeks and he looks like a different dude from the beginning of the season. He’s always had that “first guy off the bus” look, now he’s making a big impact on the game, getting pressure, setting edges, getting off blocks…and making plays when he gets opportunities. Awesome to see him stepping up in the OLB role that wasn’t having a big impact on the game at the beginning of the season. As a whole, LB’s accounted for 2 sacks and 5 TFL’s…elite stuff on the evening.      

Defensive Backs – A-

• They couldn’t run at all, but this group still held Texas to 10 total points and 7 of those points came on a short field. Demello probably had his best game as a Dawg with a PBU, half a TFL, 4 total tackles, set the edge for Raylen Wilson to make a highlight TFL and put together his own highlight scoop slam. Ellis Robinson has been quietly playing very well the past few games and that rough Tennessee game feels well in the rearview mirror right now. Daylen Everette put in another workmanlike effort and totaled 5 tackles on the evening…they tested him a couple of times, but never got beat for an explosive. KJ Bolden was alert enough to grab another pick to kill a Texas possession that could/should have ended in points. Only negative was Zion Branch getting called for DPI on third down to extend a Texas drive that resulted in their only touchdown. Like the DL, this group seems to be getting better as the regular season comes to a close. When we get pressure on opposing team’s QB’s, the DB’s are holding up their end of the bargain.    

Special Teams – B

• Woodring had a quiet evening…perfect on XP’s, no FGA’s, and Texas was not able to do any damage on kick returns (and no kicks out of bounds!). Branch returned a few punts, but fair caught one in the 2^nd quarter that I’m sure he wishes he would have made a go at returning…had a lot of room to work. On the other hand, Branch put together his best kick return of the year with a 44 yarder…so more good than bad on returns. Mentioned earlier, but about as perfect execution as one could ever get for an onside kick…just beautiful. Alright, let’s get to it…Thorpedo’s night sucked, easily his worst game as a Dawg. I know their punt returner is extremely scary, but too many punts that put Texas in favorable field position and put our defense in bad positions. Makes me wonder if Kirby going for it on those 4^th downs in the 3^rd quarter were because Thorpedo wasn’t feeling it?

Offensive Coaching – B

• If it’s just the 1^st and 4^th quarters, this is an easy A. The 2^nd quarter was a lost cause and the 3^rd quarter only picked up at the end. Bobo was totally unpredictable in the 1^st quarter, especially on that first drive where we passed every down, except Gunner’s keep. I love it when we don’t force things that aren’t there…balance for balance’s sake is ridiculous…take what the defense is giving you. Bobo went to the WR screen well a little too much in my opinion, especially when Texas was stopping it without issue. The play calling went way too conservative in the 2^nd quarter when we had an opportunity to put up a 21-3 or 24-3 type of lead. I know we won 35-10, but the game was 14-10 deep in the 3^rd quarter…so playing it too safe in the 2^nd quarter could have come back to bite us…same kind of thing happened against Tennessee in the 3^rd quarter. But, credit to Bobo for getting the offensive momentum going again in the 4^th quarter and taking total advantage of our stolen possession.

Defensive Coaching – A-

• I’ll keep this short and sweet…best game Schumann has called all year. Love that we’re bringing more pressure and forcing QB’s to make throws under duress. We look like a completely different/better defense when we’re not playing soft zone with lots of cushion. The concern was we would give up more big plays with this philosophy, but not sure that’s been the case. I would have to get the data, but I think we’ve had less DPI’s and less explosives given up since the 4^th quarter of the Ole Miss game. Only gave up one long drive to open the game (which is just what we do and I’ve accepted it) and stopped Texas on a couple of shorter fields. All this success AFTER Texas had an off week to prepare. Congratulations Schumann…you’ve earned the right to call me a dumbass this week!

Bama Letdown Games Against Teams Not Named Georgia – A+

• Wouldn’t it be nice if Bama gave their C+ game when they played Georgia? I think they put the ball on the ground about 27 times against Oklahoma. I know the Sooners play good defense, but winning a game with a little over 200 yards offense is absurd. If we put up a little over 200 yards offense against Alabama, we’d lose 48-2. I’m happy Oklahoma got it done because I love watching Bama lose, but I’d be less than honest if I said I wasn’t a little pissed Oklahoma got the benefit of playing the Bama team that played FSU. Maybe I’m out of my mind for saying this, but I’d love to see A&M lose to Texas so we can get another shot at Bama. Anyone else?      

Week 13 cupcake approaching…let’s jump on them early and make it the Puglisi show in the second half. Time to get as healthy as possible before COFH and remind them that last year’s close call was an aberration.   

Go Dawgs!           

