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Mike Bobo makes no excuses for Georgia's run game struggles, still optimistic about potential

On3 imageby:Jake Rowe•about 21 hours•

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Mike Bobo
Mike Bobo (Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK)

There are now 16 teams in the Southeastern Conference and when it comes to rush yards per game, Georgia ranks No. 15. It ranks No. 11 in yards per carry and when you look at first-quarter rushing, it gets even worse. Mike Bobo has seen all the numbers and watched all the tape. Georgia hasn’t run the ball to its standard and there’s no excuse for it.

“It is frustrating,” Bobo said on Saturday. “We pride ourselves on being able to run the ball. I could sit here and give you a lot of reasons, but all they’d be is excuses, point blank. You could sit here and say injuries, you can say this, bottom line, excuses.”

What Bobo probably wanted to say, and it would have been true, is that Georgia has been heavily impacted by some poor fortune. Bobo, the offensive line, and other elements of the offense have played their roles but the injury situation has been brutal all year.

The Bulldogs have been down as many as four running backs at different points in the year. Putting a group of five offensive linemen on the practice field has been a challenge at times with different guys dealing with various ailments. Georgia has had plenty of challenges on the injury front but, at the end of the day, it hasn’t run the ball like it expects to run the ball.

Jumping back to those previously-referenced first-quarter numbers for the run game, Georgia is one of the worst teams in College Football. It’s 3.4 yards per carry in the first 15 minutes is dead last in the SEC and 121st nationally. Figuring that out could be the key to getting the Bulldogs off to faster starts.

They’ve been abysmal this season at scoring in the first quarter and just marginally better at doing so in the first half. Georgia has dug itself into hole after hole this season, not all the fault of the offense but plenty still, only to fight its way out in the second half way more often than not.

Getting back to what Bobo and Kirby Smart would love to call “Georgia football” and doing so early is necessary at this point. Carson Beck, the guy who threw them back into those games, is no longer behind center. It’s Gunner Stockton‘s show now and while he may be just as adept at helping get the Bulldogs out of trouble, we don’t yet know it to be true. An effective ground game is essential and Bobo is optimistic.

“We got to be able to run the ball if we want to continue to win in these playoffs,” Bobo said. “You know, I think the second half of that Texas game, one of the big things I said at halftime, I said, hey, we’re not just going to go out there and throw the ball. We got to get balanced, and we got to run the football, and I think those backs and those linemen took ownership in that and played hard and blocked for those guys, and we broke some tackles.

“You know, we got to find ways to move the ball on the ground. I think we’ve got a good offensive line that I think we’re the most healthy that we’ve been at offensive line, tight end, running backs, so I think that’s going to help us be able to run the ball, and then the commitment to the run. You know, we’ve got to be committed to the run, whether things are going good or things are going bad, to still run that ball, to help us be balanced and run and pass.”

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