Another week and another blowout victory have come and gone for Georgia Football.
The Dawgs bludgeoned Arkansas 37-0 in one of the most physical games we have seen from this team. Running the ball 56 times for 273 yards, Georgia had a game plan, and it is safe to say they perfected it.
Georgia will travel to the plains this week and play No. 18 Auburn. The Dawgs will get another confident SEC West team as Auburn is coming off its first victory in Baton Rouge since 1999.
New defensive coordinator Derek Mason has led a very good defense, and his ability to adapt and make changes has not gone unnoticed.
Auburn only allowed six points in the second half against LSU and zero points in the second half against Georgia State — each was crucial in the Tigers coming back to win both games.
The Tigers’ defense is led by Zakoby McClain, statistically and emotionally. Ejected from the second half of the loss to Penn State, McClain’s absence during the first half against Georgia State was evident, but so was his return in the second half.
This rivalry showdown is a game Georgia should win, and the team is playing at a level we have not seen in Athens in a while, if ever.
Here are three things Georgia’s offense needs to do to get out of the Plains with not only a win but stay as dominant as the Dawgs have been through the first five weeks of the season.
Georgia football must exert dominance
Against Arkansas, Georgia showed that their offensive line could take over a game. Finally, this group got enough reps in a game to gain some confidence and trust in what they were doing.
Nothing takes the soul from another team faster than just getting mauled on the ground. Since Kirby Smart got to Georgia, it has been clear that is his number one goal each week — to lean on other teams until they break.
Auburn has got to be a tired team. The Tigers have played three close games in a row, including a late-night game Saturday night.
Having a late matchup as they did against the Bayou Bengals cuts into their recovery time, making it harder to get players rested for the next opponent.
The 88 plays their defense were on the field for at LSU may allow Georgia to pound on them and grind them down early.
Auburn will be fired up for this game, and so will their fans. None of that matters if Georgia comes out on offense, punches the Tigers in the mouth, and doesn’t stop.
For once, the Dawgs need to leave the good ole boy mentality in Athens and exert sheer dominance against Auburn. Georgia has to want it more, but most importantly, they have to keep up this grit they’ve flaunted to get them to 5-0.
Quiet the noise in Jordan-Hare
Jordan-Hare Stadium of late has been a tough place to play. To be a stadium that’s capacity is under 90,000, it gets loud — deafening really, and those fans cause some ruckus.
As Georgia saw with Arkansas, a loud crowd can affect an offense. The two false start penalties by Arkansas on that first possession really set the tone. So this week, the Dawgs have to eliminate mistakes like that.
It is not only false start penalties that a crowd can cause. Loud crowds can also cause players to act in a way they usually don’t. In Georgia’s 2017 loss at Jordan-Hare, the Dawgs collected seven penalties, including a personal foul on usually mild-mannered Sony Michel.
In 2019 Georgia nearly blew a 21-0 lead and once again received seven flags. The Dawgs earned six against Arkansas last week, so they must be able to tighten up on offense to avoid silly penalties that’ll keep the crowd in it.
If Georgia can jump on Auburn early, the crowd will quiet down. However, they cannot let off the throttle once they get up big. No, they must stay aggressive to keep that crowd quiet.
Just as we said about breaking the other team’s will, Georgia has to break the will of the Auburn fans at Jordan Hare. Bury Auburn, and there will be empty seats early on in the Plains.
Georgia’s game plan needs to be ready for it all
Last week against the Hogs, Georgia attempted just eleven passes, completing seven for 72 yards.
As a player with an extremely high football IQ, quarterback Stetson Bennett saw that Arkansas played only three down linemen, so the Dawgs continued to run.
I do not believe Auburn will do that. Derek Mason is an outstanding defensive-minded coach. Arkansas’ defensive coordinator Barry Odem is also a talented coach. Still, he stuck with a game plan that exposed his rush defense, which isn’t the most brilliant move against a team like Georgia.
Mason has shown the last two games how good he is at making adjustments, so Georgia must match those changes.
No matter who is at quarterback for Georgia, they must adjust with Auburn. Don’t abandon the run entirely if they find a way to stop it, but if the Tigers give you tiny openings for dink passes, then hit it.
Eventually, a big pass will open up, and then the Dawgs can create an explosive play that’ll help them spread out the defense even more. Not to mention, it’ll silence that crowd real quick.
Say what you want about Stetson Bennett at quarterback, but he has proven he can hit a long pass. While JT Daniels would be ideal, it seems like Bennett will get the nod, and the coaches trust him.
If Georgia can bully Auburn, it’ll take the crowd out and open up potential big plays in the passing game. The Dawgs must be able to be versatile. While they didn’t need to pass a ton against Arkansas, Auburn will force them to use both the rush and pass attack, so they better be ready to confuse the Tigers and roll with it.
If the Dawgs have that happen on offense, this game will be much like the other games we have seen so far this season.