October 3, 2015
Sarah K. Spencer
Staff
Georgia's offensive line couldn't open holes for the running game.
1. The supposedly unstoppable got stuffed. Nick Chubb rushing for 146 yards and Derrick Henry rushing for 148 yards is a deceiving statistic. It gives the impression they had equally solid days. Chubb had an 83-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter that skewed his stats, pushed him over the 100-yard mark and allowing him to tie Herschel Walker's record for 13-straight 100-yard rushing games. When you combine Chubb's performance with Sony Michel's 58 rushing yards and Keith Marshall's six rushing yards, holistically, you start to see how stifled Georgia's run game was. It was like trying to chip away at a concrete wall by throwing marshmallows at it. Every between-the-tackle run was shut down and every perimeter run quickly contained.
2. Nothing was open downfield. No, seriously. Alabama's secondary hugged Georgia's receivers and kept pace with them the whole game. Combine that with a quickly collapsing pocket and you get a rushed Greyson Lambert or Brice Ramsey forcing it to someone in a jersey, any jersey - and not necessarily a Georgia one. And so Georgia shuffled away with 106 meaningless receiving yards.
3. Special teams gave Alabama its spark. Late in the second quarter, Georgia's punting unit just completely whiffed on picking up Alabama's Minkah Fitzpatrick on a punt close to its end zone. Fitzpatrick sprinted forward untouched and blocked Collin Barber's punt, recovering it in stride in the end zone and putting Alabama up 17-3. After the game, coach Mark Richt mentioned this was one big special teams mistake that dug Georgia further in a deficit.
4. Much of the game was lost in the trenches. The offensive line couldn't open anything up for Georgia's tailbacks to break through. Because the run game was so contained, Alabama's defensive backs could focus solely on what was happening downfield - which was a whole lot of nothing. Not every team Georgia will face will have Alabama's caliber of hard-nosed defense, but if it can't stand up to that style of play, it has no hope of a competitive postseason. Much less a College Football Playoff.
5. Chubb's Heisman Trophy campaign might be over. Either that, or his matching of Walker's record is a moral victory and little more. Even with the 83-yard touchdown run. Chubb is on a once-No. 8 team that was embarrassed by Alabama. His competition has a couple 200-yard games already and is averaging 8.6 yards a carry. We are talking about LSU's Leonard Fournette, here. It's still possible, but don't bet money on it.
- See more at: What We Learned
Sarah K. Spencer
Staff
Georgia's offensive line couldn't open holes for the running game.
1. The supposedly unstoppable got stuffed. Nick Chubb rushing for 146 yards and Derrick Henry rushing for 148 yards is a deceiving statistic. It gives the impression they had equally solid days. Chubb had an 83-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter that skewed his stats, pushed him over the 100-yard mark and allowing him to tie Herschel Walker's record for 13-straight 100-yard rushing games. When you combine Chubb's performance with Sony Michel's 58 rushing yards and Keith Marshall's six rushing yards, holistically, you start to see how stifled Georgia's run game was. It was like trying to chip away at a concrete wall by throwing marshmallows at it. Every between-the-tackle run was shut down and every perimeter run quickly contained.
2. Nothing was open downfield. No, seriously. Alabama's secondary hugged Georgia's receivers and kept pace with them the whole game. Combine that with a quickly collapsing pocket and you get a rushed Greyson Lambert or Brice Ramsey forcing it to someone in a jersey, any jersey - and not necessarily a Georgia one. And so Georgia shuffled away with 106 meaningless receiving yards.
3. Special teams gave Alabama its spark. Late in the second quarter, Georgia's punting unit just completely whiffed on picking up Alabama's Minkah Fitzpatrick on a punt close to its end zone. Fitzpatrick sprinted forward untouched and blocked Collin Barber's punt, recovering it in stride in the end zone and putting Alabama up 17-3. After the game, coach Mark Richt mentioned this was one big special teams mistake that dug Georgia further in a deficit.
4. Much of the game was lost in the trenches. The offensive line couldn't open anything up for Georgia's tailbacks to break through. Because the run game was so contained, Alabama's defensive backs could focus solely on what was happening downfield - which was a whole lot of nothing. Not every team Georgia will face will have Alabama's caliber of hard-nosed defense, but if it can't stand up to that style of play, it has no hope of a competitive postseason. Much less a College Football Playoff.
5. Chubb's Heisman Trophy campaign might be over. Either that, or his matching of Walker's record is a moral victory and little more. Even with the 83-yard touchdown run. Chubb is on a once-No. 8 team that was embarrassed by Alabama. His competition has a couple 200-yard games already and is averaging 8.6 yards a carry. We are talking about LSU's Leonard Fournette, here. It's still possible, but don't bet money on it.
- See more at: What We Learned
