Alabama/ND Articles Comparing The Two

Maverick2

BamaNation Citizen
Nov 28, 2012
69
0
0
Last edited:

NDinNYC2

BamaNation Citizen
Dec 28, 2012
33
0
0
Overall, I thought the DL and LB analysis was fair and accurate. Credit to the author who clearly did his homework. One small note - I still think the UGA defense is overrated. If not from an individual talent perspective than certainly as a relates to playing team defense. But it's a minor quibble.

The same link is up on a couple ND pay sites and the (sane fans') reactions have been similar to mine - fair and accurate.

By the way, I get an error message on the last link. Maybe it's just me. But thanks anyway.
 

Maverick2

BamaNation Citizen
Nov 28, 2012
69
0
0
One thing about UGA....A VERY poor tackling team, bad angles, just NOT good. The linebacker piece talks about UGA linebackers.....Bad tackling and not just in the SEC game. Their defense as a whole are NOT good tacklers.
Great talent, poorly coached in the fundamentals IMO
 

B1GTide

TideFans Legend
Apr 13, 2012
45,499
46,842
187
UGA has had a top 5 defense two years in a row. Their defense is legit. Suggesting otherwise implies that Alabama had nothing to do with those broken tackles. Alabama ran the ball for 350 yards in that game. Amazing.
 

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
84,527
39,616
437
Huntsville, AL,USA
One thing about UGA....A VERY poor tackling team, bad angles, just NOT good. The linebacker piece talks about UGA linebackers.....Bad tackling and not just in the SEC game. Their defense as a whole are NOT good tacklers.
Great talent, poorly coached in the fundamentals IMO
Richt is a former OC. Some OCs who become HCs have good defenses. Spurrier comes to mind. However, it's my offhand opinion that former OCs tend not to pay enough attention to the defense. BTW, looking at Beavers vs. Shorthorns, I'm certainly glad that Applewhite is not our OC any more...
 

NDinNYC2

BamaNation Citizen
Dec 28, 2012
33
0
0
UGA has had a top 5 defense two years in a row. Their defense is legit. Suggesting otherwise implies that Alabama had nothing to do with those broken tackles. Alabama ran the ball for 350 yards in that game. Amazing.
I'm not implying that Alabama didn't pound Georgia into the ground, impose their will and physically dominate them like no other team had, just saying Georgia's defense is not THAT great and did not live up to the individual talent they put on the field.

Georgia's defense gave up 20 points or more to Kentucky, Missouri, Florida Atlantic and Buffalo. Three of those four teams scored the majority of their points in the first half - in other words, not during garbage time. The one that didn't (Missouri) split scoring equally in both halves and actually led 10-9 after two quarters. Then of course you have the 35-7 beat down against South Carolina. True, South Carolina is a great team. But that doesn't explain why the mighty bulldogs gave up 44 to Tennessee....

Alabama's offense is a machine. Lacy is a beast, Yeldon is an amazing combo of strength and quickness. And the O Line is the best in the country. 350 yards is an outrageous number. They earned it, no doubt. And I agree with you - that is amazing. But Georgia's defense is hardly the 85 Bears.
 
Last edited:

TrueGritnPluck

Suspended
Nov 21, 2011
1,658
0
0
I'm not implying that Alabama didn't pound Georgia into the ground, impose their will and physically dominate them like no other team had, just saying Georgia's defense is not THAT great and did not live up to the individual talent they put on the field.

Georgia's defense gave up 20 points or more to Kentucky, Missouri, Florida Atlantic and Buffalo. Three of those four teams scored the majority of their points in the first half - in other words, not during garbage time. The one that didn't (Missouri) split scoring equally in both halves and actually led 10-9 after two quarters. Then of course you have the 35-7 beat down against South Carolina. True, South Carolina is a great team. But that doesn't explain why the mighty bulldogs gave up 44 to Tennessee....

