Gone Bowling: University of Georgia vs. Michigan State University

Free Bloomin' Onions for everyone!

by Dub

Throughout the coming weeks, B&A will be going through some of the SEC bowl game match-ups and giving you, the fans, a little bit of background for both the teams playing. I don't know about you, but when bowl season starts, I usually try to catch a little bit of each one, and would like to know a little more about key players on each team, and some of the background of the two teams playing. That being said, let's get started with our first Gone Bowling Match-up: UGA vs MSU.

For our first match-up, we have what look like two very good but not elite football teams. Both are 10-3 and played in their respective conference championship games. The difference between these two teams is that Georgia is the fourth best team in the SEC (first almost anywhere else), and MSU is the second best in the Big 10. What really gets a lot of MSU fans is that Michigan (a 10-2 team that did NOT play in its conference championship game and was beaten head to head by MSU) is going to a BCS bowl, simply for the fact that they did not lose an extra game to Wisconsin.

Georgia is excited to be going to the Outback Bowl, because they have a young team who will likely finish in the top 15 this year, and have a load of returning players, namely Aaron Murray (QB), Isaiah Crowell (RB), and Malcolm Mitchell (WR) who all lead the team in their respective categories. Michigan State is losing both their #1 quarterback and #1 wide receiver, and will likely not be this talented of a football team when Bowl Selection rolls around next December. The point here is that Georgia is a fiery, scrappy team who still has a lot of time left to improve, and is chomping at the bit to get into the bowl, and Michigan State is a team who feels like they were cheated out of "real competition". Now the issue is that when you think the opponent you're facing against isn't up to your level, often times, you let him run right up to you and punch you straight in the face.

Georgia is a team loaded with talent, and the only reason they aren't playing for a BCS bowl is that three other teams in the SEC could all win a national title, playing against anyone else in the nation. This season, Georgia had a front-loaded, painful schedule against two top 12 opponents, which set them back 0-2 right off the bat. They reeled off 10 straight on their way to Atlanta to face eventual SEC Champion LSU. The issue with Georgia isn't the players they have or the schemes they run. The issue is youth, and with youth comes inexperience. LSU was built for the long haul from day 1; when a player went down, another took his place, and played at an All American level. Georgia was decimated by injuries by the time they locked horns with LSU, and it showed.

Michigan State is a team that lost a head scratcher to Notre Dame in September by three scores. Then again, one might look at a schedule from the past couple of years and realize that MSU has lost a game to an unranked opponent early in the season for three out of the last four years. When you don't play in a hyperconference where everyone and their mother is ranked in the top 25, you don't have the strength of wins to be a two loss team and skyrocket through the BCS rankings to play in a big time bowl. Michigan State was blown out by Nebraska by three touchdowns, got it back together, and then lost by a field goal to Big 10 Champion Wisconsin. However, MSU did have big regular season wins over #6 Wisconsin and #11 Michigan. Michigan State doesn't have issues with talent, but with consistency, and unfortunately, they play consistently bad during bowl season against SEC teams.

Now we'll go through and look at three players to look at as these teams meet in January.


Georgia

• Jarvis Jones #29 LB: His 13.5 sacks are good enough for 2nd in the nation, and he is an absolute monster at disrupting the comfort and poise of the opposing QB. Fast getoff, great balance and technique, and a speed rush that could leave even the best offensive lineman dizzy.
• Bacarri Rambo #18 S: An absolute ballhawk who rarely let a big play develop. His 7 picks this year are, like Jones, good enough for 2nd in the nation. He's got a nose for the ball, and he takes advantage of QB mistakes.
• Aaron Murray #11 QB: Passed for 2861 yards and 33 touchdowns, which broke the UGA single season mark of 25 set by Matt Stafford in 2008. Murray is an undersized quarterback who plays a lot like Drew Brees, making up for lack of size in arm strength and timing. Look for him to utilize his tight ends, Charles and Bennett.

Michigan State

• Kirk Cousins #8 QB: Cousins is as good a quarterback as there is in the Big 10 and holds the MSU career passing touchdown record at 62. He's got good arm strength and good anticipation, which leads to a number of good plays against lazy defenses. Look for him to work the pro sets he has in this game, and to be rolling out of the pocket, as he'll be feeling the pressure of UGA's pass rush. The good news is that he is as deadly on the rollout as he is in the pocket.
• Denicos Allen #28 LB: This season, Allen has 10 sacks, and plays a similar style to Jarvis Jones, a speed rushing outside linebacker who disrupts the backfield. He is very athletic, and makes plays that force his opponents to account for him on every down. If you want to see how much of a pure athlete he is, go here.
• BJ Cunningham #3 WR: Cunningham is a big bodied, big play machine. He has 72 catches for 1200+ yards and 12 touchdowns this year, and looks to improve upon those numbers against Georgia's smallish cornerbacks. In order for him and Cousins to have a good game, MSU will need to implement short, quick routes to keep the defense honest and allow the field to open up.

Ultimately, both of these teams are very similar in play style and in ability. Georgia has a bit more of an undersized speedy defense, whereas MSU has a bigger albeit slower defense that relies on sound gap protection to minimize big runs. Both teams are ranked in the top 10 nationally in total defense, and are both top 20 in scoring defense. The series between these two teams is tipped in Georgia's favor, winning 34-27 in the 1989 Gator Bowl and 24-12 in the 2009 Capital One Bowl.

For Georgia to win, they must control the line of scrimmage and force Michigan State to beat them through the air. If one of Georgia's (many) hurt running backs is back for this game, I think UGA wins, propelling themselves into next season with high hopes and a very talented football team.

For Michigan State to win, they must run the ball well against Georgia's very talented front 7. Look for Michigan State to use screen packages and quick pass plays to force Georgia to play off the ball a little bit and give themselves room to run. Michigan State can not win if they cannot establish a run game.

