Breaking Down the Cotton Bowl

Well, after watching that man sized arse whooping that Alabama laid down on Michigan State, a few things come to mind.

No, I'm not going to offer some superfan prattle about how this is what we'll see in UGA next year, but I will say that it certainly is a preview of coming attractions if CKS gets everything he demands from the UGA brass. In my mind, there were three elements about Alabama that won that game and did it handily:

Size, Focus, and Strength/Conditioning...

Size

As I was watching the game with a friend of mine who isn't well-versed in SEC ball, he made the comment more than once: "man, look at the size of that defensive line." Yep. And once again, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is what it takes fellas. That D-Line flat wore out the MSU O-Line. And it didn't take long, just a few minutes into the 2nd quarter and you could already see the cracks forming. It was only a matter of time before MSU could no longer block anyone and the Tide surged in to get pressure on the QB & RB from every angle. At one point, Connor Cook could be seen in frustration yelling: "They're f'n everywhere!" Yes indeed, and that is what a punishing D-Line gets you. It allows free access to stop everything the offense is trying to do.

I'll preach this until I'm blue in the face: recruiting big, brutal, devastating, massive, punishing offensive and defensive lines win championships. Having the depth chart on the roster to bolster those lines solidifies it. CKS knows this. Welcome to a new era in Athens.

Focus

The defense was so focused on that game that it became apparent that nothing in the offensive scheme that MSU was throwing at them was coming remotely close to working. The end result? The defense held MSU to fewer rushing yards total than Bama amassed in offensive points. Kirby had them well prepared in practices, game films, and execution. Not one single player on that defense did not know what his assignment was. Compare that to what we've seen at UGA under Willie and Todd Grantham where players were scrambling, shrugging shoulders, pointing, and looking to the sidelines. Kirby had that well-oiled D machine ready for service yesterday and it showed. When the players say that they went out and just executed the game plan, they weren't lying. A real game plan was strategized, the players were prepared, and they just went out and did it. Novel idea.

Strength & Conditioning

This was a no contest effort from MSU. By midway through the 3rd, MSU was gassed. You could see it. Hands on knees, players taking O2 on the sidelines, slow to get up, sluggish to line up. They'd zoom in during during dead time between plays and those guys were huffing and puffing. At that point, as they say in my neck of the woods, alls over but the cryin'. By the 4th quarter, MSU was just staring at the game clock wondering how much longer they had to endure it. They had nothing left in tank and Bama was acting like it was early in the 2nd quarter.

What I think is funny is that all these national media types sticking microphones in Saban's face after the game start asking the usual ignorant "coach, how did you prepare so well for this game" crap questions that you can tell try Saban's patience. Saban's responses are just business as usual. It's like he wanted to say "guys, this is what we do. Have you not paid attention?" But of course, he stays PC and offers gracious responses.

Saban was asked in the post game on-field bonanza "coach, can we get just a little smile from you?" His response with a smirk: "we still have another game to play." .......Focus.

Dabo being Dabo is going to be arrogant and cocky as usual, but deep down inside, he has to be putting his whites on the steam cycle in the washer this morning to get the soiled stains out of his britches after watching that Bama D last night. Granted, I think Clemson will most certainly put up a better match than MSU did, but make no mistake, Dabo will face the same size, focus, and strength/conditioning that Mark Dantonio faced in 10 days.

Happy New Year to all my Dawg friends on here! Here's to a much different 2016.

Yea, that was ugly. Michigan state was not that good, but they won the games to get there. I think Clemson is going to beat bama.

Tennessee should have beat Oklahoma and played bama as well as anyone else. They are going to be tough next year. Florida didn finish to well this year, but coach Mac sure looks sporty in his sunglasses in the citrus bowl.

scooby wrote: Yea, that was ugly. Michigan state was not that good, but they won the games to get there. I think Clemson is going to beat bama.

Tennessee should have beat Oklahoma and played bama as well as anyone else. They are going to be tough next year. Florida didn finish to well this year, but coach Mac sure looks sporty in his sunglasses in the citrus bowl.

I won't even think about forecasting what will happen next year for us DAWGS, but I WILL say this:

'Bama will beat the ever-lovin'-SNOT out of Climpsn. It won't be close.

Can't help but like Dabo...

"All I know, is we going to the nattys"

Edit.. Gonna have to put ss on suicide watch if the tigers win.

Funny...

before the game I heard some in the National media picking Michigan State to win the game or at least give Alabama much more of a fight than some expected.

Then this morning those same people were saying "well MSU barely beat Purdue at homecoming, require a miracle to beat Michigan, struggled to beat Iowa.. lost to Nebraska.. they really were not that good..."

Quite frankly.. most in the media are a joke. I'm just
shocked so many lemmings listen to them and give them credit for knowing anything. They count on people's bad short-term memory to make them forget what they said last week, and act like they were on top of everything all along. It's quite
comical to those of us who pay attention.

Wartdawg wrote: Funny...

before the game I heard some in the National media picking Michigan State to win the game or at least give Alabama much more of a fight than some expected.

Then this morning those same people were saying "well MSU barely beat Purdue at homecoming, require a miracle to beat Michigan, struggled to beat Iowa.. lost to Nebraska.. they really were not that good..."

Quite frankly.. most in the media are a joke. I'm just
shocked so many lemmings listen to them and give them credit for knowing anything. They count on people's bad short-term memory to make them forget what they said last week, and act like they were on top of everything all along. It's quite
comical to those of us who pay attention.

Correct. Climpsn BARELY beat Louisville, SQUEAKED one out AT HOME against Notre Dame, and BARELY beat South Carolina.

They are NO MATCH for the Tide, and I'm NOT a Tide fan. Just know what I see.