Alabama's offense is a machine. Lacy is a beast, Yeldon is an amazing combo of strength and quickness. And the O Line is the best in the country. 350 yards is an outrageous number. They earned it, no doubt. And I agree with you - that is amazing. But Georgia's defense is hardly the 85 Bears.
Nor is ND circa 2012
 

B1GTide

TideFans Legend
Apr 13, 2012
45,499
46,842
187
Ah, I can tell you this, on ND's WORST day this defense won't be giving up 350 yards on the ground to ANYONE. Alabama will get their yards running it, but they won't come close to that number.
That is what UGA fans were saying before the game. In fact, there were many who thought that the UGA RB duo would perform better than Alabama's.

I am not saying that Alabama will run for 350 yards against ND - just that UGA's defense is a lot better than you think. Alabama really is that good. The only reason that Alabama played LSU and aTm close was their desire to throw the ball when they were gashing them on the ground. Yeah - Alabama was destroying LSU's defense on the ground, too. Check the stats. Doubt that anyone will claim that LSU's defense is over-rated.
 

Maverick2

BamaNation Citizen
Nov 28, 2012
69
0
0
That is what UGA fans were saying before the game. In fact, there were many who thought that the UGA RB duo would perform better than Alabama's.

I am not saying that Alabama will run for 350 yards against ND - just that UGA's defense is a lot better than you think. Alabama really is that good. The only reason that Alabama played LSU and aTm close was their desire to throw the ball when they were gashing them on the ground. Yeah - Alabama was destroying LSU's defense on the ground, too. Check the stats. Doubt that anyone will claim that LSU's defense is over-rated.

I don't know what the UGA fans were saying. And no one is saying LSU's defense is overrated. This I can tell you is that ND's defense is fundamentally a BETTER defense than UGA's. They are better coached and will do a MUCH better job against Alabama then what UGA did.


This game is going to come down to two things 1) War in the trenches 2) Turnovers. Plain and simple. FB is not complicated. Whether Bear Bryant or Knute Rockne are roaming the sidelines, it is a game of execution in blocking and tackling and protecting the ball. Whoever does it better wins.
 

skrayper77

All-American
Sep 4, 2003
3,511
228
182
That is what UGA fans were saying before the game. In fact, there were many who thought that the UGA RB duo would perform better than Alabama's.

I am not saying that Alabama will run for 350 yards against ND - just that UGA's defense is a lot better than you think. Alabama really is that good. The only reason that Alabama played LSU and aTm close was their desire to throw the ball when they were gashing them on the ground. Yeah - Alabama was destroying LSU's defense on the ground, too. Check the stats. Doubt that anyone will claim that LSU's defense is over-rated.
B1G is right.

Against LSU we were averaging 6.6 YPC. That's gashing - we were just too stubborn in trying to make the pass work (though the last drive I'm glad we did :) )
Against A&M Lacy was getting 5.8 YPC. Lacy got hobbled, and A&M stacked the line.
 

BigBama76

Suspended
Oct 26, 2011
1,002
0
0
Atlanta, GA
I don't know what the UGA fans were saying. And no one is saying LSU's defense is overrated. This I can tell you is that ND's defense is fundamentally a BETTER defense than UGA's. They are better coached and will do a MUCH better job against Alabama then what UGA did.


This game is going to come down to two things 1) War in the trenches 2) Turnovers. Plain and simple. FB is not complicated. Whether Bear Bryant or Knute Rockne are roaming the sidelines, it is a game of execution in blocking and tackling and protecting the ball. Whoever does it better wins.
I've given ND's defense its due in other posts. However, what neither fan base really knows yet is just how good is ND's secondary. Bama's biggest weakness has been pointed out as its secondary but we have one of the best secondary coaches, Saban himself, coaching them and they're all pretty much 5 star talent with at least three experienced players.

Some, not all, our secondary woes can be attributed to the level of QB/WR play they've faced. UGA, TA&M, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Miss St have QB's better than any ND's Played with Landry possibly being the exception and If I'm not mistaken he torched ND for close to 350.

