Georgia Football survives scare from Nicholls State
By Jay Hawkins
It wasn’t pretty, and it was downright scary at times, but the Georgia Football team found a way to beat Nicholls State, 26-24.
“We can’t let rankings get to our head.”
That is what Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said in his post-game press conference after the game. Unfortunately, their lofty ranking after a big opening win against North Carolina seemed to get to the Georgia Football team’s head in this game.
Although the Bulldogs won in the end, it should not nearly have been this close. Nicholls State fought hard, but that’s still not an excuse. The offensive line struggled mightily in this game. The defense was inconsistent. Nick Chubb was held under a hundred yards rushing for only the second time as a full-time starter in his college career. The only other time was last year against Tennessee, when he only rushed one time before he sustained the gruesome knee injury that kept him out the rest of the year.
The game, itself, started out positively for Georgia, as new quarterback starter Jacob Eason led a solid drive that culminated with an early touchdown being scored by Nick Chubb on a six-yard run. Then, on the next drive, the defense came up big, as corner Juwuan Briscoe made an athletic interception of Nicholls State quarterback Chase Fourcade’s pass. However, Georgia’s offense could not do anything with the ball and were forced to punt.
Georgia held the Colonel’s offense the following drive, got the ball back and started marching down the field, but thanks to a holding penalty on the offensive line and a big sack by Nicholls State, the Bulldogs were forced to send out William Ham to kick a 52-yard field goal. He missed it, but he answered back as he made a field goal from 23-yards out mid-way through the second quarter.
The next Nicholls State drive ended after three plays, as Fourcade threw another interception. This time it was Georgia strong safety Dominick Sanders that made the big play.
It seemed that the Bulldogs were slowly getting momentum back until star running back Nick Chubb fumbled three drives later, which ultimately led to a Nicholls State touchdown. The half expired with Georgia taking a 10-7 lead heading into the locker room.
Georgia came out in the second half looking to improve on their first half performance and were promising at first. The Bulldogs forced Nicholls State to a three-and-out on the first series of the second half and scored via a William Ham field goal little over a minute later.
Unfortunately, Nicholls State answered back the next drive and scored a touchdown via a 20-yard pass to Nicholls wide receiver Jarrell Rogers from Fourcade. With a converted extra point, this put the visitors ahead, 14-13, on the scoreboard.
Fans in the stadium became silent as the Dawgs were down to a FCS team. Georgia made them feel better soon after though, as Jacob Eason threw a pass to Isaiah McKenzie, which McKenzie caught, spun, and sprinted to the end zone for a 66-yard touchdown.
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Then, Nicholls State quarterback Devin Powell coughed up the football, as he was hit hard from his blind side by Georgia’s Aaron Davis. Georgia outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter picked up the loose ball and returned it 24-yards for the touchdown. This made the score, 26-14, in favor of the home team.
Georgia forced Nicholls State to punt, and the Bulldogs looked like they were about to run away with this game as Eason led a drive deep into Colonel territory. However, that was not the case as Eason threw a pass that was tipped up by a receiver and intercepted by Nicholls defensive back Jeff Hall.
That led to a Nicholls State field goal. Both teams could not get anything done on offense on the next two drives, but Nicholls State got a huge break when UGA punt returner Isaiah McKenzie muffed a punt, which the Colonels recovered on the Georgia nine. Nicholls State scored a touchdown to make it, 26-24 Georgia, with 3:24 remaining in the game.
Fortunately, Georgia ran out the clock (not without a crucial third-down pass from Greyson Lambert to McKenzie to move the chains) and held on to defeat Nicholls State, 26-24.
The main thing is, man, don’t underestimate anybody.
Overall, it was a sloppy game from Georgia. There were many mistakes made in the game by the Dawgs, and it was not a good performance. Although Eason didn’t do bad in his first collegiate start (11-for-20 for 204 yards, a touchdown and an interception), he was pulled for Lambert late in the game. (After the game, Smart said that the quarterback position battle is still ongoing at this point).
Georgia’s Dominick Sanders, when asked by me at the end of the game on what was one big thing the team could take away from this game, said,
“The main thing is, man, don’t underestimate anybody. This team (Nicholls State) came out with the heart of a lion and ready to eat. They came out trying to punish us. We came out with the right mindset because we didn’t underestimate them, but the main thing is staying focused. You know, at half time the game was pretty close, but our main thing was keeping our heads up. Don’t let what’s outside get in because we know we’re a better team than them, but they came out ready to play.”
Georgia hopes to learn from the many mistakes they made in this game and improve moving forward. They better. The Bulldogs will travel to Columbia, Mo., for their first SEC game against the Missouri Tigers next week.