UGA Football just suffered one of its most crushing defeats in a long time in Baton Rouge. The offense looked bad. The defense was inconsistent. LSU dominated the game from the beginning. Now the number two overall team in the country has fallen down to eighth. Following this loss, the schedule does not get any easier. The rest of the season will be significantly more difficult than the first.
Following this off week, UGA will face Florida at a neutral site and Kentucky at their home field. Both of those teams are ranked. Auburn will be coming to Athens soon after. Winning the rest of these tough games will prove to be crucial for the playoff push at the end of the season.
The offensive play calling was one of the most puzzling things about the loss. The run game looked dominant in the first quarter but the called plays kept turning to passing opportunities which starting quarterback Jake Fromm struggled to convert. Two interceptions certainly didn't help his cause either. Fromm's play left many people, including myself, asking: "Where is Justin Fields?" Georgia's run game amassed 113 yards during the contest compared to LSU's 275. Whenever UGA wins it is usually because of the consistency of the ground game. They run the ball and wear out the opponent. UGA was facing one of the best defenses in the nation this past week and it showed as they called passing plays more than they ever have.
UGA WallPhoto by Griffin Callaghan
The coaching staff felt confident enough in their starter to leave him in for the duration of the game with the exception of just the few snaps Fields took. On those snaps though, he handed the ball off all but one time where he ran for three yards. The argument against him in this game could be the inexperience. It could hurt his development if he was just thrown into the fire for this big of a game. There is likely going to be a shorter leash on Jake Fromm now because of the talent waiting in the wings behind him.
Much of this comes back to one of the more crucial calls in the beginning of the game. Georgia was in field goal range but opted to fake the try instead of actually kicking it. The ball was flipped to kicker Rodrigo Blankenship who ended up fumbling the ball instead of converting for the first down. It was a bold call by head coach Kirby Smart that would have gotten him endless praise had it worked. Now all it will garner for him are questions. That's the way it works though. It was a massive risk.
Smart will need to be more cautious in his decision making against Florida and Kentucky or there will be some real question marks beginning to arise about his big game decision making. He now also must be careful and keep a close eye on his QB situation.
The UGA Football season is nowhere near over. One loss will not ruin the team, just take a look at last years team. The road ahead is tough but not impossible. Georgia can still very well make the College Football Playoff, but they need to take the rest of the season one game at a time and not think about that because it is only a distraction. Focus on Florida, then Kentucky, and everyone else who is coming up next.
