Thoughts from the Box - Far From Perfect Georgia Bulldogs Cruise To 33-0 Win
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ATHENS - It was far from a perfect day for Kirby Smart and the No. 2-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, but even with a sluggish start, the 2021 national champions had no problem taking care of the Samford Bulldogs with a 33-0 shutout victory.
The weather looked like Georgia’s offense today. A little flat. A little boring. Nothing flashy.
After dominating the then No.11 Oregon Ducks in the season opener, the Bulldogs had to settle for three field goals in the first half but still took a 30-0 halftime lead into the locker room. It wasn’t a bad day at all for quarterback Stetson Bennett, but it didn’t feel like the chemistry was there with his receivers. He missed some passes but also had some great throws down the field.
For the second straight game, Georgia’s rushing offense just wasn’t explosive. There were some nice runs here and there, but they didn’t necessarily dominate on the ground like most would’ve expected. Some credit needs to be given to the Samford defense who came ready to play, but as a whole, Georgia needs to run the ball better. I thought the pass protection could’ve been much better as well.
The game was never in doubt, but Samford made Georgia work for their points offensively. Nothing came too easy, especially down in the red-zone.
Offensively, it just wasn’t great today. They didn’t “click” like they did against the Ducks. The offensive line didn’t dominate. They weren’t explosive on the ground, and they didn’t bully Samford at times. They did here and there, but they didn’t do it consistently.
In the end, Bennett finished the game 24/34 for 300 yards and one touchdown while completing passes to at least 11 different receivers.
Kendall Milton was the team’s leading rusher with 85 yards.
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Defensively, the Bulldogs came ready to play. They were fast, physical, and still got chewed out by Kirby Smart on a number of occasions. They’re still learning and getting better as a unit, and while today was a great showing, there’s still plenty of room for development.
In the end, Georgia gave up just 128 total yards to Samford.
Georgia’s leading tackler on the day was linebacker Smael Mondon with 4 total tackles.
In the end, it was just a sloppy game for the Bulldogs. They didn’t play aggressive, clean, or fundamentally sound. They were just off.
Did they look like the No. 1 team in the country today? Absolutely not. But nobody else did either...