Offense: A

Aside from a few penalties early in the game that nullified some big plays for UGA, the Bulldogs’ offense was top-notch against Auburn thanks to the legs of Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb. As one can imagine with weapons like that in the backfield, throwing the football wasn’t a priority. Gurley and Chubb combined for 48 carries on the night, 282 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Chubb in particular was spectacular. The true freshman averaged 7.6 yards per carry and racked up 144 rushing yards. He was also the team’s leading receiver with two receptions and 48 yards.

Coming into this game, everyone figured it would be an offensive shootout and UGA certainly did its part. With a number of electrifying runs, the ‘Dawgs played to their strengths and it paid off.

Defense: A+

As great as UGA’s offense was all night, the defense was even better. To give you the full context of what exactly the defense achieved, you must know that no team has ever held Gus Malzhan and Auburn to under 20 points. The Tigers managed just seven points.

Auburn’s offense averaged 38.7 points and 506.9 yards per game prior to last night, but Georgia shut Auburn down. The Tigers were only able to gain a total of 292 yards and were kept off the scoreboard after their first drive of the game.

Fittingly, it was the defense that sealed the win for the Bulldogs. Amarlo Herrera’s INT early in the fourth quarter helped preserve a 20-point lead and Georgia never looked back.

Special Teams: B

UGA’s special teams did their job Saturday night, but didn’t pull off any incredible plays. Marshall Morgan was 2-for-2 on his field goal attempts with a long of 32 yards. Collin Barber’s punting was effective as he averaged just under 40 yards on his three punts with a long of 45 yards.

This definitely could have been a much more exciting unit last night (and would have deserved a higher grade) if it weren’t for the penalties on special teams. On his first touch of the game, Gurley returned a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown — a storybook beginning to his return from suspension. However, a holding penalty negated that huge return.

Later in the first quarter, UGA executed a fake punt pass to perfection and it winded up getting the ball down to Auburn’s 2-yard line to try and tie the game at seven points apiece, but an ineligible man downfield nullified it and forced UGA to punt.

Coaching: A

Give credit to Mark Richt and his coaching staff. The ‘Dawgs dominated No. 9 ranked Auburn and it wasn’t close for very long. Given the circumstances of both this week and this season, Richt navigated a tough schedule and kept his team focused even in the most trying times. UGA took care of business Saturday night, but must unfortunately wait on Missouri to lose if it wants to make it to the SEC Championship game. Nevertheless, Georgia showed up for its biggest game of the season and took over early on. It was an impressive performance all-around.

Overall: A

Georgia played to its strengths all night, leaning heavily on Gurley and Chubb to get production out of its offense and it was the right move. The Bulldogs didn’t try and overthink anything, especially on offense. They kept it simple, ran the football and played a strong defensive game. In the end, Georgia came away looking like one of the most impressive teams of the weekend and have positioned itself well for a possible SEC Championship berth.