3 Questions Answered: OH GOD ALABAMA JUST PWNNED US AND SCORED AGAIN

1. Who wins the battle for the lines of scrimmage? When the best thing you can say is that the defensive line didn't miss any assignments, but didn't really do much more....
2. Can Lambert step up and shine? No. Give credit to Alabama's defense. And their coaches. And the guy who washes their clothes. The Tide played nearly perfect pass coverage, while slowing down Georgia's run game. Damn.
3. How will special teams play into the game? I don't even....

Yeah, I got nothing. This is the first time in a long time of doing this where I nailed all three questions and the answer to all three is 'we got owned or worse.'

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3 Questions: Alabama

1. Who wins the battle for the lines of scrimmage? Offensively, can UGA do enough to get the ground game going and keep Lambert alive? Defensively, can we create havoc and make Coker look like he did against Mississippi? Can we contain Henry and Drake?
2. Can Lambert step up and shine? The knock on him has been the punchline of 'former UVA QB.' This is the kind of game that will let him shake that off once and for all.
3. How will special teams play into the game? I like our chances if it comes down to something special teams with one big caveat: the rain. It makes catching punts/kicks hard and costs the return guy the ability to cut.

Honestly, this is one of those games that you could list 50 things and probably be right. Both teams are so evenly matched talent wise. There are no moral victories, but this is a measuring stick game for UGA. Play to the level I believe UGA is now at and we'll win or be really, really close to winning, absent something fluky. 

Go Dawgs.

T

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3 Questions Answered: Southern

Nice performance. I wasn't happy with offensive line play early. Being really nit picky, Lambert had at least two throws that were a little behind his receiver. There was one drive where the LBs were either not in position to defend the TE seam route or forgot how to do so.

1. How many guys will we play? We played 76, with Payne, Bellamy, McGraw, Reggie Carter and Juwan Taylor all out with injury. Jayson Stanley got his first UGA reception, Trent Thompson had had five tackles, and Michael Barnett played, making 22 true freshmen who have played for UGA this season.
2. Will we break out some other looks on offense? I saw some wrinkles, but nothing out of what we've seen this season. We did do some hurry up plays and split out Michel a few times and moved Mitchell around. Oh, and the long TD pass that was called back should be enough to give you an idea of what we can do if we want to. We still haven't run a wheel route, by the way.
3. How will the kicking game look? Punt fail. Good kickoff coverage of a dangerous return guy. Mixed bag.

And I hope Devon Gales is ok. Prayers are with his and the Southern University family.

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3 Questions: Southern

Simple week in my book:

1. How many guys will we play? By my count, we've played 74 guys, with all but ten of those getting into at least 2 of 3 games. I don't see us playing too many more, but there are some young guys, especially on defense, that it would be nice to see get significant reps. On offense, I want to see the OL starters on the side line all of the second half. The same goes for pretty much all the offensive starters.
2. Will we break out some other looks on offense? Last week, we ran many multiple sets, including a few with 3+ WRs in. This week, it'll be interesting to see if we run the diamond or some other sets to get Michel and Chubb in the backfield at the same time. Or to see the three TEs in with Hicks and Blazevich in the H and Slot....with Michel and Chubb in the backfield. 
3. How will the kicking game look? I'd hope we don't see too many punts. I'm looking for consistent coverage on kickoffs and/or touchbacks galore. Southern's best weapon is a 5'5" speedster named Willie Quinn. He'll take the ball out from 9 1/2 yards deep, because why not? 

Stay healthy, look competent in all three phases, get some game reps for young guys. And let Bauta run wild in the 4th quarter.

TW

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3 Questions Answered: South Carolina

1. Will we have to pass to win? Oh, my. A little hedge, I don't think we had to throw it to win, but it sure blows a defensive game plan out of the water when you throw it 25 times and connect on 24 of them.
2. Will this be like last year's game? Old scars still ache at night. This felt like a restoration of the world order.
3. How much does our crowd matter? We were loud and the stadium was full until South Carolina punted it back with 2 minutes left. Awesome job, y'all.

