ATHENS — Inclement weather moved the start time for Saturday’s game up an hour and then delayed the win over Austin Peay by an hour and 46 minutes.
What immediately precipitated the delay was far more frustrating and concerning for Georgia.
After scoring two touchdowns on its first three drives, the Georgia offense stalled out in the second quarter. It did the same a week ago against Marshall
What made this week’s showing all the worse was a calamitous five-play sequence on the goal line.
With 37 seconds remaining in the half, Georgia had a first and goal at the Austin Peay one-yard line.
A first down carry for Nate Frazier was stuffed at the goal line. A second down pass to Zachariah Branch fell incomplete.
Cash Jones seemed poised to score on a third-down pass from Gunner Stockton, but the connection could not be made. Kirby Smart couldn’t tell if the pass was tipped or if it was an outright drop.
A penalty on the play gave Georgia a new set of downs. Yet the results did not change. Stockton fired an incomplete pass to Sacovie White-Helton.
On the final play of the half, Chauncey Bowens tripped over his own feet and came up short of the goal line. The clock expired and Georgia held only a 14-3 lead going into the second half.
“That many chances we should always score," Smart said. “So, that wasn’t what we wanted, but just got to learn from it and get better.”
To make things worse, freshman tight end Ethan Barbour got hurt following Bowens’ stumble. He needed an air cast around his left ankle and a cart to leave the field.
The drive and quarter encapsulated a frustrating day for the Georgia offense. The group finished with 421 yards of offense. Its final drive of consequence was a 17-play, 99-yard touchdown score capped by a Nate Frazier touchdown to put Georgia up 28-6.
But Georgia would’ve never needed that game-killing drive had it played better in the second quarter.
In between the botched two-minute drill, the official’s mike picked up Smart screaming at his offense to get set. An expletive was used by Smart. It was warranted given how things were unfolding.
“Looking back, I probably wish we would have ran the ball earlier,” Smart of the sequence. “But the thought was that you don’t run it when you don’t have a timeout, you know, until the end. And we didn’t have a timeout. So, it was disappointing. And give them credit. The best part is it created a little adversity for us, so I’m glad we had some.”
Austin Peay never had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead in the second half thanks to a stellar defensive performance from Georgia. Its lone trip in the red zone was stymied by a goal-line stand.
The offense did score on its first possession of the second half, as Bowens rolled through the Austin Peay defense for what was his second touchdown of the game.
Georgia will see a step up in competition beginning next week. The margin of error will be thinner for the Bulldogs, as they make a trip up into Tennessee for their first SEC game of the season.
Georgia is likely going to need to execute a two-minute drill of some kind if it is to come away with its first SEC win of the season.
Georgia’s offense needs to be sharper. It needs a more cohesive offensive line, with Earnest Greene and Juan Gaston out due to injury. It needs to hit on more explosive, as Georgia’s longest pass play was just 19 yards. It also needs to hold onto the football, with Frazier and London Humphreys fumbling away possessions.
Above all, it just needs to be better.
“It’s always an adventure. We’ve been preparing for that, knowing that all along it’s going to be different when you go up there,” Smart said. “You’ve got to be prepared for it. You’ve got to have confidence in your plan. You’ve got to go execute as a unit. It’s not you against 100,000. It’s you against 11-11.”
