A look at UGA

[Eric]

Total offense
UGA (15th) 494.6
GT (47th) 435.7

Total defense
UGA (42nd) 370.9
GT (17th) 342.6

Key players for UGA on D

LB Ramik Wilson - 119 tackles (1st in SEC)
LB Amarlo Herrera - 95 tackles (4th in SEC)
LB Leonard Floyd - 6.5 Sacks
DE Ray Drew - 6 Sacks
DL Garrison Smith - 6 sacks and 58 tackles..impressive for a DL.

 

[Eric]

UGA has 4 INTs the whole year...crazy.

 

[AE 87]

footballoutsiders ranks georgie #4 offense (F/+) and #50 defense (F/+) as of last Saturday's games

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/feiplus

With respect to the offense ratings:
FSU is #1, Baylor #2, Miami #7, CU #19, and GT #20.

With respect to the defense ratings:
VPI is #1, Bama #2, BYU #9, CU #14, UVA #41, Duke #46, UNC #52, GT #55.

I think we can score, but our D is going to have to step up big, imo.

 

[IronJacket7]

If our offense will do its part and not get so many 3 and outs, turnovers, false starts, etc... Then we have a shot.
Our defense will play sufficient like it has all year.
The numbers are skewed due to our offense putting the ball into the opposing offense's hands too many times, which in turn has made our defensive numbers look like crap.
Our defense has progressed from last season. Our offense has regressed from last season.
Our defense is better than our offense this year.
If we win it will be the first solid team we have beaten this year. We shall see...

 

[ToddM]

The ratings are deceptive in my view.

I would never say the doggies offense isn't good but the SEC has shown itself to be a defenseless conference this year with most teams putting up a lot of points, that explains their comparably low defensive rating also .

With us The ACC hasn't shown itself to be an offensive power conference. Yes with the exception of Fla st ( who we didn't play) and Clemson who hung 55 on us. That also speaks to our defensive ranking.

So in my view the dogs are a high octane team in a defenseless conference and we are a defensive team in a offense less conference.

This. Comes down to one thing, Tech has to be productive on offense. Of course it would be nice if they shut the doggies down but that's asking a lot. Tech needs the long time consuming drives, the quick strike may be there but it may also put us in a 51-50 game.

 

[AE 87]

The ratings are deceptive in my view.

I would never say the doggies offense isn't good but the SEC has shown itself to be a defenseless conference this year with most teams putting up a lot of points, that explains their comparably low defensive rating also .

With us The ACC hasn't shown itself to be an offensive power conference. Yes with the exception of Fla st ( who we didn't play) and Clemson who hung 55 on us. That also speaks to our defensive ranking.

So in my view the dogs are a high octane team in a defenseless conference and we are a defensive team in a offense less conference.

This. Comes down to one thing, Tech has to be productive on offense. Of course it would be nice if they shut the doggies down but that's asking a lot. Tech needs the long time consuming drives, the quick strike may be there but it may also put us in a 51-50 game.

I tend to agree with your observations about the conferences; however, the footballoutsiders rankings that I cited are opponent adjusted. Their offense has been legitimately good, imo.

I also think the straight Total Offense and Total Defense rankings are misleading because they're based on per game productivity rather than per drive or per attempt efficiency. For example, if you look at yardage, our D is #17 in allowing only 342.6 yds/game. However, we're #61 at 5.45 yds/play. The discrepancy arises because we're #12 in opposition plays. Some of that is our D getting teams off the field, but a lot of that is our offense limiting opposition possessions by emphasizing the run over the pass. I see nothing in the underlying numbers to suggest that we are "a defensive team." We're better than we've been the last few years--and we're legitimately top 20 against the run--but that's about it. If the QB gets the pass off, we're in trouble. Our D is 93rd in completion % allowed at 62.5%, 85th in YPA allowed at 7.4, and 79th in opposition passer rating.

 

[ToddM]

Oh I agree doggies are good on offense no doubt. But I can't help but wonder how good they would be facing a more defensive oriented conference.

Honestly I also wonder where our run defense would be ranked if we played in the SEC, I suspect nowhere near as good.

