Good- That 1st quarter was a thing of beauty. UGA was shell-shocked. They regrouped and made it a game, but that was fun to watch in the 1st half.
I may say it every week, but: RYAN WILLIAMS. His hands. His body control. Ridiculous.
Milroe extends his 2+ rushing TD’s and 2+ passing TD’s in a game streak to 4. 374 yards passing. 82% on completions. 117 rushing. Stud.
You guys notice an expansion in the playbook on both offense and defense tonight? I sure as hell hope so. If you’d been paying attention, it wasn’t a shock.
Averaged 9.1 yards per play in the 1st half. I’m not even gonna try to look it up, but I wonder when the last time UGA’s defense allowed that high of average in a half? 2020 Bama maybe was the closest? (Bama finished with 8.4 YPP)
OL pass protection... gave up 0 sacks and just 1 QB hurry. I don't care if they're playing Tarleton State, that's impressive. But against UGA? You just can not ask for more.
Attacking the edges to neutralize and wear out the middle of UGA’s defense was a really, really, solid plan. Credit to UGA for adjusting and taking a lot of it away after the half. Most teams would have quit at that point. The use of the TE's in the pass game... [chef's kiss]
Bama held UGA to just 3 of 15 on 3rd downs. Now, 4th down tries will be touched on later, but that's a sporty 3rd down % that has been a staple of this defense through 4 games. For the season, the Bama defense has a cartoonish 17% conversion rate. That'll translate to a lot of good things on most days.
Bad- DL has to win more matchups. Still way too inconsistent based on their level of talent. Getting pressure without having to bring extra numbers unlocks the final level of the overall abilities of this defense.
Way too cute with a couple of the trick plays on offense tonight considering the Tide was on their throat. Save those for Mercer. Or the spring game.
Said this after week 2, but Bama needs some different looks/plays in the red zone. Relying on Milroe’s legs too much there and good defenses like UGA won’t be fooled over and over by it. Still need Milroe involved, but that opens up more options as well.
Alabama had no interest in running clock in the 4th. No idea what the thinking there was. If they had been moving the ball, I get it. But they were getting nothing at the time while UGA was fire hot. A bad miscalculation which could have been a killer.
Ugly- UGA going 5 for 5 on 4th downs... Ouch. Beck played like Tom Brady when there was a 4 on the down maker, but Bama has got to get some of those stops next time. Bama had already given up 5 of 9 4th down tries coming into tonight. As good as the 3rd down stop % is, that's a problem.
10 penalties for 90 yards... too much.
Bama has got to keep the foot on the accelerator next time... that should be a learning opportunity for DeBoer... the SEC ain't the PAC-12 and UGA ain't USC. Some teams would have given up at half, but most of these SEC teams are built different. A lot of credit goes to UGA for forcing the issue, but the Tide staff needs to dissect that one well and see where they could have kept UGA on the mat.
A couple of notes:
Zabien Brown grew up a little tonight. That was some trial by fire shit and he walked it off.
Good to see Russaw back out there, and what a huge play he made on the strip of Beck.
Tonight, we saw glimpses of the potential of both of those football teams.
That game was like the ‘08 Blackout, but Part 2. The game followed a very similar script. Hopefully, the Alabama football machine will follow up with a similar 15 year run! LOL
Killed UGA's regular season win streak. All those wins going back to 2020, and Bama beat them 3 times during the ride.
DeBoer is a big game hunter who dishes out kill shots.
I close with a DeBoer quote: "Winners win because that's what winners do."
