Georgia football beat Kentucky 16-6. At first glance, it felt like the Dawgs were too conservative, but after rewatching the game and sitting on it, Georgia had the right game plan.
Some things needed improvement, but for the most part, Georgia did the bare minimum to still win by 10 points. It doesn’t matter what the Twitter coaches think or say, Georgia knows what it’s doing, and it’s downright brilliant.
Why give away things to future opponents if you don’t have to? Georgia has yet to really open up its offense, and this defense is keeping it pretty basic as well. When it does open up things, you see similar outcomes to the Tennessee game and the Oregon one.
Georgia football earned its 11th win strategically, and these are our takeaways.
Rewatching the game made us appreciate the game plan even more. Who cares if it was conservative? Sure I was a bit harsh about the Dawgs not scoring again, but it was too critical.
Georgia ran its game plan, and while I’m sure there were times that head coach Kirby Smart would have liked more out of his team, it didn’t matter.
Some fans started to get a bit nervous when Kentucky took it down the field 99-yards and scored, but it wasn’t enough because Georgia stood tough. That defense rarely gives up a 99-yard drive, but at the same time, Kentucky got the best of the Dawgs during that drive.
Now to the good stuff, we wanted to try something new — short and sweet single-line takeaways instead of giving super in-depth takeaways. Here are 11 single-sentence takeaways from the Kentucky game to provide our thoughts on the big win.
Georgia football saw its offense flex at times and stay smart
1: Kenny McIntosh continues to run like a madman, with the most purpose since his unfortunate fumble.
2: Starting quarterback Stetson Bennett should use his legs more in short-yardage situations and needs to stop people pleasing
3: The lack of tight end usage felt intentional against the Wildcats, but we still missed seeing Darnell Washington and Brock Bowers have flashy moments.
4: Georgia’s offensive line played well but still has room to grow in short-yardage and goal-line situations.
Georgia football saw its defense grow in Game 11
5: The pressure from Georgia was there enough to slow down Kentucky from getting a lot of momentum.
6: Smael Mondon Jr. and that linebacker group will be better than the 2021 unit.
7: Georgia’s front seven is putting in a lot of work, and it’s not just Jalen Carter that continues to shine.
8: The Dawgs’ secondary is full of monsters that make plays no matter what year they are.
Georgia football knew what it was doing against Kentucky
9: Georgia football doesn’t need to blow out teams when it’s undefeated and has already proven itself.
10: The conservative approach that Georgia took was smart.
11: Georgia fans must realize how hard it is to repeat as national champions.
That last takeaway is super important to remember as fans. To repeat as national champions is extremely hard to do. People see the surface-level stats and outcome of the game. However, do they stop and think about how hard it is to be 11-0?
Alabama had a chokehold on college football, but we must remember that it is hard to achieve. Kentucky was in the Top 10 at one point this season, and they are a well-coached football team. However, Georgia still beat them by two scores. While it was not the most explosive game, that is a testament to Georgia and what Smart is doing with this program.
Georgia is No.1 in the country, and that already comes with a lot of pressure, but it seems even harder in 2022. The Dawgs don’t have to impress anyone but accomplish their team goals. Georgia has already proved to the playoff committee it’s worthy of one of those four spots, so trust the process and keep winning.