Keys to Winning in Tuscaloosa

The Georgia Bulldogs go into Tuscaloosa, Alabama this Saturday, and it looks to be the biggest regular season game in Kirby Smart's tenure as head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs. The boogeyman in Tuscaloosa is gone, and it is time for Georgia to start a new era when it comes to Georgia vs. Alabama. With Saban no longer there, Kirby Smart would love to welcome Kalen Deboer to this unique rivalry with a loss. How do the dawgs get it done?

Georgia is coming off of a bye, and before that a game at Kentucky that was much closer than it needed to be. Following that Georgia lost their number one ranking, and now have to go to Bryant-Denny and face off against the number four team in the nation. Offensively this is how Georgia gets the job done. Georgia needs to establish the run game, but not in the traditional way. Georgia has mind numbingly run the ball into stacked boxes all season in the first half of their games. Mike Bobo needs to have a script drawn up that includes a shot play to Arian Smith on the dawg's first offensive drive. This shot play even if it is not completed, forces Alabama to respect the deep ball and Georgia's willingness to dial up a shot play. This respect will lead to lighter boxes that in return result in better chances for successful run plays. Another way Georgia can lighten up the boxes to run the ball is by spreading out their formations more. When I say this I do not mean that Georgia needs to run completely different plays and formations. Georgia can still run the same plays and same formations just widen out the receivers a couple of yards so that the person lined up over those receivers has to go further to become involved in run defense. Next Carson Beck must be unlocked in this game. All season we have watched Beck try to run this offense with his hands tied behind his back due to play calling. We know what Beck can provide as a passer, and Mike Bobo needs to let him open up the offense this week. Mike Bobo needs to call play action passes, first down quick throws, and be willing to take a shot when the situation presents itself. This offense is too talented to try and play the bleed clock and not make a mistake game. Georgia has turned the best quarterback in college football into a game manager, and I am sick and tired of it, it's time to let the offense loose. This may seem like a simple game plan, but my thoughts on how to defend Bama make this look like trigonometry.

Last year in the game before the SEC championship Auburn took a much better Alabama team to the wire by sending blitzes against Jalen Milroe, and Georgia watched that success Auburn had and tried to overcomplicate it. Georgia rarely sent a true blitz against Milroe and focused their pass rushers on spying the quarterback and trying to keep Milroe in the pocket, and Milroe was able to gash the dawgs defense. Michigan watched those two previous games and decided hmm what Auburn did worked, what Georgia chose to do did not. Stopping Jalen Milroe is simple, you send blitz after blitz after blitz. You take him off his spot and he panics. Milroe starts looking for his escape route as soon as he feels uncomfortable in the pocket, and that is when he makes his mistakes. When the blitzes start to hit home Jalen Milroe makes mistakes. Whether it's throwing a pick or holding on to the ball for too long and getting sacked, Milroe will make mistakes when he is forced off his spot in the pocket. Georgia can not get discouraged by some success by Milroe against the blitz, Georgia must stick to this plan, and they will have success eventually. This game is winnable, and I expect nothing less.

Go Dawgs