Georgia vs. Louisiana-Lafayette: Game Grades, Analysis for Bulldogs

For about three-and-a-half quarters, Saturday’s 35-21 win was the most comfortable Georgia football was afforded to be all season. Things got a bit dicey in the latter half of the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs pulled it out, 35-21, in a game that never really was in doubt.

The Bulldogs were actually outgained in this game, 465-400, and the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette were able to move the ball against the Georgia defense.

But it was the Bulldogs, black jerseys and all, who improved their bowl standing and their record to 7-4.

Gather 'round the fireplace and grab a blanket, because it’s time to get grading.

Pass Offense: B-

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Awfully nice of Kirby Smart to get all of his quarterbacks in the game this week.

Jokes aside, Jacob Eason was just fine Saturday. He had a bad interception and one or two more that could have been. Even so, Georgia didn’t call upon him to do too much. Some of that had to do with the windy conditions at Sanford Stadium that made passing difficult. Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney did allow him to take a few deep shots especially in the first half, which is encouraging and testament to his growing confidence in the freshman.

Nick Chubb was actually Georgia’s leading receiver in this game with 49 yards, all of which came on a play where Eason was able to identify him in the middle of the field to make the score 35-7 in the fourth quarter.

Again, there isn’t too much to take away from Georgia’s passing attack Saturday. Eason only threw the ball 19 times, which is a light load given his attempt numbers throughout the season. Eason ended up with 13 completions for 165 yards and two touchdowns.

Greyson Lambert made a rather unremarkable cameo late in the game, and on the one drive he attempted a pass, Georgia went three-and-out.

Grade: B-

Run Offense: A

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Georgia had seven different players with a rushing attempt Saturday, and it seems that this was the priority against Louisiana-Lafayette. Chubb eclipsed 100 yards on just 16 carries, with a 6.8 yards-per-carry average. Chubb had a nice game running and catching the ball, and he made smart football plays throughout the game as well as getting those extra yards we’re used to seeing.

Isaiah McKenzie, who was the key to Georgia’s victory Saturday, had a nice rush off a play set up for him, a 55-yard scamper for a touchdown. Georgia did a good job showing different looks on offense running the ball, getting some receivers involved. The Bulldogs rushed for 235 yards on the ground, which is what they’d hope for given running it is their bread and butter.

Chaney spread the field with reverses and toss plays through the run, and it allowed a different change of pace based on who carried the ball. He kept feeding his backs the ball and allowed Sony Michel more carries (13) than he had been getting.

Georgia has reestablished its running game over the past several games, and it’s not a coincidence that it’s led to three straight wins. It’ll need to keep this up through the next two games.

Grade: A

Pass Defense: B+

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You get an interception! And you get an interception! Everybody is getting interceptions!

The Ragin’ Cajuns were quite charitable with their turnovers, making some truly bad throws down the field that turned into multiple cans of corn for Georgia’s defensive backs.

Malkom Parrish, Deandre Baker, and Aaron Davis all picked off Anthony Jennings Saturday.

Louisiana-Lafayette was able to move the ball on the Bulldogs, but it surrendered four turnovers on offense, and against a team like Georgia, that’s not going to work. 

With these plays, you have to catch the ball, too, and credit the defensive backs for getting the ball into their hands. Georgia gave up just 189 passing yards, as well. But those turnovers stalled what were otherwise good Ragin’ Cajun drives and allowed Georgia to maintain a stranglehold for most of the game.

Grade: B+

Run Defense: C

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Georgia gave up 276 yards on the ground. That is less than stellar. Jennings rushed for 98 yards, often because he had to with receivers covered. But Elijah McGuire nearly matched Chubb’s 6.8 yards-per-carry average, rushing for 129 yards on 19 attempts for an average of 6.5 yards. Georgia was burned on the ground a good bit, a step back for this defensive line. 

With that said, Trenton Thompson had a nice six-tackle game, with three of those going for a loss, and he got into the backfield a few times. And Reggie Carter made a great play forcing a fumble in the second quarter.

This was a weird game in that this type of performance against the run oddly didn't affect the game that much because the team was able to find ways to win through turnovers and special teams.

With that said, getting outgained against a nonconference opponent at home isn’t necessarily ideal, and some of those yards came when Georgia let its backups come in the game. They faltered, and Louisiana-Lafayette was able to pad the stat sheet and the scoreboard in the fourth. We will know immediately if this is indicative of a larger problem with triple-option Georgia Tech coming to town next week.

Grade: C

Special Teams: A

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Isaiah McKenzie, take the game ball. The elusive speedster set the tone early on in the game with touchdowns on a long run on offense and a fantastic punt return.

McKenzie has had his fair share of mistakes this year, sometimes trying to do too much. This can be detrimental, but when you have a player like that, the good is going to average out the bad. That’s what happened Saturday. Credit Georgia’s punt coverage for allowing McKenzie to do his thing and blocking downfield.

Georgia also had a bit of a rarity as mentioned with all three quarterbacks seeing action Saturday. Granted, one of them was Brice Ramsey, and he was punting, but semantics are semantics. He was fine, averaging around 35 yards per punt. Georgia would like that number to be higher, but punting just four times is something it will take and hope Ramsey can get that average up next week. He did have one punt inside the 20, which is something over the past few weeks he’s been fairly proficient in.

Georgia’s special teams have been quiet for a few weeks in limiting their mistakes after becoming the center of attention toward the middle of the season. That’s a good thing for the Bulldogs, and they’d like to keep it that way.

Grade: A

Coaching: B+

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There’s a scenario where Georgia looks ahead to Georgia Tech next week and plays complacent against a team that has athletes and talent at skill positions in Louisiana-Lafayette. That didn’t happen, it’s why they won Saturday.

This is a team Georgia is better than and should beat, but the Bulldogs have struggled in games this season where that was seemingly the narrative. They were up 35-7 in the fourth quarter and could rest easy for the most part and completely exhale after recovering an onside kick late in the fourth up 14 points.

The decision to lay down in the second quarter with the ball the first of two possessions Georgia had under two minutes was curious to me; the Bulldogs could’ve run a pass play or two to try to set up a Rodrigo Blankenship field goal at a point when that would’ve made it a three-score game. But that’s a bit of nitpicking, and it didn’t come back to bite them.

Coach Smart has kept his team focused and on a winning streak after tough times as soon as a month ago. They could’ve folded, but he hasn’t allowed that to happen, and the Bulldogs are playing winning football because of it.

Grade: B+

Conclusion

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Georgia is undefeated in the month of November, which is when you want to be playing your best football. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the football that preceded it was not so good, so there’s not as much to play for besides bowl positioning and state pride at this point.

But those can be worthy causes—add that the team could close out the year winning five straight, and you have some bulletin-board material. At this point, Georgia has an opportunity to take a lot of momentum into the offseason, and rattling off five straight would be great for program morale.

In-state rival Georgia Tech awaits next week, and the Yellow Jackets are capable of coming into Athens and winning. They proved just that the last time they visited. Georgia wants to play in as good a bowl as possible and feel content with how it closed out its season. A win next week would go a long way in making that happen.