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For the Georgia Bulldogs, the 2020 Sugar Bowl was a sweet victory. Junior safety Richard LeCounte provided the icing on the cake.
For the Georgia Bulldogs, the 2020 Sugar Bowl was a sweet victory.
Junior safety Richard LeCounte provided the icing on the cake with a fourth quarter interception, picking off third-string Baylor quarterback Jacob Zeno to seal the game.
The Dawgs went on to win 26-14 and remain undefeated in their five-contest history with the Bears.
INTERCEPTION!!!
Richard LeCounte (@LilEasy_35)!!!!#SugerBowl | #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/CLZgYuAlGq
— GEORGIA HEROES (@GeorgiaHeroes) January 2, 2020
After twisting and turning his way past the line to gain, Pickens added ten yards to his school record performance in the Sugar Bowl
Early in the fourth quarter of the 2020 Sugar Bowl, Georgia freshman phenom George Pickens broke six tackles, twelve ankles, and countless Baylor fans’ spirits.
On second and ten with twelve minutes remaining, Jake Fromm threw a routine five-yard pass toward the far sideline to Pickens, who at this point had already amassed 165 receiving yards and a touchdown.
After twisting and turning his way past the line to gain, Pickens added ten yards to his school record performance in the Sugar Bowl.
Watch a freak athlete do freaky athletic things:
What a quick!!!
George Pickens (@geo_Thagoat)#SugerBowl | #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/0KHB4jgO8c— GEORGIA HEROES (@GeorgiaHeroes) January 2, 2020
Georgia DC Dan Lanning admits that the Dawgs face a tough test in scheming against a balanced Baylor offense.
Georgia’s defense may be coming off their worst performance of the season (statistically speaking), but the Bulldogs arrive in New Orleans still ranked fourth in total defense to square off against the Baylor Bears in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
As defensive coordinator Dan Lanning pointed out in his press conference, the Junkyard Dawgs face a tough test in scheming against a balanced Baylor offense.
The Bears feature a proven pocket passer in Charlie Brewer, who was recently cleared to play in the Sugar Bowl. Behind him are “shifty” tailbacks John Lovett and JaMycal Hasty, both totally solid in providing pass protection. Beside him are a group of versatile tight ends capable of receiving and particularly adept at blocking. He’s assisted by the great size and speed of his outside receivers, specifically in senior Denzel Mims and sophomore Tyquan Thornton.
With the Georgia secondary missing J.R. Reed and Tyrique McGhee, the Bears’ Brewer, Mims, and Thornton could take advantage of younger Bulldog players getting some of their first significant playing time in the defensive backfield. The defense has at times struggled with passes over the middle of the field, but has excelled with 50/50 balls to the outside of the field, so this matchup will be strength-on-strength.
Baylor is ranked at a good-but-not great 50th in the nation in team rushing and is presented a tall task in facing a Silver Britches defense ranked third in the country against the run.
Georgia’s defensive front seven is still the only group in the country that has given up only one rushing touchdown all year. The next fewest: Oregon with four allowed.
If Baylor’s offense has one glaring weakness, it would be their offensive line.
They’re one of the bigger offensive lines in the Big XII and consequently are one of their conference’s better run blocking units. However, their pass protection is wildly inconsistent, they’ve given up more sacks (35) than any of their conference foes, and only eighteen FBS teams have given up more. That’s remarkable for a team that finished the regular season with a single loss.
The Dawgs’ D hasn’t rushed the quarterback as much this year as fans have seen in previous seasons, but with edge rushers Quay Walker, Nolan Smith, Jermaine Johnson, and Azeez Ojulari having combined for 12 sacks, Bulldog Nation should feel confident that Dan Lanning’s squad can notch multiple sacks on Brewer.
Given the injuries Georgia has on the other side of the ball, Baylor’s best chance at wearing down the Junkyard Dawgs is controlling time of possession. If Baylor’s offense can’t control the clock and Georgia’s defensive starters can get ample time to rest on the sideline, I like the Dawgs in this one.
For a full preview of the game, click here.
Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning took to the podium today for his pre-Sugar Bowl presser.
Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning took to the podium today for his pre-Sugar Bowl presser.
Arriving in New Orleans without Jim Thorpe Award finalist J.R. Reed, Lanning fielded several questions regarding altering his game plan in the absence of the standout senior safety. In addition, fellow defensive back Tyrique McGhee did not travel with the team and has not participated in bowl practices.
“That’s an opportunity [for younger players]. A lot of young guys got opportunities in this game last year. I think that was critical for their development.”
Lanning noted that last year’s Sugar Bowl was a huge opportunity for redshirt freshman Azeez Ojulari, who saw his first playing time in red and black in last year’s game and his since appeared in the starting lineup.
