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UGA vs USCe on paper
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:01 pm
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:01 pm
I know this will likely fall apart into senseless bickering very soon, but I would like to at least TRY to seriously compare the two since I think they essentially have the same strengths and weaknesses and are very difficult to separate because of it, especially an early season match up.
I will go over an UGA predicted depth chart, if a USCe fan can do the same for the Gamecocks. I will also put my opinion of which team have the stronger position grouping, and again will wait to see if the Gamecocks agree or disagree.
QB: Mason - Can he get the job done? Sure. Will he get the job done? I honestly think watching Mason play this year is going to make UGA fans who agged on Murray for years realize just how good he was. If Mason goes down, I tend to think you will see a QB rotation of both Bauta and Ramsey just because they both bring different things to the table.
Comparison with USCe: DRAW. I think Thompson has a lot of questions to answer as well. I would have said ADV USCe had Mason not gotten those two starts late last year. Both these guys have the problem that the previous QBs on their teams literally WILLED their teams to both victories and comebacks. We will see how much the offenses of the respective teams will believe in the new starters.
RBs: Gurley is feeling his oats this preseason and Marshall is apparently looking great and not hesitant at all on the bum knee. The two start freshmen are looking like what star Freshmen RBs usually look like. FBs are a big question mark right now because it sounds like concussion issues may end up derailing the starting FB, Hall's football career early. However, it also sounds like a lot of the TEs are cross training at FB which could mean the offense can switch from multiple TE sets and I formation sets on the fly which would be pretty cool.
Comparison with USCe: ADV UGA due to talented depth and not having to account for Shaw scrambling/run-option. I have all the respect in the world for Mike Davis. He is a beast. I just think the talent drops off a bit more steeply at USCe than at UGA behind RB1. It is always hard to defend the QB in a run option, but I think Thompson will be easier to track down than Shaw was.
WR/TE: Injuries will dictate how the teams compare, but at this point, I definitely would not expect to see JSW due to suspension, even if he could go on the knee. Mitchell may or may not be ready after the knee scope. It depends on which rumor one chooses to believe. Conley has been practicing in green, but as long as he is practicing, then I am not too worried about him. Bennett has been good to go so far. Others have been injured some, but none of them sound particularly serious. TEs: Rome is sometimes iffy on the foot that had surgery, Davis has been in green. I think depth is not as great as it has been in the past, but Blazevich and Hicks have been doing well apparently (and as I mentioned above, I sort of love the wrinkle of the TE/FB combo)
Comparison: likely a Draw, but depending on if Mitchell can or can't play, could be advantage USCe. I would likely give both WR/TE corps advantage over the other's secondary.
OL: For once, UGA has very good depth. We will see how good the top end is.
Comparison: likely ADV USCe between the two OLs.
Front 7: DL: UGA is very talented and very deep along the DL. Pretty much everyone is the three-deep has had significant game experience.
OLB: I think you will be hard-pressed to find a more talented corps than UGA's this year. Bellamy will still be suspended, but this group easily goes 3 deep in talent.
ILB: Again, at the top end, UGA has two guys that know what they are doing out there. Wilson hasn't been practicing (likely due to a concussion), but that has only helped get the younger guys some valuable reps, and as long as Wilson can get back in time to keep his conditioning intact, he will be fine. There is less depth behind those two, but Reggie Carter and Tim Kimbrough have been able to take advantage of the extra reps.
Comparison: ADV UGA I know that USCe will be better at the LBer position due to the youth from last year and that even though they lose Clowney and Quarles, they still have a strong DL, but (and I will fully admit that this may be homerish of me) I think UGA's front seven is the best in the conference when combining talent, depth, and experience.
Secondary: Honestly, I know that Swann will start ( as long as he is healthy), and that is about it. I do tend to think they will be better than last year, but that is mainly because I don't see how they could be worse. They could still be just as bad, however. They will certainly be inexperienced again.
