Georgia football got punched in the gut last Saturday against Alabama, and it was evident the Dawgs didn’t look the same as they had all season long.
The Dawgs let the limelight get to them, and they got away from what worked all season.
Granted, that is the easiest way of saying it, but instead of dwelling on every little thing, Georgia needs to focus on getting back to themselves instead of what everyone wants them to be.
In his postgame press conference, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said he felt like they got away from what worked, and why would they in the biggest game? Who knows, but thankfully there is plenty of time to fix the issues ahead of the Michigan game in the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs.
Instead, they let Alabama play their game and gain all the momentum.
Georgia football needs to fix these three things for the College Football Playoffs.
These three things go hand-in-hand, so they all go together while also being things Georgia must do individually.
3. Georgia Football needs to stick to what works
The Dawgs came into this game as the No.1 passing defense in the SEC, and then they gave up 421 yards to Bryce Young and the Tide. Georgia gave up three passes that went at least 40 yards, including a 40-yarder, a 67-yard touchdown, and a 55-yard score.
Smart said after the game, they changed some of their coverages up, which did nothing but hurt them.
The Dawgs need to go back to keeping everything in front of them by sitting in two deep safeties. They went away from that during this game, and it wasn’t successful at all. Georgia should have tried to push Alabama’s wideouts to the outside, but instead, they went with zone, and the Tide ate it alive.
By keeping everything in front of them, they can use their speed to make things happen. This strategy also keeps things from getting broken down on the back end, so our speedy defensive backs can get to the guy before too much damage happens.
Plus, they can use their strong tackling skills instead of trying to run down the wideout. Lewis Cine led the team with seven solo tackles, so he knows how to bring down guys.
Georgia needs to realize it doesn’t have the secondary it did last year and that they need to play to their strengths instead of doing what it did against Alabama. The Dawgs have talent back there, but they also have guys that likely aren’t up to the same level as the other ones.
William Poole was a big weakness for the Dawgs as he got beat a lot more than the other guys. He wasn’t always doing what he needed to do against the Tide, and it was tough to watch.
Why change for the best game of the year? It’s understandable to want and try to do something they’re not expecting, but instead, it was disastrous and now Georgia’s secondary got exposed in a big way.