Good morning, y’all. Reporting once again from the sun drenched mountains of North Georgia. We had a bit of chill in the air which has brought the fall leaves into full color. In spite of the ideal conditions for doing almost anything outside, and pandemic conditions, the Dawg fans turned out en masse to watch our heroes run free against the Wildcats of Kentucky.
In a week that has been highlighted by speculation, the Dawgs left no doubts. The good guys didn’t let the naysayers get into their heads and put a 30-13 pasting on Kentucky. Now when I say speculation, I’m talking about all of those talking heads that have to throw their two cents in about are the “Dawgs really as good” as they look? The old familiar lines about “they ain’t played anybody yet” come up and my ears just turn red. I’ve lost count now of how many top 25 teams we’ve ground into dust so far this season. Now Kentucky is one more of them.
I’m sure that when Kentucky was scheduled as the homecoming game this year that the scheduler didn’t realize that Kentucky is well on it’s way to becoming a good solid contender. Usually you schedule the “Little Sisters of the Poor” for homecoming so if the team is still hungover from the night before there’s still a good chance for victory. You know, Kentucky for the last twenty seasons or so. But now there’s a new and improved Kentucky and if trends continue they will finish 2nd in th SEC east behind our beloved Dawgs.
I’m way beyond impressed with how coach Smart has kept everybody on the same page and focused this year. This week’s superior coaching looked like this: Offense: Stetson Bennett carried the full load again giving JT Daniels another week of R&R. The “Mailman” delivered on time and was 14 of 20 for 250 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Stetson took the opportunity to keep the defense honest by running 3 times for 22 yards. The added dimension of a running quarterback coupled with his newly acquired decision making skills makes Stetson the best “backup” quarterback in the NCAA.
Running Back University combined for 166 years on 27 carries. The leader rusher was James Cook, but in this plug and play offense, it could have been anyone of the top three contenders, Cook, White or Milton. The Wildcats have a very stingy defense and 166 yards rushing is quite the effort. Brock Bowers contributed 101 yards receiving on just 5 receptions. Both of his touchdown catches were just fun to watch. It was good to see Darnell Washington “the big 0” get back into the fray. His two catches for 37 yards don’t tell the story of how exciting he is to watch. The receiving corp looks like they’re emerging from the “weak spot” to one of our strengths.
Defense: Again, I am overwhelmed by the dominance of our defense. The Wildcat’s came in with the league’s leading rusher, to leave with him only gaining 10 yards. If the hierarchy in Athens does anything to disrupt the trajectory of this unit I will say that they have lost their minds. The Georgia defense is supreme, and that’s what all of us fans expect. This is a roster that is three deep with starters who individually are not setting any records, but as a group are dominating the league. Holding Kentucky to 243 yard of total offense is otherworldly. Blocking an extra point and a field goal is just ridiculous. Hat’s off to the team for staying focused. Special teams: Were not a liability. Jack Podlesny was 1 of 1 in the field goal department, and made 3 of his 4 extra points. It must be pointed out that the missed extra point ended Georgia’s NCAA record streak of 363 consecutive extra points. It had to happen I guess, I’m just glad we didn’t need it in this game. Jake Camarda punted 4 times for 189 yards, the longest being 63 yards. It’s good to have a guy that can boom them when you need to. The return game suffered due to the wind, I guess, but we didn’t lose any of the muffs. An adequate effort, which I guess is the best we can ever hope for from special teams. Time of possession was tilted in their favor, 37.5 minutes to 22.5. Guess the coaches didn’t get my memo. Watching Alabama vs Mississippi State was fun. Is there a better team than Alabama anywhere? Maybe…
