#3 Georgia vs #2 Alabama Thread

[Carter 23,604]

Well let's get this thread officially started.

The Dawgs take a trip west on I-20 to Tuscaloosa next Saturday. There's a whole lot to analyze and talk about with this game - and I expect that this matchup will dominate the college football talk this whole week - so I'll keep this first post brief.

Dawgs are coming off a big win over Tennessee where the 1st half was very close, but the Dawgs just dominated in the 2nd half. Offense shows some signs of what could be, but still suffers a bit from lackluster performance and appears to be limited. Not the greatest feeling for me as a Dawg fan going into Tuscaloosa to face what might be the best offense in the country.

Bama's offense is legit. But Bama, on the other hand, is coming off a win over Ole Miss which was closely contested until the closing minutes of the game. That Bama defense got boatraced to the tune of 647 total yards. But that can hardly be considered a great indicator for the UGA offense. UGA and Ole Miss run very different offensive systems with different personnel packages.

Could be a wild matchup. Or it could be a classic Saban beatdown after his team looks vulnerable one week. We'll see.

Go Dawgs!

[mike teevee 1,810]

My hope:

 

My gut:

 

 

[fuego 15,852]

I think we have a real possibility to beat Bama. But if I'm being honest, I don't think I believe we could actually do it until we actually do.

[NashvilleFalcon01 719]

As long as the game is competitive for the most part, I'll be happy. For all the "Nick Saban doesn't lose to his assistants" hype, Kirby has clearly handled him the best. Nick's only saving grace has been inserting a backup QB with a vastly different playing style from the starter that UGA didn't prepare for. I expect a hard fought game, but I'm not ready to say which side wins.

[Dawgfanbrock 590]

We’ll have to pressure and hit Jones early and often and stop the run, secondary just has to hold on. 

[VA F.O. 3,700]

Part of me is really hoping we've been keeping some tricks up our sleeves in the first few weeks, for this very game. There's been a lot of vanilla play early on, and I like to believe this was intentional to give Alabama as little as possible. Part of that is obviously blind hope on my part, but not entirely unfounded.

We're definitely the best defense they'll face all season, so this really comes down to how many more wins their better offense can get over our defense, vs our offense over their vulnerable defense. Here's hoping it can be just enough. We only need one more point than them to take this.

[sdogg 9,789]

My God, if Gus can beat Saban 2 out of the last 3 times, we can beat him. Time to man up. 
 

 

[cpm 248]

go dawgs!

[Blitz28179 314]

I worry that our coaching decisions will keep us from beating the tide. 

[Macknsweetjones 1,558]

Dawgs by 10

[mqg96 2,301]

The last 2 Alabama teams Georgia beat, was a 7-6 Bama team in Saban's 1st year, and that was his worst team, and Mark Richt's best team had to go to overtime in Tuscaloosa to barely beat them. In 2003, Georgia at home in Athens beat a 4-9 Mike Shula team in his 1st year. So basically, the last good or decent enough Alabama team Georgia beat was in 2002 in Tuscaloosa against Franchione's team who finished 10-3, and that was one of Mark Richt's best teams who finished 13-1 with a SEC title and Sugar Bowl win. So that's basically Georgia's last 3 wins over Bama in a nutshell. Only one of those victories were against a good team. 

 

Now, let's look at Georgia's 5 game losing streak to Bama. Those were all good Bama teams under Saban of course. 2008 Bama came into Athens against Georgia who did a blackout just like against Auburn in 2007, and it was the complete opposite, we wet the bed 1st half and were down 31-0, we came from behind 2nd half and made it 31-17 however Bama put the game away in the end and the final score was 41-30. That 2008 Bama team was their return to the college football world, they started 12-0 that year before losing to the eventual national champion Florida in the SEC title game, then they lost to Utah in the Sugar Bowl to finish with a final record of 12-2 that year. 2008 Georgia ended up taking a step back from 2007, finished 9-3 before winning a mediocre bowl to get to 10-3. Bama ended up winning the national championship the following year in 2009.

