The Gator Bowl Review

There is a reason I haven't written much about the Gator Bowl. As I said, I'm not too jazzed about playing Nebraska again. Our team doesn't look much like the team we started the season with. That being said, I think the game hinges on how well our offensive line plays.

The line has been the most Jekyll/Hyde part of the team this season. I know we want to point to the defense, but hell, what we have on defense is what we have. You just hope we get the stops we need to not have to come back from 20 down. Again.

Based on what Nebraska has done this season, look for Mason and Georgia's offense to struggle a bit throwing down field, if Bobo even makes the call for him to do so. Gurley and the rushing attack has some room to make hay. All of that hinges on the offensive line. Will we see the offensive line from the first half of Tech or that from the 4th quarter/OT of Tech?

Also, look out for the turnover thing. Nebraska is dead last in fumbles recovered. They are 121st in the nation in turnover margin at -12. Compare that with Georgia's -6 at 97th. It isn't easy to see that if one team is able to do something, anything, with turnovers, they could flip the script easily.

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CapitalOne Bowl Rewatch

I've had one more game in the DVR que that I haven't watched. I'll get to the best play from that game, in my mind, in a few days (hint: Chris Conley). Just a few thoughts:

• The interception on the first drive was Murrays' worst of the season. He nearly pointed at the receiver, then under threw the pass without accounting for the deep cover help. Just not a well thought out play.
• Nebraska did a good job keeping Murray off kilter with stunts, blitzes, and well timed interference. Still Murray didn't throw many really sharp balls until the second half.
• That being said, the interception on the screen pass was a busted timing play. Marshall got tangled up and knocked down and the Nebraska guy just made a nice play on the ball.
• Richt was in the officials' ears a fair amount. Didn't remember seeing that much.
• The 75 yard TD play to King was under thrown. King did as much to complete that pass as Murray.
• Let's see more of that Wild Dog, amirite?
• Speaking of Conley, that 47 yard TD throw from Murray in the 3rd was such beautiful play. Murray froze the D with the pump fake, then put a perfect bomb in his receiver's hands. Just a glorious play.
• The defense gave up a lot of untouched four+ yard runs.
• The second half was more like what I wanted to see. 7pts, 182 yards allowed. Still a lot of rushing yards, though.

I'm also going to say one thing I've had rolling around in my head about last year's defense: I believe in Alec Ogletree's talent, but he sure looked out of place a bunch. I believe he is a great Georgia Bulldog. I believe he was relied on and didn't deliver at times. I've watched Florida, Alabama, and Nebraska in the past few weeks. I've watched the defense give up big plays in the middle of the field. I don't know what that means for this year, but it is out there. Ogleetree made some very big plays when we needed him to. He also was out of position or moving the wrong direction on so many plays that went for 20+ yards.

Not calling him out. In fact, I'd might say he was put in positions by the coaches that didn't allow him to make those plays. Now, that is something worth worrying about as we close on one week to Clemson. That, and Nebraska's ability to freeze everyone with the threat of Martinez running.

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PS. I didn't intend for this to sound like a dark place post. Just was in a place to consider tempering my enthusiasm. This game did that, despite the win.

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0-2 Against the SEC, but Number 1 in their minds

26/43, 320 yards, 3 TDs, 3 Ints

36 runs, 83 yards, 0 TDs

Those are Taylor Martinez's stats in his two starts against SEC teams. Both of those were in the CapitalOne Bowl.  I get the OMG!1!!!SECD!11!!! fatigue   But that fatigue is rooted in reality.

Georgia, who despite Nebraska's protestations to the contrary, isn't one of the better defenses in the SEC. We are 6th in the conference. True, we do boast one of the better scoring defenses in the conference. And we held Nebraska to below their season average in points (even more so when you consider one of their TDs was a pick 6). We held them to below their season average in rushing offense. We held them to below their season average in passing offense.

So, yeah, I guess we are like a B1.5G team.

Hey, whatever helps the folks in Lincoln get through another off season of having lost to a team with lesser talent from a league that has only won six national championships in a row. When Northwestern's win over Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl is your conference's signature bowl win, talk is all you have.

