Game Thread 2024 SEC Championship Game: Texas vs. Georgia - 3pm on ABC

[Mdhorn 6153]

19 minutes ago, hookem48 said:

With the strength of Ewers  arm and the fact that he never sets his feet when he throws anyway I'll always wonder if he could have thrown that ball but he fucking froze. 

 

Ewers gets coached on it--after the bye, it was evident that he worked on setting his feet, but then regresses to his natural tendencies.  I'm ready to turn the page on him.  I'm tired of his constant banged up state and running with boots on.  Occasionally he runs with purpose, but mostly he's hesitant, which doesn't bode well.  Hopefully, Texas wins it all so it's a happy ending.  If not, regardless, he had his chances--next.  

[Mdhorn 6153]

1 hour ago, troph said:

One of those slow developing red zone plays - fake flare pass I think - left a WR wide open for a TD but the pocket collapsed for a sack before Quinn could get the ball out.
 

There were SO many plays that if just one went our way. Reminds me of when sark was trying to get this program just to win the close ones.

This program is so close, all that is left is winning the championship games. It’ll happen. It was Alabama, then Georgia, Texas is next. 

They gotta seize it--it's right there, like the chalice in King Arthur.  Texas shorted Nebraska and issued Osborne a retirement, then took it from USC, sending Pete off, and then helped Saban retire.  They need to throttle the fuck out of Smart, and pasture his short, whiny self.  

Edited December 8 by Mdhorn

[gofuckyourself 8939]

8 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

This absolutely reflects the the emotions of the head coach.  They were nervous because the coach was nervous.  Reflected in the terrible playcalling and red zone failures, the special teams fails. The team wasn’t mentally prepared for this stage. Kirby won this game with better coaching.

Probably some truth to this. Smart has won it all multiple times and competed for it. Whether it's prep or play calling, he's doing something Sark isn't. And I think Sark is awesome. He just needs to get over that last hump. Hell, then he may win 3 or 4 titles here. It could be a dynasty.

Even "luck," like so many bounces going their way, is an attitude of winning, and a refusal to lose.

[dcar00 14902]

3 hours ago, Ghost of Shag said:

First thought when I woke up this morning: Two fades is the best we’ve got?”

Losing hurts. Losing to a team you dominate is maddening.

I HATE THE FUCKING FADE AT THE GOAL LINE.  It is such a bullshit call that is rarely completed in college and certainly by us.

[Dark Horse 2407]

Really glad they correctly overturned the Makuba targeting. It looked bad, but maybe don’t run your QB if you don’t want him taking shots. 
 

Losing Makuba for the first half of the first playoff round would have sucked. 

[Hookem2147 21930]

Blame game:

1. Bert

2. Banks not knowing a fake punt is coming with the backup punter

3. The worst fumble luck of all time

4. Ewers/Sark in the redzone

5. PK not knowing what a QB draw is

Edited December 8 by Hookem2147

[Beantown Express 2.0 6586]

5 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

I HATE THE FUCKING FADE AT THE GOAL LINE.  It is such a bullshit call that is rarely completed in college and certainly by us.

old article but worth a read.

So long, goal-line fade - Why one of the NFL's least efficient passing plays is disappearing - ESPN

[MrBig 5602]

2 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Blame game:

1. Bert

2. Banks not knowing a fake punt is coming with the backup punter

3. The worst fumble luck of all time

4. Ewers/Sark in the redzone

5. PK not knowing what a QB draw is

The Bert (#1) problem does not exist if Ewers and Sark can figure their shit out in the red zone (#4). 

The silver lining of the shitty red zone play is that we are absolutely sure Bert is not the guy and we need to get ourselves a new kicker for next year ASAP. 

[NeverMarryAStripper 22241]

When was the last time Texas had a kicker that didn’t end up kicking in the pros?

