It may have only been the lowly Charlotte 49ers, but the Georgia Bulldogs got some very important work in during their 35-3 victory over Tim Albin's awful team. Kirby Smart did not take his opponent lightly, but made it a point to not show much of anything on either side of the ball. Georgia did what it was expected to do, which was play great defense vs. a lesser opponent and run the football at will.
Although it will be a short week for Georgia with Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate being on tap for Friday afternoon, the Bulldogs look to be more than ready for the rest of the season ahead. They had bigger fish to fry than merely embarrassing the 49ers in their football cathedral on Saturday afternoon. The good news is nobody got hurt and everybody who could have played in this game got some run in it.
Without further ado, let's take a look at two key observations from Georgia's easy win over Charlotte.
Georgia Bulldogs remained very balanced throughout the entire game
Offensively, Georgia had one of its best games, all things considered. The Bulldogs were running the ball efficiently, having 4.6 yards per carry and finishing the day with 153 rushing yards as a whole.
Nate Frazier was the leading back, finishing the day with 12 carries for 54 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 4.5 yards per carry. The real standouts of this game were younger running backs Dwight Phillips Jr. and Bo Walker.
Walker finished the game with six carries 36 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, showing off his abilities to make big runs and break tackles. The future is very bright for this running back room, showing off the depth that they have to carry off one another.
Through the air, Georgia was really good in the aerial attack. Gunner Stockton finished the game early in the third. He was 17-for-21 passing for 196 yards and a interception, but had a 149.8 rating.
Despite the interception, Stockton delivered tight window throws and showed off his accuracy all day long. He showcased his poise, the ability to make plays on his feet, and escaping pressure.
Noah Thomas led the way for the wide receivers with four receptions and 68 receiving yards, while Zachariah Branch finished the game with four catches for 55 receiving yards as well.
Overall, it was a really great day for the Georgia offense. Letting the younger guys come in and relieve the starters halfway through the game was a huge positive.
Georgia Bulldogs' defense remains red hot heading into a critical stretch
Georgia’s defense played terrific football from the first snap, all the way to the very end. It shut down Charlotte’s ability to run the football from the first quarter on. Georgia had only allowed 39 rushing yards in this game, on only 2.3 yards per carry.
You could see the tenacity and the want that this team had to shut down the run to make this offense very one dimensional, which they succeeded in doing. Georgia also forced two turnovers by picking off Grayson Loftis twice in the game.
This had been a focus for this Georgia defense all season long by creating more turnovers and sacking the quarterback. Georgia’s defense held Charlotte to 169 yards of total offense.
Overall, you have to be very pleased from what you have seen from this Georgia defense the last few weeks. The Bulldogs have improved mightily from the beginning of the season.
This performance by the defense should have the unit playing with even more confidence and togetherness moving forward. You can only see the excitement brewing within the Georgia fanbase.
Georgia improved to 11-1 on the season and will await Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Friday afternoon.