Report Card: Georgia continues dominance over Auburn
Another edition of The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry is in the books and, once again, Georgia came away victorious. The Bulldog defense stood tall, the offense started slow but turned it on in the final three quarters to win 42-10. Below we evaluate with our weekly report card.
Georgia quarterbacks
Stetson Bennett IV looked rough in the first half. After a second look at the game, it’s also fair to point out that he had no chance to build any sort of rhythm. The game plan felt odd and the passes looked the same. We’d give Bennett an D- for the first half but we’d give him an A- for the way he played in the second. He accounted for around 250 total yards and a touchdown in the final two periods. Grade: C+
UGA running backs
Huge day for the Bulldog backfield and it was Daijun Edwards and Branson Robinson leading the way. Edwards reached the end zone three times and did a ton of work on one of those by making a man miss in the backfield. Robinson scored for the first time in his Georgia career and finished with 12 carries for 98 yards. Kenny McIntosh also had a solid day. Grade: A+
Georgia receivers and tight ends
This group created some opportunities. Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers each got behind the defense but Bennett couldn’t connect. Each of those players caught multiple passes and helped set up touchdowns. Darnell Washington had a solid day as a receiver but a horrible one as a blocker, picking up two 15-yard penalties. Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint missed a block early in the game that probably prevented a big play. Dillon Bell, Dominick Blaylock, and Oscar Delp all pitched in. Grade: B+
UGA offensive line
Massive bounce back game for the Georgia front five. The Bulldogs were whipped for three quarters a week prior at Missouri. Georgia did the whipping inside Sanford Stadium on Saturday. The pass protection was really good. The run blocking was also excellent and the offensive line is a big reason the Bulldogs went six of six in the red zone. Grade: A
Georgia defensive line
The Bulldogs made Brandon Council and company look silly. Georgia, without the services of Jalen Carter, owned the line of scrimmage. The only legitimate critique is how UGA’s front allowed those vertical seams that allowed Robby Ashford to scramble. Bear Alexander and Warren Brinson flashed. Zion Logue and Nazir Stackhouse did an excellent job of controlling blocks. Grade: A-
UGA linebackers
Strong performance from a beat-up group of linebackers. Jamon Dumas-Johnson led the team in tackles and played really well. Rian Davis filled in for Smael Mondon and Trezmen Marshall really well. Xavian Sorey also flashed.
On the outside, Nolan Smith had another strong day and Robert Beal turned in multiple pressures. The outside linebackers didn’t allow Ashford to escape the pocket horizontally. Grade: A
Georgia defensive backs
Let’s start with the bad where poor tackling by three defensive backs led to a long Auburn touchdown. That was ugly. Now with the good where Christopher Smith and Malaki Starks had pass breakups. Javon Bullard returned from suspension and had a tackle for loss. The cornerbacks held up really well in coverage. The secondary did what it was supposed to do against a very average group of pass catchers. Grade: B+
UGA special teams
Jack Podlesny missed his second field goal of the season but it was a fairly long one at 48 yards. That was the only real blemish for the special teams. Georgia almost had another but McConkey recovered his own muffed punt. He later had a 38-yard return that set up a touchdown. Auburn tried to catch Georgia napping but Nolan Smith snuffed it out. The punt and kick coverage units were incredible. Grade: A-
Overall
Georgia has to get back to starting fast but there was a lot of good in this win. It’s always a positive to dominate the second half and it certainly looks like the Bulldogs have found a great one-two punch in the run game. Bennett can and needs to be better. Georgia can also improve on getting the ball carrier on the ground. Grade: B+
