Back a few weeks ago many Georgia fans weren’t liking the idea of this early season bye week. After starting the season off with three less challenging teams, fans were ready for some competition to see where the team is at.
Georgia found that much-needed competition in week four against Notre Dame. A team that Georgia has beaten the three times they’ve played in history now. Georgia finally had a fourth-quarter game, where they had to face some type of adversity leading up to that final moment where the Dawgs were able to take a knee and end the battle. Georgia went into halftime with a 3 point deficit to Notre Dame, who managed to put up 10 points on the Georgia defense and hold the offense to only a touchdown. It wasn’t a deficit to be scared of and to start fearing what might happen if you lose. Georgia was still in the fight going into the third quarter, they just had to make slight adjustments to their gameplan. Georgia ended up beating Notre Dame in a historic, intense, loud atmosphere in Sanford Stadium. In front of 93K Georgia beat Notre Dame 23-17. Now after four weeks of football, the Dawgs are already dealing with injuries to some of their best players. Georgia went into the Notre Dame game without sophomore cornerback Tyson Campbell who was held out by a foot injury that occurred during the Arkansas State game. Just minutes into the Notre Dame game, Eric Stokes made a tackle that tweaked his ankle because of faulty footing. Stokes was held out for majority of the game until the deciding down for Ian Book and the Irish offense. When asked about the seriousness of Stokes injury, Kirby Smart said this, “If you told me the one spot you couldn’t afford to lose somebody at that point, it was that one,” Smart then said this, “Came back in the game and played later. I just don’t know if he was 100 percent or not. It was a tough call to put him back in there, he wanted to go back in.” From what Coach said, it doesn’t sound like too serious of an injury for Stokes and he is expected to be back for the Tennessee game in two weeks. The same cannot be said for Tyson Campbell, as he is a day-to-day situation as of right now. Georgia did have a chance to show why it has done such a tremendous job in recruiting, as we saw redshirt freshman Divaad Wilson and JUCO transfer DJ Daniels step up and play some key snaps on defense for the Dawgs. Wilson ended up catching an interception and returning it for 11 yards, while Daniels played well in coverage and broke up the final pass of the night for Book. Cornerback wasn’t the only area of concern for Georgia going into the game, as starting right tackle Isaiah Wilson has been sidelined with an injury since the Wednesday practice leading up to the Murray State game. Wilson is dealing with a lower-leg injury and was able to play some snaps at right tackle late in the game last Saturday. This bye week is coming at a great time for Wilson as he will be able to have two full weeks of practice before making his expected return to his right tackle spot against Tennessee. But Georgia didn’t make it out of the Notre Dame game fully healthy upfront as left guard Solomon Kindley went down with a lower-leg injury which forced him out for the rest of the game. Kindley was seen in a boot and on crutches for the remainder of the game. It is not known to this point when he will return. It will be key for Georgia to figure out its injuries upfront as they’ve shown some weakness in pass protection. Notre Dame had some very early success getting in the face of Jake Fromm, as they brought speed and power off the edge. Georgia had a hard time getting to the edge before someone was in our backfield. Justin Schaffer replaced Kindley in the game and if Kindley will be out for an extended period of time, it is possible we see Schaffer start at that position. With Georgia finally coming to the ‘meat’ of their schedule this bye week cannot come at a better time for the Dawgs as they will be able to rehab some of the nagging injuries and get back to 100 percent. Georgia will be taking on Tennessee in Neyland Stadium in two weeks. Some fans are already planning to rename the stadium to “North Sanford.” Which is a reference to the expected UGA takeover, that has been seen in many different places like in Nashville and South Bend.
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Harrison Reno
Is the founder and author of Top Dawg Blogging. Harrison has been blogging for the past 4 years Archives
April 2020
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