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Time to play the Gameday on Rocky Top Guessing Game. If you have no idea what that is, you can find out everything you need to know here. Last week’s results are here.
Good luck, and Go Vols!
It’s an absolutely huge game tomorrow for the Vols when the 7th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs come to Neyland Stadium looking to avenge two consecutive losses to their rivals to the north. Based on the history between these two teams, it’s going to feature a fair amount of drama, as the last four games have all been decided by seven points or less. Peyton Manning’s going to be there. Brett Favre is going to be there in his Wranglers. SEC Nation is going to be broadcasting its pre-game show live from campus, and the game is the SEC Game of the Week on CBS.
It’s all hands on deck, and that includes you.
Yes, you. Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop is imploring Vols fans to make Georgia freshman quarterback Jake Fromm uncomfortable in his debut on the road in the SEC:
“This will be his first SEC road game, we’ve got to get Neyland rockin’ on Saturday,” Shoop said. “We’ve got to introduce him to what SEC football’s all about.”
It’s admittedly going to be a tough challenge for the Vols, who are 7.5-point underdogs at home. They are also still trying to establish an identity on offense, and the buzzards continue to circle above Butch Jones despite the attempts to shoo them away by the likes of none other than Phillip Fulmer and Peyton Manning.
And yet the players seem to be tuning all of that out just fine and are quietly going about their business. Game captains this week are junior running back John Kelly, senior defensive tackle Kendal Vickers, junior defensive back Rashaan Gaulden, and senior punter Trevor Daniel. And although Georgia may be one of two teams on Tennessee’s schedule that is more talented than the Vols, it’s not like Tennessee doesn’t have the nation’s most-elusive running back in John Kelly:
The SEC’s most elusive backs – led by Tennessee’s John Kelly. pic.twitter.com/5HZWvZCrAG
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) September 25, 2017
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and the second-best true freshman after four games in Trey Smith:
Before we kick off Week 5 tonight, here’s a look at our top freshman through the first four weeks of the season. pic.twitter.com/BM2YoOjNHQ
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) September 28, 2017
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and one of the SEC’s highest-rated defensive ends in Jonathan Kongbo:
PFF Week 4 – SEC Team of the Week – Defense pic.twitter.com/54c4ZH0vw4
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) September 26, 2017
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and one of the SEC’s most efficient tacklers in Daniel Bituli:
SEC’s most efficient tacklers are paced by a couple of Georgia Bulldogs pic.twitter.com/Do5Czr57V3
— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) September 28, 2017
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And with Georgia playing a more traditional style of offense, Tennessee will no longer have to choose between talent in Bituli and experience in Colton Jumper as both can get on the field and still leave room for a third talented linebacker in Quart’e Sapp.
Meanwhile, everybody’s weighing in on what the Vols need to do to pull off the upset against Georgia tomorrow:
“Everything is about first-down efficiency,” he said. “When we talk about first-down efficiency, four yards, whether pass or run, is considered efficient. We have to be about 65 percent at first-down efficiency. When you look at scoring drives, most first downs occur on first or second down opposed to third down. When you go and look at the video from last week we had way too many 2nd-and-12 and 2nd-and-15 plays. Against a team like this, we have to be ahead of the sticks. Like I said on Monday, against this defense, a two-yard run can be a productive run. What we have to do is, stay ahead of the chains and work to eliminate negative yardage plays. That’s one of the critical elements of this game, staying on schedule, so to speak, on first and second down. They do a great job on third down, so we can’t be in third and long situations.”
Whatever happens, you’ll want to be there, and you’ll want to do your part, as it is shaping up to be a good one that has significant impact on the all-important SEC standings.
Also, you’ll want to stay in your seats at halftime tomorrow, as that’s when we’ll be honoring Peyton Manning by recognizing his induction into the National Football Foundation’s College Hall of Fame. Manning’s using his influence to get both coach Fulmer and coach Majors on the same field with him at the same time, and the Pride of the Southland Marching Band’s halftime performance is reportedly centered around Manning, so that should be interesting as well.
Go.
Vols.
I know it’s been a sleepy week, but it’s Friday, and it’s time to get up for the game. Here, have a shot of epi:
Expect drama:
Of course, the Vols had to headline this piece from the SEC Network, plus it includes some commentary from Jones and players I’d never heard before now:
JK!
