Bulldogs’ potent offense keeps rolling on to victory

Elijah Holyfield had always been the guy in waiting for Georgia. He had been the third or fourth option in a loaded backfield throughout his career, so the chances for the formerly touted running back to make a highlight play were slim.

On Saturday, Holyfield found his hole. One so wide he might’ve been able to make it from Sanford Stadium’s 27-yard line to Macon.

Holyfield saw the opening up the middle and the only obstacle was Middle Tennessee safety Gregory Grate, who made the tackle at the 7-yard line after a 66-yard run from the Bulldogs’ junior running back.

“I was very, very upset I didn’t score. Very upset,” Holyfield said. “It took me a while to get over it.”

He got his chance, nevertheless, and broke open the longest run of his career. Holyfield finished with 100 yards on eight carries in the 49-7 win over Middle Tennessee — the first Georgia running back to break the century mark this season.

Holyfield’s efforts were a part of a 484-yard offensive effort by Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC), and 382 of those came in the first half. Georgia has scored 40 or more points in three consecutive games for the first time since 2012, in which it did in five straight.

“(Holyfield) has a heart of gold,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “And he really works hard.”

Block-first receivers get rewarded

The trio of Jayson Stanley, Tyler Simmons and Jeremiah Holloman haven’t had too many opportunities to find the end zone. Either they’re getting their first significant action or are used in blocking situations.

Each of them had a touchdown after Saturday. Holloman was the first on an 11-yard reception from Jake Fromm (a 65-yard catch to put Georgia in scoring position would follow). Simmons followed on a jet sweep hand-off from Justin Fields, and Stanley was found in the third from Fields to cap Georgia’s scoring output.

Throw the wide receivers’ depth chart to the side, starting assignments are nearly irrelevant in this offense.

“We’ve just got weapons. It’s unreal how many weapons we have right now,” Simmons said. “Anyone can go in on any play. We know what we’re doing; anyone can make a play at any time.”

Bulldogs see penalties pile up

It started on the opening kickoff for Georgia. On what was a touchback, true freshman Quay Walker was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on special teams’ coverage.

“Why? Why are we doing that right there?” Smart said. “There’s no reason, so a lot of it’s discipline. We have to get that fixed, because those things are hard to overcome.”

Georgia was flagged seven times for 54 yards, and many of them were holding penalties that brought back a few significant plays. Smart said the work to fix the miscues begins Monday as Georgia will take an in-depth look at film.

Looking ahead

Georgia re-enters conference play by traveling to Faurot Field for a matchup with Missouri. The Tigers scored 28 points on the Bulldogs last season, the second-highest total allowed by Georgia in a game.

Missouri is led by quarterback Drew Lock, who has 11 touchdowns and one interception through three game, and a stable of playmakers. Missouri beat Purdue 40-37 on Sept. 15.

“Missouri is very talented and built like an SEC team should be,” Smart said. “We will have our work cut out for us.”

This story was originally published September 16, 2018 at 3:43 PM.