ATHENS – You better be ready to play on the road in the SEC.
Everybody knows that, but that well-known fact was reinforced in triplicate on Saturday. The Vanderbilt Commodores registered the shocker of the year – and maybe this century – when it knocked off No. 1-ranked Alabama 40-35 in Nashville. Early Saturday, No. 9 Missouri went down hard on the road against Texas A&M 41-10 in College Station. And in the conference’s nightcap on ABC, the No. 4 Tennessee Vols were stunned in Fayetteville, Ark., in a 19-14 upset at the hands of Sam Pittman’s Arkansas Razorbacks.
It was the first time in history that a pair of Top 5 SEC teams fell to unranked opponents on the same day.
In the middle of all that chaos came Georgia’s home game against Auburn. That the Bulldogs took care of business at home 31-13 against a desperate and determined rival was not lost on coach Kirby Smart. All week, he warned of the Tigers’ potential when they don’t turn to ball over, which they didn’t. And all year, every year, he warns of humility always being a week away in the SEC.
“Nothing shocks me about our league,” said Smart, who arrived late for his post-game press conference Saturday after watching the ending of Alabama-Vandy. “Texas A&M-Missouri (too). Welcome to the SEC. It’s hard every week. And I got a feeling that it’s not going to stop.”
Georgia will be hyper-focused on not letting the same thing happen to them next weekend. The circumstances are ripe for a misstep. The Bulldogs are expected to be a massive favorite over Mississippi State and will need to be mindful not to look ahead to its trip to face No. 2 Texas on Oct. 19. Meanwhile, the Maroon Dogs (1-4, 0-2 SEC) will come to Athens rested and well-rehearsed after a bye week in Starkville.
The key?
“Consistency in performance,” said Smart, who has not lost back-to-back games since his first season in 2016. “When you ride the wave of emotion, you can get caught on the bottom of the wave sometimes. And we’re just trying to do this [moves hand in a flat motion]. Just trying to keep getting better and keep getting better.”
Here are five things we learned Saturday:
Bobo comes through
Drew Bobo, the oldest son of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, got his first career start on Saturday. The 6-foot-5, 305-pound third-year sophomore started at center ahead of junior Jared Wilson.
“Drew is a tremendous athlete,” Smart said Saturday. “People don’t give him enough credit for second-level blocks, getting downfield, effort. I mean he is probably one of our highest-effort players because every play. He’s running down field to go hit somebody.”
Wilson apparently is dealing with a foot injury. The 6-3, 310-pound junior had to leave the Alabama game for one play due to an injury and battled Achillies tendinitis during preseason camp. He was listed as a “game-time decision” in the SEC’s availability report on Saturday. Wilson came in for a couple of plays, but Bobo played well, which allowed Wilson to rest and heal.
“I was really proud of Drew and it was a great moment,” Smart said. “He was a ring bearer at my wedding. I’ve just got a lot of respect for Drew and the way he works, and to see him grow up and just be the great man and person that he is, I was happy for him to have success today.”
Senior linebacker Smael Mondon missed Saturday’s game with a foot injury that left him on the sideline on crutches and wearing a walking boot. Georgia saw the return over London Humphreys from a bout of mononucleosis. He caught two passes for 40 yards, including a 25-yard reception.
Home crowd disappoints Smart
Georgia’s game was closer Saturday than the final score indicated. But after the Bulldogs surged ahead 28-10 in the first few seconds of the fourth quarter, a large portion of the sell-out crowd of 93,033 made their ways to the exits. Particularly surprising was the number of students that left the stadium.
It was substantial enough for Smart to notice it during the game and comment on it afterward.
“To be honest, I’m a little disappointed,” Smart told sideline reporter D.J. Shockley during his postgame interview in the Bulldogs’ locker room. “I’m probably disappointed in our fans for the first time. I thought there was a lack of affecting the game crowd-noise wise, passion and energy. Hey, it was hot, but our guys have full-pads on and helmets and they’re pushing. We’re trying to have a home-field advantage like we’ve (dealt with) when we’ve played teams and I can’t get crowd noise? That’s just frustrating.”
Georgia encountered one of the top five away crowds of Smart’s career the previous Saturday in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide rode the momentum to a 28-0 lead in the first 18 minutes of play before the Bulldogs finally settled down and played well in the second half. The Bulldogs would a grab one-point lead late in the fourth quarter but held it for only 13 seconds before falling behind again.
“If we’re honest about it, I think we’ve got to do a better job as fans. I know I’ve got to do a better job as a coach, but we need these fans to support us and get behind them.”
Dirty Dan’s day
Georgia’s “Dirty Dan” Jackson was at it again on Saturday. The walk-on defensive back turned starting safety led the Bulldogs with seven tackles on Saturday and, once again, made one of biggest plays in the game. Jackson busted through the left side of the line to block Auburn’s long field-goal attempt to end the first half.
That was the second blocked kick of Jackson’s career with the Bulldogs. The fifth-year senior blocked a punt against Arkansas during the 2021 season, which Zamir White recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.
Jackson also stayed busy making plays on defense. The 6-foot, 195-pound safety led the Bulldogs with seven tackles and added a pass-breakup. This came a week after pacing Georgia with a career-high 10 tackles against Alabama. Jackson is tied with linebacker CJ Allen for the team lead with 26 total tackles this season.
“This is one of the greatest stories in college football that nobody talks about,” Smart said. “I mean, the guy didn’t walk-on because we called him; he got in school here and said, ‘hey, coach, I’d like to play football at Georgia.’ Like, we didn’t recruit him. .... This guy showed up at our doorstep and is a starter, competitor, blocking field goals. And he didn’t have to come back this year.”
‘Hard yards’
Slowly but surely, Trevor Etienne is rounding into the running back the Bulldogs thought they were getting when he transferred from Florida this year.
Not only did the junior from Jennings, Louisiana, lead the Bulldogs with a season-high 88 yards rushing, but he also recorded a career high six receptions out of the backfield for another 36 yards of production.
More importantly, Etienne got the tough yards Georgia needed on Saturday. He scored a one-yard touchdown in the third quarter, a two-yard TD in the first quarter and recorded a critical 1-yard gain on fourth-and-one late in the game.
“The touchdowns were great, but that’s not what it’s about. It’s about the hard yards,” Smart remarked. “It’s about the third-and-10 catch that makes it fourth-and-one. It’s about the fourth-and-one. He’s earned really hard yards.”
Etienne was just happy to help.
“I’m just trying my best to be a complete back,” he said. “You know, whatever it takes to win; whatever it takes for the team. Anything they ask me to do, I’m going to go out there and try my best to do it.”
More takeaways
Another takeaway from Saturday’s game was Georgia’s lack of takeaways. Auburn came to Athens last in the nation in turnover margin at minus-11. But, once again, the Bulldogs failed to produce a takeaway and have very few on the season. They’ve produced just two fumble recoveries and two interceptions in four games (0.8 pg). ...
The Bulldogs have been dominant on special teams this season. Peyton Woodring made a 47-yard field goal to remain perfect on the season (7-7), Brett Thorson averaged 42.3 yards on three punts, including two inside the 20 and Anthony Evans returned a punt and two kickoffs for a total of 30 yards. ...
Georgia continues to be penalized at a higher rate than usual. The Bulldogs were flagged another seven times for 85 yards on Saturday. Included in that total was a pair of personal fouls on offense on the same that took them out of the red zone. Georgia has been penalized 38 times for 375 yards this season. That’s an average of 7.6 flags and 75 yards a game.
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