🏈 UGA and Bama, by the numbers

[PhillyGirl]

UGA -
34th in Passing (avg. 273.6)
39th in Rushing (avg. 190.1)
10th in Receiving (avg. 15.1 yds/catch, 3283 total)
17th in Points for (avg. 38)
16th in Points against (avg. 17.7)
23rd in total offense (5564)
49th in first downs (256)
66th in 3rd down conversions (69)
49th in rushing defense (50.45 yds/game)
9th in passing defense (174.42 yds/game)
57th in sacks gained (24)
62nd in interceptions gained (10)
1st among QB by rating (177.1, with 3201 yds, 30 TD, and 7 INT).

Bama -
73rd in Passing (avg. 218.8)
22nd in Rushing (avg. 214.2)
17th in Receiving (avg. 14.1 yds/catch, 2626 total- tied with Notre Dame)
15th in Points for (avg. 39)
1st in Points against (avg. 9.3)
37th in total offense (5196)
59th in first downs (249)
68th in 3rd down conversions (68)
3rd in rushing defense (75.64 yds/game)
3rd in passing defense (156.67 yds/game)
28th in sacks gained (30)
14th in interceptions gained (16- tied with Notre Dame)
2nd among QB by rating (176.3, with 2507 yds, 25 TD, 2 INT)

Sources: ESPN, USA Today

This is gonna be a tight game. With UGA's high pass defense and mediocre rush defense, this could work out for us even without Bell, thanks to Yeldon and Lacy. The QB battle will be interesting as well.


Some articles:
According to 'the oddsmakers' on 11/19, "Georgia would be an underdog against Alabama in the SEC Championship game but, if the Bulldogs pull an upset there, would be favored over Notre Dame in the national title game." (http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blo...-uga-underdog-vs-bama-favorite-vs-notre-dame/)

"Pushing tempo could be UGA's great equalizer vs. Alabama" (http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/2012/pushing-tempo-could-be-ugas-great-equalizer-vs-alabama/)

UGA/Bama all time record: 65 games played, 25 wins by UGA, 36 wins by Bama, 4 ties.

 

[BamaFan615]

Good find Philly. Ya know, you start to look at these numbers, the common opponents and all the other comparisons and you start to realize that these two teams really are VERY evenly matched.

Their offense will obviously try to take advantage or our secondary, which appears to be the weak spot in our defense. I think Saban and Smart would like to get a little bit more creative in ways to dial up pressure of Murray this week.

On the flip side, we will try to run the ball, control the clock and keep their offense on the sideline.

One of the things that has me a little worried this week is the fact that Georgia seems to be playing their best ball of the season right now...and playing it pretty consistently. Our guys are going to have to play with discipline and let Georgia do their taunting and talking, and just keep their mind of the ultimate goal.

Both teams have talent, no doubt, but there are two areas where I can say we have a clear advantage, and they kind of go hand in hand. #1 is coaching, and #2 (and maybe most important) is discipline. Discipline goes with penalties as well as turnovers. Hopefully we win the discipline battle because that could very well be the difference in this game.

 

[TerryP]

Good find Philly. Ya know, you start to look at these numbers, the common opponents and all the other comparisons and you start to realize that these two teams really are VERY evenly matched.

Their offense will obviously try to take advantage or our secondary, which appears to be the weak spot in our defense. I think Saban and Smart would like to get a little bit more creative in ways to dial up pressure of Murray this week.

On the flip side, we will try to run the ball, control the clock and keep their offense on the sideline.

One of the things that has me a little worried this week is the fact that Georgia seems to be playing their best ball of the season right now...and playing it pretty consistently. Our guys are going to have to play with discipline and let Georgia do their taunting and talking, and just keep their mind of the ultimate goal.

Both teams have talent, no doubt, but there are two areas where I can say we have a clear advantage, and they kind of go hand in hand. #1 is coaching, and #2 (and maybe most important) is discipline. Discipline goes with penalties as well as turnovers. Hopefully we win the discipline battle because that could very well be the difference in this game.

