Today’s music to your ears and sight for sore eyes is the 2021 Kentucky game, the one featuring an undefeated Will Levis/Chris Rodriguez squad that was heading into Athens with a chip on their shoulders and hope in their hearts.
Kentucky had just rattled off two close wins* to division foes South Carolina and Florida, and the week prior to the trek to Athens had walloped LSU 42-21. Note – the asterisk is there because if you look up Kentucky 2021, you’re already seeing vacated wins noted. If only the players had showed up for work at Kroger and not Kroger Field. Cough.
Anyway, the daily countdown reference can be found in this clip at the 12:30 mark, with a beautiful wheel route fade to Bowers in the end zone for a 27 yard touchdown, putting the Dawgs up 21-7 in the 3rd.
Watching again, a few observations:
- How many opponents open their games trying to beat us underneath, and why? Over the past years I’ve informally noticed most offenses opt for underneath passes and check-down screens early. Is it what the defense gives them, or strategy? I can only think of Alabama that year as a team that challenged us vertically from the start (and it worked in the SECCG). I won’t mention their receivers here.
- Man the 2021 defensive front seven was special. Why anyone even attempted to run against it is beyond me.
- I noted in the opening of the highlights a reference to J.T. Daniels. I guess there was still some mystery to what happened to him, but this was Stet’s third start (Arkansas, then Auburn after) and can’t believe folks were seeing the body of work and wondering.
- I miss Darnell Washington.
Go Dawgs!
Going vertical only works if your qb/wr is better than the corner. When you watch film all week and can find no favorable match ups and you know rtdb is never happening early, you have to be trying to identify those things you do well in general and hope the other team makes some mental/physical errors and that you don’t make any. A plan that tries to execute a quick passing game with the hope with success, you can bait the other team into some errors of aggression, isn’t that bad of a plan when you are outmanned.
I miss Grandaddy Washington too.
One other thing to consider on the short passing game is that because we always take away the run first, and that year the Dawgs were other-worldly at doing so, the short passing game takes the place of a running game.
“…can’t believe folks were seeing the body of work and wondering.”
I went to the Missouri game watch party with our alumni group. Some “expert” sat there throughout the game calling for Stetson to be taken out every time a pass went incomplete or we had to punt. I finally had to tell the guy to shut up because he was ruining it for everyone else.
BTW, we won 43-6 and Stetson was 13-19 for 255 and 2 TDs.
You can’t find those Georgia fans now. The Stetson haters all knew it all along now.
That was a nice stroll down memory lane, thanks!