Offensive Grades: How Did Georgia's Players Do Against Vanderbilt?
Yesterday afternoon, the Georgia Bulldogs moved to 7-0 after their offensive weapons led them to a 37-20 onslaught of the Vanderbilt Commodores. How did Georgia's offensive players do against Vandy? Dawgs Daily is here to give you our grades for the offensive Dawgs.
Carson Beck: B
Turnovers in Saturday's game were Beck's Achilles heel. A fumble on a sack on the first drive, including a fumbled snap on the ensuing drive, and then an interception later in the game. Beck also had a few misses up the seam that he has had trouble with all season long, putting just a tad bit more touch on it than he needs. But Beck was hitting strikes on his crossing routes and level passes and hitting Oscar Delp and Dominic Lovett on vertical routes leading up to Beck's only passing touchdown. Despite the early shakes with fumbles, Beck had a solid and usual performance for what he has shown thus far. Throwing for 261 yards and a touchdown while rushing for one more and completing 29 of his 39 passes, Beck earns a B grade for this week following his Co-Offensive Player of the Week against Kentucky.
Running Backs: A+
Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton made the Commodore defenders look silly yesterday afternoon. Bursting through gaps, dead legging and side hopping past defenders, and lowering their shoulders through arm tackles en route to a combined 199 yards, nine first downs, and two touchdowns. Edwards was awarded the MVP from yesterday's game by Dawgs Daily and has undoubtedly seen his draft stock rise with Milton's absence at the beginning of the season. The two-headed serpent in the running back room paved the way for Georgia to move to 7-0 and, therefore, receive an A+ for this week.
WR, Dominic Lovett catches a back shoulder ball from QB, Carson Beck.
Wider Receivers: B+
Dominic Lovett has been a crucial part of Georgia's season in the first half, but with McConkey back, the two are starting to play complimentary football to each other. Lovvett and McConkey were Georgia's two leading receivers from the game, catching 13 of Beck's 29 passes for a combined 130 yards and a tough touchdown from Lovett. McConkey has turned into Beck's go-to option in a third and long situation to pick up the first, which has been an almost guaranteed option since his return. There was some great downfield blocking by the receiving corps from Georgia that also helped Edwards and Cash Jones break out some big runs toward the end of the game. They received a B+ for this week.
Tight Ends: A
With an unfortunate ankle injury to Brock Bowers, who was having a solid performance, Oscar Delp stepped up in a huge way. Delp was the team's third-leading receiver, hauling in a huge 20-yard reception that eventually led to Lovett scoring his first touchdown. The beef Delp has added also helped him in the run block game to create an edge for Edwards and Milton to slip past and gain extra yards in open space. Due to the lack of depth at the position on the road and Lawson Luckie only playing in the final minutes, Delp has earned himself a grade of A, stepping up in a major way with the injury to Bowers.
Offensive Line: B
Early in the game, Vanderbilt's defensive line was causing issues for the Bulldogs front. On the game's first drive, Xavier Truss faceplanted into the turf on a simple dip and rip move, which caused Beck to be sacked and fumble the ball. After that, the front five cleaned it up, giving up only two sacks and two tackles for loss; they paved the way for the two-headed serpents of Edwards and Milton to have their best games, playing fully healthy together. Also, Sedrick Van Pran saved Carson Beck from losing another fumble and had Georgia's longest rush at one point of the game with six total yards. Despite their early mishaps and an unfortunate injury to Truss, a dominant performance in the run game earns this week's Great Wall of Georgia a B grade.
This week will be a major week of focus and regaining health after multiple vital players were injured on the shaky turf at Vanderbilt. This bye week, they will focus on their biggest rival, the Florida Gators.