I'm not calling you out. But, I want to discuss this a bit further. There are more than just a few comments here, but I'm going to start with one: common opponents.

Now, if you were to ask a Bama fan what they perceive to be our biggest weakness most, if not all, would point to the secondary.

There were 14 days separating UGA playing Auburn and Bama playing Auburn. Both were shutouts, one by 38 the other by 49.

Seems even at a glance but let's look deeper.

Which game is against UGA and which game is against Bama?

[TABLE="class: mod-data"]
<thead>[TR="class: team-color-strip"]
[TH="colspan: 6, align: left"]Auburn Passing[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="align: left"] [/TH]
[TH]C/ATT[/TH]
[TH]YDS[/TH]
[TH]AVG[/TH]
[TH]TD[/TH]
[TH]INT[/TH]
[/TR]
</thead><tbody>[TR="class: even"]
[TD="align: left"]J. Wallace[/TD]
[TD]5/14[/TD]
[TD]71[/TD]
[TD]5.1[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]2[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]



[TABLE="class: mod-data"]
<thead>[TR]
[TH]C/ATT[/TH]
[TH]YDS[/TH]
[TH]AVG[/TH]
[TH]TD[/TH]
[TH]INT[/TH]
[/TR]
</thead><tbody>[TR="class: even"]
[TD="align: left"]J. Wallace[/TD]
[TD]15/22[/TD]
[TD]181[/TD]
[TD]8.2[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]1[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

 

[Houndstoothpuller]

I've seen our guys with the ball carrying it one-handed quite a bit in these last few games.
That won't work with uga. UF fumbled 6 times and lost.
I love Yeldon, and not singling him out, but if he or others don't protect the ball, it'll be a looong day.


We're so evenly matched, I'd say the team with fewer turnovers wins, really that one statistic all other things going to plan, will be the difference, imo. We have to create turnovers.

 

[BamaFan615]

I'm not calling you out.

Bring it on T! :tongue-new: Now, I can see where you're going with this comparison (we probably did better against Wallace than Georgia did, or you wouldn't be making a point about it), but if I were doing an unbiased guess I would say that we were probably #2 (but I know better).

It's a good point that you've brought up here, and I'm glad you did. Our secondary has been the focus of some criticism, especially during that last half of the season. BUT, how much of their criticism can actually be contributed to other factors outside of their control? We haven't exactly been able to just send 3 or 4 rushers and get consistent pressure on quality opponents. To add to this, I still feel like there are a few defensive players that haven't mastered the schemes of our defense in their heads, causing them to "think" instead of "react". I saw this a few times even against Auburn where we were still getting lined up when the ball was snapped.

This defense (probably unfairly) will always be compared to last years defense. I don't think for a second that our secondary is as much of a liability as some people might think. Heck, one of their biggest troubles has been tackling.

I'll also say this though, and I think most would agree, this secondary isn't nearly as polished as last year's. BUT, at the same time...we also were getting consistent pressure on the QB's last year.

 

[TerryP]

I've seen our guys with the ball carrying it one-handed quite a bit in these last few games.
That won't work with uga. UF fumbled 6 times and lost.
I love Yeldon, and not singling him out, but if he or others don't protect the ball, it'll be a looong day.


We're so evenly matched, I'd say the team with fewer turnovers wins, really that one statistic all other things going to plan, will be the difference, imo. We have to create turnovers.

UF only fumbled four times in their game with UGA. Driskel threw two picks.

TO margin for UGA is +9, for UA is +14.

I'm not sure how you define a "looong day." To me, that's when a team is getting their ass kicked and it seems like the game never ends.

 

[BamaFan615]

Kind of a side note here, and I'm interested to see what you think about this Terry. I think it's obvious that our front 3 play the run first (except on obvious passing plays, in which we usually bring in subs), and are probably taught that way. You can see this in their technique even when they see that it's not a running play, it seems to me sometimes they're more concerned with keeping the QB boxed in inside the pocket as opposed to try to go around their blocker and selling out for the sack.

