In the aftermath of Saturday's 41-34 defeat in Tuscaloosa at the hands of the evil empire, Chumbawamba's 1997 hit "Tubthumping" came to mind. But, I was also reminded of another, arguably more relevant pop culture sequence. Early last year, upon finding out that I had never seen the Rocky movies, our friends James and Alka insisted on changing that. Now that I have been enlightened, a Rocky III reference seems appropriate when reflecting on Saturday's game.
Similar to Rocky’s encounter with Clubber Lang, the Dawgs were on the receiving end of a beatdown from Alabama for the first 30 minutes of the game. In last week's Alabama preview, I mentioned a few keys to the game including, among other things: a bold Carson Beck coming to play, and not being gun-shy when it comes time to take shots against a young Alabama secondary that has talent but has not been tested; limiting second chances resulting from missed tackles; and maintaining the edges to reduce Milroe's improvisation.
Well, Beck went full YOLO mode in the first half, which isn't exactly what I had in mind when I suggested that he could not afford to be gun shy. Beck's first half performance was quite possibly the worst I have witnessed from a UGA quarterback since Faton Bauta in the 2015 Georgia-Florida game, which i have (unsuccessfully) tried to erase from my memory. But then, in the 2nd half, Beck seemed to rediscover some of the swagger that had NFL analysts projecting him as a first round pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Verdict is still pending on that, but we shall see. On the second point about missed tackles, our friend Rishi sent me the tweet below. Hard to win when you don't finish plays, and that's something we are not accustomed to seeing from a Junkyard Dawgs defense. And finally, although it improved throughout the game, the Dawgs did not set the edge for much of the first half, and Milroe made us pay.
Now that the Alabama game is behind us, where do the Dawgs go from here? Maybe Coach Kirby Smart can channel his inner Apollo Creed in Rocky III, inspiring a former champion to get back to the top. Or, maybe this team is not destined for glory. Time will tell, but I am reminded of what Nick Chubb said to Kirby before the loss to Alabama in the 2017 championship game: "I'll go anywhere with you, and I'll follow you anywhere, and I'll fight for you because I believe in you". Kirby is as tough of a coach as they come, but I think the players buy in to what Kirby is selling. And if I were a betting man, I'd buy stock in a comeback by the Dawgs.
Dtru's Nickels
Bill Connelly's post Week 5 SP+ Rankings have the Dawgs ranked 7th overall, which is the lowest ranking for UGA since the 2020 season. As Mr. Connelly pointed out in his Week 5 recap, the Dawgs have only finished a season outside the top 5 in SP+ one time in the past seven seasons. Auburn comes to Athens this week and, despite a poor record, the Tigers are ranked 20th in the SP+ rankings.
Bryan Harsin did not make it through 2 seasons as head coach at Auburn, largely because he was evidently in DGAF mode as a recruiter, finishing outside the top 18 in recruiting rankings in each of his 2 seasons as head coach. This is simply unacceptable to the Auburn boosters and fans. Worth noting that it was deemed acceptable to hire the reborn Hugh Freeze. Who am I to judge, this is the SEC baby and it just means more! But, I digress. Freeze and his staff have worked hard to rebuild the talent in the program, finishing with the 10th ranked recruiting class in 2024 and currently sitting at 4th overall in the 2025 recruiting rankings.
In his Week 5 college football recap, Bill Connelly included a fascinating piece about Auburn's 2024 season. Mr. Connelly explains the postgame win expectancy stat that he created as follows: "With these stats, Team A could have expected to win this game X% of the time". Well, Auburn has lost 2 games this year in which they had a >75% probability of winning. What leads to this type of outcome, you may ask? Turnovers, defensive touchdowns, and missed field goals. My point here is that Auburn is probably better than their record says, if they can clean some things up. Easier said than done though.
A week after getting torched by a prolific true freshman wide receiver, the Dawgs will face off against Cam Coleman, another true freshman averaging over 23 yards per reception. Penn State transfer KeAndre Lambert-Smith is another explosive option in the Auburn passing game, and he is averaging 24 yards per reception this season. The receivers for Auburn are significantly improved compared to last year, but the challenges at quarterback continue. After being benched temporarily, Payton Thorne is back as the starter. Although he had a costly pick 6 in last Saturday's 27-21 loss against Oklahoma, Thorne had a good showing overall. We will see if that carries over Saturday. Senior Jarquez Hunter is Auburn's leading rusher, and I am of the opinion that he is one of the best backs in the SEC, even though he has been plagued by poor offensive line play during his career on the Plains.
Defensively, Auburn is ranked 24th in the country by Bill Connelly's SP+. Through 5 games, Auburn has not given up more than 27 points in any contest. The Dawgs are heavily favored in this game, and rightfully so. That being said, I really want to see Beck and co. avoid another slow start and turn in a complete, and turnover free, performance on Saturday.
Freak of the Week
I should probably make Dan Jackson the first back-to-back freak of the week. He was making plays all over the field on Saturday, and in his 40 snaps, he racked up 10 total tackles.
But, for the sake of the segment, I'll go a different direction. I tried to cleanse my mind after Saturday's night heartbreaker by..... watching more football. The Boise State- Washington State game kicked off at 10 PM EST, and was the perfect night cap. Btw, is it called Pac-2 after dark now? Anyways, it did not take long to identify Ashton Jeanty as a worthy candidate for Freak of the Week. This man finished the game with 259 yards rushing, including touchdown runs of 64, 59, 14, and 2 yards. Through 4 games, Jeanty is averaging 10.3 yards per carry, and has almost 200 yards more than the 2nd leading rusher in the country. This is not some gimmick, we are 5 games deep! Jeanty is electric, and it's worth tuning in to Boise State games to watch him play. What a shame that the Florida Gators did not recruit Jeanty, who is originally from Jacksonville, FL (full disclosure, he played high school football in Texas, yet you can't help but wonder what could have been).
See you Saturday. Go Dawgs!
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