Four Downs: Poor defense, missed opportunities at fault in UGA loss
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- After 13 points combined over their last two trips to Williams-Brice Stadium, the Georgia Bulldogs needed points. They got 35, but needed four more on Saturday, losing to the South Carolina Gamecocks 38-35
Georgia jumped out to a 10-7 lead over South Carolina early, but with 2:20 to go in the first quarter a Pharoh Cooper 8-yard touchdown catch put the Gamecocks on top for good. The two SEC East foes swapped scores throughout the remainder of the game, but the Bulldogs could never get that go-ahead score.
Here are four observations from Georgia's three-point loss to South Carolina:
When tales are told and fingers pointed, Georgia kicker Marshall Morgan is going to receive too much of the blame for Saturday's three-point loss to the Gamecocks.
After setting an SEC record with 19 consecutive field goals made, and extending the record to 20 in the second quarter, Morgan missed a 44-yard try late in the first half. With 4:24 remaining in the game and the Bulldogs down by three, Morgan missed his second field goal of the game, a 28-yard attempt.
Hearts broke around Bulldog Nation.
Morgan's streak dated back to Oct. 5, 2013 in Tennessee, when he started with the first of his record-setting 20 made attempts. Uncharacteristically, he then missed two field goal tries in a row.
Those six points would have easily put Georgia over the top against South Carolina. But there were many other opportunities the Bulldogs squandered that could have made a difference.
A Brandon Kublanow holding penalty in the first quarter negated a 54-yard touchdown run by Todd Gurley. Georgia punted three plays later, leaving those seven points completely off the scoreboard. On the Bulldogs' next drive, the offense maneuvered to the South Carolina 11-yard line. The offense could only move the ball three yards on three plays and had to settle for a field goal.
That could have been four more points for the Bulldogs.
It's even applicable to examine the fourth-and-short play by South Carolina with 1:26 on the clock at the Gamecocks 49-yard line. Dylan Thompson kept the ball and barely moved the ball forward for a first down. If the defense had made that stop, could Georgia have driven down the field in a little under 90 seconds to tie or win the game?
Morgan's two missed field goals will be lamented for some time around Athens. But they were only a portion of the problem.
In South Carolina's first possession of the game, the Gamecocks drove 75 yards on nine plays for a touchdown. It only took 4:27, and looked easier than it probably was.
Then again, it was pretty easy.
When Thompson needed a first down, he looked at gaping holes in the middle of Georgia's defense.
A 21-yard connection to Nick Jones was South Carolina's first time moving the chains. On the next play Thompson his Rory Anderson on a 20-yard strike. Both passes were to extremely-open receivers in the middle of the field.
"We knew the middle of the field was going to be wide open," Jones said after the game. The Gamecocks had done enough film study to zero in on that Georgia weakness.
Thompson walked into the locker room at halftime with three touchdown passes and 240 yards through the air, after connecting on 19 of 26 passes in the first half. He only added 31 yards passing in the second half as the Gamecocks moved the ball on the ground predominantly.
But the South Carolina offense, just as apparently Clemson did two weeks ago, left a lot of footage on tape for future offensive coordinators to pick apart Georgia's linebacker corps and secondary in the middle of the field.
Thompson lived there, and did so comfortably, all game.
When the topic of running backs popped up prior to kickoff, names like Gurley and Mike Davis were prevalent. Keith Marshall was even a tip-of-the-tongue kind of name.
Wilds' success kind of came out of nowhere.
When Davis was hobbled with a right leg injury, Wilds took over as the main rusher for a few series. He averaged 6.6 yards per carry and scored a touchdown after rumbling for 95 yards.
Even though Wilds' performance was a bit of a surprise, it wasn't his best game ever. His 95-yard performnce ranked fourth on his all-time list.
Over the span of four games in 2011, Wilds broke off three 100-yard games--137 yards against Tennessee on the road, 120 at home versus Florida and 109 against the Citadel.
So what if Saturday's 95 yards weren't a career high?
The performance drew comparisons to former Gamecocks running back Marcus Lattimore, and even to Wilds' opponent on the other side of the field, Gurley. And it got the college football public extremely interested in seeing more from the junior back.
Wilds notched 14 carries against the Bulldogs, just like he did against East Carolina the week before. He's not anywhere close to stepping in front on Davis on the depth chart, but it's now time to expect more from Wilds moving forward.
It's not fair in the least, but Gurley's game-high 131 yards rushing weren't terribly impressive. Maybe that's because we saw what his stat line should have looked like, and feel cheated.
Gurley should have had 54 more yards on the ground, and a second touchdown. But a holding penalty took that play off the board.
Without a doubt, 185 yards with two touchdowns would have been much more impressive than his actual 131 yards.
Gurley also wasn't helped in the receiving game either.
On four catches, Gurley gained just four yards. Knowing what he can do in open space, it's tough to imagine how this back only averaged one yard per catch.
Hutson Mason had trouble on Saturday getting the ball to Gurley quickly enough through the air. Each time Mason tossed it toward Gurley, it was more like a slow-motion balloon instead of a zippy pass.
South Carolina tacklers utilized the extra time Gurley had to pause and wait for the pass to get to him. Each time Gurley caught a pass, he was hammered before he was able to make a move.
Gurley is more than capable of making tacklers miss in space. But if passes float to him from Mason, he's going to spend more time as target and less time as touchdown maker.
