2024-09-02 07:30:02
The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Clemson Tigers 34-3 in Atlanta on Saturday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium for their first victory of the 2024 season. Following the game, sports editor Bo Underwood graded each position group’s performance.
Quarterbacks
Carson Beck was on point to start the 2024 season. After a sluggish offensive start in the first half, Beck and the Bulldogs ripped off four second half touchdowns to blow the game wide open. Beck completed 23 of his 33 passing attempts for 278 yards and two touchdowns, adding three carries for 19 yards on the ground. Beck looked confident as ever navigating the Georgia offense, and also showed off his ability to make plays with his feet when necessary. He took care of the ball and kept the offense moving, especially in the second half. Aside from a couple of missed throws that he’d like to have back, there weren’t many negatives to Beck’s performance on Saturday.
Grade: A
Running backs
The Bulldogs might have something in Nate Frazier. The freshman tailback carried the ball 11 times for 83 yards, and also took a Beck checkdown 24 yards. He looked very explosive and made a few cuts that some running backs can only pull off in their dreams, particularly on a 40-yard 4th quarter run where he cut across essentially the entire field. Frazier had a lot of hype coming out of camp and looks as good as advertised. Branson Robinson, playing in his first game in over a year, had a quiet day with seven carries for just 12 yards. There wasn’t much opening up for him, but his production could increase the more he continues to settle in. Cash Jones turned heads on a 15-yard touchdown run where he stiff-armed a Clemson defender into the turf and stayed in bounds with an impressive tip-toe effort. Freshman Chauncey Bowens also had three carries for six yards.
Grade: A
Receivers
The new guys looked impressive for Georgia on Saturday. Transfer wideouts Colbie Young and London Humphreys both caught touchdowns, and the latter led the team in receiving on the day with two catches for 63 yards and a score. Arian Smith caught a career-high five passes for 56 yards, and Dillon Bell chipped in four catches for 32 yards. He also took a jet sweep 27 yards for Georgia’s second longest rush of the day. Dominic Lovett was relatively quiet with three catches for 33 yards. Overall, the wideouts looked like a deep group with multiple players capable of stepping up throughout the season. Aside from an offensive pass interference penalty on Smith that wiped off a big gain, there weren’t many negatives.
Grade: A
Tight ends
The tight end group’s performance wasn’t anything crazy on Saturday, but the group held up relatively well. Junior Oscar Delp was completely shut out of the stat sheet, but was serviceable as a blocker. Stanford transfer Ben Yurosek didn’t record a catch either and had a false start penalty in the first half. He also struggled with his blocking assignments. Lawson Luckie was the only tight end to make a statistical impact, catching two passes for 37 yards. His 31-yard catch in the first half was one of Georgia’s first big plays of the day.
Grade: B-
Offensive line
The offensive line held up well on Saturday for Georgia. Beck was sacked one time but was otherwise kept upright for the entire game. There weren’t many open lanes for Robinson to run through, but the run game improved as the game went on, especially once Frazier got going. The offensive line didn’t commit any penalties and gave its quarterback plenty of time to work. Against a defensive front as talented as Clemson’s, that’s a good showing.
Grade: A
Defensive line
The Bulldogs’ defensive line had a tough assignment with physical Clemson back Phil Mafah lining up against them, and they handled it well. Mafah was held to 59 yards on 16 carries, and the Tigers failed to have a run play go for more than nine yards. There wasn’t much available for Clemson on the ground, and that in turn shut down any chances of the team opening up the play-action game since Georgia didn’t need to respect the run. Senior Warren Brinson left the game with an injury and didn’t return, so that will be something to monitor, but the Georgia defensive line played very well on Saturday against a very tough team.
Grade: A
Linebackers
The linebackers were flying all over the field for the Bulldogs. Junior Jalon Walker led the way with a team-leading six tackles and 1.5 sacks. He came up with two huge stops on back-to-back plays in a second half Clemson possession that stopped the entire drive. Mykel Williams was also playing some dominant football before leaving the game on a helmet-to-the-knee block from Mafah. Raylen Wilson recorded a half sack, and CJ Allen was up to his old heat seeking ways, recording four tackles and routinely finding the ball. Veteran Smael Mondon Jr. turned in a solid performance as well. Georgia’s linebackers again look like one of the biggest strengths of the team.
Grade: A+
Defensive backs
Something about playing in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Week 1 takes Malaki Starks to another level. Two years after making one of the most unreal displays of athleticism in Georgia history with his circus interception against Oregon (in his first collegiate game), Starks essentially did the same thing again. His fourth quarter full-extension interception of Klubnik was the play of the day for Georgia and provided the perfect exclamation point for the victory. True freshman KJ Bolden also turned heads in his Bulldog debut, with an emphatic third-down stop on Clemson’s first possession being his best play. Daylen Everette had some bad luck in coverage, allowing a 36-yard grab to Antonio Williams despite being draped all over the receiver, but otherwise the Georgia secondary didn’t allow much.
Grade: A
Special teams
The banner play for special teams on Saturday came in the second quarter when Peyton Woodring hit a 55-yard field goal. It flirted with the left upright for quite some time before sneaking in. Woodring was also good from 30 yards out earlier in the quarter. The special teams unit remained penalty-free throughout the game and didn’t have any outstanding miscues. Overall, a solid day from the third phase of the game.
Grade: A