I don't have words to describe Lambert's game. I'll say this about Schottenheimer: if he keeps calling games like this, there'll be lots of pundits around that threw shade in the spring that'll have crow to eat. He called a spectacular game. 

TW

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3 Questions: South Carolina

1. Will we have to pass to win? Wait, maybe it is will we have to pass enough to satisfy the RUNTHEDAMNBALL fans from last year. That is really the problem. And here is the part that really chafes those fans asses: Richt and Schottenheimer don't care. They really are the honey badgers of play calling. They are going to call the plays they want, when they want. And it'll be with purpose. So my answer to this is yes and no. Will we have to pass more than 25 times to win? Maybe that is the better question.
2. Will this be like last year's game? Honestly, last year's game was just like the Vandy game was last week, with one exception: Vandy didn't go to that quick passing game until late. South Carolina was the beneficiary of dicey special teams play (especially on pooch kickoffs and FG attempts), bad seam coverage in zone passing defense, and a couple of head scratching officiating decisions that paid off for the Gamecocks. Maybe we got that game out of our systems against Vandy. If we didn't, I still like our chances, but it'll be another gut wrenching up to the last minute thing because the Gamecock offense is at least two play makers better than Vandy's.
3. How much does our crowd matter? I'm not talking about some esoteric home vs away record stuff. I'm talking about this being South Carolina's first road game with a former walk on as the starting QB. I'm talking getting them off their rhythm, causing them to jump off sides. I'm talking making their defense doubt their places in the firmament. There is tangible benefit to bringing the noise, even if the offense isn't running plays you like. 

BTW, last year's Clemson stat line: Passing - 18/26, 131 yards, 0 TDs; Rushing - 41 for 328, 5 TDs. Mason's longest completion was a sideline throw to Bennett for 23 yards. South Carolina can be beat without us slinging the ball around. UGAQB has to be better at reading defenses and checking into plays that work. We also have to be willing to pass on first down and using tempo to our advantage. Defensively, throw multiple looks at Orth, watch for tricks to get Cooper and Wilds the ball in space, and play solid pass D.

TW

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3 questions answered: Vandy

Got a little behind and didn't finish this until this morning...

1. How many passes will UGAQB attempt? Well, we didn't throw it much. 25 times, as foretold by the prophesy: For my money, Lambert will get 20 or so attempts, with Ramsey getting another 5. Ok, Lambert took 21 and Ramsey 4. We still stayed in base 22, but did use two wide outs a few times. This week, stay tuned as UGA may run as many as three wide outs on one play, those crazy kids.
2. Can the defense handle Vandy's rushing offense? We held them to 105 yards on 39 rushes. I wonder if Jake Bernstein would trade Webb for Chubb now?
3. What can we realistically expect to be the outcome here? I predicted a 21+ point win, with it back and forth. I guess with it being Nashville PHANTOM HOLDS TO EXTEND DRIVES FOR THE WIN, with the added excitement of Georgia's any given kicking play bug/feature, 17 points seems right.

We got another week of tasty vanilla treats. We didn't get fancy. We didn't need to. We controlled the edge play from their offense. Jenkins used the game to make Vern forget Tim Tebow, if only for a game. Win and move on has been thrown around, but at the end of the season, I'd take 13+ of these wins, honestly.

TW

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3 Questions: Vanderbilt

Red jerseys on the road. Wanna bet Pruitt has been in McGraw and Kimbrough's ear all week about those long pass plays to UL-Monroe?

1. How many passes will UGAQB attempt? I'd like to think we'll handle the Commodores with the running game, but their run defense looked pretty good against Western Kentucky. When you consider Vandy's defensive weakness is their Dbackield, I'd look for more crossing routes and those slants that we used early to get UL-Monroe off the ball a bit. Also, look for Schotty to go back to that roll out zone flood that Mitchell was alone on. For my money, Lambert will get 20 or so attempts, with Ramsey getting another 5. Plus, I'd bet we'll see some other offensive alignments than base 22 and single split out.
2. Can the defense handle Vandy's rushing offense? Webb is a strong runner and they do a serviceable job doing things to get him in space. McCrary is also a runner, both as a designed play and to save his own life. Vandy wants to grind out drives and make you pay if you don't contain McCrary. They also want to use that to sucker you into single coverage, hoping to get the DBs looking inside to allow either Sherfield or Kentera a shot to get open deep.
3. What can we realistically expect to be the outcome here? My gut tells me it'll be back and forth early, as both teams want to run the ball. Georgia's gameplan isn't designed on quick strike leads, unless we break off a long run or connect on a well executed long ball play action. Vandy's isn't either. This feels like another workman like game where Georgia's athleticism takes over in the second half and the Dawgs win by 21+.

