The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UGA gets chance to fine-tune game
ATHENS — Georgia football coach Kirby Smart said his team plays to a high standard each game, regardless of opponent. “If you have that message, you’re not changing the message every week,” Smart explained. “Our standard is to go out and dominate the opponent, physically, mentally, wear them down.” Conference USA-member Middle Tennessee is the next speed bump for the No. 3-ranked Bulldogs on Saturday. Georgia (2-0) is a 33-point favorite over the Blue Raiders (1-1) in the noon game at Sanford Stadium.
Prep game
Middle Tennessee shares enough offensive characteristics with Georgia’s next opponent, Missouri, that this serves as a convenient prep game for the Sept. 22 date with the Tigers.
The Blue Raiders’ multi-receiver pass attack will stretch the field and test the Bulldogs’ young secondary in coverage as well as keeping the defensive line in chase mode.
Missouri’s offense might be a bit more conventional than Middle Tennessee’s, but the Tigers still spread the field and throw the ball often. The Blue Raiders have their respective school’s all-time leading passer in Brent Stockstill, while Missouri’s Drew Lock led the nation with 44 TD passes last season.
“They are both great passers that can throw the ball really well,” Georgia defensive lineman Julian Rochester said, “so it’s a good opportunity and a good challenge for us.
“It’s a great opportunity to get better against a team like this that runs the spread offense, and then playing Missouri the next week, so we have plenty of opportunities to show our pass rush ability, and two weeks to get better at it.”
Playing Fields
The Georgia quarterback situation remains unchanged, with sophomore Jake Fromm starting and the coaches looking for opportunities to get freshman Justin Fields playing time.
There’s a good chance that Fields will see more action in the friendly home confines of Sanford Stadium on Saturday night against what appears to be an overmatched Middle Tennessee team.
There were some, however, who made it clear on social-media channels that they felt Fields should have played a more prominent role in the Bulldogs’ 41-17 win at South Carolina.
Fromm staked Georgia to a 20-10 halftime lead before going 6-for-6 passing in the third quarter for 115 yards as the Bulldogs went on a 21-0 run.
Fields took all the snaps in the fourth quarter, completing the only pass he attempted for 3 yards, as Georgia was content to run the football and run out the clock on the road win.
“I think the important thing for Justin (Fields) is that he continues to improve,” Smart said Monday. “I would love to get him an opportunity to get into this game.”
Line shuffle
Smart has attempted to build Georgia for the long haul, a 15-game season, by developing high-profile recruits into quality players who can be counted on to provide depth if not start early in their respective careers.
That was the case Saturday with Cade Mays, who could be in line for his first career start in place of sophomore Andrew Thomas, who injured his ankle on Georgia’s first offensive play of the second half. Mays, who enrolled in January, was a 5-star recruit from Knoxville, Tenn., where his dad, Kevin Mays, once played for the Volunteers.
“I think the overwhelming consent was when (Cade Mays) went in that he just took over,” Smart said.
Georgia had plenty of options when Thomas went out, in terms of offensive line coach Sam Pittman’s ability to shuffle players.
Smart said all had been discussed, and the Bulldogs knew before the game Mays would be next man up at left tackle at South Carolina.
“That was a decision we all made as coaches based on how we practiced,” Smart said.
D-Robbed?
Transfer Demetris Robertson was one of the most talked about and exciting additions to the Georgia football team in the offseason.
Robertson, a 5-star recruit from Savannah who spent his first two seasons at Cal, did nothing to dampen that enthusiasm in the season-opening game with his 72-yard jet sweep run.
Against South Carolina on Saturday, however, Robertson was glaringly absent from the box score — no catches, and no runs.
Smart indicated it was a matter of competition and performance.
“Right now the wide-out position, we have good depth because we have guys that can do different things,” Smart said. “A lot of guys that are really physical, maybe a fast guy, maybe a vertical-threat guy. But at the end of the day, when you turn the tape on, the guys that get open are going to be the guys that play.”
Robertson posted on his Twitter account this week that he loves his UGA teammates and coaches, and “we are all family, and we are brothers . ... I’m glad I’m back home.”
About Middle Tennessee
Georgia is one of three SEC teams on the Blue Raiders’ schedule, as they lost their opener at Vanderbilt 35-7 and have a Nov. 17 date at Kentucky.
Coach Rick Stockstill is in his 13th year leading the program, and he’s 4-27 in games against teams in Power Five conferences. That record includes a 30-23 win at Syracuse last season, a 51-45 victory at Missouri in 2016 and a 49-28 triumph at Georgia Tech in 2012.
Brent Stockstill, the coach’s son, is coming off a five-touchdown, 407-yard passing performance in Middle Tennessee’s 61-37 victory over FCS member Tennessee-Martin on Saturday.
The Blue Raiders have a good idea of what kind of challenge they are in for against a talented and deep Georgia football team.
“When you play games like this, you’ve got to play perfect,” Rick Stockstill said. “You’ve got to play your best to have a chance.”
Middle Tennessee ranks 87th in the nation in total defense, allowing 403 yards per game.
The Blue Raiders will receive a $1.7 million check for playing the game.