[CTC2 2858]

7 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Blame game:

1. Bert

2. Banks not knowing a fake punt is coming with the backup punter

3. The worst fumble luck of all time

4. Ewers/Sark in the redzone

5. PK not knowing what a QB draw is

I would add PK not pressuring the backup QB immediately when he came in. That first drive gave him confidence and a touchdown. 

[DaysOff 8157]

When was the last time Texas had a kicker that didn’t end up kicking in the pros?

1975?

[dcar00 14902]

Bert has been bailed out by our O and D before.  This is the first time(maybe there was one his first year) that the game really did come down to his misses.   Georgia would have gone for it on 4th had we been up 6 but I'd take our D in that situation all day long.

2 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

When was the last time Texas had a kicker that didn’t end up kicking in the pros?

Fera?

[gernblansten 3254]

2 minutes ago, CTC2 said:

I would add PK not pressuring the backup QB immediately when he came in. That first drive gave him confidence and a touchdown. 

In that the drive that would’ve been 3rd and 8, but Burke lined up offsides and turned it into 2nd and 3?

[Dewey 3325]

1 minute ago, CTC2 said:

I would add PK not pressuring the backup QB immediately when he came in. That first drive gave him confidence and a touchdown. 

UGA was running the ball and swing passes to their back for good chuncks , blitzing didn't do much.  

[Hookem2147 21930]

7 minutes ago, MrBig said:

The Bert (#1) problem does not exist if Ewers and Sark can figure their shit out in the red zone (#4). 

The silver lining of the shitty red zone play is that we are absolutely sure Bert is not the guy and we need to get ourselves a new kicker for next year ASAP. 

A 3-year starting college kicker should be hitting 41 yarders in his sleep. He doesn’t get to lay that at the feet of Ewers and Sark. A kicker is going to be asked to put one through the uprights from time to time.

Edited December 8 by Hookem2147

[The_Great_Hornsby 3586]

2 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

Bert has been bailed out by our O and D before.  This is the first time(maybe there was one his first year) that the game really did come down to his misses.   Georgia would have gone for it on 4th had we been up 6 but I'd take our D in that situation all day long.

Fera?

He missed against Bama in 2022

[dcar00 14902]

9 minutes ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

old article but worth a read.

So long, goal-line fade - Why one of the NFL's least efficient passing plays is disappearing - ESPN

Good article.  The key line "coaches don't trust their QB's, they have points already".  It is a bullshit caoch bailout call, especially with our receivers, who aren't tall.

[The_Great_Hornsby 3586]

1 minute ago, Hookem2147 said:

A 3-year starting college kicker should be hitting 41 yarders in his sleep. He doesn’t get to lay that at the feet of Ewers and Sark.

Correct, Auburn is a pussy

[hookem48 4808]

19 minutes ago, gofuckyourself said:

Probably some truth to this. Smart has won it all multiple times and competed for it. Whether it's prep or play calling, he's doing something Sark isn't. And I think Sark is awesome. He just needs to get over that last hump. Hell, then he may win 3 or 4 titles here. It could be a dynasty.

Even "luck," like so many bounces going their way, is an attitude of winning, and a refusal to lose.

I wish Sark would stay 5 yards out on the field and ref the game like Smart does. 

[David Dennison 19441]

Seriously though . . . what happened to Gunnar Helm?

Edited December 8 by David Dennison

[immamac 44199]

Just now, David Dennison said:

Seriously though . . . what happened to Gunnar Helm?

They covered the shit out of him. 

[GTX Horn 1725]

I don’t get why Sark doesn’t try to get the ball to Bolden more. He had two big plays in the 2nd quarter, but I don’t remember hearing much from him after that. He has reliable hands and great speed and agility in space.

[David Dennison 19441]

2 minutes ago, immamac said:

They covered the shit out of him. 

They better have.

[Rockethorn1978 6203]

Just now, GTX Horn said:

I don’t get why Sark doesn’t try to get the ball to Bolden more. He had two big plays in the 2nd quarter, but I don’t remember hearing much from him after that. He has reliable hands and great speed and agility in space.

Maybe it’s Quinn making the reads or has his favorite wr he likes to go too. 

