Georgia Must Hit the Reset Button this Weekend
Georgia has at least three games left in the 2020 regular season. The postponement of the Missouri game this past weekend has not been given an official date. The Bulldogs are guaranteed a bowl game at the end of this season.
With a New Year’s Six Bowl, the next best thing after falling short to Alabama and Florida this season, Georgia will have to settle for second best yet again. If Georgia can finish out the season strong without any additional hiccups, the Dawgs look forward to a date in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl.
Before we even begin to talk about bowl games and which opponent Georgia could play in January. The Dawgs will have to hit the reset button and set a new course. This weekend we will see the battle of the bulldogs as Georgia will play host to Mississipi State.
The late-season SEC East vs. SEC West matchup is an opportunity for Georgia to set the tone. Georgia is coming off essentially an open week due to the Missouri game’s postponement due to COVID.
Changes are inbound this weekend for Georgia after the 44-28 loss to hated rival Florida just two weeks ago. Stetson Bennett was removed from the Florida game with an AC sprain and a struggling performance. The pulling of Stetson Bennett asked the question of who would replace the former walk-on quarterback? JT Daniels seems like the most likely option as he and Carson Beck are the only quarterbacks yet to receive a snap.
The quarterback changing will likely see Todd Monken shape his offense to fit whoever the starter is at quarterback. This week we will also probably see new personnel return off the injury list. George Pickens and Kenny McIntosh are two weapons possibly returning from injury this weekend.
Pickens will bring a significant boost to the passing game. Georgia has struggled over the last two seasons in the vertical passing game; even a change at offensive coordinator has yielded no improvements.
Since Pickens went down with a nagging upper-body injury, the Georgia passing attack went downhill. Georgia failed to put together a consistent deep-ball threat on the field and lacked chemistry and execution on throws outside the hashes.
Daniels’ passing mentality seems to be a perfect fit for this new-look offense. With a number one receiver like Pickens available for a new quarterback gives Georgia many options in the passing game.
Getting back to health on defense was a theme this past week. The Dawgs are described as a “beat-up football team.” Injuries have derived the talented defensive unit that came into the season with so much hype and anticipation.
Gamechangers like Jordan Davis and Richard LeCounte has missed time due to injury. Monty Rice, Quay Walker, Lewis Cine have all dealt with injuries.
Even for Georgia’s elite depth on defense, the extreme amount of attrition was too much to overcome.
Getting back to the basics and getting healthy on both sides of the ball are goals this week for Georgia. I want to see Georgia look like a new football at the end of the game this weekend.