Jan. 10, 2018

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          Less than 48 hours have passed since The Pass and Catch ended The Game.

          It’s still hard to avoid talking about it. Alabama and Georgia – and, um, the officials – gave us so very much to discuss.

          As far as the big picture, I’m back to begging people to get a grip on reality, and the reality of the past, and quit making this year out to be like Georgia was a Conference USA program under Mark Richt, or that it’s oh-so-cursed, or that Kirby Smart has done Nobel work.

          Stop being shocked and awed by 2017, which was hardly different than 2012 and 2002 in many ways.

          To repeat (again):

          Let’s go back to 2002.

          The final BCS regular-season poll was this: 1. Miami, 2. Ohio State, 3. Georgia, 4. Southern Cal.

          So a playoff, under those figures, would have had Georgia playing Ohio State, which started the BCS ranking sixth, one spot behind Georgia, on Oct. 21.

          The Buckeyes that season had some close calls: 23-19 over Cincinnati, 27-16 over Northwestern, 19-14 over Wisconsin, 10-6 over Purdue, 23-16 in OT over Illinois, all unranked opponents. They beat ranked teams Washington by 18, Penn State by 6, Minnesota by 31 and Michigan by 5.

          The timing of Georgia’s loss let the Buckeyes slip ahead.

          Depending on the location of a 2 vs. 3 game that year, we can make a quality case for Georgia beating Ohio State and making the championship game.

          So we’ll stop there.

          Georgia was, for all intents and purposes, in the same scenario – minus a semifinal – in 2002.

          And save for some time management issues – part of the Mark Richt legacy – a poor decision, and one playcall, the Bulldogs would’ve been in the 2012 championship game after having beaten Alabama. But that didn’t happen.

          Nevertheless, please note that Georgia has knocked on this door before, and fairly recently. And optimism followed.

          Nothing is a lock. Not a single thing. Is Georgia probably in better shape than 2002 and 2012 for the future? Yes. Probably. But the future ain’t here yet. Reality often interrupts optimism, like it did, to a point, Monday night.

          Media folks turned into quasi-homers – won’t even get into those with cameras, and others who had long ago abandoned a level of objectivity and professionalism - and completely forgot the teams involved, and started watching through a wishful-thinking pair of glasses than reality.

          One team was good, very good. The other is currently legendary. To call that game “over” in the third quarter, especially as Georgia struggled to add to the lead or regain control, was absurd. People didn’t look as smart as they should be.

          That said, I’m watching that game and for three quarters hardly thinking Georgia could lose it.

          Hardly thinking. Certainly not believing Alabama was out of it, because Georgia had started treading water rather than swimming forward.

          You do that, and Bama is the shark that while tired and sluggish will still catch up and eat you. And the Tide’s victory belch came at 12:09 a.m.

          There was, because people were breathing and it was a game, great handwringing on the officiating.

          Sit still and grab hold of the arms of your chair: I’m pretty much agreeing, and there is a “but” coming.

          Not sure how the refs missed a couple swings. Not sure how they missed a facemask when the helmet turns in the open field. Ditto, upon further review, the offsides on the blocked punt that was countered by procedure on that side, which also would have nullified the block (so actually, the right result came from the missed call). But a penalty on you gets in your head more than it does the other guy.

          So, regardless, Alabama punts again, and no, Georgia wasn’t getting near that punt or that Tide unit could just march off the field to the lockerroom.

          There were some other situations where it appeared the refs needed to worry less on sideline warnings and more on getting in players faces and telling them they’re thiiiiis far away from a 15-yard flag or ejection.

          The little shove of Jake Fromm by Mack Wilson – no, he didn’t bury his face into the ground, an action of which no doubt would have inspired a visceral reaction from unflappable Fromm or his teammates – wasn’t nearly as huge as some others. But it sure should have earned a clear attention-getting scolding from an official.

          Georgia had two first-half penalties for 15 yards, Alabama five for 26. Second half, UGA had four for 50 and Bama 1 for 15.

          Nosirree, that’s not really right, or an accurately officiated game. And every call or missed call does, yes, have an impact. One can’t, as one website tried to do, go through what ended up happening next – like on the punt, which had nothing to do with the following possession since the pre-snap procedure call would have led to a re-kick.

          But – the “officials weren’t good, but still weren’t the reason” but - it’s still not why Georgia lost, why the game was close enough for The True Freshman QB From Hawaii – heretofore known as T Squared – to win the game. For every notable missed call, there are probably 3-5 plays made and not made that overshadow the missed call and any field position issues.

          Yet again, a successful offensive game plan changed for no discernible reason.

          Remember when Georgia rolled down for a first-drive TD in Auburn I? And how the Bulldogs didn’t look like that the rest of the game?       Give Auburn credit for some adjustments, but not that much credit.

          Fromm was 11 of 23 in the first half Monday for 126 yards, and was sacked twice.

          He was 5 for 11 in the second half for 106 yards, 80 coming on one play, and was sacked once, also getting dumped once in overtime (when apparently Georgia’s offensive line didn’t think Alabama might try something sneaky, like a stunt, which gave Fromm no chance to even commit intentional grounding).

          Something funky there.

