The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Georgia vs. Samford
The University of Georgia has moved to (2-0) following their win over the Samford Bulldogs.
What did we see in their performance that was noteworthy?
The Good: Spreading the Ball Around
An inconsistent day, to say the least, for Georgia's offense, especially in the redzone, did have some positives. The Bulldogs hooked up with 15 different receivers throughout Saturday's game.
Starter Stetson Bennett hooked with 12 of those different receivers in just the first half alone. The injury to starting wide-out Adonai Mitchell on the first play for Georgia on offense meant an increased amount of reps for younger guys like Jackson Meeks and Dillon Bell.
The Bad: A Sack on Third and Nine While in Field Goal Range
It is a tendency of Stetson Bennett to try and extend plays with his legs outside of the pocket, even if that means turning around and changing directions while going backward in the pocket.
Bennett did it last week against Oregon, evading multiple Oregon defenders before firing an opposite field touchdown strike to a wide-open Ladd McConkey. This week, Bennett tried to do the same twice.
Right before the half, Georgia was trying to put more points on the board in an under two-minute scenario. On a hail-mary attempt, Bennett scrambled out of the pocket, evading multiple defenders before heaving the ball downfield, which was incomplete.
Then comes the second half; on a third and nine, the Samford defense corraled him for a 17-yard loss. The sack forced a 50-plus-yard field goal attempt from Jack Podlesny, which came up just short, as Georgia's offense left points on the field.
While it seems small on the surface in a 30-point game like this one, it is something that would mean a lot in close games. Bennett has made a lot of improvement in other areas of his game, but knowing when to extend the play and when to throw it away is still a point of improvement.
The Ugly: Misfires in the Redzone
Georgia's offensive streak of consecutive touchdown drives while starting quarterback Stetson Bennett was in the game ended at eight, as Georgia's first offensive drive against Samford concluded with a Jack Podlesny field goal.
Bennett missed a few throws on Georgia's second drive as the ball just went over the outstretched arms of both tight ends Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington. On the first drive so, Georgia was unable to pick up a first down on third and three as Kenny McIntosh just got back to the line of scrimmage.
Even later on in the game, Georgia was never consistent in the red area, whether it was through the air or on the ground; they couldn't consistently finish off drives in the endzone. Luckily for Jack Podlesny, that meant he had five field goals, four of which he made.
You Might Also Like:
- Georgia's Injury Report Prior to Samford
- WATCH: Georgia Releases Samford Game Trailer
- Get Up; It's Gameday! No. 2 Georgia Hosts Samford
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