Play after play, player after player, Georgia had an answer.
Responding to injuries, schematic adjustments, or simply to keep players rested, the Bulldogs' revolving door of substitutions never stopped in Saturday night's 23-17 win over Notre Dame. At every position, it seemed like Georgia was able to find a solution behind its original starter. On the other side of the ball, Notre Dame was struggling to find solutions of its own.
“It’s more depth than we’ve seen in a long time,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly admitted after the loss in Athens.
For Georgia, the answers were most noticeable with injuries. First, Tyrique McGhee replaced Eric Stokes at cornerback. Then, Justin Shaffer subbed for Solomon Kindley at left guard. Divaad Wilson stepped in for Mark Webb. When UGA was down a man, the shoes were filled.
“One guy goes down and nobody’s worried about who’s coming in,” said offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson, who came off the bench himself. “It’s not like anyone who’s coming in is a liability. It’s honestly special to have this kind of depth.”
Special, maybe, but in big games like this, depth is more than just a luxury. It’s a necessity.
“We need it,” quarterback Jake Fromm said. “Next-guy-up mentality, that’s what this team is built around. It’s a team full of warriors and they’re guys who are ready to fill a role when we need it.”
All over the field, throughout the entire game, that depth came “in waves,” according to Kelly. In the first half it happened on a reshuffling of the offensive line. In the second half it was most noticeable from the defensive front. In platoons, Georgia rolled players in and out among the front seven. With fresh legs, those waves hit Notre Dame like a typhoon late in the game.
“We play a lot of players on defense,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “It looked like we were fresher than they were in the fourth quarter, and it was able to disrupt them offensively in the end.”
This won’t be a singular occasion. In a schedule that includes Florida, Auburn, Texas A&M and a possible SEC championship game, Georgia will likely need to go deep into its roster week after week.
“That’s why you have depth in your program,” Smart said. “Because if you don’t have that depth, you may have a bigger dropoff at that position and it could be the difference in the game.”
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