Georgia football: Observations of opponents after week nine
Georgia football is coming off a 42-7 beating of the Florida Gators. The Bulldogs improved to 8-0 for the first time since 2002.
Georgia football achieved several things Saturday that it hadn’t in decades. The 42-7 victory over Florida was the most lopsided win over the Gators since 1982. The 8-0 start is the best since 1982 and the second 8-0 start since 1982.
Georgia keeps rolling through the 2017 season. The Bulldogs are alone at the top of the SEC East Standings and may actually be ranked no. 1 when the College Football Playoff rankings come out on Tuesday.
Georgia’s upcoming opponents were a mixed bag however. Auburn had an off week, South Carolina and Kentucky won, and Georgia Tech lost. But what stood out besides the results?
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Like every week, the upcoming opponent is left out as they’ll be broken down more in-depth later this week. And Auburn was off so we’ll only mention Kentucky and Georgia Tech
Kentucky back on track
The Wildcats let nerves and history overwhelm them early this season in their loss to Florida. But they overcame all of that Saturday in their 29-26 win over Tennessee. The win is just their third win over the Volunteers since 1984.
But the win almost didn’t happen. Tennessee played one of their best games on the season and kept the game close until the end. They even led twice. However, Tennessee’s defense wasn’t competent enough to stop Stephen Johnson and Benny Snell Jr.
Johnson wasn’t great through the air, but he did rush for 84 yards on six carries and he scored the game-winning touchdown on his legs. Snell rushed for 180 yards with three touchdowns on 27 carries.
This is now the seventh game and the sixth win for Kentucky this season decided by less than 12 points. In close games, the Wildcats are capable of squeaking out victories. They don’t win pretty, they just win.
Georgia Tech no match for Clemson
The Yellow Jackets entered their game with Clemson with high hopes. After all, this is the kind of game that Georgia Tech thrives in according to their fans. The Tigers had no part of that though. The Yellow Jackets only rushed for 198 yards, a season low. The passing game wasn’t much better with just 32 yards.
Their defense couldn’t stop Clemson’s balanced attack at all. Kelly Bryant passed for 207 yards with a pair of touchdowns and he rushed for 67 yards. Four other rushers each ran for at least 34 yards on just seven or eight carries.
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Tech has now lost three games this season, but this was their worst. Clemson showed what a truly great defense can do against the TaQuon Marshall led triple option. Scoring wise, Georgia Tech’s defense wasn’t that bad. But allowing over 400 yards will usually lead to a loss.