Georgia Football: Bulldogs best Florida to seize control of SEC East

2. Georgia’s struggles in the trenches prevent them from being a threat to Alabama

The fourth quarter dominance by Georgia this week should not distract from the fact that the Bulldogs still have serious issues on both lines of scrimmage; an issue that is likely to prevent them from being a legitimate threat in the College Football Playoff.

Two weeks ago in Baton Rouge, Georgia was held to 113 yards on 3.8 yards-per-carry, while surrendering 275 yards rushing on 5.4 yards-per-carry to the Bengal Tigers.

The statistics looked better this week against Florida, but most of the damage came in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs wore down the Gators. Georgia was mostly stymied through the first three quarters. D’Andre Swift hit two big fourth quarter runs that totaled 54 yards.

Outside of those two runs, Georgia managed 135 yards on 39 carries, good for an average of just 2.9 yards-per-pop. The Gators managed to run the ball effectively on the other side, gaining 170 yards on a 4.6 yards-per-carry average.

That could prove problematic down the stretch of the season as the Bulldogs face Kentucky, Auburn, and Georgia Tech still in the regular season, all of whom could find some success running the football against the Georgia defensive front, and in the case of Auburn and Kentucky, the Tigers and Wildcats bring formidable defensive fronts to the mix that will make life tough for Swift and company on the ground.