Well, another season is in the books, and I can’t say I’m not a little glad. Watching my childhood nemesis play for a natty was no fun, especially a program we’ve beaten like a rented mule historically and recently. 6 of the last 7, including blowouts in ’94, ’03, and ’14. In ’91 and ’95, they were better than us and it still didn’t matter. We’ve owned Clemson, and they caught lightning in a bottle in the right league with #4. It’s hard to believe we won 10 games and had such a forgettable season. Looking at the schedule, that seemed impossible. 10 wins would mean beating 4 of SCjr, Bama, UT, Mizzou, UF, Auburn & Tech. All that was true, but four of those teams stunk, 3 of them not making a bowl and one making a bowl by the hair on their Jacksonville State chin. Those were the 4 we beat. A strange, strange season.
Upon further review, the game looked like an October Saturday in the SEC. It was ferociously physical and required Bama to make more plays because they simply had better players. If you saw that game in mid-October, you’d just say Bama grinded out a win, winning it any way they could. It wasn’t much different than Johnny Football’s last game vs. the Tide in College Station. They couldn’t stop him, but they find ways to win games.
Deshaun is a special talent and he makes that team tick. I think Dabo has assembled a really good program, but ask yourself these questions (and it’s my point of frustration):
· How many rushing yards do you think Wayne Gallman would have in the SEC? 750? 850? He’s really good. Great backs in the SEC look like Jalen Hurd, Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry, Leonard Fournette and Alex Collins. They are monsters.
· The difference between Clemson and UGA is pretty simple. #4. I’d take Sony over Gallman in a heartbeat and I’m not sure that Malcom wouldn’t be the best WR on their team. They don’t have a tandem of LBs that play anything like Jenkins, Floyd, Bellamy and Ganus. Alexander is a stud, but the other three guys might not start in Athens. Shaq Lawson is a beast, but I’m not sure that 7-8 of our defensive guys don’t start for that team. They have an elite QB, best in the nation. I like Dabo a lot, I think he’s done a fine job. But there isn’t another Deshaun out there (on any other team), much less a high school team. Tajh Boyd was a pretty good college QB, and they were a perennial 9-3 or 10-2 team. It reminds me so much of Texas. Everyone thought Brown was about to build a dynasty, but they just couldn’t replace VY, even with a fantastic college qb in McCoy.
· Boy, 76 for Bama got worked all night. It happens to the best teams.
· Clemson is now 0-9 all-time vs. Top 2 teams. You have to beat a top 2 team pretty much every year to win the SEC. That stat blew my mind.
· I’m not worried about Kirby and mobile QBs because Deshaun Watson plays for Clemson and John Football plays for the Browns, at least for now. Nobody stops those guys. You just hang on and win.
· As I said, I like Dabo a lot. He’s done a great job. Since he took over mid-season ’08, they’re 8-8 vs. the SEC. The last 10 years they’re 9-12. They’ve beat some great programs in the last 4-5 years, but they’re also 3-3 vs. the SEC in the last 3 seasons, Boyd’s senior year (which included Sammy Watkins at WR), and Watson’s first 2 seasons. His best 3 teams, essentially, are .500 against the league. They tells me that’s probably a 5-3, maybe 6-2 team in our league, or, essentially – Mark Richt. This is why I’m a proponent of a 6 team playoff and guaranteeing our champion a slot. The regular season competition is simply fierce.
Overall, really the best game of the season between the 2 best teams, I think. But I’d love to see Ole Miss and Clemson play. I remain grateful the Tigers are not on our schedule as long as #4 is enrolled in classes. BTW, it’s Hwy. 129 from Athens to Gainesville, right? Asking for a friend.
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