Week one of the College Football season is where hope lives on or dreams are shattered. For Boise State their hope lived on and for Georgia, at least initially, their hopes have been shattered. I broke down this game last week and while I believe that I was right in my position assessments I was definitely incorrect on how the game would play out. I said this game would come down to the line of scrimmage and to special teams. I think special teams ended up being somewhat of a wash but the line of scrimmage was definitely won by Boise State and thus they won the war.
BOISE WINS THE BATTLE OF THE TRENCHES
As the game wore on it was clear that Boise’s defensive line was dominating Georgia’s offensive line. Georgia had trouble making holes for their RBs. Brandon Boykin had the one sweep where he took it 80 yards and Isaiah Crowell showed flashes as he ran for 60 yards in his collegiate debut but Boise did not allow Georgia to have a consistent running game. It was not the stopping of the running game that was the biggest win for Boise, it was how they got after Aaron Murray on passing plays. Murray was almost never given time to sit back in the pocket and choose his receiver. Instead, Murray was forced to rush throws and miss some open targets because he was constantly on the run. Statistically Murray didn’t have an awful game as he went 16/29 for 236 2 TD and 1 INT but a lot of that came in the fourth quarter. The Georgia offensive line just got beat in this game and that was the story of this game and why Boise State won.
On the other line of scrimmage, Boise’s OL also outplayed the Georgia DL but it wasn’t as much of a blood-bath as Boise’s DL vs Georgia’s OL. Georgia actually did a very good job against the run for the majority of the game and that was one of their biggest weaknesses last year. Georgia gave up 129 yards on 37 carries for just a 3.5 yards per carry average. Boise did make some good runs late to kind of pad those stats but overall I thought Georgia did a good job maintaining the defensive line of scrimmage. What Georgia didn’t do a very good job at was breaking through Boise’s line of scrimmage. The Boise OL, except for a couple of exceptions in the first half, gave Kellen Moore the opportunity to sit in the pocket without pressure and go where he wanted to with the football. Moore played better than he has previously against non-AQ teams in this one but I believe it was because of the OL that he was able to have a very Kellen Moore like efficient game. I won’t go as far to say that he’s a system QB but I think Moore just fits in with this offense and as a veteran senior you can’t let him sit back and let him have time.
ISSUES FOR GEORGIA
– Offensive Line- As I stated above, Georgia’s OL was dominated in this one. The coaches are going to need to break down the game film and see where the weakest points are so that they can try and get these fixed as South Carolina also brings in a very good DL. Make no mistake about it, the strength of this Boise team coming in was their DL and their veteran DL (all senior starters on the front four) used their experience to make Georgia’s life miserable.
– Pass Rush- While Georgia did a good job maintaining the line of scrimmage and bottling up Boise on the run they didn’t get penetration into the backfield and didn’t disrupt Kellen Moore enough. The loss of Alec Ogletree hurt as he was poised to be their top speed man in the second level and Bacarri Rambo didn’t play in the secondary but I’m not sure how big of an impact they would have had in this specific aspect of the game. Again, Georgia needs to break down this game film and look at missed opportunities where they can get more pressure. In the first half they got through a couple of times and rattled Kellen Moore but the pass rush in the second half- where Boise really took over- was non-existent.
– Injuries/S&C- Not an excuse here but there seemed to be a lot of injuries whether slight or game-ending. Obviously the Alec Ogletree injury was huge as I project him as Georgia’s best defensive player this year but there were also instances of struggling with cramping. That goes back to the Strength & Conditioning program. The DL did good in holding the line, but the OL didn’t so did Boise just have a better scheme than we did or did S&C not make enough strides in the off-season? I think we have to wait until the first five games are done until we really judge this one but week one results are mixed.
– WR- Orson Charles is who we thought he was- a playmaker. But outside of true Frosh Malcolm Mitchell and one play where Marlon Brown made a great second and third effort on a 10 yard catch the WRs were not a factor. Tavarres King dropped a few passes (no that last one was not his fault) and struggled in the pressure of trying to fill the shoes of AJ Green. Also, on the deep balls down the sidelines the Georgia receivers did not get enough distance from the corners. Boise’s guys did a good job staying close to the Georgia WRs and making them make plays rather than being able to catch the ball in space.
POSITIVES FOR GEORGIA
– Aaron Murray- While he didn’t have a great game, when he’s given time (and he wasn’t given time very much in this game) he’s going to hurt you. He finished with 236 yards and 2 TD. It wasn’t enough to win the game but if we can give him time in the pocket he can be a great QB for us this year.
– Brandon Boykin- He now has 1 career run for 80 yards. He also had a 40 yard KO return late in the game. Got to figure out how to make him more of a factor in the game.
– Orson Charles- Get him the damn ball.
– Malcolm Mitchell- The true frosh didn’t really get into the action until late in the game but you can just see that he is going to be special. He had a 51 yard TD pass from Murray in the second half and was the best WR on the field for us tonight.
– Isaiah Crowell- He didn’t come out and dominate but I liked what I saw from the kid on Saturday. He ran hard and he got better as the game went on. Yes, he needs to continue to work on blitz pick-up. That being said, he ran well despite not having many holes to work with. 15 carries for 60 yards is not a bad debut. He just wasn’t able to break the big one. He will get better.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Any time you lose your first game it’s not a good thing. You go into the season expecting to win each and every game and when you lose it’s simply a heart-breaker. This one is no different for Georgia but they need to get their heads out of the sand because they’ve got a good team (that has the talent to be a great team) in South Carolina coming in next week. South Carolina provides some of the same problems for Georgia that Boise did but they are a different match-up and based on the East Carolina game I think it’s fair to say that there are still some issues in the Gamecocks back four on defense. South Carolina beat Georgia last year because they simply kept running the ball down their throats. Georgia did improve in that aspect of their game. Next weeks game is a huge one for Mark Richt and Georgia. I will have a Big Game Break-Down up later in the week as the game approaches and I also have a Q&A planned with the South Carolina blog Leftover Hot Dog.
Georgia fans I leave you with this thought…Boise State is a pre-season Top 5 team. Even though they may not play a top-tier schedule they have the players and the coaches to beat anyone in the country and they are ranked that high for a reason. They are really, really good. Losing to a top 5 team just means that Georgia isn’t at that level yet. It doesn’t mean Georgia can’t have a good year. There are definitely issues that Boise highlighted for us but let’s play somebody outside the Top 5 before we jump off a cliff.
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