Skip ahead to the 3:40 mark on this one and STOP THE NOISE!
Butch Jones’ Wednesday press conference about the Georgia game:
Welcome to this week’s Brad-is-sick-as-a-dog-when-Tennessee-plays-the-Dawgs version of Locks & Keys! In other words, this one’s gonna be short and sweet, and let’s hope that since I coughed all over the words, you won’t catch whatever it is I have.
We all know two weeks ago was devastatingly disappointing for the Vols when they went to Gainesville and lost on the last play due to some baffling defense/decisions. We also know that last weekend’s near-miss debacle against UMass wasn’t indicative of what this UT team is.
So, what are we going to see this week?
As Will and I have both written, Tennessee’s game against Georgia could be a defining, decision point for coach Butch Jones’ tenure. It also could be a pivotal spot for Quinten Dormady to run with the quarterback job or for Jarrett Guarantano to get an extended look throughout the remainder of the season.
Don’t you just hate it when there’s so much on the line? That’s the picture Tennessee has painted itself in. There’s still so much to salvage this season. Beat the Bulldogs, and the Vols are right back in the thick of the divisional race. Unfortunately, that doesn’t look like it’s going to be easy at all.
Let’s take a quick look at last week’s locks. It wasn’t pretty. We went 4-4 with Utah, West Virginia, Duke and San Diego State all hooking us up. But Oklahoma State, Tulsa, Oregon and Florida decided not to play nice. Three of those lost outright. So, we’re 14-11-1 this year. That needs to get better. And it will.
Here are the keys, so let’s see if UT did them.
So far, the savvy first-year former 5-star Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm has looked poised and awesome. It doesn’t matter whether he played in South Bend or at home in Athens against Mississippi State, he looked like he needs to be the guy no matter if Jacob Eason is ready or not.
He still hasn’t played in an environment like Neyland Stadium can be. Expect the old girl to be loud (at least at the beginning) and that could rattle Fromm, especially if the Vols can disguise some blitzes and generate a pass rush.
Nick Chubb is beginning to look like Nick Chubb again, and that’s good news. But it isn’t great news for the Vols as the senior returns to the scene of his gruesome knee injury that set him back more than a year. Sony Michel and freshman D’Andre Swift are proving to be more than able backups.
UT’s defense hasn’t been bad against traditional offenses this year, but they’ve not faced a set of running backs like Georgia’s. The Vols won’t be able to totally stop them, but they must get some key stops on third downs, inside the 20-yard line and get the Dawgs off the field. They cannot let UGA control the game on the ground. You’ve got to put the game in the hands of the quarterback and hope.
What happened to Larry Scott’s play-calling? He was very good in the season’s first two games, and beginning with the inexplicable decisions inside the 10-yard line against Florida and culminating with the complete second-half failure against UMass, he looks like he’s in over his head.
Scott needs to remember he has John Kelly, and he needs to ride him. He also needs to put Quinten Dormady in position to complete high-percentage passes and take calculated shots downfield. The Vols cannot afford to be anything like they’ve been on offense the past two weekends, or they’ll get blown off their own field.
Tennessee needs some crucial stolen points in this game, whether they’re created off turnovers or special teams. That’s the way the Vols beat Georgia the last time the Dawgs came to Neyland Stadium, and that needs to be the formula this time. Tennessee needs to be hyped up and aggressive. That needs to yield extra possessions.
I’m sick of hearing about Butch Jones. He’s not proved that he can be a high-caliber SEC coach yet, and he has been a gameday liability. All that can change if he begins to coach aggressively, puts the garbage behind him and mans up in this pivotal game. That’s what needs to happen if he wants to be UT’s coach in the future.
This Vols team has been criticized (rightfully so) and dragged through the coals. Everybody in the country is predicting Jones to be canned. This team should use that as motivation if it has any gumption about it. If it doesn’t, Jones could lose the locker room, and, ultimately, his job.
This is a tough week to pick games, but I see eight that I at least kind of like. I really like all of them except for Iowa.
By the way, want a Vols score? It’s gonna be 31-20 Dawgs.
In this week’s podcast, Brad and I pilot the plane without Will (you’ll have to listen to hear the mysterious reason why) and talk about the following:
With the way that Tennessee played against lowly UMass and the way that Georgia absolutely rose to the challenge against a good Mississippi State team, it was probably inevitable that some would conclude that the Georgia Bulldogs would be overwhelming favorites over the Tennessee Volunteers this week. Even I significantly downgraded our chances earlier this week.
