Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
Holy cow. What a game. This was an instant classic and I know that is thrown around a lot, but my goodness, this game delivered the goods. You can look at the box score and you can easily tell where the game got bad for Georgia, when they made their comeback, and how they were able to do it. Alabama started the game smoking hot and it reminded me of the game in 2008 when Alabama went to Athens for their Blackout game and jumped out to a 31-0 lead while scoring on every possession. I had to do a double take when Jalen Milroe was dropping back to pass a few times, because I thought I saw a right handed Michael Penix Jr back there playing QB. He was dialed in and the offensive execution was flawless as you see with Bama having an 82.6% Success Rate against Georgia’s defense in the first quarter. That is not a typo. 82.6%. You don’t treat Georgia’s defense like you’re playing against an FCS school in November, but Bama did exactly that. I tweeted during the game that matchup of DeBoer/Sheridan versus Smart/Schumann would have netted a boxing score of 10-8 in favor of DeBoer/Sheridan in the first round. Georgia came into the game not allowing a single touchdown during the season and they gave up three in the first quarter alone. Georgia’s offense couldn’t get anything going due to Carson Beck being rattled. Bama showed multiple looks at the line of scrimmage, bringing multiple blitzes, faking blitzes, delaying blitzes, it was like hearing “BLITZ BAMA BLITZ” on repeat.
But the fireworks happened in the second half with Georgia down 30-7 at the half. Kirby Smart had to have told his guys, “Damn the subtle tactics. Screw it all, we’re going deep, and we’re going for it on 4th down.” On defense, they controlled the perimeter running game that was hurting them all first half. They did an exceptional job holding Bama to a 33% and 23.5% Success Rate in the third and fourth quarter. Carson Beck actually looked like Carson Beck. There was one item that I didn’t mention in the preview: Georgia’s offense in the 3rd and 4th quarter was ranked 8th and 13th respectively. Bama’s defense in the 3rd and 4th quarter was ranked 29th and 30th and it showed up at a bad time. Georgia’s offense was humming and Bama couldn’t get a stop on 4th down as the Bulldogs went 7/7 on 4th down conversions. Bama’s offense couldn’t get out of first gear in the second half and UGA ended up taking a 34-33 lead with 2:31 left to play in the game.
And on the next offensive play…….Jalen Milroe hit Ryan Williams for a 75 yard touchdown bomb to regain the lead. Ironically, he caught the pass with 2:26 seconds left in the game. IYKYK. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DwaZWUW475A?si=J10TPRBk91mhYrBV
Unreal. This game was hammered drunk. Game of the Year right now.
Upsets
The one takeaway from this game is this: Maybe Kentucky’s game against Georgia was not a fluke after all? Maybe Kentucky is actually pretty good and that game against South Carolina was basically them playing a bad half of football.
Some sportsbooks had UCF as a 12.5 point favorite. My ratings had them as a 9 point favorite. So if you had Colorado at +9 you made bank. Much is made about Colorado’s offense, but it’s been their defense that has been impressive this season. They’re a Top 25 defense when you adjust for opponent EPA. Last year, they were the town bike on defense and everyone took a ride on it.
I don’t know if Cam Rising is going to play again for Utah. That’s all I got. The Utes aren’t a Top 10 team without him.
Surging Teams
UNLV’s starting QB Matt Sluka quit during the week due to an NIL dispute. UNLV said, no problem and inserted Hajj-Malik Williams into his stead and ran it up on Fresno State (sheesh, they’ve dropped off).
Are the Hoosiers in the running to be the best team in the Big Ten? Not really, that goes to Ohio State for the time being, but Indiana has drastically improved this season. If you already had them down for an easy W, think again.
Oof…..
Not going to pile on Florida State. It’s not fun anymore.