Week 4 - UGH-UH (Upon Further Review)

Week 4 - UGH-UH:  Upon Further Review ...

Thud!!  Well, hello, Earth ... wish I could say it's good to see you.  Yep, I sorta did it again.  You know, got caught up in the hope and the hype that maybe State was as good this year as even some of those Yankee writers were beginning to say.  After all, we'd just beaten the living hell out of LSU for the whole world to see.  I mean, who was to know that LSU isn't really LSU, but just another team that Coach O coaches.  Even when LSU has had mere mortals playing QB, they have always had a throng of Swamp Creatures with names like Remi Prudhomme, Tyrann Mathieu, K'Lavon Chaisson, and Booger McFarland.  Who knew that they were so ordinary this year that they'd have to struggle in Tiger Stadium on Sat. night to beat Syracuse, who last had a good team when Larry Csonka played for them?!  While I hadn't been blinded by that one win over LSU, my vision was undoubtedly influenced by maroon-tinted glasses that would've made Janis Joplin proud. 
Oh, it's not the first time I've donned those lenses, only to drop them on the floor and step on them.  The very first time was ... hmmmm ... the season after I had gone to my very first Miss. State football game, when no lesser publication than Look Magazine in their preseason picks had prophesied that the Bulldogs, coming off a 6-2-1 season, would end up #2 in the country in 1958.  


Look's crystal ball was not far off with the number 2 ... buuuutttt ... rather than the 'Dogs' final ranking, it was just one less than the number of games the Maroons would win that year.

The most painfully infamous shattering of false hope and fantasy that have accompanied the maroon glasses was, of course, 1965 and "Catch Us If You Can."  The Bulldogs had roared out of the gate by trouncing a highly regarded Houston team in the first game played in the Astrodome, beating the mighty Gators at Florida Field, then pummeling Tampa and Southern Miss. at home and soaring to a #9 national ranking.  State students and fans adopted the aforementioned hit song by none other than the Dave Clark Five, a group who were right there with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the vanguard of the British Invasion.  The song was catchy, it fit who we thought we were, and dammit, those DC5 were some handsome lads ...
                                                         ... especially when compared to others of their day!
We had it going on!  ... until the Bulldogs ventured north to take on winless Memphis State at old Crump Stadium in Memphis ... and lost ... badly.  Then lost to woeful Tulane the next week.  And did not win another game that year.  Disappointment, I know thee well.  Humility, thou art my steadfast companion.

But honestly last night wasn't close to being 1965 bad, at least for me.  Don't get me wrong; I badly wanted State to be that good ... good enough to beat a team that had beaten Notre Dame in South Bend.  Maybe even good enough to give the wicked Little St. Nick's UAT team a scrap at Davis Wade in Nov. and to again be in the conversation for the Playoff.  I was, however, simply scared to put all my faith in them just yet simply because I thought the jury was still out on teams we had beaten.  I did, however, expect to beat UGA ... in part because I thought our 'Dogs were pretty good and somewhat because I just wasn't convince that theirs were.  I am now.

The following are some notions I've reconsidered since UGA's TD drive to begin the 2nd half last night:
  • I had thought that our defense was not just better, but downright good.  I now think our D has improved, but some weaknesses remain.  Grantham, who I still believe has them firmly on the right track, believes in playing fast, physical, and aggressive.  That's the way we had looked in those first 3 games.  Against UGA we tried to be physical and aggressive, but we just flat out got whipped up front the same way we had whipped LSU.  And fast?  No, I'm afraid lack of team speed is one of our weaknesses, at least against the elite teams.  Plus our tackling regressed against top RB's.
  • I had especially believed in our front 7 on defense (more really because we're deep).  Unfortunately UGA ran between the tackles, off tackle, and even got outside a few times.  We did put some pressure on their QB (although it didn't seem to faze him an iota).  We got blown off the line way too much, and our LB's were consistently cut off from pursuit.  As the TV jerks seemed to revel in pointing out, Jeff Simmons' name was hardly called all night.  
  • I had thought that our offense could score on anyone.  In fact, I would've lost big money if anyone had told me that they wanted to bet me that we would not score a TD against UGA (or any other team on our schedule).  
  • I believed that our young offensive line had been vastly underrated, was vastly improved, and would be a strength of the team.  Now I think they can be pretty good, but they'll struggle with physical defenses.  Fortunately I'm not sure that anyone else left on the schedule not wearing crimson fits that description.
  • It had been my hope and assumption that our passing game was developing into a real threat.  It now appears that anyone who can slow down our rushing attack can give us fits.  Although we pass protect well, we don't seem to have a vertical threat at all.  Nick has not become the passer that Dak became as a junior, perhaps because he doesn't have the targets or the scheme to get receivers open.
  • It had looked like we could run on anybody.  UGA crowded the line of scrimmage, brought their safeties up, and we couldn't give them a reason not to.  Not only did we not knock them off the line of scrimmage; we couldn't block them at all on the edge.
  • Logan Cooke is a booming kicker.  However, he is at times dreadfully slow getting his kicks off.  Someone (maybe plural) will block one (or more) this season.
  • On the bright side, Jace Christmann seems to be able to handle pressure ... so far.  Not sure about his range yet, but I'll gratefully accept it if I know he can make them consistently from inside of 45.
To me this is not a Henny Penny moment for us fans or for our team.  Auburn may have righted themselves ... guess we'll find out Sat.  UAT suddenly looks like they belong in those red uniforms.  aTm's running game -- entire offense -- looks fearsome ... but doesn't it nearly always?  But I think we can physically whip most of the teams that we have left who don't live in Tuscaloosa.  If we can win the line of scrimmage -- get pressure with our D and run the ball, as I expect us to be able to do in most of our games -- we'll be tough.  The teams that, like Georgia, are just stronger and faster than we are will give us hell. (True for every team in the country, of course.) Sure hope Aubrin isn't one of those teams.

As a parting note, I did like what I saw from our young guys in the 4th quarter.  They competed hard.  Thompson again had poise.  Kylin and Nick Gibson ran hard and fast.  Kobe and Willie looked good; in fact, I thought Willie was by far the best looking LB we had on the field Sat. night.  I realize that he was playing mostly after the game was in hand for the other Dawgs, but I was impressed.  The future looks encouraging.  Oh, and we won't ever have to play against Jake Fromm (State Farm) again!

Hail, State!  Onward to Toomer's Corner ...


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