Bulldogs thriving with deep running game led by Chubb
— Nick Chubb has been given fewer carries per game this season than at any point in his Georgia career. He couldn’t be happier. Chubb leads an unusually deep tailback corps that has powered No. 2 Georgia (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 1 CFP) into position for its best start in 35 years when it faces South Carolina on Saturday. A win would give the Bulldogs a 9-0 record for the first time since 1982.
Georgia may play as many as five tailbacks against the Gamecocks. The rotation keeps Chubb and Sony Michel, another senior, from compiling huge rushing totals which grab national attention.
That’s more than fine with Chubb, which is proof he didn’t return for his senior season to chase individual honors.
“I don’t want it,” Chubb said with a smile when asked Wednesday about being excluded from Heisman Trophy hype. “They can keep it.”
Georgia would clinch the SEC’s Eastern Division title and a spot in the SEC championship game if it beats South Carolina and Mississippi beats Kentucky on Saturday.
“This is what we all came back for,” Chubb said.
Michel took a turn as the top back with 137 yards rushing and two touchdowns on only six carries in last week’s 42-7 win over Florida. Chubb added 72 yards with one touchdown.
“They’re NFL backs, to be honest,” said South Carolina defensive back Chris Lammons. “If we want to win this game, we just have to stop them.”
D’Andre Swift, Elijah Holyfield and Brian Herrien have shared carries with the seniors. That depth has kept the backs fresh for the Bulldogs’ late-season push for conference and national championships.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said the group is “probably deeper” than any other he has coached. As Georgia’s running backs coach in 2005, his backs included Thomas Brown, Kregg Lumpkin, Danny Ware and Tyson Browning.
“I mean, when you start talking about five-deep, I’ve been around a lot of good four-man rotations, but five is pretty special,” Smart said.
Chubb is the leader. His 4,189 yards rushing trail only Herschel Walker on Georgia’s career records. Michel is fifth with 3,040 yards. Each could reach 1,000 yards this season.
“I think we can,” Chubb said. “That would be nice to have.”
The Bulldogs are determined to establish the running game, even when defenses stack the line against the run. Georgia has the most carries in the SEC and trails only No. 1 Alabama in yards rushing.
As a team, Georgia is averaging six yards per carry despite running against defenses focused on stopping the run.
“It says a lot,” said fullback Christian Payne. “That’s our mindset going into every game. We’re going to run the ball. It really doesn’t matter how many people you put in the box, we’re still going to try to run the ball.”
Even Georgia’s receivers are taking pride in the dominant running attack.
“We know the game plan going in,” said receiver Terry Godwin. “Once the running game gets started, we can come in with the pass if we need it, but if we don’t we can keep running. As far as the rest of the receivers, we love that. That way we get to show off our tailbacks.”
Chubb’s workload has been consistent with 13 to 16 carries in every game. By comparison, he had five games with at least 20 carries last season.
Even with fewer carries, Chubb leads the SEC with 765 yards rushing and is third with 95.6 yards per game. Michel is fifth with 89.9 yards per game.
Chubb said he feels fresher than at this point last year.
“I feel great,” he said. “I feel better now than I did at the end of the season. It’s how we’ve been sharing the load and not playing full games. That also helps. We’re doing a good job taking care of everybody.”
In other recent college football news:
Tech not giving up on ACC hopes ATLANTA
— After a second loss in the Atlantic Coast Con- ference, it seems like a good time for Georgia Tech to reset its goals.
Not so fast, said coach Paul Johnson.
He’s not giving up on the idea of the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 3-2) reaching the ACC championship game, though he could’ve used some visual aids Tuesday to explain all that needs to go right.
“What happens if Virginia Tech goes and beats Miami and we win at Virginia?” Johnson asked. “Then (Virginia Tech is) coming in here next week and Miami is one loss away from being tied with whoever wins that game. If we win that game,” presumably, he meant Virginia Tech, “we could all wind up with two losses.”
If that all sounds a bit convoluted, one thing is easy to understand.
The Jacket can’t afford another conference defeat.
Their part of the deal begins with Saturday’s road game against the Cavaliers (5-3, 2-2).
“That’s a lot of ‘ifs,’ but it’s not dead,” Johnson said. “We don’t change our goals. We just keep playing. It will be all dead if we don’t win at Virginia.”
No. 13 Virginia Tech (7-1, 3-1) travels to No. 9 Miami (7-0, 5-0) Saturday night before visiting Atlanta on Nov. 11. The Yellow Jackets close out their ACC schedule with a Nov. 18 game at Duke (4-5, 1-5).
Essentially, everything has to fall in place for Georgia Tech — Virginia Tech beats Miami, the Yellow Jackets beat Virginia, Virginia Tech and Duke, and Miami loses one of its last two conference games against either Pitt or Virginia.
Under that rather farfetched scenario, Georgia Tech, Miami and Virginia Tech would all finish 6-2 in the conference. The first tiebreaker would be their record in division games, which would eliminate the Hurricanes. Then, Georgia Tech would get the nod over Virginia Tech based on their head-to-head matchup.
The Yellow Jackets are clinging to that faint hope.
“I’ll get the guys together and try to rally everyone to get some energy going at practice,” quarterback TaQuon Marshall said. “We still have some things ahead of us we’re still trying to accomplish. We can’t really get down. We’ve got to keep practicing hard and trusting in each other and just keep going.”
A year ago, Georgia Tech defeated the Cavaliers 31-17 in Atlanta.
But Charlottesville has always been a challenging venue for the Yellow Jackets, who have lost 10 of their last 12 appearances at Scott Field dating to 1992.
Marshall is eager to redeem himself for a poor showing in last week’s 24-10 loss at No. 6 Clemson. He rushed for just 23 yards on 15 carries and struggled to throw on a miserable day, completing 3 of 13 for 32 yards.
“He’s a competitive kid and tough as nail. He wants to be good,” Johnson said. “Like most competitive people when things don’t go well, they get frustrated and try to remedy it and play better. I’m sure he’ll be that way this week. When he has a big game, it’s no different. He comes to work every week and tries to get better, whether he’s had 200 yards rushing or 15.”
Notes:
OT Andrew Marshall will return for a fifth season after missing his senior year with injuries. Marshall sustained a leg injury in the preseason, then hurt a foot while trying to work his way back. Now, he’s focused on getting healthy for 2018, which would be a huge boost for the offensive line. “We are excited,” Johnson said. “We talked last week and he decided that he wanted to come back and play. That’s good news for everybody. I’m excited for him and excited for us.” ... Freshman Pressley Harvin III is on the watch list for the Ray Guy Award, which goes to the nation’s top punter. Harvin leads all true freshmen and ranks seventh nationally with a 46.0-yard average.
— AP Sports Writers Pete Iacobelli and Paul Newberry contributed to this story.