 

2nd game. 2012 SEC Championship. 2012 was Mark Richt's last great team with a lot of potential, we went 11-1 that year, as well as the 2012 Bama team as well who also went 11-1. That SEC Championship game was back & forth the whole time. Bama led 10-7 at the half, but Georgia ended up scoring 2 straight TD's including a blocked field goal by Alec Ogletree for a TD, and Georgia took a 21-10 lead, after that, Bama came from behind, scored a TD and converted the 2 point conversation. It was like 21-18 before Bama led again 25-21, and then, Georgia took the lead again to make it 28-25. Then Bama had a huge TD pass to take a 32-28 lead. Georgia had a late drive and got to the goal line, we didn't spike the ball, an unfortunate tip to a receiver makes the clock run out and we lose a super heartbreaker. Costs us a chance to go to the national championship in Miami against Notre Dame (who we would have beaten, no different than 1980, 2017, and 2019). Georgia had to settle for the Capital One Bowl instead, while Bama went on to win the national championship in a blowout win over Notre Dame.

 

3rd game. 2015 game in Athens. This was by far the worst and most embarrassing of all the losses. This was a really bad Georgia team led by Greyson Lambert, and Mark Richt's final season too. It was tied 3-3 early on, but then Derrick Henry gashed the Georgia defense the rest of the way, and Georgia gave up a blocked punt, and a big TD pass, just like that, Bama was up 24-3, and then a pick six coming out of the half, Bama led 31-3, and then Bama led 38-3, it was just awful and forgettable. It rained that day. Georgia ended up having a garbage long TD run by Chubb to make it 38-10, but it was a complete mismatch all afternoon long. That Georgia team had a super cupcake schedule and the only good teams we faced all year, we lost to. Georgia surprisingly finished 9-3 that year and won a bowl game against Penn State for 10-3. Bama finished 11-1 that year, won the SEC championship and all playoff games to win the national championship at 14-1. 

 

4th game. 2017-18 National Championship. This game was very similar to the 2012 SEC Championship. Georgia was in Atlanta again but this time in Mercedes Benz. Georgia had their best season since 1982 basically, and would have been our best since 1980 had we won. We went 11-1 that year, won against Notre Dame in South Bend, IL, dominated Florida in Jacksonville in blowout fashion, won the SEC title in a rematch against Auburn, won the Rose Bowl against Heisman winner Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma in Pasadena, CAL. Chubb and Michel were flying high as an epic senior duo running back combination. Lots of senior leadership & 1st round draft picks on that Georgia team in general with Lorenzo Carter, Roquan Smith, and much more. It was such an epic year for us. Bama however, finished 11-1, didn't win the west, and still got in the playoffs as the #4 seed. So here we go, the national championship game ends up being Georgia vs. Bama. We thought this was going to be our revenge match for the 2012 SEC championship and even 2015 blowout in Athens to cap off a perfect comeback season for us. Unfortunately, the outcome didn't go in our favor. Georgia had another lead on Bama and eventually ended up blowing it. However, there were many calls that the refs screwed up that went in Bama's favor many times. Regardless, Georgia still took a 20-7 lead (Fromm to Mecole for a big bomb TD) and we ended up blowing it at the end. Hurts plays awful in the 1st half, Tua gets put in for the 2nd half, and the rest was history. This would have been Georgia's first national title since 1980, but we blew it at the end in OT by giving up a 2nd & 26 bomb for a TD win. 26-23. 

 

5th game. 2018 SEC Championship. Georgia went 11-1 for the 2nd year in a row. Bama went 11-1 this year and won the west. There's not much to say about this game. It was an absolute nightmare for Georgia. Self inflicted wounds. This was the game we knew, that Georgia just can't mentally get past Bama no matter what. So we dominate Tua and we take him out in the 4th quarter, then Hurts comes in and he comes back on us and we can't win the game? We were up 28-14 in this one, then we blew it and lost 35-28. So you're telling me, for the 3rd straight time Georgia faces Bama in Atlanta, Georgia has a lead and blows it in the 4th quarter.... This game really made me sick and it's hard to believe we just let it go. Granted, 2018 Georgia was a step back from 2017, but still. Georgia had no business losing this game after taking a 28-14 lead. But it happened. It really showed that we we're just mentally broken every time we face Nick Saban and Bama. Georgia went on to finish 11-3 with a Sugar Bowl loss to Texas. Bama won a playoff game with a 14-0 start before losing the national championship to Clemson in blow out fashion and finishing 14-1. 

