The Georgia Bulldogs completely gave up on the running game against Auburn.
In its stunning 27-24 home upset, its first loss to Auburn in nearly a decade, Georgia ran the ball 28 times for 113 yards. It was a season-low total for the Bulldogs on the ground.
The struggles running the ball put Georgia consistently behind the eight-ball offensively, while Auburn rushed for 192 yards on the other end. It was the first time the Bulldogs had been outgained on the ground all season, and a major issue on a day where not many things went right for Georgia.
“We stalled out there for a couple drives, and they did control and win (the) first down run (game) better,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “We were in second and long a lot, and didn't get the run game that maybe we had in some other games.”
Kirby Smart may need a mindset change when it comes to Georgia’s run game
Smart said Georgia didn’t significantly alter its offensive scheme, and in fact approached this game the same way they did any other. But that’s sort of hard to believe considering how little they committed to their bread and butter.
The Bulldogs were coming off a 206 rushing yard performance in their road win at Alabama. Junior Dwight Phillips Jr. rushed for 120 yards and sophomore Bo Walker added 69. In that one, the Bulldogs looked like they could have whatever they wanted in the run game.
Now, let’s of course give credit to Auburn. The Tigers did a much better job of shedding blocks and getting downhill than the Crimson Tide, who got absolutely manhandled by Georgia up front for four quarters. Maybe Auburn just has a better run defense than Alabama— it could very well turn out that way.
But what is absolutely inexcusable is the way the Bulldogs approached this game from both a script and personnel standpoint.
Mike Bobo doesn’t deserve half of the hate he gets from Georgia fans. He’s a good coach and a lot of the discourse around him is frankly quite annoying. But he set Georgia back in this game.
A tale of two halves vs Auburn
In the first half, Phillips rushed for 54 yards on five carries. By comparison, Nate Frazier, in his return from a rib injury that’s basically kept him out for nearly a month, gained 10 yards on four carries in that half.
Phillips got just five carries in the second half, which he gained 14 yards on. Not a single one of those came in the fourth quarter. As a matter of fact, he didn’t get the ball at all in the fourth quarter.
That’s atrocious game management from Bobo and the coaching staff. The Bulldogs went down by two scores, sure, but a 10-point deficit at home is not enough to give up on the running game the way they did. Especially not when you entered the game averaging 211.8 rushing yards per contest.
Phillips just had the game of his life against Alabama, and was M.I.A. for the entire fourth quarter in the next one. He’s the most explosive player on this team. He should never be frozen out for an entire fourth quarter under any circumstances unless the Bulldogs are up by 60 or something.
Oh, and Walker? Well, he didn’t get a single carry. Again, inexcusable.
It’s especially bad considering Phillips had a great first half, and Georgia eschewed Walker entirely in favor of Frazier. Frazier took all of the between-the-tackles carries that would’ve and should’ve gone to Walker, and rushed for 19 yards on nine carries— the lowest total of any game in his career where he’s had at least five attempts.
Smart defended Frazier’s performance after the game.
"I thought he did a great job. I don't go off of stats. I go off of looks, runs he got, plays he got,” Smart said. “He ran hard. He ran tough. He got some really tough, hard yards. They're a really good run defense. They play physical. They did a good job. I was really pleased with Nate's toughness and getting in there, sticking it in there."
Smart deserves credit for sticking with his guy and not throwing Frazier under the bus. Frazier, too, deserves credit for toughing out a really nasty injury to suit up in this one. He’s too talented and competitive to not bounce back from a game like this. Georgia’s going to need him to, and should be confident that he’ll be better going forward.
But the fact remains that he was ineffective in this one, and Walker would’ve been a better option. Was there really no point in the game where he could’ve gotten a carry?
Phillips and Walker’s performances about Alabama, combined with the fact that Frazier is clearly not himself right now, should make Georgia think long and hard about its running back rotation throughout this bye week. Especially since Chauncey Bowens is probably out for the year. Smart said “time will tell” about him, but it’s not looking good.
The Bulldogs’ offensive line is too talented for a performance like this, especially when quarterback Gunner Stockton has gravity of his own as a rusher.
This is two games now, Oklahoma being the other one, where Stockton has looked rough at time without a good running game to consistently put him in favorable down-and-distance situations. The Bulldogs have to learn an important lesson from this one. They’ve got to take their medicine. They cannot give up on the running game like this.
The old adage rings true Bobo, run the dang ball.
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