Link: Kirby Smart Reflects on Ohio State Loss

B1GTide

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The Sugar Bowl loss only helps Alabama if it is used as fuel for the fire this year. Fortunately you are not reading things like we read from the Georgia staff after their loss to Alabama in the SECCG a few years ago. You can't let a loss cost you another game - especially in a different season.
 

Chukker Veteran

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We've seen this happen periodically in a few situations. Starter gets hurt, backup comes into the game, and immediately turns things around. The defense is caught off guard, the fans fall in love with the QB... it usually turns out that the QB looked better than he was because the defense simply wasn't prepared for him.

It's kind of insane, but that injury helped Ohio State. Their backup was up to the job, he got a game under his belt to shake off the rust, he had plenty of time to prepare, and all this time Alabama didn't have a good idea of who they were preparing for. Usually, the quarterback's abilities just wouldn't be up to this task and it would have favored Alabama, not this time though...
I wonder if a coach has ever played the second string qb not because the first stringer was injured...but to take advantage of what Krazy points out above.
 

92tide

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The Sugar Bowl loss only helps Alabama if it is used as fuel for the fire this year. Fortunately you are not reading things like we read from the Georgia staff after their loss to Alabama in the SECCG a few years ago. You can't let a loss cost you another game - especially in a different season.
i always enjoy digs at jawjuh :)
 

92tide

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I remember Nick Saban saying that a team can only get up for so many games a year. I suppose psychologically you can only go out there so many times before your mind and body become battle weary so to speak. This isn't really an exaggeration, it's been said that playing a football game is like a car wreck. How many car wrecks can you go through in a year before it starts to slow you down?

It's easy to forget that these players went through a ton. It was a battered and bruised team, that played the second most difficult schedule in the nation. No other playoff team had that to contend with, even for Ohio State and Oregon, who played in the additional round, they still played a far tougher schedule.

Add to that the fact that Alabama, even if they won had another playoff game on the horizon, something they never had to deal with before (it simply isn't fair they had to play the first, considering how more they had to do to get to that game) and yeah... I can see why they might not have been up to the task mentally and physically. Most of the SEC was worn out by the end of the season, it wasn't just Alabama, they'd beaten themselves up pretty badly. Is that an excuse? I suppose it is, had Alabama overcome that they would have overcome far more than anyone else had to, that much I know.
another factor (at least imho) is that at this level, just being off a hair is enough to get you beat. in the distance running community, most of the top dogs have 2 maybe 3 "top end" performances per year. they can still beat the crap out of 2nd tier competition without performing at top end, but there is a limited amount of "top end" effort from which to draw.
 

Tideflyer

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another factor (at least imho) is that at this level, just being off a hair is enough to get you beat. in the distance running community, most of the top dogs have 2 maybe 3 "top end" performances per year. they can still beat the crap out of 2nd tier competition without performing at top end, but there is a limited amount of "top end" effort from which to draw.
Yep, since CNS`s arrival, we`ve not only been an acknowledged "Big Dog" in college football, but also year in, year out we`re in a position to run with the rest of those that we would consider " Big Dogs" as well. You run in that pack long enough, sooner or later you`re going to get bitten. IMHO, it`s for all intents and purposes inevitable. But it`s a great position to be in !!!
 

RTR91

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So you're now telling me that Colt getting hurt had nothing to do with Texas losing?

Because what film did we have on Gilbert? And wasn't Gilbert's Daddy an NFL QB, so he was brought up as one?


I'm being a bit snide but our loss to Cardale Jones makes any appeals to "Colt got hurt" so irrelevant I get angry about it. I used to chuckle but now it sets me off.
Garrett Gilbert was a true freshman. Cardale Jones was a redshirt sophomore at the age of 22 when he played Alabama. The experience and maturity level is just a tad bit different for the two circumstances.

