UGA Survives Scare in Lexington
Well, that was ugly. UGA just barely held off the Kentucky Wildcats in an awfully hard game to watch for Dawg fans. Kentucky jumped out to an early lead and took their lead into the 4th quarter. The Dawgs were able to fight their way back after Trevor Etienne made some big plays and ultimately Branson Robinson punched in their only touchdown on the day. Read UGA survives scare in Lexington.
In a game like this, Dawg fans are looking for someone to blame. Let’s take a look at who is culpable in this week’s poor performance.
Hey, make sure you check out our picks on the GW Daily Picks page.
The Good
Trevor Etienne was essential to the Dawgs win in this game. While he had to dance around, it was only to avoid tacklers who blew by hapless offensive linemen.
He was able to rattle off some key runs and did just enough blocking to help. Etienne is one of two guys who can make opponents miss in the open field. He needed to make a lot of guys miss just to gain positive yardage on a number of carries. He also was banged up, but powered through during the game.
Dom Lovett had one of, if not the best, game of his UGA career against UK. He’s the other guy who can make defenders miss in space. He had a phenomenal catch off of a tipped pass and was really the only receiving threat doing anything significant in the game. He had a massive play on a key 3rd down deep in UGA territory.
UGA leaned on him when they needed a play and he often delivered to the tune of 6 catches and 89 yards.
Jalon Walker and Raylen Wilson both had big games to the Dawgs. Walker was a menace in the backfield, causing all kinds of pressure and making key sacks. Wilson had a key sack and strip that Damon Wilson recovered. On UK’s final drive, Walker had a hit on QB Brock Vandagriff late in the game that made his pass errant. Had he not, Kentucky had a receiver streaking open and would have had a huge gain, putting them in position to kick the game winning field goal.
Brett Thorsen punted for more yards than the Dawgs had on offense. That sucks. However, he averaged 49.5 yards per punt and was key in helping UGA pin the Cats back in their own territory.
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins continues to make major plays. So far he has taken advantage of his health and a money year to make a name for himself on the defensive line.
The Bad and the Oh-So Ugly
The Offense
Holy Cow. I could point out darn near every single aspect of this offense. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Once again only 3 first half points. Only 12 first downs and 5/13 on 3rd down.
OC Mike Bobo called a poor game, but his players also made it worse than it appears. My biggest issue was Bobo’s unrelenting commitment to inside zone runs that didn’t work hardly at all.
The few times we ran outside the tackles it worked pretty well in comparison. The offensive line was atrocious and a major factor in why the offense failed to function well. In particular, our offensive tackles were awful. LT Earnest Greene was a liability in the game and seemed to get pulled at times because he was so bad. RT Xavier Truss was more consistent, and still bad. Monroe Freeling rotated in at both tackle spots, and he struggled too.
Pick any given play in the game and you’ll see 1-2 offensive linemen getting whipped and making mental errors. Truly frightening. And then you have to look at QB Carson Beck too. Beck was inaccurate and too conservative in his throws. He forced key throws, missed open receivers. He became so timid because of his poor blocking that he ruined more than one potential touchdown scoring play.
Late in the game, he bails out of the pocket for no reason. Then, Etienne breaks the opposite direction. Beck flicks a throw to him, but because he’s fading the other direction it’s inaccurate. Had Beck simply stayed in the pocket and hit Etienne, he had plenty of room to run which would have a minimum of a first down in the red zone if not a touchdown. Beck, Bobo, and the offensive line were ALL out of sync in the game. It was a complete disaster.
One final point. The offensive line weren’t the only ones completely inept at blocking. The tight ends were atrocious too. Transfer Ben Yurosek might need to give his jersey back with how poorly he’s played through 3 games. He’s not a passing threat at all so far and whiffs routinely on blocks. He single-handedly ruined a drive for the Dawgs with his missed blocks. On one screen if he makes his block, the Dawgs have an explosive play dialed up, if not a 92 yard touchdown. Bobo dialed up a great run play and a perfectly called screen but Yurosek blew his block on both and ruined both plays. Oscar Delp was poor and blocking is supposed to be his strength. Not good.
Tackling
UGA didn’t have a good tackling game against Tennessee Tech and that continued this week against UK. UGA defensive linemen and linebackers would repeatedly be in position to stop a player, only for them to hit and fall backward. The lack of physicality and execution was unlike a UGA defense.
3rd down defense
The Dawgs allowed 9-16 3rd down conversions to the Cats in this game. While the didn’t give up a touchdown for the 4th straight game, they also allowed Kentucky to stay on the field and keep the Dawg offense off the field far too long in this game. The Dawgs only ran just over 50 plays. Kentucky ran over 20 more in part because the Dawgs couldn’t get off the field.
Penalties
7, 9, 9. That’s how many penalties the Dawgs have so far in their games this year. What is happening to a team that is historically remarkably disciplined? Some of it, let’s be honest, were awful calls. The roughing the passer call on Jalon Walker was absolutely insane. His tackle was nearly perfect in form. That call prevented a 3 and out and UK went on to score that drive. But the Dawgs had multiple drives extended by penalties given up. They have to clean up how they are playing.
Tate Ratledge Hurt
RG Tate Ratledge is the most experienced and leader of the offensive line. He was rolled up on, spraining an MCL and his ankle. Thankfully, the injury wasn’t more serious, but he’ll miss significant time.
Footnotes
- DL Xzavier McLeod got his first action this season after an abdominal injury. Was good to see him get in the game.
- Safety KJ Bolden looked more like a a freshman in this game. He made a nice tackle early in the game, but also was slow to adjust to Vandagriff scrambling a couple of times.
- The Dawgs only had 63 yards of offense in the first half, the fewest since 2009.
- The Dawg offense ranks in the 60s in total yards this year.
- The Dawgs need more from WR Dillon Bell and WR Colbie Young. Neither guy did hardly anything noteworthy in this game. Young only played like 10 snaps, so keep an eye on if his hamstring is nagging him still.
Final Thoughts
Two things can be true at the same time. The Dawgs may be just fine. They’ve had performances like this before and historically have bounced back really well. In some ways, UGA will go into Tuscaloosa with a bye week to get healthy, scout Bama, and not buy into any rat poison about them. Could be a great formula. On the other hand, they did so poorly on the road against an inferior opponent, it could be frightening how ugly things could get against a team like Alabama.
The other thing that can be true is that UGA has some truly concerning issues on offense. The “trifecta of terrible” this game (Bobo, Beck, and O Line) all need work. UGA has WAY too much talent and experience on the offensive line to put in a performance like they just did. Beck is too good to second guess himself and become Check Down Carson again. He’s got to let it rip. And Bobo needs to adjust and attack. No more slow playing.
Coach Smart said he learned more about this team and is proud of their leadership in this game. Despite the tense game, UGA maintained its composure. I also saw Smart have to get on to guys in a way I haven’t seen in a few years. I’m not sure UGA has the vocal leaders they need in these situations to overcome adversity. I hope they do because it’s only getting tougher from here.