Offensively, expect another week of tasty vanilla treats. We'll probably show a couple of wrinkles and run a play or two out of different sets, but unless we have to get fancy, there is no need to do so. Defensively, the key to shutting down Vandy is controlling the edge while getting push inside. Their QB can hurt you, but if he's forced to make quick decisions between getting a personal introduction to Misters Floyd and Carter and making some bad throwing decisions, he'll give you a couple of pick opportunities.

Go Dawgs!

TW

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3 Questions Answered: UL-Monroe

Raise your hand if you had 'called off after two lightning delays' as a prop bet in Vegas....

Since all three of my questions were stat related:

Georgia Passing

	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
Greyson Lambert	8/12	141	11.8	2	0
Brice Ramsey	2/2	51	25.5	1	0
TEAM	10/14	192	14.1	3	0

Georgia Rushing

	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Nick Chubb	16	120	7.5	2	27
Keith Marshall	10	73	7.3	2	20
Sony Michel	6	41	6.8	0	14
Brendan Douglas	3	17	5.7	0	11
Greyson Lambert	1	-1	-1.0	0	0
- Team	1	-1	-1.0	0	0
Brice Ramsey	1	-6	-6.0	0	0
TEAM	38	243	6.4	4	27

1. How many WRs will get touches? Five receivers caught 14 passes. Lambert looked like he was taking too long to go through his progressions early, but he did a great job of moving out of the pocket, very much against his Virginia scouting report. Both TD passes were very nice balls. With the one to Blazevich, he threw a bullet to the spot the TE was headed in a way that the trailing cover guy had no chance to tip it. I'd still have liked to see us try out some longer passes, but this is about what you'd expect with our running game. 
2. How many touches will Nick Chubb get? Chubb got 16 total carries. I think he was done when the game was called, but our OLine was imposing their will on UL-Monroe after the first lightning delay. I'll have more about the line later this week, but they definitely got better as the game wore on.
3. Will the new look kicking game be new look? Barber had three KOs for touch backs. IMHO, until Barber stops doing that, Marshall Morgan shouldn't be kicking.

This was a quietly good win. Pruitt got just enough to be unhappy with the two touchdown pass plays, both of which looked like blown seem coverage by the LBs (I reserve the right to be wrong about that upon rewatching). Otherwise, the D looked really fast and really good. Both QBs looked strong enough to handle the offense and neither made a Joe Coxian heave just to see what happens throw.

Overall, a good start.

T

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3 Questions: UL-Monroe

After watching South Carolina and others struggle against their opening opponents, I'm worried about my 41-10 prediction for tomorrow. I always forget, these games are usually tougher than you expect, unless you play Alcorn State.

It's been a while since we've been as settled, at least from the outside looking in. Yes, I know there was a QB race, but honestly, it feels like that really was one of philosophy between using a traditional drop back guy and a zone read type. Once that was decided, and honestly with our running backs, changing the power pro set seems far fetched, the actual name of the jersey seems less relevant now.

I reserve the right to change my mind about that assessment.

The defense has new faces, but I'm not concerned about that side of the ball. Yeah, we are going to be green, and I see a blown wheel route coverage or two coming, but on the whole, I think our D got better, something we'll not really see until later in the season. That is a long way of saying that hoping for a shutout here is unreasonable, even with UL-M's offensive issues.

