There were a lot of good and bad between the hedges last Saturday. Georgia’s football team is human after all as they defeated Kent State 39-22. Kent State had nothing to prove because they are a tough team from the Mid-American conference. Kent State scored 62 the previous week against Long Island University in a 62-10 riot. The Golden Flash had everything going for them, and was hoping for the shocker. They could get the win plus the money. But in this game, they just got the money, and not the (W). That’s ok, this is a team that gives other teams fits, and this is exactly what they did to the #1 team in all the land at this point in the season.
Georgia versus Kent State Game Notes
The Good Between the Hedges
The game started off wonderful for Georgia as they marched down the field on the second snap of Georgia’s first drive. A handoff sweep from Georgia Quarterback Stetson Bennett to Tight End Brock Bowers that resulted in a 75-yard touchdown run. The team offense still seems to score on defenses with ease. Though the two lowest scores came against Samford in game two with 33 and last week’s game versus Kent State with 39. But the one thing I do notice during these games is when the Bulldogs need to score, they can and will. Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken is good at situational football and placing his players where they need to be to make it easier to score. And the security blanket in this offense is Bowers. Need a positive play, find Bowers.
Bennett still had a solid game, going 25/36 throwing for 272 yards and one rushing touchdown. Should have thrown a couple passing touchdowns, but they were dropped by receivers in the endzone. Bowers let the team in all purpose yards with 77 rushing and and 60 receiving for a total of 137 yards. Receiver Ladd McConkey lead the way with 65 yards receiving yards.
The Bad between the Hedges
The defense showed that they really are human. They gave up the most points so far this season with 22 points. Kent State had the defense confused for a lot of plays and picked up chunks of yardage. Kent State Quarterback Collin Schlee threw a screen and the receiver ran it up the middle for six. The Georgia defenders were screened good by Kent State players and the receiver was able to camouflage himself behind the blockers. Georgia players are good at seeking those players out because of their speed, but not on that play. And I don’t want to take anything away from Kent State because they came into the game with a good game plan. But in the end Georgia was just too strong.
McConkey had a muffed punt return that led to a Kent State score, and he also fumbled the ball. He has sure hands and catches most that come his way, but even McConkey can have a bad game. Head Coach Kirby Smart had a good chat with him on the sidelines, which might have rattled him and got him thinking too much. The sophomore receiver turned it around in the second have to lead the way in receiving.
Smart was asked at the end of the game how he felt the game went. He thought having a little adversity is good. It builds character and more strength to fight back. The team hasn’t really been tested this year and the game versus Kent State was good for the team.
Still #1 in the Polls
After the Georgia win against Kent State between the hedges, the team still remained #1 in all the latest polls with Alabama a close second. After the beat down of Alabama over Vanderbilt, my initial impression was Georgia and Alabama would flip. Georgia needs to continue winning to stay atop the polls because they now dive deep into conference play.
Next Game: Georgia Bulldogs (4-0) will travel to Columbia, Missouri to face the Missouri Tigers (2-2) on Saturday, October 1. Kickoff set for 7:30pm EST on ESPN. Catch my writeup next week on this game.