[MonkeyDoughnut 10762]

4 minutes ago, immamac said:

They covered the shit out of him. 

And when they didn't he dropped the ball

[immamac 44199]

2 minutes ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

And when they didn't he dropped the ball

One drop for an inconsequential gain/loss and clock running doesn't matter. 

[hookem48 4808]

9 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

Seriously though . . . what happened to Gunnar Helm?

Got his ass kicked trying to block, couldn't get open and dropped a pass. 

[Alien Octopus 629]

27 minutes ago, immamac said:

They covered the shit out of him. 

Saw him whiff on some blocks too, but UGA is no joke…

[RDCanecutter 26853]

Don't blame me. I was stuck at a Birmingham art show but cheered my ass off with the two Texas fans I saw.

[Jkwellborn 7006]

Really glad they correctly overturned the Makuba targeting. It looked bad, but maybe don’t run your QB if you don’t want him taking shots. 
 
Losing Makuba for the first half of the first playoff round would have sucked. 

He absolutely rocked the fuck out of that kid. I thought he was gonna have to be carted off. Crazy to think if his helmet had stayed on, they would have left him in the game, not knowing where he was.

When was the last time Texas had a kicker that didn’t end up kicking in the pros?

This year.

[Jkwellborn 7006]

Bert has been bailed out by our O and D before.  This is the first time(maybe there was one his first year) that the game really did come down to his misses.   Georgia would have gone for it on 4th had we been up 6 but I'd take our D in that situation all day long.
Fera?

Didn’t he get a camp invite or practice squad something for like a season?

[DFW Horn 6637]

58 minutes ago, Dark Horse said:

Really glad they correctly overturned the Makuba targeting. It looked bad, but maybe don’t run your QB if you don’t want him taking shots. 
 

Losing Makuba for the first half of the first playoff round would have sucked. 

We got damn lucky the call was reversed. I mean, how does his helmet fly off unless forcible contact was made to his head? I know Makuba was leading with his shoulder with no malicious intent, but still. Very fortunate

[Pimphand 6266]

13 hours ago, Pancho said:

That’s not happening, and we look like A&M fans for even suggesting it 

It should rotate through the NFL stadiums in the footprint

Miami

Tampa

Jacksonville

Atlanta

New Orleans

Nashville

Kansas City

Arlington

Houston

[Texasborn91 1083]

2 minutes ago, DFW Horn said:

We got damn lucky the call was reversed. I mean, how does his helmet fly off unless forcible contact was made to his head? I know Makuba was leading with his shoulder with no malicious intent, but still. Very fortunate

He wasn’t defenseless 

[dcar00 14902]

2 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

Didn’t he get a camp invite or practice squad something for like a season?

maybe.  Lawrence also got an invite but never kicked in the pros.  We rolled the dice with Bert and got burned.  from his first year it was obvious he didn't have the leg and his accuracy was suspect.  A lot of people just look at the stats but he was very erratic even on his makes.

when he needs a longer FG he has to put more into it and I think that is why you see the hooks from the right hash.  He has pushed a few too.  just like a golfer he's constantly overcorrecting when he swings harder.  He's good from inside 45 and I mean good as in "for a college kicker".   

that all said.  Sark needs to solve his red zone issues against good D's so he isn't depending on kickers.  

We also constantly take sacks that push us back to the edge of Bert's real range(45).  

[dcar00 14902]

11 minutes ago, DFW Horn said:

We got damn lucky the call was reversed. I mean, how does his helmet fly off unless forcible contact was made to his head? I know Makuba was leading with his shoulder with no malicious intent, but still. Very fortunate

he is not defenseless, he is a runner and not sliding.

Edited December 8 by dcar00

[DFW Horn 6637]

18 minutes ago, Texasborn91 said:

He wasn’t defenseless 

Yeah, but we've seen the zebras fuck up Targeting calls even after replays

[StassneyHorn 6755]

13 hours ago, Longhornlove said:

What about the dropped pass? Was that enough. DON'T BE A DUMBASS. We couldn't run the ball, that is why we lost.