1. How many WRs will get touches? Mason spread the ball around. UGAQB needs to be able to do so as well, especially since we'll see Mitchell covered up until another WR steps up to make teams respect our passing game. I'm looking at the TEs and RBs. Spread the ball around, especially on the edge, and you are seeing progression in our passing game, even if we don't have one guy averaging 10 targets a game.
2. How many touches will Nick Chubb get? I'm going with a WAG O/U of 12, though it could be 20 and it could be 6. UL-M's run defense was not good last year. Still, I expect us to spread touches out early. I hope we have the kind of lead after halftime that allows Chubb to not play after the 2nd Q. If he gets 25 touches, we've got bigger issues.
3. Will the new look kicking game be new look? Honestly, I hope we don't see Barber, but if we do, I want to see that booming Freshman Barber back. And all touch backs on kickoffs, please.

Get a solid performance out of our base sets on both sides of the ball, give UGAQB some opportunities to get confidence, keep Pruitt from pulling more hair out on defense, and don't get hurt. Seems like achievable goals.

T

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3 Questions Answered: Georgia Tech

1. Is our defense up to the task? Well, no? I mean, we did a good job of bending and not breaking. They had nearly 400 yards rushing, but they didn't go out and score a bundle of points. The real answer lies in what little adjustments we made to counteract what they were doing with the dive. Very little adjustments were made until the very end. And they still ran the football 21 yards with 18 seconds to play to get into position to tie the game. Oh, and Thomas didn't get hit enough. 
2. Will 24 points win the game? No. But it should have been. We scored a defensive TD to get there, too. 
3. Who will be the Tech killer? It should have been Mason. Instead, his time as UGA will be remembered for one interception in an overtime that never should have happened. 

Other random observations:

• It is hard to say if the Missouri outcome had anything to do with the game. We came out quickly and played really well early. 
• The two fumbles inside the 5 were obviously huge, but we counteracted that with one that was returned for a TD. 
• I'm shocked we kicked a FG from the two after running a fake FG on 4th and 12...if we are willing to turn it over at the 31 against a chance to score a TD, why not go for it from the two?
• It was good to see Rumph get a couple of targets.
• It is early to say this, but it sure seems Pruitt has some learning to do about making defensive adjustments. Give him credit, though, he changed the alignment after the kickoff debacle to force Thomas into making more decisions; this lead to Thomas' fumble giving us the ball back.

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3 Questions: Georgia Tech

1. Is our defense up to the task? I know this sounds like a broken record, but disciplined defensive play (DRINK!) is so key against this offense. Tech doesn't sling the ball around, but they have a dangerous receiver in Smelter. He's only targeted 4 or 5 times a game, but he's picking up 20 yards a catch. When you face an offense that runs the ball 60 times a game, letting a guy like Smelter get alone will be costly. Also, making Justin Thomas think "I've gotten hit too much already today" by the end of the first quarter would be nice. You can disrupt their offense if you make Thomas jittery.
2. Will 24 points win the game? Both teams work to manage the clock with their running game. Georgia's scoring output is directly related to opportunistic defense and good special teams play. If we don't get those opportunities, can we score enough points to win?
3. Who will be the Tech killer? We are in the midst of a run of guys stepping up to do in the Jackets. Think Todd Gurley putting the Dawgs on his shoulders in overtime. For my money, this is Hutson Mason's game to shine. With what Bobo has done over the past few games moving the passing offense forward, coupled with Georgia Tech's less than stellar pass defense, it wouldn't surprise me to see Mason step up big time.

As a special bonus, how up for the game will the Dawgs be if Missouri wins vs. if Missouri loses? I like the focus comments this week, but for a noon game after the SEC East is decided on Friday, that is a huge variable. Speaking of, let's pack it for the Seniors. They deserve it.

TD

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3 Questions Answered: Charleston Southern

1. How much stuff offensive stuff will we 'try out'? I'm not sure I saw anything out of the ordinary except the FB quick dive we ran with Quayvon. 
2. Can we get some reps to guys that'll likely have to play some next week?Loved seeing the young guys get some meaningful reps. Didn't love seeing them get gashed by Robinson on the option pitch.
3. Can we give Mason and his deep threat receivers plenty of chances to work out their kinks? For my money, I wish we'd run a few more deep passes, if for nothing else to allow Mason and Mitchell a chance to get on the same page. Overall, we took six or eight shots, so I can live with that.

