9/15/18 3:30pm
Business as Usual: Dawgs Dominate the Raiders
Cover Photo: Tony Walsh
By: Joshua Grosh
Dawgs Defeat Blue Raiders 49-7
The game went as planned essentially. The game was never in question, the Dawgs took an early lead, and tons of backups got playing time. Georgia did what was pretty much expected of it by not being caught sleeping and pulling a very business-like performance against MTSU. Georgia’s offense looked effective with the same grind-you-down mentality it normally has while the defense looked fairly stout in the game. The game itself served as a great warm up for the Missouri game, as both the MTSU and Missouri offenses run a spread concept. The best aspect of it is just how much Georgia limited the passing game of MTSU – for the most part bottling up a typically deep passing offense. Even the amount of rushing yards (158) surrendered to MTSU is not much to worry about since many of the yards came when the game was already well in hand by UGA. The offense didn’t show anything necessarily explosive or new so if you’re hoping for such, you may be disappointed when you finally see the game. The defense looked pretty as advertised as well.
The major takeaway from this game was that depth is plentiful on this team. Georgia has been able to play all the way down the depth chart every game this season and it will go a long way to help in the future games. The major issue going forward on offense will be the health of Terry Godwin and Isaiah Wilson. While Cade Mays has performed admirably, he has shown that he is still a freshman with some mistakes – one almost leading into what should have been a safety but turned into a fumble recovery at the two yard line. While this will serve as a great learning lesson, that will undoubtedly help in him in the future, Georgia does not need that vulnerability at the left tackle. As far as Terry Godwin’s health impact, it really affects UGA more so on a leadership role than a depth role. Godwin has been great on helping the younger receivers and is a physical receiver who helps in the running game. With the development of Tyler Simmons and Mecole Hardman, it definitely makes the issue less worrisome depth wise. Perhaps even J.J. Holloman can step up to give a great third option with potentially Demetris Robinson developing soon as a receiver.
MVPs of the Game:
Elijah Holyfield: 8 rushes for 100 yards – the first 100 yard rusher for UGA this season.
Mecole Hardman: 4 catches for 21 yards and 2 touchdowns – one on a punt return.
Look Ahead:
Next week’s game is against Missouri at Faurot Field at 12 P.M. Missouri is currently undefeated but plays Purdue tonight. They have not truly been tested against a strong team as of yet. Tonight will go a long way to seeing just how strong the new offense headed by Coach Dooley really is.
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