In close ball games, someone has to stand up and make the plays needed to win. Georgia-North Carolina was no different.
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Fortunately for the Georgia Bulldogs, there were plenty of players that made those plays. Here are the five biggest performers in Georgia’s 33-24 win over North Carolina.
1. Nick Chubb
Thirty-two carries for 222 yards and two touchdowns speaks for itself. And Georgia needed all of them. The downfield passing game for the most part was ineffective, but Chubb’s performance kept North Carolina from hogging the momentum.
Georgia remained in the game because of Nick Chubb. And eventually, he broke off the huge run that gave the Bulldogs a two-score lead.
His performance is multiplied be the season-ending injury he had last year. Many doubted how well he would be in his return and if he would ever perform like he did prior to his injury. His doubters are now silent.
2. Isaiah McKenzie
As a team, Georgia completed 13 passes for 185 yards. McKenzie had 122 of those yards, and they were all important, clutch catches.
He caught Georgia’s first pass from Grayson Lambert to convert a third down. Georgia later scored on that drive. He took an end around pitch for a touchdown that cut North Carolina’s lead to just three points.
He had the catch to set up a 2nd-and-6 and the 51-yard catch a play later. Those two led to William Ham’s field goal that gave Georgia the lead.
McKenzie has become more than just the “Human Joystick;” he is a play maker and a leader all over the field.
3. Roquan Smith
Kirby Smith has hyped Roquan Smith up in comments after practices, and Smith lived up to most of that hype.
The sophomore, making his first career start, had six tackles including the one that almost blew the roof off of the Georgia Dome a few months before it’s actually scheduled to blow.
Backed up inside their 5-yard line, North Carolina dialed up a screen pass that Smith read immediately. He made a fast dash towards Elijah Hood and knocked the running back out-of-bounds two yards deep into the end zone for a safety. That brought Georgia within a point of tying the ball game.
The ceiling is high for Smith. In similar speed to what he made that huge safety with, he is reaching that ceiling.
4. Maurice Smith
He’s been with the team the shortest amount of time, but he is one of the most experienced. Not just in years (he’s a senior graduate transfer), but he knows the defensive system Georgia plays because he followed Kirby Smart from Alabama.
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But it takes more than experience to make the plays Maurice Smith made in Georgia’s secondary. After being beat by a step on a deep pass, he made one long dive to break up what would have been a touchdown.
Later in the game he broke up another deep pass with a one-handed leap, that saved Georgia’s defense from a 1st-and-goal situation.
Besides that, he wasn’t tested by Mitch Trubisky all that much.
5. Christian Payne
On 44 designed runs, Georgia ran for 307 yards. A majority of those yards came with Payne as the lead blocker.
Fullbacks are often overlooked. But with 307 yards, three touchdowns, and a 6.4 yards per carry average, you can’t overlook the lead blocker.
He didn’t need a hand-off or a reception to make an impact. He led the way for most of the teams biggest plays.