The first thing that everyone wants to do after losing a big
game is assign blame. As fans, we are frustrated that things didn’t go the way
we wanted them to, so by figuring out whose fault it is, we have an outlet for
that frustration. As soon as the game was over, Twitter and Facebook where full
of people trying to decide who was to blame.
There were plenty of candidates yesterday, and they are all
points of frustration for Georgia fans going back farther than just this game.
Start with missed field goals. Throughout the Richt era,
there have been multiple games that Georgia has missed field goals and lost the
game. Yesterday, Marshall Morgan set a SEC record by hitting his 19th
consecutive field goal. He then proceeded to miss two field goals, missing out
on six points in a game Georgia lost by three points.
The next candidate for who is to blame would be the
penalties. Penalties cost Georgia seven points on a long touchdown run by Todd
Gurley that was called back for holding. The call itself was borderline at
best, either way, Georgia takes a touchdown off the board at a time in the game
where South Carolina grabbed the momentum and established at two score lead at
half time.
Or you could blame the defense. After putting on a fantastic
display against Clemson in the second half, the Georgia defense looked a lot
like it has over the past few years. There were open receivers all over the
field all night. Georgia’s defense never got pressure on Dylan Thompson.
Georgia’s defense was terrible on third down. Georgia never turned the ball
over, so all 38 points that South Carolina scored can be attributed directly to
poor defense.
My favorite scapegoat is Mike Bobo and the play calling.
Georgia made a big play on defense in the fourth quarter, and gave the offense
the ball on first and goal at the 4 yard line. Hutson Mason fakes to Gurley on
first down, and gets called for intentional grounding. Georgia never got back
to the four yard line, and ultimately the Dawgs miss the game tying field goal.
So why, why, why didn’t Georgia give the ball to Todd Gurley 4 times from the
four yard line, score a touchdown and win the game? It’s not fair to judge the
play calling that way. Georgia scored 35 points on the road, in a place where
they hadn’t scored more than 20 points since 1996. How can you hang this loss
on Mike Bobo when his offense scored 35 points?
On that particular series, as with all play calling
criticism, we have the benefit of hindsight to strengthen our argument. If
Mason throws the ball away in an area that doesn’t draw the flag for
intentional grounding, then Georgia is second and goal from the four, Gurley
gets the ball on second down and Georgia scores, then no one cares that Georgia
didn’t give the ball to Gurley on first down. If Georgia scores on third and
goal from the 10 instead of throwing an incomplete pass, then no one cares.
More to the point, if Georgia runs Gurley three times and he doesn’t get in the
end zone, then Georgia fans would be setting their hair on fire that Bobo is
terrible because he just ran three times. Bobo calls the plays, the players
have to get the job done.
The frustrating reality of this game is that it was the very
definition of a team loss. There were so many opportunities for Georgia to do
just one thing better in multiple areas of the game that could have changed the
outcome. Georgia was the more talented team, but in the end, the failed to
execute in the critical moments.
South Carolina wasn’t as bad as they looked against Texas
A&M, and Georgia isn’t as good as they looked against Clemson. At this
point, I could see Georgia winning out, and I could also see Georgia losing two
or three more games. After two games, I think we have more questions than
answers.
Like I said two weeks ago, it is a long season, and you
can’t draw conclusions from such a small sample size.
However, the biggest key to this team’s success will
continue to be the play of Hutson Mason. The defense is going to be average
most of the time, and hopefully great once in a while. The running game is going
to consistently be the backbone of the offense. The difference between winning
and losing is going to be Mason. Yesterday, Mason wasn’t great and at the
critical moment of the game, he made a terrible error in drawing the
intentional grounding penalty. I’m not saying that the loss is his fault, but
ultimately, his play will dictate how far Georgia can go. He has to manage the
game better than he did yesterday, and he has to make better decisions at
crunch time.
All is not lost after just one loss. Troy comes to Athens
next Saturday in a classic “Get Right” game. Tennessee and Vanderbilt follow,
also in Athens. The Vols are much improved, while Vanderbilt has reverted to
the Vanderbilt that we all know and love to beat. I would expect Georgia to win
the next three at home, with the season being defined by back to back road
games at Missouri and Arkansas.
The story of the 2014 Georgia Bulldogs is yet to be written,
and we have a long way to go.
Go Dawgs.
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