Georgia Football: Dawgs manage and stay perfect after victory at Auburn

Georgia football went into Auburn 5-0 and came out of the Plains with a few bumps and bruises but managed to stay undefeated on the season.

Auburn came ready to play, but the Dawgs were too strong on both sides for the Tigers.

Give the Tigers some credit. They were ready for Georgia. That rush defense was strong for most of the game, and with Smoke Monday getting ejected, it helped the Dawgs find success through the air.

Great teams have moments during memorable seasons where they just must get the wins at all cost, and in this game, Georgia did just that.

The running game wasn’t working early in the game, but by the end of it, the Dawgs ended up being able to run the ball like they wanted to — resulting in their third consecutive game with 200 yards on the ground.

However, Stetson Bennett and the wideouts did what they had to do against the Tigers, and it paid off in a big way and allowed the Dawgs to run the ball eventually.

Bennett went 14-of-21 for 231 yards and two touchdowns. He also had six carries for 41 yards.

In the six bold predictions article, it said Bennett would throw for 200 yards and three touchdowns, well he met half of that prediction and showed the world even with JT Daniels out, he can handle the duties. He deserves some respect on his name after the way he stood tall and tough in the pocket on Saturday.

Ladd McConkey led the team with five catches for 135 yards and one touchdown — a 60-yard touchdown catch. Brock Bowers was behind him with two catches for 43 yards. Bennett and McConkey were in sync, and it didn’t matter because if he threw toward him, the guy made a play.

Another prediction was that the Dawgs would rush for 200-plus yards, and they went 201 yards on 49 carries, averaging 4.1 yards a touch. For a while, no one thought that would happen as the Dawgs had just 36 yards at halftime, but in the second half, they made it a point to run the ball and find success.

Georgia scored two touchdowns on the ground, both coming from Zamir White, who led the Dawgs with 18 carries for 79 yards.

White ran with a purpose, and like he had something to prove, and toward the end of the game, he should have no doubters.

Georgia’s defense started a little off at the beginning of the game, but the Dawgs shut down Auburn’s offense once they got settled. With just five rushing yards in the second half, the Dawgs did their job. And even though they finally gave up another touchdown, the Dawgs still were elite.

Overall, the Tigers finished the game with 272 yards through the air, but they had to work for it. Georgia’s secondary made some key plays when it mattered despite giving up more than usual through the air. Bo Nix went 21-of-38 for 217 yards and one interception, and TJ Finley came in to finish the game going 3-of-5 for 55 yards.

Auburn had to find success through the air because Georgia shut them down on the ground as the Tigers had 29 carries for 46 yards and one score. Tank Bigsby led the way with 10 carries for 28 yards and the lone touchdown.

Despite not hitting the 10-sacks like we predicted, getting four sacks on Bo Nix is plenty. Georgia also got a turnover and held the Auburn Tigers to 5-of-18 on third down and 3-of-5 on fourth down.

This game was bout finding a balanced offense and getting out of there with a win, and Georgia did that. It didn’t have to be perfect or beautiful, sometimes wins have to be ugly. The Dawgs did their job, won the game, and stayed perfect on the season.

Georgia will be home next week against a confident Kentucky team for another 3:30 p.m. kickoff game before a much-needed bye week. This season’s motto is to take it game-by-game and treat each week like it’s the last game, so far, it has worked for the Dawgs, and next week should be no different.

The Dawgs looked the part and passed another test on Saturday against Auburn. Now they just need to get healthy and keep plugging right along as the next two weeks will stay as rigid as Auburn was this week.