Run game? Welcome back to Georgia football’s offense

Reporters honed in on asking Georgia head coach Kirby Smart about J.T. Daniels’ play at quarterback. To finish nearly every response, Smart reiterated his need for a run game.

Georgia lit it up a week prior with the deep ball and 401 passing yards. But it didn’t sit well with Smart that the Bulldogs had eight rushing yards and traction in the run game became non-existent.

Daniels, after last Saturday’s win, said he wouldn’t mind “handing the ball off every play” and watching the likes of Zamir White and James Cook run if the opponent allowed it.

That’s exactly what South Carolina presented. Georgia exploited it with 332 rushing yards. Daniels essentially did hand it off every play. He only threw 16 passes.

Many of Georgia’s runs fit offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s definition of explosive — 12 yards or more.

It worked. Georgia (6-2) clobbered a decimated Gamecock group, 45-16, and waltzed out of Williams-Brice Stadium the same way White and Cook crossed into the end zone — untouched.

Welcome back, run game. Georgia football missed you for a week. The absence proved not to be too long.

The Bulldogs’ defense returned to form, too, aside from first-half tackling woes. Cornerback Tyson Campbell had his first-career interception and 40-yard return. Linebacker Channing Tindall, a Columbia native named captain for Saturday’s game, had a sack. But the main reason for victory came in the run game.

Georgia rushed for the highest total of the season, topping 215 yards at Kentucky. It topped the total with White’s touchdown with 11:38 remaining in the third quarter.

After Cook’s second touchdown for 29 yards, he put his finger to his mouth to say “Shh.” That’s to silence any doubt on the run game. Three running backs, including sophomore Kenny McIntosh, nearly totaled 100 yards each.

The run game led a domination of South Carolina, a team that suffered injuries and opt-outs after the firing of former coach Will Muschamp. In many respects, Georgia played its most-complete game of the season, albeit against a two-win program.

Georgia’s soft close to its regular-season schedule lives on next week. The Bulldogs, after Senior Day festivities, host Vanderbilt (0-8). The Commodores lost at Missouri Saturday afternoon, 41-0.

Vanderbilt completes the schedule and the Bulldogs’ make-up game at Missouri doesn’t have an assigned date. The Commodores could feature female place-kicker Sarah Fuller for the second-consecutive week. Fuller, a soccer goalkeeper, made her football debut Saturday and became the first woman to play a football snap in the Power Five. Vanderbilt’s place-kickers were quarantined due to COVID-19.

Needless to say, Georgia didn’t face much drama in its trouncing of South Carolina. As long as its offense stays balanced and explosive, that could continue into next week.

This story was originally published November 28, 2020 at 10:56 PM with the headline "Run game? Welcome back to Georgia football’s offense."