We’re entering the final quarter of the season and time is running out for schools to make moves in the SEC Power Poll. I missed the Week 10 update due to some outside obligations, so time to shuffle the deck as needed. Enjoy!

1. Texas A&M – I continue to underestimate these dudes. They’ve caught a couple of breaks with conference scheduling, but credit to them for taking care of business and seemingly getting better the past couple of games. Only one major hurdle left on their schedule playing in Austin to close the season, but 12-0 is certainly in play for these guys.
2. Alabama – Bama has been pushed the past couple of games. They got through South Carolina with a little good fortune, and LSU pushed them hard in Tuscaloosa in a very physical game. Can’t believe a 4-5 FSU team is their lone defeat. I don’t care what it would mean for us…I’d like for Bama to lose Oklahoma this weekend and Auburn to close the year. Can’t stand ‘em.
3. Georgia – We looked better this weekend, but can’t put us ahead of Alabama when they beat us at home. If we get the Georgia team that played MSU the rest of the way, we’re a very tough out. If the MSU game was some sort of a tease and we revert back to the “Stomach Ulcer” Dawgs…let’s just not think about it right now.
4. Ole Miss – Beat the crap out of Citadel…and had some fun doing it. Did you see Lane photo bomb the newly engaged couple during a timeout? I know he’s a fun guy to beat, but damnit, the Laner is the most entertaining side show of any coach in America right now. College Football is much more interesting with him involved.
5. Texas – I said it a few weeks ago…this team just won’t die. I did not want these dudes coming to Athens with anything left to play for, and that’s exactly what we’re going to get…with an off week to prepare no less. Credit to them for finding more ways to survive than 1983 NC State Basketball, but let’s do America a favor this weekend and take care of Wooderson’s favorite team.
6. Oklahoma – Somehow these guys are still hanging around in contention for the CFP. Didn’t see the win over Tennessee in Knoxville happening, but here we are. Make or break weekend for the Sooners going to Tuscaloosa…but they are coming off a bye week and playing a Bama team that just went to war with LSU. Stranger things have happened.
7. Vanderbilt – Anytime Vanderbilt sits at 8-2, that deserves recognition. But these guys are looking shakier than tone deaf karaoke singers. Auburn had them dead to rights and blew it. They’ll probably get through Kentucky, but will Tennessee have enough state pride to end the dream on the final week?
8. Tennessee – What could’ve been. The Oklahoma loss is still puzzling me. They’re effectively out of the CFP barring some really crazy things happening. They can still salvage 9-3 if they take care of business against a Florida team that has decided football isn’t for them the rest of the season, as well as caring enough about ruining Vanderbilt’s dream season…which I bet they will. If you can’t achieve your own goals, make sure you ruin someone else’s.
9. Missouri – I never bought into these dudes and feel a little validated that they’re sitting 2-3 in conference play. They’ve come up short in every major game they’ve had this year and are now out of CFP consideration. They still have zero ranked wins on the season.
10. Kentucky – I might catch some hell for this, but it’s a Power Poll, and recent play is a part of the ranking equation. Kentucky has just as many conference wins as LSU, Florida and Missouri…and more than the bottom four teams in the conference. They figured out a way to beat Auburn on the road and completely thumped a Florida team who took apathy to new levels. Congratulations Wildcats…you’re no longer the most embarrassing team in the conference!
11. LSU – They’ve dropped 3 in a row…but the competition was strong, to quite strong. Without Brian Kelly to hold them back, they gave Alabama more of a game than I would’ve predicted. If they would’ve cashed in on a couple of opportunities, that game would’ve been very interesting. That said…they still lost and the best I can do is #11 for this week.
12. Auburn – This is where things get really tough. These last five teams are maddeningly inconsistent and there is no rhyme or reason to their results, so I’m going with some recency bias for this week’s poll. Auburn pulled another coulda woulda shoulda this week…and found a new, exciting way to lose another game. I’ll give them credit for taking a Top 20 team to OT on the road…when they have very little to play for…but still grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory.   
13. Mississippi State – I’ll stand by my statements in other columns…these guys are not that bad. They had been in every tough game except A&M and ran into a great version of Georgia this past week. Bad timing for MSU, but opportunity to close strong with a couple of big games ahead. I don’t see them stopping Ole Miss very much in the Egg Bowl…but can Ole Miss stop them? Over/Under for that game needs to be in the 90’s.
14. Florida – It would have been fun to put them last, but I don’t want to let a couple of idle teams jump them…trust me, there’s still time. That said, Florida’s level of disinterest in Lexington was unbelievable. Getting beat by 31 points to a 3 win Kentucky team is nothing more than, “Put us out of our misery” play. When these guys mail it in, they leave no stone unturned. Starting to wonder if their pregame meal was weed brownies.
15. South Carolina – Awesome! We get to play A&M in College Station this week!
16. Arkansas – Never before has an upcoming game in Baton Rouge looked so winnable.