 

Georgia has the talent to compete with Bama, but I don't care how close the game is, you have to be on the winning side. Moral victories don't count. I'm not confident that Georgia will come into Tuscaloosa and do it after this 5 game losing streak. Different teams, but same old story. However, we'll see. Saban will be mad at his defense after their performance against Ole Miss, which doesn't work in Georgia's favor with an offense that's still questionable. Georgia has the defense, don't get me wrong, but it's Bama & Nick Saban, who hasn't lost to an assistant, including Kirby twice. We'll have to see next week. I'm not saying much. I just want to see the game on the field. 

 

 

 

[richham 1,054]

Dawgs just need to man up. I mean there’s no magic pill. Dawgs are going to have to play their *** off for 60 minutes to beat Saban. It’s time. 

[fuego 15,852]

How long can this go on with no changes? But at the same time this season is lost. Just wait until the end of the season and get rid of the whole bunch.

[TheTrue7 5,185]

Just now, fuego said:

How long can this go on with no changes? But at the same time this season is lost. Just wait until the end of the season and get rid of the whole bunch.

Wrong forum 

[fuego 15,852]

1 minute ago, TheTrue7 said:

Wrong forum 

Oops. lol.

[sdogg 9,789]

27 minutes ago, TheTrue7 said:

Wrong forum 

I was like wait, what? 
 

 

[usmcdirtybird 4,943]

6 hours ago, fuego said:

How long can this go on with no changes? But at the same time this season is lost. Just wait until the end of the season and get rid of the whole bunch.

This is the good space.  You good man.  

[SacFalcFan 907]

[HotLantaFalcon 924]

Ala currently only a 5 pt favorite. I'd be good with the game being decided by 5 pts, that basically means one positive play here or there is all georgia would need

[NashvilleFalcon01 719]

10 hours ago, mqg96 said:

It really showed that we we're just mentally broken every time we face Nick Saban and Bama. 

 

 

 

I strongly disagree with this narrative. Nick Saban's saving grace against Georgia is that he has had two quarterbacks with vastly different playing styles on the roster. Georgia prepares for one of them, looks like the better team, then Saban pulls the starter and inserts the backup who Georgia has not prepared for. I think Georgia is very comfortable playing against Alabama and they won't be intimidated Saturday. The matchup of course will be 'Bama offense v. Georgia defense.

Edited October 12, 2020 by NashvilleFalcon01

[fuego 15,852]

8 hours ago, sdogg said:

I was like wait, what? 
 

 

I was in the Falcons' game day thread and had a notification from in here, then forgot to go back to the Falcons forum and posted my Falcons comment in here. lol.

[Black Francis 6,830]

16 hours ago, fuego said:

I was in the Falcons' game day thread and had a notification from in here, then forgot to go back to the Falcons forum and posted my Falcons comment in here. lol.

You still performed better than the Falcons. 

[NevergivenAname 0]

Yo mad respect to the dogs, gonna be a **** of a game. Let’s show everyone why these are the best two teams in the country 

[usmcdirtybird 4,943]

17 hours ago, fuego said:

I was in the Falcons' game day thread and had a notification from in here, then forgot to go back to the Falcons forum and posted my Falcons comment in here. lol.

You adjusted your defense. the falcons could not do that.  You are already better.  

[Carter 23,604]

Really looking forward to this game! I have no idea if we will win, but I think it will be a fun game.

Trying to get my game day food plan together. Wings is my go to and I'll make some other stuff to go with it, but I'm not sure yet what we'll do Saturday.

What are you fine folks gonna be cooking up or picking up this weekend?