Mississippi State got steamrolled upon its return home to Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday. No. 5 Georgia didn’t blink in a game billed as a potential trap for the national title contender, and the visiting Bulldogs dealt out an efficient beating in the second and third quarters of a 41-21 win.
MSU did not lack opportunities to keep things interesting, though, and there were a few moments where, with better execution, the game could have turned out a bit different. This is a look at those moments that mattered most for MSU in the losing effort in Starkville.
Fumble
The strong opening drive was followed by a three-and-out with two penalty flags, an undisciplined follow-up to positive play that has become too common a sight from the MSU offense.
The slim 7-3 lead was immediately threatened, with Georgia driving quickly inside the 5-yard line, but MSU’s defense forced a fumble on the goal line to find new life. Quarterback Blake Shapen and the offense picked up a tough first down despite being backed up against their own end zone, but disaster struck immediately after moving the sticks with Shapen taking a 14-yard sack.
On a desperate third and 20, Shapen scrambled up the middle and fumbled on a hit from Quintavius Johnson, gifting Georgia possession on the edge of the red zone to set up the first touchdown of the day for the visiting Bulldogs.
For MSU, it was the start of an avalanche, but there was still hope of slowing things down. The offense would get the ball again, would get more chances to turn the tide in the first half, but did not take the opportunity to make it a game.
4th Down Errors
Georgia didn’t immediately run away, but two touchdown drives had them firmly in the driver’s seat. UGA capitalized on the fumble and followed with a methodical 13-play drive to go 90 yards and score again.
The home team Bulldogs, down 17-7, had to respond, and nearly did.
Shapen led a 42-yard drive into Georgia territory, but the drive stalled out again on the edge of the red zone due to a false start. A manageable fourth and five was within the “go” zone for the offense in plus territory, and the decision to be aggressive was the right one, given the scoreline and need to keep pace with one of the best teams in the country.
The play call and execution were both lacking.
Shapen tossed to running back Fluff Bothwell on a short route out of the backfield, well short of the line to gain, with the Georgia defense providing a buffer zone to pursue and make a play on short routes. By the time the ball bounced off of Bothwell’s hands, a Georgia defender was already positioning to attack the play. Bothwell is more than capable of shedding a tackler, as well as making an open catch, but neither happened, and the ball fell incomplete for a turnover on downs.
Georgia’s offense drove again, but was held on third down at midfield, just outside of field goal range. Head coach Kirby Smart decided to play hard count, quickly swapping the offense back on for the punt team and prompting a timeout from MSU. Smart repeated the tactic after the timeout, and it paid off, drawing an offside from Jaray Bledsoe to move the chains, and UGA capitalized on the freebie with a score just before the break.
What could have been a 17-14 game at halftime became a 24-7 game, and it was about to get worse for MSU.
Floodgates
Georgia’s touchdown before halftime gave them a chance to double up, receiving the second half kickoff out of the break with a chance to break the game open.
They only needed five plays to do it, because the end of the second half had opened the floodgates.
After moving the sticks, Georgia fed running back Nate Frazier on a run with perfect execution across the board. Both tight ends got off the line and hit their assignments, the left guard cut inside to become a lead blocker, and Frazier pounced through a gaping hole into the second level.
Linebacker Zakari Tillman got just a hand on Frazier, but the running back was already shifting into fourth gear and kept his balance to continue accelerating past safety Brylan Lanier, shedding the last tackle attempt on the sideline before waltzing into the end zone on the end of a 59-yard run.
It was the perfect encapsulation of Georgia’s program identity and approach to these sort of “trap games.” The game plan wasn’t explosive at first, but rather a firm commitment to the fundamentals of running the ball and creating play-action opportunities. It got them in the lead, and then it opened up the opportunity to land a killing blow early in the second half.
Three minutes later, Georgia had the ball again and went 72 yards in three plays with a 64-yard catch and run by Noah Thomas for a touchdown.
The game wasn’t over at halftime, but there was a real sense that it was. Some fans had already started leaving, and those numbers only increased after just five minutes of play in the second half.
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