Georgia shows first sign of weakness against Kent State
The Georgia Bulldogs beat Kent State, 39-22. The result is not the notable thing from this game. Georgia was expected to beat Kent State, and it did. The fact that 1-2 Kent State was able to hang with the “best team” in the country throughout most of the game is a concern.
During the early parts of the first quarter, Georgia seemed to go on to their usual dominance. They needed two plays to score a touchdown, and it seemed like Georgia was on its way to an easy victory. After forcing Kent State’s offense off the field, the Bulldogs had a muffed punt, resulting in a field goal for the Golden Flashes.
On the next drive, it seemed like Kent State just got lucky once, and this game would be a straight Georgia dominance. It seemed like that on the next drive for the Bulldogs until Stetson Bennett threw an interception in the red zone. Georgia’s defense did make up for this by getting a safety on Kent’s State offense.
It seemed like this game was over, and a field goal by the Bulldogs on the ensuing drive made fans think that the offense was just struggling today, but Georgia would still win handily. That was not the case. A few plays later, Kent State would score, and this was a two-point game.
The Bulldogs quickly responded by scoring two touchdowns on their remaining two drives in the half, but this game was close, and a field goal by Kent state made it a 13-point game going into the half.
After a three and out by Kent State, Georgia’s offense again settled for a field goal. The teams traded field goals until Kent State scored a touchdown, making it a 10-point game in the fourth.
While the Bulldogs were still winning, only leading by 10 against a team from the Mid-American Conference is a pretty bad sign if you are the reigning national champs. If Kent State converted their two-point conversation after scoring that touchdown, it would be a one-possession game. That is not a good sign for Georgia going forward.
Georgia would end up winning the game, but this was still a very poor performance by Georgia. Up to this point, the Bulldogs were the best team in college football. After this week, I have less faith in that statement. The defense is still an all-time defense, but this offense has questions to answer about their red zone opportunities. They also need to address their turnover issues from this game. Three turnovers are not ideal if you are the Bulldogs.
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Hopefully this game was a one-off. The Bulldogs were the unquestioned best team in the country going into this week, now I am a little less sure about that statement. The Bulldogs need to be dominant against Missouri this week. If the result is very similar to this week, Alabama may take the number 1 spot in the ranking. Up until this point, Georgia looked like an unstoppable team; after not dominating Kent State, I see a little dink in the armor.