But either way I think we both agree that Techs offense has to control the game we can't let any QB stand back there and throw on us all day but that in and of itself presents a problem, we have to throw against their secondary and that speeds up our possessions.

 

[Boomergump]

I totally agree that our defense is not as good as their ranking. Our D is a byproduct of a lot of things, but first and foremost, an offense that controls the clock and limits # of plays against. We saw what would happen if the game was played at our opponents pace vs Clemson. Don't get me wrong, we have improved a lot on that side of the ball. We have gone from horrible to average, which is no small achievement. Bottom line: as many have said, we need to be effective on offense, doing what we do best. We need to run the ball effectively, finish drives with points while avoiding TOs, and control the clock. If we do that, our defense may have enough in the tank to get us a win.

I think they are going to want to run the ball too. We may be looking at a very short game. If I was them, I would be wanting to force GT to prove they can run and pound the ball along with us. If it starts to look like TECH can, then you may see UGAg open it up a little through the air, but not until then. Why would you? They have a god OL and the best RB in the country going against an underwhelming defensive front 4. They have done it before in 2009.

 

[Longestday]

The poorest matchup for us is their great passing game and our poor pass defense. True, they do have their backup QB playing. But, their backup QB is a great to good passer.

The only way we win is by showing we can defend the long passes or pressure the QB to cause a few picks. We need to limit the miss assignments in the flats and keep our eyes from lingering on Gurly too long in the backfield.

Gurly is an awesome weapon, but at least we have shown we can limit running much more than passing.

 

[Boomergump]

Longestday, statistically speaking you are correct, but you have to look at the whys. Our numbers against the run are a result of making it the first priority of the defense and committing extra numbers to get it done. Our secondary, IMHO, is not the biggest problem on the defense. They have just been left in a bad situation more often than not. If we don't bring numbers, we get no pressure, and they have to cover all day. When we do bring numbers, typically we have been playing soft zone, and the opponent completes a lot of throws underneath and to the flats. It is kind of a catch 22. They are either short staffed with few in coverage, or they have to cover all day. To be fair, they haven't always made the plays on balls even when coverage was pretty good and they have screwed up their zone responsibilities more than I would like. Personally, I think Roof has a lot more confidence in the secondary than he does in the line. He is certainly putting a lot more on them in terms of responsibility. We are young back there, but pretty athletic. Depth wise we have taken huge hits with injuries. I-Pod is probably the best player on defense. DJ has covered pretty well. Demond has played pretty well most of the time. Louis has been hot and cold. He has good change of direction skills to stay with people but he lacks big time make up speed and he constantly has breakdowns with technique such as having his eyes in the wrong place, poor tackling, or not getting his head around defending the deep ball. Noble seems to be a pretty reliable extra guy.

 

[jacketup]

FBS games only
Total Offense
Uga 14th 487.3
GT 57th 417.8

Yards per play offense:
Uga 10th 6.7
GT 48th 5.7

Total defense
Uga 43rd 382.7
GT 29th 362.7

Yards per play defense
Uga 63rd 5.3
GT 72nd 5.6

 

[Longestday]

Boomer,

We have great guys that are young and learning a new system. We have so many original starters out compounding the issue. We do put a priority on the run, which puts even more pressure on our DB.

Beating Georgia will require our DB to make the plays they were so close to making against Clemson. Most of the Clemson deep passes we had a guy right there to make the play, but we just could not prevent the reception.

 

[ramblinvak]

I'm more worried about their pass rush against our o-line. Could be a long day for Vad if their d line is constantly in our back field.

 

[Longestday]

Pass rush pressure is a given at this point. Better be ready to pass in 3 seconds or less. Better yet, score on the run.

 

[CobbTech]

I just don't see UGA trying to sling it around. I think they may take a couple shots early to let Mason know they have trust in him. But I think we have good enough athletes in our secondary to play against UGA with 2 of their top receivers out. I see them trying to dominate the LOS against our small DL. I see it being like 2009.

Offensively, I always worry about our OL. Their defense isn't very good but their best players are on the DL and at LB. If we can establish the dive and not turn the ball over, we have a chance. I'm not as optimistic as everyone even with Murray out. They have a big advantage on the LOS.