That year we were 4th in the conference in scoring offense, 4th in scoring offense in conference games only, and 4th in scoring offense vs ranked opponents. So... no.
Our 2012 offensive production against the teams we played and their
SEC DEFENSIVE rankings:
1. Bama. 282 yards 13 points
2. Fla. 340 yards. 20 points
4. USCe. 472 yards. 35 points
5. Vandy. 303 yards. 18 points
Against the top 5 defenses in the SEC...
we averaged 349 yards per game and 21.5 points per game.
6. UGA. 478 yards. 37 points. (1 INT returned for a TD in that game).
8. Miss. State. 361 yards. 24 points. (1 KO return for a TD in that game).
Against the AVERAGE defenses in the SEC...
we averaged 420 yards per game and 30.5 points per game.
11. Mizzou. 585 yards. 51 points
13. Kentucky. 457 yards. 37 points.
Against 2 of the WORST defenses in the SEC...
we averaged 521 yards per game and 44 points per game.
You have to be blind NOT to notice the pattern.
So YES...our offensive ranking in the SEC for the 2012 season had a lot to do with how we played against the average to below average teams--what I labeled "lower-tiered" teams-- in the SEC.
We must first compete to win the SEC...and if we're good enough to beat the best defenses in the SEC, then we'll be good enough to compete nationally against anyone.
Our 2012 offensive production against our OOC opponents:
NC state. 524 yds and 35 points
Ga. State 558 yds and 51 points
Akron. 633 yds and 47 points
Troy. 718 yds and 55 points
That's 608 yards per game average and 49.5 points per game average. That goes a LONG way to pad your overall season averages.
Many have quoted our 2012 offensive production as certain evidence that Chaney is an elite OC... But when you look at the numbers it's just obvious that there is nothing elite about him at all.
His last 2 years at UGA with Smart have only served to
highlight these facts--IMO--as UGA's offense has all but disappeared in the last two years in the 2nd halves of games against Bama and Texas.
We must first compete to win the SEC...and if we're good enough to beat the best defenses in the SEC, then we'll be good enough to compete nationally against anyone.
GO VOLS!