Protecting the football has always been the forte of Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm.
That is, until Saturday.
Three interceptions by Fromm, along with a fumbled exchange on the first play of the fourth quarter, ruined whatever chances the Bulldogs had in Saturday’s 20-17 double-overtime loss to South Carolina on Saturday afternoon.
“A big part of my game is to protect the ball, so when the ball gets in the other team’s hands, that’s uncharacteristic of me, our team, and this offense,” Fromm said. “I have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and move the offense.”
Ironically, all three interceptions came courtesy of Gamecock cornerback Israel Mukuamu, his third one taking place in overtime after the ball bounced off the hands of wide receiver Tyler Simmons.
Kicker Parker White would ultimately miss a short field goal to keep Georgia (5-1, 2-1) in the game, but then Rodrigo Blankenship’s miss during the second OT sent the Bulldogs home with their first loss of the year.
“That was tough, but that’s something, as an offense, we should have never put him in position for to begin with,” Fromm said. “We should have scored points right there, six points to win the game; it should not have been on him.”
Indeed.
You’re not going to beat many teams in the SEC with four turnovers, much less after throwing a pick-6 as Fromm did late in the third quarter, when Mukuamu took his first interception back 53 yards for a score.
“He tried to throw the ball away, and didn’t get enough on it to get it of bounds, and the kid picked it off. We fumbled the snap,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “That rarely happens with our guys. It happened today. I can’t tell you exactly why it happened. One ball was dropped, and it ended up getting intercepted. It’s tough. It was a tough day.”
Fromm, who completed 28 of 51 passes for 295 yards, did not disagree.
“You know it’s part of football, but obviously, that’s not what you want,” Fromm said. “I did not play my best. I’ve got to come out week-in and week-out and do better than that. You turn the ball over four times in the SEC, and you’re not going to win.”
As predicted, Smart took his share of shots from fans on Twitter and Bulldog message boards.
After the game, Smart was asked if he had a message for those who did.
“I don’t have to say anything to those people. I’ll be honest with you. They have a right to use whatever they want and display whatever they want. That’s what Twitter is about. I believe in Jake Fromm. Jake Fromm is a leader of men,” Smart said. “He gives tremendous effort week-in and week-out. We were not effective enough, efficient enough offensively, and they did enough with our run game where statistically, you outgain them 468-297, but it’s the critical times in which the turnovers happened. You can’t go 4-0 in the turnover margin and expect to win a game. It just doesn’t happen.”
