College Football Wrap-Up: Week 4

Georgia dismantled Troy, 66-0, to move to 2-1 on the season. As I indicated last week, this is a bad Troy football team, but it was nice to see the Dawgs put them away early and clear the bench.  It was Georgia's largest margin of victory since 1958 and the first time they've scored more than 60 points since 2011. It would have been easy to come out flat for this cupcake opponent, particularly after a tough loss, but the Dawgs cruised to a 45-0 halftime lead and never looked back.  It was the first time Troy had been held scoreless in 99 games, which dates back to when Nebraska shut them out in 2006.

Photo Credit: AJC/Brant Sanderlin

Here are some quick observations on the game:

• Sony Michel sure did have a nice afternoon with 10 carries, 155 yards, and 3 rushing TDs. Michel and Chubb are going to be fun to watch the next 3 years.
• Isaiah McKenzie had his first collegiate punt return for a TD. I have a feeling this may the first of many punt return TDs he will have in Athens.
• Another game with no turnovers. Georgia is at +4 Turnover Margin on the season through 3 games. That was a nice interception from Tramel Terry in the end zone. Hopefully he can make some strides in becoming a contributor to this defense.
• I'm curious to see if the Dawgs will try to utilize Sony Michel in the wildcat formation, or Faton Bauta under center, when they're in the red zone down the road.
• Coach Richt indicated that Keith Marshall's injury doesn't appear to be serious. I hated seeing him on crutches after the game. 

Looking ahead for the Dawgs

Tennessee travels to Athens on Saturday, after enjoying a bye week. Unfortunately, it was picked up by CBS for a Noon start. I would much prefer a 3:30 or later start, where the home field becomes a much bigger advantage. Georgia has won 4 straight versus Tennessee, and the Vols are still looking for their signature road victory in the Butch Jones era.   Hopefully, the Dawgs are focused and ready to take on the Vols. 

Through three games, Georgia's offense is averaging 7.7 yards per carry and 304 yards per game. As a matter of fact, Todd Gurley is leading the nation with 9.8 yards per carry.  However, it is critical that Georgia become more consistent in their passing game. It would be nice if Scott-Wesley or Mitchell would return to action this week, but I'm not very hopeful based on what the coaches have shared.  Justin Worley has played fairly well, thus far, and Jalen Hurd is likely a future All-SEC type player, but the Vols are average along their offensive line.  In order for Georgia to win this game, their front seven needs to win the line of scrimmage.  It will be the first time Willie Martinez and John Jancek have returned to Athens since Coach Richt fired them in December 2009.

Around the SEC

Auburn at Kansas State

Auburn survived versus Kansas State on Thursday night.  The Wildcats did a marvelous job of shutting down the Auburn rushing attack, but couldn't overcome so many critical mistakes. They missed 3 field goals, had a turnover deep in their own territory, which led to an early Auburn field goal and then there was this:

It was the first non-conference win on an opponent's home field since the Tigers beat Virginia in Charlottesville in 1997.

Florida at Alabama
Blake Sims threw for 445 yards, Derrick Henry rushed for 111 yards, and Alabama overcame 4 turnovers in the first 32 minutes of the ballgame to cruise to 42-21 victory. Alabama's 645 yards of total offense are the most they have allowed in school history. Muschamp and his quarterback, Jeff Driskel, are both in their 4th years at Florida and it seems that the Gator fans are losing faith quickly in their ability to turn around the program.

Put Jeff Driskel on the bench please, I have seen enough.
— Emmitt Smith (@EmmittSmith22) September 20, 2014

Mississippi State at LSU
The Maroon Bulldogs went into Death Valley and took it to LSU. They lead from beginning to end, but after leading 34-10 early in the 4th quarter, they had to hold off a furious rally from LSU and escaped Baton Rouge with 34-29 victory.  This was a statement game for Dan Mullen. It was their first victory against LSU since 1999 and the last time they won in Baton Rouge prior to this week was 1991.

Other SEC Action

• Vanderbilt played their best game of the season and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns but the Gamecocks held off the Commodores for a 48-34 win.
• Missouri embarrassed the SEC by losing at home to a bad Indiana team 31-27.
• Arkansas and Texas A&M cruised to easy non-conference victories.

