Georgia Football: Four Reasons Georgia Beat Auburn 27-10
Offense
Running Game
The Georgia Bulldogs running game continues to dominate and wear opponents down. For the second straight game the Dawgs chewed up over 300 yards on the ground. This week UGA ran for 303 yards on 46 attempts with one touchdown.
D’Andre Swift spearheaded the ground game once again carrying the ball 17 times for 186 yards. That’s an insane 10.9 yards per carry, meaning he averaged more than a first down per tote.
For the second week in a row, Swift broke loose for a long explosive touchdown. Last week it was an 83 yard run against Kentucky. This week it was a 77 yard touchdown dash against Auburn in the third quarter, for the Dawgs final score of the night.
Elijah Holyfield continues to be the hammer for the UGA backfield. He ran the ball 15 times on Saturday gaining 93 yards. He was only seven yards away from giving the Dawgs multiple 100 yards rushers, for two consecutive games. He averaged a strong 6.2 yards per rush.
Holyfield was a big part of moving the chains, even carrying the ball from the quarterback spot in the wild-dawg formation. His longest run was 22 yards on Georgia’s first drive of the game. A drive that resulted in a field goal. Holyfield also had a 17 yard run in the fourth quarter, and made four first downs on the evening.
Brian Herrien the Dawgs third running back, carried the ball 5 times and gained 37 yards. That’s a 7.4 yards per attempt. His longest run was 14 yards.
Late Downs
UGA was extremely clutch against Auburn, converting crucial third and fourth down plays. The third down conversions started on the Dawgs’ second drive of the game. Jake Fromm found D’Andre Swift and Terry Godwin to convert third downs on the drive.
Georgia’s first touchdown of the game came on a third down. On third and four, Jake Fromm found wide receiver Tyler Simmons on a corner route for 14 yards and six points.
The next time the Bulldogs got the ball, it was a huge fourth down conversion that did the damage. Georgia coach Kirby Smart elected to go for it on fourth and three from the Auburn 38. Jake Fromm dropped back and found wide receiver Terry Godwin in stride on a crossing route. Godwin took the pass all the way to the house for the score.
Georgia converted an impressive 8/14 on third down and 1/2 on fourth down. Most importantly they converted the most critical third downs particularly through the air. D’Andre Swift was critical in this area as well. He led the Dawgs with four catches. He had 43 yards receiving.
Terry Godwin was the leading receiver yardage wise with 84 yards on three catches, including the aforementioned touchdown. Wide receiver Mecole Hardman added two catches for 39 yards including a 32 yard play.