Morning, y’all — and happy Feature Friday!
Here was this week’s question for the DawgNation team: To reach its full potential, what’s one thing Georgia must get right in the second half of the season?
Since we talked about tailgate food last week, I figured we’d go a little more serious this week, with Georgia-Florida and the remaining five games of the regular season looming.
As usual, everyone on the DN team knocked their answers out of the park:
Kaylee Mansell: “One area that needs improvement is its performance in the second quarter. The Bulldogs have shown they can come out of the gate firing, outscoring opponents 87-14 in the first quarter through seven games.
“But that early success hasn’t always translated into consistent play throughout the game. The Bulldogs can’t afford to let their opponents gain momentum, erase an early deficit or take control of a game before halftime. Georgia has proven it can start games strong and finish with the toughness and execution needed to win close contests.
“But championship teams have to be consistent for all four quarters. The middle of the game is just as important as the opening kickoff and the final minutes, and if the Bulldogs want to reach their full potential, they need to turn their strong starts into complete performances.”
Connor Riley: “It’s overly simple but Georgia just needs to do a better job of tackling. There was a noticeable step back in the games against Alabama and Auburn, with it really costing Georgia in the latter. Yes, Georgia is a talented team, but tackling is an effort-based skill. The Bulldogs still have four very difficult SEC games on their schedule and they’re going to need to be more buttoned up on the defensive side of the ball.”
Brandon Adams: “In the second half of the season, Georgia needs to get healthier at running back. Dwight Phillips Jr. and Bo Walker performed admirably against Alabama earlier this month, but UGA still needs Nate Frazier to return to his pre-injury form. The Bulldogs became vulnerable to an upset against Auburn because the rushing attack faltered. They’ll need to regain that balance on offense if they want to remain a championship contender.”
Jeff Sentell’s answer was similar to Brandon’s: “Georgia needs its running back depth restored. That means getting Frazier back. A healthy Frazier is the X factor down the SEC stretch and playoff run. This UGA team is stronger than in previous years in several areas, including completion percentage, scoring offense, total offense, third-down conversions, rush and pass offense, average yards per carry, pass efficiency, rushing defense, total defense, scoring defense, and even sacks. This is a title-contending team. The Auburn game is an outlier, but any team is susceptible to getting beat when it finishes a game -3 in turnover margin.
“Punting is a yellow flag. Net punting is 89th nationally. That’s usually a heavy UGA strength. The get-right fix here is simple: The Bulldogs don’t need to beat the Bullodgs with turnovers and also keep their top backs healthy.”
Mike Griffith: “Georgia needs its defensive front to continue to develop and become more assertive. A dominant defensive front could lead to a title. If the Bulldogs can’t consistently stop the rush, there will not be a championship run.”
Trivia time
When is the last time Georgia lost back-to-back games in the regular season?
Can’t wait to see everyone at Cosm Atlanta TOMORROW for our first DawgNation Invasion of the season, which is officially sold out. As the newest member of DN, I’m really looking forward to meeting y’all there in person.
Be sure to get your tickets ahead of time for next week’s Invasion in Oxford.
Cody Chaffins: “Georgia’s got to get special teams right. The hidden yards, especially in the punt and punt return game, make UGA’s drives longer and opponents’ drives shorter. It’s adds up over time and will eventually bite. Have to pin ‘em deep.”
And here’s my answer: “The run game is key, both on offense and defense. I’ll echo Brandon and Jeff that Georgia needs Frazier at the top of his game, especially with Chauncey Bowens out. No matter how stellar Phillips and Walker were against Alabama, the Bulldogs simply have to have their top guy healthy and doing his thing at that position group.
Georgia was outrushed 192-113 in the Auburn loss, and it’s not a good recipe to repeat.”
Georgia confident Stockton will have a bounce-back performance
There’s a case to be made that Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton’s last game was his worst as the team’s starting quarterback.
He threw multiple interceptions for the first time in his career. Even more damaging, he had a fumble in the final minute of a 27-24 loss to Auburn that set up the Tigers’ game-winning field goal.
Stockton has had two weeks to stew on the performance. Yet his teammates have been impressed with how he’s conducted himself in practice.
“His response has been great,” wide receiver Talyn Taylor said. “He’s been coming in, doing all the stuff he’s been doing. Being a leader, making sure himself, his teammates, all good. His spirit’s held high, so just seeing him coming in, coming back from that, it’s been good.”
What made the Auburn performance so shocking is that came after the Georgia quarterback was largely great in the team’s win against Alabama.
On the season, Stockton has still been one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC. He’s completing 74% of his passes while averaging 9.9 yards per attempt, leading qualified SEC passers in both categories.
He’s also got 16 touchdown passes on the season to go along with 160 rushing yards.
“I think he’s done a good job just staying and being himself,” center Drew Bobo said. “Really, he’s a very consistent person. He’s the same guy. Every time he gets on the field, he’s going to give you 100% effort. He’s going to prepare the same way. I think he’s done a really good job of that. He, on Sunday and Monday, just rewatching the game, and kind of trying to get away from it after that, and move on, and learn how we can get better, and work on us throughout the week.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart made it clear during the team’s off week that Stockton did not have a concussion and was instead playing through a shoulder injury he suffered on the first play of the game. Unlike both of Florida’s quarterbacks, Stockton did not appear on the availability report for Saturday’s game.
Read Connor’s full story here.
Trivia answer
2016
