Georgia vs. Auburn: Game Grades, Analysis for Bulldogs and Tigers
The Georgia Bulldogs won Saturday's rendition of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry the old-fashioned way: with defense and special teams.
In a game that appeared as if the forward pass was banned, the Bulldogs got a huge 53-yard punt return for a touchdown by Isaiah McKenzie and made a couple of pivotal defensive plays down the stretch to win their second consecutive game over Auburn 20-13.
Though Georgia still has massive offensive issues, Saturday's second half is one that could become a major building block for the Bulldogs, who still sit at 7-3 with the hopes of finishing a solid season.
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It won't be the SEC East title many believed was possible, but UGA is showing signs of a nice rebound, following midseason losses to Alabama, Tennessee and Florida. Despite the grumbles, you can't scoff at consistency.
Auburn is still searching for answers, especially at quarterback, where head coach Gus Malzahn appeared scared to let Jeremy Johnson open up anything downfield against Georgia. Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp's defense made several big plays, but the Tigers couldn't generate enough offense for them to matter.
Let's take a look at the game grades from the rivalry, and if you want to catch up on all the live-blogging action, you can find that here.
| Passing Offense | D- | D- |
| Rushing Offense | D | C |
| Passing Defense | A+ | A+ |
| Rushing Defense | C- | B |
| Special Teams | A | A+ |
| Coaching | C- | B- |
Passing Offense
It doesn't seem to matter who Georgia puts under center, the Bulldogs can't generate anything through the air. Greyson Lambert was the culprit on Saturday, finishing with just 97 passing yards. Even in a season where the Bulldogs receivers have done some nice things to pick up their signal-callers, they had a couple of drops today and couldn't gain any separation on the Auburn defensive backs. It was a forgettable day, but the Dawgs won in spite of it.
Rushing Offense
When Nick Chubb went down for the season against Tennessee, it changed the complexion of Georgia's offense drastically. But it didn't change what the Bulldogs want to do. They're still going to run, run, run, even when they struggle. Sony Michel isn't really the workhorse type, but he had to be on Saturday, gaining 77 yards on 26 carries. Isaiah McKenzie had a big touchdown run on a red-zone reverse, and UGA even got Quayvon Hicks involved a little. But it wasn't the type of effort the Dawgs are used to on the ground.
Passing Defense
This was a smothering effort by Georgia, and it was perhaps the secondary's best game of the season. It's easy to look good when Auburn is terrified to let Jeremy Johnson throw the ball downfield, but there wasn't a whole lot of daylight, either. Johnson and White, in relief, held onto the ball too long several times, and Jordan Jenkins sacked White forcing a fumble that was recovered by Aaron Davis. This is what defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt has been looking for all season.
After these past two years, Pruitt can claim ownership of Malzahn's offense.
Rushing Defense
It's a good thing for the Bulldogs that Malzahn hardly used Jovon Robinson in the second half because the Bulldogs were having a difficult time stopping him. But UGA made some big adjustments in the second half, loading the box because the Tigers didn't show that they could do anything at all in the passing game. The Bulldogs were rewarded play after play, and the front seven rose to the occasion. When UGA had to make big plays, the Dawgs got them in the trenches.
Special Teams
Marshall Morgan stepped up and booted two big field goals, looking every bit the part of the senior veteran kicker. But the play of the game came when McKenzie fielded the punt at his own 47-yard line, found a crease across the center of the field and raced almost untouched for a 53-yard touchdown. In a game where the momentum was leaning in the Bulldogs' favor, he tipped it completely. At the end of the game, Malcolm Mitchell secured an onside-kick attempt by Auburn to secure the win. Perfect game in this regard for UGA.
Coaching
Say what you want to about Richt and his inability to win games, but the man is on track to potentially get to 10 wins again. While that may not be enough for most, he's the model of consistency. Georgia made quality adjustments at halftime, and this was probably Pruitt's best-coached game of the year. Even as discombobulated and puzzling as Brian Schottenheimer's offensive calls are sometimes, even he had a couple of good ones at big moments. It was a decent day for the UGA staff.
| Passing Offense | F | F |
| Rushing Offense | A- | B- |
| Passing Defense | A+ | A+ |
| Rushing Defense | A | B |
| Special Teams | A | A- |
| Coaching | B | D |
Passing Offense
There weren't a lot of opportunities downfield, but when he had them, Johnson flat-out couldn't find them. He was throwing high and wide all day, and he tossed a key interception over the middle. Once, when his receiver had a step on a defender for what could have been a big play, he threw it way out of bounds. Sean White tried to play but simply wasn't himself, either. It has been a yearlong struggle for the Tigers at the quarterback position, and Saturday was a microcosm of the issue. It was enough for AL.com columnist Kevin Scarbinsky to offer this wisecrack during the game:
Rushing Offense
Auburn has a stable of able running backs, and they all got off to strong starts, as Robinson surged forward for big gains throughout the first half and freshman Kerryon Johnson took a direct snap for a first-quarter touchdown. But Malzahn's mismanagement of his runners was a big-time issue in the second half, as Peyton Barber struggled to get loose. After gaining 76 first-half yards, Robinson got two third-quarter carries. He didn't run that much more in the fourth. It was an egregious mistake that may have cost Auburn a chance to win.
Passing Defense
This was a weak spot a year ago for Auburn, but the Tigers have addressed the secondary this season for the most part, and this was its best game of the year. Lambert struggled to find receivers because they rarely got open. Blake Countess, specifically, had a strong game, and Jonathan Ford did a great job in help defense, though his facemask penalty was one of the biggest mistakes of the game. The Bulldogs aren't known for their passing offense, but Auburn did exactly what it was supposed to do against a bad passing attack.
Rushing Defense
Again, Muschamp's group rose to the occasion against Michel and company. It got sucked in once on McKenzie's sweep touchdown, but that's forgivable considering they were inside the 5-yard line, where everything squeezes in. All in all, it was another strong game for the Auburn defensive front seven against the run. They've come a long way since early debacles against teams such as LSU. Right now, the defense is carrying this football team.
Special Teams
Daniel Carlson continues to be the most impressive kicker in the nation, making another two big ones to make it 13 consecutive successful kicks for the sophomore. He may be up for some postseason hardware. But you simply can't overlook the poor punt coverage on the McKenzie return. The Auburn offense put its special teams in a precarious position with a bad three-and-out deep in its own territory, but the coverage was atrocious on that play. McKenzie was never touched, as he carved his way through Tigers and into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
McKenzie is a human joystick, but this is just too much lunging from being in bad positions to make tackles.
Coaching
Muschamp is getting into a groove with this defense, as they continue to get better and better, but Malzahn has issues. Is he hamstrung by his quarterback situation? Absolutely. But White clearly shouldn't have been on the field at all today, and it's inexcusable and inexplicable that Robinson was so under-utilized after Georgia had no answers for him in the first half. Nothing worked for Auburn, and there were very few adjustments made. Too many turnovers and special teams mistakes reflect poorly on coaches, too. It was just a forgettable day for the Tigers.
All stats gathered from NCAA.com unless otherwise noted. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.
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