As you can tell, the recurring theme this week is getting us ready for what we'll need to do to take the Tech winning streak to six in a row. Again. 

TD

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3 Questions: Charleston Southern

1. How much stuff offensive stuff will we 'try out'? It wouldn't be unlike Bobo to throw some looks out, legitimate or otherwise, that is designed to give Tech and whatever post season DC's we might face some extra things to think about.
2. Can we get some reps to guys that'll likely have to play some next week? Tech's offense is predicated on wearing you out, then exploiting your exhaustion late. Last year, Georgia was the stronger team as the game wore on, in large part to the very fresh legs of young guys due to Todd Grantham's Magical non substitution plan and hair tonic™ . We don't have that depth right now, so any reps played by younger guys serve dual purposes of game experience for them, and letting our starting rotation relax.
3. Can we give Mason and his deep threat receivers plenty of chances to work out their kinks? I asked that before Troy, but it became obvious after two deep throws, it wasn't happening. I'd love to see Richt give it a half or so before bailing on that plan.

The Buccaneers are a competent football team, but unless we put together a performance that is worse than we played in the second and third quarter against Florida, and give up at least two turnovers for TDs, we'll not lose. So operating on that premise, if we are to get better as an offensive football team, we need to get better at the deep pass. We need to bottle what happened against Auburn defensively, too.

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3 Questions: Auburn

1. Can we win if we don't create opportunities defensively? To put it another way, can we stop their offense enough to allow us to play our standard game plan or grinding it out absent turnovers or long punt/kickoff returns? I just don't know. I don't want to have to come from behind against this team. They aren't great defensively, but the Florida game showed just how tough a row it is for us to how if we have to resort to the passing game to win. For my money, we need one return for a TD of some sort, as well as being in front on the TO +/- ledger, to win.
2. Is this 'renewed focus' on the edge good enough? Kentucky won't be confused for Auburn, but they have a couple of similarities. They want you to have to trade off run coverage for pass coverage, then force you into Hobson Choices after the ball is snapped. Kentucky did an effective job of making us play reactive defense at times. If Auburn can get us to do that, it'll be a long night.
3. What is Todd Gurley's impact? If the best running back in the nation just had a four game vacation from playing football was facing UGA this Saturday, we'd be in a Level III meltdown right now. Well, the best running back in the nation just had a four game vacation and he plays for Georgia. As long as we don't get too fancy with him, he could get 150+ rushing yards Saturday night. The interesting thing will be to see if Bobo has some special packages with Chubb and Gurley (Churley? Gubb?) planned to make Auburn have to make those tough choices.

I think we'll be in a shootout, with one team pulling away late. Looking at the schedules, it is easy to think that'll be Auburn. The X factor is how much do turnovers play into the outcome.

TD

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3 Questions Answered: Kentucky

1. Will we under estimate the Wildcats? Nope.
2. Seriously, will we make in game adjustments if the Wildcats find something that works? There were only two drives that really stood out to me that the Wildcats were able to really move down the field on offense, and one of those plays was exactly like what Florida did to us with a misdirection blocking scheme that got everyone shifting away from the play that resulted in a long TD run. It didn't happen again, so that's something.
3. Can our special teams improve back to average? With the exception of the curious case of Quayvon vs. pooch kicks (pooch kicks are winning 2-1 right now), I'd say we did ok.

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3 Questions: Kentucky

Kentucky gave the number one team in the nation all they could handle for 3 quarters, putting up gaudy numbers against a good defense. In fact, this is a much improved team over the Wildcats we faced two years ago up there. And that game wasn't easily won.

