DiderotsGhost
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One week you're the SEC "Coach of the Year". The next week you're the worst coach in history. VolNation is fickle but we'll try to add some nuance.
The Kentucky game was an example of how a good coaching staff can somehow out-scheme their way to victory. This Missouri game is a wake up call that we still need more talent and depth at many positions to be competitive.
Why we beat Kentucky. The thing about Kentucky is that they have one of the best running attacks with Benny Snell, but their passing game sucks. They are one-dimensional. We gambled against the pass to shut down the run. It worked brilliantly. We held Snell in check (only about 80 yards) and they couldn't make us pay for it in the passing game.
Mizzou is more balanced. The Kentucky strategy didn't work against Mizzou, because Mizzou is much more balanced on offense. They can beat you in the run game or pass game. We gambled in the secondary for the 2nd week in a row, but it didn't work this time, because Mizzou's pass game is much better than Kentucky's. Drew Lock burned us.
Mizzou is underrated; Kentucky was overrated. This was an 8-2 team masquerading as a 6-4 team. The Kentucky game was stolen from them by the refs. South Carolina beat them in Columbia with a last second field goal. This is a Senior laden team with a QB that will get drafted into the NFL, an experienced O-line, and a tough D-line. Sagarin currently has them rated as the #17 team in the nation; ahead of Texas A&M (#18), Auburn (#19), Florida (#24), South Carolina (#35), and Kentucky (#38). People are let down because we beat a top 15 Kentucky team and lost to unranked Mizzou, but it's misleading. I think this Mizzou team is the 2nd best in the East and easily the most underrated SEC team right now.
O-line biggest reason for loss. Sure, we gave up 50 points, but the O-line was still the biggest reason for the loss. After holding up pretty well against Kentucky, we got manhandled by a very good Mizzou D-line. The O-line issues consistently put us in a bad spot on defense; whether it be through turnovers or giving Mizzou good field position.
79-48. This is the stat of the game IMO. It's the number of plays each team ran. Mizzou ran 31 more plays than us. We don't have enough depth on defense to deal with an offense that can't hold onto the ball.
The "D" played well early. Easy to try to blame the "D" for this loss given the 50 points on the board, but I think the above stat tells the story. Our D played extraordinarily well early in the game. They wore out. And they wore out because our offense couldn't move the ball and constantly put them in bad situations. We are still very thin in the D and Pruitt was able to win the last two games by shortening the game. But we couldn't do that this week.
Turnovers also killed us. The Chryst INT at the end of the 2nd half accounted for at least a 10-point swing, if not a 14-point swing. Maybe we still lose the game regardless, but that already changes it from a 33 point game to potentially a 19 point game, just based on 1 play.
Chryst did not play well. Chryst looked very rattled behind that horrid O-line. 2 interceptions and several poor throws. 7 for 19. Chryst is a good QB, but even a lot of good QBs struggle in that situation. I don't think people realize how extraordinary JG is. What JG has done this season behind that O-line is amazing.
JG vs Chryst. I think JG is a top 3 SEC QB. If there's any doubt that he's the best on the team, let's clear it up now. JG has a 64.5% completion percentage. Chryst has a 48.9% completion percentage. JG is throwing 1 INT per 109 passes. Chryst is throwing 1 INT per 24 passes. Chryst had a 55% completion percentage at Stanford, but is down to 49% here. None of this is meant to knock Chryst; the bigger problems start at the O-line. Rather, I think this showcases just how difficult it is to be a QB behind an O-line like this. And how extraordinarily well JG has played this season.
We need more help at O-line. If we land the recruiting class we're expected to, help is on the way. Though, it may take till Year 3 till we see a big leap forward.
We need more depth on defense. Also can only be fixed with recruiting.
Bowl game on the line versus Vandy. We're 5-6 and Vandy is 5-6. This game will determine which team goes to a bowl game. It'll be tough, but I'm hoping we can pull it off. Though, if you told me 3 weeks ago we'd make a bowl game if we beat Vandy, I'd taken that situation in a heartbeat.
