In the game that debuted the new fireworks, the Dawgs spot Tennessee a 10-0 lead (another slow start) and then roar back to take control of the game in the 2nd half to win. The Sanford crowd was getting restless in the 1st quarter as the offense sputtered and the defense wobbled bringing back memories of the prior week in Oxford. The team then woke up and took control of both lines of scrimmage. When Kirby talks about resilience, this game was a perfect example of it.
Here’s a link to my game preview:
Team Stats:
When you look at the team stats, you would think that Georgia dominated the game and won easily until you look at 3rd down efficiency on defense. Tennessee especially in the 1st half kept the chains moving and also converted a 4th down on one of their TD drives. The turnover at the game’s end was sort of meaningless in the game’s last minute when the outcome was pretty well decided. The Dawgs won the game because of pass protection and Carson Beck.
Individual Stats:
Carson Beck played one of his best games in a Georgia uniform on this night in Sanford with 379 yards of total offense and 3 total TDs. That 97.7 QBR was absolutely eye-popping. If Georgia had gotten a season of this kind of play from Beck, the sky could have been the limit for this team. It’s amazing what happens when you protect the ball and the line protects the QB. Is that a stat line we could get from Gunner Stockton throughout the 2025 season? If so, this team will be tough.
Something to Consider for 2025:
Humphreys & Delp were big in this game. I get the feeling that we’re sleeping on both of them entering 2025. The high profile WR transfers are getting all of the buzz even this week at Media Days, but it seemed that Humphreys found opportunities to make explosive plays last year when available. Delp seemed to come on later in the season starting especially the week of this game while Luckie and some of the freakish young talents once again get the preseason buzz. I don’t know if these guys will be at the top of the depth chart, but both will be key to leadership in those position groups.
5 sacks … why didn’t we see that all season last year? Tennessee is the one offense where everyone says, “You can’t come after them because Bobby Hill will beat you deep if you don’t get there.” I really don’t get why we don’t get after the passer more than we do. I understand pressure is more than sacks, but there isn’t necessarily a great statistic for havoc (yes, I understand some calculate havoc rate). Sack rate is probably a pretty good indicator of havoc, and the Dawgs were a very average 33rd overall and 8th in the SEC in that statistic.
I only posted that, so I could post this …
Summary:
Another double-digit smackdown of Tennessee NEVER gets old as someone who survived the hell that was the 90s. This game had a mix of what plagued the team most of the season … slow starts. It also had a lot of what might have been when this team played complementary football to the Georgia standard. Dominant, physical and mistake-free. Here’s to hoping 2025 gets to the latter without the head scratching of the former. Is there anywhere more beautiful than Sanford at night?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
The thing I remember about that game was when plays invoking TEs or crossing routes were called the offense was effective. That took a while to happen.
The game is played most effectively from the middle out. If a team effectively uses or defends the middle makes everything else go.
Your comment on the lack of sacks has been my main question the last couple of years. Some games we terrorize the opposing QB (see UT, Texas twice) while often times we seem content to sit back and let everything develop. Why the difference in approach. The key to today’s defensive success is stop the run and pressure the QB. Hoping to see alot more of that this season.
Some guys, like Milroe, you’d like to leave in the pocket and confuse him with coverage.
Some guys like Beck, you want to get in his face, rush him, make him make decisions quicker than he wants to.
Some guys like Young, you show coverage and then once the play breaks down, you send someone after him.
Your opposing qb, their roster strengths and weaknesses and offensive identity will inform a dc how aggressive you want to be.
Or at least that’s the way it ought to be. Some dc’s don’t like to change much week to week. Some dc’s change a lot week to week.
Typically that is going to based upon your assessment of your own roster and your expectations of how many points the offense will likely produce.
If you think your offense will be lucky to post 10 you have to have one strategy, likely a very conservative one. If you think your offense will likely post 40+ you can have a much more aggressive strategy.
Kirby wants to do both of those things without committing extra players to the box. When that works, you get the anaconda effect of stopping the run and not giving teams windows to throw. He wants to blitz when it’s worth the risk in his mind (Kirby has veto rights over every call Schumann makes). Over a season, that’s what the 2021 defense was. We blitzed because we wanted to do it not because we had to do it.
When you don’t have the game-changing defensive tackle in the middle, both of those things are hard to do. When your best edge player (Mykel Williams) is spending weeks in the training room rather than on the field, it’s hard to generate pressure consistently.
Both the Defense and offense started the game sleeping but thankfully the team won the turn over battle. It is an example of what I commented on yesterday replying to the topic about the pressure of winning.
It is wild UGA’s first 3 possessions each held the ball for less than 2 minutes to having 2nd half drives at 7:22 and 6:21.