So, I was surprised to learn on Monday that Georgia was only a 7.5-point favorite in the game, but I had to take note because, hey, who knows more about hangovers than Vegas, right? And then I checked ESPN’s FPI and found that Georgia had only a 69.5% chance to win. What about S&P+, what did it have to say? Georgia, 63%, with a projected score of 29.7 to 24. That’s a picture of a clear favorite, of course, but it’s certainly not overwhelming.
Let’s take a closer look at Georgia and the relative stats of the two teams to see if any of that actually makes sense.
That schedule to date is ranked as the nation’s 10th most difficult. For comparison’s sake, Tennessee’s schedule is ranked 107th. Keep that in mind as we look at the stats.
But really, the Bulldogs’ resume only consists of a one-point victory over a barely-ranked team (like the Vols were recently), and one solid thumping of a team we think is probably pretty good, although we don’t know yet for sure because its reputation was built on beating LSU, another team many have have been very wrong about.
Tennessee is averaging 156.5 rushing yards per game, but Georgia is giving up only 97.5 per game. The closest comparison, for a prior Tennessee opponent that is not as good at run defense as Georgia, is Georgia Tech, which is giving up only 100.3 yards per game on the ground. Tennessee got 148 against them. Georgia does feature the best run defense the Vols have seen so far this year, but that Yellow Jackets number is pretty close to what the Bulldogs are doing. Based on all of that, I’m going to guess that Tennessee gets only slightly less than its average on the ground and nets 150.
The Tennessee defense is allowing 242.3 rushing yards per game, a number that is perhaps inflated to a degree due to playing Georgia Tech’s flexbone in the first game of the season. The Bulldogs run game is averaging 223.3 yards per game. The closest “not-as-good” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is Indiana State, but it’s not really close enough to tell us much as they’re averaging only 129.7 yards per game on the ground. The Sycamores got 122 against Tennessee. The closest “better-than” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is also not particularly helpful as that team is Georgia Tech, which is averaging 393.7 rushing yards per game and got 535 against Tennessee. I’m going to guess that Georgia will get more than their average against Tennessee, but it won’t be as bad as it was against the Yellow Jackets. I’m going with 300 rushing yards for Georgia against Tennessee’s defense.
Tennessee is averaging 224.8 passing yards per game, and Georgia is allowing 172.0. The closest “not-as-good” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is UMass, which is giving up 218.4 yards per game through the air. The Vols put up 184 against them in a listless effort. The closest “better-than” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is Georgia Tech. They’re allowing 164.0 passing yards per game, and Tennessee got 221 against them. I’m going to say that Tennessee will put up around 200 passing yards this weekend.
The Tennessee pass defense is allowing 140.5 passing yards per game. As good as the new quarterbacks have looked, Georgia’s only averaging 166 passing yards per game. The closest “not-as-good” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is once again Georgia Tech, which is getting 93.3 yards per game through the air, and they got more than their average against Tennessee with 120. The closest “better-than” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is Florida, which is averaging 200.7 passing yards per game and got 212 against Tennessee. I’m going with Georgia putting up their average of about 170 passing yards against Tennessee.
Tennessee is averaging 30.3 points per game, but that number is somewhat inflated by a double overtime game during which they scored an extra 14 points in extra periods. Georgia is allowing only 11.5 points per game. The closest “not-as-good” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is Georgia Tech, which is allowing 23.0 points per game, and Tennessee got 28 against them in regulation. This will be toughest scoring defense the Vols have faced this season. Taking all of that together, I’m going to say that the Vols score somewhere around 24 points against Georgia.
Tennessee is allowing 21.8 points per game, and Georgia is averaging 31. The closest “not-as-good” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is Florida, which is averaging 23.7 points, and they got 26 against Tennessee. The closest “better-than” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is Georgia Tech, which is averaging 37.7 points and got 28 in regulation against Tennessee. I’m going with Georgia putting up about 31 points against Tennessee.
