With the Georgia Bulldogs having their way with the Charlotte 49ers throughout, Kirby Smart's team has punched its ticket into the College Football Playoff in triumphant fashion. At 10-1 (7-1) on the season with only Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate remaining, ESPN's Football Power Index is giving Georgia a 98.6-percent chance to make the field. It is the fourth best mark in the sport and one of five locks.
During Georgia's dominating 35-3 win over Charlotte, a handful of key observations really stood out. No, this was not an opponent worthy of emptying the chamber on. However, it did give us a positive indication that this team is peaking at the right time. While Georgia did not throw for a touchdown in this one, it moved the football effectively through the air and got whatever it wanted on the ground.
Without further ado, here are five observations that jump off the page from a Georgia perspective.
5. The Anaconda Plan on offense makes this unit a well-oiled machine
In the immediate aftermath of the game, this one came to mind fairly quickly. It is a more macro sort of approach to the way Georgia conducts itself in these games. During the SEC Network telecast, Taylor Zarzour and Georgia legend Matt Stinchcomb talked about what this Georgia team does best. They relayed that Kirby Smart believes this team executes plays at a very high level across the board.
In turn, this goes hand-in-hand with the idea of Georgia being a well-oiled machine, particularly on offense. When the game starts to wind down, Georgia is as good as anyone at running the football effectively to break the opposition's will. Complementing that with some good, old-fashioned defense, and it is so incredibly hard to beat Georgia during critical stretches. It is what they do, y'all!
When Georgia has a lead, the Anaconda Plan of attack usually squeezes the life out of its opponent.
4. Brett Thorson may have just been playing some keep-away vs. Texas
This was something discussed in the lead-up to the Charlotte game. We know that punter extraordinaire Brett Thorson was working his way back from an injury at the end of last season. Georgia is usually exceptional in the punting department, but there were certainly a handful of questionable kicks vs. Texas. Was Thorson dealing with something or was he playing keep-away?
It appears to be the latter, as Thorson did not seem to have any issues punting throughout the Charlotte game like he did vs. Texas two weeks ago. Georgia has an improving defense under Glenn Schumann's watch, but it is not quite a championship-caliber one. Being able to pin the opposition deep with booming kicks off Thorson's leg is now another weapon the Dawgs can fully utilize here.
Look for Thorson to do his part to help UGA take care of business during Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.
3. Georgia was never going to show Georgia Tech anything on offense
Outside of staying healthy, the only thing that matters within the context of getting an easy win over Charlotte was Georgia not showing Georgia Tech anything on offense. Keep in mind that Georgia played its Week 13 games hours before Georgia Tech even kicked off vs. Pittsburgh. The Yellow Jackets lost to the Panthers to effectively knock them out of the College Football Playoff picture.
While Pitt ruined Georgia's plans of ending Georgia Tech's season, the Dawgs still need to play for playoff positioning. They will be ranked inside the top four for the second playoff rankings in a row. Regardless of if they can reach the SEC Championship Game or not, Georgia will want to put forth the best resume possible entering the final game of the regular season. They might empty the chambers.
Georgia Tech may hate Georgia with a fiery passion, but the Dawgs are bound to have their day again.
2. KJ Bolden and Raylen Wilson are new leaders emerging on defense
This was one of the better outcomes of the entire game. With linebacker extraordinaire CJ Allen missing this game vs. Charlotte while working his way back from a leg injury suffered vs. Texas, we saw at least two leaders show up in a big way on defense for Georgia. While Raylen Wilson was wearing the green dot, the guys on the telecast talked about KJ Bolden's increased role as well.
Wilson looked very comfortable directing traffic in the middle of the Georgia defense. Those reps are so very precious. Even more important, the game appears to have slowed down for Bolden with each passing week. He may only be a sophomore, but the Dawgs are going to need to count on him during the playoff run if they want to win it all. Bolden is the next star in the Georgia secondary blossoming.
For now, seeing more leaders emerge on defense is only a good thing for this year's Georgia team.
1. Georgia has a new secret weapon in the backfield in Bo Walker
The most pleasant surprise of the entire game was the emergence of running back Bo Walker. He may only be a freshman, but he was asked to handle back-up duties to Nate Frazier with Chauncey Bowens on the mend. Dwight Phillips Jr. had his touches two, but Walker made the most of his. He had nine carries for 48 yards and a game-high three touchdowns, and two catches for two yards.
The biggest takeaway from Walker's greatest game to date in a Georgia uniform is not only do other teams have to account for him now, but he can enter any arena of battle with such tremendous confidence. If Georgia plans on winning its third national title in five years, Walker will have to carve out a role within this great stable of running backs. Depth conquers all in this expanded playoff field.
Walker's big day at Sanford Stadium is what Dawg Nation is raving the most after the Charlotte win.