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No 4 Strangled Georgia No 7 Auburn in the Deep South’s oldest rivalry on Saturday night in Athens, Georgia Stetson Bennett IV started at quarterback for the Bulldogs and was precise, scoring 17 of 28 for 240 yards and a touchdown in the dominant 27-6 win The ex-walker, who returned to Georgia after a stint in college, secured the start of opening day starter D’Wan Mathis and former USC caller JT Daniels, who was cleared this week after suffering a knee injury in September 2019
Bennett led 43, 59, 84 and 72 yard playoffs for the Bulldogs His favorite target was Kearis Jackson, who finished with nine catches for 147 yards The two tied for a 16-yard finish on the third and 10 to bring Georgia to Auburn’s 15-yard line to set Georgia’s first score – a one-yard dive from Zamir White
From there it was Bulldogs Bennett found George Pickens on the sideline on a perfectly placed pass for 21 yards to push the lead to 17-0 in the second quarter White dove a yard halfway through the second quarter to score 24-0 White was Georgia’s top runner with 19 carries for 88 yards and two touchdowns
Auburn’s offense struggled to protect starting quarterback Bo Nix, who finished 21st of 40 for 177 yards with an interception Nix was sacked three times but under pressure all night as the offense of the Tigers went without a touchdown and reduced to just 39 rushing yards
I’ll be the first to admit it: I was wrong about Georgia’s attack under Bennett I thought he would struggle under pressure, Auburn’s defensive coordinator Kevin Steele would manage to bring the heat in different ways and forcing the 5-foot-10, 190-pound player to many errors The opposite happened
It was clear Bennett was in control in the first quarter when he rolled to his left and found Jackson on that 17 yards in the third and 10 Bennett, a former walk-on who left Georgia to attend Jones County (Mississippi) Community College before returning to the Bulldogs in 2019, has enough in his repertoire to keep the offense moving and not commit a game-changing mistakes That’s enough for a Georgia team with one of the best defenses in the country
This team doesn’t necessarily have to have a high level offense Of course, that would help After all, the defense doesn’t win any more championships « Just enough » the defense does But Bennett showed on Saturday night that he can make a difference in a top 10 match, then put it in cruise control There’s a word for it… « foundation » Bennett established this foundation against the Tigers
They say a team improves the most between Week 1 and Week 2 of the season This obviously applies to Georgia’s offensive line The unit, with four new starters, completely controlled the new front defensive Auburn from the moment the toe met the leather Try these numbers for size: 45 rushes for 202 yards and two rushing touchdowns Those were Georgia statistics The number 1 is perhaps more important – as in, how many times Bennett has been sacked The offensive line of the Georgia not only seemed to have solved its problems, but also ready to assert itself as the best unit in the country. If it will be Bennett under center and Georgia will continue to be a run-based attack that works out of action play, offensive line development is the most important thing to remember of the night – and it isn’t. the case even nearby
Remember when offensive coordinator Chad Morris was supposed to be the savior of a Tigers attack that became as predictable as sunrise when coach Gus Malzahn called the games? Yeah, that was a pipe dream Auburn’s offensive line was a sieve on Saturday, which left Nix running for his life all night long As a result, Morris couldn’t (or wouldn’t) make any adjustments to try and make anything to keep the chains moving
This recipe made sense when Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson were monsters along Auburn’s defensive line – even if it didn’t work all the time It won’t work now Malzahn and Morris – two coaches who did their marks in the college football world as innovative attacking spirits – left their league on Saturday This is a running theme for an Auburn program that appears to be on the decline
Georgia doubled Auburn’s offensive production 442-216, played 11 more games and scored 163 more rushing yards (202-39) The Tigers won’t be able to compete with a talented team featuring statistics like this
CBS Sports was with you all the way to update this story with the latest news from Auburn in Georgia on Saturday night. Keep reading for analysis and game highlights
Auburn’s defense bends but doesn’t break as they hold Georgia to a FG The Dawgs used 4:18 on the clock, which is probably more important than the score The Tigers have to find Seth Williams early and often
@_anderscarlson_ brings us to the set to start the 2nd half with a 45 yd FG which would have been good from 60 💥 photoTwittercom / ntOb8cHLrT
Auburn settled for three It’s a clear win for Georgia The Bulldogs offense can switch to Rouge Beauilloux mode and take a knee three times and kick to win
Big loss for Georgia to Richard LeCounte Legitimate targeting But that’s a big part of the defense against the run
Georgia offensive line builds brick wall at Butch Jones level ahead of Bennett It’s amazing
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Georgia vs Auburn
World News – United States – Georgia vs Auburn Score, Take Out: No Accelerator 3 Dawgs No 7 Tigers like Stetson Bennett proves pretty well