1. Will we under estimate the Wildcats? Cause, you know, they lost to Missouri and our coaches said they aren't that good.
2. Seriously, will we make in game adjustments if the Wildcats find something that works? The most maddening thing about last week is that there seemed to be no attempts to change our defense alignment, sets, or approach, even as the Gators basically dared us to stop the run. While I've been really impressed with Pruitt as a coach, it is a glaring failure on his part to recognize that Florida wasn't ever, ever going to ask Harris to throw another pass last week. Add in his lack of forcing Florida to do something different and bringing the fight to the Gators, and that tempers some of my enthusiasm for his short tenure here.
3. Can our special teams improve back to average? I know we were due for a let down after six games of stunningly strong specials teams play. We'll have to get back to mere competence for me to feel ok about beating Kentucky.

As last week showed, anything can happen. And it has in Lexington. Kentucky always seems to play well against us up there. In my mind, we have to play aggressive defense and force them to do something, instead of laying back and letting their offense come to us. Offensively, we should be able to run the ball. 

Florida, LSU, South Carolina, and Mississippi State all gained more than 200 yards on the ground. If we can force Towles into having to win the game with his arm, I feel ok about this, as crazy as it sounds, because it will likely mean we have a lead that the Wildcats feel like they have to throw the ball to catch up to.

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3 Questions Answered: Florida

As I mentioned, we needed to win field position. We didn't.

1. Who benefits more from the off week? Clearly the off week allowed Roper to get enough offense installed to give Harris a fighting chance to not lose the game. It also seems Pruitt's used the off week to let his defense forget how to shed blocks and tackle.
2. How does Treon Harris' promotion change the game? For one game it did. I don't know if Roper decided to just put it in the hands of the running game or what would have happened if the officials had made a couple of holding calls early, but there certainly was no indication that they felt they had to throw the ball, which I'm convinced they would have done with Driskell.
3. What does Pruitt have in store? We didn't run blitz nearly as much as we should have, even after it became obvious that Harris wasn't throwing the ball. It really felt like our defense was scared to death of the pass play that was never coming.

Like I said, some of this loss is attributed to poor play across the board, but a lot of it is firmly at the feet of the defense. There is no reason for allowing them that many long runs.

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3 Questions: Florida

This is Georgia Florida. Records don't matter. Who's been playing what way doesn't matter. Florida is playing for Will Muschamp's job, too.

1. Who benefits more from the off week? The smart money is on the team that has less to fix and adjust, but....but the Gators have everything to fix and adjust. Will having an extra week mean they find some answers?
2. How does Treon Harris' promotion change the game? I'm not saying it does, but having an off week certain helps. He has looked just like the Freshman he is, but he has also looked far more effective in moving Florida's offense. As a bonus, he is a QB that can tuck it and run. While I like our chances if he gets too cute, or is in a run first attitude without considering throwing, we have a tough choice if he starts executing the Gator's offense the way Roper wants his QBs to. That means using quick middle and precision passes, coupled with timely runs, all while pushing the tempo. 
3. What does Pruitt have in store? Freshman QB and head coach's job on the line? You'd think Pruitt has invented new ways to blitz. Harris only has 18 attempts, with two of those going for 70+ yards in the Eastern Michigan game. Roper is going to keep it simple for Harris and pick his spots. Pruitt will have to do the same.

Like I said, this is Georgia-Florida. Anything goes. Their defense is very good. If we can create opportunities and win field position, I like our chances.

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3 Questions Answered: Arkansas

Nice win by a team coming into their own or all the breaks means a relatively easy win?

I'm happy with either....

1. Can Georgia neutralize their passing game? Yes and no. The middle is still a concern, but I guess it is just going to be. We have definite issues with LBs covering late releasing receivers. Still, the pass rush, particularly from the edge, made the issue fairly moot in the end.
2. Which team wins the turnover battle? "Georgia's successes have hinged on aggressively creating turnovers, while avoiding them when we have the ball. If we win the field position battle due to turnovers, we'll win the game. That simple." - NAILED IT
3. Can Georgia play within our themselves? This is the part I think is over looked when you consider this version of the Bulldogs. After the loss at South Carolina, everyone counted them down for the count. Hell, the pundits were giddily sweeping any chance of UGA winning both the past two games under the carpet. Georgia isn't following their little narrative, and in fact looks stronger now than they did when Gurley was allowed to play. Give that some thought. 

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