Despite Uncharacteristic Loss, the Dawgs are Far from Done

The Georgia Bulldogs suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of the South Carolina Gamecocks. Credit the opponent, but the Bulldogs' season is far from done.

The Georgia Bulldogs lost a defensive battle against South Carolina, falling 20-17 in overtime. It was an uncharacteristic performance in many ways. 

One way the performance was uncharacteristic was the fact that the Bulldogs were held below 200 yards rushing. This is only the second time such an occurrence has taken place this season. The 173 yards gained on the ground was the second-lowest total that Georgia has posted this season. 

Star running back, D'Andre Swift did manage to break the 100-yard barrier by chewing up 113 yards on 23 carries. That's a great game by many running backs standards, but for Swift, it was his second-lowest yards per carry average of the season.

D'Andre Swift jumps out of the banner against South Carolina

Coinciding with the lack of production on the ground, the Georgia Bulldogs uncharacteristically threw the ball 52 times. 

Jake Fromm completed just 28 of 51 passes, for 295 yards and only one touchdown vs three interceptions. He also fumbled an exchange with center Trey Hill. That is certainly out of character for Fromm as those were his first four turnovers of the season and the most of his career. 

South Carolina's Israel Mukuamu, a 6'4 sophomore cornerback was the biggest beneficiary of the miscues as he picked off two passes. One of the interceptions was a pick-six that gave South Carolina a 17-10 lead. The loss means that Fromm is now 0-5 when throwing the ball 30 or more times.

South Carolina feeling an upset??

The Gamecocks lead Georgia after this pick six from Israel Mukuamu on Jake Fromm's first interception of the year. pic.twitter.com/Ag2ZrWHFPn

— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) October 12, 2019

Credit must be given to South Carolina head coach, Will Muschamp. His game plan was to load the box and make the young Georgia wide receivers beat an aggressive man coverage. Other teams have tried this, especially Notre Dame. However, most teams have changed their strategy, one the Bulldogs burned them with a few passing plays. 

South Carolina stuck to their game plan and it worked. Credit also must be given to their defenders for being disciplined in their rushing lanes. Even though loading the box is a good strategy to stop the run, it takes discipline to execute. One misstep against D'Andre Swift could mean a long touchdown, with only one safety back as the last line of defense.

Jake Fromm tackled against South Carolina

The fact that the Georgia Bulldogs turned the ball over four times, was not just a great play by South Carolina, but also some self-inflicted wounds. 

Offensive coordinator, James Coley could have done a better job of adjusting by calling more man-beating plays with natural rubs to free up wide receivers. In addition, double crossing routes that force defenders to avoid each other or switch would've also have done a great job of freeing up playmakers. 

At the same time, Jake Fromm must make better reads. There were multiple instances in which Fromm chose to throw into double coverage. Several times, he missed an open wide receiver. Other times he should have chosen to attract single coverage. Jake must hit the film room and correct these mistakes moving forward. 

Georgia Bulldogs kicker, Rodrigo Blankenship also uncharacteristically missed two field goals. The first one wasn't his fault, as he had a 53-yard attempt blocked to end the first half. His second miss was costly, as he pushed a 42 yard field goal attempt to the left in the second overtime. He's now 12/14 for field goals on the season. 

However, Blankenship is going to be fine. Even on his worse day against South Carolina, he managed to nail a 50-yard field goal. Blankenship is a finalist for the Groza Award and is a potential future NFL starter. 

The Georgia Bulldogs also uncharacteristically failed to force a turnover on defense. The young Georgia defense had forced eight turnovers in five games previously. This includes forcing multiple turnovers in three of five games. 

Despite not forcing a turnover, the defense played very well. They held South Carolina to just 297 total yards. The Georgia defense limited the conservative Gamecocks offense to just 4.8 yards per pass and 3.9 yards per rush. They allowed just ten points in regulation, despite having to fend off Carolina following three turnovers. (The pick-six scored by the Gamecocks defense is certainly not the fault of Georgia's defensive unit.)

The Bulldogs stunning defeat ended a 16-game winning streak at Sanford Stadium. The team's 15 consecutive wins against SEC East opponents also came to screeching halt. 

Despite the defeat, all is not lost. The Georgia Bulldogs season is not over, but the margin for error is certainly out the window. Georgia can no longer afford to take any team "lightly" in the world's best college football conference, starting this Saturday at home versus Kentucky. 

The team must run the table on a schedule that includes Florida, Missouri, Auburn, Texas A&M, and Georgia Tech. The great thing about the schedule is the Bulldogs toughest games will be at home, with the exception of Auburn and Florida. 

The Georgia-Florida game will very likely decide who wins the SEC East. On the other hand, Auburn is certainly a formidable, yet beatable opponent. In fact, the Bulldogs should be favored in all of their remaining games.

Coach Kirby Smart knows the key to UGA becoming more explosive on offense as he gave the following quote: 

“I think we need to do a better job of getting the ball to playmakers in space and try to get the ball outside a little more,” Smart said. “Outside zones, screens, stuff we need to work on in practice, to get better at those things.”

Coach Smart is absolutely correct. 

The final step for Georgia to get to the next level is to be more balanced and more explosive on offense. The team needs to do a better job at getting playmakers such as D'Andre Swift, James Cook, Demetris Robertson, George Pickens, and Dominick Blaylock the ball in space. 

Georgia would also be wise to limit the number of wide receivers that they use. They need to stick with the same four wide receivers for majority of the game, barring injury, to allow guys to get into a rhythm. 

George Pickens, Lawrence Cager, Demetris Robertson and Dominick Blaylock should be the chosen quartet, with some specialized apparences from James Cook sprinkled in here and there.

The Georgia Bulldogs certainly don't need to start throwing the ball all around the yard, however, the team needs to go from run-heavy to more balanced. Offensive coordinator, James Coley needs to alternate between running to set up the pass, and throwing to set up the run. 

Too often, Georgia has play sequences of run, run, pass, which is far too predictable. Coley also must adjust to calling more plays to beat press-man coverage with a loaded box. Teams will certainly try to duplicate South Carolina's formula for success, so the Bulldogs must thoroughly prepare for this onslaught.

The Georgia Bulldogs also need to add more variety to their running game. Rather than running up the middle so often, Georgia has to mix in more outsize zones and toss sweeps. 

They also need more variety in their unbalanced line formation, which seems to result in a run up the middle majority of the time.

D'Andre Swift runs against Kentucky in 2018

D'Andre Swift knows how good the Georgia Bulldogs offense can be:

“We should be one of the best teams in the country on offense, in every aspect, and I think we need to do a better job of playing fast in practice and hopefully see that trickle down to Saturday. We haven’t played a complete game offensively, at all."

The Georgia Bulldogs implementing those changes on offense, combined with an elite defense should lead Georgia back to Atlanta for the SEC Championship. 

The defensive unit ranks #12 in the NCAA and 2nd in the SEC in total defense. The Georgia defense also ranks number six in the nation and number one in the conference in points allowed. 

Though they are the team's more inexperienced unit, this defense is definitely good enough to help the Bulldogs get to Atlanta, likely for a battle against Alabama or LSU. That is a game that Georgia won't be favored in, but anything can happen in one game, particularly, when you have a team that is as talented as any in the country. 

So don't fret, Dawg fans. Everything that you have hoped and wished for this season is still possible, with the exception of going undefeated.

The Georgia Bulldogs are far from done in 2019.