Georgia Football: Grading the Bulldogs' Game vs. Mississippi State

The Georgia Bulldogs were put in a situation where they had to beat Mississippi State in order to stay in the SEC race.

They came away with a dominating win in a game where the defense outplayed the offense.

Will this keep up as the season continues, or was it the fact Miss State is going through some growing pains and Georgia was able to take advantage?

Here are some grades to hand out for Georgia's win against Miss State.

Quarterback: C+

The first half for Murray was as good as it gets. The second half was not so good, but Murray will have times where things will not go his way.

He ended the day 13-of-25 with 160 yards, two touchdowns and three picks. Not typical numbers for Murray, but he really didn't need to do a whole lot because the defense and run game was playing at a high level. 

Running Backs: B+

Isiah Crowell is becoming the bell cow for Georgia.

He had 22 carries against Miss State and had 30 carries against Ole Miss. Crowell has responded each time, rushing for 100 yards in each game.

But Carlton Thomas was able to get in the mix as well. Thomas rushed for 35 yards on eight carries and scored one touchdown. Thomas looks to be the spell back because he is getting better each game.

Richard Samuel was also solid, rushing for 28 yards on nine carries.

Receivers: B

Malcolm Mitchell is becoming a better receiver each week. He ended the day with five receptions for 60 yards and one touchdown.

Orson Charles had another solid game with three receptions for 46 yards and a great touchdown catch in the first quarter.

Tavarres King had two catches and Michael Bennett had one. Not a lot of work for the receivers, but when they needed to make plays, they made plays.

Offensive Line: B+

It was another solid game for the O-Line. They were able to open holes for the running game and they did a solid job protecting Murray.

It seems like the line is getting a feel for each other and when that happens, they improve each game. Dallas Lee is playing well, so is Cordy Glenn and Ben Jones. When those three and on, the offense will be effective.

Defensive Line: A+

The reason the running game could not get going for Miss State was the play of the defensive line.

John Jenkins had his best game with two tackles for loss. DeAngelo Tyson added three tackles and Abry Jones tallied four.

It was a great effort by the D-line, but they have to continue their level of play because the level competition will increase, which means it will be more tough for the defensive line to overpower opposing offensive lineman.

Linebackers: A+

I have to say, the linebackers are the most talented unit on the defensive side of the football. Cornelius Washington and Jarvis Jones each had two sacks. Michael Gilliard led the team with nine tackles. Amarlo Herrera also got into the mix with six tackles.

Imagine what this unit will look like when Christan Robinson is back full-time as well as Alec Ogletree?

Defensive Backs: A+

This was the best game the secondary has played all year.

Shawn Williams was all over the field and he notched a pick. Sanders Commings was all over the Miss State receivers and ended the day with a fumble recovery and an interception. 

Brandon Boykin also played well in coverage and ended the day with six tackles and one pass break up.

It was real good to see this group have a strong game; they should only get stronger as the season rolls on.

Special Teams: B

The special teams for Georgia was better than last week against Ole Miss. Kickoff and punt coverage was much improved, and Boykin and Branden Smith were able to get some kick and punt returns.

The one thing that went wrong for the unit is when they attempted a field goal in the third quarter; the snap was botched and Drew Butler was sacked after trying to throw pass in the end zone.

Blair Walsh also missed a field goal late in the game, which makes it his sixth miss of the season.