Go Dawgs!

Gotta admit…didn’t see that coming. Before any non-SEC football fans say, “It was just Mississippi State…” take a look at their results. They should’ve beaten Florida, should’ve beaten Texas and could’ve beaten Tennessee. This is a team that scores points and has been in every game they’ve played outside of Texas A&M. If I were an unbiased man (which I’m not), I would’ve bet MSU to cover the spread and would’ve bet someone else’s farm that we’d be in another 4^th quarter war. Damn I’m happy when I can be wrong and it feels so good. The most complete game we’ve played all year (the only?), and I really hope I’m not jinxing it…but was this a game where we turned a corner? On to the grades…   

Quarterback: A

• Stockton was great and love to see him getting the national recognition he 100% deserves. Nearly 300 yards of total offense, 3 passing TD’s and made his runs count. If I want to find needless things to bitch about, he threw a pretty scary ball on our first drive that could’ve been picked, and could’ve thrown a little more accurate ball to Branch to extend our first drive…but can’t find too much fault in his overall performance. You can see how much more confident he is now compared to the beginning of the season. He’s making good decisions, finding second and third options, didn’t take any sacks, turning potentially bad plays into break even or better plays, etc. Puglisi got some time and wasn’t asked to do too much, but good to see him get more live game reps. Love where we’re at with the QB position at this point in the season.    

Running Back: A

• Straight Outta Compton…Nate Frazier finally delivered the game I envisioned he was capable of! I was his biggest supporter coming into the season, got a little down on him after the Bama fumble, was a little critical of him last week for not busting any big runs all year…and then he goes 12 for 181 and a TD! His vision was great, he was breaking tackles, made decisive cuts and got upfield…and showed some impressive top end speed we had not yet seen. I really hope this gives him a shot of confidence and we get this version of #3 the remainder of the year. Chauncey looked very solid on his carries and also found the endzone. McCray didn’t do very much in garbage time, but Bo Walker made the most of his carries when the game was already decided. Dwight Lightning had some attempts, which I was glad to see, but went backwards on a couple to kill his YPC average. On the day, over 250 yards for the RB’s and a couple of TD’s…and finally some major explosives. Loved it!    

Offensive Line – A+

• I’m sensing an overall offensive theme here. I’ve been tough on the OL for a number of games this year, but I’m man enough to admit when they’ve proven me wrong for a game. This unit was outstanding on Saturday and paved the way for over 300 yards rushing. There have been some games where I felt they weren’t creating enough space for the Running Backs, but Saturday was a completely different story…they were creating more holes than the plotline of Timecop. Take a look at some of Frazier’s explosive runs…the OL absolutely did their job and Frazier took full advantage. They gave Gunner plenty of time to make his reads and fire accordingly…no sacks taken on the day, and 264 yards passing. In total, 7.6 YPP for the Dawgs. Had Kirby decided to pour it on and not pull the 1^st teamers, we’re looking at a 600+ yard day. Third straight game with the same starting lineup…is continuity the key?      

Receivers (WR’s + TE’s) – A-

• I’m really not trying to be boring with these grades, but I can’t find a lot to criticize on offense. The highlight for me was the Noah Thomas catch and run…took what could have been a 20-yard gain and turned it into a 64-yard touchdown. His vision and knowing when to change direction were elite on that effort…had no idea he had that kind of acceleration/speed. Branch did Branch things…God help our opponents when he gets the ball in space with a little bit of blocking. Catch of the day goes to Elyiss Williams…critical moment in the game and made me yell “Holy Sh*t” while watching on my phone at a youth Cross Country meet. You will find zero complaints from me any time we are trying to get Elyiss the ball…oh by the way, he is capable of knocking people on their ass with his blocking. Delp was great on his catches, awesome to see him get into the endzone, blocked his ass of like always…hope he gets a good opportunity to play on Sundays. Humphreys had a big grab on a very well designed play…but credit to him for getting about 10 additional yards after contact. Thoughts go out to Luckie…that hit was scary as hell and hearing that he wanted to go back into the game makes him a certified badass…I felt concussed just watching it. Kudos to MSU defender who made sure to shake Luckie’s hand as he exited the field…sportsmanship is never a bad thing. The only fault I can find on the day was Dillon Bell’s fumble on the goal line…those kind of things can get you beat in close games. I know it was a close call and some saw it as a non-fumble (I personally thought it was too close to say either way and you have to stick with the call on the field).       

