Currently in a hotel room in Fort Smith Arkansas, halfway home from the family trip out west. I'm pretty beat, but I listened to about 7.5 hours of football podcasts while driving today, so hopefully I have some sort of grasp on things. First, some thoughts from last week:
AU continues to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They put up pretty decent numbers against OU, but a couple of wrong decisions bites them again. Hugh can blame the QBs, but turnovers are a hall mark of his teams. I saw a tweet on # of 20+ TO seasons, and Freeze was at like 8, while Saban, Smart, etc all were at 1 or less. I see where folks are coming from when they say AU could easily be 5-0, but putting away games is something you have to do at this level, especially at home. Right now it's going to be an uphill climb for them to make a bowl, but I don't think Freeze is on the hot seat just yet. As long as he keeps the recruiting class intact and doesn't go 0-8 in the conference. If the class falls apart or they go winless, all bets are off. On the flip side, great coaching by OU to figure out a way to work with what they had, especially on offense with all those injuries. I'm not too optimistic about their chances against Texas next week, but the bye comes at a great time
LIke most people, I looked at Ole Miss' schedule this summer and thought they had a pretty smooth path to the playoff. But the more I thought about it, I wasn't sure they deserved that level of confidence. Not that they couldn't or wouldn't, but just that it was a foregone conclusion. It's still all on the table of course, but it looks a little tougher than we thought. I know there have been some injuries, and Grovehard can speak much more intelligently on it, but it sounds like they are getting a little too one dimensional on offense, both from a pass/run perspective and from who they throw it to perspective. Maybe get the run game going and find a second pass catcher to take some pressure off of Harris. For Kentucky, I think we can safely say they are better than they showed in that loss to SCAR, and their defense is certainly for real. They are pretty much the SEC version of Iowa
Didn't really catch much of the Texas/MSU or aTm/Arky games. I had them on my quad box, but mainly just to keep an eye on it. Texas kind of slept walked through the 1st half, and kind of quietly handled business. aTm and Ark are kind of sneaky good teams. Not elite, but will be a tough out for most teams they play. Not sure who the right choice is at QB for aTm
I've listened and read a ton on the aftermath of the Alabama/UGA game. I'm sure most here have too. I think the best thing is to take a 30,000 foot view of the game, because in the micro, there is enough there to come away with whatever conclusion you want about either team. At the end of the day, I think it was 2 talented and well coached teams that will both have a say in how this season as a whole will be remembered. I think there are legitimate concerns for both teams, and reasons for optimism for both. For Alabama, that 1st half shows you what an improvement we have in coaching and game planning. That was a masterclass. Milroe looks nothing like the deer in headlights he did even into the late season last year. I'd be worried about the lack of a traditional run game, but I guess it doesn't matter than much when you have an alien at QB. But those RBs will need to show up later this season. I'm not too worried about the second half due to 1) UGA is really good and 2) that was an unusual game situation and UGA was successful on 4th down at an unsustainable level. They were 3/15 on 3rd down, and 5-5 on 4th, plus 2 more 4th down attempts that were converted due to penalty. Probability and advanced stats say that result would happen less than 5% of the time. But it did happen, so you have to worry some as an Alabama fan. The offensive play calling wasn't as bad as it felt live. After reading some film analysis, it was one of those situations where UGA defended certain things a little better, and called defenses that ended up being the exact right defense for our play call. It happens. I was a little nervous that De Boer coached not to lose, but I'm not sure that's the case. Something to monitor. The lack of pressure on Beck in the 4th quarter was a mistake IMO, but some of the throws Beck made were ones that not many can make in the college game. For UGA, I think you have to be pleased with the way they bounced back after getting thoroughly whipped to start the game. They aren't used to that, but responded like champions. That will help them moving forward. And maybe in their desperation, they found some guys that they can count on to stretch the field and make that offense more explosive. They are going to need it moving forward. The defense is nowhere near what it was a couple seasons ago. Not only from a talent perspective, but they were taking poor angles, missing tackles, and just did not look like a Kirby Smart defense. Maybe that is a product of the Alabama plan, but they haven't looked up to their standard for the last 2 games. I think they may still be the best overall team in college football, but the problem is they play 4 teams in the regular season that can conceivably take advantage of their weaknesses, when they are accustomed to playing zero. I'm already thinking about a Texas 1q and 1h bet, because if De Boer/Sheridan can scheme something to give them fits, I am very confident Sark can as well
Probably more than anyone wanted to read, but I've been driving for 11 hours today with 3 kids in the car, so this is my way of unwinding lol
