Game Grades: Georgia Beats Middle Tennessee State 49-7
OFFENSE: A
It’s starting to look like I refuse to give Georgia a B on anything, but it’s hard when they don’t give you any reason to. Georgia’s offense looked electric from the first snap. UGA had really solid total numbers, posting 264 total rushing yards and 223 yards through the air. What made them look as impressive as they did though was the big plays they produced. Six plays went for 20+ yards for Georgia and half of those went for 50 yards or more. Think about that, in three total plays, the Bulldogs covered more than 150 yards of ground. Overall, just an absolute domination from the Bulldogs offense.
Defense: A-
Georgia’s defense looked really good, don’t get me wrong, but there were some lapses for sure. A 41-yard touchdown pass that the first-team defense conceded definitely isn’t pleasing Kirby Smart. That to go along with 158 rushing yards from MTSU isn’t great. Especially when you consider that UGA kept South Carolina to only 53 rushing yards. Also, Georgia failed to generate any sacks, a common critique to be had with the front seven this season. There were some nice plays to be had, A J.R. Reed forced fumble and a Deandre Baker interception. But there were several areas where Georgia could have been better today.
Special Teams: A
Mecole Hardman finally broke through. It had to happen at some point. Last season it seemed like he was always an inch or two away from getting one, but today he was able to take one 70 yards to the house. Rodrigo Blankenship continued to do boot the hell out of the ball on each kickoff, knocking every one of them out of the end zone. Middle Tennessee State only had one return opportunity on a punt and they took it seven yards. You could say it was a pretty good day for special teams coordinator Scott Fountain’s squad today.
Coaching: A
Hard to complain here. Georgia had a lot of penalties in the first half but it never proved to be a serious issue and was quickly fixed in the second half. Kirby and co. were more than prepared against MTSU and that clearly showed in the 49-7 blowout.