I've been in a bit of a shock the last 16 hours and am just now starting to piece it all together. I have not watched the game a second time. Not sure if I'll ever be able to do so. But these are my thoughts from watching it inside the stadium and rewatching a few clips of plays on Twitter. I'll try to keep it in order, but a play or drive here or there might be out of order since I've only watched it the one time through. Honestly, I feel like this long winded post is a bit therapeutic. Need to get my thoughts out and if y'all want to chime in, feel free.
We got in line around 4:15 anticipating the massive delays, and thankfully we got in promptly at 5. However, I feel sorry for everyone else deep in the lines. If we weren't in line so early, I'm sure it took an hour or two to clear security. They were super thorough and probably took 45 seconds per person.
Dawg Nation was up for this one. Felt like it was about 65/35 or 70/30. Whenever there was a pro UGA video on the halo board, the crowd was much louder than that of when Bama was on the screen. Chalk it up being the championship starved local fan base versus the Bama fans who enjoy this like clockwork, but it was definitely a heavily UGA crowd.
Thought it was disappointing to settle for field goals the first couple of scoring drives. Missed opportunities. However, our defense was playing lights out and kept it comfortable for the offense. We doubled them up in plays and TOP in the first half, and more than doubled them up in total yards. That TD right before the half was an absolutely brilliant call. We gave them a look (Wild Dawg) that had obviously worked many times recently. The Mecole wrinkle was beautiful. We're used to seeing it with Sony or Chubb and it's typically a direct run. Offense wasn't firing on all cylinders like we were used to seeing, but that was to be expected given the potency of Bama's defense. 13-0 at half with utter domination of their offense, you had to like our game plan.
First drive in the second half. Blown offsides call on the blocked punt. Simmons had not crossed when ball was snapped. If anything, it should have been a false start on Bama and backed them up 5 yards, rather than give them 5 yards. 10 yard difference. Mecole had a big return, so who knows what would have happened on a re-kick, but sucks Bama got away with one here on a bad call. It's not like they called off-setting flags, either, so if they just correctly got the Simmons call right and still missed the Bama false start, we'd get the ball up 13 deep in Bama territory. Big mistake.
And then Tua came in and got rolling (not gonna try to spell the last name). We talk about how a mobile QB is what typically unlocks the Bama defense. That's basically what happened to us. Hurts had not been a legitimate passing threat in the first half, and we feasted. We made their offense too one dimensional. Tua coming in rebalanced their attack and we had to respect the run (both out of the backfield and scrambling) and the pass. Just a whole new element when he could drop a dime 40 yards down field and he's a threat to do things like this:
The quick Alabama score made it a ball game, but the bomb to Mecole really kept the momentum up and a two score game. That was a huge play and then the following interception by Baker should have sealed the deal.
It was a 13 point game and we had the ball in plus territory. Think it was at the 39 yard line. You get ten yards and Blankenship should be making the kick to make it a 16 point game. That would still be a ball game but I think our defense could have been more aggressive knowing Bama would have to pick up chunks. A touchdown on that drive and I'm confident we would be national champions. I think it would have sucked all the little momentum Bama had created in that second half and the stadium would have gone nuts.
Alas, Fromm tries to thread the needle and bounces it off a helmet. Freshman mistake. Can't take any negative plays there, let alone give away the ball. This is where the game turned, IMO. We were ready to start nailing the coffin and we let them back in.
Can't remember which specific drive the Swift facemask no-call happened on, but it was egregious and in direct sight of the official. Would have given us a first down and gotten us out of 4th and about 13 if I recall. We were deep in our half and it would have moved the ball closer to midfield. Another big no call to stall a drive and prevent us from moving.
As we got deeper into the third and fourth quarters, Sony started to eat. He was gashing them for chunks at a time. We weren't getting those 2, 3, or 4 yard runs any more. Sony was hitting them for 7, 8, 10, and 26 on 3rd and 20. Why we went away from him late in the game is beyond me. This was not a game for Chubb (no offense to him). We needed the speed and physicality of Sony, Swift, and maybe even Holyfield. Runs up the middle went for nothing and were wasted plays. It also felt like we got way too conservative. Fromm showed us he could sling it in the first half, but we hardly gave him the chance in the second. I'd have preferred to have kept a more balanced attack. Instead, it felt like Bama could sit in the box and load up, knowing what was coming.
Defense made a good stop late in the third quarter to hold Bama to three points. That was a key stop to still keep it a two score game.
There was a series where things looked like they might go off the rails for Bama but alas they only got off with a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Mekhi Brown (#48) punches Walter Grant in the face. No clue why he wasn't ejected.
