Sunday Hangover: Georgia

What a roller coaster of a game. 

The picture above is the wheel route Jam Miller scored on through a perfectly thrown ball by Milroe. 

The Crimson Tide scored almost at will in the first half, and then Georgia adjusted. Alabama couldn't get a pass rush to disturb Carson Beck in the second half, and he picked apart the Tide's defense. 

Despite the shortcomings of the defense in the second half, Milroe and Williams were electric.

Milroe went 27 for 33 for 374 passing yards and ran 16 times for 117 net yards. He threw two touchdowns and ran for two touchdowns. 

Williams had six receptions for 177 yards and a crucial 75-yard touchdown to put Alabama back up for good although the pick by Brown at the end sealed the fate of the game. 

What I want to see is the Tide defense that played in the first half. 

But a win is a win. 

Next week the Tide travels to Nashville to take on the Commodores. 

Sunday Hangover: Georgia

SEC Champions.

Unfortunately, I don't think that'll matter to the playoff committee because Washington, Michigan, and Florida State are all undefeated and Texas beat Alabama in the regular season. 

Regardless, I enjoy booting Georgia out of the national championship hunt, and Alabama is the champion of the SEC. 

After Georgia's initial drive, I was concerned because they marched right down the field. Then the defense got it together. 

The pass to Jam Miller for a touchdown was beautiful. 

Roydell Williams did well as the lead back with McClellan out with a foot injury. 

We probably won't win the mythical national championship, but the coaching job by the staff this season is admirable. 

Alabama is likely to have four guys go in the first round of the NFL Draft - Latham, Turner, Arnold, and McKinstry - but I expect the Tide to be part the expanded, 12-team playoff next season if all goes well. Milroe is going to grow even better I suspect, and the OC will develop game plans to take advantage of his talent. 

Roll Tide.

Since Alabama is not in the national playoff hunt, I'll start growing my beard of mourning. 

Addendum: My son informed me this morning that Alabama made the playoffs and will face Michigan in the Rose Bowl. 

I'm very surprised, but I look forward to the twelve-team playoff starting next season. 

Sunday Hangover: Georgia

It was bound to happen one of these days: Smart would beat Alabama with his Georgia squad. Smart is an outstanding coach who recruits well. And UGA had a more veteran-laden team in the matchup. 

Compound those facts with our best starting corner and one of our best receivers were out and then Williams got hurt in the game, it is not a surprise that the Crimson Tide were defeated. 

Once Jameson Williams got injured, I had a sinking feeling that the Tide was in trouble. We have other good receivers, but they are really young - mainly freshmen and sophomores. And the elder statesman of that position group, Bolden, is a possession receiver. 

Hall, Brooks, and Holden are likely to become solid receivers, but they are green in terms of playing time. 

Cameron Latu was the man of the game for Alabama on offense in my opinion. Counter to expectations for this season, Latu was the best tight end on the team, and now with Billingsley putting himself in the transfer portal, I look for Latu to grow even more next season. 

The problems in the secondary that were evident early in the season resurfaced against a very good Georgia team. 

Alabama should have plenty of motivation for next season. Both Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. will be juniors next year. And freshmen Dallas Turner looks to be a rising star. Christian Harris had one heck of a game too. 

Sunday Hangover: Georgia - SEC Championship

That's why they play the games. 

Going into last night's SEC Championship Game, I would have given Alabama a 10-20% chance of beating Georgia. 

SEC Champs.

Bryce Young put in a Heisman-winning performance against the best defense in college football. He had 26 receptions on 44 attempts for a whopping 421 yards and three passing touchdowns. He also had a touchdown on the ground. 

Comparing the Tide's offensive line play last night to the turd-like performance they had against Auburn is telling. For the most part, the revised O line kept Young clean, and on occasion Young used his legs to beat the Bulldogs. 

Jameson Williams went off again, but it sounds like the Tide will lose Metchie for the rest of the season, which is a major blow. 

The Crimson Tide will face off against Cincinnati on New Year's Eve Day.

Sunday Hangover: Georgia

 Shutting out an offense in the second half was a welcome sight after the debacle that was the Ole Miss game. Georgia's offense, particularly the running game, did too much damage against the Tide in the first half, however. 

