For all that was made about the Georgia offensive line this past week, they seemed to have heard the message loud and clear. Because a week after struggling to get things going in the first half against the Arkansas defense, the group had no problem opening holes for the Georgia running backs this time around as the Bulldogs won 27-6 .

The Bulldogs ran for 130 yards in the first half, after rushing for just a total of 121 yards against the Razorbacks. Zamir White carried the ball 17 times for 76 yards and two touchdowns in the opening 30 minutes and finished the game with 88 yards on 19 carries.

The group of Jamaree Salyer, Justin Shaffer, Trey Hill, Ben Cleveland and Warren McClendon started for the Bulldogs, with Owen Condon working in at right tackle as well. It was a strong bounce-back game for the group after being criticized for much of the week.

On the day, Georgia ran for 202 yards. The front line also kept quarterback Stetson Bennett clean on Saturday as he was sacked only once on the night.

Stetson Bennett outduels Bo Nix on third down in the first half

The biggest difference in the game became apparent by the quarterback play third down. One of them looked composed and sharp like a 5-star quarterback would. The other seemed uncomfortable and constantly on the move.

It was Bennett, the no-name recruit and former Georgia walk-on who shined for the Bulldogs when they needed him most. And Nix, the 5-star quarterback for Auburn, looked like he was having a miserable day against the stout Auburn defense.

When the Bulldogs built open a 24-0 first-half lead, it was because Bennett was making big plays on third down. He completed 5 of his 7 pass attempts for 81 yards. He also connected with George Pickens for a big-time touchdown.

His first big connection of the day came when he spun out of the pocket, evaded the Auburn pass rush and threw a dart to Kearis Jackson.

Nix meanwhile, never looked comfortable. Much of that can be attributed to how the Georgia defense harassed him all evening. In the opening 30 minutes, Nix was 0-for-5 on third-down, as the Tigers fell behind 24-0 to start the game.

For the game, Bennett completed 17 of his 280 attempts for 240 yards and a touchdown. Nix went 21 for 41 for 177 yards and an interception. Bennett so clearly outplaying Nix was not something many expected, given this was Bennett’s first career start.

Georgia defense stands tall

This Georgia defense was as good as we thought it was. As mentioned above, Nix was once again under siege all night long from the Georgia pass rush. Adam Anderson had his best game as a Bulldog. Azeez Ojulari added another sack as well. Mark Webb snared an interception of Nix.

Nothing came easy for the Auburn offense. The Georgia defense limited Auburn to just 39 rushing yards for the game. Nix actually did a good job evading UGA pass rushers, as he made something out of nothing a number of times on Saturday to prevent a sack.

As for the matchups on the outside, the Auburn wide receivers didn’t have the big game they did a week ago against Kentucky. Seth Williams had just 3 catches for 34 yards as Tyson Campbell did an excellent job making things difficult for the talented wide receiver. Campbell also made a key stop in the red zone against Auburn wide receiver Anthony Schwartz.

The most promising offensive player was Auburn freshman running back Tank Bigsby. He caught 7 passes for 68 yards while also leading Auburn in rushing with 31 yards. But other than Bigsby, the Auburn offense did a whole lot of nothing against a dominant Georiga unit.

Through the first two weeks of the season, this group has given up just one touchdown. Against two SEC foes, that will more than certainly make things easy for an offense still trying to find its way.

Key contributors miss second half

Georgia did see two of its more important pieces absent during the second half of the game. One of those was on offense and was due to injury, while the defensive player was ejected from the game due to targeting.

Running back James Cook left in the first half with a wrist injury. It’s a shame given the Georgia running back carried the ball for 41 yards on five carries. His status will be worth watching in the coming weeks as the Bulldogs play Tennessee and Alabama.

Meanwhile, safety Richard LeCounte was ejected from the game just before halftime due to a targeting penalty. LeCounte’s hit wasn’t malicious and there wasn’t much he could do but it did seem to fit the letter of the law.

Fortunately, the play occurred in the first half and LeCounte will be back next week against Tennessee. And without LeCounte, the Georgia defense still held Auburn to just 3 second-half points.

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