Each week, Dawn of the Dawg will grade the Georgia Football team’s performance from the previous week.
For the first time in 15 years, Georgia football opened the season with a shutout victory. But how great did the Dawgs actually look? Is the 45-0 score line indicative of how Georgia performed. Or is the score deceptive? Here are the grades each of Georgia’s units earned in week one.
Defense: A+
The Georgia defense played lights out against Austin Peay. The Dawgs beat the Governors 45-0 while only surrendering 152 yards of total offense. The first team defense also forced a fumble that was recovered by senior linebacker D’Andre Walker.
True freshman Tyson Campbell played very well while starting in his first collegiate game. He may be relied upon heavily against South Carolina this week if Tyrique McGhee isn’t fully recovered from a foot injury suffered in preseason camp.
We saw many new faces on the field Saturday for this Georgia defense. Having to replace multiple starters and key contributors from the 2017 defense won’t be easy, but it was encouraging to see many young players like Brenton Cox, Deangelo Gibbs, and Malik Herring play some meaningful snaps for the Dawgs. The defense will certainly be challenged in the team’s upcoming game at South Carolina.
Offense: A
The Georgia offense did its job well against Austin Peay. The team put up 45 points and racked up 508 yards of total offense. Jake Fromm and Justin Fields both played well as Fromm threw two touchdowns and Fields got his first career touchdown as a Dawg as well.
Georgia’s rushing attack was really by committee in this game. Starter D’Andre Swift didn’t play much after the first quarter because the game was already in hand. That left the door open for Brian Herrien, Elijah Holyfield, and James Cook to all get some touches in the game. Holyfield had a nice rushing touchdown in the second quarter.
The offensive highlight of the day was undoubtedly California transfer Demetris Robertson’s 72-yard rushing touchdown that he took on a jet sweep in the second quarter. Just like Brian Herrien did in 2016, Robertson scored a touchdown on his very first touch as a Georgia Bulldog. Georgia’s offense will certainly be tested more heavily this weekend against South Carolina.
Special Teams: A
Georgia’s special teams play in this game was solid. Rodrigo Blankenship made all six PATs he attempted and also connected on his lone field goal attempt from 34 yards. He will be a key weapon for the Dawgs this season.
The big surprise on special teams was true freshman punter Jake Camarda. With 2017 punter Cam Nizialek now gone, the punter position was a bit of a question mark for Georgia coming into 2018. On Saturday, Camarda punted the ball three times and averaged 55 yards per kick. If he can put up numbers like that this season, then Georgia will once again have one of the best kicking games in the entire country.