Last week’s post seemed to generate some discussion, so let’s do it again. Was the home opener the biggest overdose on empty calories of the season last year? Probably, but that’s what I’ve come to expect from Kirby and the Dawgs in these FCS games. The cupcake doesn’t end up tasting great, and you spend the next week complaining about how bad the baker was.

Here’s a link to my preview post:

Team Statistics:

Gamblers should stay away from games like this. Unlike some other coaches in the SEC (cough, cough … Lane Kiffin … cough, cough), Kirby sees these games as what they are a glorified scrimmage where you get your starters game reps, get them out of the game as early as possible, and play the 4th quarter with a 10-minute clock. He understands these FCS coaches really don’t want these games but have to have them to pay the freight for their programs to remain afloat, so he obliges.

The key statistic of the game was the time of possession. TTU slowed the game down to a snail’s pace, and Kirby was more than happy to go along especially once the game was truly out of hand. Early in the 2nd quarter, TTU kept the ball for 11 plays and gained only 34 yards but took just shy of half of the 2nd quarter game clock. During that possession, TTU converted 2 3rd downs of 6 or more with runs (not of the scramble kind). That’s not what we’ve come to expect from Georgia defensively. I’ll also highlight the 9 penalties for 85 yards. Once again, that statistic is symptomatic of sloppy, unfocused play.

Individual Statistics:

This game was one where I expected to see a lot of Gunner Stockton and either Ryan Puglisi or Jaden Rashada. Instead, Carson Beck played 2 successful possessions in the 3rd quarter before heading to the sideline. Games like this are when you try to see what you have in case of injury to your starter and get your 2nd team QB into the game with the 1st team offense. I really thought this was a missed opportunity by the staff to get Gunner meaningful 1st half game reps instead of using this game to pad Beck’s individual statistics for a potential Heisman campaign.

I’m probably being overly critical with what I just wrote, but looking back on the entire season, this failure to get Gunner meaningful game reps throughout the season eventually caught up to us (and no, I’m not blaming the ND loss on Stockton).

Something to Consider for 2025:

I pulled the individual rushing statistics overall for a look at 2025 on offense. In this game, 4 of the players listed above are returning in 2025. Of course, everyone believes Nate Frazier is going to be the next great back in the RBU tradition, and that pressure is something the young man appears to embrace. Cash Jones is going to be expected to contribute as more than a 3rd down option. Hopefully, the Robinson duo can find some of the pre-injury promise that each had shown on the field in their freshman years. As I mentioned last week, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some Dillon Bell working with the running backs this spring to provide some additional spark.

I didn’t get the complete tackle chart on my phone screen capture, but the reason I took such a large chunk of data here is that there are a lot of guys on this chart who are returning this year and a few that entered the transfer portal in the offseason. In particular, I wanted to highlight Christen Miller. When healthy, he has reminded me of Devonte Wyatt with his quickness, physicality, and pass rush skill. If this defensive line is going to improve its stock in 2025, Miller is going to be a central piece of that puzzle. Joenel Aguero is the other player from this group that needs to take a big step up in 2025 after fighting an injury-hampered 2024 which forced Kirby and T-Rob to move Malaki Starks down from his free safety eraser role to playing the slot/nickel/star a lot last year. No matter how good Dan Jackson and K.J. Bolden were last year, the defense missed a beat when Starks was not at the back of the defense calling signals and being a sideline to sideline free safety. Back to Aguero, it will be interesting this spring to see if he remains at the star role as a thumper or to move back in the defense to Jackson’s strong safety position.

Evans had a big punt return on his opportunity to set up a quick score. I honestly thought we would get more of that last year, but for whatever reason, he wasn’t the dynamic playmaker we all thought he would be as a kick returner last year. Who is going to step into the punt return role in 2025? My money is on Sacovie White, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Demello Jones get a hard look this spring.

Summary

A win is a win. To use a different food & drink reference, let’s use the classic “Great taste, less filling” from Miller Lite.

I think we can safely say that the cupcake didn’t necessarily taste to expectations and it was less filling (and less satisfying).

