The Good, Bad, and the Ugly: The Orange Bowl

There was a lot of good, some bad, and yes, a little bit of ugly in Georgia's win versus Michigan in the Orange Bowl.

A performance for the ages, to say the least. 

After watching Georgia wrap up the 2021 Capital One Orange Bowl with a statement win over the No. 2 ranked Michigan Wolverines. The 34-11 win over the Big 10 conference champions now sees Georgia move onto Indianapolis and a long-awaited rematch with SEC foe Alabama. 

The Good: A lot

Third Down

Georgia's attitude was on full display from the very first snap of the game; the offense came out firing under the direction of offensive coordinator Todd Monken. The early 27-3 first-half lead over Michigan was due to the near-flawless execution on third downs.

Georgia converted six of their first eight third downs in the first half of the game offensively. Defensively, Georgia also was near flawless, allowing just two conversions of six attempts in the first half.

Run Defense

Georgia held one of the nation's best rushing offenses to a mere 84 yards on 27 attempts. They forced turnovers as a unit and forced Michigan into becoming a one-dimensional football team. 

Blocking

Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo held sackless, multiple explosive plays sprung by downfield blocking and a team that rushed for 5.4 yards per attempt for a total of 190 yards. Needless to say, the blocking all around was phenomenal. 

The Bad: Poor Clock Management to End the First Half

In the first half of play that featured a lot of good and very few bad plays from Georgia, the ending of the first half drew the ire of many, including head coach Kirby Smart, who was visibly upset with quarterback Stetson Bennett as Georgia's 2-minute offense let the last seconds of the clock runoff before getting into field goal range. 

The Ugly: Scoreless Third Quarter

After jumping out to a quick lead in the first half, Georgia could not get points in the third quarter with multiple opportunities to land a potential game-sealing touchdown play. 

The first offensive drive for Georgia of the second half was a quick three and out, which almost turned to near disaster as Bennett scrambled out right before throwing across his body, landing at the feet of Michigan defenders. 

After the Georgia defense caused its third turnover of the game on a Michigan fumble, Georgia drove down to the Michigan goal-line before three penalties cost Georgia 40 yards in field position. Ultimately the drive would stall out on third and long, forcing the field goal unit on the field for a 45-yard field goal which Jack Podlesny missed.

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