Comparison: DRAW, just because there is so much up in the air for both teams- easily the weakest link of both teams. I have been hearing that USCe is likely to start/play 3 freshmen out of the four positions. Please correct me if that is wrong.
So while I could see this game coming down to big plays in the passing game, I think the pass rushes will help protect both of the shaky secondaries.
It may very well be as simple as home field advantage will get the nod, but if Gurley and company are dealing then UGA may be able to keep the crowd out of it.
I will go over an UGA predicted depth chart, if a USCe fan can do the same for the Gamecocks. I will also put my opinion of which team have the stronger position grouping, and again will wait to see if the Gamecocks agree or disagree.
QB: Mason - Can he get the job done? Sure. Will he get the job done? I honestly think watching Mason play this year is going to make UGA fans who agged on Murray for years realize just how good he was. If Mason goes down, I tend to think you will see a QB rotation of both Bauta and Ramsey just because they both bring different things to the table.
Comparison with USCe: DRAW. I think Thompson has a lot of questions to answer as well. I would have said ADV USCe had Mason not gotten those two starts late last year. Both these guys have the problem that the previous QBs on their teams literally WILLED their teams to both victories and comebacks. We will see how much the offenses of the respective teams will believe in the new starters.
RBs: Gurley is feeling his oats this preseason and Marshall is apparently looking great and not hesitant at all on the bum knee. The two start freshmen are looking like what star Freshmen RBs usually look like. FBs are a big question mark right now because it sounds like concussion issues may end up derailing the starting FB, Hall's football career early. However, it also sounds like a lot of the TEs are cross training at FB which could mean the offense can switch from multiple TE sets and I formation sets on the fly which would be pretty cool.
Comparison with USCe: ADV UGA due to talented depth and not having to account for Shaw scrambling/run-option. I have all the respect in the world for Mike Davis. He is a beast. I just think the talent drops off a bit more steeply at USCe than at UGA behind RB1. It is always hard to defend the QB in a run option, but I think Thompson will be easier to track down than Shaw was.
WR/TE: Injuries will dictate how the teams compare, but at this point, I definitely would not expect to see JSW due to suspension, even if he could go on the knee. Mitchell may or may not be ready after the knee scope. It depends on which rumor one chooses to believe. Conley has been practicing in green, but as long as he is practicing, then I am not too worried about him. Bennett has been good to go so far. Others have been injured some, but none of them sound particularly serious. TEs: Rome is sometimes iffy on the foot that had surgery, Davis has been in green. I think depth is not as great as it has been in the past, but Blazevich and Hicks have been doing well apparently (and as I mentioned above, I sort of love the wrinkle of the TE/FB combo)
Comparison: likely a Draw, but depending on if Mitchell can or can't play, could be advantage USCe. I would likely give both WR/TE corps advantage over the other's secondary.
OL: For once, UGA has very good depth. We will see how good the top end is.
Comparison: likely ADV USCe between the two OLs.
Front 7: DL: UGA is very talented and very deep along the DL. Pretty much everyone is the three-deep has had significant game experience.
OLB: I think you will be hard-pressed to find a more talented corps than UGA's this year. Bellamy will still be suspended, but this group easily goes 3 deep in talent.
ILB: Again, at the top end, UGA has two guys that know what they are doing out there. Wilson hasn't been practicing (likely due to a concussion), but that has only helped get the younger guys some valuable reps, and as long as Wilson can get back in time to keep his conditioning intact, he will be fine. There is less depth behind those two, but Reggie Carter and Tim Kimbrough have been able to take advantage of the extra reps.
Comparison: ADV UGA I know that USCe will be better at the LBer position due to the youth from last year and that even though they lose Clowney and Quarles, they still have a strong DL, but (and I will fully admit that this may be homerish of me) I think UGA's front seven is the best in the conference when combining talent, depth, and experience.