Now, we all know ND's playing some converted WR's on the back-end and McCarron is about as accurate a deep ball passer as I've seen in a long time. All our WR's have the ability to get behind a secondary, especially if Bell is well enough to play so expect some over-the-top passing

Where some Bama fans may be a little over exuberant regarding our running game it comes from a sense that we didn't run enough against LSU or TA&M, especially TA&M. The belief many have is since we were playing from behind in those two games our coaches may have panicked a little and got away from what we do best. It appears they didn't intend for that to happen with UGA.
 

deltatider

1st Team
Nov 29, 2005
934
529
117
43
The way I see it is Notre Dame is going to have to show me. I understand they are very solid up front and they are coming alone as an offense. However, I believe the top end teams on Bama's schedule are a good bit better than not only Notre Dame, but they are better than the top end teams that Notre Dame played. And here's my overall biased opinion of Notre Dame. They're front seven might really be the best front seven that we have seen all year. However, I give LSU the nod in that regard. What I'm trying to say is I don't in my heart of hearts believe that Notre Dame played the same caliber top end teams that we played so based on that I trust our oline against any front seven including Notre Dame's. However, I do wonder if Notre Dame's front seven is better than any of us give them credit for. I know it's possible, but I trust that some of the teams we've played are the top of the top. And I doubt that Notre Dame has seen that I caliber opponent yet. But it does worry me a bit that they are as good as advertised and are waiting to prove it against us. I admit that is possible, but I will trust what I know, and we've faced some very good fronts. Based on that I like our chances, and frankly it will be on Notre Dame to prove me wrong. I apologize for the rant and the out right biasedness, but that is just my opinion. I trust our o line against anyone in the country now....(LSU) worried me. And in my opinion Notre Dame is not the caliber of LSU, same system or not.
 

IH8Orange

Hall of Fame
Aug 14, 2000
7,017
31
0
Trussville, AL, USA
Bama's offense comes to play in championship and bowl games, especially the rushing attack.

Since 2007, Alabama has appeared in 3 SEC Championship games (2008, 2009, 2012), 2 non-BCS bowl games (Independence Bowl after the 2007 season, Capital One Bowl after 2010 season), 1 BCS bowl game (Sugar Bowl after 2008 season), and 2 BCS National Championship games (after 2009 and 2011 seasons).

In those games, Bama faced defenses that on average were giving up 107 yards per game, 3.24 yards per carry, and less than a TD per game on the ground. In those games, Bama (on average), rushed for 191 yards per game, 4.55 yards per carry, and scored 2.4 TDs on the ground. Those teams gave up about twice the rushing yards to Bama as to other opponents during the season and about three times the rushing TDs. This is for post season from 2007 to present.

If you look at post season 2009 to present, Bama has been even more dominant against more dominant defenses. In two SECCG appearances (2009 and 2012), the 2010 Capital One Bowl, and two BCSCG appearances (following 2009 and 2011 seasons), Bama has faced defenses giving up 104 yards per game on the ground, only 3.06 yards per carry, and barely over half (0.59) of a rushing TD per game. Bama gained an average of 246 yards per game, 5.23 yards per carry, and 3.4 TDs against these defenses. That's more than twice the average per game and about 1.7 times the average per rush against these defenses. The rushing TDs by Bama were almost 6 times the average allowed by these defenses.

