Louisville vs. Georgia: Hell hath no fury like Todd Grantham scorned

Before the bowl matchups were etched in stone, many wondered if the University of Georgia and the University of Louisville would have a chance to meet in any bowl that pitted the Southeastern Conference versus the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The ideal scenario would’ve been for the two squads to meet in the Peach Bowl, which happens annually in Atlanta, Ga., at the Georgia Dome.

There, Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino would’ve gotten the chance to call plays in the stadium he once called home as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons before he spurned the franchise in his very first season, with several games left in the season, to take the same position with the University of Arkansas (before karma bit and he was unceremoniously booted because of a widely reported scandal).

As a native “ATLien,” and someone who has covered the Falcons for two major media outlets, I can attest to the disdain Georgians still have for Petrino to this day. Some could argue that he did the franchise a favor by following his heart and going back to college as Atlanta has had its best run of success in franchise history since Petrino resigned, although this particular regime has run its course (but that’s another story for another day).

Coincidentally, and most importantly, Louisville defensive coordinator Todd Grantham would’ve came back to the state to face his former team where he was a bit of a pariah for the Georgia faithful who deemed him a complete failure his entire tenure.

Additionally, UGA head coach Mark Richt would’ve been able to stay home and potentially take a loss in front of his entire fan base, once again spawning more talk that his time in Athens should be coming to an end.

However, the Peach Bowl committee chose an intriguing matchup between the University of Mississippi and Texas Christian University for the New Year’s Six bowl.

But fans can still see the “Grudgement Match” only 245 miles away in the “Queen City,” Charlotte, NC., in the Belk Bowl.

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Without a doubt the most intriguing aspect of this matchup will be the game within the game of Georgia’s offense versus the Louisville defense. No matter what Grantham says, he has to be fired up for the chance to show everyone just how great of a coach he really is.

Georgia fans, in typical Georgia-fan fashion, propped up Grantham to be the savior of the program behind his Nick Saban-like philosophy on defense — developed when the former was the defensive line coach of the latter at Michigan State University — despite the coach having mixed results for the entirety of his career.

But after a promising start, which included fielding the third-ranked defense his second season, Grantham’s unit fell on hard times which culminated with him taking the Louisville job.

While he may have tried to spin it as a step up, at least monetarily, the fact of the matter is he may have been fired had he not chosen another opportunity, and that can’t sit right with a guy as fiery as Grantham.

So you can bet your bottom dollar he will be digging deep in his bag of tricks and unleashing some serious manufactured-pressure packages aimed at confusing ‘Dawgs fifth-year senior quarterback Hutson Mason.

To further the matter, long-time UGA offensive coordinator Mike Bobo escaped the potential blitzkrieg after accepting the HC position at Colorado State University snatching away a matching of wits many were undoubtedly up for seeing.

I almost passed out at the thought of Richt taking over play-calling duties and showing Grantham what he’s made of, but Richt quickly showed his heart pumps Kool-Aid as he relegated those duties to some guy named John Lilly?! (I kid, UGA fans…sort of)

Let’s get ready to rumble, people.

Grantham’s D

While many will discredit the man, as some believe the ACC is an inferior product, Grantham has done wonders for the Louisville defense. The Cardinals’ D has been extremely stout — ranking sixth in total defense — by dominating offensive fronts with a myriad of pressures, stunts and twists.

But outside of the mighty Florida State Seminoles, it would be hard to argue that Louisville has faced an offensive front more dominant than UGA’s.

It possesses an uber-physical run game that is more than capable of bending the edges, but it makes the majority of its hay from the tackle-to-tackle run game.

Many already know about the exploits of SEC Newcomer of the Year Nick Chubb, a 5’10”, 228-pound stud who is pretty much flawless in all aspects. His vision, agility and toughness is packed into a stout NFL-ready frame with surprising burst to boot.

He’s the complete package, but if any front is up to the task it’s Grantham’s bunch.

Just look at the grown man sequence above.

If Grantham isn’t being aggressive in his play-calling, he simply isn’t being himself. Operating out of a true odd-based front, which incorporates plenty of even-front principles, he believes in bringing pressure from all over the formation.

The previous regime, under former HC Charlie Strong, did a wonderful job recruiting the state of Georgia as the Cards have a ton of playmakers along their front from my beloved Peach State.