He proceeds to go nuts on the sidelines fighting with teammates and coaches. I hope if a Georgia player were to do this, we'd send his ass to the locker room.
But no, of course, he's the guy who later makes a clothesline tackle on Mecole. I'm not a rules expert. Is this a legal play to tackle around the neck?
You also had the no-call on Mack Wilson shoving Fromm in the head after a sack late in the third quarter. We've got the ball after getting sacked at the 39 yard line with two minutes in the period. A 15 yard penalty puts it at the 24. Tell me you don't think Rodrigo hits from there to extend the lead from 10 to 13 points, and maybe we even cash in for 7.
Tua kept doing his thing (respect to him, he played a helluva game) and gashing our defense. Felt like we went too soft and played a little zone as there was space for days for their receivers. They whittled it down to a touchdown game and obviously tied it up.
As you all have seen, their 4th and 4 tying touchdown had an uncalled false start. Instead, they'd have 4th and 9 and probably kick a FG considering there were still 4 minutes left and they had some timeouts left.
Somehow, some way, Bama misses the kick as regulation expired and my wife and I are tearing up telling each other, "you just gotta believe." We had been smacked in the mouth after it looked like the title was ours, and we just had to have hope that these Dawgs were destined for greatness, even if it wasn't going to be easy.
We go to overtime and it's more conservative play calling. Two Chubb runs after it hasn't worked all game. Then Fromm has another freshman mistake and takes a sack in the worst possible spot. You simply can't do that all the way back at the 36 yard line. You've gotta bring on Rodrigo and hope the kid can again make the kick of his life two weeks in a row (which he thankfully does). I think his career long before then was 49 yards? That kid has earned his scholarship big time. The Rose Bowl kick and this one, both over 50 yards, in the biggest of spotlights. Good for you, Rod.
Now Bama's got the ball. We get a massive sack to put them in a huge hole at the 41 yard line. I know it's premature there, but they had 2nd and 26. If we just played smart ball, we should hold them to at least a field goal if they dinked and dunked for a few yards to make it manageable. If the defense locked in and forced incompletions or stood them up against the run, that's a 57 yard field goal.
After the conservative second half play calls, getting gashed by Tua, the egregious officiating mistakes, Bama's special team errors, etc, we could have won it on that drive. Instead Tua pulls a miracle for them and our secondary watches it sail over the top.
Looking back, Georgia should not have put themselves in that position. We did not take advantage of opportunities to stretch the lead further. Going up by 13 again after the Mecole bomb should have settled us in. Getting the Deandre Baker interception in plus territory with the chance to go up three scores and then turning it over was a failure. Going ultra conservative and running Chubb into a brick wall when Sony was out there eating was a failure. Getting the ball with a tie game and three and a half minutes to go in regulation and going three and out rather than moving down the field and getting any points was a failure.
However, I honestly do believe, if we got even half of these garbage no-calls, we are probably hoisting the trophy and raising a banner next September. These were massive game changing plays. Georgia did not fully close the door on Alabama but did make enough plays that it should have been enough. The refs also did their part to allow Alabama to come back into a game they otherwise should have been out of. What a colossal let down.
We may be entering the golden era of Georgia football and trophies may indeed be in our future. However, you never take for granted what's in front of you. We had a chance to win ourselves a natty last night and came away empty handed. Maybe we play for one next year or the year after. But we just went 38 years since the last one. Kirby's the guy to take us there, but we were saying the same about Richt in 2002. You look at someone like Dan Marino and the Buffalo Bills. All those guys came away empty handed every time. Saban isn't getting younger but the guy keeps winning and has a young team. He doesn't seem to be going anywhere. This was a missed opportunity and one that will forever haunt me until we are standing up on that stage holding the damn thing with confetti falling. I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way. Georgia football is looking up, and yes, we are ahead of schedule. None of us could have predicted Smart would have us in this position in year two. However, it was there for the taking and we let it get away.
I'm excited about the future, but these wounds aren't healing any time soon. Great players are on the way, but I wanted it for this senior class. It felt like it was destiny. A phenomenal group of leaders that we will be sorely missing next year. Chubb, Michel, Carter, Bellamy. Those guys will forever be legends and I wanted to send them out on top. It was in our damn home state an hour drive away from campus. We could have celebrated in front of our home fans. These Dawgs had a dream season knocking off Notre Dame in South Bend, avenging every single 2016 loss and beating everyone on our schedule (in dominating fashion), won the SEC, and beat the Heisman Trophy winner at the Rose Bowl. We've probably watched the last of the best defender we've had in a long time. I'll remember the great memories from these 2017 Dawgs but they left me wanting more. It should have been ours this year, it was there for the taking, and we let it get away.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading, and go Dawgs.
