From OnlineAthens.com
September 20th, 2016 11:57 AM
Only 36 and a half hours after Georgia closed the book on a thrilling 28-27 road win at Missouri, Kirby Smart clearly had spent a lot of time since that game studying tape of Ole Miss, this week’s opponent.
That didn’t leave many minutes for the Bulldogs coach to fuss with his appearance.
“They’ve played two really good defenses on tape and they’ve scored a lot of points and got a lot of yards so you can see I haven’t shaved,” said Smart. “That has a lot to do with it.”
Smart is already as he put it, “very familiar,” with No. 23 Ole Miss because of annual tussles in the SEC West with the Rebels.
Alabama lost two straight to Ole Miss in Smart’s final two seasons as defensive coordinator, beating the top-ranked Crimson Tide in Oxford 23-17 in 2014 and a No. 2 ranked team 43-37 last season in Tuscaloosa.
“When you turn the tape on you get a lot of ‘Oh yeah, I remember that. Oh yeah, I remember that.’ You’ve seen that,” Smart said. “That wasn’t the case last week. There was a lot less. It doesn’t really matter because you’ve still got to go out and stop them. It’s just there’s familiarity, but they have familiarity.”
Alabama beat Ole Miss each of the first seven seasons Smart was at Alabama, including 33-14 and 25-0 in coach Hugh Freeze’s first two seasons in 2012 and 2013.
“They’ve played against a defense extremely similar to ours twice already,” Smart said. “So when it comes to scheme, they probably already know what they’re going to do. Hugh Freeze probably went home last night at 5:30 in the afternoon because he knew what he was going to do against our defense. He’s seen it before. So it’s our job to try to create confusion and make it harder on them.”
The Rebels put up 433 yards against Smart’s Alabama defense last season, but five turnovers by the Crimson Tide played a big role leading to 24 points.
Freeze told reporters in Oxford he’s noticed some changes in the defense being run by Smart and coordinator Mel Tucker.
“Defensively, it's a bit different than what we're used to seeing from them,” he said. “He's playing a lot more odd front. I'm sure he's adjusting to what he thinks is best for his team. It's been different from what we expect from them, but the results are well for him."
Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns against Alabama last season.
“Trust me, I know from experience,” Smart said. “He’s good.”
Ole Miss this week is licking its wounds after failing to hold onto a lead of at least 21 points for the second time in three games against the Crimson Tide and Florida State.
“Those last 30 minutes are a mentality thing,” Kelly told reporters Monday in Oxford.
“Ole Miss, they’ve got a great team and they’re coming off a tough loss, a tough, tough loss, a shootout against Alabama,” Georgia fullback Christian Payne said. “So they’re going to be hungry for a victory.”
Georgia has won five straight trips to Oxford dating back to Smart’s junior year as a Bulldogs safety in 1997--a 21-14 decision--but hasn’t played there since a 27-13 win in 2011.
Ole Miss went 2-10 in the final season under Houston Nutt but the Rebels under Freeze have seen their win total increase each season from 7-6 to 8-5 to 9-4 to 10-3 and gone to back-to-back New Year’s Six bowls includingwinning the Sugar Bowl last season.
There, of course, is the NCAA trouble that the program is under. An investigation has expanded beyond former offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil saying he received money from staffers, Yahoo! Sports reported in August. The school has already been charged with 13 violations in football and reduced 11 scholarships as part of its self-imposed penalties.
Ole Miss is favored by 7 after the line opened at 2, according to Vegasinsider.com, for a game that kicks at 12 p.m. ET.
“It’s going to be hot,” Payne said. “It’s going to be high noon, Ole Miss in the Grove. I’m looking forward to it. It’s my first chance to go to Oxford ever. …It’s going to be a great SEC battle.”
The game is actually at 11 a.m. local time, but Smart says the Bulldogs better be wide awake.
“Our hunger and intensity better be pretty intense to go to Oxford, Mississippi, one of the top teams in the country the last two or three years, and go play on the road in the SEC which we learned last week is extremely difficult,” Smart said. “The environment will be just as or more chaotic when we go to Oxford, Mississippi, I can reassure you that. Our guys will be ready to play and we’ve got to get them focused on it. The challenge, to me, is a lot more about the time that we play, for both teams. It’s a different environment when you crank it up early.”
Freeze called on Rebel fans for a pick-me-up this Saturday.
“ We need our crowd to show up and be extremely loud,” he said. “We need a boost from them this Saturday that is a challenge. Our kids are competing extremely hard and we need our people to really get their rest Friday night to be packed in the stadium on Saturday early to give us an extra boost and be the 12th man that we need to show up for these young men. We can't wait to get back out, can't wait to play another difficult opponent.”
