Georgia football winners and losers after week 1 win over Oregon

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Georgia football winners and losers after week 1 win over Oregon

Winner: Ladd McConkey

We know the defense will have to make some tough decisions this season as they play against Georgia. Between Brock Bowers, Kenny McIntosh, AD Mitchell and Darnell Washington, you already have plenty of talented players to cover or even double a team.

But teams should not lose focus to Ladd McConkey and what he brings to the Georgia attack. Otherwise, they will end up looking just like Oregon on Saturday.

Related: Georgia Football-Oregon Immediate Observations as Bulldogs Dominate Ducks in Week 1

McConkey netted five passes for 73 yards on Saturday. He scored the first touchdown of the game, which we’ll talk about later.

The Red Shirt sophomore consistently found open space against the Oregon defense and made it. When Duck defenders got close, he also had a habit of letting them miss.

At times it seemed as if the Ducks completely forgot or ignored McConkey. When he caught Stetson Bennett’s first touchdown pass to close out the first half, Washington was actually the closest player to McConkey.

The offense was able to move the ball with some success, but Oregon came away with just three points. Bo Nix looked like what Nix traditionally looked like against the Bulldogs’ defense, throwing two precious interceptions into Georgia territory.

And the defense, Lanning’s area of ​​expertise, became fragmented. Georgia rolled up 571 yards offensively, with Oregon taking second to last in yards per play allowed on opening weekend. The Ducks didn’t come to a stop until Georgia’s eighth drive of the game.

Oregon won’t be so overwhelmed in every game it plays this year. They will get better and probably still be one of the better teams in the country.

But as Lanning’s former boss pointed out, sometimes it’s hard to win if you don’t have a talent advantage.

“I have a lot of respect for Dan,” Kirby Smart said. “Some of those players on that field recruited Dan Lanning, and Dan Lanning did a great job for the University of Georgia while he was working for the University of Georgia. Now he works for Oregon. He’s going to do really well in Oregon. He is ruthless, and they will bounce back from this, and he knows we have better players. He will never say it, but he knows we have better players.”