Game Week Thread Game Week- Alabama

[Vertigo 20203]

49 minutes ago, texifornia said:

 

Dr Finkley is the shit. 

[Vertigo 20203]

16 minutes ago, D3zii said:

Has anyone went back and looked at the game??? What did y’all think of Ovie’s play?? 

Ovie was just kind of there. Didn't really do much to impact the game, but on the bright side he was more assignment sound and close lanes so that other guys could make the tackle. He got some pressure on occasion, but Overshown, Sorrell, and Burke were all far more disruptive in the backfield. For my money, Burke is better than Ovie. 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Vertigo

[ClubWhatever 12066]

14 minutes ago, D3zii said:

Has anyone went back and looked at the game??? What did y’all think of Ovie’s play?? 

You just triggered that napoleon guy.  I didn’t went back and watch, but I remember two plays live where he didn’t maintain his edge assignment.  On the first play from scrimmage he maintained his assignment but didn’t do anything even though it was an outside run to his side. I think he’s a jag.  

[LTtxfan 48688]

12 minutes ago, D3zii said:

Has anyone went back and looked at the game??? What did y’all think of Ovie’s play?? 

Coach V said Ovie was terrible

Coach V: Last night's Texas win over ULM was fun

Joe Cook•09/04/22

Quote

Cole Hutson (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

By Coach Venable: It’s always fun to watch the Texas Longhorns make plays regardless of opponent. It was very obvious that some of our returning veterans have definitely improved over an eight month camp to change our way of living and competing. We still have some that haven’t thrown caution to the wind unfortunately and they should be passed up in short fashion if that continues. We made too many mistakes for sure but when you make those errors busting your butt they don’t seem to hurt the team as bad. Here is how this pair of eyes saw some of our first contest.

I think the most impressive aspects of our defensive effort was split between how well we ran to the ball and our tackling program wide. The best part of both strengths was they were accomplished as a team. We played fundamentally sound and basically limited our mistakes to minor errors—we seldom took the wrong avenue leading to major busts. This was definitely an improvement over last season. Missed tackles became quick opportunities for teammates to apologize for your miscue.

We had several defenders raise their performance from last season in my opinion. That’s a step in the right direction. Everyone saw Barryn Sorrell (88) make his claim on the strongside edge position. He distributed more of the promise he gave small hints of last fall. I saw a completely different Anthony Cook (11) and I gave him a standing ovation performing like a bullet safety. Moro Ojomo (98) made plays inside and outside. Jaylan Ford (41) was extremely active in coverage but was a minor disappointment against the ground game. DeMarvion Overshown (0) is a much better player when given a specific assignment—eliminate having him read keys and assign him sic’em every down.

Jamier Johnson (31) will play major snaps this fall. Jaylon Guilbeau (13) is fun to watch. Ovie Oghoufo (18) is not fun to watch. Ethan Burke (91) is fun to watch. T’Vondre Sweat (93) is fun half the time and not the other half. Vernon Broughton (45) made three terrific plays but needs lower body strength bad. D’Shawn Jamison (5) had a big game but did anybody see him as a punt blocker making a huge play? Ryan Watts (6) is a big corner that will secure the weak side. If Jerrin Thompson (28) had another 15 pounds he would be dangerous. He runs the pursuit angle very fast but lacks a puncher’s chance at a knockout.

The biggest improvement on defense might have been Pete Kwiatkowski’s gameplan. I’ll leave it to others to describe what his strategy was but I was impressed that he didn’t ask players to win assignments they weren’t as comfortable fulfilling. Of course, the difference in quality opposition might make a bigger difference than we need but I saw players making the correct decisions all over the field last night. That’s a huge start in playing well. We ran extremely well (and smart) to the ball. We tackled very well most of the time. It will interesting to see how well we tee it up with the big boys this week.

Bijan Robinson (5) is just different. Roschon Johnson (2) is a leader and a warrior. Quinn Ewers (3) is the moxie talent that will take your whisky and have his way with your women while you wonder how this rube finished high school. Xavier Worthy (8) is scary good but missed two potential td’s (posts) where he fade adjusted while QE laid it out there for him to run under. Ja’Tavion Sanders (0) is a five star TE that will make good defenses assign an extra defender to underneath threats, mainly him. Casey Cain (88) made sure both 88’s made the honor roll with a nasty move to put a 50 yarder on the board.

The OL had a very average night with some super goods and some why did I do that’s mixed in. Hayden Conner (76) and Kelvin Banks (78) executed several excellent “twists” switches and had just a few bad efforts. Jake Majors (65) had a solid night—good snaps and correct calls are half the battle and Jake carries his own weight in that department. You gotta love Cole Hutson (54) at RG. Early enrollee that proved he belonged and now everybody takes him for granted. He’s a stud warrior is all he is.

