The Georgia-Tennessee game might have left a deep wound in the Volunteers’ camp. After all, they now carry the burden of being beaten nine times in a row. However, Josh Heupel can take solace in the fact that his roster came to play and even had Kirby Smart’s defense look clueless in the first half. On the other side of things, Georgia’s offense started well, then struggled and ultimately found its footing in the second half. The scorecard (41-44) may suggest that the Vols’ defense also struggled, but the Bulldogs were made to toil throughout. OL Micah Morris, the last remaining signee from the 2021 recruiting class, confirmed that.

On September 16, Dawgs247 beat writer Jordan D. Hill tweeted, “Micah Morris said he was probably the most tired of himself, Drew Bobo, and Monroe Freeling after each played 95 snaps on Saturday. Morris said he didn’t think he’d played that many snaps before. Said he maybe played 80 snaps in high school, but he knew that wasn’t the same level.” Along with him, offensive linemen Drew Bobo and Monroe Freeling were part of the toil. 

The OL ended up with that many snaps because Tennessee didn’t let the Bulldogs score quickly. The first drive lasted for just two and a half minutes (six plays), but there were also some grueling drives. In the second half, Georgia had a 14-play drive for 88 yards. At the end, their six minutes of hard work only resulted in a field goal. The Bulldogs started the second half with a seven-minute, 41-second, 14-play drive. Fortunately, they had a touchdown to show for it.

That continued even in the 4th quarter. Georgia had an eight-play drive, followed by a nine-play drive. In blowouts, backups usually rotate in during the 2nd half, giving starters rest. But here, Georgia needed their best guys on the field all the way through. In the end, the hard work feels sweeter because Georgia won the game. Maybe the head coach didn’t rotate his OL because he knew the Bulldogs were heading into a bye week after the Tennessee game. They’ll get their much-deserved rest.

Smart has high hopes for the position, as Morris promised that they would be working on “pretty much everything” during the bye week. While his offensive linemen made Smart proud, the head coach must be losing his sleep over another position. 

Brent Rollins’ blunt critique of Kirby Smart’s boys

Georgia’s pass rush against Tennessee failed to leave a mark. On the See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack, the guest, Brent Rollins, did not mince his words. He exposed the cracks in Smart’s pass-rushing scheme, “Georgia’s pass rush, I was curious, because I know Damon Wilson actually played well from Missouri, and he’s got great nine quarterback pressures, including three sacks and 42 pass rushes as well. Georgia’s other Edge guys have zero sacks and 10 pressures, and their overall team pass Rush Grade is 65th out of 68.”

That’s how he ripped the band-aid off Smart’s wounds. After all, the 6’4″ and 250 lb defensive end, Damon Wilson, played for Georgia last season, and Smart lost him to the transfer portal. The present pass rushers were just average. For instance, Elo Modozie particularly had a poor outing, earning a 46.2 overall defensive grade with a 56.0 pass rush grade.

Maybe deep down, Smart, too, knows that had it not been for the last-minute miracle, they might have lost the game. During the post-game presser, the head coach said, “You know, I don’t—I feel almost like we have to apologize because I don’t think we should have won that game. I thought they outplayed us in a lot of ways. That’s the way it goes.” 

Even though Georgia came up with two interceptions, they had trouble limiting Tennessee’s air attack and surrendered several long touchdown strikes. This was one of the many dud moments spotted in Kirby Smart’s squad. With less than two weeks before their showdown with Alabama, Georgia has no choice but to plug the leaks fast.