No matter how the game went, it is all about turning the page for the Georgia Bulldogs. They lost again to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Apparently, this is just what they do under Kirby Smart. For whatever reason, he and his staff just cannot beat his former employer, no matter the venue. The 2021 national championship feels like that one time Danny O'Shea beat Kevin O'Shea on his bike.
Rather than spend any more time fighting the little giants inside of us, let's try to at least tie a bow on what the hell went wrong in Athens on Saturday night and just be done with it... Monday is the last day we can feel bad about the game or sorry that this team continues to look sorry vs. the one hailing from Tuscaloosa. This game needs to serve as a launching off point for Georgia to really be itself.
So without further ado, here are five frustrating things that popped up once again vs. Alabama...
5. Mental mistakes compounded into an incredibly frustrating Saturday
Kirby Smart can lie through his teeth and say that Georgia prepares to play in games like this all offseason long, but the same old mental mistakes keep popping up. Whether it is the coaching staff not taking a second to breathe, or the players coming across quite uptight, the Dawgs look like the Atlanta Falcons pretty much every time they face Alabama. They are in their head. It needs to stop.
The play that perhaps best encapsulates this is the one where defensive back Ellis Robinson IV decided seconds after the whistle on a key conversion for the Alabama offense was the perfect time to jump on top of the scrum. That resulted in a 15-yard penalty and effectively put the game even more out of reach. Georgia used to be a disciplined team, but it looks like Mark Richt is still around.
The game might have already been decided, but Georgia needs to not devolve into what it once was.
4. Glenn Schumann is a coordinator in name only, what does he even do?
There has never been a better time to hop on the anti-Glenn Schumann bandwagon. Not to say that he is a spy for Alabama, but what has he done over the last few years that leads anyone to believe he is a future college football head coach? The man offers zero aura on the sidelines. While he bet on himself to follow Smart from his alma mater to Athens, he continues to need to have his hand held.
The frustrating part about Saturday's game was how effortlessly Ty Simpson and Ryan Grubb carved up Schumann's defense in the first half. Georgia needed to come out strong on that side of the ball. In a way, that is what decided the game. If we want to put blame on Smart, that is fine, but if Schumann really wants to be a head coach, he has to take ownership for yet another job not well done for UGA.
The fact Schumann is in his mid-30s and has yet to be named a college head coach speaks volumes.
3. Mike Bobo's feel for play calling continues to get worse by the season
It should not matter that Kirby Smart views him as one of his best friends, Mike Bobo is underqualified to keep coordinating his alma mater's offense. He might have a ton of experience that may beg to differ, but the game has changed several times over since his last run leading Georgia's offense. He is a former head coach at Colorado State. This is not his first rodeo, so why has he not had to level up?
Having to replace the greatest offensive coordinator in Georgia history in Todd Monken was never going to be easy. However, Bobo continues to get too much leash when calling plays. For every good one he has, he has another that takes the Georgia offense back a decade. He has no feel in crucial spots. The fourth-down play in field-goal range designed for Cash Jones was failed from the start.
Bobo is holding onto the past like a grunge band that was once atop the Billboard charts in 1996.
2. Where in the world is Georgia's once-vaunted pass rush?
This is the one thing that should have Georgia fans more concerned than anything moving forward. Where is Georgia's pass rush? Through four games, they have a combined five sacks. While they have not had the best situations to get after the passer, the Dawgs should have really used the home crowd to their advantage on Saturday night. The fact they generated no pressure felt so very Falcons.
How bad is it? Well, defensive line coach Tray Scott is starting to draw some criticism for one of the few times in his Georgia coaching tenure. It is a combination of not having a great scheme to work with, as well as Georgia not being as deep in the trenches as they claim to be. When seemingly every other team in the SEC has no problem getting after the passer, why is this issue popping up for UGA?
Either Smart, Schumann and Scott figure something out fast, or this will cost Georgia a playoff spot.
1. Kirby Smart putting too must trust and faith in his friend coordinators
The days of shameless delegation need to be over with and done in Athens. Everybody knows how good of a head coach Kirby Smart is. However, they would be lying to you if they thought Mike Bobo or Glenn Schumann were halfway decent coordinators. Bobo makes one mistake after another calling plays. Schumann provides little to no impact on the sidelines within the course of any Georgia game.
This does not mean Georgia needs to locate and hire its next Todd Monken or Dan Lanning, but Smart has to accept that his friends and proteges are letting him down. That being said, Will Muschamp would be a massive upgrade over Schumann on defense. He is too busy watching his son have the time of his life playing his college football at Vanderbilt. Go be a dad. That is fine, but still...
The sooner Georgia admits it has a coordinator problem, the better off the Bulldogs will be in the end.