Around the Nation

Clemson at Florida State
The game I anticipated watching the most this week did not disappoint as Florida State escaped with a 23-17 overtime victory.  Clemson went into Tallahassee and outplayed the Seminoles for the vast majority of the game. Clemson's defense, in particular, played lights out and dominated the line of scrimmage during regulation. Critical mistakes made by Clemson's offense were the difference in the game.

Clemson reached the red zone 7 times vs Florida State and scored on just 3 of those drives. #CLEMvsFSU
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 21, 2014

In summary, Cole Stoudt underthrew a wide open TE in the first quarter, which would have been a touchdown, the kicker missed 2 field goals, a high snap cost them another opportunity to score a touchdown, and then a late fumble deep in FSU's territory cost them a chance to put the game away. You cannot fault Dabo Swinney for going for it on 4th down in overtime.  His kicker badly missed those two field goals.  Furthermore, you're a heavy underdog on the road and the home team has just seized the momentum. What I don't understand is why Chad Morris decided not to put Watson under center on that 4th and 2 play.

Get. Under. Center.
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) September 21, 2014

Apparently, that sentiment was widely shared.  If you're a Clemson fan, you have to put this loss behind you. Sure, it's easy to get down after starting the season 1-2 with losses to Georgia and Florida State, but they have found a future star at quarterback and you can still have a decent season. They will likely win the next 8 games and be 9-2 when South Carolina comes to town on November 29th.


Other Action

• Forget what I wrote about Virginia Tech after their upset of Ohio State.  They have now lost two straight home games and fall to 0-1 in ACC play, after the loss to Georgia Tech. Virginia Tech's QB, Michael Brewer, who played with such confidence against Ohio State, threw 3 interceptions versus the Jackets and now has 8 on the season.
• Oklahoma survived a tough road game versus West Virginia with a 45-33 victory.  It looks like the toughest games that lie ahead for the Sooners will all be played in Norman (Kansas State, Baylor, and Oklahoma State).
• South Carolina's week 2 victory versus East Carolina is looking stronger each week.  A week after defeating the Hokies, the Pirates took UNC to the woodshed by outscoring them 70-41. They are now in this week's AP Top 25 Poll.

College Football Wrap-Up: Week 3

Yesterday was a tough loss for the Dawgs and a big win for the Gamecocks.  With Spurrier and the Gamecocks backed into a corner and needing a victory to basically stay alive in the SEC East, they defeated Georgia for the fourth time in five years. Two years ago the Dawgs were outplayed from beginning to end.  Yesterday, Georgia had opportunities to seize control and win the game and just didn't make enough plays when it counted.  Congratulations to the Gamecocks.  They were ready to play and ultimately made enough plays to win 38-35.

Photo Credit: John Kelley/georgiadogs.com

If you had told me beforehand that Georgia would score 35 points, and be at +2 in turnover margin, I would have predicted a victory for the Dawgs. Unfortunately, Georgia only converted those turnovers into 3 points and our defense gave up 452 yards. Many of the armchair coaches on Twitter and Facebook blame the loss on Bobo's play calling, when Georgia had a 1st and goal at Carolina's 4 yard line.  I'm in the minority, but I don't believe it was a bad play call. You have to give credit to South Carolina's defensive end for staying home and forcing Mason to make a decision.  If Mason throws the ball away, then it's 2nd and goal from the 4 yard line and you still have 3 opportunities to hand it off to Gurley and score.  I doubt many of those same critics were complaining about Bobo's play calling when Georgia scored on their first possession in only 2 plays, without Gurley touching the ball.

When you go on the road in the SEC and score 35 points in a hostile environment, you have to expect that your defense can hold up their end of the bargain.  Yesterday, Georgia again improved on defense in the 2nd half but, ultimately, the Dawgs could not get enough stops to win the game.  Four out of 5 of South Carolina's touchdown drives went for 75 yards.  You're not going to win many games playing defense like that.  Furthermore, even if Georgia had scored a touchdown when they began that drive from Carolina's 4 yard line, I'm not so certain that Georgia could have held Carolina from going right back down the field and scoring again. They certainly scored at ease earlier in the 4th quarter when they ran four straight running plays.

