Georgia has found a formula to win without star running back Todd Gurley.
It centers around creating turnovers on defense and handing the ball to powerful freshman tailback Nick Chubb.
“We’ve always been a team that prides itself on having the second- and third- and fourth-string guys ready to play,” Georgia senior receiver Chris Conely said. “That’s what you’re told from the time you come to Georgia.”
Chubb has been a Godsend for SEC East-leading Georgia, averaging 172.5 yards per game in two starts in Gurley’s absence. But an even bigger story has been an opportunistic defense that is starting to gain traction under first-year coordinator Jeremy Pruitt. Georgia has forced nine turnovers over its last two games.
The Bulldogs lead the nation in turnover margin at plus-13. Georgia has forced 17 turnovers while committing just four turnovers.
“That’s the kind of name that you want to build, that’s the kind of defense that you want to build,” defensive back Damian Swann told the Athens Banner-Herald. “That’s what we’ve been preaching for a while.”
The Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) have won five straight, including their past two without Gurley, who is sidelined while the NCAA looks into whether he took money for autographed material.