The #13 Georgia Bulldogs are back in action after a bonus bye week due to a COVID outbreak amongst the Missouri Tigers. Coming on the heels of a discouraging defeat to arch-rival Florida, Georgia will look to right the ship with the Mississippi State Bulldogs coming to Athens for homecoming weekend. Fortunately for the Dawgs, Miss State is the exact type of opponent needed to help get the season back on track and gain some momentum for 2021. Mike Leach’s first season in Starkville has been nothing short of a disaster after the opening win against LSU, and Georgia should have no difficulty rolling past them under the lights in Sanford Stadium. Below are a few things to watch for:
Straightening Out the Pass Defense
Nobody expected Georgia to totally shut down the vaunted Florida pass attack. That being said, nobody expected them to get torched so badly by Kyle Trask either. Giving up 475 yards through the air is unacceptable for any defense, let alone one that was supposedly the best in the nation. Thankfully Mississippi State comes in with Mike Leach’s air raid offense in total disarray. Miss State simply doesn’t have the correct personnel yet to run Leach’s complex passing offense, and it is showing with their historically bad 16.3 ppg and 320 ypg. Even with all of their struggles, Leach is not going to change his philosophy. Expect the other Bulldogs to come out and sling it 40-50 times with KJ Costello and try to test this Georgia secondary. Forcing a few interceptions and limiting big plays through the air is the exact type of medicine this defense needs right now, and Mississippi State should provide them with plenty of opportunities for just that.
Who’s in at Quarterback?
In previewing the Missouri game before it was canceled, it seemed likely that a new QB would be under center for the Dawgs. Stetson Bennett was banged up, and many were clamoring for JT Daniels and possibly even Carson Beck to finally get some reps. Well, the situation has not changed very much at all, even with the extra week of rest. Bennett’s shoulder is still hurting pretty bad, and signs are pointing to him being unavailable for this game. D’Wan Mathis showed in the second half against Florida that he is still far too green and overwhelmed to lead this offense. The solution to this QB dilemma is pretty obvious; It is time to start JT Daniels. Regardless of the reasoning behind Daniels staying on the bench this long, there is no good excuse to not play him in this game. Even if he is still a bit unsure of his knee or has had some bad practices, he needs to get some real-game experience to overcome these issues. There is no better time than right now to do that, and I fully expect to see him finally start and give the fans what they have wanted for weeks.
More Balance on Offense
Regardless of who starts at QB, offensive coordinator Todd Monken needs to show a bit more balance with his playcalling. Georgia’s run game was gashing Florida early, including a 75 yard TD run from Zamir White on the very first play from scrimmage. It is inexplicable that White only had six more carries the rest of the game, even if Georgia was playing catchup in the second half. Playing against high-scoring offenses like Florida and Alabama require one’s own offense to have long, sustained drives in order to keep the opposition off the field. More balanced playcalling will provide Georgia with just that and will help limit the possessions the other team gets. Fortunately, Georgia plays no more elite offenses this season, but it would still be nice to see the run game be a bit more of a focal point going forward.
Prediction
Mississippi State is a really bad football team. It is going to take a few recruiting cycles for Leach to get the guys he wants in, so this should be no more than a walkthrough for Georgia and a good chance to straighten out a plethora of issues. Mississippi State’s underrated defense might pose a bit of a test for Georgia’s retooled offense early, but expect the Dawgs to turn this into a blowout in the second half.
Georgia 38 – Mississippi State 10
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