2021 UGA Football: Semifinals

UGA Instant Analysis 

Bowl Week: W @ Michigan; 13-1

Playing 15 games in one season is a great year no matter what happens next week. Congratulations to Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs. Let’s go finish this season and get the 40 year old monkey out of Athens.

I will address the elephant in the room first. Stetson played good — not great. He had two really good throws, the long one to Cook and the TD to Cook. His throw to Burton was good, too. He had two good scrambles as well. He also made some really poor throws, and a few poor decisions. What hurt to watch the most was the end of the first half and his time management. Coach Monken and probably Smart should have taken control more, but his leadership was poor in that moment. Through it all, I maintain the belief Stetson is capable of beating Alabama. I have concerns and expressed them all year, but he is not the reason Georgia lost the SECCG. 

The biggest negative of the night is Georgia’s third quarter. What an awful performance. There was no energy on offense, and the defense got bailed out by a poor throw on the opening drive that resulted in an interception. What makes me mad about that quarter, is if UGA scores two TDs or so, the fourth quarter could easily be mop up time and starters could rest more. Luckily injuries were limited and the only player with a targeting call is not a regular contributor (although I am very excited for Chambliss’ future. More on targeting later). Luckily the Dawgs got over that quarter and put the game to rest at the end. 

Targeting. The worst call in sports. Not because of the purpose — I understand and support the rule for safety. However, to kick a kid out of a game is ridiculous and then to miss the next half is a joke. At worst, there should be separate penalties like in basketball where there is a flagrant one and flagrant two; an egregious head to head hit results in disqualification, but the other calls are simply 15 yard penalties. Even with that proposed change, both Chris Smith’s and Chaz Chambliss’s targetings were garbage. 

On to positive notes. 

I’m sure Aidan Hutchinson is great and a nice kid. But there were at least five Georgia players better than him on the field. At the top of that list is Nakobe Dean. That kid is a monster. He’s actually a little small for his position, which might drop him a draft slot or two, but what a fantastic football player. You can see him control the defense and put them in the best position to succeed every play. What a tremendous young man. Bryce Young deserves the Heisman, but Nakobe Dean is the second best player in college football. 

Michigan’s offensive line won the Joe Moore award for the best unit this season. That’s a joke based on tonight. Not only did UGA’s defensive line dominate them, but the Dawgs’ offensive line was far superior and probably had their best performance this season. The tailbacks all helped with outstanding pad level, balance, and toughness. Of course Brock Bowers was a beast and outside the third quarter the offense absolutely clicked. 

So on to Alabama once again. I never WANT Georgia to have to play them, and man if they coulda finished Bama off in the SECCG, Georgia would be set, however, if you wanna be the best you gotta beat the best. Nick Saban is the best. Georgia deserves this win; Kirby Smart deserves this championship. 

If I’m preparing for this game I am most concerned about the deep ball. Alabama should just go max protection and run a two-man dig/post combo every play on offense, and blitz the house on defense against Bennett. At least that’s what I would do. Hopefully Georgia can handle it better in the rematch. I have faith. 

What is really dumb now is that two SEC teams must travel to Indianapolis with a neutral referee crew for this championship. They should just move it Orlando and bring in an SEC crew. But at least it’s a dome and not an outdoor venue in the north. 

One more game with nothing to lose. I’m confident in Georgia to rebound. Georgia wins 27-24. And if not, what a heck of a season and what a heck of a coach we have in Kirby Smart.

Go Dawgs!