ATHENS — The Georgia Bulldogs may have to wait a while before ushering in the spread era of college football. The No. 5-ranked Bulldogs (4-1) got all the points they needed on the opening drive Saturday against Kentucky, then rode the defense to a 14-3 victory in Lexington.
But there was no complaining in the Georgia locker room. With players falling to injury right and left and others unable to make the trip, they were just happy to get back to Athens in one piece.
“Every time we play them, it’s a physical war,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “It’s just tough. They played really stout along the offensive and defensive lines.”
Unlike years past, there will be no off week before the Bulldogs take on Florida for what lately has become the SEC East elimination game. The No. 10-ranked Gators and Vanderbilt had to shut down for two weeks due to a COVID-19 outbreak, resulting in an SEC schedule reshuffle.
Florida (3-1) returned to action Saturday night and, while still shorthanded, played well enough to score a 41-17 win over Missouri. Two Gators were ejected for their parts in a halftime melee that emptied the benches of both teams. At the time, they were considered flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, which do not carry over to the next game. However, the SEC said Saturday night it will review the video to determine if further action is appropriate.
Here are some other takeaways from Saturday for Georgia:
No explosions here
Georgia will still be looking for that elusive “explosiveness” on offense as it prepares for the Gators this week. The Bulldogs scored only on their opening possessions of the first and second half against the Wildcats. There was a 33-yard completion to Darnell Washington and a 22-yard run by Zamir White in between.
Meanwhile, Georgia is averaging 19 points in the last two games. But Smart insists the offense is working fine.
“I definitely wouldn’t say we were struggling, not at all,” Smart said. “… They just didn’t get many opportunities.”
They didn’t. The Bulldogs had only eight offensive possessions thanks to the way both they and the Wildcats were playing. Both teams kept the ball on the ground, which kept the clock and the yard-markers moving.
But Georgia failing to get any points out of six of those possessions — or in just 25% — is not only shoddy, but a similar performance against Florida might spell doom. The Gators are averaging 42 points a game.
“We wanted to score every single possession we got the ball and do it by any means necessary,” Smart said defiantly. “Whether that was run the ball, throw the ball, you take what they give you. You know? And that’s what we were doing.”
Stuck with Stet
The Bulldogs stuck with starting quarterback Stetson Bennett on Saturday even after he threw two more interceptions. That’s five in the last two games for the redshirt junior from Blackshear.
Smart was asked if he considered bringing in backups D’Wan Mathis or JT Daniels.
“No, there was no discussion about it because … he also did a lot of good things in the run game,” Smart said. “He pulled a ball and scored with it. He put us in the right run plays. He handled motion, he handled clock, he did some good things. He didn’t get a chance to throw the ball an awful lot today because we were able to run the ball.”
Georgia attempted just 13 passes in 57 plays against the Wildcats. But after completing 63% of his throws for 689 yards, 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in the first three games, Bennett is 27-of-53 (50.9%) for 400 yards with 5 interceptions and 2 TDs in the last two.
“I’ve just got to fix the things I messed up on,” Bennett said. “I thought I played well other than those two passes. … One just got tipped, the other one I was trying to throw it away and didn’t throw it far enough. Other than that, we’ve just got to score more points.”
Credit: Bryan Woolston
Credit: Bryan Woolston
Defensive atonement
While Kentucky’s offense will never be mistaken for Alabama’s, the Bulldogs defenders did leave Lexington with some of their confidence restored. After giving up 564 yards to the Crimson Tide, Georgia allowed less than half that (229) to the Wildcats.
Linebacker Nakobe Dean led the way with 14 tackles and safety Richard LeCounte added 13, a fumble recovery and three pass break-ups.
The Bulldogs will encounter a much different style of offense from Florida. Gators' quarterback Kyle Trask established a school record Saturday by having thrown now eight touchdown passes in the first four games.
“We really haven’t got a chance to look at Florida yet and all the things they do,” LeCounte said. “But there’s also a lot we can improve on as a defense like tackling, being able to stop the run more. Other than that, we’ll go back to the drawing board tomorrow and clean up what we need to fix and be ready Monday to start our preparation for Florida.”
Red Cross report
Neither Georgia nor Florida will have much time to recover for this year’s game, and both teams are battered and bruised.
The Bulldogs’ defense took several hits Saturday, losing defensive linemen Jordan Davis (shoulder) and Julian Rochester (knee), linebacker Quay Walker (concussion) and cornerback Lewis Cine (ankle) to injuries in the game from which they were unable to return.
Smart was unable to say what the prognosis is for the coming week right after the game. Whatever it is, he said, Georgia will deal.
“That’s what you have those other players for,” Smart said. “That’s why you have 85 scholarships. You get the next guy up and ready to go play. That’s why we rep those guys. That’s why we train those guys.”
Also, the Bulldogs went to Lexington without their top play-making receiver in sophomore George Pickens (shoulder) and leading kick returner Kendall Milton (knee).
“We’re hopeful that they get back,” Smart said. “They both practiced during the week but just weren’t able to go. They weren’t well enough to be effective and play, so we went with other guys. … Hopefully we get them back this week.”
‘Zeus’ gets loose
Well, not completely loose. Zamir White — known to fans as “Zeus” — did manage to record career highs for carries (26) and rushing yardage (136) against Kentucky. But he still awaits the truly “home-run” run. His 22-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was his longest run of the day and 29 yards remains the career long for White.
But he ran hard, ran consistently and continues to protect the football.
“I’ve got so much pride in Zamir,” Smart said. “He cares so much about his teammates. He does everything the right way, he’s a leader, he never gripes about touches. He just runs really hard when he gets the ball and plays well on special teams. He’s the ultimate team player. It couldn’t happen to a better guy.”
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