Christian Jones (70) is still struggling with pass pro at RT. We didn’t get to see enough of DJ Campbell (52), Cam Williams (56), Malik Agbo (67), Neto Umeozulu (72), or Connor Robertson (62) to see exactly how close they are to being productive backups. We know where Andrej Karic (69/92) and Logan Parr (71) fit in the scheme of things but it appears Karic needs to stay alert because these young guys are definitely knicked up probabilities.

One bad snap, hold, or kick on a field goal ruined a good night on special teams. I was impressed with our coverage units. We are definitely stressing special teams more under this staff.

Well, that bunch of ragknots (Alabama) comes into our house next week. I have a hunch everybody will undergo an oil check on both sides. I never went into a game thinking we had zero chance of winning and I’m not about to start now. Nobody said it is going to be easy but one way or the other it will be settled on the field and not before the kickoff. Let’s have fun again this week.

 

[Billy Pilgrim 1868]

If we do somehow pull this off, all I ask is please, for the love of god, DO NOT rush the field like aggies. Act like we expected it.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18326]

So I watched the first half of the Bama/Utah State game. It's about all I could take. They were rather flawless.

Their front 7 on defense is a problem. Forgetting Anderson and Turner for a minute, Utah State was able to do absolutely jack shit inside against them. I don't know how many draftees they have on the interior DL, but whoever the fuck is in there isn't getting moved very easily. They switched Anderson around from one side to the other a bit, so both Banks and Jones should expect to get it on Saturday. It goes without saying, but the guy is really impressive. On one play, Utah State ran a zone read where they left him unblocked as the read guy. He was in there so fast he nailed the RB for a loss almost before he could get the ball. They didn't have much luck running right at him, either. I guess the book on their defense is that the DBs are the weak link? I didn't see much of that. There weren't a ton (or any, ever) Utah State guys breaking free back there. Most of the throws got out super fast by design and were almost always into coverage. Of course, when you only have to cover for about a second and a half, that job is probably a lot easier. So in sum, Utah State could neither run nor pass. They were completely hopeless and got choked out early.

On offense, if you are looking for any kind of weakness, that oline wasn't really pushing Utah State around in the run game like you would expect. Mostly, they seem pretty content to just let Young wing it around and have the outside guys make plays. And when they got bored with how easy that was, they started giving it to Gibbs up the gut. He's a fucking hammer. I don't know that we have much hope stopping their attack, but they do play a lot more of a Big 12 style -- bubble screens and RPOs and quick hitters, oh my! --- than what you would envision in a smash mouth, line of scrimmage, real man's league like the SEC.  So at least it's going to look familiar, but with infinitely better athletes than we will have seen from anybody except some recent vintage OU teams. They apparently are getting their TE back this week, so they might be a little more varied with their looks this Saturday. Back to Young for a minute... he's really fucking good. Great feet in the pocket, accurate, patient, poised. The few times shit broke down, he scooted out of the backfield and had massive open spaces to run wherever he wanted. They are breaking in a bunch of new receivers and Gibbs in the backfield, so maybe there's a chance they aren't on the same page this early in the season? Maybe PK can confuse them a bit? I dunno. 

Not be captain obvious, but I think we're in for a rough one. I will say that Utah State played with passion for all of about 7 minutes until they realized what their fate was. I can't believe that team was 11-3 last year. They looked completely impotent. There's a better than zero chance that Alabama is just that good. Maybe they come in a little over confident? If they watched any of our defensive film from last year, they sure as shit should be. 

One thing that probably hurts us is how well Saban knows Sark. He knows what kind of things Sark is looking for formationally and coverage-wise, and how he wants to attack them. We're going to have to figure out a way to get our skill guys loose, keep Ewers as clean as possible, and Bijan needs to be great. On defense, I think the hope is that their oline can be had. I don't have much faith in our guys up front, but you never know. Obviously, you can't do stupid shit like special teams fuckups or dumb turnovers against this team or you are fucked. 

All that said.... Fuck Bama. I hope Bijan shoves the ball right up Saban's ass. If they really are that good, then you just shake their hand and move to the next game, but I can't believe we are a three touchdown dog at home. That's fucking crazy.

[LebongJames 1765]

Just now, Billy Pilgrim said:

If we do somehow pull this off, all I ask is please, for the love of god, DO NOT rush the field like aggies. Act like we expected it.

Who the fuck cares? The team hasn’t won in forever. If the students show out and we upset Bama, let them do what they want.