(Note: bowl games are considered exhibition matches by the NCAA and thus players such as Ojulari with a redshirt may participate without forfeiting a year of eligibility).
He believes that the 2019 Dawgs’ heavy rotational play on defense has them prepared for Baylor’s powerful offense.
“We’ve probably had over forty guys who have had significant roles for us in this defense. You’re not necessarily going to see new [players], but you’ll see more [of rotational players]. More Lewis Cine, more Chris Smith, more Otis Reese.”
The defensive coordinator made it clear he didn’t want to single out any player on Georgia’s historically great 2019 defense.
“What’s great about our players is that they don’t care about who gets the recognition. They want to have success but they realize individual success comes within team success.”
The staff and players have dubbed this selfless style of play a “no-name defense.”
The stout Georgia defense earned a lot of team success in 2019 and enters the Sugar Bowl ranked fourth in total defense, but statistics aren’t Lanning’s primary concern.
“We take a lot of pride in our performance…and it’s great that the numbers reflect that. But our number one goal regardless of the numbers is the win.”
Baylor’s offense provides a challenge for Lanning’s defensive unit, and the coach has high praise for the Bears’ balanced offensive attack.
“They’re extremely well coached. They have big tight ends that can block at the point of attack, and they’re really big at receiver on the outside.”
He later added, “they have shifty backs, and their quarterback [Charlie] Brewer is just a winner.”
The Bears rushed one fifty-five percent of their plays (476 pass to 394 rush) in 2019, a bit uncharacteristic of a Big XII offense. Lanning admitted that it’s difficult to scheme around a group that does “a great job of mixing it up.”
“If you want to take away the wideouts, they’re going to be able to run the ball. If you want to take away the run, they’re going to be able to throw the 50-50 ball to the outside.”
The Dawgs will need to play their usual disciplined defense to contain an equally disciplined Baylor offense.
Lanning stated simply: “They’re a team that doesn’t beat themselves.”
Georgia won each prior meeting, but the game in New Orleans will be the first in which they’ve faced each other outside Sanford Stadium.
With conference championship week having come to a close, bowl season is upon us. The Georgia Bulldogs are headed to the Sugar Bowl to square off with the Baylor Bears, with whom they’ve competed four times across the programs’ histories.
Georgia won each prior meeting, but the contest in New Orleans will be the first in which the Dawgs have faced the Bears outside Sanford Stadium. It will be the first time the teams have played since 1989.
Baylor and Georgia enter the game with identical records (11-2), both having lost one regular season game and their respective conference title games.
The Bears’ two losses both came against playoff-bound Oklahoma by a combined ten points.
Led by third-year head coach Matt Rhule, Baylor will make its second consecutive bowl game following an incredible turnaround: the Bears finished with just one regular season win in Rhule’s first season, six in his second, and eleven in 2019.
Georgia’s second-longest active bowl streak continues with a second consecutive trip to the Allstate Sugar Bowl. It will be Baylor’s first Sugar Bowl appearance since 1957, when the Bears shocked a second-ranked and previously undefeated Tennessee Volunteers squad by a score of thirteen to seven.
Baylor possesses a balanced, powerful offense that averages 257 yards passing and 175 yards rushing per game.
However, The Bears’ powerful offense may arrive to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome shorthanded; starting quarterback Charlie Brewer was knocked out early in the second quarter of this weekend’s Big XII Championship and stayed sidelined for the remainder of the game.
Backup quarterback Gerry Bohanon, who was also recruited by UGA, was later replaced by third-string QB Jacob Zeno against Oklahoma. Zeno led a comeback that took his team to overtime before coming up short. Prior to his team’s most recent game against the Sooners, Bohanon had attempted just 21 passes wearing green and gold. Zeno has attempted nine passes all year.
Baylor has a run-first offense, attempting 82 more rushes than passes in 2019 (476 to 394).
If Brewer, who’s posted a solid 20:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio with a 65% completion rate, remains out, expect an even heavier rushing attack procured by the Bears’ massive offensive linemen (three of whom have played together for over three years). Behind them, shifty tailbacks JaMycal Hasty and John Lovett have combined for 1251 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.
On Defense, Baylor hasn’t allowed north of 30 points all year to anyone who doesn’t attend school in Norman, Oklahoma. This group of players amounts to one of the most physical defenses the team has produced in years, nearly half-full of seniors (Henry Black, Jameson Houston, James Lockhart, Chris Miller and Blake Lynch) all playing the best statistical season of each of their college careers.
They give up just 19.3 points per game facing an injury-plagued Georgia team that has failed to score over 27 points in all but one game (against Georgia Tech) since their first loss of the season to South Carolina two months ago.
Baylor presents a cohesive defensive unit against a rattled Silver Britches offense. Whether their signal caller is missing or not, the Bears are not to be underestimated.
