Chubb Shines, Defense Sparkles In Georgia's 42-14 Win Over Samford

Bulldogs Look Ahead To Next Week's Contest Against Mississippi State

  • Sunday, September 17, 2017
  • special report
Nick Chubb rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns
Nick Chubb rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns
photo by Red and Black website

Saturday night at the stadium, during a Georgia 42-14 win over Samford that was pretty short on drama, a thought occurred late in the first quarter: the clocking is beginning to tick loudly on Chubb's Bulldog career. Starting with next week's big SEC opener against Mississippi State, we have just four more opportunities to watch the already legendary running back play in Sanford Stadium.

Chubb has been nothing short of a sensation during his career, his many accomplishments too numerous to mention and his holy-moly carries for the Bulldogs also more than any collegiate running back has any right to dream of producing.

There Chubb was Saturday night, doing those special things that Godwin talked about — things to which we've become so accustomed.

"Nick gave us the same work he does all the time," coach Kirby Smart said after Chubb rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns on just 16 carries.

With his teammate, roommate and backfield co-star Sony Michel out with an ankle injury, Chubb had 100 yards by halftime for his 19th 100-yard game of his career.

That's one more than Todd Gurley and second at Georgia only to Herschel Walker's 28.

The senior's 32-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter pretty well summed up what makes the man one of the best we've ever seen around here.

It was first down at the Samford 32-yard line, following a 47-yard completion from Jake Fromm to Riley Ridley. Chubb took a handoff from Fromm and ran right into a wall of offensive and defensive linemen in the middle of the field. It looked like a 10-car pileup on I-85.

Then Chubb did what he does, quickly bouncing outside to the left side of the field and outrunning all the Bulldogs from Birmingham for the touchdown. And then jogging back to the Georgia sideline like it was absolutely nothing.

"I just take what they give," said Chubb, who now has 3,784 career rushing yards.

Earlier in the quarter, on Georgia's first scoring drive, Chubb had run for 20 yards on back-to-back plays. By the end of the quarter he had 10 carries for 94 yards. He only carried the ball three times in the second half, one of them a 14-yard touchdown run in which he again bounced outside when he found the middle clogged.

While Chubb was doing Chubb things, backups De'Andre Swift, Brian Herrien and Elijah Holyfield also ran effectively. Swift averaged 6.0 yards on his nine carries (and had a 10-yard reception), Herrien averaged 5.0 on his nine rushes and Holyfield had eight carries for 28 yards.

"All of the running backs ran the ball hard, they protected the ball and they protected the quarterback," Smart said. "They ran with great toughness."


Georgia's first score came on a 5-yard pass from Fromm into the front left side of the end zone, where Mecole Hardman Jr., somehow managed to bring the ball in and get a foot down before going out of bounds and crashing into the hedges. It was one of those plays for which replay was implemented and the play was upheld.

In the second quarter, Georgia went ahead 21-0 when Fromm hit Godwin slanting in from the left hash 20-yards downfield and Godwin did the rest on a 51-yard score. Godwin outran his pursuers and credit Ridley well ahead by the goal line for holding on to his block for a long time, until Godwin was able to dive into the end zone.

 

Every defense looks to establish its dominance early on in the game. However, the Georgia defense took that mantra to the next level on Saturday against the Samford Bulldogs.

On Samford’s first four drives of the contest, the Bulldogs forced a three-and-out. Samford didn’t pick up its inaugural first down until the 9:46 mark of the second quarter. That drive, perhaps not so coincidentally, led to Samford’s first touchdown of the game.

The early three-and-outs served to be particularly damaging to the Samford defense because of the nature of its offense. The visiting Bulldogs like to run an up-tempo style, and as such don’t stay on the field very long when they don’t pick up a first down.

In order, Samford's first four drives took 1:12, 1:36, 0:50 and 0:58 off the clock. It’s hard for a defense to stay fresh with quick rests like that.

This dominant start by the defense put to rest any thought of the team still being hung up on last week’s victory over Notre Dame. But according to Carter, that was never much of a concern for him anyway.

“I don’t really know what hangover we would have had,” Carter said. “We moved past that Notre Dame game I think a lot faster than the fans and the media did. We’re working on the next team, we’ve got 24 hours to relish a victory and that’s all we really have because next Saturday, we’re out there playing a game.”

Carter said the defense wanted to carry this start throughout the entire game, and for the most part they succeeded. Samford was allowed one long touchdown drive in the second quarter and another later in the second half, although the latter drive came against many of Georgia’s defensive reserves.

But even though the strong defensive performance today resulted in a victory, Carter knows there are still weaknesses to be adjusted before next weekend’s showdown with Mississippi State next week,” Carter said.

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