[Hookem2147 20811]

7 minutes ago, Billy Pilgrim said:

If we do somehow pull this off, all I ask is please, for the love of god, DO NOT rush the field like aggies. Act like we expected it.

[ClubWhatever 12066]

2 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

but I can't believe we are a three touchdown dog at home. That's fucking crazy.

I don’t understand this statement given everything you previously typed out.  They fucking hammered a team that would drub ULM like we did.  The worst thing that happened to them the entire game was one sack.  The spread makes sense. 

[Hiphopopotamos 20850]

8 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

Ovie was just kind of there. Didn't really do much to impact the game, but on the bright side he was more assignment sound and close lanes so that other guys could make the tackle. He got some pressure on occasion, but Overshown, Sorrell, and Burke were all far more disruptive in the backfield. For my money, Burke is better than Ovie. 

At one point Burke was playing MLB - Galindo made a comment about him being out there to blitz  - and then Burke dropped into shallow coverage.  Another time Burke was at end and then immediately dropped back and looked like he was spying Rogers.

I just assumed they'd throw him out there to rush the passer - but they apparently have already expanded his role.

[Skipper 5952]

1 minute ago, ClubWhatever said:

I don’t understand this statement given everything you previously typed out.  They fucking hammered a team that would drub ULM like we did.  The worst thing that happened to them the entire game was one sack.  The spread makes sense. 

It's crazy on principle while also making sense which is what I think he's getting at.  What is crazy is that we would only see that type of spread against Bama and one approaching that with Georgia (after their dismantling of Oregon).  Ohio St might be favored by 10-12 but anyone else in the top 10 would be single digits and we would all be disappointed if it wasn't a competitive game in the 4th.   This Bama team is just on a completely different level.  There aren't any weaknesses.  

[JFKFC 4875]

22 minutes ago, Billy Pilgrim said:

If we do somehow pull this off, all I ask is please, for the love of god, DO NOT rush the field like aggies. Act like we expected it.

Why not ask everyone not to breathe and not to drink any alcohol that day?

[n64ra 1072]

What are y'all's College Game day sign ideas?

[Zeus 5862]

59 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

God damn, Bama's got some aggy to 'em.  How can you still be bitchy when you win all the time?  Must be little dicks, right?

Saban acts like he's getting screwed by NIL - while signing a top 5 class every year for the past 10 years..

Saban acts like he's getting screwed by the rules - while switching to a wide open hurry up offense..

The fan base takes after their God (Satan)

TEXAS HATE WEEK

[horn4life 3748]

One thing I would not be surprised to see is Sark anticipating Saban's desire to stifle the run by stacking the middle, with Bijan being moved into a slot receiver position to force more coverage to the outside.  Now this means the O-line has to help Ewers hang on for his life, before running for it.  But he's got a quick release, and I could see us playing more of a sandlot Patrick Majomes style passing game.  Alabama's line backers have the speed to cover Bijan, but it would also force Saban to adjust HIS game plan early?  

I don't see us really establishing a running game early with Bijan simply pounding the middle.  Alabama is still just too good for your young O-line to go straight up mano-a-mano.  I think moving Bijan around may be one of the most effective ways early of making the Bama D think, and a split second of thinking on the D side of the ball is usually good for the Offense.  If we could get off a few short passes early to Bijan that would help him and more importantly help Ewers gain confidence.  

In essence I think it may be  easier to make "long handoff" short passes early in the game, as a "running game" than trying to pound the line of scrimmage with our youngsters vs their more experienced line.  So when Bijan breaks a big one off that early short pass...  remember old horn4life.

[Billy Pilgrim 1868]

10 minutes ago, Skipper said:

It's crazy on principle while also making sense which is what I think he's getting at.  What is crazy is that we would only see that type of spread against Bama and one approaching that with Georgia (after their dismantling of Oregon).  Ohio St might be favored by 10-12 but anyone else in the top 10 would be single digits and we would all be disappointed if it wasn't a competitive game in the 4th.   This Bama team is just on a completely different level.  There aren't any weaknesses.  

The championship LSU team we hosted a few years ago ended up having one of the most prolific offenses ever and a really good defense. We should’ve pulled that game off but we didn’t. I think it’s extremely hard to win on the road in that environment. I wish the game was at night but I still think the atmosphere will be electric. I think we’re still you young to get it done but I think 20 is too many points at home.

[D3zii 3581]

27 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

Ovie was just kind of there. Didn't really do much to impact the game, but on the bright side he was more assignment sound and close lanes so that other guys could make the tackle. He got some pressure on occasion, but Overshown, Sorrell, and Burke were all far more disruptive in the backfield. For my money, Burke is better than Ovie. 

