LSU vs Georgia: Grading the Bulldogs' Loss to the Tigers

Earlier we discussed what we learned about the Georgia Bulldogs following their 42-10 loss to the LSU Tigers.

It's safe to say that the Bulldogs came out with tremendous energy, missed some opportunities against the Tigers, and ultimately came up short.

Now, we can delve deeper into their personnel and grade their performance.

Let's try and grade the Bulldogs offense, defense, special teams, coaching and then finally give them an overall grade.

While coaches may not be giving their teams grades in the same fashion, they will be evaluating every facet of their game in preparation for their upcoming bowl game.

Offense

Grade: C-

Georgia's offense showed some life early, but they were unable to cash in on their opportunities. Following that, they were virtually non-existent.

The Dawgs managed only 296 yards and 10 points. They turned the ball over three times and dropped an easy touchdown pass. They left at least seven points on the board early.

Both the offense and defense controlled the first quarter. The Dawgs ran 24 plays for 118 yards in the first quarter alone, an impressive five yards-per-play (and that includes the missed opportunities).

After that, they scored zero points. They were unable to control the clock as well as they did in the first quarter. They only ran 61 more plays and totaled 178 yards—a paltry 2.9 yards per play.

When trying to pull an upset (or win any game), you have to be able to run the ball.

Georgia managed only 78 yards on 23 carries.

Defense

Grade:B+

Despite giving up 32 points in the second half, I want to give Georgia's defense a solid grade of B+.

They played absolutely lights-out in the first half. They held LSU to just 12 yards and zero first downs in the first half!

They sacked Jefferson twice and held him to two completions, both of which were short, lateral throws. If not for a Mathieu punt return, LSU would have had zero points in the first half.

The defense was put into disadvantageous positions in the second half. They were thrown onto the field three plays into the second half on their own 25-yard line. It would have been nice to see them get a stop, but they surrendered a rushing touchdown.

The next drive they had to start their defense at their own 17. Again, backs against the wall, they surrendered a touchdown.

After that, it was 21-10, and they were demoralized.

The defense got a grade of A+ in the first half. They surrendered a lot of rushing yards and were worn down throughout the second half, but it wasn't entirely their fault. Therefore, a grade of B+ seems fair.

Special Teams

Grade: D

The punting efforts of Drew Butler was the only saving grace in the special teams department. The senior had eight punts for an average of 51.6 yards. Three landed inside the 20-yard line.

That was the bright spot. Other than that, the special teams really hurt the Dawgs.

Blair Walsh missed an early 45-yard field goal that would have put Georgia up 6-0. It was an early momentum breaker of sorts. It would be the last kick he attempted and would finish the half.

The main problem of course was the punt coverage team. They allowed a punt return for a touchdown to Tyrann Mathieu halfway through the second quarter. This play swung the momentum of the game, as it was the only points LSU could muster in the first half.

Then, Mathieu was at it again in the third quarter. After losing the momentum and falling behind 14-10, UGA was punting again. They needed a great punt to flip field position. Instead, the Honey Badger struck again.

He had a more impressive punt return than the first and set up LSU at the Georgia 17-yard line. They would score a few plays later and go up 21-10.

The saying "special teams is a third of the game" is an understatement. It swings the momentum more than any other facet of the game. Simply put, UGA's special teams was dominated by LSU's. Special teams kept the Tigers in the game early and gave them the lead later on. After that, UGA couldn't catch up.

Coaching

Grade: C+

On one hand, Georgia came to play. You can't question the effort that the Dawgs put forth against the Tigers early on.

Additionally, they were in a great position to have a big lead in the first quarter. Some misfires from Murray made Georgia settle for a field goal. Richt pulled out an onside kick that worked perfectly. Following this, a perfect play was called later only that was dropped for a touchdown.

We already discussed how well Georgia did defensively in the first half. LSU was bottled up and had no room to operate. Through the first half, the coaches in Georgia got an A.

It's almost as if they didn't make any adjustments at halftime though. That, or LSU outcoached them in the second half. How else do you explain getting beat 35-0 in the second half after winning the first half 10-7.

LSU was able to run at will on Georgia in the second half. The small offensive spark Georgia had in the first half was now gone. Things snowballed quickly, and that's when you would like to see coaches intervene, slow the game down, make adjustments and reorganize the team.

Georgia didn't do that.

You can't fault the coaches for everything because the team came to play and were in a good position after the first half. After that, however, they were blown out of the water, and I don't think it was all due to a difference in talent between LSU and Georgia.

Overall

Grade: C+

If we average the grades, we get a solid C. I'll give Georgia the extra boost because of the effort they displayed to start the game (the same reason I didn't get any boost from my teachers).

Overall, Georgia played really well for one half. Then, they played very poorly for the second half. The defense played great, but the offense didn't cash in on opportunities. They missed a crucial field goal and allowed two big punt returns.

I would have liked to give the Dawgs a better grade, and I would have liked to see them stick around in the game longer.

Overall though, a C+ is a fair grade for their performance as a whole.