Georgia’s best chance vs. Alabama may be to step on gas
Aaron Murray has 14 touchdowns and no interceptions in last 17 quarters. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
ATHENS – When gazing at the nation’s leaders among college football defenses, Alabama doesn’t stand out statistically so much as it leaps off the page, stomps on cars, knocks over skyscrapers, swats away missiles and terrorizes women, children and offensive coordinators.
The Crimson Tide rank No. 1 nationally in total defense. Also No. 2 in rush defense, No. 3 in pass defense, No. 1 in scoring defense, No. 1 in red zone defense. It has shut out four opponents, held seven to 10 points or less and all except one to 17 or less.
Which begs the question: All except one?
Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin relatively humbled Nick Saban three weeks ago with his hyperventilating, no-huddle offense. The Aggies upset then No. 1 Alabama 29-24, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions, accumulating the second-most yards (418) and the most red zone possessions (five) of any Tide opponent.
The most amusing thing about this was it came after Saban had questioned the “fairness” and “player safety” of Sumlin’s scheme, because that sounded better than saying, “I can’t substitute players. Make him stop.” (That would make him sound flawed.)
Jay Rome (87) celebrates his touchdown against Georgia Tech with Keith Marshall (4) and Malcolm Mitchell. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
Which leads me to this four-word suggestion for Georgia going into Saturday’s SEC championship game against Alabama: Step on the gas.
The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on six of their first seven possessions in last week’s 42-10 win over Georgia Tech. No drive lasted longer than two minutes, 42 seconds. It was the SEC meets Formula 1.
One acknowledgement: Georgia had the advantage of going against Georgia Tech’s defense, which hasn’t really stopped any scheme this season (59th in total defense, 84th in scoring defense). But the Dogs’ offense has become increasingly proficient in a fast-pace, no-huddle offense this season.
Quarterback Aaron Murray also has been at his best and most efficient of late. Since the fourth quarter of the Florida game (17 quarters), Murray has 14 touchdown passes and zero interceptions. In the last four starts, he has completed over 74 percent of his passes (71 of 97).
“We can go very fast, relatively fast or we can be at the line of scrimmage for a long time,” Mark Richt said when asked if Murray has become increasingly comfortable in a fast-pace offense. “We have three different tempos we use. We’re not like the Oregons of the world, where just about every single play we’re going at break-neck speed. But we can go at a pretty good pace.”
Georgia has managed to do this despite losing arguably their two best receivers for the season, Marlon Brown and Michael Bennett.
Richt cautioned against drawing too many conclusions from Alabama’s loss to Texas A&M.
“I don’t know if it was the tempo they had problems with as much as (Heisman favorite) Johnny Manziel,” he said. “He creates problems obviously for everybody because he can scramble, so it changes the mindset of defenses. Not to say the tempo wasn’t an issue as well.”
Georgia tight end Jay Rome, who had a 24-yard touchdown reception in the Tech game, said, “I feel like when we speed things up and [make] plays, it puts a lot of pressure on the defense.
Receiver Rhett McGowan, who also had a touchdown against the Jackets, said, “Of course, as a receiver, I love it. When we have a lot of receivers on the field, it spreads out the defense, puts pressure on their (defensive backs) and also takes somebody out of the box, which means our running backs can make plays.”
(Murray did not make himself available for comment this week on the offense. Or anything else.)
This isn’t to suggest that an up-tempo no-huddle offense is the only way to beat Alabama. But it’s the only thing that has worked this season.
Besides, I figure any concept that prompts Saban to sound almost shaken — “We should look at how fast we allow the game to go in terms of player safety. You can’t substitute defensive players. You go on a 14-, 16-, 18-play drive and they’re snapping the ball as fast as you can and all your players are walking around and can’t even get lined up.” — is worth several pages in a game plan.
Because not much else against Alabama has worked.
– By Jeff Schultz
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434 comments Add your comment
kingdaddy
November 27th, 2012
8:42 pm
Concerned
Very nice post…
CigarDawg
Hope you aren’t right, but your logic is hard to argue. This is not the same team we started with at the beginning ofthe year. We are lightyears different. Shaun Williams may be our MVP…
Sammy
November 27th, 2012
8:46 pm
Florida’s rush defense is as good as Bama’s.
And Gurley laid 125 yards on Florida.
Bama want some of dat?
Gurley will be in BEAST MODE. He’s a PLAYMAKER.
