Saturday morning part of ESPN College Gameday’s focus on whether hobbled Bama QB Tue Tagovailoa would even play against Mississippi State. There was discussion and video of him warming up, both before and after he donned his uniform. At first it seemed he wouldn’t play. I was thinking about not only what a great player Tua is, but also a great leader and Christian, like UGA QB Jake Fromm. I remembered last year’s Heisman Trophy presentation, and the complimentary words the other finalists had about Tua.
Tua was wearing an ankle brace at that Heisman presentation. He’d been hurt earlier this season but came back last week and almost beat #1 LSU. He leads the nation in Total QB Rating, is a leading Heisman candidate, and many had him penciled in as the number one overall NFL draft pick. But as I watched him lead Bama to two TD’s in the first two minutes of the game Saturday, I wondered if his career would always be injury-riddled, like former Heisman winner Robert Griffin.
Bama stretched the lead to 35-7. Supposedly Tua was scheduled to come out after that series. But then on a rollout Tua was tackled and dislocated his hip. His helmet was ripped off on the play and his nose was bloodied. He was carted off the field and flown by helicopter to a Birmingham hospital. Reports are saying the hip injury is similar to the one suffered by Bo Jackson, which ended his career.
Tua will be a success whether he steps back on the football field or not. He will miss a quarter of the season but still should garner Heisman votes. Not sure he would’ve been able to overtake Joe Burrow or Jalen Hurts even if he’d remained healthy. A sad story.
Some say this is why college athletes should be paid. Call me old fashioned but I disagree. An argument for later, not now.
Dawgs looked almost dominant while building their 21-0 lead at Jordan-Hare Stadium. An Auburn timeout late in the first half gave UGA extra time to score before intermission. Later Malzahn admitted his gambit had backfired. Pretty sure there was at least one other touchdown that was called back. In the second half I knew the game was far from being over, though I saw a few comments of people thinking it would be a blowout. Sure enough the War Eagles came back.
Good replay call on the onside kick. Didn’t think the CBS announcers did a good job reviewing the onside kick. They focused on the ball as it approached the ten yard mark, when it might’ve been touched even before that. They completely missed the actual call: the Auburn player blocking before the ball had gone ten yards. Good call by Malzahn.
Fans from around the SEC love to hate on Gary Danielson. I like him. He’s not perfect. Many say he loves on Bama. If so he’s just speaking the truth: Saban’s squad has been the dominant college football program of the past decade, in a more competitive conference than rival to the throne Clemson.
Then hard-charging UGA RB Brian Herrien ran over UGA photographer Chamberlain Smith. I’d been thinking earlier in the game that Herrien pretty much runs as hard as Elijah Holyfield did last year. Smith had been perched on one knee looking through her camera lens. As Herrien ran into her she tried to turn around to avoid the blow. The camera was driven into her orbital bone, and she hit the ground so hard she was knocked unconscious, her camera rolling away. Herrien went to check on Smith, but was escorted back to the UGA bench. At halftime Herrien and QB Jake Fromm prayed for Smith, a note head coach Kirby Smart told the CBS sideline reporter before the second half.
Then hard-charging UGA RB Brian Herrien ran over UGA photographer Chamberlain Smith. I’d been thinking earlier in the game that Herrien pretty much runs as hard as Elijah Holyfield did last year. Smith had been perched on one knee looking through her camera lens. As Herrien ran into her she tried to turn around to avoid the blow. The camera was driven into her orbital bone, and she hit the ground so hard she was knocked unconscious, her camera rolling away. Herrien went to check on Smith, but was escorted back to the UGA bench. At halftime Herrien and QB Jake Fromm prayed for Smith, a note head coach Kirby Smart told the CBS sideline reporter before the second half.
As a precaution Smith’s neck was secured on the stretcher. She woke up before being carried off, and showed movement in her arms and legs. She was transported to a hospital (I wondered if it would be the dame hospital AL QB Tua T had been sent to). That night she was released, and returned to Athens to recover. As an employee of the UGA athletic department, she’s probably crossed paths with Herrien before. I’ve unknowingly posted pictures on my blog that Smith had taken, like the one last week of Rodrigo Blankenship holding his goggles.
When play was stopped to attend to Smith, far up in the booth Danielson had yet to realize what had happened. Announcers have a lot going on during games. After plays their focus shifts to personnel changes, looking at stats, and other details. They’re not always focused on the field, replays, or even what their partner is saying. At first Danielson didn’t even know there was an injury, then he assumed it was a player, then he nervously chuckled at the way Nessler said it saw someone on the sidelines. By then the Twitter-verse had enough ammo to attack. Eventually calmer heads actually listen to the exchange, and some quit calling for Gary’s head.
With the score 21-14 the Dawg defense was able to stop Auburn’s final two possessions, both on 4th down. After the final sack Kirby was knocked to the ground while celebrating.
UGA’s offense is talented but far from explosive. The Dawg receivers had several slipups and drops on Saturday. Some say Auburn’s defense is better than LSU’s, but I doubt UGA’s talented defense can slow Burrow and the LSU receiving core.
Note Fromm's red zone stats. Not bad for a game manager.
Second straight week UGA earned the SEC special tems player of the week. Kirby said he hopes it's the last time Jake Camarda has to punt so much in one game.
GT/VT: sure hope GT shows improvement next year. Continue to wonder about various coaching decisions: running plays not well suited for the current GT personnel, and redshirting a talented freshman QB when those ahead on the depth chart aren’t getting the job done. Right now the Jackets just aren’t worth watching. Look for Kirby to empty the bench in the season finale.
As expected, Clemson easily handled Wake Forest. Since the Tigers had already secured their division championship they were back in their white pants. But starting with the November 30 state championship against South Carolina, Clemson will be wearing their championship pants in the rest of their games.
Oklahoma/Baylor: even when the Bears jumped out to a huge first half lead, I knew from past history to not count out Jalen and the Sooners. But Baylor kept scoring. Hurts led the second half comeback, surely garnering Heisman cred in the process.
Forgot to add Georgia State. GSU QB tore his ACL last week – and still played this past Saturday night. They were talking about it on ESPN College Gameday. Coworker Dennis went to the game. Saturday a week ago I passed GSU Stadium. Had there been a game I might’ve stopped in.
ESPN College Gameday ran a story about fans who became famous for getting caught on camera. FSU was getting blown out and a 35 year professor was sitting alone in the sun without a shirt, reading a book. Auburn girl bet a trainer she could catch a kickoff, and it hit her in the face. LSU sophomore Kayleigh Thomas was sad they were going to lose. The skycam hovered over her and she just stared at it. Good stuff.
Falcons/Panthers: always good to win in New Orleans and Charlotte. Nice to dominate Carolina. Some say the Falcons should tank the rest of the season to get a better draft pick. But with the adjustments in defense play-calling duties the head coach may have saved his job, should the Birds finish strong. Whatever they did on defense is sure working. Next up: Tampa Bay, with struggling QB Jameis Winston.
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