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

This senior class are winners. They have 2 rings, an SEC championship, 3 New Year’s 6 bowl wins and a 50-4 record to date. I know we’ll have a great reception for these guys this afternoon between the hedges. After that, we do have a game to play. Let’s get to the preview.

When Georgia Has the Ball

After last week’s outstanding game, I would love to see Carson Beck come out and have a great but short stint with about 150 yards and a couple of TDs before coming out for Gunner Stockton and others. I expect we’re going to see Bobo and Searels they to get the run game started with Cash Jones and Nate Frazier with the other young backs and offensive line meshing. Assuming no turnovers, I expect the Georgia offense to produce explosive plays, points and yards.

Tomorrow should be about the young guys. I’ll be looking to see if some of the young receivers (Tuggle and White) along with the freshman tight ends get some quality game reps.

When UMass Has the Ball

As I mentioned in my first look post, the Minutemen’s offense has not been potent this season. The Georgia 1st team defense should be able to put the clamps on the UMass offense. I don’t believe there’s an Andy Isabella type of player on this team that can cause some problems especially for younger DBs. What I really want to see is for our defense to start getting ready for the QB run heavy offense I expect to see next weekend against the Jacketasses

Once again, I really am hoping we get a chance to see a lot of Ellis Robinson in the secondary with KJ Bolden and some of the other young DBs.

What Will Happen

The outcome of the game isn’t in doubt. I expect to see the starters in the game through the 1st half, and Beck leaves the game before that. Let’s build on the momentum created from the Tennessee game, get out with no injuries, and focus on destroying the trade school on Friday night.

I think those likely mean the Dawgs don’t cover the 42 1/2.

Final Score: Georgia 48, UMass 10

I wasn’t sure whether to post the video above or come up with something snarky about Tennessee Tech. I decided on BTO because I do believe that this should be the theme of the season. It goes right along with “Assume nothing” as a battle cry for this season. Battle cry makes me think of this and the fact that I look forward to spending about 3 hours in Sanford Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Let’s get to the preview.

When Georgia Has the Ball

Will he or won’t he play on Saturday? Kirby has had enough of Chump’s continued questions on the topic. I thought Trevor Etienne should have played this past Saturday based on what’s in the public domain about the situation (and, surprisingly, Mike Griffith agrees). If he doesn’t play this Saturday, I have to assume that there was more to the spring story than was let on or he has a nagging injury where Kirby wants to hold him out. I expect the offensive game plan to be vanilla ice cream … tasty but unexciting. Establish the running game, sprinkle in a controlled passing game, and let superior athletes make plays in space. If the Dawgs don’t break 500 yards of offense and 40 points on the scoreboard, I’ll be disappointed in the day. We saw a little of Gunner Stockton with the 1st team offense in the Orange Bowl, and I hope we get a generous dose of that on Saturday to see Stockton as a future leader of the Georgia offense.

When TTU Has the Ball

We are going to see a lot of base defense on Saturday against a team that is likely to run a lot of spread concepts. Don’t be surprised if the Dawgs only get 1 or 2 sacks against what will likely be an overmatched TTU offensive line with a QB who is told to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible. The only exotic stuff we’re going to do will be a few of the things we showed against Clemson. If this game goes as expected, we’ll see a lot of bodies on the defensive side of the ball rotate in often. One of the biggest that I want to see is Jamaal Jarrett and whether he is fully ready to join the defensive line rotation. He is a large human being, and I doubt TTU has anyone who can block him if he’s interested. If the Golden Eagles score more points against us than Clemson, I’ll be disappointed in the defensive effort.

What Will Happen

On College Football 25, this game would likely require a 3rd digit on the scoreboard, but real 18-23 year old men behave differently than their video game equivalents. I expect us to be sloppy (even Kirby didn’t seem happy about Monday’s practice) on both sides of the ball, but eventually, the pure athleticism takes over. I expect the game to be out of hand by the middle of the 2nd quarter and for the coaches to agree to a running clock in the 4th quarter. As I mentioned with my first look, no significant injuries as we enter SEC play next Saturday night in Lexington.

Final Score: Georgia 52, TTU 3