Also, Gilbert threw 66 passes during the 2009 season. 56 of those passes came in the second half of a game. 26 of his passes came when Texas was winning by 22 or more points. Point being, Gilbert primarily played in true mop-up duty. Cardale at least had the Wisconsin game to shake off any nerves.

We've seen this happen periodically in a few situations. Starter gets hurt, backup comes into the game, and immediately turns things around. The defense is caught off guard, the fans fall in love with the QB... it usually turns out that the QB looked better than he was because the defense simply wasn't prepared for him.

It's kind of insane, but that injury helped Ohio State. Their backup was up to the job, he got a game under his belt to shake off the rust, he had plenty of time to prepare, and all this time Alabama didn't have a good idea of who they were preparing for. Usually, the quarterback's abilities just wouldn't be up to this task and it would have favored Alabama, not this time though...
Yep. The one game Bama could watch of Cardale they saw a 12-17 passing performance with 8 rushing attempts for 9 yards. Against Alabama, he rushed 17 times for 43 yards. When analysts scouted Ohio State, they discussed Cardale's passing. They didn't mention his running because most didn't expect him to run. When the defense plans for a passing attack with Elliot's rushing ability complimenting the pass, it's difficult to adjust to a running QB.

Bama actually had this exact thing happen against Tennessee when Dobbs came off the bench.

another factor (at least imho) is that at this level, just being off a hair is enough to get you beat. in the distance running community, most of the top dogs have 2 maybe 3 "top end" performances per year. they can still beat the crap out of 2nd tier competition without performing at top end, but there is a limited amount of "top end" effort from which to draw.
I believe that is what Saban means when he makes his "The game was decided by only a few plays" even when Alabama wins by 3 or 4 TDs. For instance, a DB slips on 3rd and 10 and watches the ball sail over his head. The game can change in a heartbeat if the WR catches it and goes for a 60 yard touchdown. Then again, the ball could be overthrown, and the offense has to punt the ball back.
 
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CoolBreeze

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Hindsight is definitely 20/20. IMHO the other team just wanted it more than we did on that particular day really. Yea, we should have run the ball more. Yea, we should have keyed their QB a lot better. Regardless, 90% of any sport is played between the ears and the other team had the edge on us in that game. Lesson learned...next.
 

colbysullivan

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In addition to not respecting the QB enough perhaps some of the players did not respect the Ohio State team enough. Here we were playing a team from a conference that was considered weak for quite a while. After the four teams were announced some of the pundits thought Ohio State didn't deserve to be in the playoff. The players heard all that. While Coach Saban takes everyone seriously it's tough to get a whole team to think that way. Then we get a nice early lead in the game and maybe some of the players relax a bit. Suddenly Ohio State gets a couple of scores to make it close at halftime giving them a lot of confidence for the second half.
I still maintain this very point, OSU didn't deserve to be there. Too many times, people simply look at the end result instead of looking at the whole. Do people really think the 2007 Giants were better than the previously undefeated Patriots just because they won one game?
 

GrayTide

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After watching our defense's performance against auburn in BDS, it was obvious we were not a championship team. We were damn lucky to beat Arkansas and LSU. If our defense doesn't improve dramatically this could be a long season. As for tOSU they beat us at our game.
 

NationalTitles18

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The Good news? Last year's team was not as good as the previous 2 year from a talent that is already developed standpoint. They still lost only one game and made the playoff. Whatever the reason they got their tail beat. The defense really struggled at times against the spread. We should be improved in a number of areas. I expect to be in the running again, as has been the case the last 8 years. Success in those years has been largely determined by intangibles such as work ethic and attitude. I hope this team is now working its tail off and has the right attitude. If so, it could be a great year.
 