The result that the statsy preview calculator spit out looks a lot like the current spread, which is 7.5 for this game with an over/under of 47.5. So maybe that is about right, and maybe the game figures to be much closer than most think.
| Statistic | National Rank |
|---|---|
| Red Zone Offense | 1 |
| Sacks Allowed | 13 |
| Passing Yards per Completion | 16 |
| Team Passing Efficiency | 28 |
| Rushing Offense | 29 |
| Tackles for Loss Allowed | 37 |
| Passes Had Intercepted | 61 |
| Scoring Offense | 63 |
| 3rd Down Conversion Pct | 70 |
| Completion Percentage | 72 |
| Total Offense | 83 |
| First Downs Offense | 86 |
| 4th Down Conversion Pct | 87 |
| Passing Offense | 112 |
Offensive observations. From the stats, it would appear that Georgia is a run-first offense that likes to take a chance downfield in the passing game every once in a while. When they complete a pass, it’s generally a long one, but their completion percentage and overall passing offense isn’t really very good. They’re really not very good on first down or at putting points on the board, either. But make no mistake, everything keys off Georgia’s run game, which is so good that it forces you to over-commit to stopping it so that you can no longer defend even a below-average passing attack. And remember, Tennessee’s defense hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, so Georgia may not have to be very good on offense to have a good day. But if they can strike the right balance between mitigating the damage in the running game without also giving up an occasional deep pass, they could do well.
| Statistic | National Rank |
|---|---|
| Scoring Defense | 8 |
| Total Defense | 16 |
| Rushing Defense | 17 |
| Team Passing Efficiency Defense | 18 |
| Red Zone Defense | 21 |
| Passing Yards Allowed | 27 |
| First Downs Defense | 31 |
| 4th Down Conversion Pct Defense | 40 |
| 3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense | 44 |
| Team Tackles for Loss | 66 |
| Team Sacks | 74 |
| Passes Intercepted | 84 |
Defensive observations. It may come as a bit of a surprise when you think about Nick Chubb and three other guys just like him, but the strength of the Bulldogs’ team actually appears to be its defense. They are good across the board, except that they don’t do an especially good job at generating sacks or tackles for loss. Other than that, they are quite strong — against the run, against the pass, on every down — and they’re especially good at keeping opponents out of the end zone. Tennessee’s offense is in for a challenging day against this group.
| Statistic | National Rank |
|---|---|
| Blocked Kicks Allowed | 1 |
| Blocked Punts Allowed | 1 |
| Net Punting | 4 |
| Punt Return Defense | 4 |
| Blocked Kicks | 18 |
| Kickoff Returns | 26 |
| Kickoff Return Defense | 64 |
| Punt Returns | 87 |
| Statistic | National Rank |
|---|---|
| Fumbles Recovered | 35 |
| Fumbles Lost | 63 |
| Turnovers Lost | 64 |
| Turnovers Gained | 67 |
| Fewest Penalties Per Game | 71 |
| Turnover Margin | 74 |
| Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game | 78 |
| Fewest Penalties | 83 |
| Fewest Penalty Yards | 84 |
Special teams observations. Don’t expect much in the punt return game from either team Saturday. The Vols do appear to have an advantage in the kick return game, but kicker Rodrigo Blankenship has put 19 of 24 kickoffs into the end zone so far this season, so the Vols’ may not even be able to get off the ground there. And Georgia’s pretty good at kick returns, too.
Turnovers and Penalties observations.
Georgia does not appear to be especially well-disciplined from a penalties perspective, so perhaps there are some hidden yards to be had there.
Quarterback Jacob Eason was only 1-of-3 before leaving the first game due to injury and being replaced by true freshman Jake Fromm. Fromm, though, has done well, going 43-of-69 with seven touchdowns and one interception.
The leading receiver on the team so far is junior Terry Godwin, who’s caught eight passes for 214 yards and four touchdowns. Senior receiver Javon Wims also has eight catches, and sophomore receiver Mecole Hardman has seven. Running back D’Andre Swift has six receptions, and tight end Isaac Nauta has four.
What makes this team go, though, is the running game. Senior Nick Chubb is leading the way with 59 carries for 371 yards, but three other backs have at least 20 carries as well. Senior Sony Michel has 36 for 192 yards, Swift has 27 for 196, and sophomore Brian Herrien has another 24 for 77 yards.
Junior defensive lineman Trenton Thompson has three solo tackles for loss and 12 tackles so far this season. The team’s current sack leader is senior linebacker Lorenzo Carter, who has three. And the most active defensive backs are junior Deandre Baker (five passes defended, four pass breakups, and an interception) and senior Dominick Sanders (three passes defended, two pass breakups, and an interception).
