Morning, y’all!
Does anyone else in Georgia feel like we skipped fall and went right to winter? When the sun’s not out, it’s downright chilly. But I have to admit, I’m enjoying these breezy, finally-not-sweltering afternoons.
I know I mentioned that I won’t spend all of this week’s newsletters beleaguering the loss to Auburn, and we’ll hear from Georgia coach Kirby Smart and a few players this afternoon to get some new thoughts and stories headed your way.
One thing that’s worth talking about, though, since it sticks out so much? The Bulldogs had just 113 rushing yards against the Tigers, a season low.
Let’s get into what to make of the Georgia running back room heading into a much-needed off week:
Nate Frazier was physically back on the field for the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday.
But he was not the same Frazier who was running through defenses before the start of the season.
Frazier turned his nine carries into just 19 rushing yards. He also caught three passes for 16 yards.
“To be honest with you, we basically went into the game the exact same thinking Nate would play … and you know, he did play,” Smart said. “And so we were in a better situation than we were than the previous week. But we didn’t run the ball as good.”
Georgia’s season-low 113 rushing yards came even with quarterback Gunner Stockton having a season-high nine carries in the 27-24 loss to Auburn.
Stockton’s final carry was a costly fumble on first down. And it appears Stockton lost the football after he collided with starting center Drew Bobo, rather than an Auburn defender.
“I credit Auburn,” Stockton said. “They did a good job. They came out and played hard. You know, they had a good football team. I just need to execute a little bit better and take care of the ball.”
Dwight Phillips Jr. was Georgia’s leading rusher once again, turning his 10 carries into 68 yards and a touchdown. He also added 22 yards on two receptions.
Yet in the loss, Phillips was briefly banged up after he slid into the Auburn bench. As great as Phillips has been for Georgia this season — he leads the team in rushing with 348 yards — the Bulldogs know they need to be smart with how heavily they lean on the third-year running back.
What was perhaps most interesting about the Georgia running back situation was the lack of usage of second-year running back Bo Walker.
After notching 10 carries for 69 yards in the win over Alabama, Walker didn’t register a carry against Auburn. He played only two snaps, with both coming on Georgia’s penultimate drive. Walker entered the game only after Frazier dropped a pass from Stockton.
“I need more players to play winning football. I need to be able to play more than five in O-lineman. I need to be able to play more people up front than we can count on and be dependable,” Smart said. “We’re trying to play more guys, cuz I don’t know that we can make it through this grind without it. So we just need more guys that can play winning football.”
Georgia is already without running back Chauncey Bowens, who has now missed the last two games for the Bulldogs. He is dealing with a foot injury and is not expected back anytime soon. Dante Dowdell has not played for Georgia this season after suffering an injury in an ATV accident that has required multiple surgeries.
Smart said last week it’s unlikely the Bulldogs will pull anyone from another position to help the Georgia running back room. The Bulldogs once did that with Dillon Bell, but there won’t be only additional help coming for the Georgia running back room.
Nick Peal, who worked as Georgia’s third-down back against Alabama, did not play against Auburn. Fellow first-year running back Jae Lamar has not played since Georgia’s Week 2 win over Western Kentucky.
Time off will be good for Frazier, who has not been the same since suffering his rib injury against Arkansas. It should also allow Georgia to keep Phillips fresh going into a massive game against Florida on Oct. 31.
For as much has been made about Stockton and Georgia’s tackling efforts, the team’s ground game had its worst game of the season against Auburn.
It has to get better moving forward, even if we’ll never see the fully capable version of this Georgia ground game.
“We’ve got two choices to make,” Georgia tight end Lawson Luckie said. “It’s a different state of college football now. And we know that. And we’ve got to come ready to fight and get better. The team that wins it all in the end is the one that progressively rises. The team that never gets comfortable. And who knows, this might be someone who looked back in a couple weeks and maybe it’s the best thing possible for us.”
Read Connor Riley’s full story here.
Trivia time
We mentioned Georgia has a season-low 113 rushing yards against Auburn.
In which game this season did Georgia register its season high in rushing?
This 4-star is first 2028 Georgia football OL commit
The “follow the visits” mantra certainly applies to 4-star OT Koehn Dial’s recruiting path.
Dial was at UGA this past weekend. He was also at UGA earlier this season for the Tennessee State game.
G-Day in 2026? Dial was there.
G-Day in 2025? He was also in Sanford Stadium for that spring scrimmage.
This latest visit for the Auburn game sealed the deal. Dial saw no need to wait any longer. Dial, who plays at Battleground Academy in Tennessee, is the nation’s No. 19 offensive tackle and the No. 174 overall prospect for 2027 on the 247Sports Composite.
It now seems a safe bet to expect Dial to be at his third straight G-Day next April. This time he will attend as a UGA commit.
Dial had UGA among his top six schools back in March of this year. The Bulldogs were battling a field that included the likes of LSU, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
The 6-foot-7, 320-pound junior carries a 3.75 GPA. He now becomes the first offensive line commitment for the Bulldogs in the 2028 class.
Georgia now has four commitments for its 2028 class. Five-star quarterback Jayden Wade and 4-star tight end Asa Wall have been committed for almost a year.
The newest UGA commit carries a national profile. In eighth grade, he was selected for the Under Armor Next All-American Game.
Rivals shared a video clip of Dial committing to Smart at Saturday’s game.
Read Jeff Sentell’s full story here.
No. 1 junior college DL flips to UGA
Before he took an official visit to UGA over the weekend, Christian Mays had been committed to Tennessee since the first week of June.
The fact that he even took the visit said a lot, given his long-standing commitment to the Vols.
When Mays stepped inside Sanford Stadium on Saturday, it was clear which way his heart was already leaning. He mouthed the words to the G-E-O-R-G-I-A fight songs during pregame.
It was clear he wouldn’t be a Volunteer for much longer. Mays decided Monday morning to decommit from that June pledge and commit to the Georgia football program.
Georgia might have lost a tough one to Auburn, but this decision now means that both of the program’s official visitors for that contest have quickly committed to the Dawgs.
Mays broke down the reasons why he’s a Bulldog on Monday morning.
“I just loved the atmosphere and how I’ve always seen UGA as a child, then growing up,” Mays said. “I’m from Forsyth, Georgia, so I just wanted to be back home. Tennessee has some great people and I love them for everything they’ve done for me.
“But just being around my family played a big part, and then the coaching staff is amazing. It’s just good to be home, you know.”
Read Jeff’s full story here.
Trivia answer
The 63-3 win against Tennessee State in the season opener, registering 272 rushing yards.
