Tomorrow I hope to take a closer look at UGA offense, Boise D but today, I will focus on what most people feel leading into the game probably is the matchup most worth watching. Let's face it, when you think of Boise, you think offense first considering their excellent QB and their coach is known as a great offensive mind. For UGA, we all HOPE that year 2 with Grantham will have us playing Junkyard Dog style defense again. Last year, if you look at the stats, the D was better than the previous year under Willie. One thing the D did a much better job at was creating turnovers but one area we all know was beyond horrible, 3rd down conversions.
So, let's take a look at how the teams likely will line up come September 3rd.
Boise runs what they call a pro set offense but they don't have a fullback so to me it is a variation of the pro set.
QB-Kellen Moore 6'0" 191 SR Behind Moore they have a RS Soph and RS FR.
RB-Doug Martin 5'9" 215 SR Another SR is #2 on the chart, he is 5'9" 210.
WR-Matt Miller 6'3" 215 RS FR.
WR-Mitch Burroughs 5'9" 187 JR
WR-Tyler Shoemaker 6'1" 213 SR, backup is Kirby Moore-brother of Kellen, he is 6'2" 205 Soph.
TE-Kyle Efaw 6'4" 242 SR
OT-Nate Potter 6'6" 300 SR-a very good OT here.
OG-Joe Kellog 6'2" 299 JR
C-Thomas Bryd 5'11" 288 SR-don't let the height fool you, a solid player
OG-Jake Broyles 6'4" 278 Soph
OT-Charles Leno 6'3" 278 Soph
Obviously I would expect the TE to line up on the side of Leno most of the time. You notice that their backs are short but pretty stout, much like backs we typically see at GT. They don't have a massive front certainly and they do have a couple younger guys on the line with two sophs, but I think lack of experience at the WR position is something we all realized when this game was set up-that doesn't mean the guys they have can't be good players but the two guys they had last year, Pettis and Young were certainly their go to guys. In fact if you look at last years stats, Pettis and Young both had 71 catches apiece, they scored 19 TD's combined. The best returning WR is Shoemaker, with 32 catches for 582 yards and 5 TD's. Next best returning receiver is the starting RB Martin. Speaking of Martin, the guy put up big numbers last year, averaging 6.3 yards per carry running for 1260 yards and 12 TD's. VaTech he DID have a nice game per carry wise, 12 carries for 83 yards. Also against Nevada he did some good work, 24 carries for 152 yards but had very supbar games against Hawaii and Fresno-probably the 3rd and 4th best teams they played last year in the regular season, averaging 3 yards a carry in both those games but Boise didn't need him in either of those games as they blew both those teams off the field. One thing you notice when you look at how Boise played last year, they come out STRONG each and every week. It is very obvious their gameplan is come out blazing and jump on teams before they know what hit them, takes the opponent out of their gameplan immediately. Now, granted many of their opponents are weak but you see it against the best teams they play, they were up 17-0 after 1 quarter against VaTech, they were up 24-7 at the half against the only team that beat them Nevada. They were up 16-3 at the half over Utah in the bowl game. This of course makes me immediately think of what Spurrier used to do in his day back coaching UF, and then who could forget the Sugar Bowl against WV-the same building we play Boise in. Point blank, UGA needs to come out and match Boise early and let them know they are in for a fight. Boise was a +8 in turnover ratio, creating 27 and losing 19. Contrast that to UGA, which also was a +8, creating 23 and only coughing it up 15 times, oh but so many of those 15 were SOOOO critical!!
Taking a look at the UGA D which of course is the 3-4.
DE-Abry Jones 6'3" 309 JR
NT-Kwame Geathers 6'6" 350 Soph
DE-DeAngelo Tyson 6'2" 306 SR
LB-Cornelius Washington 6'4" 269 JR
LB-Christian Robinson 6'2" 233 JR
LB-Alec Ogletree 6'3" 236 Soph
LB-Jarvis Jones 6'3" 241 Soph
CB-Branden Smith 5'11" 176 JR
S-Shawn Williams 6'1" 220 JR
S-Sanders Commings 6'2" 217 JR
CB-Brandon Boykin 5'10" 183 SR
One thing that immediately grabs your attention of course is the SIZE of our DL with each guy tipping the scales at over 300lbs. Of course the huge size difference between Kwame and the Boise center should be very interesting. Put it this way, I will be suprised, even if the kid is really good which I think he is, if he alone can handle Kwame, followed by John Jenkins. He is going to need some help from either of his guards, maybe both. I think Potter probably can neutralize one of our DE, and then on the other side, as I mentioned before, I think they will have to have the TE help out the soph tackle that is 278 block either Jones or Tyson. My point being, our linebackers are going to be in position to make the plays and our ability to stop Boise will depend on how those guys perform. I think the fact 3 of the 4 guys can flat out RUN, Grantham is going to be able to bring pressure from all over the place and if our corners can play tight man coverage, Moore is going to have trouble completing passes. Of course as I mentioned yesterday, Boise is NOT a pass first team-they are very balanced on offense and it is going to be very important that we take care of their run game which is where we will really rely on the experience of Christian Robinson in the middle. They are going to do a lot of play action because they are so balanced, our LB's are going to have to do a great job reading the play and make the proper decision. The fact Boise doesn't have the game breaking-at least from what I can tell, WR makes them more reliant on the ground game which is more proven. If Smith, Commings, and Boykin can do a good job in coverage, and our LB's can make the plays they should make, I really have a strong feeling we can slow down this offense. When I mean slow them down, I mean keep them under say 28 points. Keeping this offense to that low of a point total, well, let's just say will be doing a good job and should give the offense a chance to win the game.
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