Some specifics:


  • In 2009, Florida gave up 3 rushing TDs all season before playing Bama in the SECCG and they gave up 3 to Bama in that game.
  • Bama rushed for 251 yards against Florida in that same game, which was about three times what they gave up on average.
  • Bama pulled basically the same performance against Texas in the 2009 BCSCG as against Florida. Texas had given up five rushing TDs all season and Bama had 4 rushing TDs in that game. Bama also rushed for 205 against UT, which was more than three times their average of 62 ypg.
  • In the Capital One Bowl against Michigan State, Bama had 6 rushing TDs and 275 yards on the ground. The Sparty D had only allowed an average of 0.8 TDs per game and 122 ypg during the season. This was against B1G teams, which traditionally are good rushing teams.
  • Against LSU, Bama's rushing attack was held in check better than against most opponents, but Bama still managed to rush (150 yards on 35 carries)for almost double what LSU allowed on average (85 yards on 33 carries). Rather than the typical rush-heavy Tide game plan, Bama's strategy planned to use a conservative, efficient passing attack to control the game and it did the job very well.
  • Georgia was giving up 163 ypg on an already generous 3.82 yards per carry and 1.1 TDs per game. Bama still took far more than offered (350 yards, 6.86 ypc, and 3 TDs on the ground).


Percentage-wise, since 2009 Bama's rushing attack outperforms their defensive opponent by these amounts:

Rushing yards: 237% (246 yards by Bama, 104 yards allowed by opponent defense per game excepting Bama)
Rushing yards per carry: 171% (5.23 ypc by Bama, 3.06 ypc allowed by opponent defense per game excepting Bama)
Rushing TDs: 576% (3.4 TDs by Bama, 0.59 TDs allowed by opponent defense per game excepting Bama)
Rushing first downs: 200% (12 by Bama, 6 allowed by opponent defense per game excepting Bama)

If Bama performs against Notre Dame like they performed against those defenses, Bama's rushing numbers would be 40 carries for 218 yards (5.41 ypc) and 1 TD. However, I think that the numbers will be better than this, at least in the number of rushing TDs. Notre Dame has given up 2 TDs all season, which is similar to the numbers allowed by other rushing defenses in big games prior to playing Bama (UF had allowed 3 in 2009, UT had allowed 5 in 2009). Other than against LSU (we had a fairly absymal red-zone offense last season) in the BCSCG, Bama has scored at least 3 TDs rushing in the big games since 2009. I think that our two thousand-yard running backs, which are running behind probably the best offensive line ever at Alabama, wants to continue that type of dominance.

We've heard the drumbeat about their great rushing defense from opponents before. The misleading thing for those opponents is that they rarely face teams that can truly pound the ball like Bama can. Once again, as we've said to every opponent we've faced in the post-season, you're about to find out if your rushing defense is a contender, or a pretender. None have really fared well.
 
Last edited:

taddy

BamaNation Citizen
Dec 25, 2012
34
0
0
This is a great post and represents the essence of what the game will be. There's no question that Alabama is the best team we've faced all year and I'm excited to see how we match up.
 
We've heard the drumbeat about their great rushing defense from opponents before. The misleading thing for those opponents is that they rarely face teams that can truly pound the ball like Bama can. Once again, as we've said to every opponent we've faced in the post-season, you're about to find out if your rushing defense is a contender, or a pretender. None have really fared well.
Nice post! UTx could have an excuse, but Colt didn't play defense.
 

Bazza

TideFans Legend
Oct 1, 2011
35,577
21,207
187
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Richt is a former OC. Some OCs who become HCs have good defenses. Spurrier comes to mind. However, it's my offhand opinion that former OCs tend not to pay enough attention to the defense. BTW, looking at Beavers vs. Shorthorns, I'm certainly glad that Applewhite is not our OC any more...
Shorthorns....ha ha...I like it!

To your point about former coordinators and their impact as head coaches....look what Coach 'Boom' has done at Florida with their solid defense....while the Shorthorn's defense has eroded since his departure. There's an obvious cause and effect.

It's an interesting dynamic to watch wrt coaching.
 

Latest threads

TideFans.shop : 2024 Madness!

TideFans.shop - Get YOUR Bama Gear HERE!”></a>
<br />

<!--/ END TideFans.shop & item link \-->
<p style= Purchases made through our TideFans.shop and Amazon.com links may result in a commission being paid to TideFans.