Back in July, we posted the Vols entire depth chart by class and included each player’s talent rankings, using their 247 Sports Composite numbers. Some of that has changed already, of course, as injuries and on-field performance so far this season has resulted in different guys starting.
Just for kicks, I wanted to see what the Vols’ current projected depth chart for the Georgia game looks like and how it compares to Georgia’s. Here are those results (click here for full page):
The color codes are based on the range of 247 Composite numbers on the list. The range starts with deep green at the top and ends with deep red at the bottom. Georgia defensive tackle Trenton Thompson is the highest-rated player on either team with a rating of .9991.
Note that the star ratings and 247 Composite numbers are from the players’ recruiting profiles and are not necessarily indicative of how valuable they currently are to their respective teams. Some lower-ranked guys are doing better than their rankings, and some guys with really high rankings have yet to live up to expectations.
With those disclaimers, though, here are a few observations:
Quinten Dormady and Brandon Johnson, talking to the media this afternoon: (highlights: What was Dormady told when Jones put Guarantano in; the necessity for speedy execution due to Georgia’s speedy defensive ends; how much zone read to Dormady do in high school; what caused the lack of passion in the UMass game, and what are they doing to make sure it doesn’t happen Saturday; how different was it without Jashon Robertson; how confident is Brandon coming out of a solid UMass game and heading into Georgia; where has Dormady made the most progress; what’s holding the offense back after a good start; what have you seen from the Georgia defense on video; why do you think Tennessee struggles on first down; how much experience does Dormady have going against a 3-4 defensive scheme; how much do you practice taking snaps under center; what about throws off the back foot):
Defensive end Kyle Phillips, talking to the media this afternoon (do you take confidence into this game, having beaten Georgia the past two years; what did he think about the passion and energy during the UMass game; how much have you learned about Georgia’s offensive line; how much have you thought about how important this game is to the SEC division standings; how do you feel about how the pass rush is going so far this season; last few games have been close, do you expect this one to be close; are you playing with more confidence now; does how last season ended help you focus this season; what have you seen from Jake Fromm so far; how much of a difference maker is Shy Tuttle; what has coach Jones been like since the UMass game; where does this group of Georgia running backs compare to others he’s seen):
Charlton Warren, with the media this afternoon (how close are the young guys to being ready to play; how happy he is with Rashaan Gaulden and his leadership; is Gaulden’s timing on blitzes instinct; how is Nigel Warrior doing;
And Bob Shoop this afternoon (what was bad against UMass, what was good; getting seven sacks was good; it was a win; how much has the secondary been tested (not much; they have as much depth at running back as he’s ever seen); how do you slow down tight end Isaac Nauta; linebackers; how has pass rush gone so far; Rashaan Gaulden’s blitzing; how did Shaq Wiggins do against UMass; how much has Daniel Bituli progressed; this is the best Georgia team he’s seen; who can help us, who can hurt us; we have to get Neyland rocking to welcome Fromm to his first SEC road game;
And Larry Scott (we have to play better; three offensive line combinations in first half against UMass; what impresses you about Georgia’s defense (big, physical, deep, they know what they’re doing); how confusing can their front be (they play various fronts); two positive plays under center, will you use it more (it’s what the defense allows); what is the identity of the offense right now (we want to play our style, be physical, run the ball, want to be able to throw when needed; we want to be tough); how do you adjust for having so many tight ends out (next man up); Callaway had only one target, why (he was doubled a lot, but we have to expand his role and getting more targets); progress on receivers being on same page as QB (good to see Byrd out there getting reps);
…
Highlights of yesterday’s press conference, including the one word that describes Georgia (spoiler: it’s “complete”):
I posted this already this morning, but it’s worth another look to remind us that, despite how they looked against UMass last week, Tennessee is likely to come out and give Georgia a game:
Brett Kendrick and Kendal Vickers on what happened last week and what to look for against Georgia this week:
And just because I haven’t posted it anywhere yet, here’s the part of yesterday’s press conference that got everybody talking:
And on a lighter note, Iowa’s new tradition of taking time out to wave to the kids in the nearby hospital is really cool:
…
Addressing that press conference yesterday, and moving on to actual reasons to be excited about Tennessee playing Georgia this week.