 

26 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Coach V said Ovie was terrible

Coach V: Last night's Texas win over ULM was fun

Joe Cook•09/04/22

 

27 minutes ago, ClubWhatever said:

You just triggered that napoleon guy.  I didn’t went back and watch, but I remember two plays live where he didn’t maintain his edge assignment.  On the first play from scrimmage he maintained his assignment but didn’t do anything even though it was an outside run to his side. I think he’s a jag.  

Okay I was just making sure I wasn’t tripping I watched it last night and Ovie look awful! ! ! He kept turning his hips instead of staying square. He keeps getting up the field creating gaps and then it’s like he does not know how to set an edge. . There’s no way runners should keep getting outside. If it wasn’t for the pursuit by the D ULM has over 100 yards easy on our first team. . 
At this point I’m just like fuck it out in the younger guy, and let him take his lumps and learn. . He hasn’t gotten better imo! 

[Tex Long 4264]

1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

People bitching about where the band nerds sit make my head want to explode. Son of a fucking bitch, nobody with any sense at all should give a shit. 
 

'62 - or maybe '64 - fucking Arkansas sold their band seats to BMD boosters, but brought their band anyway. Some idiot decided to let them stand on the sidelines, up against the stands, partly behind our fucking bench. They were even allowed to play some and partipate in the most annoying "cheer" ever. I reckon you pups never heard it done quite so loudly as it was in the day. I'll bet there's a youtube clip of it somewhere, but be damned if I'm gonna go look for it. 

Woooooooooooo, PIG! Sooie! 

Woooooooooooo, PIG! Sooie! 

Woooooooooooo, PIG! Sooie! 

RAZORBACK!

With incredible volume, especially on the five-second long "Wooooooooo000" part.

Bama not bringin' their band?  Don't give a damn.

Fuck 'em and let 'em eat fish heads.

[Zeus 5862]

1 minute ago, n64ra said:

What are y'all's College Game day sign ideas?

 

[Hookem2147 20811]

2 minutes ago, Billy Pilgrim said:

The championship LSU team we hosted a few years ago ended up having one of the most prolific offenses ever and a really good defense. We should’ve pulled that game off but we didn’t. I think it’s extremely hard to win on the road in that environment. I wish the game was at night but I still think the atmosphere will be electric. I think we’re still you young to get it done but I think 20 is too many points at home.

The 2022 Alabama defense is much better than the 2019 LSU defense. I do think the LSU offense is better than what Bama will roll in with on Saturday, but I still think it's comparing apples to oranges.

Our 2019 team was also much more experienced, especially offensively. Having Ehlinger in his 3rd year as the stater gave us a chance every week.

[NoName 16196]

29 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

All that said.... Fuck Bama. I hope Bijan shoves the ball right up Saban's ass. If they really are that good, then you just shake their hand and move to the next game, but I can't believe we are a three touchdown dog at home. That's fucking crazy.

if it makes you feel any better, the Prediction Tracker average has Bama as a 14.38 points favorite. overall, a 19.4% chance Texas wins and a 57.5% chance Texas covers.

the swing is the 2nd largest swing from initial to updated line (2 games are a 3 point line change, 4 are 2.5 like Texas/Bama. Interested to see where it ends up.

[Hookem2147 20811]

One betting website I saw yesterday had around 90% of the bets coming in on Bama despite the line already being moved to 20. The fact it's stayed there overnight and into today could mean that the sharp bettors with the significant money are betting Texas.

21 is also a key number in the betting market so the books would probably prefer to not have to move it to that number.

[YGIFS 19443]

A good gameday sign would have to make reference to the three hosts on the other show that we don't care for-Leinart, Bush, and Urban.  

[NoName 16196]

3 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

The 2022 Alabama defense is much better than the 2019 LSU defense. I do think the LSU offense is better than what Bama will roll in with on Saturday, but I still think it's comparing apples to oranges.

Our 2019 team was also much more experienced, especially offensively. Having Ehlinger in his 3rd year as the stater gave us a chance every week.

just was lazy and pulled the OFEI and DFEI stats because I was curious (OFEI and DFEI are opponent-adjusted drive efficiency data representing the per-drive scoring advantage a team unit would be expected to have against an average opponent unit. )

looking at DFEI the 19 LSU defense was a 0.98 (8th in the country) and the preseason 2022 DFEI has Bama as a 1.03 (3rd in the country) - it's funky but they aren't "much better" with preseason projections at least.

2019 LSU was a 2.43 (#1 OFEI) and the 2nd best offense in the last 5 years per FEI, just behind 2020 Bama at 2.47. preseason 2022 OFEI Bama is a 1.36 (#2 in the country) - 2019 offense for Texas ended as the #9 OFEI team in the country at 0.99.

