Each week, Dawn of the Dawg will hand out grades for Georgia Football’s previous performance. How did the Dawgs perform in Jacksonville?
Offense: A
For most of the game against Florida, Georgia’s offense was firing on all cylinders. The Dawgs scored 36 points and racked up 429 yards of total offense against a formidable Gators defense.
In the Kirby Smart era, Georgia tends to have more yards rushing than passing in most of the team’s games. Against Florida, the passing game led the way for Georgia as Jake Fromm threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns.
Georgia still almost rushed for 200 total team yards and were led by D’Andre Swift having his first career 100-yard game in his Bulldog career.
Sophomore receiver J.J. Holloman had two huge touchdown receptions as he continues to become an emerging threat for Georgia in the passing game.
Quarterback Justin Fields did not play a single snap in the game which left some fans disappointed. But in a must-win game like this one, Kirby Smart decided to roll with the quarterback who took the team to the national championship as a freshman in Jake Fromm.
After a rough offensive showing against LSU, Georgia seems to have finally gotten its offensive identity and rhythm back just in time for a huge match-up against Kentucky this weekend.
Defense: A
The Dawgs held the Gators to less than 300 yards of total offense in this game which included an abysmal 105 yards passing. After getting shredded against LSU, this Georgia defense rose to the challenge and stifled the offense of a top-10 team.
The big key in this game was Georgia’s defense forced three turnovers. Two of those were fumbles caused by Monty Rice and Tyrique McGhee respectively. Rice’s forced fumble was recovered by Richard Lecounte III and McGhee’s was recovered by Tae Crowder.
McGhee also had an interception in the game. This was by far his best game that he has played all season. After a foot injury sidelined him earlier this season, he seems to be fully returned to his 2017 form.
After Florida took a 14-13 lead in the first two minutes of the third quarter, Georgia’s defense buckled down and held the Gators to just three points for the rest of the game. This unit looked like a Kirby Smart defense again after the poor performance against LSU.
Special Teams: A
No fake field goal attempts this week. Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship was his usual self in this game as he converted on all three of his field goal attempts and all three of his extra point attempts. He continues to make the case that he is the best kicker in college football.
Freshman punter Jake Camarda bounced back nicely in this game after a shaky performance against LSU. He averaged over 40 yards per punt on four kicks and had a long punt of 57 yards. In the return game, Mecole Hardman had a 26 yard punt return.