ATHENS — Saturday left no doubt.
If Georgia somehow ends up facing Ball State in the College Football Playoff, the Cardinals are in a lot of trouble. And especially so if they can’t avoid throwing interceptions that ricochet off their tight end’s ankle and directly into the arms of a Bulldogs linebacker.
You can take that to the bank.
Georgia obtained what it wanted and perhaps needed on a sweaty afternoon inside Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs worked through 126 scrimmage plays as they sharpen their knives for their SEC opener against South Carolina on Saturday. With the Cardinals replacing the originally scheduled game against impending SEC-member Oklahoma, Georgia additionally benefited from facing an opponent against whom the margin for error allowed for mistakes.
No. 1 Georgia 45, Ball State 3. The many hundreds remaining in Sanford Stadium at game’s end rejoiced over the Bulldogs’ 19th consecutive win, perhaps some of them whispering a prayer of thanks for having avoided melting in the late-summer sun.
Perhaps best known as the alma mater of David Letterman, Ball State fulfilled its two-game obligation to provide content for SEC Network with 17 points and more than $3 million in the bank account, having lost 44-14 to Kentucky a week earlier.
Before the game, coach Kirby Smart expressed his humble wish for no turnovers and explosive plays from the offense, a limitation of big gains by Ball State’s offense and some plays made out of special teams.
His requests largely were granted. All but one of the 12 Bulldogs possessions ended with a UGA touchdown, punt, field-goal attempt or kneel-down. Led by quarterback Carson Beck, the offense generated eight pass plays of 15 yards or more and five run plays that went 10 yards or more.
Compare that with 11 and three, respectively, against FCS Tennessee-Martin last week. (An FBS team playing in the MAC, Ball State is markedly better than Tennessee-Martin.)
Smart described himself as “extremely pleased” with the play of Beck after his first two career starts. Perhaps his best play of the day was a 7-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to a wide-open Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint in the face of a six-man blitz.
The defense allowed two plays of 15 yards more (both after halftime) and created three takeaways, all by interception. Ball State didn’t take a snap inside the UGA 40 until its third drive of the third quarter. Georgia’s shutout attempt lasted until the 9:05 mark of the fourth quarter, when Ball State knocked in a field goal for its lone points.
And walk-on Mekhi Mews supplied additional fireworks after his 54-yard touchdown catch in the season opener, outflanking Ball State’s punt-coverage unit for a 69-yard punt-return score for the game’s opening score.
The 42-point blowout did have blemishes that would have mattered more against a more talented outfit than Ball State, whose starting 22 included eight players so lightly recruited that they didn’t have 247Sports Composite ratings.
A hard hit on the opening drive dispossessed Beck of the football (UGA recovered), a failure to adhere to a coaching point Smart said he had delivered to Beck “all week” about holding onto the ball if he was going to run. After that play, kicker Peyton Woodring missed a field-goal attempt from 28 yards.
Wide receivers missed blocks in the run game. UGA’s only turnover was a deep ball that Beck threw to a blanketed target. The offense didn’t score until the 10:16 mark of the second quarter, on its third drive.
On defense, open-field tackles were missed. Ball State receivers got open downfield for passes that might have been completed with a more powerfully armed quarterback or more skilled receivers. The defense couldn’t fulfill Smart’s objective to create a fumble. He also wasn’t thrilled with the run defense.
Smart said that some of his defensive players are having difficulty absorbing the tactical changes that their coaches are giving them on the sidelines and applying them on the field.
“It’s like the little game Memory,” Smart said. “You pick the little card up and you see the cherry and you go over here and you pick the little card up and you’ve got to remember what was where. Like, what was that? Where was that at? We’ve got guys that can’t play Memory good.”
The Bulldogs’ second-quarter breakaway – a 31-0 ambush that broke open a scoreless game – was aided heavily by three second-quarter interceptions. One was on a superior play by Malaki Starks on a downfield throw that quarterback Kadin Semonza never should have attempted.
The two others were pure charity from the football gods. Linebacker Chaz Chambliss intercepted one of them, but it’s more like the pass intercepted him. Semonza threw a pass that pinballed off his tight end’s ankle right at Chambliss, setting up the Bulldogs at the Ball State 30-yard line.
Two drives later, Semonza threw a slant that bounced off his target and bounced up, allowing defensive back Tykee Smith to snag it out of the air and return possession to UGA at the Ball State 20.
Smart called the two plays – which directly led to touchdowns – lucky. Asked if he had ever seen an interception like the one made by Chambliss, Ball State coach Mike Neu, in his third decade as a coach, responded, “Can’t say that I have, to be honest with you, but things happen.”
There was enough for the most pessimistic Bulldogs fan to prophesy UGA’s impending doom.
“Kirby says we can’t play Memory good. Hello, Music City Bowl.”
But, all told, it was a useful rehearsal. Both sides need work, as does special teams. They did a year ago, too, when the Bulldogs had to labor against Kent State (out of the same conference as Ball State) but somehow won their second national championship in a row.
It should be said that Georgia did dominate the game Saturday. The Bulldogs outgained Ball State 386-224. When the Cardinals played Kentucky a week ago, the Wildcats’ advantage was 354-295.
“Georgia’s pretty special,” said Neu, asked to compare the Bulldogs with Kentucky. “They’re the champs for a reason. You saw that on display (Saturday).”
On to South Carolina.
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