Georgia heads into a much needed off week on the heels of its 41-24 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa this past Saturday. It was a tale of two halves for the Bulldogs, who looked excellent in the first half rattling Mac Jones and moving the ball with relative ease on the offensive side. It all unraveled in the second half, however, as Nick Saban and Bama made the necessary adjustments on both sides of the ball to invigorate their offense while completely shutting down Stetson Bennett IV and the UGA attack. Here is what we know about this Georgia team heading into the bye:
Stetson Bennett IV is QB1……for now
The Stetson Bennett story is a great one, no matter what you think of him as a quarterback. From former walk-on to starting on the road at Alabama, it has been a meteoric rise for the undersized gunslinger. He has earned the opportunity to start for this team, but Kirby Smart would be foolish to not continue to analyze the position and see if a change might be necessary for the Dawgs to reach their national title goal. The off week will be a perfect chance to begin to integrate JT Daniels more with the first team. Smart has publicly stated that he is happy with Bennett, and all signs point to him getting another start against Kentucky, however, do not be surprised if we finally see the debut of Daniels in that game. After watching Alabama’s elite passing attack and seeing the numbers Trevor Lawrence is putting up at Clemson, it is clear that Georgia needs more than just a game manager at QB in order to compete for a national title. All signs point to a healthy JT Daniels being that guy, and a change will have to come sooner rather than later.
The Defense is elite, but not perfect
Georgia still probably has the best defense in the country, but it was humbled by Alabama’s high powered offense this past weekend. The talk before the game centered around who would win the battle between Bama’s elite offense and Georgia’s elite defense. Round one clearly went to Alabama. These teams will most likely meet again, possibly even two more times if Georgia can find a way to win the potential rematch in the SEC title game. Georgia’s much-hyped corners Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes, have plenty of time to think about what Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith did to them and hopefully correct the coverage mistakes we saw. Kentucky’s run-first offense won’t pose much of a threat to this unit, but the following game against Florida’s pass-happy offense will be a great opportunity for the defense to iron out the issues they had with tackling and in coverage. Last season, Georgia’s defense didn’t get a chance to respond after being embarrassed by LSU’s offense. This year they have six games to show that they can bounce back and be the top unit everyone thinks they are.
All of their goals are still achievable
Despite the discouraging loss, every single one of Georgia’s preseason goals are still in front of them. Win out, and they will play in the SEC Championship game. Win that, and they will play in the playoff and compete for a national title. Getting the Bama game out of the way early in the season was a blessing of sorts, as Kirby and his staff now have plenty of time to iron out the issues we saw before their next big game at Florida and beyond. Beat the Gators, and Georgia will most likely be heading to Atlanta for a fourth straight year for a rematch with Bama. With Covid altering the season so much, no team beyond Clemson and Alabama has looked all that impressive. Georgia is probably still the third-best team in the country that has played so far by default. Even with Ohio State and the Big 10 getting back in action this weekend, there is no reason to believe that Georgia will not still be a factor in the national title race. I truly do not think we have seen this team hit its stride yet, and if it does, this could still be the year that Kirby and Dawgs exercise their Nick Saban demon and get that elusive championship.
For more College Football coverage, click here.
