Morning, y’all!
I hope everyone had an amazing weekend, whether it was more restful or less stressful because Georgia wasn’t playing or whether it was jam-packed with activities. Personally, I spent quite a bit of time introducing my 1-year-old to the pumpkin patch.
I can’t believe we are halfway through the regular season already. Football season is my favorite time of year, but sometimes it seems like you can blink and miss it.
That’s part of why we savor it so much, I think.
We’ll hear from coach Kirby Smart and some players later today and will bring you some Georgia-Florida week updates, but in the meantime, let’s grade each Georgia football position group up through the bye week:
Quarterback: B+
Had Stockton not turned the ball over three times against Auburn, this would easily be an A. He’s clearly an improved player from a season ago, as Stockton shined on the road at Alabama.
The turnovers, though, simply cannot happen. There will be a lot of eyes on Stockton, who dealt with a shoulder injury against Auburn, when Georgia returns to the field against Florida.
Running back: A-
Injuries have been a major talking point with this group, as Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens have both missed multiple games to this point.
Yet the emergence of Dwight Phillips has given the Georgia rushing attack some major juice. His 348 rushing yards this season are already more than he had in his first two seasons combined.
This room clearly has talent. But it badly needs to get healthy during the closing stretch of the schedule.
Wide receiver: A
This was the most questioned position group entering the season. And so far, this group has proven to be reliable.
Talyn Taylor and Craig Dandridge have come up with big plays consistently in SEC play. London Humphreys has touchdowns in each of Georgia’s last two games.
If Georgia can get Isiah Canion or Thomas Blackshear healthy, this wide receiver room could have everything it needs to help Stockton.
Tight end: B+
The highs with this group have been really high. The depth is there, as five different tight ends have scored touchdowns this season.
The emergence of the wide receivers has eaten into some of the production with this group. Against Auburn, the Georgia tight ends had only four receptions for 45 yards.
It will be interesting to see if Georgia continues to spread the snaps around in this group or if two players begin to command the majority of snaps.
Offensive line: B
This group has played to its level of competition at times this season. Pass protection was leaky against Arkansas and Georgia couldn’t get much movement in the ground game against Auburn.
Yet the Alabama contest showed what the ceiling of this group can be when everything clicks.
Georgia has been fortunate in the health department with this group, as the Bulldogs have been able to start the same five linemen in all seven games. Smart has stressed the importance of developing depth, with those same five starters being the only offensive linemen to play in each of the previous two games.
Defensive line: B+
Similar to the tight end room, this group’s strength is in numbers.
Jordan Hall has played well now that he’s finally healthy. Elijah Griffin has stepped up as well, even if it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.
Georgia has been able to get contributions from some freshmen at this spot, with Anthony Lonon and Valdin Sone both earning snaps with this defense.
Read Connor Riley’s full story here.
Trivia time
In last year’s 24-20 win against Florida, which Bulldog scored a fourth-quarter touchdown to help Georgia get the victory?
Our first DawgNation Invasion of the season is happening this week in Atlanta!
I am so excited to see y’all there and get to meet you in person, and I know all my co-workers agree. Be sure to get your tickets ahead of time.
Georgia football moves up in AP Poll Top 25 rankings for Week 9
Things are about to get more difficult for the Georgia Bulldogs from a schedule standpoint.
Georgia enjoyed a much-needed off week this past weekend, allowing the Bulldogs to focus on themselves and get healthy.
Despite not playing, Georgia was able to move up in the AP Poll Top 25 rankings for Week 9. Thanks to BYU’s upset loss to Central Florida, Georgia is now the No. 3 team. Georgia is also the No. 3 team in the Coaches Poll.
BYU was far from the only top team to be upset this weekend, as five previous top 15 teams lost this past weekend.
Georgia was upset its last time out. And while the Bulldogs are favored again this weekend, No. 17 Florida won’t be a gimme.
The Gators also had a bye this past weekend after beating No. 11 Texas on the road its last time out.
Even if Georgia beats Florida, the Bulldogs next have to face No. 12 Ole Miss on the road before returning home to take on No. 23 Missouri.
The calendar has not even flipped to November yet and Georgia and Kentucky are the only SEC teams with just a single loss on their record.
Read Connor’s full story here.
3-star QB, the son of Luke Bryan, commits to Georgia football
Bo Bryan didn’t take long to capitalize on his recent scholarship offer from the Georgia Bulldogs.
“Only place I wanna be,” Bryan said on his social media on Sunday night. “Athens, I’m coming home.”
The Class of 2027 quarterback picked up the offer back on Tuesday.
It has been a busy week. He got news that he’d broken his collarbone in his previous game, got the scholarship offer from offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and decided Sunday was a good day to become the 24th commitment of Georgia’s 2027 class.
For those who see him every day at Battle Ground Academy in a Nashville suburb, this will not come as a surprise. Bryan is often decked out in full UGA gear at school, including the backpack.
The 247Sports Composite and Rivals rate him the No. 141 and No. 162 quarterback prospect in the nation for this year’s senior class, respectively. While Georgia was his biggest offer by far, Bryan has also received offers from Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky, East Tennessee, North Alabama, Tennessee Tech, and UT-Martin.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior has had a prolific senior year. He’s thrown for 2,006 yards, 30 touchdowns and just three interceptions while completing 73 percent of his attempts.
That includes four games this season in which he has thrown for five or more touchdowns, including a seven touchdown game earlier this fall.
That’s anybody’s kind of Friday night for a first-year starting quarterback.
“Besides being a coach’s dream, he’s worked seven days a week when he knew it was his job,” Battle Ground Academy coach Bobby Bentley said. “We’ve been up here at this school seven days a week since January. He was a good player before, but he’s a great player now and it’s because of all his hard work.”
Read Jeff Sentell’s full story here.
Trivia answer
Chauncey Bowens
