Respect my aw-thor-it-TIE!

Much to the dismay of the delusional Bama fanbase, the Dogs were victorious in a gut-wrenching game in T-Town.
Georgia wins 26-23 in OT.

I was nervous about this game because I knew we were still vulnerable, Bama looked like an improved team and it was an away game, but the Dogs were up for the test. I grew up an Alabama fan, but recently I had grown a little perturbed by the hubris and delusions of the "Sabanation". I want Alabama to win, I really do. But they bring in Nick Saban and suddenly they think they are invincible. I think most of them had already penciled in this game as a W along with the next 4 games, setting up a pair of 8-0 teams in a match up for the SEC West with LSU. What is even more disturbing is the fanaticism about Nick Saban. And really this has been the problem with Alabama all along- putting all their faith in one person. Root for the team, support the Crimson Tide, but when you live and die with a coach and put him on a pedestal you are asking for trouble, because Nick can't throw the ball, make the blocks, sack the quarterback or return kicks.
Now to the Dogs...

OFFENSE: B+
First the bad... Tripp Chandler had at least 3 drops and missed out on another pass that would have been a big gain. If he wouldn't have made the catch at the end of regulation, I was seriously considering taking matters into my own hands. Stafford still isn't living up to his high expectations. He was decent in this game, completing just over 50% of his passes with 2 TDs and 2 INTs (which were really bad). He was the victim of drops, as noted, but I am still not sold on him and his jittery feet. The offense also failed to capitalize on good field position from a fumbled kick return and a big punt return.
However, I have to give credit to the OL for blocking just enough to put together a couple of scoring drives and keeping Bama's defense on the field. The holes weren't that big, but they were just enough for Thomas Brown and Knowshon Moreno. That tandem was great- whether fighting for extra yards on the ground or catching passes out of the backfield (for first downs), both RBs looked great. And Moreno continued to impress with hard-fought yards, stretching for extra yards and popping defenders. Sean Bailey also had a solid game and Mikey Henderson had a great catch for the win. The play call was solid, not to fancy, not to vanilla. Props to Bobo for the OT call and for establishing the run even when it looked like the pass would work better.

DEFENSE: B
The defense did a great job of not allowing Alabama to get comfortable doing anything on offense. The DL did a great job at times and put some decent pressure on John Parker Wilson. However, I think the Tide helped us out a lot too. Bama had some success running early, but didn't stick with it. They had some drops and other poor play that kept them out of the endzone for most of the game. However, UGA bent too many times and allowed Bama to catch up each time they got a decent lead. The prevent defense before the half was crappy. We had them stopped at 4th & 7 and blew it. And they connected on too many big plays.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A-
UGA finally did a good job on kickoff coverage. They held Arenas in check and even grabbed a fumble recovery. Mikey was solid in punt returns and so was the kickoff return team. Coutu missed 2 FGs, which would seem like a bad day, but both kicks were long 45 & 58 yards.

OVERALL: A-
If you averaged the scores, it would have been a B+, but I give a little extra credit for not folding and giving up, fighting all the way and pulling out a big OT win that keeps the Dogs hopes alive. This team is still beatable, still young and still mistake-prone, but they are getting better and I think they have a shot to win every one of their remaining games (except one, but that team showed it is beatable too).