Here is the Nov. 30 edition of The Daily Recap presented by JFQ Lending.
Cook breaks out
A lot of people have been waiting for running back James Cook to break out in the manner he did during Georgia’s 45-16 win over South Carolina. On only six carries, Cook totaled 104 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“My O-line gave me a lane to run in,” Cook said. “They laid it on, and I ran with physicality. They did a great job.”
Cook had a career-long 44-yard run in the game, with one of his two touchdowns coming from 29 yards out. The rushing game exploded in a major way, totaling 332 yards on the ground.
The ground game took all the pressure off of JT Daniels, as the Bulldogs were able to take care of business early against an outmatched opponent.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said the run game was able to be as successful as it was due to South Carolina being down a ton of players due to opt outs, injuries and Covid-19 issues. While Mississippi State was in a similar position last week, South Carolina proved to be no match for Georgia’s run game.
“Our guys came out from the very beginning," Smart said. "They knew South Carolina had some guys out, but they didn’t play down to that level. They played physical, they knocked people off the ball, they ran the ball, and I thought our O-line’s second effort and our backs’ second effort were the difference in the game.”
Four-headed monster
Brent Rollins wrote that the four running backs—Cook, Zamir White, Kenny McIntosh and Daijun Edwards—should get just as much credit as the offensive line, which opened up massive holes all game long.
“While the offensive line did great work against the Gamecock defense, Georgia's four-headed monster at running back had as good a game as any in the (Pro Football Focus) era (since 2014),” Rollins wrote. “All four running backs posted an initial rushing grade over 77.0. They combined to force 14 missed tackles, with McIntosh leading the way with seven, and averaged 4.70 yards after contact.
“To give some perspective on how good the backs were last night, the initial team 91.8 rushing grade is the second-highest for Bulldog running backs since 2014, only bested by the Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel performance against Clemson in the opening game of 2014 (91.9 grade).”
Needed pieces
Anthony Dasher wrote that the potential for offensive coordinator Todd Monken's offense appears great after seeing what the unit did over the past two weeks. With Daniels at quarterback, it seems like the offense has found a much better rhythm over the past two weeks.
“I definitely think that. I think he’s a really good play-caller," Smart said. "He does a good job of being aggressive. I think he’s been playing with a partial deck some of the games, because of the injuries and the youth. We knew there was going to be youth, we were going to invest in that youth, and it was going to grow and get better.
"We know we’ve got some really good young players on offense that have a lot of potential, and we’ve got to try to maximize that potential and keep getting them better. I like the rhythm of things and certainly think the players hearing the plays week seven and week eight and week nine are a lot better off than week one, two, and three.”
PFF report card
Paul Maharry compiled each Georgia player's Pro Football Focus grade from Saturday's win over South Carolina. On offense, tight end Tre' McKitty posted the best grade with a 94.0. On defense, that honor went to outside linebacker Adam Anderson, who graded out at an 87.4.
Film don't lie: Offense
Dayne Young and Brent Rollins broke down the offensive film from Georgia's win over South Carolina. Young pointed out that 19 of Georgia's 24 first downs came on run plays.
"The Bulldogs overpowered South Carolina's defensive front and ran for a total of 332 yards, averaging a bit more than seven yards per carry," Young wrote. "Zamir White is virtually untouched here, because of Jamaree Salyer's quick feet to get to the second level and occupy the middle linebacker."
Rollins gushed over getting to see receiver Arian Smith for the first time this season, comparing him to a former speedy Alabama receiver.
"One of the players I've most wanted to see on the field, Smith has the potential to be Henry Ruggs-esque for the Georgia offense, and it's going to be fun to see what Todd Monken draws up to get him a touch or two each game for the remainder of the season. Also, notice this is off play-action," Rollins wrote. "Through two games, Daniels is now 9-13 for 165 yards, and this touchdown off play-action with an average depth of target at 17.0 yards per attempt. Continually adding this into the arsenal and attacking downfield off play-action helps every element of the offense.
What Bobo said
South Carolina interim head coach Mike Bobo was impressed with how Georgia controlled Saturday’s game.
“Hats off to Georgia. They came in and dominated the game in all three phases,” Bobo said. “(Georgia was) more physical than us at the line of scrimmage, and it showed. Too many lost yardage plays offensively to get us behind the chains, and not enough explosive plays offensively. Defensively, the number one thing is, we couldn’t stop the run; our inability to get off the field on third down. Just a long night. Hats off to them.”
Getting redemption
A year ago, Georgia lost unexpectedly to South Carolina at home. Although the SEC Championship is a longshot at the moment, safety Lewis Cine said getting this game was like getting revenge.
“It felt great,” he said. “It felt awesome. We got redemption.”
Hoops: Trio paces Dawgs to victory
Andrew Garcia scored 22 points in Georgia's 85-75 win over Florida A&M on Sunday. Tye Fagan posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Sahvir Wheeler did the same with 12 points and 12 assists.
“I thought there were a lot of positives,” head coach Tom Crean said. “This gives us something to really study. Instead of watching last year’s film or watching other guys we've had over a period of time, now we get to watch ourselves, and I think that'll be very beneficial to them.”
Waking up a winner
Tre’ McKitty’s score
Delivering a dime
Outside the Vent
Former South Carolina commit Bryce Steele will now choose between Texas, N.C. State, Boston College and Michigan State.
With Ohio State dealing with Covid-19 concerns and Northwestern losing, the Big Ten is a hot mess.
Minnesota claims that 40 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 10 days.
Trevor Lawrence seemed to confirm that he is in fact leaving after this season.
Next week’s game between Miami and Wake Forest has already been postponed.
Michigan is a dumpster fire.
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