So is Mitchell, ask Purifoy at Florida, Purifoy is better than any DB Bama has. Mitchell will score on Bama.
Tavarres King plays BIG in BIG GAMES over his career at UGA. He’ll burn Bama deep.
UGA Tight ends LYNCH & Rome, are BALLIN’. Lynch’s arms are bigger than anyone on Bama’s legs. Lynch is grown man strong. Can’t forget about these two guys if you’re Bama.
I like Keith Marshall on some short passes, screens, and even a wheel
route, ain’t no Bama LB gonna be able to match up with track star Marshall. Look for him to be the primary receiver when Bama blitzes, it’s a MATCH UP NIGHTMARE.
And if you drop guys to cover, look for Murray to either pick you apart with time to throw, or if you blitz, tuck & run, a la’ Manziel. Murray was the #1 rated DUAL THREAT Qb coming out of High School where he put up some Manziel like numbers with his feet. Murray is mobile, very, and Bobo WILL use Murray’s legs, Bama’s 3-4 cannot handle a running Qb.
I like the 5 WR spread looks UGA runs, then runs the ball because UGA outnumbers you in the box. Bama better not forget to prepare for that too.
Oh, and they won’t get to rest much, as Murray will have UGA at times in a break neck pace, and we know Bama can’t handle a fast pace as A & M proved.
And of they blitz, I’m sure UGA studied the LSU video on how Mettenberger SHREDDED the defense, and BLOCKED THE BLITZ, converting nearly EVERY 3RD DOWN with a pass.
Wow, Bama DEFENSE HAS A BUNCH OF THINGS TO PREPARE FOR, IN ONLY 7 DAYS.
Steve
November 27th, 2012
8:46 pm
That’s odd, a Bama fan talking about how bad Murray and UGA are! Weird! I guess they shouldn’t even play the game. Such Bama trash out there! Hope they are all on here (probably with excuses) if UGA wins.
Northern sympathizer
November 27th, 2012
8:47 pm
Agree completely Jeff. I would add that Georgia should get Murray outside of the pocket and mobile. That was a big part.
FootballTopFan(c)
November 27th, 2012
8:48 pm
FootballTopFan and football fans nationwide would like to wish the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs the best of luck in the SEC Championship game.
The SEC Championship game is the premiere Championship game in college football.
We urge fans to use extreme caution when buying tickets from unknown sources for this mega football game.
Good luck to Coach Mark Richt and Coach Nick Saban.
FootballTopFan@Yahoo.com
DawgNole
November 27th, 2012
8:50 pm
OkieDawg
November 27th, 2012
6:40 pm
Haters gonna Hate…But in the last couple of days, the haters have ratcheted it up a few notches. And that is strange considering we are entering the giving season. This is, after all, a game played between very young men. This does not change normal peoples lives.
_______________________
These aren’t, after all, normal people.
bill
November 27th, 2012
8:50 pm
Look at it this way… an SEC team will win the game. Im taking two hats, an AU and a GA. If UA wins I’ll keep on the Tide hat. If GA wins I’ll switch to the Dogs hat. It’ll be a good game regardless.
anygeorgiafan
November 27th, 2012
8:54 pm
“This is a classic matchup. Maybe one of the best in SEC Championship history.”
Please,these dreaming pups! who, WHO have you beat? and please don’t say fla cause we all know you did NOT beat fla, fla beat fla, you just happened to be in jacksonville at the time.You better know it. Bama will spank these puppymutts without any problem. rammer jammer
hit a single
November 27th, 2012
8:55 pm
Alabama, Georgia, Florida, LSU, Texas A&M or South Carolina would beat Notre Dame. This is your top 6 teams in the country. Oregon or Ohio St. does not want to play any of the six.
heybill
November 27th, 2012
8:56 pm
sounds like ya got 3 hats there bud,
Steve
November 27th, 2012
8:57 pm
That’s right “anygeorgiafan!” What do you think? 49-3 or so? Idiot.
Sammy
November 27th, 2012
8:59 pm
If Murray comes out running, in pass formations, could jump out to a BIG lead.
Kind of like SC did against UGA. Like A & M did against Bama.
Bama does NOT expect UGA to let Murray run. If he does, UGA could be up 21 before Bama adjusts.
Bama does not expect Keith Marshall to be used as a PASSING THREAT.
Bama does not expect UGA to come out THROWING the ball.
