What's Going on With the Georgia Bulldogs?

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By Brett Daniels

The #1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs were in a dog fight (pardon the pun) with the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday night in a game that went all the way to the final buzzer before the Dawgs prevailed 13-12. Was this a typical game on the road in the SEC or does it portend bigger issues for Georgia moving forward?

Early Season Struggles

Under Kirby Smart , Georgia has tended to struggle with early season road games, particularly against SEC opponents. In 2016 Georgia beat Missouri 28-27 on a last second touchdown pass on 4 ^th down. The 2017 team traveled to South Bend, IN to take on Notre Dame in Week 2 and barely survived 20-19. 2018 and 2019 didn’t see Georgia with the early season “struggle” game but did see the Dawgs lose on the road to LSU (2018) 36-16 and at home to South Carolina (2019) 20-17. Georgia would lose to Alabama 41-24 in week 4 of the 2020 season and 44-28 against Florida in Week 6 in what would be the last regular season loss for the Dawgs to date.

The championship seasons of 2021 and 2022 featured low scoring scrappy affairs against Clemson (2021) 10-3 in the opening game of the season, and a 26-22 escape from Missouri in Week 5 of the 2022 season. After both games, Georgia came out and put 56 on UAB in 2021 (or 40 on South Carolina the next week) and 42 on Auburn in 2022. The 2023 squad struggled on the road against Auburn before Brock Bowers took over the game in the 4 ^th quarter and led the Dawgs to a 27-20 victory. Georgia would go on to beat Kentucky 51-13 the next week. It isn’t uncommon for Georgia (or any team) to have a clunker early in the season and then rebound to play championship level football the next week and for the remainder of the season.

The Kentucky Problem

Along with the early season struggle game, Kirby Smart led teams have also struggled playing in Kroger Field which is not known as one of the more hostile venues in the SEC. The 2020 team emerged with a 14-3 win, managing only 346 yards of total offense, the majority of which were on the ground. 2022 was one of the uglier games in the series and saw Georgia leading 9-0 at halftime before a Kenny McIntosh touchdown run late in the 3 ^rd quarter. Heisman finalist Stetson Bennett threw for a meager 116 yards on 13/19 passing with one INT. The Dawgs would withstand a late comeback attempt by QB Will Levis and win 16-6.

2024 seems to be another chapter in the hard-fought Georgia v Kentucky battles with the Dawgs only generating 262 yards of total offense and Heisman hopeful Carson Beck having a tough night throwing for 160 yards on 15/24 passing with no touchdowns or interceptions. Additionally, the Wildcats were led by former Georgia QB Brock Vandagriff , adding another level of motivation for the Wildcats.

What Does It Mean in the Long Run?

If history shows us anything, it may not mean anything except Georgia having its annual early season clunker game against an opponent that the team was overlooked due to their play against South Carolina last week . It was also against Kentucky in Lexington which has produced a close game since the 2008 Matthew Stafford to AJ Green last second touchdown every year except for two (2014, 2018).

It may, however, show that Georgia isn’t the juggernaut that many predicted before the season and seemed to confirm against Clemson in Week 1. The offensive line was manhandled by the Wildcat front 7 all night. The interior line had a hard time opening holes for the running backs and the tackles struggled mightily against the pass rush. Beck looked confused and was seeing ghosts due to the pressure that Kentucky was sending, and his receivers weren’t helping by not getting separation from the secondary.

Defensively, Georgia struggled to stop the run and to set the edge on perimeter runs. The secondary played very loose coverage which allowed Kentucky to dink and dunk down the field which fortunately only resulted in field goals. The Defensive line should get a shot in the arm with the return of DL Mykel Williams and Warren Brinson against Alabama along with the season debut of NT Jordan Hall who is recovering from stress fractures in both legs suffered in the offseason. But if the Dawgs don’t improve on both lines of scrimmage over the bye week, then a loss to Alabama is likely along with Texas in October. Ole Miss and Tennessee are also possibilities if the defense can’t generate pressure on the two talented QB’s without bringing extra rushers.