PS- exiting the stadium was a colossal disaster. MARTA broke down multiple times and my normal 25 minute ride took about an hour and a half.
We got in line around 4:15 anticipating the massive delays, and thankfully we got in promptly at 5. However, I feel sorry for everyone else deep in the lines. If we weren't in line so early, I'm sure it took an hour or two to clear security. They were super thorough and probably took 45 seconds per person.
Dawg Nation was up for this one. Felt like it was about 65/35 or 70/30. Whenever there was a pro UGA video on the halo board, the crowd was much louder than that of when Bama was on the screen. Chalk it up being the championship starved local fan base versus the Bama fans who enjoy this like clockwork, but it was definitely a heavily UGA crowd.
Thought it was disappointing to settle for field goals the first couple of scoring drives. Missed opportunities. However, our defense was playing lights out and kept it comfortable for the offense. We doubled them up in plays and TOP in the first half, and more than doubled them up in total yards. That TD right before the half was an absolutely brilliant call. We gave them a look (Wild Dawg) that had obviously worked many times recently. The Mecole wrinkle was beautiful. We're used to seeing it with Sony or Chubb and it's typically a direct run. Offense wasn't firing on all cylinders like we were used to seeing, but that was to be expected given the potency of Bama's defense. 13-0 at half with utter domination of their offense, you had to like our game plan.
First drive in the second half. Blown offsides call on the blocked punt. Simmons had not crossed when ball was snapped. If anything, it should have been a false start on Bama and backed them up 5 yards, rather than give them 5 yards. 10 yard difference. Mecole had a big return, so who knows what would have happened on a re-kick, but sucks Bama got away with one here on a bad call. It's not like they called off-setting flags, either, so if they just correctly got the Simmons call right and still missed the Bama false start, we'd get the ball up 13 deep in Bama territory. Big mistake.
And then Tua came in and got rolling (not gonna try to spell the last name). We talk about how a mobile QB is what typically unlocks the Bama defense. That's basically what happened to us. Hurts had not been a legitimate passing threat in the first half, and we feasted. We made their offense too one dimensional. Tua coming in rebalanced their attack and we had to respect the run (both out of the backfield and scrambling) and the pass. Just a whole new element when he could drop a dime 40 yards down field and he's a threat to do things like this:
The quick Alabama score made it a ball game, but the bomb to Mecole really kept the momentum up and a two score game. That was a huge play and then the following interception by Baker should have sealed the deal.
It was a 13 point game and we had the ball in plus territory. Think it was at the 39 yard line. You get ten yards and Blankenship should be making the kick to make it a 16 point game. That would still be a ball game but I think our defense could have been more aggressive knowing Bama would have to pick up chunks. A touchdown on that drive and I'm confident we would be national champions. I think it would have sucked all the little momentum Bama had created in that second half and the stadium would have gone nuts.
Alas, Fromm tries to thread the needle and bounces it off a helmet. Freshman mistake. Can't take any negative plays there, let alone give away the ball. This is where the game turned, IMO. We were ready to start nailing the coffin and we let them back in.
Can't remember which specific drive the Swift facemask no-call happened on, but it was egregious and in direct sight of the official. Would have given us a first down and gotten us out of 4th and about 13 if I recall. We were deep in our half and it would have moved the ball closer to midfield. Another big no call to stall a drive and prevent us from moving.
As we got deeper into the third and fourth quarters, Sony started to eat. He was gashing them for chunks at a time. We weren't getting those 2, 3, or 4 yard runs any more. Sony was hitting them for 7, 8, 10, and 26 on 3rd and 20. Why we went away from him late in the game is beyond me. This was not a game for Chubb (no offense to him). We needed the speed and physicality of Sony, Swift, and maybe even Holyfield. Runs up the middle went for nothing and were wasted plays. It also felt like we got way too conservative. Fromm showed us he could sling it in the first half, but we hardly gave him the chance in the second. I'd have preferred to have kept a more balanced attack. Instead, it felt like Bama could sit in the box and load up, knowing what was coming.
Defense made a good stop late in the third quarter to hold Bama to three points. That was a key stop to still keep it a two score game.
There was a series where things looked like they might go off the rails for Bama but alas they only got off with a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Mekhi Brown (#48) punches Walter Grant in the face. No clue why he wasn't ejected.
He proceeds to go nuts on the sidelines fighting with teammates and coaches. I hope if a Georgia player were to do this, we'd send his ass to the locker room.
But no, of course, he's the guy who later makes a clothesline tackle on Mecole. I'm not a rules expert. Is this a legal play to tackle around the neck?
