Georgia football demolished Tennessee on Saturday. However, the Dawg took their time to defeat the Vols. Here are this week’s report card grades for the trip to Knoxville.
Offense: A
After a slow first quarter, Georgia football’s offense absolutely shredded the Tennessee defense all night long in Knoxville.
The Dawgs amassed 526 total yards on offense and put up over 40+ points for the third time this season.
In one of the most balanced offensive games in recent memory for Georgia, the Dawgs had 288 passing yards and 238 rushing yards in this game.
Quarterback Jake Fromm was extremely sharp, finishing 24 of 29 passing with 288 yards and two touchdowns. He has zero turnovers in 2019.
The rushing attack was led by Brian Herrien, D’Andre Swift, and Zamir White, who all had over 50+ rushing yards each. The team as a whole averaged nearly 6 yards per carry.
Swift was Georgia’s leading receiver with four catches for 72 yards. Nine different receivers recorded a catch in the game with George Pickens and Lawrence Cager, both catching touchdowns from Fromm.
Defense: B
The defensive performance by the Dawgs in this game was a tale of two halves. In the first half, Tennessee quarterback Brian Maurer seemed to be able to throw the ball all over Georgia’s defense as he tossed two touchdowns in his first collegiate start.
Georgia’s secondary seemed confused and out of position many times in the first half, which led to Tennessee’s receivers getting open very often.
The second half was quite a different story. Georgia’s defense that played in the second half looked like a true Kirby Smart defense. Tennessee did not score a single point after halftime and was utterly shut down for the final 30 minutes of the game.
Georgia did hold Tennessee to just 70 yards rushing and once again did not give up a rushing touchdown. Georgia’s defense has not given up a rushing touchdown all season.
Azeez Olujari recorded two sacks as he continues to emerge as a star at outside linebacker. Richard LeCounte III turned in a solid performance leading the defense in tackles and recording an interception as well.
Special Teams: A-
Rodrigo Blankenship continued his quest to claim the Lou Groza award last night. The best kicker in college football made all three of his field-goal attempts and all four extra-point attempts in what was just another day at the office for Hot Rod.
Punting continues to be an issue for Georgia. Jake Camarda had a great punt of 53 yards, but also a not-so-great punt of 18 yards in this game.
Georgia looked like a championship team in the second half of this game, but some things need to be cleaned up.
However, winning on the road in the SEC should never be taken for granted, and Georgia fans should be feeling good about the 5-0 start to 2019. The Dawgs continue SEC play next week at home against South Carolina.