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Also see:
-Blutarsky's take on the comments, Get the Picture
-Chatelain: Late fade leaves Huskers facing another uncomfortable offseason, Omaha World-Herald-Steven Sipple: Pelini makes his pitch. Do you still Bo-lieve?, Lincoln Journal Star

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3 Questions Answered: Nebraska

1. Can we stop their running game? Well, they got their rushing yards, but the vast majority of their yards were on traditional running plays instead of the QB improvising, so there is that. For about a quarter and a half in the middle of the game, it did look like we would just be run over by them as the game wore on, but our defense stepped it up in the start of the 4th quarter. As a result, the Huskers didn't have any scoring drives after opening second half drive.
2. Will our offense be our best defense? The 4:39 drive late in the 4th quarter was a great example of this. However, we ended up with the quick strike offense that I was convinced we'd go away from. In fact, early, with the wildcat and pistol, I thought that was exactly what we were trying to do. Instead, we ended up getting Gurley 23 touches and 127 yards. None were as awesome as the 24 yard run from the Wildcat, though. Overall, the key stat to me is Georgia had 8.3 yards per offensive play to Nebraska's 5.6. We were able to matriculate the ball at key times when they stalled.
3. What effect does Nebraska's loss in the B1.5G championship game have on the Huskers? Well, they held Georgia to 25 fewer points than they did Wisconsin, so there is that.

It turned into a shootout, mostly thanks to the interception return for a touchdown and the middle of the game defensive lapses. Overall, it was a good win for Richt, Murray and the Dawgs.

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12 Wins

That was awesome. Dawgs played through some defensive lapses. Aaron Murray came up big, despite struggling early. Jones and Ogletree were huge. TK was hugerer.

Go Dawgs!
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Commit to the G

Can't lose to a  mouth
breather, y'all

Yes, it is an exhibition. A win today sets us up for a good off season  An off season that will see us with some work to do, but an off season that has potential.

A loss means a whole off season of self-doubt. An off season of didn't win a meaningful game (I know we won Florida, but you can't let facts get in the way of ranting). An off season of Georgia and Murray and Richt ain't real.

Today matters. Go make it happen.

Go Dawgs!

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3 Questions: Nebraska

Well, I (sadly) find myself one game from being without emotional skin in a football game, unless the Falcons make the Super Bowl. While we've had a good year, a convincing win over the team that was set up well to go to the Rose Bowl, Nebraska no less, and we'll have a very good year. 12 wins. Premier bowl game victory. Winning streak against Florida. Not having a loss to a B1.5G team on New Year's Day.

Yes, the CapitalOne Bowl does mean something beyond a nice little exhibition. We got another month of practice in and got some of the new class in the fold. We also have an opportunity to shape the narrative of 2013 in a positive way.

1. Can we stop their running game? Blah, SEC Championship Game, blah, blah, blah. Nebraska's rushing offense is blahdy blah blahblah. Honestly, we need to bring pressure on Martinez and make him become more of a pocket passer. About half of his rushing yards are on obvious passing downs, which means he is very good at improvising. If we can put them in those situations, then make him afraid work hard to run, we'll do ok. In this case, I like Jarvis Jones and Company to do just that.
2. Will our offense be our best defense? You know who can't run the ball if we have it? Their rushing defense has been awful. Their passing defense has been stout, but it is also a product of their schedule. If we can establish the run, which I believe we can, we can control the game tempo, which is what I expect us to do. Once we do that, the FB/TE/mid-seam route passes off play action become much more open. We don't want to get into a shootout with them, which could happen. Our defensive line will need the rest, especially late in the game. Hopefully, the Marshall plan will work.
3. What effect does Nebraska's loss in the B1.5G championship game have on the Huskers? To put it a different way, what effect does Georgia's loss in the SEC Championship game have on the Dawgs? Both have reason to take motivation away from the games. Both have reasons to fold up shop and mail it in. However, one team played very good football to end the season and one didn't. Beyond the Wisconsin game, Nebraska needed Iowa to do Iowa stuff for the Huskers to win and that was with a spot in the B1.5G title game on the line. 

I think Georgia wins this game. If we do what I think we will, it'll be a very quiet 10 point thrashing. Think the Ole Miss game in 2011. It has the opportunity to be a shootout, but I just don't see it happening, which means it probably will be like a Thursday night MACtion game.

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Stuff to Remember: 1991 Citrus Bowl

I woke up this morning with a weird desire to begin to hate Nebraska. I generally disregard them, like I do most teams. It isn't like they are Notre Dame, whom I only root for against Florida and al-Qaeda (ED NOTE: I don't root for Notre Dame against Florida, I hope Florida sucks more). It isn't like they are Illinois, whom I pitty and think they should have to get some good luck at some point, having to endure Jeff George and Ron Zook and all.

When Nebraska plays, I may or may not root for them depending on opponent, but my stasis position on them is whatever. However, with them being our bowl opponent, I've been gathering steam towards keen dislike. Offhand comments from Taylor Martinez wasn't enough to get me too fired up earlier. The steady stream of OMG! Nebraska on ESPN isn't enough, either.