Mac Jones continues to shine as a quarterback with his main trio of targets of Smith, Waddle, and Metchie. 

Foristall getting banged up early was a major concern because he is the top TE on the roster currently. He does a lot of motions for distraction and for blocking purposes. 

Najee Harris reminds me of Derrick Henry in that he seems to get stronger as the game goes on. The more you "feed the beast" the better he seems to play. 

As much as I am pleased with the defense possibly turning a corner (one hopes), I'm troubled by the performance in the first half. 

Kudos to the Tide's offensive line for protecting Jones and blocking well in the run game for the most part. 

Next week the Tide takes on a Tennessee squad that was humbled at home versus the Kentucky Wildcats. They should be motivated. 

Sunday Hangover: SEC Championship ~ Georgia

What a game. 

After last night's game, there are all kinds of articles about Jalen Hurts out there. He was clutch. 

I didn't get to watch the game in a traditional way because my son had two basketball games, so I only got to watch it via the CBS sports app via Mrs. Nasty's phone when he wasn't playing. 

Add in a tornado warning and shaky cell service, and viewing the game was not exactly a pleasure. But we got to watch good chunks of the game when my son wasn't playing. 

When I did get sat down to watch the recorded game, there was only about 15 minutes to view because tornado coverage displaced the game. A tornado ripped through east central Illinois on Saturday. 

But it was a sweet win. 

There is much praise to heaped upon Hurts, so I'm not going to wax on about his performance. Other folks have already done that. 

Other heroes of the game were Waddle, Irv, Jeudy, and the defense in the second half. 

Coach Smart has rationalized the gaffe on the fake punt, but from what I've seen of the play, I think he's covering for his freshmen QB who freaked out on the play. 

Sunday Hangover: Georgia

What a crazy national championship game. 

I was worried at halftime. The Tide offense was bad in the first half. Epically poor. The Tide offense was as crappy as MoscowDon's grandstanding at the national anthem and as anemic as Kendrick Lamar's halftime performance. 

They looked like crap, and the defense was getting tired from being on the field way too long. 

But as Alabama fans are used to, second-half adjustments were made. Despite the huge touchdown pass that Tony Brown got burnt on, the defense played well. They were salty. They played more like they played against Clemson. 

The decision to play Tua paid off. He had an outstanding game. He'll get all kinds of accolades for his performance, but what some observers might not notice is that many freshmen played in that game, especially at the wide receiver position. 

Just like in the State game, Devonta Smith caught the winning touchdown, but what came before all that were great catches by Jeudy, Sims, Ruggs, Foster, and Ridley. 

Calvin didn't have a signature game like I thought he would. In fact, his little brother had the better game from a yardage standpoint  However, he caught four passes for 32 yards with a crucial touchdown snag in the fourth quarter. 

In addition, Alex Leatherwood, another freshman, filled in for Jonah Williams at left tackle. 

Najee Harris, yet another freshman, was on the field late in the game and was the leading rusher for 64 yards via 6 rushes. 

The last time the Tide played Georgia it was a nail-biter with C.J. Mosely tipping a pass at the end to stop the Bulldogs near the goal line. 

Last night was epic. 

ROLL TIDE.

Sunday Hangover: Georgia

I had to watch the game after it actually happened because the Nasty family went to a wedding, but I followed the score via Mrs. Nasty's smartphone during the wedding reception. 

When I watched it last night and then watched it again with my son this morning, a number of points stand out. 

Jake Coker played better. He hit a long pass to Ridley, which was beautiful. 

Sans the long run for a touchdown in garbage time, our defense played stellar. 

Calvin Ridley looks really good. To me, he looks like a shorter Amari Cooper. I don't think he has that caliber of route-running skills yet though. 

Derrick Henry is a beast. 

Minkah Fitzpatrick had a great game: solid cb play, a blocked punt for a touchdown, and a sack. 

The Dline keeps batting down passes. 

I wish the right side of our offensive line was stronger. We seem to be running to the left a lot. 

Reggie Ragland should be in consideration for the Butkus award. 

I want Cyrus Jones to rip off a great punt return like Javy Arenas used to do. 

What would have been even sweeter is if UGA would have done a "black out" like they did in 2008 when the Tide whipped their asses.