Georgia Football: Report Card Grades for the Bulldogs' Second Game

The second test for the Bulldogs was one that they needed to pass. And while they played a lot better than they did against Boise State, the Dawgs still came out of the game with a loss.

The offense was able to make some plays as well as the defense. But turnovers and penalties did them in and that is something they will have to correct sooner rather than later.

Here’s a grade-by-grade breakdown for each position from the South Carolina game.

Quarterbacks: B+

Aaron Murray struggled in the early stages in the game, but really got things going in the second half. He ended the day 19-of-29 with 248 yards and four touchdowns. He did throw a pick late in the game which led to a score for the Gamecocks, but Murray bounced back and completed his next eight passes which also led to points. He was a big reason the Bulldogs were able to stay in the game.

Running Backs: B-

What fans saw from Isaiah Crowell on Saturday is what fans hope to see on a consistent basis. He rushed for 118 yards on 16 carries and looked explosive every time he had the ball in his hands. Richard Samuel did well also, rushing for 45 yards on 11 carries.

The one problem was Crowell did fumble an exchange with Murray which led to a South Carolina score. He also missed a few blocking assignments which is something that has to get corrected.

Receivers: B-

Malcolm Mitchell is starting to come into his own. He led the Bulldogs with five receptions for 52 yards and should get more playing time as the season rolls on. Rantavious Wooten and Tavarres King both had touchdown receptions as did another young player Michael Bennett.

But the question that has to be asked is how about Orson Charles? Even though he’s a tight end, he’s the team’s best receiver and had zero receptions. That has to change next week, the week after that and so on.

Offensive Line: B-

All things considered, the offensive line played better in the South Carolina game. They were able to open holes for Crowell and Samuel, and they gave Murray more time to throw.

They still got called on a few false start penalties, but it seems they are heading into the right direction.

Defensive Line: C

John Jenkins had a tackle for a loss as did DeAngelo Tyson, but they were not able to stop South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore from running wild.

As a whole, the defensive line played better as they able to make some plays in the backfield. But just like the offensive line, they have to improve with each game.

Linebackers: C

The good news is Christian Robinson and Jarvis Jones played well. The bad news is Robinson will be out for at least two weeks with a foot injury.

This comes at the heels of Alec Ogletree getting injured last week, so the linebacker unit is already depleted.

Michael Gilliard, Amarlo Herrera and Jeremy Sulek will see more playing time due to the injuries and while they all played fine against South Carolina, can they keep it up for the next few weeks?

Secondary: B-

The one player that stood out was Bacarri Rambo as he was all over the field with one interception and two pass breakups. Branden Smith did okay and Brandon Boykin was playing hurt so he struggled a little bit.

Shawn Williams has six tackles and looks like he will be a player by the time the season ends. Overall, the secondary gave up a few big plays, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was last week against Boise State.

Special Teams: D

Smith and Boykin had some big returns and that’s always good, but what was bad is the punt return team surrendered a touchdown when South Carolina faked a punt.

Also, Georgia went for an onside kick a few minutes earlier, recovered the ball but it was called back because Rambo was offsides. And Blair Walsh missed another field goal due to a bad snap. The special teams has to be better than that because a team can be good on offense and defense, but if they make a mistake on special teams, it will cause problems throughout the entire game.