Dawgs Daily

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Georgia Handles Mississippi State

No. 1 Georgia clinched the SEC East with a 45-19 win over Mississippi State. Take a look at some of the strong (and not so strong) performances from the win.

Christian Goeckel

The Good: Georgia’s Weapons

Darnell Washington hauled in his first touchdown since last year’s SEC Championship, and Brock Bowers continued to show why he’ll be a top-10 pick whenever he decides to leave Athens. It’s been incredibly fun to watch Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken develop a plan to include both guys in the offense on almost every play. It just puts the defense in such a bad spot. Either add linebackers to stop the run and watch them get cooked by Washington and Bowers through the air, or add defensive backs and watch them get run over. The two tight ends combined for 10 receptions, 101 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Ladd McConkey had a big day, catching 5 passes for 71 yards a score, as well as adding a 70-yard touchdown on the ground. It seems like McConkey has gotten over the jitters he was suffering from during the middle of the year.

It was great to see the reemergence of Kearis Jackson. Injuries and the depth chart have kept Jackson sidelined, but he popped off in Starkville, hauling in 4 receptions for 69 yards.

The Bad: Turnovers 

For the fifth time this year, Georgia turned the football over at least twice. Stetson Bennett threw two interceptions in Georgia’s win over Mississippi State, and he probably should’ve been picked off at least two more times on ill-advised throws. Daijun Edwards got lucky when an official blew dead a run in which it appeared Edwards had fumbled the football. 

Georgia is undefeated (10-0, 7-0) and the clear No. 1 team in college football, but they’re not unbeatable. In games Georgia doesn’t turn over the football, they can’t be touched. But in games they do give the ball away, they leave the door cracked open. Eventually a team is going to smash that door down if Georgia gives them too many chances.

The Ugly: Attention Span

Georgia kept Mississippi State at arm’s length all day, but they could never put the game away. A lot of that had to do with the turnovers we mentioned above, but penalties and other mental lapses hindered the Bulldogs, as well. 

A roughing the punter extended a Mississippi State drive. Missed tackles and busted coverage allowed State to return a punt for a score at the end of the first half. 66 total penalty yards gave Mississippi State conversions on otherwise dead drives.

Georgia’s been guilty of playing with their food at times this year. They need to shake that habit very soon. It’s so hard to flip that switch. You don’t want to be trying to flip it when you’re on the field in Atlanta.

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Christian Goeckel
CHRISTIAN GOECKEL

Christian Goeckel is a Staff Writer for Dawgs Daily on SI.com. Christian has covered College Football for nearly a decade, writing for multiple sites and hosting radio shows across Southern Georgia and South Carolina. 

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