Man, what a disappointing loss. We fought in the second half, but it surely wasn't enough against a VERY good Alabama team. Give Nick Saban and Co. credit—they are punching people in the mouth right now and daring them to hit back.
Let's just get through this because honestly, I don't want to talk about this longer than I have to. A lot of things went wrong on Saturday, but I'll try to hit some of the finer points and leave the obvious stuff out, since you've probably already heard enough about those things already.
The Stats Say
You won't see a more black/white (poor analogy?) first and second half than that in a very long time. For everything UGA did wrong in the first half, they mostly got corrected in the second half.
Penalties are again killing us: It turns out we've had 54 penalties in five games. THIS is a problem that will make us easily an 8-4 team if we don't get it corrected soon.
I'm not saying we win last night if we don't have those early penalties in the first drive that kept that Alabama's drive alive and negated a turnover, but I'm saying it gives us a much better chance. UGLY, UGLY, UGLY play on both sides of the ball penalty-wise.
Also, they say we're getting adequate pressure on the QB, but it's when we're on offense. Stafford was flat getting killed last night, and it forced him to scramble, throw off his back foot, and look like he hasn't looked since UT last year. He forced the ball, missed his checks, and threw into covered receivers all because he didn't have time to make better decisions.
The Good
1) Fan Participation
If you would have told me that we'd be down 31-0 at halftime and our fans would not only stay in their seats, but also try and rally this team back, I'd have told you that I also have oceanfront property in Colorado.
The fans were jacked from the very first snap until maybe three minutes left in the fourth quarter. If you aren't impressed by that, I don't know what to tell you.
2) Lack of "Quit"
As ugly as the first half game was, our team did their best to try to come back and did one helluva job doing it. We were aggressive in the second half like we should have been in the first half, and even though Alabama still had a comfortable lead, you have to acknowledge that their starters were in there for a reason.
This game wasn't so out of hand that Alabama just cruised in the third and fourth quarters, but it was never so close that we had more than a fighting chance either. Anyway, the team came out and made some pretty big plays when we needed them desperately. I'll take that silver lining.
3) Rennie Curran
This kid is a monster. His height may keep him at UGA all four years, but his talent level should suggest that he could play on Sundays as soon as he's eligible. This kid is a DGD.
4) The Recruits All Seem to Have Had a Good Time
3 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Josh Mallory 9 months ago
Good points. I think the Black Out thing garnered too much focus, as well. This is, after all, a football game. The things that mattered were tackles, blocks, passes, etc. Not what the players were wearing.
I will say this. Don't completely give up on your national title hopes, just yet. After all, last year LSU won it with 2 losses. Most of the undefeated teams ahead of UGA have to play each other (UT vs OU and Mizzou; 'Bama vs LSU), and UGA even plays LSU. That means most of those teams will have a loss soon, and it's better to lose early in the season usually.
Good luck against UT! Please please win that one. (and Roll Tide) (Also, not sure I want to see you guys again in December after that second half! But good luck with your season anyway.
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GeorgiaDawg 9 months ago
Good read Kit. I really enjoyed the "pregame" Blackout... and the fans were awesome. I was proud of how "we" stayed with it.
Hopefully the 2nd half is a good sign..... Now let's go smack the Vols!!
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Gray Ghost 9 months ago
Good read as always Kit. How about we forget the black out for say......10 years.
We didn't give up, and that was huge for our psyche. There is plenty of football left. We just have to take care of business!
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