When postgame interviews continue to devolve into debates about the true definition of the word “elite,” you know things must be going right.
That happened again Saturday in the aftermath of the No. 2-ranked Georgia Bulldogs’ latest conquest. This one came at the expense of No. 18 Auburn, 34-10 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The victory saw the Bulldogs (6-0 overall, 4-0 SEC) log a fifth consecutive win the SEC’s oldest, continuously played series, aptly known as the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
As Georgia got ready to head back to Athens to begin preparations for No. 16-ranked Kentucky on Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS), coach Kirby Smart was asked, again, if his latest team was truly elite.
“You know, elite can be a loose term,” said Smart, who improved to 22-11 against Top 25 teams as Georgia’s coach, including 3-0 this year. “I thought they we were elite at times. But I’d never use the term elite for it us. We didn’t force turnovers enough to be elite. I thought offensively we made some ‘explosives’ at the right time. What we were: We were elite (in) toughness and we were elite (in) composure.”
That goes double for Stetson Bennett.
Filling in again for injured starter JT Daniels, the senior quarterback completed 14 of 20 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns against the Tigers. Bennett added 41 yards rushing, including 30 yards on a critical third-quarter play. He improves to 8-2 as Georgia’s primary quarterback, 7-2 in games he actually started.
More amazing is Bennett was just one of several players having to fill in for injured starters Saturday. Once again, the Bulldogs were without several of their front-line receivers.
“It’s a tribute to how this coaching staff recruits,” Bennett said. “I think it’s a tribute to how it’s always next man up around here. I mean, games don’t stop because somebody’s hurt. It doesn’t matter who’s hurt; we’ve still got to win this game. I think everybody’s bought-in to that.”
Indeed, Ladd McConkey proved to be the latest young player to answer the bell for the Bulldogs. The 6-foot, 185-pound freshman got his first career start at the “Z,” or flanker, position, and responded with 135 yards on five receptions. Sixty of those yards came on a touchdown catch midway through the third quarter that gave Georgia a 24-3 lead.
McConkey was filling in for sophomore Jermaine Burton, who missed the game because of a groin pull suffered earlier in the week. The Bulldogs also got a touchdown catch out of freshman Adonai “A.D.” Mitchell, who was starting at split end because of injuries to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and George Pickens.
Also, senior tackle Jamaree Salyer went down with an ankle injury in the first half. Redshirt freshman Broderick Jones took over and finished the game as the Bulldogs piled up 432 total yards and Bennett was sacked only once. Some tried-and-true players came through as well. Zamir White scored two touchdowns as led the Bulldogs with 79 of 201 rushing yards.
Meanwhile, Georgia sacked Auburn’s elusive quarterback Bo Nix four times and limited the Tigers to 318 total yards, 46 rushing. The Tigers fall to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in SEC play.
“We always think of ourselves as elite,” said senior nose guard Jordan Davis, who collected a season-high five tackles Saturday. “We never try to get too high or too low on ourselves. You know, I feel like elite is just doing whatever you have to do to win. There’s definitely some plays we wish we could have back, some calls we’d like to take back. But, at the end of the day, we win, and that’s elite in my book.”
The defense also found itself at less than full strength. Senior Christopher Smith, the starter at strong safety, went out in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. All that happened then was walk-on Dan Jackson stepped in and led the Bulldogs with six tackles.
Senior cornerback Ameer Speed also missed the game with an injury, leaving redshirt freshman Kelee Ringo to play almost every defensive snap on the boundary.
“We’re pushing all those guys to be positionally diverse,” Smart said. “We’re going to figure out what our best players can do and let them function and play the best brand of football we can.”
McConkey’s 60-yard touchdown reception at the 6:01 mark of the third quarter proved an important score as the Tigers immediately went back down the field and scored on their ensuing possession. Bo Nix completed back-to-back passes for 31 and 26 yards to Caylin Newton and Demetris Robertson, which quickly got Auburn down to the Georgia 15. On third-and-one from the 6, Auburn’s Tank Bigsby scooted outside left from a scrum in the middle of the line and shook a tackle attempt for a touchdown. It was the first touchdown given up by the Bulldogs since South Carolina scored on a 36-yard pass in the fourth quarter of a Georgia blowout Sept. 18.
The touchdown reignited the sellout crowd of 87,451 and the momentum shifted hard to the Tigers’ sideline. That made the Bulldogs’ ensuing offensive possession critical.
Bennett came through again.
The Bulldogs faced third-and-2 at the Auburn 42. That’s when Bennett decided to keep the ball on a zone-read play and rambled 31 yards down to the Auburn 11. Ultimately, Georgia was unable to put the ball in the Tigers’ end zone, but Jack Podlesny’s 21-yard field goal gave the Bulldogs a three-score lead, 27-10, with 14:52 to play.
That would prove to be plenty as Georgia’s defense came up with its biggest play of the game next. The Tigers faced third-and-4 at their 31-yard line when the Bulldogs called an all-out blitz. Linebacker Quay Walker got through the middle clean and dropped Nix for a 15-yard loss.
Taking over at their 36 on the ensuing possession, Georgia used 10 running plays to effectively put the game away. The last run came on third-and-2 at the 10, and Zamir White broke the tackle attempt of Auburn linebacker Zakoby McClain two yards deep in the backfield and burst through the middle of the line for a back-breaking touchdown. The PAT made the score 34-10 with 7:11 to play.
Pretty good for a bunch of backups.
“Doesn’t seem to matter to me who’s in there,” Bennett said. “We call the same stuff we always call.”
Seems elite.
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