CHUBB'S CHALLENGE
Georgia sophomore tailback Nick Chubb can set a school record with his 14th straight 100-yard rushing game Saturday at Tennessee. Here are the first 13 (carries and yards):2014Missouri 38-143Arkansas 30-202Florida 21-156Kentucky 13-170Auburn 19-144Charleston Southern 9-113Georgia Tech 25-129Louisville 33-2662015Louisiana-Monroe 16-120Vanderbilt 19-189South Carolina 21-159Southern 15-131Alabama 20-146
ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia sophomore tailback Nick Chubb still isn't sure what to make of his 13th consecutive 100-yard rushing game last Saturday against Alabama.
Chubb had 146 yards on 20 carries against a vaunted Crimson Tide defense that entered Sanford Stadium yielding 56.8 rushing yards per contest. He even had an 83-yard touchdown run, a season long for Chubb, but that came late in the third quarter with Alabama cruising 38-3 in its eventual 38-10 win.
"We got beat bad, and that's all I can think about," the 5-foot-10, 220-pounder from Cedartown said. "Maybe later on down the road, I'll be happy that I tied Herschel Walker. I'm not really that big on records, so this hasn't had much of an effect on me."
Walker had 13 straight 100-yard games across the 1980 and 1981 seasons, but Chubb can set a school standard Saturday when the No. 19 Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) visit Tennessee (2-3, 0-2). The Volunteers rank last in the SEC in total defense, yielding 414.0 yards per game.
In last Saturday night's 24-20 home loss to Arkansas, the Vols yielded 154 rushing yards to Alex Collins and 100 to Rawleigh Williams.
"We did not run our feet on contact in tackling," Vols coach Butch Jones said. "We stopped. We paused. We spend so much time on leveraging the football, and we got away from the fine details of what it takes. When you don't execute the discipline against good backs and good teams, you get exposed."
Chubb had 11 carries for 32 yards in last year's 35-32 triumph over Tennessee, when junior starter Todd Gurley shredded the Vols for 208 yards and two touchdowns on 28 rushes. The Bulldogs have produced four 100-yard rushers in their past three meetings against Tennessee, including J.J. Green two years ago after Gurley and Keith Marshall suffered season-ending ACL tears.
"Arkansas is mostly a running team, and if they can run the ball against Tennessee, then maybe we'll have a good chance, too," Chubb said. "Arkansas put up some good numbers against them."
The first 100-yard game for Chubb was his 38-carry, 143-yard effort in last October's 34-0 win at Missouri. That was the first of a four-game suspension Gurley served for violating NCAA rules, but Chubb more than picked up the slack by amassing 202, 156 and 170 yards in the next three games that Gurley missed.
Chubb and Gurley each had 100-yard games against Auburn before Gurley tore his ACL, and Chubb's productivity carried right through his 266-yard performance against Louisville in the Belk Bowl and the start of this season. His low through five games is 120 yards, which occurred in the opener against Louisiana-Monroe.
"This shows that we're doing a great job as an offensive line and that he's doing a great job running the ball," sophomore guard Isaiah Wynn said. "We're looking forward to continuing it."
Said backup tailback Sony Michel: "It's cool that he's doing this, because it's putting him in the Heisman picture."
Chubb had 63 yards on 18 rushes last Saturday before breaking free for his long touchdown run. In the second quarter, Chubb got just one carry during the stretch in which the Crimson Tide turned a 3-3 deadlock into a 24-3 runaway.
"I know I wanted to run the ball more," Chubb said. "Our passing game wasn't in rhythm, so it would have been great to run the ball. I think things were starting to open up."
Georgia coach Mark Richt said in retrospect the Bulldogs would have been better off with more downhill runs given the soggy conditions. First-year offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer agreed, admitting he could have called a better game.
The conditions are expected to be improved in Knoxville. Georgia expects its rushing attack to be improved as well.
"We know how good our backs are and how good we are at running the football," Schottenheimer said, "and I think that's going to be a huge part of our success this week."
Odds and ends
The Bulldogs practiced Wednesday for two hours. After the workout, Richt said center Brandon Kublanow (ankle) would travel to Knoxville but that receiver and return specialist Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring) was doubtful.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.