Well, that was pretty sweet.
Georgia came into South Bend, IN and left with a big win Saturday night, though time will have to tell whether or not this is, in fact, a big win.
I'm writing this in the middle of Hurricane Irma coverage here at AccessWDUN, so if you don't mind, I'd like to dive right in before my presence is needed elsewhere.
(Stay safe everyone!)
1) Jake Fromm did just enough:
Fromm had a mixed bag Saturday night. He had a couple of turnovers, but also was victimized by a couple of drops (Mecole Hardman's, especially).
I'll say this though, when the Dawgs needed a play, he found his favorite target, Javon Wims, for a big gain to set up newly-scholarship'd Rodrigo Blankenship's go-ahead field goal that would prove to be the difference.
I suspect the Georgia coaches know that going forward they can lean heavily on the defense, but the real tests will become — at least until Jacob Eason returns — what can Fromm do against an SEC defense? And will the offensive line ever establish the run?
Those might be the two biggest factors for the Bulldogs's success, though it seems Fromm at least has somewhat of an answer.
2) The defense deserves nearly all of the credit, but the key word is "nearly:"
The Junkyard Dawgs might be back, continually shutting down the Fighting Irish offense and finding ways to keep Georgia in the game.
The Bulldogs of several years ago would've lost this game, probably handily in some cases.
Not this one. Lorenzo Carter, Davin Bellamy and Roquan Smith continued to make play after play after play shutting down the Notre Dame rushing attack.
The front seven really looked as good as advertised.
However.
Credit is also due to the special teams, which didn't have any of the major gaffs we are used to (two weeks in a row), and generally had good coverage on all kickoffs/punts.
Not perfect, but I'll take it.
3) Run the dang ball:
As much as I loved seeing a "Wild Dog" formation that put Sony Michel, Nick Chubb and Brian Herrien all in the backfield at the same time, I have only one complaint.
Quit running the Wild Dog.
Unless Michel/Terry Godwin (nice catch, by the way!)/Mecole Hardman actually throws a pass, the Wild Dog simply serves as a forecast for the defense that says, "Hey, I'm running the ball! Stack the box!"
When was the run effective? When it was mixed up. Shotgun draws. Power-I formation.
Do that. We've got the tailbacks to carry the load.
4) The look ahead:
Samford comes to town with a 2-0 record, beating Kennesaw State 28-23 to open the season and topping West Alabama last week 49-41.
By all accounts the Other Bulldogs have a good offense, but not much in the way of defense.
Another week of strength-on-strength, though this one seems a little more stacked in Georgia's favor.
I can't find an opening line, so I'll just guess it'll be high and the Home Dawgs won't cover it, though they'll win convincingly.
