Cocktail Thursday: Bye Week Edition

If your Georgia Bulldogs aren’t playing this week and are therefore guaranteed neither to lose or look offensively inept.....well.....you could probably still use a drink.

Allow me to help.

By now some of the white hot rage elicited by Georgia’s Ho-him victory over the Kentucky Wildcats should have subsided. I’ve rewatched the thing twice now and come away with some conclusions.

• Jake Fromm was holding the ball too long, too often. I don’t know why exactly. Was the ball wet? Was his footing a problem? Did he suffer an unfortunate mental breakdown following that pick-six against South Carolina?

• James Coley’s willingness to stick with what isn’t working on the off chance that eventually it will is both his greatest strength and his most glaring weakness. Georgia’s insistence on sticking with a zone blocked inside running scheme created a monochromatic attack that finally, mercifully put some points on the board thanks to favorable field position.

• Against a merely creditable offense this game would have been over at halftime. As good as the UGA defense was on the night (and it was very good), I have no doubt that Alabama, LSU, or even Florida would have broken enough big plays to put at least 14 points on the board by the end of the second. LSU would have hit 28. And then thrown up more after the intermission.

• The Bulldog offense can be much better than it was. This game was truly about Kirby Smart coming up with a game plan that deviated significantly from what his team is capable of doing in order to minimize the chances of failure under a very particular set of conditions. That gameplan did what it was expected to do. You cannot take that away from Ole Blood and Guts and Visors.

What does all this mean going forward? Well, that’s the scary part. I honestly have no idea. There is a very good chance that the upcoming trip to Jacksonville turns into a high-scoring affair. There’s also every chance that it turns into two hobos savagely beating each other over the head with large rocks.

But for now, I am asking two things:

1. Tell me how you’re feeling with a few days of distance between you and the Monsoon Miasma. Can we take anything from it or was the night truly a one-off event?
2. Tell me what you’re drinking this weekend as you watch others take the field to play college football. This week is reader’s choice on Cocktail Thursday.

For my part, I managed to get my hands on one of my favorite fall brews, Bell’s Best Brown Ale from Comstock, Michigan. It’s a nutty, flavorful beer that’s nutty without being too stout. Would recommend.

This will also be the watch thread for the night’s only FBS football action, #16 SMU against rapidly tanking Houston. If you haven’t watched the Mustangs this season you really should. They’re a very entertaining offensive football team. It should be interesting as well to see exactly how miserable Dana Holgorsen will be this week. If past experience is any guideline, the answer will be “pretty darn wretched.” But hey, when you decide to bench and redshirt most of your major contributors and try again next year, you shouldn’t expect anything else. For his sake I hope the contract was worth it. Until later...

Go ‘‘Dawgs!!!