          Sure, give him a little grief for the overtime sack, coming after two run plays gained four yards on a night when Georgia averaged three yards a carry and seemed averse – again – to using the perimeter or making Alabama’s defense work with perhaps some rollouts and floating pockets.

          Georgia had two halves, as did offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and his boss Kirby Smart, who could have changed that plan at any time.

          He didn’t.

          Note again, forever, that coordinators work for a guy who is in charge of the game plans. Mike Bobo was better than what Mark Richt wanted, and Bobo’s playbook no doubt has entries that Richt’s doesn’t.

          Atlanta gave us a ButtPick and ButtFumble II in a game, and Georgia gave us the HelmetPick, when Fromm’s pass – you could see where he was throwing – went off a helmet into a defender’s hands. It’s partially on Fromm – it was clear where he was going, but big boys were in his sight line – and on an offensive line beaten by a three-man rush, with one holding a defender and pushing him into the passing lane because he was beaten. Still, working on the sidearm Matthew Stafford delivery in the offseason can’t hurt.

          So many plays, so many decisions.

          And, of course, there was the personnel decision that pretty no other coach alive – they’ll claim otherwise nowwww – would make: you pull a sophomore quarterback, two losses in two years as a starter, at halftime of a championship game, and insert a quarterback whose last action was against Mercer and had thrown two more passes all season than Fromm did against Auburn II and Oklahoma.

          That decision, in the end, is why Georgia lost.

          We’re told the Bulldogs were prepared for T Squared to play, but suddenly it didn’t really look that way. Georgia had to defend 24 first-half plays, 23 fewer than Alabama, yet T Squared seemed to make the Bulldogs look tired pretty quickly.

          Never was that more evident than when he got flushed right, all but surrounded, hit a few times, and then went left for 9.

          On third and 7. He then completed four straight passes for 44 yards and Alabama’s first touchdown, with just less than nine minutes left in the third.

          But Georgia answered with a long touchdown pass that was a blade of grass from being only a 60-yard gain, which had that blade been peeking out more would have given Alabama’s defense new life had the play been changed.

          Bama added a field goal, and it was 20-10 with 5:15 left in the third.

          Shortly thereafter came the inexplicable Brice Ramsey “will he punt or throw his first pass since the Samford game or peel off his first running play since, well, before the 2017 season started” 19-yard punt on fourth and 6 from the Tide 39.

          Alabama took over on its 20, got 24 yards and punted, and Georgia opened the final quarter with second and 7 on its 13.

          Fourth quarter? Fromm threw three passes. Three.

          The questions from this seat all year about the handling of Fromm that were gone in the first half resurfaced. Georgia didn’t move him around, move the pocket around, make Alabama’s defense work a little bit. Whatever wrinkles were in the plans, somebody took an iron to them and they were smoothed out back to the same ol’, same ol’.

          And this wasn’t Missouri’s defense.

          I said from the start that if Georgia’s offensive staff would let him, Fromm would win the game. When allowed, he was pretty much winning it, despite forcing a between-the-tackles run game and some general hiccups. But the game plan again did a better job of keeping Fromm in check than a defense.

          Yes, he made mistakes. Humans do. That Brady guy makes off throws. Mr. Ryan sure does and he gets a pass – so to speak, hardyharhar – for every mistake. But when you cease to utilize one’s strengths …

          Georgia dropped passes, and had one pass flat taken away, right out of Javon Wims hands on the Alabama 36. On Georgia’s third play of the game. Gee, what if the Bulldogs score on their first drive of the game on a 75-yard trip?

          The stat folks at the game were apparently too wrapped up in the excitement to chart quarterback hurries, and listed none on the stat sheet. No doubt Fromm, Jalen Hurts and T Squared would disagree. But of Fromm’s incompletions, if they weren’t dropped passes, they were hurried passes.

          The game-winning play is of great debate, part of an apparent prevent defense.

          Yes, I know there was supposed to be safety help deep. And we see that seem to fail more often than note.

          Problems: Alabama had trips right, so only DeVonta Smith was on the left for Malcolm Parrish to cover. One back came out, to the middle of the field into linebacker coverage. Two-deep safety coverage, Dominick Sanders is supposed to help Parrish, who in fact had nobody underneath to cover, and turned with Smith from almost the start but got beat completely 10 yards out.

          T-Squared looked right and held Sanders – no doubt watching three receivers on the left defensive side – while Smith cruised into the open.

          It was a bit similar to the game-clinching touchdown pass thrown in 2012 by A.J. McCarron to Amari Cooper, open more because of bad fundamental defense – and an iffy coverage call - than his own ability. And that came two plays after a defensive timeout with 4:01 left, from 44 yards out.

          One Monday night of a remarkable chess match actually overshadowed the previous Monday night of a remarkable chess match.

          So, again, Georgia has been in the hunt, and will be again. Discussions of when – i.e., what’s the roster look like in 2018? – come later.

          For now, the only consolations are that Georgia has played in two unbelievably unforgettable games, winning one and not winning one. It feels almost incorrect to call Monday night a loss.

          But the nation now believes that Georgia is a legitimate national player, and it’s up to the staff and players – as it always is – to back that up, and sooner rather than later. And do so with a target.