You also had the no-call on Mack Wilson shoving Fromm in the head after a sack late in the third quarter. We've got the ball after getting sacked at the 39 yard line with two minutes in the period. A 15 yard penalty puts it at the 24. Tell me you don't think Rodrigo hits from there to extend the lead from 10 to 13 points, and maybe we even cash in for 7.
Tua kept doing his thing (respect to him, he played a helluva game) and gashing our defense. Felt like we went too soft and played a little zone as there was space for days for their receivers. They whittled it down to a touchdown game and obviously tied it up.
As you all have seen, their 4th and 4 tying touchdown had an uncalled false start. Instead, they'd have 4th and 9 and probably kick a FG considering there were still 4 minutes left and they had some timeouts left.
Somehow, some way, Bama misses the kick as regulation expired and my wife and I are tearing up telling each other, "you just gotta believe." We had been smacked in the mouth after it looked like the title was ours, and we just had to have hope that these Dawgs were destined for greatness, even if it wasn't going to be easy.
We go to overtime and it's more conservative play calling. Two Chubb runs after it hasn't worked all game. Then Fromm has another freshman mistake and takes a sack in the worst possible spot. You simply can't do that all the way back at the 36 yard line. You've gotta bring on Rodrigo and hope the kid can again make the kick of his life two weeks in a row (which he thankfully does). I think his career long before then was 49 yards? That kid has earned his scholarship big time. The Rose Bowl kick and this one, both over 50 yards, in the biggest of spotlights. Good for you, Rod.
Now Bama's got the ball. We get a massive sack to put them in a huge hole at the 41 yard line. I know it's premature there, but they had 2nd and 26. If we just played smart ball, we should hold them to at least a field goal if they dinked and dunked for a few yards to make it manageable. If the defense locked in and forced incompletions or stood them up against the run, that's a 57 yard field goal.
After the conservative second half play calls, getting gashed by Tua, the egregious officiating mistakes, Bama's special team errors, etc, we could have won it on that drive. Instead Tua pulls a miracle for them and our secondary watches it sail over the top.
Looking back, Georgia should not have put themselves in that position. We did not take advantage of opportunities to stretch the lead further. Going up by 13 again after the Mecole bomb should have settled us in. Getting the Deandre Baker interception in plus territory with the chance to go up three scores and then turning it over was a failure. Going ultra conservative and running Chubb into a brick wall when Sony was out there eating was a failure. Getting the ball with a tie game and three and a half minutes to go in regulation and going three and out rather than moving down the field and getting any points was a failure.
However, I honestly do believe, if we got even half of these garbage no-calls, we are probably hoisting the trophy and raising a banner next September. These were massive game changing plays. Georgia did not fully close the door on Alabama but did make enough plays that it should have been enough. The refs also did their part to allow Alabama to come back into a game they otherwise should have been out of. What a colossal let down.
We may be entering the golden era of Georgia football and trophies may indeed be in our future. However, you never take for granted what's in front of you. We had a chance to win ourselves a natty last night and came away empty handed. Maybe we play for one next year or the year after. But we just went 38 years since the last one. Kirby's the guy to take us there, but we were saying the same about Richt in 2002. You look at someone like Dan Marino and the Buffalo Bills. All those guys came away empty handed every time. Saban isn't getting younger but the guy keeps winning and has a young team. He doesn't seem to be going anywhere. This was a missed opportunity and one that will forever haunt me until we are standing up on that stage holding the damn thing with confetti falling. I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way. Georgia football is looking up, and yes, we are ahead of schedule. None of us could have predicted Smart would have us in this position in year two. However, it was there for the taking and we let it get away.
I'm excited about the future, but these wounds aren't healing any time soon. Great players are on the way, but I wanted it for this senior class. It felt like it was destiny. A phenomenal group of leaders that we will be sorely missing next year. Chubb, Michel, Carter, Bellamy. Those guys will forever be legends and I wanted to send them out on top. It was in our damn home state an hour drive away from campus. We could have celebrated in front of our home fans. These Dawgs had a dream season knocking off Notre Dame in South Bend, avenging every single 2016 loss and beating everyone on our schedule (in dominating fashion), won the SEC, and beat the Heisman Trophy winner at the Rose Bowl. We've probably watched the last of the best defender we've had in a long time. I'll remember the great memories from these 2017 Dawgs but they left me wanting more. It should have been ours this year, it was there for the taking, and we let it get away.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading, and go Dawgs.
PS- exiting the stadium was a colossal disaster. MARTA broke down multiple times and my normal 25 minute ride took about an hour and a half.
