University of Georgia Athletics
Dog Notes: Ground Game Shines Sunday
October 09, 2016 | Football
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- If you play football for Georgia, or any SEC team, then you've thought seriously about playing on Sundays in the future. The Bulldogs and South Carolina got a taste Sunday, on a gorgeous afternoon at Williams-Brice Stadium.
With the sun shining and a steady wind blowing, making the difficulties and damages incurred in the state and region by Hurricane Matthew almost seem imaginary, the Bulldogs and South Carolina had themselves a game. It wasn't the NFL, but the Bulldogs' 28-14 win was an enjoyable, atypical experience. It was the program's first ever regular-season Sunday game.
"It's a great feeling," said junior tailback Sony Michel, who led a monster Bulldog day on the ground with 133 yards rushing on 33 carries. "A lot of guys have aspirations of playing on Sundays so, you know, today was a day they felt what it would feel like to play on Sunday."
It sure seemed to feel good for the tailbacks and the offensive line. Michel had 133, fellow junior Nick Chubb rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns on 16 attempts, and freshman Brian Herrien nearly joined the century parade, finishing with 82 yards on nine carries.
"You dream about playing on Sundays at the next level -- who else wouldn't want to do that?" senior right tackle Greg Pyke said.
Georgia (4-2, 2-2 SEC) and South Carolina (2-4, 1-4) were supposed to play Saturday night at 7:30, but Hurricane Matthew's movement up the coast from Florida to South Carolina and North Carolina, changed everything. On Thursday evening word came that the game was moved back to 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Perhaps nobody has or likes more set routines than football coaches and players, but the adjustments for the Bulldogs was clearly not a problem.
"I think Coach (Kirby Smart) did a really good job this week" of handling all of the changes and uncertainty, Pyke said. "I don't think any of the guys played differently or thought of the game as different, it was just moved another day."
One-Two-Three Punch
Bothered by a bad ankle, Chubb had one carry for 3 yards in last week's crushing Hail-Mary-at-the-buzzer loss to Tennessee. On the first play from scrimmage Sunday (still feels weird to type that) Chubb gained 9. On the second play Michel ran for 18, then 4 more by Chubb, followed later by 18 and a touchdown for Chubb.
Two stellar Georgia backs, each with 18-yard runs on the Bulldogs' opening drive.
"It's always good to be able to come out and run the ball," Chubb said. "We're the University of Georgia so that's who we are, and it's great."
The Chubb and Michel show largely continued until the midway through the second quarter when the Dogs, now leading 14-0, got Herrien more involved. He had a 19-yard run up the left side, which had few defenders in the neighborhood on the play. Herrien added a 12-yard run before halftime.
By the midpoint of the third quarter, Michel and Chubb were over 100 yards rushing. Herrien was busiest in the fourth quarter, when things got a bit tight. It was 14-7 Georgia when Herrien began a drive at the South Carolina 39-yard line, and Herrien rushed for 14 yards on the first play and 18 on the second.
All three Dog rushers posted stellar yards-per-carry numbers: Herrien shined with 9.1 per rush, Chubb had 7.6 and Michel's average was 6.3 per carry.
"It's a mindset to come out here and be physical and that's what we're doing," Chubb said. "We've got the big boys up there rolling and things are working out for us, opening up."
Georgia has struggled at times to run the ball this season, including rushing for just 101 yards against Missouri, but 326 of Georgia's 355 yards of offense Sunday came on the ground. And that was against a South Carolina defense that was holding teams to around 200 yards rushing per game.
"It started with our preparation," Michel said. "We had a physical week of practice ... and team run is one thing we focused on. We wanted to be physical in front and pound the football well."
They did, and they needed to run hard and well because the passing game was mostly absent all game. Quarterback Jacob Eason had a tough day, going 5-for-17 passing for 29 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
Winner Or Error?
Terry Godwin's smile during his postgame interviews was huge, the smile of a guy that knows he made a big play. But can a win-clinching play also be a mistake?
After South Carolina scored late to cut Georgia's lead to 21-14, the Gamecocks tried an onside kick. The ball went pretty much right to Godwin, the sophomore receiver, who caught it and ran. He ran because there was nobody in front of him until he got to the back of the end zone 43 yards later.
"It was huge," Godwin said of the hole in front of him. "You really could have walked into the end zone from where I was, that's how big it was."
It was a door-closing play, yes; an exciting, heck-yeah play, yes; but Smart wasn't too happy about the decision to run with the ball. Smart would have preferred Godwin secure the ball and get on the ground. Fresh in his mind was the Tennessee-Texas A&M game Saturday night, when a UT player chased down an Aggie and poked the ball out the back of the end zone just before the goal line.
"It worked," Smart said of Godwin's return, "so what does everybody base it on? Results. But I would suggest he get down, which is what I encouraged him to do."
What's Next?
Georgia's players ordinarily have Sunday off, but the Dogs were in Columbia playing the Gamecocks on Sunday, and Vanderbilt is still coming this Saturday for the homecoming game. Kickoff is at noon at Sanford Stadium.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
