Dawn of the Dawg
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Contrary to what we thought, Georgia’s offensive line hasn’t improved

By Kyle Funderburk

Oct 15, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb (27) runs against Vanderbilt Commodores defensive end Jonathan Wynn (49) during the second half at Sanford Stadium. Vanderbilt defeated Georgia 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb (27) runs against Vanderbilt Commodores defensive end Jonathan Wynn (49) during the second half at Sanford Stadium. Vanderbilt defeated Georgia 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Georgia Football run game was shut down by Vanderbilt on Saturday on route do a 17-16  homecoming loss.

Related Story: Why the Bulldogs lost to Vanderbilt

The offensive line looked really good against South Carolina and Tennessee and that lead many to believe that they had improved after bad performances against Nicholls State, Missouri and Ole Miss.

The running game went from getting stuffed at the line on almost every down, to picking up big chunks of yards when they lined up against Tennessee and South Carolina. But Tennessee has struggled against downhill rushing attacks, particularly against Appalachian State and Alabama. With Sony Michel and Brian Herrien, Georgia should have had success against them.

Then they faced a South Carolina team that is developing its defense under new head coach Will Muschamp. They just do not have the talent, skill or time under the system to put up a fight against Michel, Herrien and the returning Nick Chubb.

But Georgia’s run game, and run blocking specifically looked so good in those two games that it was easy to think that they had turned the corner and was going to begin trending towards prosperity.

But we were wrong. Vanderbilt has, for lack of a better word, an underrated defense, especially in stopping the run. The Commodore’s don’t miss tackles, they don’t give up deep passes, and they stay close to the ball.

The Commodore’s were sixth in the SEC in total defense and seventh in scoring defense through going into yesterday’s game. They were also seventh in the SEC in run defense allowing 176.8 yards per game. For comparison, Georgia averaged 225.4 rushing yards per game on offense.

Georgia’s offensive line matched-up with another good SEC front seven, like they did twice in September, and lost.

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Chubb began the year as a Heisman candidate, but without holes to run through and taking hits a yard in the backfield, there are doubts on whether he can even reach 1,000 yards or not. Michel is coming off of a 1,000 yard rushing season. Seven games into the season he doesn’t even have 400 yards.

These are two of the best backs that the SEC has to offer, and because of the play of the offensive line, they have had a disappointing season thus far. As we saw against South Carolina, they can obviously still run like before. They are still fast, quick and powerful running backs. But even the best need help, and in 2016 those two have not had the help they enjoyed in the past.

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