Bama does not expect UGA to use Jay Rome or the fullback much in the passing game.
Bama doesn’t expect UGA to use new formations they havn’t seen on video.
Bama expects Murray to turn the ball over if forced to pass. Imagine their surprise if Murray throws like Manziel or Mettenberger and protects the ball?
Bama is not expecting Branden Smith to play a role on offense in a wildcat or as a rusher.
Bama doesn’t feel Gurley can bust 100 yards rushing on them. Neither did Florida.
ugagolf80
November 27th, 2012
9:00 pm
as for the vaunted alabama defense vs. the dawgs defense let’s check the RELEVANT stats-defense against RANKED TEAMS-
Alabama-3 games- 374 ypg
Georgia-2 games- 329 ypg
who’s better against tough competition again?
ok-lets take it farther-against teams with winning records
Alabama- 320 ypg
Georgia- 331 ypg
in other words, the defenses are very comparable
how about turnover margin-that’s i big stat right? very important in big games
Alabama turnover margin against ranked teams -3
Georgia turnover margin against ranked teams +2
so lets agree that the defense is basically a wash, although Georgia is much better at generating turnovers in big games, the numbers don’t lie.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO HOW AARON MURRAY PERFORMS UNDER PRESSURE-END OF STORY
the rest is just gibber jabber.
pat way
November 27th, 2012
9:01 pm
Hey Tech nerds you can now get ACC Championship tickets for $3.00, the crowd will be about 25000, lets see Bama played Michigan over rated and beat by everybody overrated Miss state that Miss beat like a dog, finally Bama has never beat ND Ga has
DawgNole
November 27th, 2012
9:10 pm
Concerned
November 27th, 2012
8:30 pm
Come on guys. Bama is supposed to be the better team, and until we beat them they are The National Champions. It is not their fault they did not win the SEC last year, and that the SEC combo BCS is flawed.
____________________
Uh, come again? It’s not Bama’s fault that Bama did not win the SEC last year? Then whose fault is it? Hello? Bama lost at home to LSU last year; THAT’S why they didn’t win the SEC. And THAT most certainly IS Bama’s fault.
Paul Finebum
November 27th, 2012
9:10 pm
@Sammy
You are a fool!!! Have you ever played football? T A&M and UGA run two different offenses and what you are saying is Georgia is going to change their O within 6 days from their last game against tech? You make GA fans look stupid and arrogant. A&M had a great game plan and did beat bama, however they did not do much after they were spotted 20 points.
Also, I keep seeing that BAMA struggled against LSU, the number ranked 7 team in the country. Game played @ night in Death Valley. But yet, Georgia looked awsome against Kentucky? All I can say is wait until Saturday.
Go Tech and Roll Tide.
A RTR Hit-N-Run from ATL
November 27th, 2012
9:11 pm
I think you have a better chance of winning $500 million dollars in the Powerball Lottery than Georgia has winning this game.
DawgNole
November 27th, 2012
9:16 pm
A RTR Hit-N-Run from ATL
November 27th, 2012
8:39 pm
I’m here.
___________________
Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted.
Paul Finebum
November 27th, 2012
9:17 pm
@ugagolf80
You must have A LOT of time on your hands that you have had time to breakdown film on both teams and pull their stats up. I did not see what your stats were on common opponents. Tennessee, Auburn, Mississippi and Missouri. You are a true homer my friend!!!
joe jenkins
November 27th, 2012
9:17 pm
Where is thomas brown at to put these morons gtbob and buckeye in their place. As long as paul johnson is at tech…yall will never beat us again. we have won 37 of the last 49 against yall losers. Right now i know yall are in a fragile state of minds… so how about going to get some mental cousiling….Also expect more beat downs to come….damn i’m happy about this
DawgNole
November 27th, 2012
9:18 pm
Paul Finebum
November 27th, 2012
9:10 pm
@Sammy
You are a fool!!! Have you ever played football? T A&M and UGA run two different offenses and what you are saying is Georgia is going to change their O within 6 days from their last game against tech? You make GA fans look stupid and arrogant.
____________________
Actually, I think he makes us look pretty smart by comparison.
A RTR Hit-N-Run from ATL
November 27th, 2012
9:22 pm
@Sammy,
I wouldn’t go changing your offense in a week. You can try the hurry up, but the hurry up works if the QB is a running threat. Murray is not a running threat and you don’t want him running against the Alabama… ROLL TIDE… defense. An injury, a concussion, it’s over in a flash.
