JessN: SECCG wrap-up: This Was the Georgia We Expected, and the Alabama We Feared We'd See

[JessN]

SECCG wrap-up: This was the Georgia we expected, and the Alabama we feared we’d see​

by Jess Nicholas, TideFans.com Editor-In-Chief
December 6, 2025

If the Alabama-Georgia regular-season game 10 weeks ago in Athens had come out 28-7 Georgia, few people would have been surprised.

Whether Alabama’s eventual 24-21 win will be looked back upon as shocking or not depends on a couple of things: how Alabama finishes from here on out, and whether QB Ty Simpson is the guy that beat Georgia in September, or the guy who has limped to the finish line with a handful of average performances over the season’s final weeks.

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TideFans.com | By the Fans, For the Fans. - SECCG wrap-up: This was the Georgia we expected, and the Alabama we feared we’d see

If the Alabama-Georgia regular-season game 10 weeks ago in Athens had come out 28-7 Georgia, few people would have been surprised. Whether Alabama’s eventual 24-21 win will be looked back upo…

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[rolltide_21]

Dang, that was fast. Have two drafts written and post the one needed based on the outcome?

 

[denver]

Laying a lot of this at Simpsons feet overlooks the fact that the routes called for WR's and the time he has to throw are not compatible...he was under pressure so quickly he only had one read and often those routes are too deep and pressure is there before the throw needs to get out. The OL is a major issue...we haven't won that LOS in any meaningful game. I suspect Ty is injured or just shellshocked from taking a beating. This loss was an inept game plan and poor execution combined

 

[JDCrimson]

I will tell you what is broken with the RBs. They get tired of blocking rushers for no more carries than they get. They wear down in pass pro and then are less effective in runs.

CKD and CRG simply didn't have to play this physical in their previous stops.

All of our problems on offense can be laid at the feet of philosophy and design. Basically coaching. They spent a whole season last year doing stuff they didnt want to do. And they were damned they were going to do it again this year.

Thing is recruiting and the portal is not going to always give you what you want. You have to adjust to what you can execute.

Our lack of 2nd half scoring tells the tale. We cant adjust not just personnel but not playbook either.

 

[davefrat]

It’s hard to win when you can’t run and you can’t block.

 

[HMM]

I really wanted Ty to do well tonight. Sad he was off… Wish he’d have had more touches last season. I still believe in the guy.

 

[teamplayer]

We were pathetic, and they were good. Frankly, you have to replace Simpson at halftime. You can't keep doing the same thing and hoping for a different result. Don't get me wrong, Ty is not the only problem, but you have to try something different if you are trying to win.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

I really wanted Ty to do well tonight. Sad he was off… Wish he’d have had more touches last season. I still believe in the guy.

Word is, he's been dealing with an injury since the South Carolina game. It certainly would make a lot of sense. He was so good earlier in the year, there is no way he falls this far without some sort of debilitating injury.

 

[teamplayer]

Word is, he's been dealing with an injury since the South Carolina game. It certainly would make a lot of sense. He was so good earlier in the year, there is no way he falls this far without some sort of debilitating injury.

If true, they should have given the other guys a chance. I doubt it would have mattered, but you have to try something different. That offensive effort was pathetic, and this UGA defense isn't great. They are good, but they aren't that good. Pathetic!

 

[dvldog]

Thoughts for the season
We almost never have successful first down plays
We almost always run off tackle
Our O line doesn’t do anything good. Not good at pass blocking not good at run blocking. You can be subpar at one if you are exceptional at the other
Offensive Game planning outside of one half against GA has been subpar
Our D progressed our O digressed
We ain’t Washington and this ain’t the pac10 or whatever it is today. Coaching needs to adapt accordingly.

 

[editder]

It’s hard to win when you can’t run and you can’t block.

Can’t run, can’t run block, can’t pass block, can’t get open for a pass, can’t see or hit a receiver if he is open for a pass, can’t catch a pass if open and it hits the chest, can’t punt, can’t snap for a punt, can’t return a punt, can’t block for a punt.

 

[JayBama_in_PCOLA]

Dang, that was fast. Have two drafts written and post the one needed based on the outcome?

What happened was so painfully obvious that my 11 year girl who doesn’t watch football could have written it quickly. So I imagine that he started and finished it with two minutes left the fourth quarter.

 

[Isaiah 63:1]

@JessN, my reading comprehension might be off tonight, but I don’t think I saw the words “Ryan Grubb“ anywhere in your analysis. Ultimately, he’s responsible for the offensive plan, and it’s an offense that quite frankly has underwhelmed all year in no small part because he doesn’t seem to be able to design an offense around the players that he has. I don’t think there was a single designed pass play tonight that wasn’t in the pocket, despite the fact that we have an offensive line incapable of blocking when the whole world knows that they don’t have to defend the run. It borders on criminal negligence that there are no bootlegs, no rolling pockets, no shovel passes, or anything to slow down a defense that is teeing off on a quarterback in the pocket. Thoughts?

 

[92tide]

It’s hard to win when you can’t run and you can’t block.

or your quarterback can't throw the ball more than 10 yards in the air

 

[Scobaman]

Serious Question: If Simpson decides to come back, will he be the best QB in the room nest season?

 

[92tide]

Serious Question: If Simpson decides to come back, will he be the best QB in the room nest season?

i don't think he's the best in the room this season. for whatever reason, he has been absolutely awful since late october and is getting worse weekly.

i get that our o line sucks and our play calling leaves a lot to be desired. but man, on top of everything else, he can't even make easy check down throws.

at some point the players have to make the plays. especially the folks who are supposed to be the team leaders

 

[DrollTide]

Yes that was pathetic, and miserably unenjoyable to watch.

At the risk of playing Sunday Morning HC, I was shouting at the TV for these 2 things:
- don't go for it on 4 and 10 on your own 5. At that point there was no path to victory, but it could still be salvaged to a 21-14 loss, which is all that Alabama needed.
- put a different QB in. No disrespect to Ty or anyone, but if the game is lost then the backup plays and maybe shows something. Ty wasn't the guy last night.

[Edit - I apparently used flawed logic, that a bad loss might eliminate Alabama. This is apparently not the case. As there was still a mathematical chance of victory with no downside, I suppose going for an improbable play was worth it.]

 

[RdunawayTX]

i don't think he's the best in the room this season. for whatever reason, he has been absolutely awful since late october and is getting worse weekly.

i get that our o line sucks and our play calling leaves a lot to be desired. but man, on top of everything else, he can't even make easy check down throws.

at some point the players have to make the plays. especially the folks who are supposed to be the team leaders

I watched the great Kurt Warner during the Greatest Show on Turf years while I lived in St. Louis. He lit up the field like a pinball machine the first several years. But, Mike Martz had a tendency to leave him back there with no RB blocking help and he got creamed as he threw. Repeatedly.

Eventually, he got Battered Quarterback Syndrome. And was replaced and, eventually, moved to Arizona. He took them to the Superbowl there and was elected to the Hall of Fame later.

I think that's what we're looking at with Ty.

 

[78Alum]

Thanks, Jess. I know that was a hard one to write. We were completely overwhelmed. Now what to do with having to play Oklahoma at their place...

 

[Rocky Mtn Bob]

One line summed-up this piece.

"Georgia has gotten a lot better since Sept. 27, and Alabama hasn’t."