Like I said, I woke up this morning beginning to hate Nebraska. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, until Kyle King made me realize why: Those clowns are the ones that allowed Georgia Tech to embarrass them in the 1991 Citrus Bowl to move up a spot in the Coaches' Poll and be able to claim an illegitimate national championship. Yeah, that'll do it.

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Georgia vs. Nebraska: First Thoughts

With the CapitalOne Bowl coming up, I guess I have to start thinking about this thing. I don't recall another game that might mean as much as this one does that I have been less excited about. I'm happy we are in the SEC's top non-BCS bowl. I'm happy we have an opponent that we match up well against. I guess it is post-SECCG malaise.

Either way, here are my general first thoughts on the game:

• Nebraska's schedule. After looking over their OOC, I don't every want to hear another B1.5G apologist bring up the SEC's OOC schedules. Nebraska faced Southern Miss (0-12), UCLA (9-4 and Pac-12 South Champ), Arkansas State (9-3), and Idaho State (1-10 in DI-AA). They lost to UCLA. The did play Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State from the other division, so they did face a decent B1.5G schedule. Overall, they didn't face any harder (on paper) regular season schedule than Georgia, and as bad as their conference was this year, they had an easier schedule. When you factor in their championship game opponent, they faced a way easier schedule.
• Nebraska's offense. The Huskers have been pretty solid, averaging 462 ypg. Their best game was a  632 yard effort against Southern Miss. Their worst was an embarrassing 263 against an Iowa team that gave up 381 yards per game. 
• Rushing: This is their strong point. They are 8th in the country, averaging 254 ypg rushing. This causes me the most concern, considering what happened in Atlanta. Taylor Martinez and a group of running backs have been effective at moving the ball on the ground. 
• Passing: Nebraska ranks 91st in passing. They are particularly not good on traditional passing downs (52% completion on 3rd down). Martinez gained over 1000 yards in his three best games. In his other 10 games, he averaged 160 ypg. He also threw for 10 of his 21 TDs in those games.
• Nebraska's defense. Pelini made a point of wanting to get the famous Black Shirts back in Lincoln. So far, they haven't arrived. Still, they are in the top 30 in total defense allowed at 343 ypg (8ypg fewer than Georgia is allowing). However, looking at scoring defense, they are a middling 56th. For comparison sake, Georgia is 16th. They gave up over 60+ points twice this year. 
• Rushing: They are a woeful 95th in the nation in rush defense, giving up 194 ypg. They have given up over 300 yards per game three times (all losses) and in the B1.5G championship game gave up a staggering 539 to a Wisconsin team they held to 56 yards earlier in the season. 
• Passing: Number one in the nation, allowing just 148 ypg. UCLA's Brett Hundley is the only QBs to do anything on them this year (22/38/4/0). While they didn't face but two other competent passing QBs (Ryan Alpin for Arkansas State and Matt McGloin for Penn State), holding teams to under 50% for a season is impressive.

So, Georgia needs to play strong rush defense on early downs, force Nebraska into throwing situations, and be able to run the ball themselves. No problem, right?

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Did the the CapitalOne Bowl almost feature Northwestern and Texas A&M?

Interesting. Really interesting. Not that it matters much to me, other than beating Nebraska has more cache than beating Northwestern.

Of course, you'd like to think that Georgia gets to face Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, if that is the way it worked out.  Hey, if the CapitalOne Bowl wanted a game that would utterly uninteresting, outside of seeing how many yards Manziel gains, Northwestern vs. TAMU would have been the way to go.

The only interesting thing is that two members of the committee talked about it. Of course, neither went on the record.

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All quiet in bowl practices

The only interesting thing coming out of bowl practices so far is the news that Malcolm Mitchell will be a full time defensive offensive player going forward. Unless, of course, he isn't.

Anyway, I thought letting the team play wiffle ball on Sunday was genius. Putting aside the camaraderie and such of doing something unexpected, it allowed the team to play a game that let's them put the hard loss in Atlanta aside. Murray and others faced down the questions about spiking it, the hit, what they would do differently, 20/20 hindsight second guessing ad nauseum. They had fun on Sunday.

Playing a simple game allows the team to have a fresh start to prepare for Nebraska. Blutarsky said it best when he said

Lose to Nebraska and all that momentum that’s been building since the Cocktail Party – even through the SECCG loss – dissipates like a fart in the wind.

It took me a minute to get to this point. I was viewing the Capital One Bowl as nice little exhibition that wouldn't matter much. However, after thinking about opportunity for the team to go against another quality opponent and have a quality win to point to headed into next season could be key to any sort of run we might make.

We fought the real and perceived notion that Georgia couldn't compete at the highest level any more. Win against a 10 win team and do so convincingly, you give yourself some serious breathing room against those that write and say those things.

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