Georgia Runs Wild

It was a special night in Athens.

Georgia played a fantastic game on both sides of the ball against a Clemson team that looked pretty good for most of the night.

Three things stood out to me about tonight’s victory.

First, the running game is going to be as good as advertised. Todd Gurley is, indeed, the best running back in the country. When he is healthy, and fresh, you can’t stop him consistently. Nick Chubb is going to be a huge addition to this team for the next few years, and his running style will get fans out of their seat in the stadium and in their homes. Sony Michel has world-class speed. One of the best runs of the night was seeing Clemson’s defenders take a bad angle on Michel because they underestimated his speed getting to the edge. Keith Marshall had a rough night, and to me, it looks like he isn’t quite back to 100% following knee surgery last season.

Not only is Georgia’s running game deep and talented, it has the potential to be dynamic. The plays where Georgia puts Michel or Isaiah McKenzie at wide out with Gurley in the backfield and they bring the receiver across the play could be indefensible when Gurley is right. It is exciting to think about how effective this running attack can be, and there is nothing more demoralizing for a defense than having the ball run right down your throat again and again.

Secondly, Georgia’s defense is significantly better than last season. Even giving up a lot of yards and 21 points in the first half, there was significant improvement. Georgia’s defensive backs had multiple chances to make plays on passes, but they never got their heads turned around to find the ball. As aggravating as that was, it is a big improvement because the defensive backs were in the proper positions to start with. 

Additionally, I can’t think of one missed tackle in the game. There was none of the shoulder hitting that we have become accustomed to seeing these past four seasons.

Jeremy Pruitt should run for Governer of Georgia tonight, because he would win with about 97% of the vote. It is hard to believe that most of those players were the same guys that played last year under the former defensive coordinator who shall never be named on this blog again.

Early in the first half, I told Aimee that what Pruitt was so good at last year with Florida State was half time adjustments. In the national title game, Florida State got gashed by Auburn in the first half, but then adjusted their scheme and basically shut Auburn down in the second half. Tonight’s second half defense was as good as I can remember seeing Georgia play in a very long time. Once they got the momentum in the fourth quarter, the Georgia defense seemed almost impossible to play against.

Running the ball and playing great defense is what the University of Georgia is all about. For years under Vince Dooley those two things were the backbone of the program. Even if it was just for one night, seeing Georgia play like Georgia is enough to bring a tear to your eye and a send a chill down your spine. This was a complete game, and now expectations will be through the roof for the rest of this season.

That brings me to point number three. There were three different quarterbacks that played in tonight’s game, and Hutson Mason was the third best. I am so happy that we don’t have Clemson on the schedule for the next three seasons because Mr. Watson is going to be a special player for the Tigers. For the rest of this season, Stoudt is plenty good enough to have Clemson competing for the ACC title. Stoudt was nearly perfect early in the game, and if his receivers would have held onto the ball in the first half, Georgia might have been down two or three touchdowns at half time.

Mason didn’t play poorly, but he never made a big time throw in a clutch situation. He was average. But if Georgia wants this to be a special season, Mason is going to have to be better than average. I believe now more than ever that Hutson Mason will be the key to this season for Georgia. If the Dawgs are going to go into Columbia in two weeks and beat the Gamecocks, Mason has to be better. If Georgia is going to beat Florida for a fourth consecutive season, Mason has to be better. If Georgia is going to beat Auburn, Mason has to be better. You can’t be one dimensional, no matter how amazing that dimension might be.

Georgia fans should enjoy this night. There aren’t many times when everything goes your way the way it did tonight.

Tonight we saw just how good this team can be. The question for the rest of the season will be, how many times can Georgia play at this level for 60 minutes. Championship teams repeat this performance, and if Georgia plays at this level all season, they will be a championship team.

Glory, Glory!

Go Dawgs!