Defensive Line – B+

• Some group had to break the streak. It’s not like they played bad or anything, just wouldn’t describe it as a dominating performance. There were a handful of 10+ yard runs we gave up, which is not typical of our run defense. We had our standard first defensive series woes giving up several 3^rd downs and an eventual touchdown. Other than that, good to see a member of the DL get a sack (2^nd of the season?) and Gabe Harris will be directly responsible for whatever new color pee Blake Shapen will be seeing this week…that has to be every DL’s dream…free run at the QB’s blind side. Very nice contributions from the regular DL rotation against an offense that has been very competent this year.

Linebackers – A         

• Raylen Wilson gets an honor that doesn’t occur very often…a LB who had a more impressive day than CJ Allen…6 tackles (4 solo) and 1.5 sacks. Wilson looked like a missile getting into the backfield on a couple of occasions and was close to delivering a big sack on the first play of the game. CJ didn’t have the huge stat day we’ve seen the past few games, but still made an impact and chipped in with another 6 tackles (think he’s still leading the SEC in total tackles). The Cole/Williams combo were productive with identical 5 tackle stat sheets, Williams getting a TFL mixed in there. How about Zayden Walker getting some reps in the first half…and looking pretty damn good when he was out there. It’s crazy that we have FIVE 5* ILB’s on our roster…that’s just insane. Let me give a call to Quintavious Johnson as well…very impressive tackle early in the game where he took on a block then took the ball carrier down with a solo tackle…phenomenal play. He also delivered the big hit that caused the MSU fumble to help us recapture some momentum after our fumble on the previous drive. Big day for the LB group.       

Defensive Backs – B+

• I thought this unit played one of their best games of the year. They gave up 173 yards passing, but a good amount of that was when we had called the dogs off and the game was no longer in doubt. We had our typical first defensive drive issues, but when the game was still close, nobody was getting abused. KJ Bolden did have a defensive holding, but smart play because he was absolutely beat on a good double move. Tackling from this group was sharp and I didn’t hear Ellis Robinson’s name a whole lot…and I mean that in a good way. With Demello not playing, Harris got back into the rotation…but didn’t think he did anything to earn playing time over Robinson or Demello when he returns (was the victim of MSU’s longest play from scrimmage)…just one man’s opinion. Again, this was not an opponent who can’t score…they’ve been a very good offensive team in most of their games. Stock looking up for this group.         

Special Teams – B+

• Woodring was his reliable self and knocked down both of his 40+ yard attempts without breaking a sweat. That guy is more reliable than my dog running away from a hard surface to vomit on a rug. Only points I’ll take away from Woodring was the kickoff out of bounds…no bueno. Thorpedo was used sparingly, but downed both of his attempts inside the 20. Sacovie had a nice punt return while Branch didn’t do a lot with his two punt/kick return attempts. No returns allowed for MSU…very solid day.                

Offensive Coaching – A+

• For the second time in three games, gotta give it to Bobo for absolutely dealing on Saturday. He mixed up his pitches beautifully and hit all the right buttons. I think he knew MSU’s defense wasn’t going to scare us too much, but credit to him for dialing up a great game plan to take advantage. He didn’t fall in love with the WR screen…only used the one time that I recall, and it went for a TD. The fake WR screen to Branch and hitting Humphreys up the sideline was a thing of beauty…and should make teams a little wary of selling out on the WR screen in the future. Running off the punt team to go for it on 4^th down (before and after the timeout) worked to perfection without ever having to take a snap…icing on the cake type of stuff. When you’re on the road in the SEC and putting up 41 points and 564 yards with your starters pulled early in the 4th quarter, you’ve done your job.

Defensive Coaching – B+

• Maybe I could be a bigger person and bump them up, but the first drive issues are still problematic for me and there were more than a few 3^rd and long situations when we should have been off the field. We also got some help with MSU shooting themselves in the foot with penalties. Beyond that, great to see us get after the QB more and produce a lot of TFL’s on the day. It seems like the last two games, we’ve made a conscious decision to make teams earn yards on offense, less bend but don’t break philosophy. I’m all for it and I think we’ve been a better team for it. Good challenge this week with a talented Texas team coming to town with an extra week to prepare.

Not Having Anything To Bitch About This Week – A+

• Who doesn’t love to piss and moan a little bit following a week of college football? This week, I find myself unusually calm and serene with everything. Georgia played their most complete game of the year, we’ve got a night game against Texas approaching, we’re in a great position to earn a CFP berth, team seems to be getting better…life feels pretty good this week. Surely, something has to be wrong in the Dawgnation, right? Help me out Refugees!     

Great opportunity coming up this week against Texas, who has backed their way back into the Top 10. Under the lights at Sanford Stadium will be a great atmosphere on Saturday night! Can’t wait to get there!

Go Dawgs!