Georgia Football Survives Scare Against GA Southern
The Georgia football team needed overtime Saturday night to finish off the feisty Georgia Southern Eagles.
Related: Georgia Football: Sweet, Sweet Tiger Meat
All week the Bulldog faithful kept hearing how the game against Georgia Southern should be a good game. In casual conversation with a stranger that statement went in one ear and out the other, and it was followed with a less-than-thought-provoking response of “yeah it should.”
It seems after Saturday night’s nail bitter that Dawgs fans should have taken that conversation a bit more seriously.
The bout between the Bulldogs and Eagles was the final home game for a senior class that has produced four bowl appearances (two wins), one SEC East championship, and a chance at three 10-win season (barring a win next Saturday against Georgia Tech.
More from Georgia Football
- Georgia Football: Top 5 Nick Chubb Moments at Georgia
- Georgia Football: Know the enemy UAB Blazers
- Georgia Football: Should laundry list of injuries be a cause to panic?
- Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina
- Georgia football: Sunday afternoon thoughts and feelings
As each of the seniors were announced over the loudspeaker and they made their final jog out of the tunnel as members of the Georgia football team, 90,000-plus fans were once again reminded of the loyalty and dedication that so many student-athletes at the university have to the institution.
Cheers rang loudly for standouts Jordan Jenkins and Malcolm Mitchell. But, the two players that received the biggest cheers were fan favorites Justin Scott-Wesley and Keith Marshall. Both have college stories of early success that were shattered by derailing injuries, which happened to have taken place on the same day in Knoxville, Tennessee two seasons ago.
As the opening kickoff flew through the night sky in Athens, first quarter optimism stung in the veins of Georgia fans. Was this the game we would start fast? It absolutely was.
Following a great opening return by Reggie Davis, Georgia raced down the field with a mixture of effective passing by Greyson Lambert and runs by Sony Michel. Then, Isaiah McKenzie continued his scoring ways and took a sweep play into the end zone from 23 yards out. The offensive problems for the Dawgs were solved, or so they thought.
More from Dawn of the Dawg
- Georgia Football: Top 5 Nick Chubb Moments at Georgia
- Georgia Football: Know the enemy UAB Blazers
- Nick Chubb is America’s running back, and he will return
- Georgia Football: Should laundry list of injuries be a cause to panic?
- Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina
They next two quarters was the same old disarray the team had been used to all year. The defense kept the team in the game, while the offense could not sustain drives. When they would put together a few first downs, they would end up fumbling in Georgia Southern territory.
Down 17-14 heading into the fourth quarter, the sense of panic started creeping into those once optimistic minds. Slowly but surely the Dawgs drove down the field and asked senior Marshall Morgan to pick the team up. His up and down career was highlighted by a 43-yard field goal with 6:06 left in the game to tie the score.
After the Bulldogs stopped the Eagles to get the ball back with under a minute left in regulation, a series of short pass plays had Georgia 25 yards away from field goal range with 15 seconds left. Even with one timeout, Mark Richt decided to let the clock run out further exemplifying his lack of confidence in the offensive unit.
Georgia won the toss in overtime and elected to go on defense first, and that was when linebacker Leonard Floyd was released. Shades of the final defensive drive against LSU in 2013 sparked when Floyd took over in the extra frame. On first and second down, Floyd burst through the line and recorded two tackles for loss. Then as the Eagles were set for a fourth down and short attempt, Floyd once again came through for the Dawgs.
Those three plays showed exactly why Floyd is so valuable to the team.
With Georgia only needing a field goal to win thanks to the defense, Sony Michel ran up the middle on the first play of the drive for a 25-yard touchdown. The Dawgs survived!
The team rushed the field as if they had just beaten the No. 1 ranked team in the country, but this was just Georgia Southern. To their credit they have been through a great deal of adversity this season. The notion that a win is a win was evident Saturday night.
Georgia is now just two wins away from a 10-win season, something that seemed unprecedented a month ago. A win over rival Georgia Tech next Saturday will sit extremely well with Bulldog fans.
Regardless of the way the game went, Georgia was thankful to get a win. They, along with all Georgia fans, owe gratitude to all of the senior players that put their trust and dedication into this program that so many know and love.