On second thought, just ignore the fact we’ve only lost two games in three years and won two BCS National Championships and think Saban and company aren’t smart enough to figure all of that out.
RUN MURRAY RUN!
oh crap, what if someone calls Saban right now and says “hey, I just read on the AJC.com that… the AJC.com… A-J-C… I don’t know what it stands for… but anyways, they’re saying that Murray is going to run the ball! And they’re going to throw the ball! And Keith Marshall is a passing threat! WHAT DO WE DO COACH?!”
I wasn’t here last year, what were you guys saying about your game against LSU? Were you saying you were going to win that one too? Didn’t you lose like 28-0? Wait, 35-7? Wait, 45-7? 49-10? Something big right?
And how did that same LSU squad do against us a month later?
http://tnvalleytalks.hoop.la/fileSendAction/fcType/0/fcOid/259542755846904754/filePointer/259542755846904769/fodoid/259542755846904764/imageType/MEDIUM/inlineImage/true/LSU.jpg
Paul Finebum
November 27th, 2012
9:24 pm
Paul Finebum
November 27th, 2012
9:10 pm
@Sammy
You are a fool!!! Have you ever played football? T A&M and UGA run two different offenses and what you are saying is Georgia is going to change their O within 6 days from their last game against tech? You make GA fans look stupid and arrogant.
____________________
Actually, I think he makes us look pretty smart by comparison.
****Well said****
A RTR Hit-N-Run from ATL
November 27th, 2012
9:25 pm
That loss to South Carolina was so big, it made your momma look skinny!
I’ll be here for a minute or so more.
OkieDawg
November 27th, 2012
9:27 pm
Bobo will win the Broyles Award for the best Asst. in the Nation. He is the best Oc in the Nation. What school will steal him from UGA?
Steve
November 27th, 2012
9:28 pm
Awww then it must be bedtime A RTR? How cute. Does mommy tuck you in every night at 9:30? Bama trash!
bubba4dawgs
November 27th, 2012
9:30 pm
I’m trying not to be a part of the idiocy coming thru on this blog! Rambo has already done enough of that along with Commings with their smack talk. Talk about putting a monkey on the team’s back, I only hope they can remotely live up to their remarks! Gee, I hate to see the DAWGS lose…it upsets me to no end! Be ready, DAWGS…..that’s all I got to say……bring your “A” game!!
DwayneL
November 27th, 2012
9:31 pm
This LSU tiger knows that bama will kick uga’s ass this week!
Patched Tire On I-95 in Jacksonville
November 27th, 2012
9:32 pm
Murray has to have a great game
OL has to block
Defense has to play like they did against FL
Richt and Bobo call plays that are not conservative
Then UGA wins
if any one of those doesnt happen then the only way we win is Bama has 5 turnovers or they forfeit
Patched Tire On I-95 in Jacksonville
November 27th, 2012
9:33 pm
OkieDawg
Best OC in the nation
How is that???
A RTR Hit-N-Run from ATL
November 27th, 2012
9:36 pm
“The Dawgs are just 1-8 against the spread in the underdog role over the last three seasons. They have lost by an average score of 32.2 to 19.7 in these games.”
Do we have any numbers on Alabama’s winning percentage when facing an inferior team that talked trash about being superior to them?
fan
November 27th, 2012
9:36 pm
This SEC Championship has all the atmosphere of being a classic.IF Georgia doesn’t turn the ball over, they’ll win. These defenses will really be putting it on the line every play…this should be a great hard hitting game. Why is the media still pushing this guy from Notre Dame in the Heisman race? What more can this kid from Texas A&M do, he’s electrafyng. This is a no brainer, Johnny Miezell has done it all…what a great player. Matter fact, the two linebackers from the University of Georgia, Jarvis Jones and Alec Ogletree are both much better than that guy from Notre Dame, also the linebacker from Florida is much better. It’ll be a disgrace if Johnny Miezell gets snubbed…freshman or not.
Flo-Ri-Duh
November 27th, 2012
9:36 pm
According to rating service UGA played the 42nd most difficult schedule and Bummer played the 39th most difficult. Sounds like they both had cup cake for desert.
Techster
November 27th, 2012
9:38 pm
Go Bama!! Crush the dogs. Send them whimpering all the way back to Athens with their tails stuck between the legs.
