Monday Afternoon Quarterback: From Athens to Milledgeville to Macon to Perry, and in between
Monday, Oct. 16, 2017
So that was the plan all along, huh?
Lower the already high expectations, lull people to sleep, give an impression that there was still soooo much for the youngster to learn.
And then come out heaving it.
All of a sudden, Georgia is throwing, and Jake Fromm goes 18 for 26 for 326 yards, a score and a pick. He rushed for 14 yards and a touchdown.
And Georgia, albeit against a defense a wee bit less stout than Alabama, rolled up 696 yards in offense, something it hasn't done against lower-level non-SEC defenses.
It was the pitching and catching some of us having been waiting and waiting for Georgia to do.
Can people stop being surprised now? Please? From fans to "broadcasters"?
Fromm has a half-season of starts under his belt. He has thrown some bad passes, has three interceptions in only 121 pass attempts (and yes, it does seem like more interceptions, but it's only three, and only one, vs. Tennessee, was a true head-scratcher).
Sure, he's 74th in yards, but sixth in passing efficiency, is up to 62nd in completion percentage at 62 - helped by decreasing drops -
Stop being surprised. This was going to happen, and should have happened sooner than later.
Now, Georgia has a week to play with the playbook a little bit, although it's silly to go overboard simply because the confidence in Fromm has grown.
Just open it up a little bit and throw in one wrinkle a game the rest of the way because, again, the passing game isn't just about the quarterback.
Georgia's defense was, as most mortal collections of people are, imperfect. At times, it was extremely mediocre, giving up big play after big play.
That there would be a defensive hiccup shouldn't have been a surprise, since the Bulldogs haven't played any exceptional offenses yet, or above-average passing games.
None were in the top 70 in passing yardage, and only two in the top half nationally in pass efficiency. Better passing teams await.
But eventually, the defense settled down a little bit in a game it needed to have. Humbling is never a bad thing, and film sessions no doubt will be fairly unpleasant.
Missouri certainly scored more points than anybody expected, but put it all together, and it was the kind of game that cements Georgia as a playoff contender.
The offense was able to control a game when the defense didn't, and that's what needed to happen before getting into the meat of the schedule.
Now we know. Georgia is a pretty complete team.
Ready, set ...
The prediction here was that Georgia Tech could very well beat Miami by double figures.
And the Yellow Jackets should have. At least, Tech should have gotten that marquee win.
Up by 11 in the second half against a decent but ranked - and apparently blessed - team and losing at the end is brutal.
Sure, it took a circus catch - combined with defenders not making the play - to keep the game-winning drive alive for Miami, and the Yellow Jackets weren't healthy on offense.
But still, that makes two that got away, and were in part given away.
Tech had only one penalty, and went for it on fourth down twice, once from the 27, which would have been a 44-yard field goal try.
That's 15 yards shorter than what Northside's Cory Munson made Friday night.
Just saying. Reluctance to kick seems to keep biting Tech in these kinds of games. Points are points.
Alas, defense was the issue here, failing to come up with the stops or plays at the right time and keeping Miami alive. Weather may have impacted Tech's offense more than people realize, but the defense didn't finish. ...
Otherwise, it was a decent Saturday for the Peach State.
Mercer erased a slow start and hammered Chattanooga to get a winning streak going.
Fort Valley State rolled as expected, hammering Lane by 23 points.
Kennesaw State won by 14 at Liberty and got some national pub in the process with Justin Sumter's one-handed highlight-reel catch that spent time at No. 1 in ESPN's top-10 plays.
Georgia State was sharp early and picked up a solid road win at Louisiana Monroe, getting 224 yards on the ground and 446 through the air.
Alas, Georgia Southern's stunning woes continued with a seven-point loss to New Mexico State to remain winless.
Georgia Southern winless. Those graves next to Erk's are hearing it. ...
Upsets were basically non-existent in Central Georgia Friday night, but some margins were notable.
Didn't foresee Lee County needing overtime to beat Northside at home. Didn't foresee a 20-point margin for Thomas County Central and Veterans on either side, nor Dodge County beating Washington County by 35 points.
Veterans is in must-win mode this week against Harris County, needing to break a five-game losing streak and beat a team that has played onlylower classification non-region games.
Southwest hosts Washington County in a 3-AA pre-elimination elimination game. The loser falls to 1-3, the winner improves to 2-2, all behind Dodge County, Bleckley County and Dublin, currently with one loss.
Perry hosts Spalding in an elimination game for 2-4A, the loser falling to three region losses. The two co-leaders play each other and the teams right behind them tied play each other, so we'll have a 3-0, two 2-1s and two 1-2s at the end of the night.
And FPD is just about on the Class A private playoff fence at No. 22 with No. 8 Tattnall this week. The Vikings will be an underdog, making week's game against No. 15 Mount de Sales - a solid favorite this week against winless Twiggs County - mighty big. ...
Is Clemson still in the playoff hunt?
There are a number of contenders who can lose a game to a much better opponent than Syracuse and squeeze in there ahead of Clemson.
First- or second-string QB or not, that was a shocking loss. ...
There's a GISA game in Milledgeville this week that'll be as rock 'em, sock 'em as about any area GHSA game, with two undefeateds knocking heads, Gatewood and John Milledge.
They're 9-0. Gatewood has scored 99 more points than John Milledge, which has given up 66 fewer points.
JMA won 17-10 a year ago, and then 17-0 in the Class AAA title game.
Maybe play this one at Baldwin so everybody gets in and - oops, nope, that won't work. The place will be full an hour before kickoff. ...
And then there's the Falcons.
Never mind.