Secondary: Honestly, I know that Swann will start ( as long as he is healthy), and that is about it. I do tend to think they will be better than last year, but that is mainly because I don't see how they could be worse. They could still be just as bad, however. They will certainly be inexperienced again.
Comparison: DRAW, just because there is so much up in the air for both teams- easily the weakest link of both teams. I have been hearing that USCe is likely to start/play 3 freshmen out of the four positions. Please correct me if that is wrong.
So while I could see this game coming down to big plays in the passing game, I think the pass rushes will help protect both of the shaky secondaries.
It may very well be as simple as home field advantage will get the nod, but if Gurley and company are dealing then UGA may be able to keep the crowd out of it.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:04 pm to SoGaFan
Honestly
This game is going to be tough....really tough.
This game is going to be tough....really tough.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:05 pm to Prettyboy Floyd
Probably the most important advantage in this pretty even match up goes to Carolina...the game is at Williams-Brice.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:06 pm to BAP2001
South Carolina has won 25 straight at home or something close to that. I'd say anyone going to WB will have a hard time.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:06 pm to SoGaFan
USCe has decisive edge at QB and OL IMO. UGA at RB.
I do not know enough about the defenses though.
I do not know enough about the defenses though.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:07 pm to SoGaFan
quote:
SoGaFan
UGA vs USCe on paper
Not bad. Pretty hommerish ... but not bad for the most part considering the source of the opinion.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:07 pm to BAP2001
Id give UGA the advantage in RBs, but not by much, we are pretty deep there as well
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:08 pm to Legendary0903
quote:
I do not know enough about the defenses though.
I don't think either team knows alot at this point. UGA has a new DC with a bunch of unknown secondary players. We do have a talented group of linebackers but that's about the only thing we know at this point. The Clemson game is really going to let us know what type of team we have. USC I expect to be good.....they do a good job of coaching defense.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:08 pm to Legendary0903
Yeah I'd say calling QB a draw is a stretch right now. It could pan out that way, but as it stands now I'd give USCe the advantage.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:09 pm to jackmanusc
game wont be played on paper. its on grass.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:20 pm to SoGaFan
At work so I can't do a full analysis but a few points: I think you have to give the nod to Dylan Thompson because he has won big time games on the road against top teams. That isn't something Mason has done. Also USC is not starting three freshmen in the secondary, only 1. USC right now would be starting a senior and a freshman at cb and a junior and redshirt sophomore at safety. It's a clear advantage for USC if all Uga has going for them is they can't be much worse than last year.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:25 pm to SoGaFan
looks like an easy win for UGA since they are equal or have an advantage at every position except for one.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:26 pm to SoGaFan
No matter how you look at it, I think we can bank on this being a good game.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:36 pm to carolinaswamper
What if its paper made out of grass?
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:36 pm to LSU Patrick
I think on paper, the teams match up evenly. Too bad the game is in Columbia. Hopefully being a 3:30 game negates that advantage a little bit. I still have nightmares about the 2012 game.
This post was edited on 8/11/14 at 3:38 pm
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:38 pm to LSU Patrick
Thompson > Mason
Our OL > your OL, by a lot
Your margins of superiority at RB and LB are not as great as you believe
Our secondary > your secondary, which is crazy given that we may start a TrFr at corner
Not sure what we're getting out of our DL this year, we'll see
Our OL > your OL, by a lot
Your margins of superiority at RB and LB are not as great as you believe
Our secondary > your secondary, which is crazy given that we may start a TrFr at corner
Not sure what we're getting out of our DL this year, we'll see
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:40 pm to Fats
quote:
Hopefully being a 3:30 game negates that advantage a little bit
It's not an advantage for anyone. Both teams are going to die of a heat stroke.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:41 pm to WheelRoute
quote:
What if its paper made out of grass?
whoah, like whoahh. ..mind blown.
Posted on 8/11/14 at 3:46 pm to WheelRoute
quote:
Our secondary > your secondary, which is crazy given that we may start a TrFr at corner
Why do you say this?
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