Improvement from game one to game two key for Georgia
ATHENS, Ga. — It’s often said in football that the biggest jump a team makes is from its first to second game. If that’s the case for the 2023 Georgia Bulldogs, expect big things this week as they take on Ball State.
“There are so many things we can get better at, and every coach in the country is saying that you get better — from game one to game two is the biggest jump you make. Is if that’s the case, then there is a lot of areas to improve in,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in agreement with the assessment. “Certainly turnovers on defense, pursuit angles. We got cut back on several times. Offensively ability to be explosive in the run game. Convert on third downs. There is a lot of things. Special teams, I didn’t think — we didn’t dominate the game in any way on special teams like we’re capable of. I can’t pinpoint one area.”
Ask Georgia’s players what they think the necessary areas for improvement are after a 48-7 win over UT-Martin in the opener, and like their coach, they see a little bit of everything.
”As a unit we have a lot of things we need to get better at. Just as a whole, just build off each other,” cornerback Kamari Lassiter said. “Our communication and things of that nature back in order. Find a way to be comfortable playing with each other.”
“We played pretty decent, but there’s always stuff we can improve on,” defensive lineman Mykel Williams added. “Like, we gave up a couple of explosives that shouldn’t have happened. There’s always stuff we can go back to the drawing board and fix.”
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That says a lot coming from a defense that only allowed seven points – and it was against the second string. As for the offense, who caught a lot flak this week as a result of their slow start, two players that caught touchdown passes still see plenty of room to get better.
“Yeah, I mean, just fixing the little things, certain things on certain plays that may have gotten busted or may not have been handled as well as we have,” tight end Oscar Delp said. “We work those in practice. Just fixing the little things and just going out there and just preparing for Ball State an what they bring.”
“Offensively I feel like we could have executed better,” wide receiver Mekhi Mews added. “That’s what we’re going over now, correcting our execution on little mistakes. Get those things cleaned up and I think we’ll be good.”
Ball State dropped its opener last week to Kentucky, 44-14 in Lexington. Now it’s a second road trip in a row for the Cardinals to take on yet another physical team out of the SEC.
Kickoff time for Saturday’s contest at Sanford Stadium is set for 12:00 p.m. ET, airing on SEC Network.
