The Georgia Bulldogs suffered a shocking loss to the Auburn Tigers in Sanford Stadium on Saturday, falling 27-24 by way of a last-second field goal.
Kirby Smart was calm and sort of quiet in the post game press conference. He said some of the usual things that he does, such as “humility is a week away,” but he was realistic. It boiled down to one statement he made:
“Dawgs beat the Dawgs man, and that’s no disrespect to Auburn,” Smart said.
That is what happens when you lose the turnover battle 0-3.
Alex Golesh, Auburn’s first year head coach is the biggest winner today, snagging his first signature W as the Tigers’ leader. We have to take a look at the biggest winners and losers for Georgia within this game:
Winners
Ryan Puglisi
Georgia’s backup quarterback had to be subbed in on the opening drive because Gunner Stockton was slow to get up after the first play of the game. More on that later in this feature.
Puglisi was largely criticized in September when he got chances to play several drives between the Tennessee State, Western Kentucky and Arkansas games. Today, he showed poise and operated Georgia’s offense efficiently, moving them down the field to help get the Dawgs into scoring range.
He completed all three of his pass attempts for 55 yards. He also connected with Craig Dandridge on a 41-yard gain.
Gunner Stockton subbed back in a couple plays later and Georgia finished the opening drive with a touchdown.
Craig Dandridge
Craig Dandridge was one of the lone bright spots for Georgia on Saturday. He caught four passes and turned them into 88 yards. The box score will say he was targeted six times, but it was really more than that because he drew a pass interference penalty on a deep pass.
The true freshman was open constantly. Stockton didn’t look his way a couple of times when he was wide open.
Georgia’s offense operates on a “everybody eats” basis, but Dandridge has been one of the players that has eaten a few times, and Stockton has gone to him down the stretch in two tight games in-a-row now.
Losers
Gunner Stockton
Gunner Stockton isn't getting benched. Gunner Stockton is still one of the best quarterbacks in the country who was coming off of playing his best football. Smart acknowledged that.
“He had all of the success last week and so many people want to reach out and talk about it,” Smart said.
BUT, Stockton played arguably his worst football today for Georgia. He turned the ball over three times, including two interceptions. It was the first time in his collegiate career that he threw two interceptions in a single game.
He got banged up on the opening drive, described by Smart to be a shoulder stinger. They evaluated him for head and neck injuries and deemed he was fine to go back out and play. He returned later that drive.
Smart on if the opening drive bruises affected his performance:
“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” Smart said.
Ultimately, Stockton’s third and final turnover handed Auburn the dagger that they used to kick a field goal. The Dawgs were driving with a chance to go down and win the game while it was tied. Stockton dropped back in an empty set and took off running on a designed quarterback draw. He ran into one of his teammates and the ball came free.
Those types of plays just haven’t happened often in Stockton’s career.
“Very unfortunate on the fumble. If there is anybody I am going to pick to have the ball in their hands, it's him,” Smart said.
There were some bright spots for Stockton, but the turnovers ultimately decided the game.
Gabe Harris
The senior defensive end made some nice plays, but he made a very costly one at the end of the game.
Gabe Harris Jr. hit Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown late, forcing the officials to throw the flag. That allowed Auburn to advance the ball further on the final drive, and the Tigers kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired.
Smart had two things to say about that:
“The undisciplined penalties is probably the most difficult thing,” Smart said.
“It takes great restraint not to do it, and we didn’t show great restraint,” Smart said.
Rushing Defense
Auburn’s offense will arguably be the most unique one Georgia faces all season because of how much Brown runs the football as the team’s quarterback. He had 81 carries compared to starting running back Jeremiah Cobb’s 45 heading into this game.
Brown turned 15 attempts into 115 yards and a touchdown. He was dangerous on both quarterback design runs and scrambles.
“When you have a quarterback run game, man, it is just really hard,” Smart said.
Georgia was stopping the run at an elite level through the first half of the season, holding opponents to just under 75 yards per game. Today, the Dawgs allowed Auburn to total 192 yards on the ground - the most in a game all season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google