 

[ztejas 42744]

41 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

but I can't believe we are a three touchdown dog at home. That's fucking crazy.

I don't know. This guy watched some of their game and put together a compelling case:

42 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Their front 7 on defense is a problem. Forgetting Anderson and Turner for a minute, Utah State was able to do absolutely jack shit inside against them. I don't know how many draftees they have on the interior DL, but whoever the fuck is in there isn't getting moved very easily. They switched Anderson around from one side to the other a bit, so both Banks and Jones should expect to get it on Saturday. It goes without saying, but the guy is really impressive. On one play, Utah State ran a zone read where they left him unblocked as the read guy. He was in there so fast he nailed the RB for a loss almost before he could get the ball. They didn't have much luck running right at him, either. I guess the book on their defense is that the DBs are the weak link? I didn't see much of that. There weren't a ton (or any, ever) Utah State guys breaking free back there. Most of the throws got out super fast by design and were almost always into coverage. Of course, when you only have to cover for about a second and a half, that job is probably a lot easier. So in sum, Utah State could neither run nor pass. They were completely hopeless and got choked out early.

On offense, if you are looking for any kind of weakness, that oline wasn't really pushing Utah State around in the run game like you would expect. Mostly, they seem pretty content to just let Young wing it around and have the outside guys make plays. And when they got bored with how easy that was, they started giving it to Gibbs up the gut. He's a fucking hammer. I don't know that we have much hope stopping their attack, but they do play a lot more of a Big 12 style -- bubble screens and RPOs and quick hitters, oh my! --- than what you would envision in a smash mouth, line of scrimmage, real man's league like the SEC.  So at least it's going to look familiar, but with infinitely better athletes than we will have seen from anybody except some recent vintage OU teams. They apparently are getting their TE back this week, so they might be a little more varied with their looks this Saturday. Back to Young for a minute... he's really fucking good. Great feet in the pocket, accurate, patient, poised. The few times shit broke down, he scooted out of the backfield and had massive open spaces to run wherever he wanted. They are breaking in a bunch of new receivers and Gibbs in the backfield, so maybe there's a chance they aren't on the same page this early in the season? Maybe PK can confuse them a bit? I dunno. 

 

[Your Mom 4748]

43 minutes ago, Billy Pilgrim said:

If we do somehow pull this off, all I ask is please, for the love of god, DO NOT rush the field like aggies. Act like we expected it.

We lost to Kansas 4 games ago.

If we beat Alabama we should rush the field, rape the band, cancel school, and mount a statue of Nick Saban getting butt fucked by Sark in  the middle of Littlefield fountain.  Maybe replace the Longhorn stickers on the helmets with a burnt orange silhouette of that statue. 

[Surly Bevo 24247]

Like anybody can hear the band over the video board anyway.

[Vertigo 20203]

1 minute ago, Your Mom said:

We lost to Kansas 4 games ago.

If we beat Alabama we should rush the field, rape the band, cancel school, and mount a statue of Nick Saban getting butt fucked by Sark in  the middle of Littlefield fountain.  Maybe replace the Longhorn stickers on the helmets with a burnt orange silhouette of that statue. 

The only trombone sized hole I have ever tried to pillage was YOUR mom. 

[Skipper 5952]

19 minutes ago, Billy Pilgrim said:

The championship LSU team we hosted a few years ago ended up having one of the most prolific offenses ever and a really good defense. We should’ve pulled that game off but we didn’t. I think it’s extremely hard to win on the road in that environment. I wish the game was at night but I still think the atmosphere will be electric. I think we’re still you young to get it done but I think 20 is too many points at home.

That LSU team was only favored by 6.5 which is kind of my point. Granted that was kind of Burrow's coming out party but it wasn't near the mismatch on paper that this game is.  And it really has more to do with the expectations for this Bama team vs. a slight against Texas.  I mean Clemson is #4 and I think they would probably only be a 7 point favorite .

[NoName 16196]

30 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I don't know. This guy watched some of their game and put together a compelling case:

 

here is what Bill C had to say about them in his weekend review post:

Bama part:
 

Quote

 

But did we get any sense of weakness from these two?

Maybe. But probably not.

...