The bottom line is that South Carolina's offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage and that was ultimately the difference in the ballgame.  South Carolina had success running the ball (averaging 4.97 yards per carry) and Dylan Thompson had all day long to sit back and carve up our zone coverage.  Jordan Jenkins and Leonard Floyd were completely neutralized by Carolina's massive OL. We put very little pressure on Thompson and Carolina's WRs exploited our inexperienced secondary. The good news if you're a Dawg fan - I doubt we see a better OL than Carolina's the rest of the season.

Here are some other observations on the game:

• Todd Gurley showed, once again, why he's the best running back in the nation. His 17 yard carry in the 3rd quarter, that went for a first down and kept Georgia's drive, alive was just unbelievable. He finished with 131 yards on only 20 carries (1 TD) and Carolina's defense was scheming against him the entire game.
• I was surprised that Georgia didn't keep Sony Michel and Isaiah McKenzie more involved in the game.  Obviously, they had the both receptions on the opening scoring drive of the game and they both had a few touches later in the game, but I fully expected that Bobo would utilize them in the short passing game all day.  As they become more familiar with the offense, I expect that both of them will see more significant playing time.
• Nick Chubb had limited work (4 carries for 36 yards), but looked impressive again. Meanwhile, Keith Marshall appears to have dropped to 4th in the rotation.
• The first holding call that negated a gain by Gurley was obvious.  However, the holding call that negated a 54 yard TD run from Gurley looked like a weak call to me. 
• The secondary is young and inexperienced (as evidenced by a true freshman and a redshirt freshman walk-on starting), but I do believe they will improve as the season progresses.
• We desperately need Malcolm Mitchell and Justin Scott-Wesley to get healthy very soon.  Conley and Bennett are valuable possession receivers but neither possess big play-making ability. The Dawgs need more speedy playmakers at WR.
• You have to feel bad for Marshall Morgan today. He sets an SEC record with 19 consecutive made FGs and then misses two critical ones that could have changed the outcome of the game. Hopefully, he can shake this loss and help Georgia win a big game later this season.

The Dawgs need to regroup and get back to work on Monday. They cannot afford to have a letdown versus Troy on Saturday.  The Trojans fell to 0-3 on Saturday so I'm not concerned about an upset, but I do hope the coaches and players rally and see it as an opportunity to get better, particularly for the defense. Tennessee comes to town and two weeks, and they have an open date before, so they will spend the next 13 days preparing for Georgia.

Around the SEC

Kentucky vs. Florida: The Wildcats took the Gators to triple overtime in the Swamp and Florida escaped with a 36-30 victory. Does this mean the 2-10 team from last season has made significant strides or does it mean the 4-8 team from last season really still stinks?  I suppose time will tell.

Tennessee vs. Oklahoma: The Vols held their own in the first half and then the Sooners pulled away  for a comfortable 34-10 victory. The Vols are now 2-1 on the young season and will have an extra week to prepare for the Dawgs in Athens. I'm sure Butch Jones would love to gain a signature road victory in Athens.

Arkansas vs. Texas Tech: In a renewal of an old Southwestern Confernce rivalry, Arkansas rushed for 438 yards and 7 TDs in a 49-28 victory. The Razorbacks, who punted only once the entire game, have won back-to-back games for the first time in over a year.  Arkansas has an opportunity to make it three consecutive wins next week when Northern Illinois rolls into town.

Otherwise, it was a pretty uneventful week in the conference. On Thursday night, Auburn travels to Manhatten, Kansas to take on the 2-0 Kansas State Wildcats. 

Odds & Ends

• Georgia Southern overcame a 25 point deficit and led Georgia Tech late in the 4th quarter.  The Jackets avoided an embarrassing upset with a touchdown pass with only 23 seconds remaining to secure the win 42-38.  Tech is now 3-0 with victories over Wofford, Tulane, and Southern.  They kick off conference action next weekend when they visit Virginia Tech.
• Virginia Tech came down to earth quickly when East Carolina went up 21-0 in the first quarter.  The Hokies came back to tie it at 21 late in the 4th quarter only to watch the Pirates storm right back down the field and score again to win 28-21. It's difficult to play a quality opponent the week following an emotional win, particularly with a noon start.
• Boston College, led by former Florida quarter Tyler Murphy, stunned ninth-ranked Southern Cal 37-31. Meanwhile, Virginia also captured an impressive victory over a ranked Louisville team at home on Saturday afternoon. Action in other ACC games can best be described by these pictures:

