UGA's Offensive Coordination Fails, Again

Preface

In my preseason predictions for the 2009 Georgia football team, I picked Georgia to beat Oklahoma State 35-24.  My reasoning for my preseason prediction went as follows: yes, Oklahoma State has a good offense, averaging nearly 490 yards/game last year, but they also play in the Big 12, a conference that does not emphasize defense as much, inflating the numbers.

Further, Oklahoma State's defense allowed over 400 yards/game last year.  Therefore, I thought that if Georgia could simply play decent defense, which has been typical of Willie Martinez defenses (decent, but not great), then Georgia's experienced offensive line could help UGA's offense to stay on the field and put up points.

I still hold today that my reasoning was not bad, but my score was way off. I got Oklahoma State right; they scored 24, but Georgia only managed 10. So, what went wrong?

Was it Georgia's Defense?

Absolutely not. Oklahoma State's triple-threat offense (Robinson, Bryant, Hunter) averaged 487 yards/game last year and more than 40 points/game. In Saturday's match, Oklahoma State only managed 307 total yards and 24 points, both significantly down from their averages a year ago.

In any scenario, regardless of how good OSU's offense was last year, this is 2009, and only allowing 307 yards of total offense should have given UGA's offense more than enough cushion to win.

Further, there were two instances in which UGA's defense was pinned and had little room to stop Oklahoma State after UGA offensive turnovers (Carlton Thomas/Joe Cox turnovers).

In fact, the defense made an incredible goal line stand at the end of the first half, and almost stopped Oklahoma State on a 4th and goal conversion later in the game. Aside from a few questionable penalties on the defense, notably Reshad Jones's personal foul hit, the defense played very well.

Was it Joe Cox?

No. Sure, Joe Cox accounted for two of UGA's turnovers, with one fumble and one interception, but he honestly did not lose the game for UGA. Even though he certainly did not win the game for UGA either, Joe Cox managed the game well at times. Most of us can clearly agree Joe Cox does not have the abilities of Matthew Stafford.

However, given good offensive coordination, Joe Cox could be a good college quarterback, as he has displayed intangibles, such as leadership and motivation, that Stafford seldom displayed. UGA's offense had sporadic moments of somewhat decent play-calling.

During the first drive, UGA took advantage of their big and experienced offensive line to pound the ball and open up the passing game. Further, UGA's offensive coordination even showed hints of creativity, lining Branden Smith up at QB, running the ball, to keep Oklahoma State's defense off balance.

On the opening drive, Joe Cox made efficient passes when UGA needed first downs or a touchdown.  But, one of the reasons why Cox did so well on the first drive is because he wasn't the focal point of UGA's offensive success—the running game opened his passing game UGA's defense then forced several OSU punts.

When UGA was on offense the remainder of the first half, what did they do? Foolishly make Joe Cox the focal point of the offense. Instead of continuing to run Richard Samuel/Carlton Thomas/Branden Smith to open up the passing game for Cox, UGA decided to come out firing.

This is not necessarily Joe Cox's fault that the offense sputtered. This was bad offensive coordination.

Was it UGA's Offensive Coordination?

Absolutely. Three Turnovers and under 300 yards of total offense. People wanted Willie Martinez's head after several embarrassing losses last year. While I do not think Martinez is the best around, UGA generally plays well enough on defense to win games.

After last year, I wanted Mark Richt to either fire Mike Bobo or re-take play calling duties. Yea, sure, UGA averaged over 400 yards/game on offense last year and scored points, but they also had two first round picks in Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno.

Despite averaging over 400 yards/game last year, anyone who watched UGA's offense knew it wasn't quite up to par, given the talent level. The offense frequently moved the ball well in between the 30 yard lines, but, for a team that had the SEC's leading passer (in yards), leading rusher, and leading receiver, UGA performed poorly in the red zone.

The offense only managed 17 points against a sub par Auburn team and scored 10 points against Florida, turning the ball over at crucial times. Further, while everyone was griping about UGA's defense surrendering 31 points to Bama in the first half, the offense did nothing to keep the defense off the field, stalling almost every drive.

The story Saturday was not much different. UGA got an early 7-0 lead, using offensive creativity, but then became boring and stagnant. UGA was outscored 24-3 after the first quarter, and it was not because the defense failed.

And, here's the part that was most bothersome about UGA's offensive coordination: it's the fourth quarter, and UGA is down by two TDs with eight minutes remaining. No one on the offense remotely had a sense of urgency at all, breaking the huddle and moving to the line of scrimmage like a bunch of sloths.

Further, around the three or four minute mark, UGA's offense had the ball on their last possession before going four downs and out. Did UGA use wise clock management? No. When you're down two touchdowns with limited time and you're running HB draws, something is wrong.

Was UGA aggressive? No. UGA ran a bunch of five to 10 yard slants and WR drags that failed. Heck, UGA has one of the best receivers in the country in A.J. Green, and they can't even attempt to throw the ball down field to give Green a chance to catch a jump ball against a backup defensive back? That's terrible!

I want all of you to sit back and imagine a Florida, USC, Oklahoma, LSU, or Texas in the same situation. If any of these teams were down two TDs with under four minutes remaining, would these teams play this conservatively on offense down the stretch, not even throwing the ball down field and stretching the defense? Of course not, they would consider that conceding. Mike Bobo simply has no killer instinct on offense.

Some of you may argue Joe Cox does not have the ability to throw the ball down the field in those situations; so, UGA did the best they could with his ability and was limited to short passes. Therefore, it's not really the offensive coordination, it's Joe Cox. I'm sorry, but I disagree.

UGA has several QBs behind Joe Cox, notably Aaron Murray, who have great arms. If the problem with UGA's offense is really Joe Cox, then it is up to the offensive coordination to fix the problem and play someone who can do the job. I did not/do not see Bobo attempting to fix the issue of Joe Cox's ability, if that's truly an issue.

Was it Oklahoma State?

Maybe. The argument can definitely be made that Oklahoma State is a good team with a much improved defense. Thus, this had something to do with UGA's struggles. This may be true, but I am not completely buying it.

The biggest credit I will give to Oklahoma State is that they played smart and appeared to be much better coached on offense then UGA. Oklahoma State's offense was anemic as well early in the first half, but they made ADJUSTMENTS, a word that may be foreign to UGA's offensive coordinators.

Conclusion

Clearly, I think UGA's offensive coordination needs to change. I think Mark Richt is a good coach, a great guy, and a good face for the program, but if he is not careful, he could be on the hot seat. If he does not re-take play calling duties or rid of Mike Bobo, the offense will continue to be mediocre and the team will probably accumulate more losses.

I am not saying Mark Richt could possibly be on the hot seat for a lack of coaching ability, or, certainly not recruiting, but for a mismanagement of his staff. I almost feel as if Richt is too nice to let Bobo go, or re-take play calling duties.

It does not matter what Richt has done in the past or what his record is, if things continue on this path, and changes are not made, I fear for his job security. Just ask Tommy Tuberville.