Also, don't want it to sound like I'm being overly critical of our team...hopefully, at some point, this conversation will turn in to us discussing areas of Georgia's team that might be able to take advantage of.

 

[TerryP]

Bring it on T! :tongue-new: Now, I can see where you're going with this comparison (we probably did better against Wallace than Georgia did, or you wouldn't be making a point about it), but if I were doing an unbiased guess I would say that we were probably #2 (but I know better).

It's a good point that you've brought up here, and I'm glad you did. Our secondary has been the focus of some criticism, especially during that last half of the season. BUT, how much of their criticism can actually be contributed to other factors outside of their control? We haven't exactly been able to just send 3 or 4 rushers and get consistent pressure on quality opponents. To add to this, I still feel like there are a few defensive players that haven't mastered the schemes of our defense in their heads, causing them to "think" instead of "react". I saw this a few times even against Auburn where we were still getting lined up when the ball was snapped.

This defense (probably unfairly) will always be compared to last years defense. I don't think for a second that our secondary is as much of a liability as some people might think. Heck, one of their biggest troubles has been tackling.

I'll also say this though, and I think most would agree, this secondary isn't nearly as polished as last year's. BUT, at the same time...we also were getting consistent pressure on the QB's last year.

It's interesting you bring this up because it's one of the lies that's out there right now. I've heard on more than a few occasions LSU exposed Bama's weakness.

That couldn't be more wrong. It was Ole Miss that exposed our secondary and the only thing they did was look at the film.

What did Freese and his staff see? We play a lot of nickel. When we do we use three safeties. If you put a slot/wide receiver on a safety there is a speed advantage.

Ole Miss saw it, went for it, couldn't get the job done. LSU did because they had the personnel to do so, but failed to win where it counts.
A&M did as well in the first quarter. During their 20 point stretch in the first we flipped groupings and put Milliner in the Star, brought Fulton in on the corner. As you saw, A&M put nine points on the board after that move.

Mettenberger and Murray have similar characteristics athletic wise. I'm sure Murray and the coaching staff are going to try to hit those short underneath routes.

However, I'd take LSU offensive line over UGA's any day of the week—and that's with all the injuries and shuffling we've seen in Baton Rouge.

Let me pose a question.

If given the choice, is Stafford or Murray a better college quarterback?

Now, with that choice—which in my mind is overwhelmingly Stafford—what happened to him when we took their running game away?

Second question.

I keep seeing people refer to this "Hot UGA football team."

OK, tell me which games you saw this "hot UGA team?"

 

[Houndstoothpuller]

UF only fumbled four times in their game with UGA. Driskel threw two picks.

TO margin for UGA is +9, for UA is +14.

I'm not sure how you define a "looong day." To me, that's when a team is getting their ass kicked and it seems like the game never ends.

Yeah, meant turnovers, my bad TerryP. Thanks for the correction.

As far as a 'loong day', I certainly don't mean Alabama will be geting 'their ass kicked' by any means, but I would say a loong day for an Alabama fan regarding this game would be us having to come from behind or hold on late due to untimely avoidable errors on our part, i.e. fumbling the ball (stripped), throwing poorly executed routes, penalties on crucial drives.

When it's the fourth quarter and we can't pull away, make mistakes, don't protect the football, don't do the little things at this point in the season, that's a loong day for a Tide fan like me. I expect us to win AND look fundamentally good doing it.

rtr

 

[psychojoe]

When I look at Ga. I see a team that made short work (for the most part) of inferior opponents. I also see a team that --- was one point up on Missouri when the fourth quarter started, --- that struggled to beat Tennessee, That struggled against Kentucky (a game that was after "the speech"). I see an undisciplined team that gets a lot of dumb penalties because of chippiness. Yes, they do have some terrific individuals on both sides of the ball, but I have not seen what I would consider an "A" game from them against a strong opponent. Put simply, they beat Florida because Florida imploded.

 

[Roll Tide Rev]

Terry I love all of your posts..LOL!