Packed house ... RT @rustindodd: Kansas! Duke! Wallace Wade Stadium. pic.twitter.com/R3M4cjDvpp
— Troy Machir (@TroyMachir) September 13, 2014

.@ByCasagrande RT @DannyMartinez4: This is kickoff. Randy, Al and Sun Life Stadium have done this. I have no words. pic.twitter.com/yne7OErOD6
— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) September 13, 2014

Next week is an opportunity for Georgia to improve in all areas and hopefully it will allow Georgia to play many of the reserves who will be called on for more significant minutes later in the season. Otherwise, it should be a fun day to watch college football action. The two games I'm looking forward to the most are Florida vs. Alabama and Clemson vs. Florida State. Also, I'm interested to see how Mississippi State matches up with LSU on a Saturday night in Death Valley. Until next time...Go Dawgs!

College Football Wrap-Up: Week 2

The Dawgs had a bye week after their convincing victory last weekend over Clemson.  There was plenty of action otherwise in the world of college football.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

B1G-Time Dissapointment
The Big 10 Conference (which by the way is now comprised of 14 schools) suffered a disastrous day when conference members Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State all endured non-conference losses on prime time television.  In the national marquee game of the week #3 Oregon defeated #7 Michigan State. After leading 27-18 in the 3rd quarter, Oregon scored 28 unanswered points to win 46-27.  Michigan faced off against Notre Dame for their final game in their historic rivalry.  The Fighting Irish won 31-0 in South Bend. It was the first time since 1984 that Michigan was held scoreless in a game.  The game that I enjoyed the most was Virginia Tech's upset of Ohio State in Columbus.  Defensive coordinator Bud Foster blitzed all night long, sacking Ohio St. quarterback J.T. Barrett seven times and forcing 3 interceptions.

Big 10 fans you wonder why fans from other conferences look down at the conference? It's weekends like this. No spin or agenda just results.
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 7, 2014

Meanwhile, Nebraska needed a late touchdown at home to break a tie and put away FCS opponent, McNeese State 31-24.  In other action, Central Michigan humiliated Purdue at home 38-17, Northern Illinois defeated Northwestern, and Iowa and Illinois needed 4th quarter rallies to defeat Ball State and Western Kentucky.

So do we start referring to them as the Power Four?
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 7, 2014

 It was a pretty uneventful slate of games in the SEC.  South Carolina defeated a very respectable East Carolina team 33-23 and Vanderbilt was throttled by Ole Miss 41-3.  Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M, LSU, Arkansas, cruised to easy victories over cupcake opponents.  Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri also won in non-conference action over mid-major opponents.

Odd & Ends

• Virginia Tech appears to be a legitimate contender in the ACC Coastal division.  They avoid Florida State, Clemson, and Louisville in the regular season and they will be at home versus Georgia Tech, Boston College,and Virginia.  The division may very well be decided when the Hokies travel to Pittsburgh to play the Panthers on a Thursday night in October.
• Florida looked impressive in their 65-0 victory versus Eastern Michigan.  Yes, it was a directional school that only won 2 games last season but it's progress if you're a Gator fan. Florida rolled up 655 yard of offense and 27 first downs.  I do believe the Gators will be much improved this season.  Unfortunately, they did lose a valuable weapon for the season in yesterday's game.
• It was interesting to see a familiar face on the Notre Dame sideline last night.  Brian Van Gorder is the new defensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish and he obviously had his squad well prepared to face Michigan.  Van Gorder, as you may recall, was the first defensive coordinator Mark Richt hired when he became head coach at Georgia.  He held that position from 2001-2004 and was very successful. Since leaving Georgia a decade ago, Van Gorder has worked for 7 different collegiate or professional football teams.
• Southern Cal topped Stanford 13-10, in spite of the Cardinals out gaining the Trojans in total yardage 413 to 291. Stanford committed 2 turnovers and also missed two field goals.  The most bizarre incident in this game occurred when Southern Cal's athletic director, Pat Haden, confronted the officials after his head coach was called for unsportsmanlike conduct.