Any of the two missed field goals wins the game in regulation.

[n64ra 1149]

16 hours ago, Brandywine said:

Great! Then what?

Then we are beating ASU in the Fiesta Bowl

[field 242]

1 minute ago, n64ra said:

Then we are beating ASU in the Fiesta Bowl

Peach not Fiesta. ATL here we come (again)

[n64ra 1149]

Just now, field said:

Peach not Fiesta. ATL here we come (again)

Associated Press has Fiesta but could be wrong

 

https://apnews.com/live/cfp-playoff-bracket-schedule

Edited December 8 by n64ra

[gmr548 16681]

2 hours ago, ATLLonghorn said:

Absolutely stunning how mentally unprepared the offense was for a conference championship game

 

 

1 hour ago, Texzilla58 said:

This absolutely reflects the the emotions of the head coach.  They were nervous because the coach was nervous.  Reflected in the terrible playcalling and red zone failures, the special teams fails. The team wasn’t mentally prepared for this stage. Kirby won this game with better coaching.

In a game this close you can point to a lot of things that would change the outcome but this is a big one for me. The Texas offense, Sark's baby, was sloppy, undisciplined, and was Georgia's MVP for a huge chunk of the game. Same offensive issues that have showed up all season, but even worse. He schemed up a really strong game pan out the gate but clearly did not have the answers once that faltered. You could tell in the short halftime interview the frustration was getting to him. STs continue to have issues and Georgia somehow caught us completely off guard with their fake punt that should have been on the radar in that situation, and proved to be an absolute back breaker (it turned a 3 and out after a Texas score that would have solidified the momentum shift in Texas's favor into the spark of Georgia's 9-minute drive). The bottom line is Georgia still outclasses us when it comes to playing to their standard in these games. That's coaching.

Sark is still learning how to be a championship HC at the top of the sport. He's far exceeded my wildest dreams as a roster/program builder, which is what sets the floor and gets you to these games, so I don't want to make more than it is. But the things that doomed the Texas offense yesterday, both on the field and on the headsets, have been consistent issues all year and indeed for Sark's entire tenure. It'd be unreasonable to expect those to vanish between games 12 and 13 but to see it get worse is a terrible look. Maybe he'll get there on game management eventually. Maybe he just builds a roster that's such a juggernaut that it can simply eat 100 yards of penalties against a top 5 opponent and still win. He's certainly earned the runway to find out if he can. But as much as anything else, I think Georgia won this game because Texas at times still shows some mental weakness and lack of discipline/prep that a truly championship level program like Georgia has rooted out entirely. I think @TwiceHorn was the person who originally pointed that out, and it's stuck with me. Georgia just has a stronger competitive culture than Texas right now. I think Georgia's off the field issues could start to metastasize and eroding that soon, and maybe we even saw that during the regular season, but that didn't show up yesterday.

Texas has produced back to back top 5 type teams. We're on the penultimate step on the ladder. The last step is always the hardest in sports. The wait can be long and excruciating, but if we take that last step - and I think the window for that is certainly open the next few years at least - we'll remember this season and game as an important part of the climb.

[MirrOlure 15185]

