ATHENS, Ga. - Wildcat formations? Zone reads?
Who kidnapped Georgia's pro-style offense?
Greyson Lambert returned as Georgia's starting quarterback Saturday afternoon, but the Bulldogs used various ways to attack Kentucky in their 27-3 win in Sanford Stadium. That included multiple direct snaps to freshman receiver Terry Godwin and sophomore tailback Sony Michel.
The new wrinkles helped Georgia amass 300 rushing yards, its highest ground total since collecting 305 during last year's blowout in Lexington.
"This just adds another dimension to our offense," Godwin said.
On Georgia's second series, Godwin and Michel took three direct snaps combined on a six-play scoring drive that started at Kentucky's 45-yard line. Godwin capped the march with a 28-yard touchdown run to put Georgia up 7-0.
First-year offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who has been maligned in recent weeks as his unit failed to score touchdowns against Missouri and Florida, shaped a game plan this past week containing increased touches for Godwin, Michel and sophomore receiver Isaiah McKenzie.
Asked about the last time he used so many zone reads in a game, Schottenheimer said "probably never" and smiled.
Schottenheimer had plenty of praise for Godwin, saying, "For him to be able to handle these things that we're putting on him is pretty impressive."
Michel took direct snaps wearing a cast to protect the broken bone in his hand that he suffered running out of the wildcat against Florida. He did not play as someone who was hampered in any way.
"I still had my fingers, and you still have to catch the ball with your fingers," Michel said. "I practiced all week with it, so I was used to it. I really liked doing this, because it gave me the opportunity to get the ball faster and read things out and be able to try and make plays."
Even Lambert enjoyed the new look. Lambert lined up at receiver when Godwin or Michel played quarterback, though a pass never came his way.
"I'm not the fastest guy in the world, but I'm pretty tall," Lambert said, "so maybe that's a mismatch or something to where Terry could give me a look."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.