. . . yeah, that was . . . something. Jones gave an odd response to a question about why Jauan Jennings hasn’t been on the sideline, and then he responded to a question about whether Shy Tuttle’s injury might have been caused by a teammate with a lecture about negativity, reality TV, and fake news.
Look, I think I understand Butch Jones. I’m on record as being an unapologetic cultivator of the optimism bias, and I have a raging allergy to negativity. He and I probably have that in common, which is likely a dangerous thing to admit this week. So forget I said that.
But . . . but, . . . that really didn’t help.
The odd thing is that the guys on ESPN’s College Gameday said some very similar things just a couple of days before:
The lesson here, I think, is that this isn’t a point you can make for yourself. That, and if your aim is to criticize the media, you probably don’t want to trial balloon that sucker with the media first.
Butch’s closing statement triggered a whole bunch of nonsense on Twitter, but that should have been the expected result. The smartest thing I read about the whole ordeal came from Mike Griffith at SEC Country, who said (a bit too, generously, I think) that Butch just continues to try too hard:
If recent history is any sort of indicator, most coaches would not have had much to say to either of the questions that seemed to irritate Jones, and some might have abruptly ended their press conferences.
But Jones continues to try to explain everything and say the right things, and in pressing to do so he produces explanations that not everyone has the perspective to understand.
As I said, the second part of that might actually be a little overly generous, but I think the point of the first part stands. I personally believe that Jones’ heart is in the right place, but he hasn’t yet learned when to say what. The only thing you can do when everybody’s in a mood is keep quiet and get back to work.
Speaking of getting back to work . . .
Yeah, so Georgia had a good weekend, and Tennessee had a bad one, so the stage is set for a blowout, right?
Maybe. But maybe not. Some are saying loudly that Jones is coaching for his job this weekend, but that doesn’t necessarily portend disaster. We’ve seen that movie before with a different cast of characters, as this wouldn’t be the first time that the Georgia game kept a season from going off the rails. And besides, the same thing that was so disappointing about last weekend is actually the same reason to be excited for this one:
Regardless of anything else, it’s a big game. SEC Nation is going to set up shop on Rocky Top, broadcasting live from the Ayres Hall lawn from 10 to noon Saturday. The school has announced that it’s a Checker Neyland game, so if you need to figure out whether to wear orange or white, you can do that here.
Lost in the hubbub of yesterday’s press conference is the fact that starting tight end Ethan Wolf and backup tight end Jakob Johnson both left the UMass game with injuries. Fortunately, the team expects at least one of them back for Georgia (Wolf, I’m guessing, as he wasn’t in a walking boot.) Also, Evan Berry is still out, but the team expects to have Jashon Robertson and Shy Tuttle back Saturday as well.
Expect the team to pull out all of the stops Saturday and possibly even take a look at a Wildcat package to give the offense another dimension and a spark.
Do you need more evidence that John Kelly is THE MAN? Well, here:
The SEC’s most elusive backs – led by Tennessee’s John Kelly. pic.twitter.com/5HZWvZCrAG
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) September 25, 2017
Have you ever wondered what the point of those honorary coaches is? Well, here:
See what it’s like to be an Honorary Coach – https://t.co/sdgYUz5eic
— VFL Films (@VFL_Films) September 25, 2017
Here’s our weekly update of the Vols’ statistical rankings, after the Florida game.
Offensive observations: Okay, so the offense is doing a good job of not letting the quarterback get sacked. Not so good on preventing TFLs, though, and honestly, needs work in most areas. These stats are compiled against two good teams and two not so good teams, so it’s a pretty good set of data, I think. They need work in the red zone, in the passing game, and, surprisingly, in the running game as well. Lots of stuff to work on here.
Defensive observations: The secondary seems to be doing an admirable job in not getting torched in the passing game, that last play against Florida notwithstanding. They’re also okay on fourth downs, at sacks and TFLs, and in preventing the other team from putting points on the board.
They need work everywhere else, though. That Georgia Tech games is still skewing the defensive stats a bit, but that’s not the only explanation.
Special Teams observations: Alright. Not broke, except for coverage of kickoff returns. They can improve coverage on punt returns, too.
Turnovers and Penalties observations: Also, not bad. The team needs to focus primarily on getting better on both offense and defense.
Man, are we fortunate to have John Kelly on this team. And Trevor Daniel. It does appear that making it more of a point to get Marquez Callaway the ball would be a good thing for the offense, as well.
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