Efficiency also was an issue -- or at least, not a total strength -- for the Bama offense. Tide running backs averaged 6.6 yards per carry, but that average drops to 4.6 if you take out a single chunk play from Jahmyr Gibbs. For the game, Bama's success rate was 54%; that's very good, but it ranks only 22nd in the country despite the fact that the Tide played a team that gave up 20 points to UConn (mostly using its backup QB) last week. Quarterback Bryce Young catches up to the chains as well as anyone, and there were more than enough big plays to go around: four rushes of at least 22 yards and seven passes of at least 16. Gibbs is as fast as advertised, and freshman receivers Kobe Prentice, Isaiah Bond and Kendrick Law combined for nine catches and 105 yards right out of the gate. But if Bama trips up anytime soon, it will likely be because the offense fell behind schedule and suffered some miscues.

(The Tide probably won't trip up anytime soon.)

 

UGA/Bama Text:

 

Quote

 

Did Georgia and Alabama show us any potential flaws or undoings?

No. 3 Georgia 49, No. 11 Oregon 3
No. 1 Alabama 55, Utah State 0

This past offseason, when I was writing about potential obstacles for Georgia in its title defense, I had to work mainly with abstractions. Despite what the Dawgs were losing from the depth chart, it was hard to even pretend to worry about the depth chart. The defense still returned maybe its best overall player (tackle Jalen Carter), plus proven stars in linebacker Nolan Smith and cornerback Kelee Ringo. The offense returned quarterback Stetson Bennett and six other starters.

The best I could do for a Georgia concern was the proverbial title hangover. Since the beginning of time, countless teams in every sport have suffered a letdown after finally reaching the promised land.

Our first impression of the 2022 Dawgs: They're even better hungover. Yikes. They absolutely trucked 11th-ranked Oregon, scoring touchdowns on each of their first seven drives and allowing just a field goal. Defending national runner-up Alabama, meanwhile, did basically the same thing against Utah State, scoring on its first nine drives and not allowing the Aggies to top 100 total yards until the fourth quarter.

Kendall Milton and the Bulldogs are off and running after a decisive rout of No. 11 Oregon. Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire

It feels pretty safe to say that what we saw in a small sample on Saturday is what we'll see for most of this season. This is Alabama and Georgia we're talking about, the two most proven recruiting powers in the country and teams that have met in the national title game twice in the past five years. Tide coach Nick Saban is likely the greatest college football coach ever, and Georgia coach Kirby Smart has replicated Saban's warship better than any other former assistant. But did we get any sense of weakness from these two?

Maybe. But probably not.

For Georgia, the defense really wasn't as sharp as we're used to seeing. Oregon drove at least 35 yards on four of nine possessions -- compare that to two of 11 for Clemson in last season's opener -- and after sacking Bo Nix nine times in three games when he was Auburn's starting quarterback, the Dawgs didn't record a single sack of Nix on Saturday.

Georgia was flawless in terms of big-play prevention, and the offense was varied and absolutely ridiculous. Again, the Dawgs just beat a top-15 team by 46. But the defense isn't completely tuned in from an efficiency standpoint. It's probably only a matter of time, but we'll see if someone can take advantage of that.

Efficiency also was an issue -- or at least, not a total strength -- for the Bama offense. Tide running backs averaged 6.6 yards per carry, but that average drops to 4.6 if you take out a single chunk play from Jahmyr Gibbs. For the game, Bama's success rate was 54%; that's very good, but it ranks only 22nd in the country despite the fact that the Tide played a team that gave up 20 points to UConn (mostly using its backup QB) last week. Quarterback Bryce Young catches up to the chains as well as anyone, and there were more than enough big plays to go around: four rushes of at least 22 yards and seven passes of at least 16. Gibbs is as fast as advertised, and freshman receivers Kobe Prentice, Isaiah Bond and Kendrick Law combined for nine catches and 105 yards right out of the gate. But if Bama trips up anytime soon, it will likely be because the offense fell behind schedule and suffered some miscues.

(The Tide probably won't trip up anytime soon.)

Confidence meter: 9 out of 10. These were the two best teams in the country last year, and you have to squint to find any reason to think things will turn out any different this season.

 

edit: dropping in the advanced box scores here as well. spoilered because they are big
 

Spoiler

Bama/USU:

Texas/ULM:

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by NoName

[Nuge 1945]

This feels like a TE heavy game to me.  Sanders and Helm need to have big games in order to open up the rest of the offense.  

[CashMcCoy 3199]

I will sprint my ass down the NEZ ramps to storm the field if we win this game

[Wulaw Horn 18917]

26 minutes ago, horn4life said:

One thing I would not be surprised to see is Sark anticipating Saban's desire to stifle the run by stacking the middle, with Bijan being moved into a slot receiver position to force more coverage to the outside.  Now this means the O-line has to help Ewers hang on for his life, before running for it.  But he's got a quick release, and I could see us playing more of a sandlot Patrick Majomes style passing game.  Alabama's line backers have the speed to cover Bijan, but it would also force Saban to adjust HIS game plan early?  

