Georgia back on top of the polls after their sixth win of the season beating Auburn 42-10 last Saturday afternoon in Athens. As in most games, except for the game one win versus Oregon, the Bulldogs have started games sluggish. The game versus the Auburn Tigers was no different, but the team put it all together scoring an additional 28 points in the second half.
Game Notes Versus Auburn
Georgia’s defense stepped up big against an Auburn Tigers offense that has had a hard time sustaining drives this season. Georgia’s defense caused three punts on Auburn’s first three offensive drives. But again, Georgia’s offense didn’t do themselves any favors either. They came up short on their first two drives, then missed a lengthy field goal.
Auburn then tried to get fancy with a fake punt on their own 34-yard line, didn’t work and Georgia’s offense had a short field to play. Running back Kenny McIntosh put the Bulldogs up by one score with a 1-yard touchdown run. Running back Daijun Edwards later scored as the Bulldogs were up 14-0 going into the half.
The heat was turned up in the second half as Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was untouched until the endzone as he ran it for a 64-yard touchdown run. This really sparked the scoring for the second half.
The only touchdown for Auburn came with 10:00 minutes left in the game on missed tackles by three Georgia defenders as Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter on a run and catch touchdown for 62 yards.
Key stats for the game: Bennett went 22 for 32 for 208 yards. He didn’t have a throwing touchdown but did have the long touchdown run. Robinson had 98 yards rushing on 12 carries. Edwards ended the game with 83 yards on 12 carries as well. Not one single receiving touchdown during the game but wide receiver Ladd McConkey led the way in receiving again with 47 yards. Receivers get their fair share, but Georgia is still a run heavy offense.
Defense is still not coming away with sacks, but that’s okay. The sacks will come in this young defense. They are still putting a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks which will soon carry over to sacks. There were no interceptions during the game, but safety Malaki Starks almost came away with his third of the season, but ball touched the ground. After six games, the defense is still leading the league for the season giving up only 10.7 points per game.
Plays of the Game
The entire Georgia running back core ran for a season high 292 yards with three different running backs scoring touchdowns, also including Bennett. Freshman Branson Robinson scored his first collegiate touchdown and Edwards topped off with three touchdowns of his own. The energy came from who they call “The Mailman” as Bennett delivered on a 64-yard touchdown run to the endzone. McIntosh scored the first touchdown of the game for the Bulldogs.
QB Stetson Bennett’s 64-yard touchdown run
Georgia Back on Top of the Polls
With Georgia dominating Auburn 42-10 and Alabama struggling to get by Texas A&M 24-20, Georgia and Alabama flipped places again, but Alabama fell to #3 this time, with Ohio State at #2. Unless one of these two teams loses, the back and forth switching places will continue until the end of season. And if that’s the case, they will meet in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta to decide who gets the first loss.
Next Game: #1 Georgia (6-0) will stay home again this week and host Vanderbilt (3-3). Vanderbilt is a far better team this year than year’s past, but will be put to the test against the Bulldogs. Kickoff set for 3:30PM EST on SEC Network. Read more of my articles here, and next week read my writeup on this game and more Georgia football coverage at Gridiron Heroics.