In a game this close you can point to a lot of things that would change the outcome but this is a big one for me. The Texas offense, Sark's baby, was sloppy, undisciplined, and was Georgia's MVP for a huge chunk of the game. Same offensive issues that have showed up all season, but even worse. He schemed up a really strong game pan out the gate but clearly did not have the answers once that faltered. You could tell in the short halftime interview the frustration was getting to him. STs continue to have issues and Georgia somehow caught us completely off guard with their fake punt that should have been on the radar in that situation, and proved to be an absolute back breaker (it turned a 3 and out after a Texas score that would have solidified the momentum shift in Texas's favor into the spark of Georgia's 9-minute drive). The bottom line is Georgia still outclasses us when it comes to playing to their standard in these games. That's coaching.
Sark is still learning how to be a championship HC at the top of the sport. He's far exceeded my wildest dreams as a roster/program builder, which is what sets the floor and gets you to these games, so I don't want to make more than it is. But the things that doomed the Texas offense yesterday, both on the field and on the headsets, have been consistent issues all year and indeed for Sark's entire tenure. It'd be unreasonable to expect those to vanish between games 12 and 13 but to see it get worse is a terrible look. Maybe he'll get there on game management eventually. Maybe he just builds a roster that's such a juggernaut that it can simply eat 100 yards of penalties against a top 5 opponent and still win. He's certainly earned the runway to find out if he can. But as much as anything else, I think Georgia won this game because Texas at times still shows some mental weakness and lack of discipline/prep that a truly championship level program like Georgia has rooted out entirely. I think [mention=248]TwiceHorn[/mention] was the person who originally pointed that out, and it's stuck with me. Georgia just has a stronger competitive culture than Texas right now. I think Georgia's off the field issues could start to metastasize and eroding that soon, and maybe we even saw that during the regular season, but that didn't show up yesterday.
Texas has produced back to back top 5 type teams. We're on the penultimate step on the ladder. The last step is always the hardest in sports. The wait can be long and excruciating, but if we take that last step - and I think the window for that is certainly open the next few years at least - we'll remember this season and game as an important part of the climb.

Great post. It’s like people forget how many years it took Georgia to take that last step

[TwiceHorn 31987]

22 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

 

In a game this close you can point to a lot of things that would change the outcome but this is a big one for me. The Texas offense, Sark's baby, was sloppy, undisciplined, and was Georgia's MVP for a huge chunk of the game. Same offensive issues that have showed up all season, but even worse. He schemed up a really strong game pan out the gate but clearly did not have the answers once that faltered. You could tell in the short halftime interview the frustration was getting to him. STs continue to have issues and Georgia somehow caught us completely off guard with their fake punt that should have been on the radar in that situation, and proved to be an absolute back breaker (it turned a 3 and out after a Texas score that would have solidified the momentum shift in Texas's favor into the spark of Georgia's 9-minute drive). The bottom line is Georgia still outclasses us when it comes to playing to their standard in these games. That's coaching.

Sark is still learning how to be a championship HC at the top of the sport. He's far exceeded my wildest dreams as a roster/program builder, which is what sets the floor and gets you to these games, so I don't want to make more than it is. But the things that doomed the Texas offense yesterday, both on the field and on the headsets, have been consistent issues all year and indeed for Sark's entire tenure. It'd be unreasonable to expect those to vanish between games 12 and 13 but to see it get worse is a terrible look. Maybe he'll get there on game management eventually. Maybe he just builds a roster that's such a juggernaut that it can simply eat 100 yards of penalties against a top 5 opponent and still win. He's certainly earned the runway to find out if he can. But as much as anything else, I think Georgia won this game because Texas at times still shows some mental weakness and lack of discipline/prep that a truly championship level program like Georgia has rooted out entirely. I think @TwiceHorn was the person who originally pointed that out, and it's stuck with me. Georgia just has a stronger competitive culture than Texas right now. I think Georgia's off the field issues could start to metastasize and eroding that soon, and maybe we even saw that during the regular season, but that didn't show up yesterday.

Texas has produced back to back top 5 type teams. We're on the penultimate step on the ladder. The last step is always the hardest in sports. The wait can be long and excruciating, but if we take that last step - and I think the window for that is certainly open the next few years at least - we'll remember this season and game as an important part of the climb.

Yeah, that's a good point.  The lack of "winnerness" is being rooted out, but clearly not as thoroughly as at Georgia.

[Tex-19 3009]

3 hours ago, ATLLonghorn said:

Absolutely stunning how mentally unprepared the offense was for a conference championship game

 

Wow. At least two of the holding calls were on WRs too.

