First things first: the Georgia Bulldog defense is absolutely going to find an offense it cannot spot two or three scores and still come back on. That may happen as soon as next week against Ole Miss. Hugh Freeze began this game by running a series of plays that he’s been running since at least 2008 and Glenn Schumann’s defense reacted as if they’d just been discovered on a ship buried deep inside Area 51.
The jet sweep isn’t a Sanskrit poem, and the fact that it initially struck the Bulldog defense
like one presented upside down and backwards is concerning. All told the Bulldogs gave up 227 yards of offense in the first half. But they gave up 50 in the second.
And while the one number remains alarming, the other is exhilarating. In its last three SEC games Georgia has allowed 48 points total. Only 7 of those points were allowed in the second half, and that came with just over 1 minute left up 35-7 vs Kentucky.
Was it a fumble? Maybe. Maybe not. Would Georgia have come back from a 17-0 deficit? We’ll never know. It was a night full of bizarre officiating, some of which benefited the home team and a good bit of which benefited the visitors.
For example there was the Kirby Smart timeout that wasn’t, when Smart was very clearly running toward the official making a timeout gesture. It then appeared that another official thought Gunner Stockton was calling timeout and blew the whistle with one second left on the play clock. The ensuing chaos gave Georgia an effective timeout for which they weren’t charged. If I were Kirby Smart I wouldn’t have corrected the official either.
I’ve seen enough Auburn cheatin’ to appreciate the irony of the Plainsmen having someone else throw a little pixie dust in their eyes. On a night when Auburn retired the jersey of Cam Newton, it was sort of nice to watch the Barners lose theirs kind of improbable game they used to
Ultimately the story of this game was a Bulldog team that did the things it had to in order to win. As noted above they did the job late on defense. But they also found a way to win on offense. The Athenians were 0 for 7 on third down in the first three quarters of the game. They then converted 4 out of 6 third downs in the fourth quarter to put the game on ice. Gunner Stockton hit London Humphrey, Zachariah Branch, and Nate Frazier on critical third (and in Humphrey’s case also fourth) down plays during a grinding 8:45 drive that ended in Stockton calling his own number on a ten yard touchdown run that most definitely broke the plane.
For my money the wildest stat of this game may be that Georgia ran a total of 12 offensive plays prior to Jackson Arnold’s fumble with 1:32 left in the half. They then ran 12 plays in the next minute and a half leading up to halftime. And they ultimately won the time of possession battle, 30:12 to 29:48. That’s borderline inconceivable.
Stockton finished the night 24 of 37 passing for 207 yards and also was the Red and Black’s leading rusher (albeit with a meager 26 yards). The UGA offense runs through Stockton at this point, and tonight he stayed in the conductor’s chair despite taking hard hits early and often from a Tiger defense that honestly played well enough to win an SEC football game.
As is so often the case in close games, turnovers, special teams, and penalties made a big difference. Of course there was the gane’s only turnover, that Jackson Arnold fumble. But the Tigers played poorly enough to lose this one irrespective of that play. You cannot commit 11 penalties for 103 yards and expect to win any football games.
Auburn punter Hudson Kaak also averaged 34.5 yards per punt on four attempts, allowing Georgia to win the field position battle across the third quarter and into the fourths For a Bulldog defense and offense each finding their feet that made a difference.
In the end, the Bulldogs made enough plays to win their ninth game in a row in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, tying the longest winning streak in series history. They did so by keeping their heads when all around them (principally Tiger coach Hugh Freeze, his team, and the assembled 88,000 in Jordan-Hare Stadium) were losing theirs.
Beating Kirby Smart’s team is like dispatching a Halloween horror movie villain. You can’t assume they’re dead until the final credits roll. And while they often get there in frustrating fashion, they just seem to find a way to win. I’d rather find a way to win ugly than to lose pretty. But I’ll take a win over the Aubbies either way. Especially one that will make Tiger fans angry for years to come. That’s just a bonus.
Go ‘Dawgs!!!