Flo-Ri-Duh
November 27th, 2012
9:38 pm
Don’t care who get the Heisman – at least half of them never cut in the NFL.
DawgNole
November 27th, 2012
9:40 pm
A RTR Hit-N-Run from ATL
November 27th, 2012
9:25 pm
I’ll be here for a minute or so more.
___________________
Aw, darn!
Flo-Ri-Duh
November 27th, 2012
9:41 pm
Manziel made Bummer’s “D” look slow and dumb.
A RTR Hit-N-Run from ATL
November 27th, 2012
9:41 pm
@steve,
nope. I don’t have time to play on the internet all night. stuff to do. a woman to do. you… well…
anyways, does anyone know what Alabama’s winning percentage is against teams whose fan bases make animal sounds as part of their chants?
I can only think of Arkansas and Georgia? I believe they’re 6-0, and this time next week… 7-0.
DawgNole
November 27th, 2012
9:42 pm
A RTR Hit-N-Run from ATL
November 27th, 2012
9:22 pm
I wasn’t here last year, what were you guys saying about your game against LSU? Were you saying you were going to win that one too? Didn’t you lose like 28-0? Wait, 35-7? Wait, 45-7? 49-10? Something big right?
And how did that same LSU squad do against us a month later?
____________________
About as well as y’all did against that same LSU squad in Tuscaloosa two months earlier.
Steve
November 27th, 2012
9:43 pm
A RTR you are going to be in trouble now! Mommy is going to be so bad that you are up past bedtime! You might not even get a bedtime story now! Better run little boy!
A RTR Hit-N-Run from ATL
November 27th, 2012
9:44 pm
woof woof? You really say woof woof?
Do you say it all of the time or just during kickoffs, i’m curious?
Techster
November 27th, 2012
9:45 pm
Fast pace or slow pace, it doesn’t matter–the dogs are going down.
DawgNole
November 27th, 2012
9:46 pm
Techster
November 27th, 2012
9:38 pm
Go Bama!! Crush the dogs. Send them whimpering all the way back to Athens with their tails stuck between the legs.
______________________
But why, Techster? Why? Cause y’all couldn’t do it?
boots
November 27th, 2012
9:46 pm
Shock the world, Dawgs. Even if we lose, my degree from Georgia will still be worth ten times what a Bama degree is.
A RTR Hit-N-Run from ATL
November 27th, 2012
9:47 pm
@dawgnole
Okay, I’ll look it up…. you lost to LSU 42-10. We lost to LSU 6-9 in OT then beat them 21-0 in the National Championship.
If you’re indicative of the fans and players at UGA, I can see why you think you’re just as good as we are. You somehow see a 42-10 loss = 6-9 loss in OT.
cloudodust
November 27th, 2012
9:49 pm
It’s all so simple : Half-time adjustments wins this game. Who likes their chances here?
CigarDawg
November 27th, 2012
9:54 pm
I want to go on the record here having stted that I would love to be wrong and have to eat crow over my criticism of Richt’s and BooBoo’s coaching styles and capabilities through the years.
I hope our boys show up ready, mentally and physically, and that the play calling is world calls and perfect for each down. I want to see them win it all and prove me to have terrible analytical insights into the program and the game in general.
History, however, has proven my insights to be spot-on, so I am not optimistic for this weekend.
A RTR Hit-N-Run from ATL
November 27th, 2012
9:58 pm
@steve
You seem mad. Did I make you mad? I’m just telling Georgia what’s up. I hate to live in your head rent free. Let this live in your head rent free until we make a new one for you on Saturday…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQA-rPihGWE
It sounds so goooood doesn’t it?
Dose of Reality
November 27th, 2012
9:58 pm
Actually to all of the dawg fans hollering about how everybody betting against them are troll’s… We (are not) all trolls, we are realist, and to be honest, I actually believe the dawgs will win. Do they have more talent? About even. Do they have better coaching? No… That would be the only reason bama could possibly win this game. Do they have more heart? Still too close to call. Are they more focus? Yes! This is the reason why I believe the dawgs will win, maybe not really deserving of a top 3 ranking, they got a lot of good stats against scrubs….but hey, bama had a similar schedule as well.
DC
November 27th, 2012
9:59 pm
A Tech fan here since the early 70’s. You guys deserve to be there. I know you’ll do the state of Ga proud. Maybe we, in some parallel universe or 5th dimension, will make it to the big dance some day.