[Yesh 961]

With the caveat that I haven't done a rewatch yet, it seems like we kept the TE/RB in to block a lot, and I'm wondering if that just allowed Georgia's superior front 7 to pin their ears back.  When they did give Quinn time, he made a lot of great downfield throws, but the pressure got there too often and the box was stacked against the run.  I wish we could have seen them spread out more.  Maybe since they have great athletes it wouldn't have mattered, but maybe they could have creased some runs.

[gmr548 16681]

3 hours ago, ATLLonghorn said:

Absolutely stunning how mentally unprepared the offense was for a conference championship game

 

COVID and Bird Flu are in awe of how the drops mutated and spread from the Georgia receivers to the Texas side.

[ATLLonghorn 1083]

Almost done with a first half rewatch and will get into depth on, but I'm looking for help here. Is Wisner not sure what he's supposed to do or is this the design for a version of a draw play? It's blocked well initially if he just takes the ball he has a hole to work with.

[Tex-19 3009]

40 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

 

In a game this close you can point to a lot of things that would change the outcome but this is a big one for me. The Texas offense, Sark's baby, was sloppy, undisciplined, and was Georgia's MVP for a huge chunk of the game. Same offensive issues that have showed up all season, but even worse. He schemed up a really strong game pan out the gate but clearly did not have the answers once that faltered. You could tell in the short halftime interview the frustration was getting to him. STs continue to have issues and Georgia somehow caught us completely off guard with their fake punt that should have been on the radar in that situation, and proved to be an absolute back breaker (it turned a 3 and out after a Texas score that would have solidified the momentum shift in Texas's favor into the spark of Georgia's 9-minute drive). The bottom line is Georgia still outclasses us when it comes to playing to their standard in these games. That's coaching.

Sark is still learning how to be a championship HC at the top of the sport. He's far exceeded my wildest dreams as a roster/program builder, which is what sets the floor and gets you to these games, so I don't want to make more than it is. But the things that doomed the Texas offense yesterday, both on the field and on the headsets, have been consistent issues all year and indeed for Sark's entire tenure. It'd be unreasonable to expect those to vanish between games 12 and 13 but to see it get worse is a terrible look. Maybe he'll get there on game management eventually. Maybe he just builds a roster that's such a juggernaut that it can simply eat 100 yards of penalties against a top 5 opponent and still win. He's certainly earned the runway to find out if he can. But as much as anything else, I think Georgia won this game because Texas at times still shows some mental weakness and lack of discipline/prep that a truly championship level program like Georgia has rooted out entirely. I think @TwiceHorn was the person who originally pointed that out, and it's stuck with me. Georgia just has a stronger competitive culture than Texas right now. I think Georgia's off the field issues could start to metastasize and eroding that soon, and maybe we even saw that during the regular season, but that didn't show up yesterday.

Texas has produced back to back top 5 type teams. We're on the penultimate step on the ladder. The last step is always the hardest in sports. The wait can be long and excruciating, but if we take that last step - and I think the window for that is certainly open the next few years at least - we'll remember this season and game as an important part of the climb.

Well said. I'll add one thing that might be the most frustrating part of yesterday: Despite all the warranted teeth gnashing and "should'ves"...we fuckin outplayed Georgia. Sometimes you just get unlucky in sports. UGA had 3 fumbles that bounced right back to them or out of bounds. The INT off Bond popped up right to them, while the Barron deflection popped up right where a UGA WR was sitting to knock it away from Mukuba. And then of course...the refs. I hate blaming refs but that first half was atrocious and absolutely impacted the score.

If one or two of those things bounce the other way, we're probably celebrating an SEC championship and all hailing King Sark. 

[Huckleberry 34407]

4 minutes ago, ATLLonghorn said:

Almost done with a first half rewatch and will get into depth on, but I'm looking for help here. Is Wisner not sure what he's supposed to do or is this the design for a version of a draw play? It's blocked well initially if he just takes the ball he has a hole to work with.

He completely missed the playcall. Don't worry, dozens of idiots on the forum will be by shortly to explain how that's the QB's fault.