...READ MORE HERE...
September 20th, 2016 11:57 AM
Only 36 and a half hours after Georgia closed the book on a thrilling 28-27 road win at Missouri, Kirby Smart clearly had spent a lot of time since that game studying tape of Ole Miss, this week’s opponent.
That didn’t leave many minutes for the Bulldogs coach to fuss with his appearance.
“They’ve played two really good defenses on tape and they’ve scored a lot of points and got a lot of yards so you can see I haven’t shaved,” said Smart. “That has a lot to do with it.”
Smart is already as he put it, “very familiar,” with No. 23 Ole Miss because of annual tussles in the SEC West with the Rebels.
Alabama lost two straight to Ole Miss in Smart’s final two seasons as defensive coordinator, beating the top-ranked Crimson Tide in Oxford 23-17 in 2014 and a No. 2 ranked team 43-37 last season in Tuscaloosa.
“When you turn the tape on you get a lot of ‘Oh yeah, I remember that. Oh yeah, I remember that.’ You’ve seen that,” Smart said. “That wasn’t the case last week. There was a lot less. It doesn’t really matter because you’ve still got to go out and stop them. It’s just there’s familiarity, but they have familiarity.”
Alabama beat Ole Miss each of the first seven seasons Smart was at Alabama, including 33-14 and 25-0 in coach Hugh Freeze’s first two seasons in 2012 and 2013.
“They’ve played against a defense extremely similar to ours twice already,” Smart said. “So when it comes to scheme, they probably already know what they’re going to do. Hugh Freeze probably went home last night at 5:30 in the afternoon because he knew what he was going to do against our defense. He’s seen it before. So it’s our job to try to create confusion and make it harder on them.”
The Rebels put up 433 yards against Smart’s Alabama defense last season, but five turnovers by the Crimson Tide played a big role leading to 24 points.
Freeze told reporters in Oxford he’s noticed some changes in the defense being run by Smart and coordinator Mel Tucker.
“Defensively, it's a bit different than what we're used to seeing from them,” he said. “He's playing a lot more odd front. I'm sure he's adjusting to what he thinks is best for his team. It's been different from what we expect from them, but the results are well for him."
Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns against Alabama last season.
“Trust me, I know from experience,” Smart said. “He’s good.”
Ole Miss this week is licking its wounds after failing to hold onto a lead of at least 21 points for the second time in three games against the Crimson Tide and Florida State.
“Those last 30 minutes are a mentality thing,” Kelly told reporters Monday in Oxford.
“Ole Miss, they’ve got a great team and they’re coming off a tough loss, a tough, tough loss, a shootout against Alabama,” Georgia fullback Christian Payne said. “So they’re going to be hungry for a victory.”
Georgia has won five straight trips to Oxford dating back to Smart’s junior year as a Bulldogs safety in 1997--a 21-14 decision--but hasn’t played there since a 27-13 win in 2011.
Ole Miss went 2-10 in the final season under Houston Nutt but the Rebels under Freeze have seen their win total increase each season from 7-6 to 8-5 to 9-4 to 10-3 and gone to back-to-back New Year’s Six bowls includingwinning the Sugar Bowl last season.
There, of course, is the NCAA trouble that the program is under. An investigation has expanded beyond former offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil saying he received money from staffers, Yahoo! Sports reported in August. The school has already been charged with 13 violations in football and reduced 11 scholarships as part of its self-imposed penalties.
Ole Miss is favored by 7 after the line opened at 2, according to Vegasinsider.com, for a game that kicks at 12 p.m. ET.
“It’s going to be hot,” Payne said. “It’s going to be high noon, Ole Miss in the Grove. I’m looking forward to it. It’s my first chance to go to Oxford ever. …It’s going to be a great SEC battle.”
The game is actually at 11 a.m. local time, but Smart says the Bulldogs better be wide awake.
“Our hunger and intensity better be pretty intense to go to Oxford, Mississippi, one of the top teams in the country the last two or three years, and go play on the road in the SEC which we learned last week is extremely difficult,” Smart said. “The environment will be just as or more chaotic when we go to Oxford, Mississippi, I can reassure you that. Our guys will be ready to play and we’ve got to get them focused on it. The challenge, to me, is a lot more about the time that we play, for both teams. It’s a different environment when you crank it up early.”
Freeze called on Rebel fans for a pick-me-up this Saturday.
“ We need our crowd to show up and be extremely loud,” he said. “We need a boost from them this Saturday that is a challenge. Our kids are competing extremely hard and we need our people to really get their rest Friday night to be packed in the stadium on Saturday early to give us an extra boost and be the 12th man that we need to show up for these young men. We can't wait to get back out, can't wait to play another difficult opponent.”
...READ MORE HERE...