I don't see us really establishing a running game early with Bijan simply pounding the middle.  Alabama is still just too good for your young O-line to go straight up mano-a-mano.  I think moving Bijan around may be one of the most effective ways early of making the Bama D think, and a split second of thinking on the D side of the ball is usually good for the Offense.  If we could get off a few short passes early to Bijan that would help him and more importantly help Ewers gain confidence.  

In essence I think it may be  easier to make "long handoff" short passes early in the game, as a "running game" than trying to pound the line of scrimmage with our youngsters vs their more experienced line.  So when Bijan breaks a big one off that early short pass...  remember old horn4life.

I've been thinking about this and I think the Bijan TD reception is instructive for how we should try to use him. That ball was on time, perfectly placed with perfect speed, allowing him to run in the open field, and he picked up a really nice block from Whittington. I'd have lots of swing passes to him dialed up.  I'd have lots of bubble screens to Worthy, slants to Whittington and Worthy and also a big dose of Sanders in the playbook. I'd also probably run  Brenen Thompson deep down the field on 9 routes about 15 times during the game, just to try to clear out a safety and give our guys room underneath. Maybe we pump fake after throwing some bubbles or slants a couple times and hope that the safety's bite and he runs past the corner for a free 6 points.  If I was game planning I wouldn't have Bijan touch the ball more than about 5 or 8 times as a designed run in the first half.  

I'd go mostly 2 backs with Roschon and Bijan, maybe getting Keilan a couple touches on jet sweeps or passes in the flat.  Roschon would be my blocker and slip out as the check down guy.  Nothing designed for the QB to hold the ball for a long time except a couple planned shots downfield with Thompson.  
I'm not saying this is the key to beating Bama as absent them sort of stepping on their own dick I don't think they are likely to be beat.   

Run play clock down to under 5 most of the game, but look to opportunitsticly go no huddle and run a little tempo 3 or 4 times during the game- only after we've picked up a 1st down. Keep Ewers upright all game with quick action and easy throws and hope your playmakers make some plays in space and you hit a couple long ones. 

It's pretty daunting to think of trying to stop them.  

Be really aggressive in going for it on 4th down and eschewing the kick. 

[Auto Driller 2502]

24 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

One betting website I saw yesterday had around 90% of the bets coming in on Bama despite the line already being moved to 20. The fact it's stayed there overnight and into today could mean that the sharp bettors with the significant money are betting Texas.

21 is also a key number in the betting market so the books would probably prefer to not have to move it to that number.

Bovada is currently Texas +21 (-115).

[NoName 16196]

3 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Run play clock down to under 5 most of the game, but look to opportunitsticly go no huddle and run a little tempo 3 or 4 times during the game- only after we've picked up a 1st down. Keep Ewers upright all game with quick action and easy throws and hope your playmakers make some plays in space and you hit a couple long ones. 

It's pretty daunting to think of trying to stop them.  

Be really aggressive in going for it on 4th down and eschewing the kick. 

yes, yes, yes.

shorten the game however you can (rest your defense a little?)

HUNH when it makes sense.

be more aggressive on 4th down (and know you will be before 3rd down so you call appropriately) > this makes sense with our punting struggles anyway. please for the love of god don't let Machete punt, that guy will get multiple punts blocked with his kicking style. kicking issues too is less than great.

imagine how much more comfortable we would be if there was a NIL funded Dicker kicking/punting this year. but instead his agent told him to go pro, he went undrafted, turned down NIL $$$ and has been cut twice already.

[Hookem2147 20811]

3 minutes ago, Auto Driller said:

Bovada is currently Texas +21 (-115).

Interesting. MyBookie and Draftkings are at Texas +20 and Fanduel is at Texas +20.5

[gmr548 16251]

One thing I would not be surprised to see is Sark anticipating Saban's desire to stifle the run by stacking the middle, with Bijan being moved into a slot receiver position to force more coverage to the outside.  Now this means the O-line has to help Ewers hang on for his life, before running for it.  But he's got a quick release, and I could see us playing more of a sandlot Patrick Majomes style passing game.  Alabama's line backers have the speed to cover Bijan, but it would also force Saban to adjust HIS game plan early?  
I don't see us really establishing a running game early with Bijan simply pounding the middle.  Alabama is still just too good for your young O-line to go straight up mano-a-mano.  I think moving Bijan around may be one of the most effective ways early of making the Bama D think, and a split second of thinking on the D side of the ball is usually good for the Offense.  If we could get off a few short passes early to Bijan that would help him and more importantly help Ewers gain confidence.  
In essence I think it may be  easier to make "long handoff" short passes early in the game, as a "running game" than trying to pound the line of scrimmage with our youngsters vs their more experienced line.  So when Bijan breaks a big one off that early short pass...  remember old horn4life.

