Georgia is a better football team with Todd Gurley. But in an indirect way, his absence has had a positive, almost galvanizing effect on the Bulldogs.
At least that’s what some of UGA’s players are saying.
“I think it has brought us in (closer) and gotten us more focused than we were maybe in the past,” junior outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins said. “It’s really got us all tuned in and ears pinned back and really attacking everything we’re doing.”
It certainly appeared that way a week ago when the Bulldogs — playing their first game without their star tailback — put a 34-0 whipping on then-No. 23 Missouri in Columbia. It was an inspired effort that was spurred on, we found later, by an emotional pregame speech delivered by quarterback Hutson Mason.
Mason’s impassioned discourse included a rant about Georgia not being a one-man team. A week later, as the Bulldogs prepare to face a big, physical and equally desperate Arkansas team, the question becomes whether that was a one-game motivational rally or proof that Georgia’s talent and ability goes deeper than once having the best tailback in college football.
Mason, for one, believes it was less about what he said and more about what Georgia did.
“I wanted to say something from my heart, and it came out pretty good,” said Mason, a fifth-year senior. “But I don’t know how much of that had an affect on our performance. Moreso, I think it was just guys being prepared and doing their job at a high level. We won, so that’s all that matters.”
Some of that had to do with the innate abilities of Nick Chubb. The freshman gained 143 yards rushing on 38 carries as Gurley’s fill-in. He’ll start again in the absence of Gurley, who remains indefinitely suspended while Georgia investigates just how extensive his financial relationship with memorabilia dealers goes.
But the Missouri performance was a team victory in the truest sense. Mason completed 78 percent of his passes and threw and ran for touchdowns. Georgia’s defense recorded its first shutout against a Top 25 team on its home field in school history. Every bounce and break seemed to go the Bulldogs way.
Coaches frequently talk of how difficult it is to get teams to reach a motivational peak week in and out. It would seem especially difficult to recapture the magic of Saturday.
“I don’t know, I think our guys really understand that football’s a team game,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “The best chance we have is for everybody to take care of their responsibilities, for everybody to improve on a daily basis and everybody to practice and play with the kind of energy it takes to get the job done.”
That will be a big job against Arkansas — quite literally. The Razorbacks’ offensive line averages 6-feet-6 and 328 pounds, and the Razorbacks pound the ball like no other SEC team. They lead the league in rushing with 278.7 yards and tailbacks Alex Collins (105.7) and Jonathan Williams (94.8) average 200 yards a game between them.
And the Hogs will feel no sympathy for Georgia’s short-handed plight. They’ve lost 15 SEC games in a row, but have also come tantalizingly close breaking that streak against some powerhouse teams. Arkansas lost to No. 7 Alabama 14-13 last week and to then-No. 6 Texas A&M 35-28 in overtime Sept. 27.
The Razorbacks would like nothing better than have their breakthrough game come against No. 10 Georgia in a rare game here in the state’s capital city.
“All you have to do is turn on the film to see that these guys are getting coached, that these guys are playing hard and have a lot of ability,” Richt said. “So we have to be ready for a very hostile environment and be ready for the challenge.”
Georgia certainly would be better equipped to handle that challenge if it had Gurley in tow. But for the second consecutive week they left him home in Athens. And once again, it’s going to be up to others to pick up
“We had a really good game last week, but you know, our job is to play football every Saturday,” senior offensive tackle Kolton Houston said. “It gives us a little extra spark knowing we could (win without Gurley). But we’ve still got to go out there and get the job done. We’ve got to open up holes regardless of who’s carrying the football.”
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