AgentAntiOrange

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Hindsight is definitely 20/20. IMHO the other team just wanted it more than we did on that particular day really. Yea, we should have run the ball more. Yea, we should have keyed their QB a lot better. Regardless, 90% of any sport is played between the ears and the other team had the edge on us in that game. Lesson learned...next.
This. I think that the truth, as is often the case, is that prior to kickoff our coaches & players felt confident about their preparation and abilities--and rightfully so. But OSU came in on an emotional high, and they also felt confident. On that given day, in those given circumstances, OSU simply played better and won. That's it. End of story.

Now, after the fact, everyone has to try and define it, explain it, assign reason to it. Truth is, there is no mathematical formula that explains that loss. Not everything can be narrowed down and strained and refined into singular answers. They just beat us. Congrats. On to 16.

[edit] 16th NC, I mean.
 
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colbysullivan

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They were on that day and that's all that matters.
I understand that. My point is, in my opinion, OSU did not do enough in the regular season to warrant their playoff berth. Championship teams don't lose to 6-6 teams. Is there anyone that can present a compelling argument for choosing OSU over TCU? Sure, it's easy to do that now, but I'm talking about before the playoffs. TCU went from 3rd to 6th magically in the last week...why? It makes no sense.
 

BamaInBham

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This. I think that the truth, as is often the case, is that prior to kickoff our coaches & players felt confident about their preparation and abilities--and rightfully so. But OSU came in on an emotional high, and they also felt confident. On that given day, in those given circumstances, OSU simply played better and won. That's it. End of story.

Now, after the fact, everyone has to try and define it, explain it, assign reason to it. Truth is, there is no mathematical formula that explains that loss. Not everything can be narrowed down and strained and refined into singular answers. They just beat us. Congrats. On to 16.

[edit] 16th NC, I mean.
Well said.
 

CajunCrimson

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And looking back, we have exit interviews with our players, and when you look in hindsight, I asked every kid, Landon Collins, Nick Perry, Jarrick Williams, the really smart seniors on our team, I said ‘Where did we go wrong? What did we do wrong?’
Don't know why, but this made me chuckle......if I'm one of the other "not as really smart seniors", I might be a little miffed....
 

CajunCrimson

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After watching our defense's performance against auburn in BDS, it was obvious we were not a championship team. We were damn lucky to beat Arkansas and LSU. If our defense doesn't improve dramatically this could be a long season. As for tOSU they beat us at our game.
I often wonder if you'd be happier if we lost......
 

81usaf92

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I still maintain this very point, OSU didn't deserve to be there. Too many times, people simply look at the end result instead of looking at the whole. Do people really think the 2007 Giants were better than the previously undefeated Patriots just because they won one game?
The Giants played the Pats extremely hard the last game of the season. They gave the Pats the biggest scare in 07.
 

tide96

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IMHO the other team just wanted it more than we did on that particular day really.
I think this is pretty insulting to our players to say they didn't want it enough.

This is still football and one team has to lose. We had too many mistakes and turnovers and that is why we lost, not because our players didn't want to win.
 

81usaf92

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I understand that. My point is, in my opinion, OSU did not do enough in the regular season to warrant their playoff berth. Championship teams don't lose to 6-6 teams. Is there anyone that can present a compelling argument for choosing OSU over TCU? Sure, it's easy to do that now, but I'm talking about before the playoffs. TCU went from 3rd to 6th magically in the last week...why? It makes no sense.
The Big 12 couldnt decide on a champion when Baylor won the head to head, tOSU had an extra game, and tOSU blanked Wisconsin and Melvin Gordon with a third string qb. tOSU was clearly deserving. I think the results speak for themselves. We got beat by an equal team. The only difference is that tOSU had all the momentum and we were exposed after Auburn. I think we need to realize that tOSU was an elite and truly deserving team last year.
 

Capt. Jack

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Alabama loses games so infrequently lately that when they do lose, every aspect of the game is magnified and analyzed to death. Then we read things like, "Is the Bama dynasty over?" Come on, guys. We lost by seven points to the eventual national champions. They wanted it more. Sometimes you just lose. Who would you take in a rematch?
 

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