I’ve seen a couple posts saying they expect Alabama to load the box to stop the run.

Why would they do that? Texas pass catchers vs Bama secondary is the only place in this game that there’s some degree of personnel parity. The go to is not going to be daring Worthy, Sanders, etc to win one one one matchups downfield, because they’re actually capable of that.

Plenty of teams got pressure on Texas rushing there and contained the run game with light boxes. The burden is going to be on Texas to establish the run, give Ewers some time, and force Alabama to commit numbers to defending the run and rushing the passer. But I think you’re going to see Alabama bet on their guys winning at the point of attack and making sure Texas doesn’t break anything over the top.

[40acredropout 2901]

1 hour ago, Your Mom said:

We lost to Kansas 4 games ago.

If we beat Alabama we should rush the field, rape the band, cancel school, and mount a statue of Nick Saban getting butt fucked by Sark in  the middle of Littlefield fountain.  Maybe replace the Longhorn stickers on the helmets with a burnt orange silhouette of that statue. 

Remember seeing something like that on Silicon Valley:

Spoiler

Edited September 6, 2022 by 40acredropout

[DanTheHorn 4849]

I found this preview entertaining. I don't know if this Alabama guy really knows what he is talking about but at least he sounds like he is objective in stating the Alabama weaknesses.

Summary of Alabama weaknesses:

a) Offensive line is not as good as in the past

b) Stopping the run inside. MLB was bad last year and is better this year but not up to standards. This is how Georgia hurt them last year.

c) Making the secondary have to communicate since they will have breakdowns

d) Effective TEs can hurt Alabama

What not to do against Bama:

a) Dink and dunk. They love it because they are fast, physical and don't miss one on one tackles

b) They want you to go outside because that is where they shine due to their talent advantage and not as much need to communicate in the secondary

c) Long developing pass plays since their pass rush will get to you

d) Don't think A&M game plan will work because Alabama tried a new game plan on defense by dropping Will into coverage and that is why they failed and abandoned the approach for the rest of the year.

e) Execute what you do best and don't try new things since you will be sloppy executing new things.

 

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by DanTheHorn

[lazygringo 369]

Look at this aggy Texas-impersonator on SEC Rant:

[texifornia 55993]

We're #18 - Bama is #1

 

[texifornia 55993]

 

[Fud 9510]

16 minutes ago, texifornia said:

We're #18 - Bama is #1

 

Previously we were #22. Offense stayed the same at #8, while defense improved from #51 to #47. 

[ClubWhatever 12066]

How did it do a ranking last week with no games played?

[HenryJames 64901]

1 hour ago, Your Mom said:

rape the band

Which one?

[Your Mom 4748]

The closest one to you. 

[LTtxfan 48688]

Awesome !!!

 

[Atticus 3892]

26 minutes ago, DanTheHorn said:

I found this preview entertaining. I don't know if this Alabama guy really knows what he is talking about but at least he sounds like he is objective in stating the Alabama weaknesses.

Summary of Alabama weaknesses:

a) Offensive line is not as good as in the past

b) Stopping the run inside. MLB was bad last year and is better this year but not up to standards. This is how Georgia hurt them last year.

c) Making the secondary have to communicate since they will have breakdowns

d) Effective TEs can hurt Alabama

This shit right here. Sanders is gonna make some money in this game if he’s the gamer he showed in HS and last week. This is the week for heavy 12 personnel. Move the fucking chains and strike when they start cheating. 

Bijan should have as many touches as necessary to get the win. He can rest a bit next week if needed. Make their linebackers cover. Make their safeties cover instead of just playing deep. 
 

Defensively, don’t give them anything cheap and hope BoB does something stupid. I think we can win up front enough against the run, but the back end has no chance if we don’t generate pressure. And God help us if we aren’t tackling. 
 

[HenryJames 64901]

6 minutes ago, Your Mom said:

The closest one to you. 

[crash_davis 23038]

Sark and Flood should how to attack the Bama D. The question is do we have the horses to do it for 4 quarters? 

Patterson supposedly devise some magical game plan to attack Bama's O. The question is do we have the horses to do it for 4 quarters? A few lucky breaks (fumbles, interceptions, timely penalties, etc) will help.

To answer my own questions, IMO we DO NOT have the players and depth to hang with Bama to win. For recruiting, we don't need to win. We just need to show that we can have mostly hang with them, and that the recruits are part of a 3 year plan to bring in the right players to compete for 4 quarters.

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by crash_davis