Georgia Football: Play of the Game vs Samford.
By Mike Stowe
Georgia Football went to 3-0 with a victory over Samford. While it was a comfortable victory, one play stood out to Mike more than any other.
Related Story: 5 takeaways from the Samford game.
What’s up, Dawg fans? Feels good to be 3-0, doesn’t it? Sorry I haven’t written anything lately. We lost power during Irma for nearly a week. So no appliances, no internet, no satellite (which meant Georgia Football …..UGGHHH). But we are back on the grid and blessed to have everyone in the fam safe. I know there are many who are still without power and many displaced from their homes. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by the 2 recent storms.
After being without electricity for 5 days, we were all in need of a day out on Saturday. We needed something to take our minds off of what we just had to deal with. So what did we do? We went to Athens, of course!
My game experience:
It was great to be back in Sanford to watch the Dawgs play FCS Southern Conference opponent Samford Saturday night, and our boys did exactly what they needed to do. Georgia pretty much controlled the line of scrimmage all night and it was obvious from the opening kickoff that a repeat of last season’s Nichols State debacle wasn’t going to happen.
Nick Chubb ate…..131 yards and 2 TDs worth. It was the first time I have seen Chubb in person since last season and while he wasn’t facing a dominant SEC defense, he still looked back. He looked faster and his cuts looked better than at any point last season. That was great to see. The return of Chubb to near 2014 form will be a major factor for the success of this team going forward as we begin to get into the meat of the SEC schedule. Combine it with this defense and we may have just watched the first 3 of 10 or maybe even 11 regular season wins.
Samford made a few plays, especially in the 2nd quarter. They put together a 10 play, 75 yard drive that was capped off with a 10 yard touchdown pass from Samford quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges (the nickname comes from him winning the 2009 Junior Duck calling World Championships, not the way he throws a football) to Tederall Marshall. That made it a 2 score lead for Georgia.
The big play:
Things would temporarily get a little too close for comfort later in the 2nd quarter when Georgia freshman quarterback Jake Fromm took off running on 3rd and 9 with just over 5 minutes left in the half. Two Samford defenders hit him almost simultaneously, the ball popped out, and Samford recovered. Their offense had a short field to work with, starting on the 25-yard line. On 2nd down, Hodges completed a pass to receiver Andrew Harris to get Samford down to the 11-yard line. It was looking like as if Samford was about to score again, but then Lorenzo Carter happened.
Sack on 2nd down. On 3rd and 18, our secondary kept their receivers covered and forced Samford to try a 37 yard field goal attempt. That is when what I think was the play of the game happened. Georgia’s defensive line had great penetration up the middle and freshman cornerback J.R Reed came off the edge with an extremely athletic field goal block. It was an absolutely disastrous attempt by the other Bulldogs.
The Outcome:
It never really seemed like Samford recovered after that play. The Dawgs (our Dawgs) went on to dominate the second half and win by a final score of 42-14. It turned into what it should have been on paper…..a blowout in our favor and a game that Samford had no chance of winning when it got into the 4th quarter.
This game came at a great spot on the schedule. Coming off of the emotional win at Notre Dame and a week before the Dawgs begin SEC play, this was a great opportunity for the starters and some of our 2nd and 3rd team guys to see some good live action and build some confidence.
Next: What dawg fans should be watching in week 4.
Next up for the Dawgs is their second “Bulldog vs. Bulldog” matchup in a row as they take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs(or the “Maroons”, as the late, great Larry Munson used to call them) in a huge top 25 matchup. Georgia (#11, 3-0) and Mississippi State (#17, 3-0) kickoff Saturday night at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.