UGA Loses to Bama…Again

Jekyll and Hyde

A classic tale of two halves, but the result ultimately didn’t change. UGA started slow, yet again, and then came out firing midway through the 3rd quarter. They took the lead for all of about 15 seconds before giving up a long touchdown to WR Ryan Williams on the first play of the subsequent drive. The Dawgs moved the ball down the field again, only for Carson Beck to throw a pick in the end zone on a ball intended for WR Colbie Young. Read more UGA Loses to Bama

Let’s take a look at the good, bad, and ugly from this game.

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The Good

Carson finally looked like Carson

Yes, Carson Beck struggled in this game, especially the first half. And at the same time, we also saw the best Carson Beck we’ve seen all year, fitting balls into tight windows and showing a better deep ball accuracy than he has this year. The hope, and it feels like a bit of a stretch to be honest, is that how Beck came alive after the Auburn game last year where he had to clutch up in the 4th quarter, he’ll come alive for the rest of the season after having to make big time throw again and again to claw back into this game. 

Explosives began to hit

UGA was able to finally get some explosive plays going in the passing department. Receivers Dillon Bell and Arian Smith finished with over 100 yards receiving on the day. The Dawgs managed a quick strike score when they had to have one. 

Bobo was in his bag

I know Mike Bobo (and quickly becoming Carson Beck) has been the ire of Dawg fans for many years. I think he didn’t call his best game against UK, but Bama was a different story. He dialed up deep shots from the very beginning. Bama lined up asking for us to throw deep and we did. We just didn’t take advantage of it. Either Beck missed the throw or it was dropped. We had more than enough of the “right” play call. Once again, we lacked enough execution. More on that later. 

Dan Jackson came to play

Who would have guessed that Dirty Dan would be our best in the secondary against Bama? He wasn’t perfect, but Dan was flying to the ball and made a key interception. He played so well that Shannon Sharpe said he’s an NFL caliber player after the game.  While I thought KJ Bolden would take over his job midway through the year, I watched KJ look like a freshman, and Jackson look like everything you’d hope for in a 5th year player. 

Anthony Evans sighting

One of the criticisms of the UK game was that WR Anthony Evans had so few snaps on offense. He got a lot more this game, and continues to show promise as a playmaker for UGA. He needs to continue to develop, and did get a bad hold on a screen pass that would have been a major gain. However, his plus side is too high to keep him off the field. It’s good that UGA is showing him more. 

Luckie 7’s

TE Lawson Luckie also got more burn in this game. I had a friend after the Clemson game say that Delp is in trouble and Luckie will surpass him. I told him that he was probably wrong and shouldn’t read too much into one game. Well, when the chips were down against Bama, it was Luckie they turned to make plays more than Delp. Luckie also made a key touchdown grab for 7 points.

The Bad

Micah Morris

Micah is so talented and has been thrust into a starting role at right guard with Tate Ratledge going down with a leg injury. He just doesn’t give 100% effort on plays. He’s so talented, but he takes reps off at the cost of the offense. 

Malaki Starks

Yeah, I’m shocked to have to say this, but Starks had the worst game of his career. From the first drive he ran up to close space on Jalen Milroe. He came in too hot, arms flailing around, and didn’t even get a hand on him. He was beaten more than once on double moves in coverage, giving up explosive plays and a touchdown in coverage. He stunk. Very disappointing from him, but I also believe he’ll bounce back. 

Dom Lovett

Lovett has been one of the few bright spots on the UGA offense and yet, he’s still making big mistakes. He got an OPI and has repeatedly made catches but incorrectly followed the blocks. It takes what should be a major gain into a 5-7 yard gain. He’s making plays, but honestly should be making even more. 

The Ugly

Seniors

I’m blown away that we are playing guys in their 5th year in the program, who are supposed to be or become superstars, and they are making devastating mistakes routinely. First off, Arian Smith. Yes, he finished with a career high in yards and made some big plays. But his mistakes were more costly. The drop on the first drive is inexcusable and would have likely changed the entire first half if he catches it.

He dropped another easy ball in the game. Then, he ran the wrong route, leading to a Beck interception and Bama score. So, in the first quarter, Smith alone cost UGA at least 10 points. Carson Beck is guilty here too. His fumble and second interception are all on him. These were two inexcusable plays for a 5th year that show a total lack of awareness. Our seniors have to play better. 

Tight Ends

Yes, I said Luckie was a bright spot, but Oscar Delp and Ben Yurosek have been remarkably bad. Yurosek should not play another snap for UGA until he can block. He flat out whiffed on LT Overton on a key 4th and 1, but was saved by RB Trevor Etienne being a beast. Holy crap he’s been awful, and I don’t really know why he’s on the field when he’s this inconsistent. Delp dropped two very catchable balls that would have been big plays in this game. His regression this year is startling. 

3rd Downs

UGA is ranked 106th in the nation in 3rd down conversion. They were a top 5 team last year, if not #1 in that category. I know part of their issue against Alabama was that they were in 4 down mode for most of the second half, so they weren’t trying to convert 3rd downs with the same desperation. However, it’s been a consistent problem throughout the year. 

First halves

So far this season, UGA is averaging 10 points in the first half. If you take away the Tennessee Tech game, that number drops to 5. 5 first half points, on average, against Clemson, UK, and Bama. That is AWFUL. 

Tackling

15 missed tackles. UGA has missed more than 10 tackles the last 3 games. 

Reaction

Georgia has shown consistent problems this year: poor execution in the first half, costly penalties, bad tackling. Kirby Smart says football is basically blocking and tackling, and UGA doesn’t do either well right now.

This team in unique in that it has a high ceiling, which I still believe is a national championship level. It also has a terribly low floor for the talent and experience on this roster, which I think is 4 losses. That was unthinkable at the beginning of this year.

The good news is that if UGA can improve some basics, like blocking and tackling, we know how quickly they can turn it on. I also think the formula for beating UGA, or at least playing a tight game against them is fairly easy: you need enough concepts that you haven’t put on tape yet. Then you either need a couple of dynamic playmakers (like Milroe and Williams) or you need to sustain long drives and hold the ball.

You can fool the defense for at least a while and score points, and then eat clock or be explosive just enough to give yourself a chance. The Dawgs have a lot of work to do if they want to hit their goals this year. We’ll find out what this team is really made of in the coming weeks. Losing to talented teams, especially in away games, that happens. The Bama loss in and of itself shouldn’t make fans panic. But the trends of poor execution are absolutely concerning.

If UGA struggles against Auburn, don’t be shocked for nearly every game this year to be a fight.