That's all I got this week. Ready to move on.
GBO!
The Kentucky game was an example of how a good coaching staff can somehow out-scheme their way to victory. This Missouri game is a wake up call that we still need more talent and depth at many positions to be competitive.
Why we beat Kentucky. The thing about Kentucky is that they have one of the best running attacks with Benny Snell, but their passing game sucks. They are one-dimensional. We gambled against the pass to shut down the run. It worked brilliantly. We held Snell in check (only about 80 yards) and they couldn't make us pay for it in the passing game.
Mizzou is more balanced. The Kentucky strategy didn't work against Mizzou, because Mizzou is much more balanced on offense. They can beat you in the run game or pass game. We gambled in the secondary for the 2nd week in a row, but it didn't work this time, because Mizzou's pass game is much better than Kentucky's. Drew Lock burned us.
Mizzou is underrated; Kentucky was overrated. This was an 8-2 team masquerading as a 6-4 team. The Kentucky game was stolen from them by the refs. South Carolina beat them in Columbia with a last second field goal. This is a Senior laden team with a QB that will get drafted into the NFL, an experienced O-line, and a tough D-line. Sagarin currently has them rated as the #17 team in the nation; ahead of Texas A&M (#18), Auburn (#19), Florida (#24), South Carolina (#35), and Kentucky (#38). People are let down because we beat a top 15 Kentucky team and lost to unranked Mizzou, but it's misleading. I think this Mizzou team is the 2nd best in the East and easily the most underrated SEC team right now.
O-line biggest reason for loss. Sure, we gave up 50 points, but the O-line was still the biggest reason for the loss. After holding up pretty well against Kentucky, we got manhandled by a very good Mizzou D-line. The O-line issues consistently put us in a bad spot on defense; whether it be through turnovers or giving Mizzou good field position.
79-48. This is the stat of the game IMO. It's the number of plays each team ran. Mizzou ran 31 more plays than us. We don't have enough depth on defense to deal with an offense that can't hold onto the ball.
The "D" played well early. Easy to try to blame the "D" for this loss given the 50 points on the board, but I think the above stat tells the story. Our D played extraordinarily well early in the game. They wore out. And they wore out because our offense couldn't move the ball and constantly put them in bad situations. We are still very thin in the D and Pruitt was able to win the last two games by shortening the game. But we couldn't do that this week.
Turnovers also killed us. The Chryst INT at the end of the 2nd half accounted for at least a 10-point swing, if not a 14-point swing. Maybe we still lose the game regardless, but that already changes it from a 33 point game to potentially a 19 point game, just based on 1 play.
Chryst did not play well. Chryst looked very rattled behind that horrid O-line. 2 interceptions and several poor throws. 7 for 19. Chryst is a good QB, but even a lot of good QBs struggle in that situation. I don't think people realize how extraordinary JG is. What JG has done this season behind that O-line is amazing.
JG vs Chryst. I think JG is a top 3 SEC QB. If there's any doubt that he's the best on the team, let's clear it up now. JG has a 64.5% completion percentage. Chryst has a 48.9% completion percentage. JG is throwing 1 INT per 109 passes. Chryst is throwing 1 INT per 24 passes. Chryst had a 55% completion percentage at Stanford, but is down to 49% here. None of this is meant to knock Chryst; the bigger problems start at the O-line. Rather, I think this showcases just how difficult it is to be a QB behind an O-line like this. And how extraordinarily well JG has played this season.
We need more help at O-line. If we land the recruiting class we're expected to, help is on the way. Though, it may take till Year 3 till we see a big leap forward.
We need more depth on defense. Also can only be fixed with recruiting.
Bowl game on the line versus Vandy. We're 5-6 and Vandy is 5-6. This game will determine which team goes to a bowl game. It'll be tough, but I'm hoping we can pull it off. Though, if you told me 3 weeks ago we'd make a bowl game if we beat Vandy, I'd taken that situation in a heartbeat.
That's all I got this week. Ready to move on.
GBO!
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spot on once again. 