Dub's Prediction: Georgia 37 Michigan State 24

Xs and Os: Recognizing Penalties: Episode 1

by Dub

The stadium is roaring. The other team is on offense on its own 20 and just ran a deep pass play on 3^rd and 10. Forty yards down the field lies a yellow penalty flag. Your team’s number one corner back is walking back to the defensive huddle shaking his head and trying to speak to the referee. He throws his hands up in frustration and the referee queues his mic to let us all know, “Pass interference, Defense, Number 31, Automatic first down”. The crowd erupts, as a fan next to you is screaming and trying to get a “BULLSH*T” chant started among the others. You feel lost, not knowing what just transpired on the field, and you want to know how to avoid it for next time.

We here at Bruce and Albert know that watching football with your friends can be a little intimidating. No one wants to stand up and scream at the television, cheering and high-fiving his friends, or to rally the marching band to play the penalty song, only to find out the penalty is against your own team. This is our first installment of Xs and Os: Recognizing penalties. 

The first set of penalties we will discuss is one that hits rather close to home for us Gators & Buccaneers fans: interference calls on receivers and defensive players. There are a number of calls that can be made down field that could either negatively or positively influence your team's success. For all of our rules discussions, we will be using the 2011 Official Playing Rules and Casebook of the National Football League which can be found here.

I could just tell you what the penalties are, and have you look them up, but we'll explain here with some photos to better detail the rules. The most often called penalty down field is Defensive pass interference, often referred to among football geeks as "PI". As a precursor to all of this verbiage, though, we want to make very clear that none of these penalties will ever be called, NCAA or NFL, if the defensive or offensive player is watching the ball and making a play without looking back at the other player. This will be explained later.

As defined by the National Football League in Rule 8 Section 5 Article 1, "It is pass interference by either team when any act by a player more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders the progress of an eligible receiver’s opportunity to catch the ball. Pass interference can only occur when a forward pass is thrown from behind the line of scrimmage, regardless of whether the pass is legal or illegal, or whether it crosses the line". In short terms, Defensive PI occurs when the quarterback (or whoever is acting as the passer) throws the football to a receiver, and the defensive player makes contact to prevent the receiver from making a catch, before the ball arrives (see figure to the left). Offensive PI is the same, but the roles are switched; it occurs when a receiver is going down field and realizes he cannot make a play on the ball, so he keeps a defensive player from catching the ball through contact, which is defined as any touching between two players after the ball has left the hand of the quarterback, but before arriving at a catchable point for either player. These are usually tactics used by players when playing very aggressive coverage, or if there is possibility of the receiver or defensive player making a game changing play on the ball, like a touchdown or interception as the case may be. As a side note, contact down field between a defensive player and receiver to prevent making a catch is called Illegal Contact, if the ball has not left the hand of the quarterback. The distinction between the two is easy to remember, if the ball is thrown its interference, and if it’s not, it’s illegal contact.

While penalties are usually a sign of an undisciplined football team, pass interference is not always a bad thing. Now we’re going to talk about situational pass interference using some names you might know. Florida is playing against Tennessee, and Florida is on offense. John Brantley receives a snap and looks down field for Andre Debose. He throws the ball down field where Andre and a corner back are sprinting toward the end zone (for all intents and purposes this corner back will be referred to as CB). The ball is in the air, arching down toward the two players racing to make a game changing play. Debose jumps into the air to make a catch, but jumps too early, realizing he may have misjudged the ball. He realizes that, not only is he not going to catch the ball, but CB who ran slightly slower than Debose is closer to the ball and  looks to make a clean interception, and possible return. Mid-air, Debose grabs the defensive player and wraps his arms around him, dragging him to the ground, preventing CB from making the play. You know, though, that this will not result in a turnover, and instead just be a penalty. As a football team, you ALWAYS want to prevent a score, at whatever cost.

The other kind of down field “interference” penalty is Defensive Holding. Defensive Holding is defined in the NFL rulebook Rule 8 Section 4 Article 6“… defensive holding if a player grasps an eligible offensive player (or his  jersey) with his hands, or extends an arm or arms to cut off or encircle him”. This occurs when a receiver is running down field and a part of his body or uniform is held by a defensive player, who is trying to prevent him from making a play. This call is also very easy to understand, when you have the right signs. A player might be running slower than normal, or look hindered; this is a situation when you check the defensive player’s hands during the play and see if he is grasping any material or part of the other player. This is a call that, like pass interference, can be made to prevent a big scoring play. However, sometimes both of these plays are made by a defensive player who realizes he is beaten and is just making a last ditch effort to disrupt the play.

As we stated in our precursor, none of these plays will be called penalties if a player is “playing the ball” not “playing the man”. Here is a very quick explanation. Imagine two players standing on the goal line. We’ll use Andre Debose and CB again as our examples. Debose and CB are looking back downfield toward where John Brantley is standing and has thrown the ball. As the ball approaches the two players on its downward arc, Debose and CB bend at their knees and prepare to jump. Debose is in front (closer to John Brantley than the end zone), and uses hand to stabilize himself on the other player as he is in the process of jumping. They both jump and Debose makes the catch, immediately being tackled by CB. This is what is known as Incidental Contact, and will be a “no call” every time. The reason it is not called is because Debose is making a play on the ball without vastly changing the outcome of the play. While it may give him a slight edge, as long as he is looking at the ball and not making an obvious effort to give himself an advantage, he won’t get flagged.

Hopefully, now you will be able to watch a football game and know not only the penalties being called, but how to quickly recognize them, and whether or not they were situationally advantageous for your team. If you have any questions, please comment on this post and we’ll respond as soon as possible!