By Ben Rose
At Sanford Stadium Saturday, the Georgia Bulldogs (9-2) overcame some early defensive miscues and took care of business against the UMass Minutemen (2-9). Quarterback Carson Beck, who was not removed from the game until the 4th quarter, built on his signature performance last week against Tennessee with a stellar showing Saturday, throwing for 297 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sophomore Gunner Stockton came in to replace Beck with Georgia up 45-21 and completed 3 of his 4 passes for 45 yards.
True freshman running back Nate Frazier put up another impressive performance with starter Trevor Etienne still injured, tallying 136 yards on the ground with 3 touchdowns off 21 carries. Fellow freshmen Chauncey Bowens and Dwight Phillips Jr. also chipped in with 7 carries for 46 yards between the two of them, providing an encouraging look into the future of Georgia’s running attack.
Arian Smith had a clean game and was the leading receiver for the Bulldogs with 110 yards and a touchdown. Dominic Lovett, Cash Jones, and Oscar Delp also contributed with touchdowns of their own. However, despite his tough touchdown catch early, drops remained an issue for Lovett, as he failed to haul in multiple balls from Beck.
On the defensive side, there was plenty of room for improvement. UMass gashed Georgia for 166 yards on the ground in just the first half, and finished with 226 yards to Georgia’s 208. The performance by the run defense was exacerbated early in the game when starting defensive lineman Christen Miller went down with a shoulder injury and did not return. His status for next week is unclear.
Georgia’s pass defense kept UMass quarterback AJ Hairston in check aside from one 75-yard touchdown to wide receiver Jakobie Keeney-James, where two Georgia defensive backs failed to locate the ball and make a tackle downfield. A scoop and score late in the game, forced by Gabe Harris and recovered by freshman Chris Cole, cemented the Dawgs’ 38-point victory.
When asked to evaluate his team’s performance in the post-game press conference, head coach Kirby Smart pointed to the lack of effort on the defensive side compared to UMass as a point of emphasis.
“Their guys wanted it more than us,” Smart said. “And it’s very rare that I can sit up here and say that. They [UMass] were playing physical. They had some nice RPOs and some nice play designs, but it wasn’t about that. It’s ‘I want to.’ It’s desire. That’s the biggest thing,”
If Georgia wants to pick up a win in “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” next week and secure a spot in the College Football Playoff, it’s clear that Smart wants them to find the motivation to play up to their potential.
The Bulldogs will be in action next on Friday, November 29 at Sanford Stadium, where they will be taking on the 7-4 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Following upset losses from Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M, Georgia has clinched a spot in the SEC Championship game, which will be played on Saturday, December 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. They will face the winner of this Saturday’s matchup between Texas A&M and Texas.
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