Lilly’s Dawg Blog
Georgia VS. Vanderbilt
UGA 41-13 over a Vanderbilt team that took Notre Dame down to the wire, and we are now 6-0! Sounds good to me. However, it was another somber mood in the Georgia locker room after the game. Kirby Smart said, “we played sloppy, and I was disappointed with the way we played.” Jake Fromm was also critical of the team by saying “We’re obviously not very happy with the number of penalties we had, and we have to cleaner next week.” I agree with both of these assessments of the teams play on Saturday night. I did see a lot that made me happy, but we are making mistakes that will get us beat against far better teams going forward. The Dawgs had 13 penalties for 115 yards, and two of those were unsportsmanlike conduct on linemen. One of those linemen is a Freshman, and he was jerked out of the game the very next play. I am all for having an “edge” to your play down in the trenches, but this is not the first time this has happened with some of our linemen. I trust the coaching staff to get this problem sorted out and fixed for the LSU game. If not we may not come home undefeated.
Terry Godwin had his, in my mind, best game of the year receiving and blocking! The 75-yard touchdown was a thing of beauty for all to see. The offensive line gave Fromm plenty of time to let the play happen. Terry ran a great route and made an outstanding catch between two defenders. He was then able to stop on a dime while the defenders ran passed him only to look back and see him walk into the end-zone. He finished the game with 95 yards of receiving, but he did much more than catch balls on the night. Coach Smart said “You know what he did tonight? He blocked. This guy had two really key blocks. On James Cook’s run that he stepped out by a centimeter and on D’Andre Swift’s. People don’t give Terry enough credit. He gets his hands on people, and he drives them. He is really tough for a guy his size. He plays hard, and he blocks well.” It is very clear you must block at UGA to get any playing time. I think Terry will have another big game this Saturday.
Deandre Baker is the best cornerback in the nation which was displayed once again on Saturday. Vandy came in with the SEC’s leading receiver, and Baker held him to two catches for just 16 yards. This is the third time he has held another SEC teams leading receiver to a season-lows tally in catching and yards. He does a lot for the team that goes unnoticed until the stat sheet gets put on the wall. LSU will have a hard time passing the ball on our team with #18 prowling around all afternoon.
Fan favorite Rodrigo Blakenship had a career night kicking the ball between the hedges. A 53-yard field goal could only come in second place on his highlight reel in a film session. He also broke the record for most consecutive PAT’s for a career at 120. Go back to last week when he had to stop due to a bad snap and then do a chip shot against Tennessee to see his leg strength. This young man is a real talent who is causing the Dawgvent message board some real problems. There are posts on the board asking what if Blankenship goes pro early? Only to be followed by a post that claims are we really talking about a kicker leaving early? I think the young man is good enough to make the jump next year. Take a look at how bad the kicking has been in the NFL this year. I sure would miss him and his TV interviews while still wearing his helmet. I will say for now he is a key figure in any success we might have the rest of the year.
So, we gonna go on down and mix it up with some Cajuns who ain’t real happy about losing to the Gators. The LSU atmosphere is off the charts also intimidating for opposing teams and fans. So, the Dawgs need to work on limiting penalties to avoid getting behind early and playing behind chains. A mixture of running the ball with our four great backs and some vertical passing could and should win the day.
Dawgs win by 14.