Rest & React: Georgia survives another one against Auburn

It’s another come from behind win for the Georgia Bulldogs. Kirby Smart’s crew overcame an early 10-0 deficit Saturday against Auburn to tie the game at halftime. They trailed once again early in the second half and didn’t hold their first lead until the fourth quarter. Then, needing a score and a stop in the final 3:00, the Dawgs did just that.

– I said it last week, and I’ll say it again: I’m not sure what to make of this team. I think it’s becoming clearer that they may not be the dominant force that the last two Georgia squads were. That doesn’t mean that they can’t win a National Championship like those two teams, but it may be a grind. One thing I do feel confident saying about this team is that they’ve got good fight and connection. They stayed composed when faced with those tough situations in a hostile environment. That says a lot, and that’s the kind of thing that will travel with them no matter where they’re playing. We saw it against South Carolina at home. Now we’ve seen it on the road. This Georgia team won’t back down.

– Brock Bowers is unbelievable. Do I need to say any more? As was the case last week (and really as has been the case the entire time he’s been on campus), the best version of this offense is when No. 19 has the ball in his hands. He proved that once again, coming up clutch and putting the team on his back in the fourth quarter. Carson Beck is very clearly comfortable with Bowers, looking his way when it matters most. You don’t want to become too dependent on one player to do everything, but Bowers may be that dude that’s capable of doing just that.

– Speaking of Carson Beck, he played very well on Saturday. Yes, he had an interception and the ball there probably could have been in a better spot, but that was one hell of a play by Jaylin Simpson. There were a couple of plays that had turnover potential, but Beck also did some things to avoid giving Auburn momentum. Going 16-of-20 in the second half, Beck stood in the pocket in the face of pressure and delivered. That was key to converting several times on third down (five of the completions moved the chains).

– On the day, Georgia was 8-of-13 (61.5%) on third down. In the second half, the number was even better (5-of-7, 71%). Ladd McConkey was on the receiving end of three third down conversions – two in the second half – as he made his return from injury and season debut. I thought his presence was big, and can continue to be big for this team. Georgia needs to find some weapons and threats outside of Brock Bowers, and McConkey could be that guy.

– Couple of notes on the defense: Georgia didn’t tackle great, and there were opportunities to play the QB run better. Kirby Smart said so himself. He saw Auburn take some things from what UAB did. He said that Georgia prepared for that, but the execution clearly wasn’t there. The Bulldogs didn’t seem to get beat between the tackles, but when the Tigers were able to get the ball out to the edge, they were able to pick up some yards. That’ll have to be improved because there are teams that can exploit that still on the schedule for Georgia.

– Peyton Woodring deserves a shout out because he came through big. 2-for-2 isn’t going to earn him any sort of award, but pressure was on for each of the kicks. His first tied the game. His second gave Georgia its first lead. After not having any opportunity to bounce back last week following a two-miss day against South Carolina, Woodring delivered in his first career road game.

– Big one against Kentucky coming up. Wildcats come into Athens undefeated and off of a strong showing versus Florida. Ray Davis had a trio of touchdowns with 280 yards on the ground. Georgia will once again be tested by a tough, physical run game next week.

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