10/19/19 11:00pm
Dawgs Stonewall the Cats
By: Joshua Grosh
*Dawgs defeat Wildcats 21-0*
In a downpour, the Dawgs withstood and out slugged an upset-minded and desperate Wildcats team. While tonight’s game was not a godsend by any stretch of the means, the ray of sunshine would be that Georgia survived and the defense showed why it is considered one of the best in the nation (as it extends the longest streak of no rushing touchdowns given up this season). Yet, we will touch on the offense more, as usual, after the offense – that way we can end on the plus side, right? So, let’s get the most fun part out of the way.
Georgia needs to have a serious discussion this bye week regarding the offense – again. While, I will concede that Georgia should not have passed much this game in the middle of the monsoon and heavy downpour of today; Georgia still should have had the pass seem at least somewhat of a threat. For pretty much the entire game, the threat of passing was not there, and Kentucky was essentially daring Georgia to pass (yet Georgia was unable to make them pay for it). Multiple times Fromm had all day in the pocket but no one to throw it to. Multiple receivers were stuck like glue – or Fromm didn’t have the confidence to try to pick a receiver to get a win in any one on one battles. Yet, again, the caveat that this is in the middle of a downpour and likely the passing game just wasn’t going to be something that could be worked on. The run game however was a bright spot come the second quarter and on. Yes, Georgia didn’t put any points on the board until the 3rd quarter – didn’t even get a play off in Kentucky territory until the 3rd quarter in fact – but Georgia finally incorporated something we have not seen much this year: running to the outside. We finally saw Georgia work to get Swift to the outside in space where we could make use of his speed to make players miss and it helped to get Swift into a rhythm – and boy did it pay off in the fourth when the running lanes began to open-up. At this point, Swift needs to get more touches and the more we include the outside runs, the better. At this point, my best hope is that Georgia uses this bye week to work on the passing game and on the wide receivers. Something simply must change or be schemed up if Georgia is going to survive the next half of the season.
Now to the bright spot, defense. This defense is national championship quality and can likely keep Georgia in most games. The passing defense, while aided by the storm, forced Kentucky to stay completely one dimensional, unable to even complete a pass until the 4th quarter. The pressure was constantly in the back field – just unable to wrap up an extremely athletic quarterback who was running for his life and being the only real life to a completely dead Kentucky offense. While Georgia did give up a season high of 160 yards on the ground, most of it came from Kentucky’s QB who had to pull Houdini act after Houdini act to keep the plays alive. This defense is stingy, and it can get pressure on quarterbacks if allowed to cut loose – and on a less mobile quarterback, Georgia will get home with the blitz. If this defense can get just more help from this offense, Georgia will be a scary team.
MVP:
D’Andre Swift: 21 carries, 179 yards, 2 TDs with a long of 39 yards.
Ricard LeCounte: 6 Tackles, 2 solo, 1 fumble recovery.
Next Opponent:
Georgia gets the benefit of a bye week – hopefully to get a healthy and to work out the demons in the passing game. Georgia’s next opponent will be the reviled, 7-1 Florida Gators in what is expected to be a clash of top 10 teams and possibly the deciding game for the SEC East after Mizzou lost to Vanderbilt today. Rest easy Dawgs and prepare for a monumental clash in Jacksonville in two weeks.
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