Yards have been tough to come by for Nick Chubb

After ripping off 222 yards and two touchdowns against North Carolina in the season opener, it appeared Nick Chubb was back to his old self.

Since, Chubb hasn’t posted the kind of numbers everyone’s been accustomed to seeing. The majority of it has been due to Georgia's offensive line, which hasn’t been able to get much of a push outside of games against North Carolina and South Carolina.

Chubb has only totaled 606 rushing yards with an average of 4.8 per carry. Before his knee injury in 2015, Chubb was averaging 8.1 yards each time he toted the ball. He ran for 7.1 yards per carry as a freshman in 2014.

Following another loss against Florida, Chubb was asked to respond to what this season has been like for the offense.

“We’re not really running true to our identity,” Chubb said. “We’re not really getting things going like we should. But the season’s not over yet.”

The Bulldogs scrapped the run against the Gators in a 24-10 loss, mostly because it was ineffective. Georgia only ran the ball 19 times and totaled 21 rushing yards. While Chubb and running back Sony Michel told reporters that Georgia made a coaching decision to veer from the run, it was obvious why the coaches would move away from that aspect of the offense.

Through eight games, the Bulldogs rank eighth in the conference in average rushing yards per game with 173.8.

The offensive line, which returned three starters from last year’s team, has been unable to consistently produce a running game for the running backs. Chubb has taken a lot of hits in the backfield as holes haven’t opened up like they have in the past.

Senior center Brandon Kublanow nodded in agreement when asked how difficult it’s been to see Chubb, who became a national name as a freshman by running for 1,547 yards and 14 touchdowns as a true freshman, relegated to substandard numbers.

“It’s always frustrating,” Kublanow said. “Nick’s a great player. We want to get him as many yards as possible.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2016 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Yards have been tough to come by for Nick Chubb."