A closer look at No. 1 Georgia’s victory against Charleston Southern

With the outcome of this game never in doubt, there was only one play that truly mattered, and that was the first touchdown of the game. That it came on a 1-yard run by senior nose guard Jordan Davis was an unexpected bonus. And while the Bulldogs’ had rehearsed the play all week in practice, there was no guarantee that it would happen. It would necessitate a goal-line situation, which happened only because Zamir White ran out of bounds at the 2 on first-and-goal from the 7. That set up the opportunity for Davis, who regularly comes in as a tight end in Georgia’s “jumbo package” for short-yardage situations. Only this time, Davis shifted off the line in pre-snap motion and lined up in the backfield as a fullback. His first attempt came from the 2, and Davis’ dive over left guard left him about a half-yard short. On third down, Davis was able to punch through clean. The Georgia crowd stayed on its feet throughout, and was fully roaring by the time Davis put the Bulldogs ahead 6-0 with 9:01 remaining in the first quarter.

Key stat

Holding the Buccaneers to only seven points means the Bulldogs will remain the nation’s leader in scoring defense. They came in allowing just 7.6 per game. Georgia was unable to record yet another shutout, however, after a botched defensive play late in the third quarter. Freshman linebacker Xavian Sorey intercepted Jack Chambers’ pass deep in Charleston Southern territory. But as Sorey fought for yardage on his return, the ball was snatched away by Bucs’ receiver Garris Schwarting. The senior raced 65 yards for a touchdown. But Georgia had led 49-0 before that and shut out an opponent in the first half for the sixth time this season.

Game ball

Zamir White wasn’t on the field long, but he covered a lot of ground when he was. The senior led the Bulldogs with 83 yards rushing, and he got it on only four carries. That’s an average of 20.8 per carry. White got 40 of those yards on one run, which resulted in Georgia’s third touchdown of the day at the 4:15 mark of the first quarter. Backfield mate James Cook also had a 40-yard run and finished with 59 yards as the Bulldogs piled up a total of 233 yards on the ground.

Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@

Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@

What we learned

Georgia was without a few key players. One was unexpected. Senior safety Christopher Smith showed up on crutches and in a knee brace. Coach Kirby Smart said Smith had some sort of “bone bruise,” but that his knee buckled on him in practice midway through the week. Smart insisted “he’s going to be fine” and should be able to play next week. Broderick Jones started for third consecutive game at left tackle because senior Jamaree Salyer remained sidelined with a foot sprain. Smart said Salyer could have played. Outside linebacker Nolan Smith (elbow) also didn’t play but “probably could’ve.” Dominick Blaylock got his first action at wide receiver in two years, coming off knee and hamstring injuries. And, yes, junior split end George Pickens dressed out and went through pregame warmups. But he was never expected to play eight months removed from an ACL reconstruction, and very likely will not play next week either.

They said it

“(Offensive coordinator Todd) Monken came to me and said Jordan had been begging to get the ball. He and Jalen (Carter) put a lot of work in because they have to go down there (in jumbo package) and work on those plays, then we make them make up the plays they missed with the defense. It’s a commitment for them to go down and work on offense. … To be honest, I didn’t think we’d get a chance. It was almost fate that he got the opportunity because we weren’t going to do it in the middle of the field. The opportunity arose, I thought it was a great idea and he handled it well.” – Georgia coach Kirby Smart decision to have Jordan Davis run the football on the goal line.

“Honestly, it was never about the Heisman (Trophy). It was just about having fun and winning the game and playing the game. So, it doesn’t really matter to me. I’m just going to continue on. We’ve got Georgia Tech next week. It’s going to be an exciting game for bragging rights and whatever happens, happens. I’m just excited I got a chance to do that.” – senior nose guard Jordan Davis on getting a rushing touchdown

“My whole job on that play was just to make sure he gets the ball, that he had the right hand up and just let him get in the end zone. It was pretty cool. … Hopefully nobody took a picture right when I was handing the ball off because I’d look pretty small.” – Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett on Davis’ scoring play

What’s next

The Bulldogs (11-0, 8-0 SEC) will wrap up the regular season with their annual Clean Old-Fashioned Hate matchup against archrival Georgia Tech (3-8) in Atlanta (noon, ABC). The Yellow Jackets lost at Notre Dame 55-0 on Saturday.