Senior edge-player Lorenzo Mauldin, 6’4″, 244 pounds, has 6.5 sacks on the year and has been a general nuisance throughout the season for the Cards’ opponents. The Atlanta native is joined by interior presence Sheldon Rankins (6’2″, 300 lbs), from Covington, Ga., in providing Louisville with an inside-out presence that is tough for any team to deal with.

Here’s Mauldin pressuring Clemson QB Deshaun Watson into an interception.

Off-the-ball linebackers Keith Kelsey and James Burgess form a solid run-stuffing duo who are more than capable of playing in reverse, as well; Grantham makes sure both are involved in pass-rush situations. (The above sequence shows a two-man game incorporated into a zone-blitz)

But the Cards have the ultimate ace-in-the-hole player in free safety Gerod Holliman — whose 14 interceptions are just insane to even think about. He’s capable of playing close to the line of scrimmage, but he’s at his best in a two-deep shell or as a single-high defender.

Strong safety James Sample is a very good player in his own right; his four interceptions shows his versatility. Next year’s Louisville defense will have two faces that are familiar to Georgia faithful in former safety Josh Harvey-Clemons and cornerback Shaq Wiggins.

Overall, Grantham has put his stamp on a talented defense that could give UGA all it can handle. The ‘Dawgs have good pass-catching targets, but the whole passing scheme won’t put fear in anyone and we know Grantham recognizes that.

Louisville is only allowing 2.94 yards per rush; Chubb is gaining 6.9 all on his own while fellow frosh Sony Michel averages 7.1.

This will be a grown man-type game won by the most dominant line of scrimmage.

Petrino’s O

It’s rare that a defensive unit outshines Petrino’s offense, as he may be the premier offensive mind in all of college football, but that’s exactly what has happened for the former Arkansas coach.

This particular scenario won’t last long as Petrino is a masterful recruiter who attracts NFL-caliber talent as his scheme is one of the most pro-like in all of college football. He specializes in developing QB talent and had done an admirable job with sophomore signal-caller Will Gardner until a late season-ending knee injury.

Now he’s trying to get freshmen Reggie Bonnafon and Kyle Bolin up to speed against a UGA defense that is every bit as stout as Louisville…against the pass.

Bolin showed himself to be a quick study in three quarters against in-state rival Kentucky in the season-finale: 21-of-31 for 381 yards with three TDs opposed to one INT. Bonnafon is a better athlete who can manufacture first downs; both may find it tough trying to move the ball through the air against the ‘Dawgs.

Georgia has the 76th-ranked rushing defense, but is the No. 2-ranked unit against the pass. Richt did a masterful job of bringing in another coach — former Florida State DC Jeremy Pruitt — who runs pretty much the same exact scheme as Grantham.

Both borrow from their time spent with Saban; both are two of the best in the country, schematically speaking.

UGA’s front is full of future NFL players: Leonard Floyd, Jordan Jenkins, Amarlo Herrera, Ramik Wilson, Lorenzo Carter are several that come to mind.

But you can tell this scheme is more concerned with getting to the passer opposed to maintaining proper runs fits. And although some believe that Georgia caught a break with the ineligibility of Louisville running back Michael Dyer, which it did, Louisville’s actual leading rusher Brandon Radcliff (5’9″, 214 lbs) is capable of delivering a lights-out performance.

But any talk of offensive football in regard to the Cardinals has to be centered around star receiver DeVante Parker, the 6’3″, 208-pound freak of an athlete. His ability to separate is due to his excellent route-running prowess. He has wonderful speed and knows how to go get the ball.

Case in point: Parker completely schooled future first-round pick P.J. Williams on this 9-route; he bent it to the inside and stacked Williams for an outside-shoulder catch.

The Cards have other talented skill players — most notably receivers Eli Rogers and James Quick — and an o-line capable of playing moving forward or in reverse.

If Louisville is able to figure out its QB situation, it could very well leave Charlotte with a win against a talented UGA team. There’s nothing like dynamic coaching, schemes and personnel; between Richt, Petrino, Grantham and Pruitt, there’s plenty of talent on that front.

But hell hath no fury like an assistant coach scorned…ain’t that right, Grantham?

Just ask former University of Oklahoma DC Brent Venables — whose current Clemson Tigers squad crushed his former employer in last night’s Russell Athletic Bowl.

Murf Baldwin

Former linebacker/safety Murf Baldwin specializes in diving deep into the Xs and Os of the game with the goal of educating and entertaining while bringing fans closer to their team.