Georgia football played its first home game against Murray State last Saturday. Here are the good and bad takeaways from the home opener.
Georgia football took on its first cupcake game of the season as the Dawgs hosted Murray State last weekend. It was the home opener of the 2019 and when the University of Georgia unveiled Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium.
While it was a hot one in the Classic City, the Dawgs stayed hot all game long putting up 63 points. Georgia got to play a lot of folks on both sides of the ball and it gave some young folks time on the field.
Here are the good and bad takeaways from the home opener as the Dawgs did far more good than bad.
The Good:
Georgia football’s run game once again ran the show.
The Bulldogs ran 40 times for 269 yards and averaged 6.7 yards a rush. D’Andre Swift had nine touches for 81 yards and two touchdowns, an average of nine yards per touch.
Zamir White led all Georgia rushers with eight carries for 72 yards and a touchdown.
James Cook is finally getting featured in Georgia’s offense. Fromm started the game with a swing pass to Cook that he took for 19 yards.
He touched the ball a total of three times in the first half for 47 yards, an average of 15.7 yards per touch. Cook ended up with five touches for 57 yards, an average of 11.4 yards per touch.
Brian Herrien had a reduced role in this game, getting just five carries for 31 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry.
Kenny McIntosh also got some touches, carrying the ball nine times for 61 yards, an average of 6.8 yards a carry.
Jake Fromm had a very short day, going 10-of-11 for 166 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Once Georgia was up big, they took Fromm out and inserted Stetson Bennett.
Bennett went 9-of-13 with 124 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. It was a pretty good debut for the Dawgs’ back up quarterback.
Georgia also got a lot of receivers involved in the offense.
George Pickens led the way with four catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. Pickens reminds me a lot of A.J. Green, the kinds of catches he makes are ridiculous.
Eli Wolf also had four catches which he turned into 73 yards. Dominick Blaylock got some work which he turned into three catches for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Demetris Robertson was pretty quiet in this game. He did catch three passes for 21 yards and a touchdown.
Georgia’s defense brought the heat all day. Led by Nolan Smith who had 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries. Channing Tindall had a sack, and two quarterback hurries. Adam Anderson had a sack, and two quarterback hurries. Walter Grant had a sack, and two quarterback hurries.
Jermaine Johnson assisted on a sack and had two quarterback hurries. Azeez Ojulari assisted on a sack and had two quarterback hurries. Travon Walker assisted on a sack and had a quarterback hurry.
In all Georgia had six sacks and 25 quarterback hurries on the day. The Junkyard Dawgs were getting after it as the defense combined for 12 tackles for loss as well.
The Dawgs forced two turnovers on the day as Mark Webb also forced a fumble which was recovered by J.R. Reed and returned for a touchdown. Latavious Brini added an interception late in the game giving Georgia its second takeway.
Georgia’s havoc rate on the day was 23%, which is over Kirby’s desired rate of 20%.
The Dawgs were 8-of-10 on third down, a big improvement from going 1-of-7 in week one. Georgia also committed fewer penalties in week two than in week one with five for 40 yards.
Overall, Georgia handle its buisness and destroyed a lesser opponent. This game went the Dawgs way and it should have.
The Bad:
There wasn’t much the Dawgs didn’t do right on Saturday against the Racers. The few things I saw were minor things that are fixable and just mental mistakes.
Eli Wolf fumbled in the second quarter, Georgia’s 3rd fumble in their first five quarters of the season.
Stetson Bennett threw a pick-six, and Georgia’s defense gave up a 60-yard touchdown on a blown assignment.
If it weren’t for those three things, the Dawgs would have put together a perfect game.
Georgia is now 2-0 on the season respectably. After scoring 30 in the opener, the Bulldogs silenced the people who said it wasn’t enough with 63 points and showed a variety of offensive weapons. While I don’t think much was given away to other coaches, the Dawgs still gave a dominant performance for their playoff resume.