Georgia Football: Top takeaways from South Carolina win

Our coaches are not afraid to be fearless:

Georgia kicked an onside kick with the opening kickoff. You did not read that wrong, that is not a typo. For those of you who watched the game, I can assure you that you were not dreaming. That really happened.

It was a very aggressive call from a coaching staff that has made a few of them this year. Who could forget their decision to throw a flea flicker on the first play against Mississippi State? Or when they ran a ‘wild dawg’ with Nick Chubb in the same game.

This time, the call didn’t work out. It was actually a well-executed play, Rodrigo Blankenship kicked the ball into a hole and wrongfooted an SC defender. Fortunately for Carolina, their player reacted just in time and was able to grab the ball and get down. It didn’t cost Georgia anything, their defense stopped SC who then missed a 46-yard field goal.

It was a brave call and maybe a tad too aggressive. But that’s the kind of mentality that these coaches and this team have. After the game, Kirby Smart told journalists that he wanted to hunt, not be hunted. That kick wasn’t disrespectful or cocky. His coaches just saw a wrinkle and his players nearly pulled it off.

He also opened up the offense more this week and gave Jake Fromm more of a role. That was despite the fact that Fromm had a rough game last week. These are fearless decisions from a coaching staff that are asking a lot from their players. It’s great to see that they’re not afraid to take criticism from fans and the media by calling aggressive plays. Even if they don’t work out, they’re still setting a standard.